The Two Times I Was Knocked Out

October 1986

I woke up and my wisdom teeth were gone. I was still groggy. David Jansen was kind enough to be my designated driver. I hope he and his sister remember the all the Almond Roca wisecracks. As I came to, the nurse laid out all the ground rules. The only thing I can remember was her saying no alcohol. Somehow I had the presence of mind to make an audible groan. Even then I knew it was only a joke on my part.


October 2017

I was ordered to have debridement. Honestly I had never heard the term before. The cause of this was the monster back zit from hell that caused my blood sugar to jump up to 300. When I came to I had 2 questions : 1) what time was it? 2) What was the score in Game 1 of the World Series? I had the presence of mind to only ask the first question. I bet even local sportscasters would trouble with that question.

My Favorite Song

A student asked me what was my favorite song. My immediate reaction was "good question." I explained that response by saying his question made me think. I then settled on a song that had a better than average melody. Notice I did not say it was the greatest melody. The words will not bring about world peace.  The power of The Biggest Ball of Twine In Minnesota lies in what it does to your imagination.

 I am old enough to remember a time when I was already a music junkie and there was no MTV let alone YouTube. You played a song and it generated images in your head. And they were your images, no one else's. This song tells a story so well with the spirit, the lyrics and the melody that a video of it would be a complete disservice. There are a billion answers to the question what is your favorite song. Maybe a million answers on how you justify your favorite song. This is mine and no one else's.



P.S. Twenty three years ago I shook the hand of the performer/ composer of this song.