BowlingJoe is quite possibly the only member of the United States Bowling Congress who also belongs to a book group.The Plummeting Tortoises: Tim, Steven, BowlingJoe, Robert
Being both a bowler AND a native of the Olympic Peninsula is normally the kiss of death when it comes to literacy, but through practice and perseverance I’ve somehow managed to rise to the occasion and buck this trend. It was actually never really my intention to join a book group.
You see, I have these friends who are fully involved in the whole reading thing both in their professional and personal lives. Tim pretty much makes the Bellingham High School library a functioning entity. Robert is the music library supervisor and professor of history at Western Washington University. Steven is a highly regarded Advanced Placement English teacher at Squalicum High School. Randy, the fourth original member, tragically passed away in 2004. This is where BowlingJoe comes in.
The Plummeting Tortoises book group formed in September of 1995 when they unveiled “A Map of the World” by Jane Hamilton. A total of 121 books have been read and discussed to date at the (mostly) monthly gatherings that rotate from house to house. The rule is simple: choose any book and when it’s your turn to do so, you’re also the host for that session and are responsible for planning the main course for lunch and assigning side-dish and beverage duties to the others. Often, the food and drink is somehow tied to the book choice. For example, the book “Hadji Murad” by Leo Tolstoy practically begged for borscht and vodka to make an appearance. Of course, this philosophy can prove to be problematic when you’re reading a novel set in places such as Antarctica. It’s simply too hard to find good lean cuts of penguin or plankton these days. And we’re really screwed when the book is set in outer space.
In December of 2004, after a couple of weeks of contemplation, I decided to accept the group’s offer to join the Tortoises, replacing Randy. It was certainly a departure from life as usual for BowlingJoe, would exercise some brain cells that have gone dormant, and would be the perfect excuse to listen to good music and eat/drink heartily each month with friends. Robert picked the first book after my enrollment. I lucked out, as he tossed us a softball with “Chronicles: Volume 1”, the Bob Dylan autobiography. It was an interesting and quick read, as well as one that’s a lot of fun to do with a Dylan impersonation running silently through your brain as you’re reading it.
When it comes around to my turn at book selection, I keep threatening to choose “Bowling: How to Master the Game” by Parker Bohn (great book by the way) but I’ve spared them (sorry) so far. I did, however, give them “Freakonomics” by Stephen Levitt a couple of years ago, a best selling non-fiction book that explores the hidden side of economic forces. They took it in stride, although the “you’re f***ing kidding me, right?” initial reaction from one of them was priceless. To his credit and my relief, he didn’t retaliate in my direction with “War and Peace” which he could have done.
We met last weekend, outdoors at our place, going over “Out Stealing Horses” by Per Pederson. It wasn’t a long discussion as we all agreed that it was an interesting and insightful book that didn’t hit you over the head with a lot of conclusions. I elected NOT to stay in theme for the meal this time since lutefisk and smelt didn’t sound very appetizing. (But not to worry, as we did pull out a bag of Swedish Fish candy for dessert). Since it was such a nice day, the main course consisted of a couple of dry-rubbed 4 ½ pound chickens with half-full beer cans placed strategically in their cavities as they sat in a 250-degree propane smoker for a four hours. Beer can chicken as it’s called is delicious and one can find recipes throughout the Internet. Combined with corn on the cob, a nice salad and a chocolaty dessert provided by the rest of the family of Testudinidae, it made for a fine day indeed.
41 comments:
It sounds like you have a great group of friends... I tried a book club for a bit, but it just didn't work out. You all have obviously just the right mix of personalities, knowledge and experience. We have your most recent title in the Explore collection (which i work with everyday). I'll have to check it out.
FYI bowlingjoe fans... hop over to my blog to see a different side of our favorite bowler. :)
If you were considerate, your would have Photoshopped out my second chin.
ah, it's an awesome picture. I'm gonna print one out for Bowlingwidow, so she can show everyone her rockstar hubby! Good times. thanx.
oh yeah... how was the name chosen?
Yew allways bin one of the most litterite on the Olympic Penninnsuler, bowlingjoe.
Thanks, bowlingagent. There's no better feeling than exceeding expectations.
Welcome back from Vegas. Care to share any highlights with us?
So I'm watching a baseball game at one of the bars at the Las Vegas Hilton. A woman came up to me, couldn't have been more than 22 years old. Said she was in the "home entertainment industry" and would come to my room and do anything I wanted for $500, or $1,000 for all night.
I thanked her for her offer and said I would ordinarily be interested, but I was still trying to clear up this darn rash I picked up last time I was in Bangkok.
It kind of reminded me of an incident when I was covering the Huskies. We had time after a game in L.A., so some other writers and I went back to our hotel to write. After we stepped into the elevator in the lobby, an attractive woman slipped in with us. As the elevator was going up, she said she would do anything any of us wanted for $300.
One of us -- sadly, it wasn't me -- said, "Can you write a lead, a notebook and a sidebar?"
bowlingagent~ sounds like you hang out at all the classy places.
Great Vegas story! This is why I like having friends I can live vicariously through.
About the name of the book group. Back in 1996, the original group was reading a book called "Lempriere's Dictionary" by Lawrence Norfolk. There was a scene in the book in which there were tortoises on the ceiling of an opera house, that could presumably fly. The opera house caught fire and much to everyone's surprise the tortoises plummeted to the ground instead of flying. Hence the name. At least that's the explanation I got from Tim.
I think I recognize Steve Dolmatz -- I worked for years in a record store (yes, records)and we carried some of Steve's music. And Robert is my arch-nemesis, even though we've never met. I'd wanted to work for years at Western's music library but the stars never lined up just right. And then HE got the job! He's probably doing a better job than I would, so I won't hunt him down. Western's music library is housed with their performing theaters, where I saw Bonnie Raitt years ago.
That's hilarious, David. Robert is truly A Man For All Seasons (as Al Stewart once sang about). In fact, all of those guys are brilliant and I feel fortunate that I'm a part of things, to be honest. I've known Tim since I was 15. He was 23 and we both worked at Shakey's Pizza Parlor (remember them?) in PA at the time.
Do you know Steven? Yeah, he's put out a couple of albums. I have one on cassette and one on CD but I don't think any vinyl was pressed. Very talented guitarist and plays bluegrass with his musician/teacher friends every week during the school year on Friday aternoons at the Green Frog in Bellingham. He's also got one of the most incredible and diverse private music collections I've ever seen. They're in every room of his house! Which record store did you work at?
Joe
THat would be The Landing in Fairhaven which morphed in Nothern Lights on Mount Vernon and then another Landing in Seattle. LPs, CDs and cassettes. It was great fun and a great disappointment at the same time -- we paid so much in bounced check fees that we couldn't reorder music. But I met some great people there, and increased my musical knowledge a thousandfold. Later the Landing in Seattle was sold to a couple who still run it today, very successfully too. The other two stores died a lingering death.
Oh and there used to be a great record store on State Street years ago when I went to Western. One visit, I had only enough money to buy 1 LP and I was torn between Jackson Browne's "Late for the Sky" and "Solid Air" by John Martyn. The owner urged me to pick John, but my girlfriend wanted me to get Jackson (and she was more persuasive!) When I finally DID get "Solid Air", I realized the error of my ways, and many more years later, seeing John live at the Backstage in Seattle was a musical highlight.
You saw that John Martyn show?!?!? Nice! That show at the Backstage around 15 years ago came and went before I had a chance to react. One of my biggest concert regrets, actually. I'm a Martyn fan, too, (as well as a big Nick Drake fan) and "Solid Air", "No More Little Boy" and "Bless the Weather" are in my modest CD collection. It's a shame that Martyn's health has deteriorated so badly, largely due to addiction, but I guess he still performs a bit in his chair around Great Britain.
I have great memories of the Backstage. Al Stewart, John Mayall, and Richard Thompson (a number of times - including with Clive Gregson and Christine Collister).
As for the Landing/Northern Lights I remember them well and you've probably seen all of us at one time or another, especially Tim and Steven as they showed up quite a bit. In fact, I bought my used copy of "Solid Air" at Northern Lights. Nice place in downtown Mt. Vernon with no storefront or advertising whatsoever which added to the ambience. Great and passionate owner as I recall but ultimately his lack of business sense did him in.
I remember that Northern Lights sponsored a Richard Thompson/Danny Thompson show at the Lincoln Theater several years ago that I attended with Tim and his kids. Tim worked the door that night since he knew the Northern Lights owner(s) fairly well and he allowed me to bring a camera in. I have a great picture of "Dick and Dan" from that night that's still on my wall today.
Those were good times. Thanks for the memories, David.
Joe
I've got a dusty old videocassett of that performance at the Lincoln, because one of the Northern Lights guys snuck a videocamera into the balcony. As much as I liked Richard, seeing Danny Thompson was the buzz for me.
John Martyn lost a leg recently to cancer, and on one of his later albums, he sings a duet with Mavis Staples on "Goodnight Irene" -- and if you turn the volume way up, as the very tender song ends, John says "Ah, I dropped me farmin' (edited for family viewing here) stick!" He was in good form the night I saw him, slightly lubricated buy funny, charming and brilliant.
Mmmmm. Beer can chicken.
Mmmmm. Beer.
Gee, bowlingjoe, such a nice lunch with you today. And no arrests!
I tried my best to get arrested by standing on the table and smearing pho noodles whith hoisen sauce on my chest while singing Vietnamese folk songs. But I was pretty much ignored after 10 minutes so I sat back down and discussed the future of the newspaper industry in American media with bowlingagent.
It was probably a better choice than ending up being tossed over the hood of a Taurus by the Everett Police.
David,
Tim thinks he remembers you from The Landing. Are you the guy who is a big Bruce Cockburn fan?
Okay, BowlingJoe, I couldn't resist. I googled Vietnamese folk songs +karaoke. I found: Bac Ninh Folk Songs Karaoke - Karaoke CD with 12 northern Vietnamese folk songs. I'm thinking you could probably charge admission to repeat your pho noodles performance at the next get-together. I'm sure you would have a much more receptive audience there.
Beer Can Chicken sounds good. Although a quick google search of it revealed that it's also known as Beer in the Butt Chicken. That definitely sounds less appetizing! Yikes. I'll have to put that thought out of my mind should I ever have the occasion to try this.
Hah! I had to LOL at Bowlingagent's female companion wanna be. Home Entertainment Industry, eh? Wow, either she has a remarkable public relations person or clearly she's missed her true calling. With a spin like that she should be in politics.
Thisandthat, I think I've demonstrated that with a couple of beers and a largely female audience egging me on, bowlingjoe will do pretty much anything. It's a good thing that bowlingwidow is always there to help me put on the brakes.
Jazzergigi, beer can (or beer butt) chicken is the best. I've made it many times and so should you. Just set it and forget it.
In bowlingagent's line of work he does run into some interesting characters. But mostly he's a traditional newspaper guy. When he's not out covering a big event, he's in a dimly lit one-room flat banging out stories on an Underwood typewriter, chewing on a cigar and drinking gin from a bottle he keeps in his lower left desk drawer.
Jazzergigi, I don't seek this stuff out. It seems to follow me, which makes me think that groovelily is right, that it would behoove me to find less seemly places to hang out in and/or find another line of work.
Bowlingjoe, that's a largely accurate depiction of my work environment, except I can't stomach gin. I'm a Cuervo guy from way back.
I do like Bruce Cockburn, but I don't think I'm the fan he's thinking of.
Did I mention I saw Nick Drake in concert once? He was drunk, hurling insults, and he threatened to (pink) moon the crowd...just kidding!
yeah, I went to a platinum blonde concert... were any of you there???
I can honestly say I've never seen Platinum Blonde and couldn't name a thing they've done!
David, you almost made me choke on my pizza when you said you saw Nick Drake. Now THAT would be a story. It's interesting that Nick Drake is more well known for music on a recent Volkswagen commercial than for anything he did while he was alive.
Groovelily, you should look into the music of Nick Drake. It's timeless even though your were just 5 years and 17 days old when he died.
Jeez, Bowlingjoe, I'd hate to be the cause of a senseless pizza-related death!
Oh and on another viewing I recognize Tim - we were English majors together at Western, until I went to the dark side.
Pizzas don't kill. Anchovies kill.
That's true, actually. I used to love anchovies but had to give them up due to blood pressure issues. Getting older sucks.
By the way, David, did you know that bowlingagent is also a Western grad who was in classes with Robert, the music library guy?
Another odd coincidence. Maybe Disney was right and it really is a small world afterall. Uh-oh. Now I'm never gonna get that damn song out of my head.
I suggest the Tortoises read and publish a review of "Seitsemän Veljestä" by Aleksis Kivi.
I have a copy here on my desk in the old script (which is a real pain to read even for me!) that anyone can borrow if you can't find it in your library.
Unless of course you're not up to the challenge...
On a more serious note, I currently reading "The Crazy Ladies of Pearl Street" by
Trevanian. At first I wondered why one of my favorite authors (Eiger Sanction, Loo Sanction, etc.) had written a chick book, but it turns out it really isn't that, and it is a darned good read. ...or maybe it is and I'm just getting in touch with my feminine side. Say it ain't so, BowlingJoe...
Not to change the subject, but I really hate getting daily spam about colon cleanser. I mean, I take great pride in the pristine condition I keep my colon. Real cheap shot if you ask me.
Thanks for chiming in again, cvow. I'm actually getting pressure from Bowlingwidow to choose a female author for my next selection. Since I've joined the bunch, we have yet to read anything written by a woman. If she's successful I may be getting in touch with my feminine side later on this year, too.
Bowlingagent, that's enough about your colon. To use another one of those pop acronyms that the kids are using today, it's TMI.
Also, did you all catch the bowling column that bowlingagent hammered out in the Saturday Everett Herald?
If you missed it, you can search for it at heraldnet.com
If you need a good read by a female author, I highly recommend "The Poisonwood Bible", by Barbara Kingsolver. Actually, all of Kingsolver's books are good although she goes a little feminazi in a couple of them.
Another good one that, while set in South Dakota could occur anywhere, is "Dakota, A Spiritual Geography" by Kathleen Norris. Google it and read the preface and see if it doesn't intrigue you...
If you don't like these two books, then you are probably a beer swilling, knuckle dragging cretin who gives us sensitive guys a bad name.
Okay... i added some Nick Drake to my finetune list. I'll let you know what i think.
Bowlingagent... that is between you and your doc. A little bit of sugar to go with the scolding... i liked the article about drug testing athletes. I was on vacation, so haven't read Saturday's paper, but i will be sure to give my honest non-sports related thougths. I know you'll be on pins and needles waiting...
Bowlingjoe... when would you need the headcount??
I've been to two prince concerts? Heard of him??
Let me know what you think of Nick Drake, groovelily. It's not uplifting music but very, very good IMHO (another acronym!).
Of course I've heard of Prince. I don't really get what he does but understand that he's extremely popular. The biggest thing to come out of Minnesota since Dylan.
I'm not sure when your group wants to bowl, but if you gave me a count 3 or 4 days prior I'm sure that would be enough notice, as bowling centers are quite slow during the summer months.
If bowlingjoe and groovelily object to my referral to my nether regions, I apologize.
You both molest collies.
Bowlingagent, did I object to your colon comment? Not at all. I'm perfectly fine with you sharing details about your organs.
And it wasn't a collie. It was a Welsh Sheepdog, just so you know.
I added 3 Nick Drake songs to my finetune list. Black-eyed dog (which i like best i think), river man, and pink moon. Pink moon hasn't made it into the rotation, but i have heard the other two a couple of times. they are good. out of curiosity, have you heard of the band Death Cab for Cutie? Finetune says they are a similar artist... i would agree... "I will follow you into the dark" is their most known song... i love that one.
Glad you like Nick Drake, groovelily. Bowlingwidow will be delivering you more of his stuff tomorrow on disc. I have heard some Death Cab for Cutie and in fact have a couple of CDs I've burned. I like them more than most of the newer stuff that I'm aware of and the fact that they're from Bellingham is certainly a plus. I've never made the Nick Drake connection, however, so I'll have to pay attention.
cvow, you're not the first person that's mentioned Kingsolver to me over the past couple of weeks. That's a good indication that it might be time to select one of her books when my next turn comes around in November or so.
BowlingJoe
muchas gracias for the cd... I'll give it a listen today at work.
The song "Northern Sky" has always been a favorite of mine from the moment I heard it in the late 70s, long after he died.
Timeless music that holds up so well over the years. It could have been recorded last week.
Meanwhile, George Thorogood and Buddy Guy tonight at Tulalip!!!
Post a Comment