The cast of "Million Dollar Quartet" takes a bow at the faux ending of the play.

 'Million Dollar Quartet' Worth Its Weight in Gold

Mill Mountain Theatre thundered back into the front ranks of Roanoke Valley entertainment tonight with its rockin' production of the Broadway hit "Million Dollar Quartet," a celebration of early rock 'n' roll.

The story is based on a day in the mid-1950s when four men who were to become rock legends--Johnny Cash, Elivs, Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis--got together at Sam Phillips' Sun Studios in Memphis (I was there two years ago) and made a little music. It was their last time together and this story is riveting because of the music and the history it interprets.

Sun Studios was and is an out-of-the-way, tiny building in the center of Memphis where Phillips all but invented rock music, the kind the big record companies didn't know what to do with until he showed them.

This play is more of a celebration than a history book and celebrate it does. 

Director James Moye played Phillips on Broadway and he returns to his roots here (he's from Christiansburg) to take over the show. He is richly supported by talented musician Michael Perrie as Carl Perkins, outgoing Brady Wease as Jerry Lee, Tyler Breeding as a look-alike Johnny Cash and gyrating Edward La Cardo as Elvis. Katie Horner slots in as Dyanne, Elivs' lady-love, and nearly steals a couple of scenes with her breathy, bluesy renditions.

The music is outstanding and performed professionally and the crowd was part of the show tonight with its unguarded enthusiasm. 

It was truly lovely to be back in the flow of real theatre with a big crowd of people who love it. This show runs until late August and you can get tickets by calling 540-342-5740. You'll be glad you did.

 Food Shortage Ahead? My Buddy Says 'Yes!'

Tim says a serious food shortage is coming soon and that Halifax cantaloupes have changed.

My old buddy Tim, whose Rolling Meadows farm truck is generally parked at Roanoke City Market this time of year, has a pretty dire prediction for the coming months--as is his usual bent. Tim is not the most optimistic of us, but he's usually right, from what I've been able to gauge. 

This began because I asked him where the farmers were. The market is nearly empty, save for his booth. His response: bring back the customers and the farmers will follow. I looked around. Almost no customers. It's been that way since long before Covid-19 made it almost impossible to shop or do anything else, but I thought we were easing our way out of it.

Tim doesn't see that light at the end of the tunnel and he seriously believes a serious food shortage--for the entire country--is the next big challenge for Americans, who have endured Covid, the Republican Party, Donald Trump, Afghanistan, police murdering citizens and god knows whatall the past months.

But please, please don't rush to Kroger and hoard food. That will pretty ensure Tim being right.

Oh, and one other thing I learned from him (he's full of great trivia): Halifax cantaloupes aren't what they used to be. Literally. They are a completely different brand of seed than was initially used and which, like Vidalia onions, became an icon. Tim grows the same kind of seeds they grow in Halifax County and his farm is in Martinsville--not that far from Halifax--and has the same soil. "I sell the same cantaloupes they sell, but mine can't be called 'Halifax.'"

That is your lesson for today, boys and girls. 

This is one suggestion for a cover for  "NEWS!"

 It's Been One of Those (Golden) Weeks

This has truly been a memorable few days for this old journalist who is trying to become a legit novelist. The highlight, of course, was signing a book contract with Propertius Press and its estimable founder, Susannah Smith.

I signed this contract because of Susannah (whom I call Ms. Pie for secret reasons), a woman of vision, creativity, professionalism, humor and very real presence. She was a hit for me from Day 1 and Day 1 was quite a while ago, before I even knew she was in the book business.

There were other options that would have likely paid a good bit more, but when you're an old man and don't really need the money, there are other considerations that take precedence, foremost among them being whether I'm happy with what I'm doing.

The answer to that is a resounding "yes!" Or a more forceful, "Hell, yes!"

I wrote my first novel ("CLOG!") a few years ago and couldn't find a Susannah Smith to publish it, so I did it myself. It was a moderate success and I was reasonably happy with the product, though I am absolutely convinced she would have made it much better. 

"NEWS!" is a combination of what I've learned about novel writing in the interim and the contributions of some important people to the process. Susannah has only begun to contribute (and already is having a positive impact), but my best girl, Linda Kay Simmons changed the book in several ways and taught me something about writing fiction. She has just finished her fourth novel ("Pissant and Cinderella," which is outstanding and important) and actually got her first copies the day I signed with Propertius Press.

Tonight Linda and I are going over to Lynchburg to help celebrate the release of my old friend Leah Weiss' second novel, "All the Little Hopes."

Yesterday, I met (for a magazine piece I'm writing) Larry and Judy Helms, a couple of Bent Mountain writers. Larry writes but doesn't publish and Judy writes and publishes. Her newest is a page-turning legal thriller called "Grudge Tiger." She has also just signed for a second book with her publisher (which, by the way, was interested in "NEWS!").

And Saturday a large bunch of writers and book people will gather at my house for my 75th birthday and a celebration of literature, journalism and being old without being dead. 

It is a truly satisfying and gratifying time. Especially with all the new friends I've made in the past few days. I hope we can keep up the pace and the momentum for the next year as we get "NEWS!" ready for the bookshelves and the iPad. I'm living this life.

 Happy Birthday, Bikini (and Me)

Every year at this time (July), I raise a toast to Louis Reard, designer of the first bikini July 5, 1946. Louis shocked a lot of people, freed a lot of others, and brought smiles to the faces of millions.

He would not recognize today's bikinis (a string and two bandaids), but they follow faithfully in his philosophy of shock-wear. Good on you, Louis.

Your bikini and I are both 75 this month.

Micheline Bernardini

Wikipedia gives this account:

Reard "a French automotive and mechanical engineer, was running his mother's lingerie business near Les Folies Bergeres in Paris. 

"He noticed women on St. Tropez beaches rolling up the edges of their swimsuits to get a better tan and was inspired to produce a more minimal design. 

"He trimmed additional fabric off the bottom of the swimsuit, exposing the wearer's navel for the first time. Réard's string bikini consisted of four triangles made from 30 square inches of fabric printed with a newspaper pattern.

"When Réard sought a model to wear his design at his press conference, none of the usual models would wear the suit, so he hired 19-year-old nude dancer Micheline Bernardini from the Casino de Paris. 

"He introduced his design to the media and public on July 5, 1946, in Paris at Piscine Molitor, a public pool in Paris. Réard held the press conference five days after the first test of a nuclear device (nicknamed Able) over the Bikini Atoll during Operation Crossroads. His swimsuit design shocked the press and public because it was the first to reveal the wearer's navel."

Mill Mountain Theatre Returns with Rock Hit

Roanoke's most successful professional live theatre, Mill Mountain Theatre, comes back full voice next week when it opens the delightful, 1950s rock 'n' roller "Million Dollar Quartet."

The cast includes Tyler Breeding as Johnny Cash, Edward La Cardo as Elvis, Taylor Cobb (City Councilman Joe Cobb's son) as Fluke, Patrick Halley as Sam Phillips, founder of Sun Records, Katie Horner as Dyanne, Ross Neal as Brother Jay, Michael Perrie as Carl Perkins, Brady Wease as Jerry Lee Lewis and Payton Moledar as the dance captain.

The play runs July 28-August 22 on the Trinkle Main Stage. Tickets are available at 540-342-5740 or at millmountain.org.

Broadway veteran James Moye has produced this play on Broadway (along with more than 10 others, including "Aladdin," "Tootsie" and "Dear Evan Hansen"). He played Sam Phillips in the original Broadway version and the Christiansburg native views this production as his homecoming.  

The play is inspired by the Sun Records session that brought Elvis, Cash, Jerry Lee, and Carl Perkins together for one night in the tiny Memphis studio, owned by Phillips. The musical score is highlighted with rock, gospel, country, and rhythm and blues numbers that include some of the stars' biggest hits from the 1950s, the birth of rock 'n' roll. 

Note that six Mill Mountain Theatre staffers are certified Covid-19 compliance officers.

 Another Lake, Another Good Day

The Princess found this gown-like material perfect for a swimn.

The Princess (LindaK) and I spent the weekend chasing all kinds of dragons and goblins at Smith Mountain Lake, a departure from my normal hangouts. 

We found plenty of entertainment with friends, a band, a swimming hole, and my trusty camera. She even introduced me to the 88-year-old daughter of George Vanderbilt's (or maybe it was Cornelius Vanderbilt) butler, who had a basketful of tales to tell about rich people.

Thoroughly entertaining, it was.

LindaK and her buddy, Danielle, frolick in the green lake.

LindaK found a bathing suit she likes (me, too).

Joanne is getting ready to celebrate her 80th birthday.
I didn't believe it, either. 

LindaK and her crew.

LindaK with her buddy June, whose dad served the Vanderbilts. June, a former
psychiatric nurse, has written a blurb for LindaK's new book, "Pissant and Cinderella."

June, an avid reader, is quite a talker and a fan of LindaK's books. 

My sweetie and me being happy.

 Happy's Flea Market Is Back (Under New Management)

Half of the back lot is now filled with people selling their goods, including melons.

Happy's Flea Market, which for a number of years occupied a large retail spot at a former super market on Williamson Road was closed ignominiously a few years ago. Owners didn't keep up the property; it was basically condemned and finally sold.

The new owner has created a small miracle in taking what looked like an unsalvagable shell of a building and turning it into 10 retail spaces and a whole load of storage "bins," which you can drive to. Each bin in the large building is accessible by car or truck.

The most astonishing accomplishment, however--to this old flea market guy--is bringing back one of the iconic flea markets in western Virginia, even if it is no longer called "Happy's." To us oldtimers, it will always be Happy's. It is but a shell of what it was at its best, but word is getting around and a couple of vendors who have been selling goods for the past few weeks say traffic and sellers have grown quickly as word spreads.

The interim flea market next door was never much to write home about and still isn't. I pretty much abandoned that one when I encountered a raft of Trump memorabilia, cigarette smoke and guns. That's not for me. The new "Not Happy's" is.

Here's some of what it looked like Saturday morning.

 A Late-Afternoon Way To Beat the Heat

Pampa and LindaK enjoying the loveliness of nature.

My best girl, LindaK, and I got one over on the weather gods this afternoon when we put our canoes in the water. Then our bodies, in various shades of dress and undress, got a dip, as well. My hat stayed on.

It was the first skinny-dip for me in a while and it was cool, soothing and powerfully relaxing. Here's us at our best.

 

My pal Deborah Goglia soaks up Roaring Run. 

Roaring Run with a Long-Lost Friend

I ran into my old pal Deborah Goglia, whom I hadn't seen in a couple of years, the other day and as we discussed hiking/biking/kayaking, she suggested it might be good to do these things rather than talk about them.

Deborah is the woman on whom I based the character, Ella Sikorski, in my new novel "NEWS!" Ella is a deaf reporter and I leaned on Deborah, who is deaf, to help me create a character working professionally in the world. I think what we came up with works well. Ella almost steals the book.

Today, Deborah and I "did" Roaring Run in Botetourt County, up to the falls with a picnic. It was glorious, sunny, chilly water, bright foilage, and grand conversation. Here's some of what it looked like. 

Deborah and the old scout.

This is Deborah at the sliding rock, which we didn't try.

A pensive Deborah studies the creek. 

Pampa and all that rushing water.

Roaring Run Falls: The destination.

Deborah says she loves staircases.

Butterflies seem to dig Deborah.

A woman who is happy outdoors.

Pampa and the waterfall (with Bassett Hound T-shirt).

Pampa in the water. It was cooooold.

I never get tired of this shot.

The old hiker crossing the old creek.

Stiles Falls Remains a Favorite in Summer

My pal Eileen Rowan and I climbed up into the woods at Alta Mons in Montgomery County today to once again investigate the beauty of Stiles Falls, the waterfall named for a dead Civil War soldier.

As it always is the trip was notable for its lavish mountain beauty, the cold water, the birds chirping and the flora and fauna. Today, it was also notable for all the children enjoying the trek. Eileen accused me of taking the hike "to schmooze with children." Yep. Guilty. 

Anyhow, here's what the hike looked like, including finding a carin (a pile of rocks) in the pool beneath the falls ... which a kid destroyed shortly after I photographed it. The picnic lunch (in the bottom photo) is built around my first tomato sandwich of the season. And, oh, it was gooooooood.

The photo below, by the way, is titled "Stairway to Heaven." No clue why it's there.