Ten Albums That Changed My Life, part one, 1964-1973 - by Ricki C.

(The response to the Ten Albums That Changed my Life series launched by our VA. correspondent JCE three weeks ago has been brisk to say the least. So much so that the Pencilstorm Editorial Board has decided to make it our regular “Sunday New York Times” prestige feature. This is the third installment, following Anne Marie’s entry last Sunday and JCE’s kick-off to the series before that. Ricki C. is up for the third round. Future entries will feature Wal Ozello, Jim Hutter & Pete Vogel. Stay tuned.)

THE DAVE CLARK 5 / Glad All Over

From the ages of zero to 12 years old, all I cared about in life was comic books and World War II. (Comic books ABOUT World War II like Our Army at War, featuring Sgt. Rock of Easy Company, were – needless to say – particular favorites, but Superman, The Flash, Green Lantern, The Fantastic Four, The X-Men and Daredevil all played a HUGE role in my character development.) Then, when I was 12 in 1964 The Beatles appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show and Everything Changed. Rock & roll largely became my Reason For Existence, and quite literally saved my life on at least one occasion. (see The Bathtub, Growing Old With Rock & Roll.) Oddly, I was never all that crazy about The Beatles, but I dearly LOVED The Dave Clark 5, who appeared on Ed Sullivan the week AFTER The Beatles’ inaugural three-week run.

I got this album as a present for Christmas in December 1964. It was all I asked for, and all I wanted. (I probably got some shirts & socks & underwear too, but I really don’t remember.) I had bought 45 rpm singles up ‘til then, but this was my first album, and I love it to this day. Did this launch my love of bands wearing “uniforms” that has lasted up until this very moment, and was last manifested by The White Stripes in the early 2000’s? Probably.

THE MC5 Kick Out The Jams / JONI MITCHELL Clouds

Both of these records were released in early 1969, when I was 17, and neatly delineate the next segment of my Rock & Roll Upbringing. These were the records that turned me and my working-class-West-Side-of-Columbus-Ohio friends into Teen Hippies. They couldn’t have been more different: The MC5 is probably the greatest, most outrageous, LOUDEST live rock & roll record of all time, beaten out as the BEST live record of all time only by The Who’s masterful Live At Leeds (but only in the DELUXE CD edition, issued belatedly in the 21st century.) Live At Leeds edges Kick Out The Jams only because The Who had better songs, but when I listen to the MC5 record it makes me wanna BREAK STUFF – even at my advanced age of 66 – and The Who just makes me wanna mimic Pete Townshend air-guitar windmills & appreciate the craft.

The Joni Mitchell record boasts SUPERIOR lyric-writing & is simply just lovely and the dichotomy of me enjoying it AND The MC5 exactly the same amount has exemplified what my tastes in rock & roll have been ever since the 1960’s. Richard & Linda Thompson AND The Clash in the 1970’s; Suzanne Vega AND The Replacements in the 1980’s; Shawn Colvin AND The Mekons in the 1990’s; Mary Lou Lord AND The Strokes in the 2000’s are prime examples of the continuation of that split personality in my tastes. Is Ian Hunter – first with Mott The Hoople, later solo AND active to this day – the best merging of those two poles: great poetic lyrics crossed with bone-crushing rock & roll? Probably.

THE NEW YORK DOLLS / self-titled first album

By early 1973 rock & roll music had been largely Allman Brothers-ized and James Taylor-ized into an unappetizing form of pabulum hard to stomach for anybody raised on quality rock & roll like The Lovin’ Spoonful, The Turtles and The Left Banke. My two favorite “rock bands” in 1972 were probably The Eagles and Loggins & Messina, and THAT might be the saddest rock & roll sentence I have ever typed. Then I discovered Creem magazine at the corner drugstore by the parking lot at Doctor’s North Hospital where I worked all through the time I attended Ohio State University. Creem became my Rock & Roll Bible, Holy Grail & Koran/Talmud, all rolled into one. Lester Bangs, Ben Edmonds & Lisa Robinson said, “JUMP!” and I asked, “How high?” Creem said, “Buy The New York Dolls,” and I complied.

From the very first Johnny Thunders buzzsaw chords and yowls from David Johansen in “Personality Crisis” that SEARED out of my cheap-ass record player, I was IN LOVE, Jack! Here was everything I had missed/forgotten/been cheated of in rock & roll since Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Yes, America and Seals & Croft had drained/sapped/sucked/vampired the lifeblood out of my Second Love.

It’s one of my most-repeated Smartass One-Liners about rock & roll, and people who know me well are sick of it by now, but it’s germane here: If it wasn’t for The New York Dolls I would be a Deadhead today, with grey hair in a ponytail halfway down my back. I can’t think of any better way to exemplify HOW MUCH this record changed my life than the two photographs below………

ELLIOTT MURPHY / Aquashow

Quite simply: my favorite record of all time, my favorite singer/songwriter of all time, and – true to the IDEA of this piece – a record that literally Changed The Way I View The World. From the very first verse of the first song on the record – “Last Of The Rock Stars” – when Murphy sang, “I’ve got a feeling on my back like an old, brown jacket / I’d like to stay in school but I just can’t hack it.” THE SAME WEEK I dropped out of college and got on with Making My Way in the World to the second song – “How’s The Family” – when he sang, “And the cold, cold ballerina whose thoughts of love & life / Have split her down the middle ‘til she’s cracked like walked-on ice,” Elliott became my new Dylan, Byron, Shelley, Keats and F. Scott Fitzgerald all rolled into one, and packed a rosewood Stratocaster and a white suit to boot.

In case you’re interested, much more on Murphy linked here - On Elliott Murphy’s Birthday - from my former blog, Growing Old With Rock & Roll.

Ricki C. will return with five more life-changing albums at a later date…….

The most devastating loss in UM history? The 4th Playoff Slot? Baver Answers Colin's Questions - Big Ten Championship Week

Colin: Michigan officially printed up Revenge Tour T- shirts and then saw their top ranked defense give up the most points in 120 years against Ohio State. All things considered, is this the most devastating loss in Michigan history? 

Baver: I can’t stop smiling...how ‘bout you? Dennis Dodd had posted a piece last week entitled “Chase Winovich's play and mouth have written checks Michigan must cash vs. Ohio State”. Umm....I guess that didn’t happen. And I’ve heard comments from maybe a dozen Michigan fans admitting that it was much worse than the score. A few of them even noted that UM got lots of help from the referees, yet it mattered not. It was utter humiliation.

When you bring up the Revenge Tour eggs smeared all over their faces...add to it the hype from the 24/7, modern day media & internet blitz....and add to that what Ohio State physically did to that Michigan team on that field this past Saturday, it probably tops the list of UM’s most devastating losses. But you still have several other quite enjoyable UM humiliating losses to choose from, like Kordell’s Hail Mary in ‘94, and the bumbled punt on the last play of the game against Sparty in 2015, and of course their 2007 loss to D1-AA school Appalachian St. Good stuff.

Colin: No sacks, not even a hurry...how could Chase and company have such a lackluster performance in the one game they had to win? 

Baver: It’s hard to reconcile, my friend. And that specific stat is nearly impossible to figure. Even with Winovich at less than full-go...Devin Bush? Uh...Rashan Gary?  Uh...Khaleke Hudson? For no UM defender to even register a QB-hurry against a much-maligned OSU O-line boggles the mind. Seems like the phenomenon where the person in icy cold water forgets how to swim.

Colin: Once again, as an underdog, Urban Meyer absolutely destroyed an opponent. Does any other coach compare to him in this regard? 

Baver: Let’s put this into perspective. Urban has now been an underdog in 7 games at Ohio St, winning all 7 of ‘em. The spreads in each of those games ranged from 2½ to 8 pts (with Bama being an 8-pt fav over OSU in the 2014 playoff). With charts that give you win-probability based on the Vegas spreads, the odds against winning all 7 of those games is around 1100 to 1. A lot of good coaches thrive as the underdog, but nothing like this. And Urban is 10-0 in his 10 OT gms as a CFB head coach (4-0 before arriving here, and 6-0 in OT gms at OSU). It’s no wonder the rest of the CFB world hates him.

Colin: Is Dwayne Haskins Jr the best quarterback in OSU history? 

Baver: Yes. The kid’s been remarkable.

Colin: TV ratings for Ohio State have absolutely dominated the entire season. How much money will be left on the table if we don’t make the playoffs? 

Baver: A lot. You called it in 2014, Colin, basically saying, “Forget about it TCU...the almighty dollar will rule the day.” And it of course did. But OSU didn’t leapfrog Oklahoma in this week’s playoff ranking, and the Sooners will be playing a higher ranked team than the one Ohio State is playing. And a win allows OU to avenge their only loss. If Bama, Clemson, Oklahoma and Ohio St each win Saturday, it’s going to be hard for the committee to explain itself if they slide Ohio St into that 4th slot without OSU laying the wood to N’western.

Colin: Tell me about this Northwestern team.

Baver: On paper NW look like a middle of the road Big Ten team, but they know how to win. Pat Fitzgerald has developed into an elite coach. They are 7-1 in their last 8 games with their only loss being a 10-pt loss to playoff-bound/undefeated Notre Dame. And they only lost by a field goal at Michigan...the same place where UM trounced Penn St 42-7. The Wildcats play a bend-but-don’t-break style on D keeping everything in front of them. They don’t have anything close to the personnel that Ohio St has but they are far more disciplined, having the fewest penalties in the country, while OSU ranks 124th nationally in that category. NW have a great set of LBs in Blake Gallagher, Paddy Fisher and Nate Hall. And their true-frosh tailback Isaiah Bowser, a kid no when else in the B10 had any use for, has really come on.

Colin: So, how does this one play out?

Baver: It wouldn’t be a total shock to see N’Western pull it off Saturday night, as we’ve all seen this Buckeye team struggle mightily in several games this season. If OSU starts slow, I think they may be in for another dog fight like they were in against Nebraska and Minnesota. But I tend to think Ohio State will ride a good deal of the momentum they gained from their destruction of Michigan. If the Bucks do get up 3+ TDs or so, Urban likely goes for blood in an effort to impress the committee. I’ve got Ohio State winning 38-21 and then anxiously watching the selection show Sunday at noon.

Rocky Balboa Returns in Creed ll, a.k.a. Rocky Vlll - by Johnny DiLoretto

Maybe this is crazy, but Sylvester Stallone is a genius. Sure, he’s produced more crap than a flock of geese, but he invented Rambo (the onscreen version anyway) and the beloved Rocky Balboa, one of the all-time great characters in movie history. He puts that hat on, that leather jacket, and lays down some doe-eyed, slack-jawed philosophy, and suddenly the world and my place in it seems clearer. I think it’s that way for a lot of people.

All told, there are six true Rocky films: Rocky (still a masterwork of underdog pathos), Rocky II (a smart, heartfelt sequel), Rocky III (the next logical progression in the to-riches part of the saga), Rocky IV (a short and satisfying glasnost-era melodrama), Rocky V (the one we don’t like to mention) and the absolutely underrated Rocky Balboa, a brilliant low-budget comeback that reintroduced the character after a 16-year hiatus, and that takes us back, full circle, to the spirit and scrappy indie production values of the 1976 original.

In Rocky Balboa, the former champ is lured out of retirement for an exhibition match with the current champ to breathe some life into their dying sport and to quench the never-say-die fire in Rocky’s belly. It’s Stallone’s Unforgiven, an elegiac and sweetly made send-off to the character that made him a superstar and who still inspires millions of people to face down their demons and go the distance, often by running up the steps at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

But a funny thing happened after Rocky Balboa. We didn’t want to say goodbye to the Italian Stallion just yet. Frankly, it was just so nice to see him again. The character had still more life, more fight in him and more wisdom to impart to an audience for whom humility and quiet dignity have become fast fading concepts. And, so, Creed was born.

In much the same way that Casino Royale rebooted and reinvented James Bond, the Creed movies are a savvy, baton hand-off of the franchise to a younger star and directors, but (in an inspired creative move) Stallone doesn’t do the obvious and simply write a younger Rocky into the mix, he shifts the focus to the son of his former adversary and best friend, Apollo Creed.

Rising screen sensation Michael B. Jordan as Adonis Creed outwardly bears little to no resemblance to Rocky. First off, the obvious, he’s black; secondly, he’s got a streetwise confidence that belies his inner sweetness; and third, he’s riddled through with daddy issues. But under Adonis’ toughness is the essential element required for these films to work: his character’s fragility, a sad, broken heart and the deep-seated desire to fight to find his self-worth. Enter Rocky as the perfect supporting character.

The Creed films put Rocky in his protege’s corner as both trainer and life coach. It’s another completely sensible and satisfying story pivot: turn Rocky into Mickey, his own former trainer and mentor. But whereas Mickey was tiny, gruff and occasionally cruel; Rocky, though sometimes reluctant, is a lumbering sweetheart always there to lift Adonis up, coach him through his toughest battles and inspire him to rise up when he’s knocked down.

It’s a testament to the timelessness of Stallone’s formula, and the ways he keeps repackaging it with sincerity and love, that the image of an underdog fighter, bruised and bloodied, getting up from the canvas to the strains of that indelible theme music still has the power to stir the heart. It’s the kind of thing that can give you the strength to fight any number of personal crises. You can apply it to nearly every one of our emotional or psychological wounds.

And that’s the beauty of this enduring character: Rocky no longer needs to fight to inspire us. We’re no longer cheering him on - he’s now squarely on Adonis’s and our side, whispering in our ears, telling us how great we can all be if we’re just willing to bear down, do the hard work, and fight through the pain and disappointment life punishes all of us with. Like he tells his estranged son in Rocky Balboa, “It’s not how hard you can hit. It’s how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward.” That’s clearly not about boxing at all...

Fortunately, with Creed 2, an absolute blast that ties Adonis’s evolving story to the fourth Rocky film (in which his father is killed in the ring by the Russian juggernaut, Ivan Drago), the Rocky saga just keeps moving forward with the same invaluable lessons for a new generation. In fact, counting the new Creed movie, there are now a total of eight Rocky films: and these new movies have earned inclusion in the franchise in their own right, but mostly because Rocky is still there informing the soul of the stories.

You know, if you went through each one of these movies and edited together all the scenes where Rocky has something to say, you’d have a nice little blueprint for how to be a good man and a decent human being. Stallone can make 20 more of these movies for all I care. It’ll be a sad day when the 72-year old’s not around anymore to guide the spirit of his creation. But, like the Stallion says, “It ain’t over til it’s over.” Thankfully, Creed 2 is a wildly entertaining reminder that it could do all of us a little good to go another round or two with this guy in our corner.

Johnny DiLoretto is a longtime broadcaster, media personality and performer; co-host of the long running, Cinema Classics, host of the currently on hiatus, Not So Late Show; and the director of community relations at Central Ohio’s original NPR station, WCBE 90.5 FM.



IN THEATERS NOVEMBER 21. Life has become a balancing act for Adonis Creed. Between personal obligations and training for his next big fight, he is up against the challenge of his life. Facing an opponent with ties to his family's past only intensifies his impending battle in the ring.

Nine Albums That Changed My Life - by Anne Marie

(This is the second installment of what we here at Pencilstorm hope becomes a regular feature of the site: X-amount of records – it doesn’t HAVE to be 10 – that changed our writers’ lives. Our Virginia correspondent JCE launched the series a week ago, his inaugural offering is linked here…Ten Albums That Changed My Life - JCE. Anne Marie is featured here for the second round.)

I first wondered who this JCE was when he wrote a TV Party Tonight! about Mark Linkous and Sparklehorse. I’d never met another person who listened to Sparklehorse or who had even had heard of Linkous. Since then, I have gleaned from JCE’s writing that we’re around the same age and have daughters around the same age, so I guess it’s not surprising that in taking up his challenge tonight, two of my albums overlap his list.

Saturday Night Fever (Soundtrack) - When this movie was released in December 1977, I had just turned 11, and was the oldest of my siblings, ranging in age down to 5. I remember that somehow, however improbably, we convinced my father to take us to see this movie and he had to argue with the ticket guy to get us in, but in we went and see it we did and it was the most exciting two hours of my young life and then we got the soundtrack for Christmas and I became obsessed with the Bee Gees and their younger brother Andy Gibb for at least the next year, spending any gift/babysitting money I’d receive on fan magazines with glossy (fully-clothed) centerfolds.

The Cars / The Cars, Candy-O and Shake it Up - When their self-titled debut came out in 1978, it was not on my radar (that being full of Brothers Gibb that year), but by 1982, Shake it Up’s title track was getting major radio play and I bought that album and the debut and Candy-O. I had just gotten my license and when my cousin Karen would visit from Texas for extended vacations twice per year, I would drive my old Chevy Nova to mall parking lots where no one could hear us sing the songs from all three at the top of our lungs. Karen was my closest cousin in both age and personality and sadly she died in an auto accident when she was 18. But I’ll have these memories forever.

Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers / Damn the Torpedoes - How Tom Petty managed to sneak onto the radar to shake me out of my disco fixation in 1979 is still a mystery, but I think that it was when I had my Columbia House membership where I would get all these 8-track tapes sent to me each month. Anyway, Petty entered the picture and my sister and I, who just years earlier were jumping on our beds and arguing over whether David or Shaun Cassidy was cuter, both totally agreed that we loved this guy and every song on this album - and so it went with pretty much everything he ever did. Over the years, if a Petty song came on the radio and I was with my sister, we’d both reach out instinctively to crank the volume. This album was pretty much the first thing I can remember us agreeing on and is one of those points of connection that years later allowed us to transition from feuding siblings to lifelong friends.

Steely Dan / Aja and Donald Fagan / The Nightfly - By the time I started at Boston University in late 1984, MTV had been around for years and I thought that even though I hailed from rock-heavy Rochester, NY, I had been exposed to the world of music. And yet, I was wrong.  There was so much music that I had missed. Among my classmates at BU were two quirky best friends from Philadelphia, Bob and Brian, who were obsessed with a band called Steely Dan.  And this was music unlike any I had heard before – rock combined with jazz - and it blew me away.   

Ben Folds Five / Ben Folds Five - I love it when I hear fresh music, music that seems new to me. That gets me excited to find out, who is this? And once I know the answer, when can I see them live?  That’s how I felt in 1995 when I first heard Ben Folds. The debut is an amazing album and I’ve followed Ben Folds - with his distinctive voice and storytelling and piano- pounding delivery - ever since.  What’s really cool is that about five years ago now, my daughter Caitlin decided that she too loves Ben Folds and so we have been seeing his shows together ever since.  That makes three acts that she and I will see together if at all possible: Ben Folds, Guster and The Flaming Lips. Enjoying music with both of my kids (and having taken each of them to their first concert - both saw different Flaming Lips tours) is definitely life-changing.  I almost cheated and selected my favorite Ben Folds Five album - The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner – which is the first that came to mind. While it doesn’t fit the rules of the challenge, my favorite song on that album, the heartbreakingly beautiful Magic, has provided comfort following the untimely death of my sister’s son Matthew this year.

Alvvays - Antisocialites - In December last year, I went to the CD 102.5 Holiday Show, mainly to see Spoon, but was blown away by opening act Alvvays, a Canadian indie-pop band fronted by Molly Rankin, who looked like she had stepped straight from a J Crew ad but proceeded to give a high-energy performance full of songs from their then recently released Antisocialites album, decidedly more punk/harder edge than their 2014 self-titled debut, especially as performed live.  Just a few months later, I would move to Boston to start a new job and life and that album would become my personal soundtrack, in steady rotation for a six-month period of 2018 and still played regularly.

AML 11/18/18

Winovich, Munford, Weather, The Game - Baver Answer's Colins Questions *chigan Week (Pt 2 of 2)

Part 2 of 2 - Baver Answers Colin’s Questions - *chigan Week. Read Part 1 HERE

Colin: What’s the injury status for both teams heading into the Game and who is worse off if their guys don’t play? And if the weather is bad who does that favor?

Baver: Michigan’s stud DE Chase Winovich is listed as questionable. Reports indicated that his parents were escorted from the stands to the UM locker room following Chase’s injury and exit from the Indiana game. That sounds pretty bad and tells me Winovich is likely out. OSU Left Tackle Thayer Munford is questionable, but in the post-game when asked about him, Urban said, “Uh, MC...L...err ankle...I just don't know”. If it is an MCL, Munford is almost certainly out. In the same post-game presser, Tim May asked Urban if Terry McLaurin left the game because of a “head bump”, to which Urban said he didn’t know. If we’re talking concussion-like symptoms, McLaurin may need to be cleared by a doctor to play tomorrow. 

If UM doesn’t have Winovich, I’d say that more than offsets the loss of Munford, if Thayer can’t go. McLaurin is a jack of all trades and the Buckeyes really need him - I sure hope he is available tomorrow. Neither Urban nor Hairball will tell you the truth regarding the status of their guys, so we’ll have to wait until the game is underway to see if these guys play. Oh, and Urban says Mike Weber is good to go...but again if Weber was out, we wouldn’t be made aware of it.

As of early Friday morning, the forecast is calling for rain Saturday in the a.m. and possible rain during the game with moderate winds. Rhythm means so much to Haskins’ game and it’s a major drop off for this Buckeye offense if he is out of rhythm. The more wind and rain would hurt the Buckeyes more so than UM. 

Colin: Michigan loves throwing to their tight ends which is a huge weakness for this OSU squad. Are we doomed? How many points do we have to score to win this game? 

Baver: Ohio St has a better shot than most are giving them tomorrow, but the odds are rightfully against them. And it would shock no one to see UM TE’s Sean McKeon and Zach Gentry both do damage against this OSU defense. I don’t have a great feel as to whether this will be a higher or a lower scoring rivalry game, but I think the more Michigan scores, the more Ohio St’s offense will respond. So, it’s hard for me to put a number on the points OSU needs to rack up to win this one.

Colin: Does any Buckeye fan actually want the Buckeyes to make the playoff? And if we do win the next two, do we get in?

Baver: Most Buckeye fans I talk to would rather see OSU in the Rose Bowl and save the possible embarrassment if they had to play Bama. Call it a cliché, but right now I really only care about beating Michigan. Looking back, I honestly think I got more joy out of beating Michigan these past two seasons than I did when OSU won the 2014 Nat’l Title game. I will worry about the playoff if the Bucks beat these bastards once again. But I’d put their chances of making the playoff at 70% or so if OSU beats UM and then tops N’western a week later.

Colin: So how does this game playout and what is your call?

Baver: Jeff Brohm at Purdue and Matt Canada (the acting head coach at Md) are brilliant offensive minds. And the Buckeye defense got embarrassed by both of them. The good thing about tomorrow’s matchup is that the UM offense is more old school, and won’t cause OSU as many problems from a creativity standpoint as those two teams did. But Shea Patterson has proved to be the real deal and this Michigan offense has come a long way. OSU’s D-line has to play up to their potential. If they do, this will be a very interesting game. If we see the same problems with this Buckeye D that we have seen in 5 of the last 6 games, UM will end Ohio St’s 6 game winning streak against them.

On the other side of the ball, Michigan may blitz Haskins repeatedly, much like Penn St did. If they do, Urban, Day, and Haskins had better be ready with the right play calls, and Ohio St absolutely has to execute them. If Haskins gets out of rhythm for an extended period of time, OSU will almost certainly get beat. The Ohio St O-line will have to dial it up a notch to protect him.

Going with my head as opposed to my heart, I have it: Michigan 28 Ohio State 20. But I am usually wrong in predicting an OSU loss. And it would not shock me to see Harbaugh and his team implode in a big game once again, and for Urban to remain unbeaten in this game that means everything to Buckeye Nation.

For those headed to the game, cheer your asses off.  

Read Part 1 HERE

Why I Hate Thanksgiving 2018 - by Wal Ozello

Anyone that knows me knows that I loathe Thanksgiving. Hate it. Absolutely hate it.

It’s mainly because I’m forced to eat that damn turkey. Who the heck willingly eats turkey any another day of the year? It’s a nasty bird, folks. There are so many other succulent options.

The other part I hate is the forced get-togethers. Just because it’s the fourth Thursday of November, I must, have to, and am required to go see people. Understand that I don’t hate people, nor do I hate my family. I hate the idea I’m FORCED to see them due to a certain day in the calendar. Add in all the stress with coordinating schedules, time, food, seats, groceries, political opinions… and that damn turkey: well, I’m exhausted before the week even starts.

This year is a little different for me. About a week ago, I got the sad news that my cousin passed away and last Saturday I made the trek up to Cleveland to see my family and pay my respects. She was a wonderful woman, kind person, and great mom. And despite the unfortunate circumstances, it was a blessing to see my extended family together to celebrate her life. As I parted ways with my cousins, many of us talked about planning a day to see each other during the summer. Life is too short and we need to cherish the moments with our loved ones as much as we can. I had lost one my dear friends at the coffee shop earlier in the year and realized you never know when you may not see someone again.

Which got me thinking about this Thanksgiving and what the holiday is really about… and I had my Grinch of Thanksgiving moment where my heart grows three sizes.

Thanksgiving isn’t about turkey.

It’s not about cleaning the house, getting out the fine china, the number of chairs at the table, the food being served, the car ride, the Macy’s Day parade, who’s coming, who’s not, having the perfect meal, which football game to watch or tolerating someone’s political views.

It’s about being grateful for each other.

I think that’s what I hate most about Thanksgiving. The celebration of thanking each other for being in our lives is bundled up and reserved for one day only.

I think we should do that every day.

So, please, forget about the stress of the day and planning for perfection. Just enjoy the moments you have… and keep on enjoying them as long as you can.

From all of us at the Pencilstorm offices, to everyone out there in rock n roll land. We wish you and yours a happy Thanksgiving. We’re grateful to have you as readers.

Wal Ozello is a science fiction techno-thriller novelist and the author of Assignment 1989 ,  Revolution 1990, and Sacrifice 2086. He's the lead singer of the former Columbus rock band Armada. On Thanksgiving morning, you’ll find him at Colin’s Coffee at the counter. During the day he’ll be cooking Beef Tenderloin, Garlicy Artichoke Hearts, Butter Sauteed Mushrooms and Marshmallow Crusted Mashed Sweet Potatoes. No Turkey.