Bob (the cat). 15 second videos.

I grew up a dog person. We raised English Springer Spaniels when I was a kid. Burpee was my first dog. What was he named after? I don't know. I never really thought about it. Anyway, that was his name. He was around till I was about 16.

Now our household pets are all Amy's: Cubbie, the Chocolate Lab; Rama and Bob (the cat).

Both cats came from animal control centers. They were lucky. Living with Cubbie, they act like dogs in a way. In the morning they would rather wait by the door to be let out than use the litter box.

Catch them in the right mood and they actually will come if you call them (okay, sometimes). But in the end, they still are cats and usually follow the beat of a different drummer.

Bob (the cat) in 4 acts on a Sunday afternoon:

Part 1. Bob (the cat) sunning by the front step.

Part 2. Bob (the cat) says hi to his (something going on there) friend, Cubbie.

Part 3. Brushing him out while he "air guitars". So much hair. So much cat emotion. You should see him do the Blues.

Part 4. Brushed out, Bob (the cat), the epitome of balance, almost falls off the picnic table. Ha.

The music was excellent Sunday. It was live from the archives weekend. Mostly live performances from appearances on WXRT or local concerts. This noted, I can keep track how long it will be before they do it again.

Lose some, win some.

Good news and bad news. Bob(the cat) probably didn't win. I needed to get an email today to confirm his selection. I checked and found nothing. I'm guessing we lost. Winners should be posted tomorrow. Bob (the cat) and I appreciate the support.

After work yesterday, Clint was paging thru the caller ID and found WXRT had called. That's a good thing. I had missed the call but called them back this morning.

Four years ago I won two "on stage" tickets to the Grateful Dead surviors (The Other Ones) at Alpine Music Theater at Lake Geneva. Clint and I went. We shook Phil Lesch's hand backstage, said hi, and ended up with our seats next to the wall of speakers ON the stage. In fact we sat on the empty speaker cases about 20 feet from the band (albeit in the shadows of the edge of the stage). Nothing could compare to looking "up" the hill of about 40,000 fans looking our direction. Not at us of course but we got the idea. I could see how being a rock star could be addictive.

This time I won tickets (lucky me) for Stevie Nicks and Chris Isaak. On the shores of Lake Michigan with Chicago as a backdrop. It's called Charter One Pavilion- Northerly Island. Walking distance (long) from the train with the Chicago Blues Festival also going on. I think we are going in early to catch the Blues Festival and then walk over to the concert (all in the same area - Grant Park).

Deja vu: I had to look it up, but my brother and I did the Blues Festival in 2000 and then went to see a highly desireable baseball game. Chicago White Sox vs the Chicago Cubs. Crosstown Classic. On the third base line, I sat next to a traffic reporter girl I heard everday on the Chicago news radio. Bonus was I knew of her (not everyone would have). Perfect except for the fact the game ran way late into extra innnings. So late...(Sox won by the way.)

Stevie:

My ex and I saw her in Fleetwood Mac at Alpine in the late 70's. Not with Peter Green (he was already having issues). The thing I remember most was a guy peeing from a tree on the hillside next to us. Never forgot the sound of dribbling. Our smuggled in drink of choice: Ripple Wine. The bottles fit nicely in the sleeves of my army surplus jacket.

Chris Isaak I like. He seems like a regular guy. I watched his Showtime show. My brother played the hell out of this song. I got sick of it but I still like it in moderation.

WXRT: Source of my musical inspirations for over 30 years. Gotta love them but if you don't know them this is boring.