Absolutely no topic

[RickyMaveety]

Originally Posted by zelda_pinwheel

Tom Waits, Step Right Up*

I went to Junior High School with Tom Waits. They mostly call them "middle" schools now, but back then, they were Junior Highs.

Anyway, he was in the ninth grade when I was in the seventh, so I only saw him at school the one year. He was in the school chorus (so was I).

I really should scan in this ninth grade picture from the "Falcon" ... that was our yearbook. He was an interesting looking kid ... pointiest chin you ever did see.

[zelda_pinwheel]

WHAT ??? you know Tom Waits personally ???? i LOVE Tom Waits, i would sell my left kidney to spend an evening with him... well ??? tell me every story you can remember about him !!! what are you waiting for ? don't tease me like that. so where was this school ?? because someday i'm going to make a Tom Waits pilgrimage and go to as many of the places he names in his songs as possible (Burrito King, anyone ?), and i could add his old school (where he sang in the chorus... i wish i could have seen THAT...) to my itinerary.

and scan that photo TODAY !!!

[pshrynk]

This isn't the Tom Waites thread!

[zelda_pinwheel]

listen buddy, EVERY thread should be the Tom Waits thread (and there's no E in Waits, by the way). it's an honor ; don't forget that. if Tom Waits deigns to drop by your humble, unassuming thread that doesn't even have a topic to call its own, you should consider your life complete. Tom Waits is like the poet laureate of our age, or he would be if you had poet laureates anymore. seriously : Tom Waits : maximum respect.


EDIT : plus which, wasn't the whole point of this thread to get it off topic, a goal rendered infinitely more difficult by the absence of any discernible topic to begin with ? and in that case, i win. so what's my prize ?

[pshrynk]

Originally Posted by zelda_pinwheel

listen buddy, EVERY thread should be the Tom Waits thread (and there's no E in Waits, by the way). it's an honor ; don't forget that. if Tom Waits deigns to drop by your humble, unassuming thread that doesn't even have a topic to call its own, you should consider your life complete. Tom Waits is like the poet laureate of our age, or he would be if you had poet laureates anymore. seriously : Tom Waits : maximum respect.


EDIT : plus which, wasn't the whole point of this thread to get it off topic, a goal rendered infinitely more difficult by the absence of any discernible topic to begin with ? and in that case, i win. so what's my prize ?

We do have poets laureate. Maja Angelou was one for a while. It's just that le Shrub picked Dr Seuss when he got to office.

[zelda_pinwheel]

i find it tragic that the brilliant event of Dr. Seuss being named poet laureat should be spoiled by the fact that he was named by le Shrub.

i'm glad that there are still poet laureats, although how Tom Waits is not the defnitive one is beyond me. perhaps someone should point out this oversight to Mr. Obama.

[RickyMaveety]

Originally Posted by zelda_pinwheel

WHAT ??? you know Tom Waits personally ???? i LOVE Tom Waits, i would sell my left kidney to spend an evening with him... well ??? tell me every story you can remember about him !!! what are you waiting for ? don't tease me like that. so where was this school ?? because someday i'm going to make a Tom Waits pilgrimage and go to as many of the places he names in his songs as possible (Burrito King, anyone ?), and i could add his old school (where he sang in the chorus... i wish i could have seen THAT...) to my itinerary.

and scan that photo TODAY !!!

Barely knew, and it was a looooong time ago, back before he was famous. Back when he was 14 years old.

I'll scan the photo today ... and post it today. You will have your very own photo of Tom Waits at the ripe old age of 14.

The school was called (at that time) Hilltop Jr. High. It was (and still is) on the corner of Hilltop and J Street in the Southern California city of Chula Vista.

My sister and several of my friends ended up going to high school with Tom, but I lived on the other side of the dividing line, and when they built the new high school (Bonita Vista), I went there instead of Hilltop.

Other notables I have known, been friends with, gone to school with ... or all of the above, include:

Mark Harmon, Guy Kawasaki - the Apple "Evangalist", and Tom Selleck. I'm just realizing that a lot of them are named "Tom." How strange is that.

OK .... off to scan my Jr. High yearbook.

[zelda_pinwheel]

yay !! school photos of Tom Waits !!!

(speaking of great occurences that make me happy, i would like to point out that the nature of my prize has yet to be determined. please do get on that right away.)

[pshrynk]

Originally Posted by zelda_pinwheel

listen buddy, EVERY thread should be the Tom Waits thread (and there's no E in Waits, by the way). it's an honor ; don't forget that. if Tom Waits deigns to drop by your humble, unassuming thread that doesn't even have a topic to call its own, you should consider your life complete. Tom Waits is like the poet laureate of our age, or he would be if you had poet laureates anymore. seriously : Tom Waits : maximum respect.


EDIT : plus which, wasn't the whole point of this thread to get it off topic, a goal rendered infinitely more difficult by the absence of any discernible topic to begin with ? and in that case, i win. so what's my prize ?

When I get my super-secret Captain Midnight Decoder Badge from Alexander, I'll let you be the first to look at it.

[RickyMaveety]

The odd thing is that I have a memory of being in chorus with Tom, but now I can't for the life of me find the photo of that .... eh, life's like that sometimes.

Prrrreeeeesenting: TOM WAITS AT 14

[zelda_pinwheel]

Originally Posted by pshrynk

When I get my super-secret Captain Midnight Decoder Badge from Alexander, I'll let you be the first to look at it.

just look at it ??? can't i have one of my own ??? it has been my fondest wish since early childhood to have a genuine super-secret Captain Midnight Decoder Badge. in fact that may be my earliest memory. although actually i'd rather have a super-secret Captain Midnight Decoder Ring. do you think that could be arranged ?

[zelda_pinwheel]

Originally Posted by RickyMaveety

The odd thing is that I have a memory of being in chorus with Tom, but now I can't for the life of me find the photo of that .... eh, life's like that sometimes.

Prrrreeeeesenting: TOM WAITS AT 14

yay !!!! thank you for that !!! wow, he's barely changed at *all*. (except for that silly haircut of course).

i'm actually all a-flutter in re : Tom Waits these days, because i recently heard that he'll be going on tour this summer, and after the US tour he has a European tour planned. i do not yet know the dates / cities, but if necessary i will travel to Spain / Ireland to see him.

EDIT : july 24th and 25th at the Grand Rex in Paris !!!!! today is a momentous day, y'all.

[RickyMaveety]

I suppose I would have had other photos of Tom (from High School), but my sister cut up her yearbooks a long time ago. Why she did that, I'll hever know.

My sister knew Tom's sister rather well, but my sister was four and half years olderr than I, so I didn't exactly hang around with her friends.

Long after the last time I ever saw Tom, he got me out of a bit of a jam ...

I had been working as a summer associate at a large law firm in Los Angeles. There was one attorney there (female) who really hated me. Just hated me to death. Anything I said, she had to contradict .... it was surreal.

So, I was at a party for the summer associates, and Mark Harmon's photo had just come out as People Magazine's Sexiest Man of the Year. The nasty female attorney starts talking about what a stuck up pig he probably is ... and on and on .....

So, I asked her if she knew Mark. She said she didn't, so I said "Well, I do, and he's one of the nicest guys I know."

She asked me where I knew him from. I explained that I dated his roommate in college for awhile, so I had the opportunity to hang out with him, and that he honesly was such a nice guy, and that I didn't appreciate her bad mouthing people she didn't even know.

A few weeks go by ..... I'm walking in downtown LA with two other summer associates. We go into a record store. Steve F. says "Oh, they have the new Tom Waits album!! I've got to get that."

I say, "I went to Junior High School with him."

Steve yells, "Dale said you were a liar and now I KNOW you are a liar!!!"

Me ... "huh??"

Steve, "You told Dale that you were Mark Harmon's girlfriend, and I KNOW you didn't go to Junior High School with Tom Waits because I HAD A FRIEND WHO WENT TO JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL WITH TOM WAITS."

Me ... "Ummmmmm, I never said I was Mark Harmon's girlfriend, and there were more than just the two of us at that junior high. Who was your friend."

Steve ... "Louis Venor."

Me .... "Oh, sure, Louis Venor. Debbie Venor's little brother. Not very tall, dark hair, wore glasses, and he was deaf."

Steve .... "Oh, sorry. I guess you did go to school with Tom Waits."

Me ... "Learn from this, Steve. If you have any questions about who I've known and in what capacity I knew them .... just ask."

I'm ranting again ... aren't I??

[zelda_pinwheel]

i think i may cry. tom waits concerts are sold out both nights in paris. not that it's surprising. but still. anyone know someone who could get tickets in edimbourgh ? (27 or 28 july) or dublin maybe ? or prague ??? or barcelona ?????

[WDecraene]

Originally Posted by zelda_pinwheel

yay !!!! thank you for that !!! wow, he's barely changed at *all*. (except for that silly haircut of course).

i'm actually all a-flutter in re : Tom Waits these days, because i recently heard that he'll be going on tour this summer, and after the US tour he has a European tour planned. i do not yet know the dates / cities, but if necessary i will travel to Spain / Ireland to see him.

EDIT : july 24th and 25th at the Grand Rex in Paris !!!!! today is a momentous day, y'all.

You can travel all you want: it's TICKETS you will need.

Couple of years ago there was a concert in Antwerp. Even though the tickets cost something like 250 EUR for the worst seats in the house I couldn't help myself: had to be there. I tried to phone like crazy for 2 hours without success - sold out (only to hear afterwards they gave lots of tickets away to 'vips' who probably didn't even know who The Man is)

So start lobbying for tickets already !!!!