We did go in on Saturday for Kelly’s birthday, which is always a great time! We picked up cupcakes from Carolyn’s and pizza from Mellow Mushroom. YUM! We also popped in to pick up Kelly, Ted and Drew for dinner at the [...]]]> Not much to say. Didn’t attend the con and didn’t miss it, either.

We did go in on Saturday for Kelly’s birthday, which is always a great time! We picked up cupcakes from Carolyn’s and pizza from Mellow Mushroom. YUM! We also popped in to pick up Kelly, Ted and Drew for dinner at the Porter on Sunday. That’s about it. Nick will have pix up at his site, I’m sure (nickmizgala.net)

Anyway, not attending the con was juuuust fine. No stress. We went to the Decatur Book Festival on Sunday and it’s totally NOT worth going to. Unless you’re a kid. No matter how hard they try to tell you it’s for “everyone” it’s really just a thing for kids. The bulk of events and booths are for kids. Meh. We’ll pass on it unless there’s a specific author we’re interested in.

That was our long two weeks and I’m just glad to have some downtime. Nick is nursing a cold and we’re planning to lay low during September.

Ok, more pix of the whole Raleigh trip are here (they will be as soon as ITX fixes an [...]]]> Raleigh was a great trip – too short! Since I missed Benatar here (and the local book signing, too), we decided to trot up to Raleigh and get her bio signed and see her live. EXCELLENT!

Ok, more pix of the whole Raleigh trip are here (they will be as soon as ITX fixes an issue w/ Gallery). Nick is putting up videos and his big collection of pix at YouTube and NickMizgala.net. Sorry for the random pic alignment, WP doesn’t like it when you insert so many into a post. :)

The book is Between a Heart and a Rock Place and it’s really good. The signing was in an independent bookstore (Quail Ridge Books) and it was SO not crowded. I even managed to not fangirl Ms Benatar! Yay me! Illicit phone photo:


We went to downtown Raleigh afterwards to check out the Natural Science Museum, which was very nice. Their static displays are cool! They also have quite a few aquariums like these seahorses:

Natural History Museum, Raleigh NC

We walked a few blocks to have lunch at a local brew pub called Natty Greene’s. WOW! Probably the best brew pub beer I’ve ever had. Seriously. If you’re in Raleigh, GO THERE. Mike Morris is the Brewmaster and he is teh awesomest!

Current Brews

Natty Greene's brewery

The show was at an outdoor venue in Cary (Koka Booth), which is SW of Raleigh just a few minutes. It’s a nicer version of Chastain. We were 4 rows back and had a great view. The opener was Tyler Bryant and let me tell you: those boys ROCK. Go join their email list and buy their upcoming first record. It’s good solid rock and roll.

Tyler Bryant

Pat and Spyder put on a good show. I didn’t like the set list particularly, but I’m not one for hearing “the hits”. I’d rather hear a whole show of B sides than the hits, but that’s me. Here is her set list:

All Fired Up
Shadows of the Night
If You Think You Know How to Love Me (YAY! I was thrilled to hear this live!)
Invincible
Promises in the Dark
You Better Run (also thrilled to hear)
I Don’t Want to Be Your Friend (Innamorata – I’d have preferred Dirty Little Secrets)
We Belong
Hell is for Children (she belted it, too!)
Hit Me With Your Best Shot (ugh)
Love is a Battlefield (ugh x2)

Encore
Heartbreaker (natch)

And a pic:

Benatar show Raleigh NC 9/2/10

The set was too short, IMO, for a “co-headliner” ticket. REO played for 1.5+ hours! We left after a few REO songs because we’re not huge fans. Who replaced Kevin with a drag queen? And why was Mickey Rourke playing guitar with flowery pants on and pointy white boots?? Pic:

Yah, no, I really don’t need to hear all their hits played exactly the same as they’ve been played for the last 30 years. Pass. Why do fans always want to hear the same old songs? I’ll never understand it. MOVE ON. I’m interested in what they’re up to now, not hearing Take it On the Run for the 1000th time. Or Hit Me with Your Best Shot, for that matter. I like hearing older stuff, but not necessarily the hits. As Benatar said, “I’m going to sing some of the more obscure songs for you.” Right on!

I’d like to know why in the hell Benatar is NOT in the Hall of Fame? What, MADONNA gets in but the Queen of Girl Rock does not? WTF? The Hall of Fame is so political. Grrr.

On the drive back we stopped at this crazy discount place called JR Cigars.

J•R Discount store

I’m making a page for my Granny’s stuff. I’ve got her “NOTICE” and my Uncle’s eulogy, plus a few more thoughts on that. I’ve also got a few [...]]]> I’ve got posts stacked up from my Granny’s death to the Raleigh trip to Dragon*Con. LOTS to post. This first post is your guide for what’s coming.

I’m making a page for my Granny’s stuff. I’ve got her “NOTICE” and my Uncle’s eulogy, plus a few more thoughts on that. I’ve also got a few more thoughts on the feud with my mother. I’ll put that in its own post.

I’ve got TONS of pix from the Benatar concert in Raleigh and even an illicit pic from the book signing. :)

We did not buy tix for Dragon*Con and still had a great time. Nick has pix from that. We had a fab time with Ted & Kelly and my new BFF Drew! Yay!

So, I hope to get started on all this today. I’m not sure yet where I’ll start, but when I do, I’m sure it’ll all come pouring out of my brain.

She was born Gladys Irene Littleton (she’d smack me for telling her middle name, but there ya go) in the hills of East [...]]]> My Granny passed yesterday at 3:03pm. She was a month shy of her 90th birthday. Here’s a short outline of her life – I hope I have the places and timeframes right.

She was born Gladys Irene Littleton (she’d smack me for telling her middle name, but there ya go) in the hills of East Tennessee. The area was called Wheat back then. It’s where Oak Ridge is now. She told me they used to walk across the river as kids – this was before all the dams built in the 30s by TVA. She also told me about the Depression from their point of view. These people were farmers, so the Depression was really the opposite for them: they threw out truckloads of fruit and vegetables because there was no one to buy them or transport them. Granny told me of her memories of that: the trucks backing up to the lake and dumping their produce. So the country folk had surplus while city folk stood in bread lines. Isn’t that odd?

Gladys married a local boy named Dwight Harvey and they moved to Philadelphia TN. She bore two children, my uncle Jack (Jackie Allen, 1940) and my mother (Anita June, 1942). This was during wartime and my grandfather was called up at the very tail end of WWII, in 1944-45, when even men with families were being drafted. He was only gone a few months when he was killed in action in early 1945. My mother never really knew him.

With two children, the widowed Gladys eventually moved to the big city of Knoxville and ran into an old acquaintance, Jesse Gage. I don’t know when they got married, but it was fairly soon after the war ended. He’d been shot in the knee and was sent home. Jesse Gage was my grandmother’s Big Love. They never had children (he was sterile from Mumps, I think) but Jesse raised my mother and her brother as his own. He was my Papaw. He died of cancer in 1979. My grandmother never really got over it.

She sold her house and moved into a basement apartment with my uncle in the 80s and pretty much began her decline. She became less and less active and ended up being a shut in. It’s a shame; I remember my Granny being so very active when we were kids. She’d haul us around town in her beautiful 1961 Galaxie Starliner (white w/ red interior) – which is where I get my severe lust for Galaxies.

Sadly, she declined rather quickly in the last few years. She became unhinged from reality and very uncooperative with my uncle and my mother. They ended up putting her in a home a couple of years ago and that’s where she died. I disagree with this action, but I understand why they did it. Once in the home, she rapidly gave up all pretense of trying to hang on and simply let go. Her mind was gone in a few months and the rest of the time was basically waiting for her body to catch up. It is a sad ending for such a vibrant woman.

My Granny was good to me. She helped significantly with my college expenses and she was there for me when my parents were being crazy. I’m glad I never saw her in that home. My last memory of her was one of our visits. She was sitting on her couch, having a lucid conversation with us. She laughed. It was great. That’s the Granny I remember and I’m grateful for that.

RIP Gladys Irene Littleton Harvey Gage.