Remembering Tin Tin

This is just one of the Tin Tin stories that

graced the shelves of the St. Joseph's School

library in Coaldale in the '80s.

Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prisoners_of_the_Sun

(May be subject to copyright)

It was the most popular thing in the library at St. Joseph’s School in Coaldale, at least among boys. They looked like book-sized comic books, but the Tin Tin adventures were much more than that.

They blended adventure with intrigue and comedy, detailing the adventures of a journalist, his trusty dog and, a diverse cast of characters.

I was on Vancouver Island last week and there, sitting on my spouse’s uncle’s kitchen table was a coffee cup with Tin Tin staring back at me.

It brought back all those memories of Tin Tin, and how important reading was back then.

In the beginning
My first exposure to “Tin Tin” was through two classmates – Jack Braat and Mike Uytdewilligen. I always saw Jack reading them whenever we had free reading in class. Mike was my neighbour and, at the time, I rode the school bus with him. We sat together and, for a time there, he always had a different Tin Tin adventure with him when I got on the bus.

He would tell me about the different characters, whether it was Tin Tin, his dog Snowy, Captain Haddock who always swore using the word “barnacles”, or Professor Calculus.

They would go on these wild adventures, across the desert, down the river, and even to the moon.

Accessubility
However, I read very few because they were always signed out. I can still picture the place in the old St. Joseph’s School library where the Tin Tins were put. Every week, our class would go down to the library to sign out a new book. My classmates would race to that section, like they were actually in a Tin Tin adventure and, invariably, always got to the Tin Tins first.

You could only sign out a book for a week. This happened to me every week, at the same time, until something else caught my attention.

Still, I wanted to read Tin Tin. Eventually, I was in town with my Mom one Saturday and they were selling Tin Tins at Coles Book Store in the Woodward’s Mall. So I finally got one of my own – and it was for keeps.

Reading for money
The MS Read-a-thon came to our school one year, and everyone was excited. At one point, one of the guys in my class asked if Tin Tins would count as books, because our teacher made it clear comic books did not. She looked at Tin Tin and said, sure enough, Tin Tins counted.

Mike, like the rest of us, had not done as much reading as he pledged to. So, in a last second flurry on the school bus – and Mike was renowned for last-minute homework and assignment heroics on the bus – he filled out his pledge sheet with 10 Tin Tin books.

To this day, I applaude his efforts to get the sheet and the pledges in. Not many others did.

Parting thoughts
When I looked up Tin Tin on Wikipedia, and they had the covers of all 24 stories, I recognized them all. It showed just how much Tin Tin had sunk in when I was a kid.

I think as an adult, I’ll try and find all the Tin Tins and finally read them.

Maybe I’ll start by finding the one I already own.

Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom: The power of advertising

Marlin Perkins was the host of Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom,

which aired on CBC Channel 9 for years.

Source: https://www.tvinsider.com/

(May be subject to copyright)

As a journalist, I receive hundreds of news releases every week, but a few weeks ago, three simple words in the headline of one caught my attention – “Mutual of Omaha”.

It took me back to a time when we had only three channels and, in the dead of winter or the height of boredom, would watch anything.

Beyond that, it reminded me of a show with a kind, professorial man sending his assistant into precarious situations with wild animals. It was also my first exposure to product placement and sponsorship.

It was called “Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom”.

Watching whatever
It is hard to remember what peasant vision was really like. You literally could switch between all the channels in an instant, and almost watch two shows at once.

That three-channel universe should have meant there was always something to watch, especially because no channel ran 24 hours a day. They went off the air at midnight, and started at like either 5 p.m. or 6 p.m. Yet, at that time, there weren’t as many people making shows, and there wasn’t as big a body of work as now.

That’s why I always smile when I hear someone in today’s day and age say “There’s nothing on TV.” There sure is because, back in the 1980s, there really wasn’t.

It was even more pronounced on Saturday mornings, and on CBC. They would run this mix of re-runs such as "Bonanza", "Star Trek", "The Forest Rangers" and seemingly whatever else they could find including an old show about wildlife.

The show
I don’t have any firm memories of any episode of “Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom”. Instead, I remember the introduction where the screen essentially went blank and silent and suddenly this booming voice announces, “Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom”, and that it was hosted by Marlin Perkins.

He was a white-haired gentleman with an authoritative voice, with a man in the field named Jim Fowler. The running joke was that Perkins would be in the studio, or at a safe distance, while Jim would be tangling with some animal or another.

Brought to you by…
Throughout the time I watched “Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom” on Channel 9, usually as background noise, it never occurred to me what Mutual of Omaha was.

I had heard about businesses sponsoring TV shows from the history of American television, but I never really made the connection.

Part of that was I never really knew what Mutual of Omaha did. I had never run into that name anywhere other than on the TV show. It wasn’t like Coke or Kraft or General Electric which were, or had been, in my house.

It turns out Mutual of Omaha is an insurance company that is still going strong.

History
It turns out that “Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom” ran from 1963 to 1971, then went into first-run syndication from 1971 to 1988. It would be revived and shown on the pay TV channel Animal Planet from 2002 to 2011. Web episodes were shown on a YouTube channel from 2013 to 2018. Now, a fourth version, a re-boot of sorts, is being planned for launch in October of 2023.

Parting thoughts
A guy I went to university with once said something that will always stick with me. I was sitting in the lounge of our floor is res, and Greg asked me what I was doing. I said I had some homework to do, but couldn’t get motivated. Worse, I said, it was good homework. Yet, there I was, sitting in front of the TV.

He responded simply, “The worst television is still better than the best homework.”

There were no truer words.

And that describes peasant vision in a nutshell.

The worst TV was still better than the best whatever else.

Now, my mom and grandfather loved shows about wildlife and animals, and often I was sitting with them when they watched “Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom”. At other times, I would just turn on the TV for background noise, which I still do, and “Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom” would be on. The show just wasn’t my cup of tea.

Yet, when I heard that firm, confident voice announce, “Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom”, I snapped to attention. It caught my eye.

To this day, as I sit and type this, I can hear that voice.

I didn’t even know what Mutual of Omaha was, but the name has stuck with me more than 45 years.

That’s the power of advertising.

McDonald’s: Memories of the golden arches

This was the original McDonald's in Lethbridge, located on Mayor Magrath Drive South.

Source: Facebook/Lethbridge Historical Society

(May be subject to copyright)

It is such a staple of fast food, it is hard to believe there was a time before McDonald’s filled our bellies with Big Macs, Quarter Pounders, and much more.

Yet, I remember when McDonald’s first came to Lethbridge and how it was a treat to go there for supper. It also left me a lot of memories of collector’s cups, specialty menu items, reasonable prices, and great cheeseburgers.

In the beginning
I don’t recall hearing about any sort of grand opening for McDonald’s, but we were pretty isolated on the farm.

Instead, the first time I heard about McDonald’s was from my cousins Nina and Carl who lived in Lethbridge, and came to visit regularly on Sunday afternoons.

The visits were always had a time limitt because their dad my Uncle Ed, had to play hockey.

One day, as they were getting ready to leave, one of my cousins said, “We get to stop at McDonald’s” for supper.

“McDonald’s,” I thought. “What’s that?”

McDonald’s
The original location of McDonald’s in Lethbridge was on Mayor Magrath Drive south. When we went to town, my parents stuck pretty much to two spots. One was the downtown where most of the stores were. The other was Simpson Sears which, at that time, was in north Lethbridge. It was on the way to my Uncle Ed’s place, so we went there fairly often.

Woolco was located at the south end of Mayor Magrath Drive, and occasionally we would go there, if my mom could convince my dad.

That was how I got to go to McDonald’s the first time.

I was able to convince my parents to stop there on the way back from Woolco, because we would pass right by it on our way home.

The overriding memory of that first trip to McDonald’s was that it was so busy. It looked like someone had kicked over an ant hill.

The menu was interesting with exotic-sounding items such as “Big Mac”, “Quarter Pounder”, and “Filet of Fish”. The prices were cheap, like $2.20 for a “Big Mac”, and the burgers came in these Styrofoam boxes of different colours. Each burger had a corresponding colour. The one I always thought clever was blue for “Filet of Fish”.

Back then, I was not too adventurous and, like now, had a sensitivity to sauces. So, with all that choice – I had a plain cheese burger. I think it was $0.99.

Outside, underneath the big golden arches, was a sign that said, “Over two million served”, or something to that effect.

I always that was a cool kind of marketing trick.

Cast of characters
McDonald’s created a number of characters through its marketing activities, that made up sort of a community.

The most prominent was Ronald McDonald who looked like a clown, including white face paint and a big red smile. He was everywhere.

One time, we were at a Lethbridge Dodgers baseball game. McDonald’s was a big sponsor of the Dodgers. One of my cousins and I were standing next to the dugout, when Ronald McDonald emerged with a straw broom to brush off home plate.

Afterwards, when he was walking off the field, I heard him say something to one of the Dodger officials. Just like Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny, the illusion was broken for me.

Ronald McDonald was just a guy in a suit and makeup.

There was also Mayor McCheese whose head was a gigantic burger, and the Hamburgler, who was dressed like your classic thief complete with the black scarf over his eyes. McDonald’s sold collector’s cups, and I had these two for years.

What’s on the menu?
McDonald’s was one of the first fast-food places I remember introducing specialty items, that were available for a limited time only, but seemingly the same time every year.

The first one I remember was the “Shamrock Shake”, which had a minty flavour. I am pretty sure it was available in March to coincide with St. Patrick’s Day, but this was a recent revelation for me.

The other one was the tropical trio – the kiwi sundae; pineapple hot pie; and the banana shake.

It was just the beginning of something McDonald’s continues to do – tinker with its menu. Other things that came and went were the McDLT, McPizza, McRib and McFlurry.

Place commercial here
The main vehicle for all these marketing activities was the McDonald’s commercial. They had so many, involving all these characters and these special items.

Over time, they began to tell stories and involve actual people. One of the first I recall had a song that began, “The crack of dawn, hot coffee’s, a glorious day is waiting for you.”

This guy in my class named Mike Kozbial had an incredible wit, and way with words.

He muttered one day, “The croak of dawn, hot coffee’s gone”.

Obviously I still find it funny.

Stress relief
When I went off to university in Edmonton, I was free to do what I wanted, so doing things like going to McDonald’s didn’t involve having to convince my parents anymore. Now, it was just about finding a way to get there.

By my second year, 1988-1989, I had made friends with Bruce Freadrich who had a car, a white Toyota Tercel. He was happy to drive us to movies, the mall, or anywhere else.

In first semester, we were studying for finals. The university had made these conference rooms available for us to study in, and provided us with what they called “Exam treats”, which were mostly cookies and juice.

One day, the exam treats just didn’t cut it.

Bruce leaned over, and whispered in my ear, “Ralphin’ Ronny’s?”, which was what he called McDonald’s.

I jumped up so fast, it was like I was shot out of a cannon.

The scene repeated itself second semester, only this time Bruce invited along his friend KK, who I had just met. He was hilarious.

When we went through the drive through, we were ordering and, from the backseat Kelly kept yelling, “I’ll have a g—dam- McDLT ” in this southern accent like an evangelist.

The things you laugh at when you’re 19.

Parting thoughts
When I was growing up and McDonald’s first came to town, I hadn’t heard of the concept of fast food, or that eating at McDonald’s – back then – was really cheap.

Instead, looking back, I always thought of McDonald’s as a treat. It was the experience of being in town – and off the farm – and going out for dinner that was cool.

Plus, I really liked those plain cheeseburgers.

Just getting started: Tom Hanks in the 1980s

Tom Hanks in his breakout role in "Splash" in 1984.

Source: https://screenrant.com/

(May be subject to copyright)

It was a role-playing adventure game gone wrong. It was also the first time I ever saw Tom Hanks on the screen.

“Mazes and Monsters” is a made-for-TV movie about four teens who play a game that takes some serious and dangerous turns, especially when one of the players begins to think it’s real.

That role was played by Tom Hanks and, although much is made about him getting his start on the comedy “Bosom Buddies”, my first recollection is that movie, based on the real-life game “Dungeons and Dragons”.

From there, Hanks would go onto “Bosom Buddies” then have his big-screen breakout, propelling him into being one of the biggest starts of the 1990s and beyond.

Small screen debut
“Mazes and Monsters” came out in 1982, and was filmed in all or part in Canada, as illustrated by the number of Canadian actors in the movie.

In addition to Hanks, who plays the college student obsessed with the role-playing fantasy game, there was David Wallace, and Canadian actors Chris Makepeace, best known for the movie “My Bodyguard”, and Wendy Crewson who, at the time, was still best known for her work in Canada and had not yet had her breakout in the States. Other notable Canadian actors making an appearance were Chris Wiggins, Lloyd Bochner, and Peter Donat.

Sitcom success
One of the big reasons my first exposure to Tom Hanks was in “Mazes and Monsters” was that we did not have cable TV in the three-channel universe of peasant vision, and missed a lot of shows that were not aired by Channels 7, 9, and 13.

One of those shows was “Bosom Buddies” which ran from 1980 to 1982. It starred Hanks and Peter Scolari, as two ad executives forced to dress as women to live in an all-female hotel.

To this day, I have not seen an episode, although I read quite a bit about it in “TV Guide”.

Yet, it would help Hanks get his break on the big screen. That, and a connection he made on another TV show.

Making a “Splash” on the big screen
Tom Hanks had a guest-starring role in an episode of “Happy Days” in 1982 where he met writers Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel. They were writing the script for a movie called “Splash” to be directed by Ron Howard, another “Happy Days” alumnus.

They suggested Hanks for the lead role, playing a man who falls in love with a present-day mermaid, played by Daryl Hannah.

“Splash” came out in 1984, went on to big box office success, and Hanks was on his way.

Ties that bind
Hanks continued to work on TV, with another memorable guest-starring role. He appeared in three episodes of “Family Ties” in 1983-1984 as Ned Donnelly, Elyse Keaton’s brother, and the uncle of Alex P. Keaton, played by Michael J. Fox, who was struggling with alcohol. It was one of the first glimpses we saw of Tom Hanks using that mix of comedy and drama that makes him such a great actor.

Movie madness
Following “Splash”, Tom Hanks was in movies throughout the rest of the decade. He would have another hit with “Bachelor Party” in 1984, followed in 1985 by two flops in “The Man With One Red Shoe” and “Volunteers”. He started 1986 with another comedy, “The Money Pit”, where he and Shelley Long play a married couple whose marriage disintegrates as they become mired deeper and deeper in the renovation of their home.

Wikipedia reveals Hanks had signed a contract with Disney Studios, making him part of a talent pool. That explains why he just kept cranking out movies en masse.

In 1986, Hanks began to show signs of the depth and versatility he became known for with the role he played in “Nothing in Common”. He plays a man estranged from his father, played by Jackie Gleason.

“Dragnet” followed in 1987, a continuation of the old TV series, where Hanks played the partner of the nephew of Joe Friday, the main character in the original “Dragnet”.

Just as “Splash” had ignited his career, “Big” would send Tom Hanks’ career to the next level in 1988. He plays a boy who suddenly becomes a man on the outside but remains a child on the inside. It was a huge commercial success and established Hanks as a huge box office draw.

He closed out 1988 with “Punchline”, where he played a stand up comedian opposite Sally Field. It would not be the last time he was in a movie with her.

Tom Hanks closed out the decade with two movies in 1989. The first was “The ‘Burbs”, where he played a man living in the the suburbs who suspects his neighbours are hiding a big secret. The second was “Turner and Hooch” where he plays a cop who befriends a dog who is the only witness to a murder.

The years after
Tom Hanks’ career would reach the stratosphere in the 1990s as he tore off a string of hits including “A League of Their Own”; “Sleepless in Seattle”; “Philadelphia”; “Forrest Gump”; “Apollo 13”; “Toy Story”; “That Thing You Do!”; “Saving Private Ryan”; “You’ve Got Mail”; “The Green Mile”; and “Cast Away”. He won back to back Oscars for Best Actor for “Philadelphia” and “Forrest Gump”, and could have easily made it a three-peat with “Apollo 13”.

In the 21st Century, the hits just kept on coming and he acts to this day.

We just watched him a few weeks ago in another excellent movie, “A Man Called Otto”. He plays a widower coping with life in his neighbourhood.

Stray thoughts
I also have a couple odd memories that have to do with Tom Hanks .

Disney Sunday Movie
Back in 1986, if I recall, ABC launched the “Disney Sunday Movie”, which was the latest incarnation of an ongoing show. This time, Michael Eisner, the head of Disney, introduced each movie. I think they wanted to launch the series with something familiar, so they aired “Splash!”

The New York Ranger seasons
This sports magazine I was reading was talking about the New York Rangers, and their past three seasons which were up and down. They said they won the President’s Trophy for finishing first in the NHL regular season in 1991-1992, finished last in their division and out of the playoffs in 1992-1993, and won the President’s Trophy and Stanley Cup in 1993-1994.

“It’s like Tom Hanks doing another season of ‘Bosom Buddies’ between ‘Philadelphia’ and ‘Forrest Gump’,” the magazine joked.

Parting thoughts
When I was in the bookstore on the ferry I was taking to Vancouver Island recently, I thought of Tom Hanks when I saw the book “The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece”. It was actually a novel he recently published.

It just showed how prevalent, pervasive and prolific he is.

My first impression of Tom Hanks was as kind of a goof, a bit of a dufus, a frat boy. It was tough taking him seriously. He also seemed to be putting out movies all the time, like they were being sold in bulk.

He started sprinkling in more layered performances, such as “Nothing in Common” and “Big”, where he was funny, but serious too. The humour was not immature and sophomoric anymore either, like when he started. Now, it was endearing and heartwarming.

By the end of the 1980s, he was well on his way to what has become an outstanding career and an incredible body of work.

Memories of Diane Ladd

Diane Ladd playing waitress Belle Dupree in the comedy "Alice" in 1981.

Source: https://www.remindmagazine.com/

(May be subject to copyright)

She has had a storied career, but my introduction to Diane Ladd was at a greasy diner in the Arizona desert in 1981.

That’s when she joined the cast of the comedy “Alice”, ostensibly replacing Flo, played by Polly Holliday, who had her own show spun off from “Alice”.

Little did I know how prolific Diane Ladd had been.

There was something else I didn't know, but discovered earlier this month. In her autobiography in the bookstore on the ferry to Vancouver Island – I learned actress Laura Dern is her daughter.

The years before
Diane Ladd has appeared in more than 120 film and television roles according to Wikipedia, starting in television in 1957 and movies in 1960.

She had quite a resumé of supporting roles and bit parts by the 1970s, then had a supporting role in Chinatown in 1974, starring Jack Nicholson and directed by Roman Polanski.

That same year Martin Scorsese cast her in a movie called “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore”. She played a character called Flo Castleberry opposite Ellen Burstyn, who played the title role of Alice. The movie focuses on a widow who travels across the southwestern United States with her young son, looking for a better life.

Ladd would earn an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor for the role of Flo, and a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture.

“Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore” would go on to be adapted as a comedy for television.

It was called “Alice”.

Out in the desert
Diane Ladd became known to viewers in 1980 when she joined the cast of “Alice” as waitress Belle Dupree. Ironically, she was replacing Polly Holliday whose character – Flo Castleberry – had been given her own show.

Ladd would appear in 22 episodes of ”Alice” in the 1980-1981 season before she too would leave, but not before winning a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress in a Series, Miniseries, or Television Film.

The ‘80s
Diane Ladd spent much of the decade appearing in movies. She was in a string of TV movies including “Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones” in 1980; “Desperate Lives” in 1982"; “Grace Kelly” in 1983; “I Married a Centrefold” in 1984; and more. She also had guest spots on “The Love Boat” and “Father Dowling Mysteries”.

She hit the big screen as well with roles in “All Night Long” in 1981; “Something Wicked This Way Comes” in 1983; “Black Widow” in 1987; “Plain Clothes” in 1987; and “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” in 1989.

Her career would explode in the 1990s.

The years after
Diane Ladd would appear in “Wild at Heart “ in 1990 and "Rambling Rose” in 1991, earning Oscar nominations for Best Supporting Actress for both films. She would also receive Emmy nominations for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series for “Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman” in 1993 and “Touched by an Angel” in 1997; and for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for “Grace Under Fire” in 1994.

She continues acting to this day.

Like mother like daughter
Diane Ladd was married to actor Bruce Dern from 1960 to 1969. In 1967 they had a daughter, Laura Dern, who has gone on to become an accomplished actress as well.

She appeared with Ladd in “Wild at Heart”, “Rambling Rose”, ”Citizen Ruth”, “White Lightning”, and “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.”

When Laura Dern received an Oscar nomination for Best Actress for “Rambling Rose”, it was the first time in history a mother and daughter were nominated for Oscars in the same film. They were also both nominated for Golden Globes in that same year.

In 2010, Diane Ladd, Laura Dern and Bruce Dern received adjacent stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the first time family members were given that honour.

Parting thoughts
Diane Ladd has had a prolific career that spans eight decades, but I will always remember that one season when we turned to Channel 7 at 10 p.m. on Sunday nights to watch her on “Alice”.

Three rounds of mayhem: Remembering the Hagler-Hearns fight

It really was three rounds of mayhem. Two boxers going toe-to-toe, throwing everything they had at each other until someone succumbed from the punishment.

I will always remember that fight between Thomas “The Hitman” Hearns and “Marvelous” Marvin Hagler.

Not ready for prime time
By 1985, boxing had undergone a bit of a metamorphosis. When I first started watching it, fights were on TV live. I recall watching Muhammad Ali fighting Leon Spinks and Larry Holmes battling Ken Norton, live as it happened.

That would soon change with the advent of cable TV and pay-perview, where promoters saw it could make way more money.

So, my exposure to boxing lessened, as the fights were way less accessible on peasant vision.

In fact, the only place to watch any boxing, other than to go to town and watch it some place that may have cable TV, was on “CTV’s Wide World of Sports” and “CBC Sportsweekend”. Even then, those shows both aired on Saturday, so the fights were days, or even weeks old, and their outcomes were already known.

That was how I ended up seeing Thomas Hearns fight Marvin Hagler.

The fighters
Thomas Hearns had come to my attention in a much anticipated fight with “Sugar” Ray Leonard. “Sugar” Ray was a boxer my friend Mike liked and talked about on the school bus, because he had seen him box in the 1976 Montreal Summer Olympics.

When I saw him, I thought he was kind of loud and cocky. He didn’t seem to have any humility, and I was raised to appreciate winners who didn’t brag. “Sugar” Ray bragged. He probably had good reason, because he was the World Boxing Council Welterweight champion.

Thomas Hearns was from Detroit, boxed at a gym called “The Kronk” and just exuded toughness. I was really intrigued by “The Kronk” because it seemed like a family and a brotherhood. He was successful, working his way to a title fight where he won the World Boxing Association Welterweight title.

That made a fight to unify the titles that much more compelling.

When Hearns was set to fight Leonard, I really hoped he’d win, and shut Leonard’s mouth once and for all.

That didn’t happen. Leonard outlasted Hearns to win that with a late technical knockout. However, in the process, he took a beating from Hearns. I saw Leonard come out for a press conference the next day, and he was sporting sun glasses to cover up a black eye. It turned out, “Sugar” Ray had a detached retina. It was surgically repaired and he would go on to fight again.

Hearns was left to re-group.

On the other hand, I had not heard much about “Marvelous” Marvin Hagler. Pretty much everything I knew came from my friend Mike Schaber, who loved Hagler. Mike told me Hagler was tough, relentless and had learned to box in prison.

But that was all I knew.

The fight
Hearns would actually move up a weight class to fight Hagler. Initially, they were scheduled to fight on May 24, 1982, but Hearns had a hand injury and the fight was postponed.

The two would now meet in the ring at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas on April 15, 1985. The fight was called by Al Bernstein and Al Michaels.

The first round was toe to toe action. Hearns stunned Hagler early and opened up a cut on the bridge of Hagler’s nose. Hagler countered, working the body, trying to get Hearns into a corner and pound him. When he did, Hearns boxed his way out, but took some shots late in the round and was staggered just before the bell rang.

Bernstein called it perhaps one of the best rounds in the history of the middleweight division, while Michaels said that was an entire fight accomplished in three minutes.

The second round saw Hearns try to box more. Hagler started getting through Hearns' right hand, taking shots but continuing to work the body. Towards the end of the round, Hearns legs looked “rubbery” according to Michaels. Bernstein said Hagler was trying to turn the fight into an alley war, landing a couple low blows on Hearns as he got him up against the ropes. The two exchanged shots at the end of the round, but Hearns already looked to be reeling.

In the third round, Hagler continued to attack Hearns. However, the cut had re-opened and blood was pouring down Hagler’s face. Referee Richard Steele called time out and sent Hagler to see the ring doctor. They said said the last thing Hagler wanted was the fight stopped because of that cut. He didn’t have to worry because the fight resumed right away. Hearns appeared hurt, and they said when he is hurt, he resorts to boxing, as he had in the “Sugar” Ray Leonard fight. Hagler continued to work him. Then he hit him, and Hearns turned his back. Hagler chased him, landed a shot and knocked Hearns down. He was on his back and did not look like he would beat the count. He did, barely.

But referee Richard Steele stopped the fight.

Hagler had won by technical knock out in the third round. Earlier, Hearns boasted he would win in three rounds.

He was right about one thing – the fight lasted three rounds.

The aftermath
The Hagler-Herans fight was the talk at school the next day. Obviously, I had not seen it.

It was later that I finally watched the fight a few weeks after on “CTV’s Wide World of Sports”

One other thing I saw later was on “Entertainment Tonight”. It was a pizza commercial with Hagler taking a bite out of a piece, looking into the camera, and saying, “I wonder what the other guy’s eating? Probably soup.” It was filmed before the fight, but may have been prophetic.

Parting thoughts
“Ring Magazine” voted Hagler-Hearns the fight of the year for 1985, and for good reason.

When I was in Vancouver, I was talking about boxing with one of my spouse’s cousins. I said Hagler-Hearns was probably the best fight I have ever seen. I asked him if he saw it, and he had, on YouTube.

So, I just re-watched it – hence all the detail in the description of the fight. It is embedded above.

So often, memories change as I age. As they introduced the fighters, I wondered if I mis-remembered how good the fight really was.

Not a chance, especially that first round.

Looking at it almost 40 years later, with Hagler dead and Hearns eligible to collect a pension now, it is still one of the best fights I have ever seen, especially that first round.

One of the criticisms of the “Rocky” movies is that real boxing isn’t that action packed. They don’t trade punches like that in real life.

In the Hagler-Hearns fight, they did.

It really was three rounds of mayhem.

My history in hats

When I was riding the ferry to Vancouver Island earlier this month and again when I was in a gift shop in Nanaimo, I found myself looking at hats and thinking back to my own history with hats, which really started in the 1980s.

Brought to you by Ford
It really all started at a mini-basketball tournament in Grade 5, so that would have been the spring of 1980. Our team had a pretty phenomenal run, going undefeated in regular season, then winning this massive county tournament in Picture Butte, beating our archrival McNally in the final.

All that was left was our league post-season tournament, which was at McNally and we again faced them in the final. That would be the only time in the two years we lost to them. What I will always remember more than the silver medal, which had an actual chain, not a ribbon, was the hat that went with second place. They were blue, and most were from Sur-Gain, a farm chemical company. I received one of the only ones from Ford.

It was a nice hat I literally wore for decades working in the sugar beet fields, playing outdoors on the farm, and even as an interior painter at the University of Alberta the summers of 1993 and 1994. I thought it had died until I unearthed when I was cleaning out my Mom’s basement a couple years ago. It was greasy, and old, so I took a picture of it then put it out of its misery once and for all.

That piece began my history in hats.

Seeing red
Every summer we used to go to Whoop-Up Days in Lethbridge, and one of my favourite parts was the carnival games on the midway. One year, maybe 1982 or 1983, I knew I was still in junior high anyway, I saw some guys wearing Major League baseball batting helmets. They were actually just plastic hats, but they caught my eye.

I wanted one, and I found the actual booth offering them up as prizes. The one that really caught my eye was an orange one for the Houston Astros who, along with the Montreal Expos, were my favourite National League teams.

So, I tried to win that Astros hat. I did end up winning a prize, but it was not the Astros’ hat. The next one off the shelf was the Cincinnati Reds. Still, it was pretty cool. But that’s not the hat.

Instead, a couple years later, my Mom and I were at the SAAN store in Coaldale, and there were hats on sale for a buck or two. They were all pretty non-descript, but one was different – it was a Cincinnati Reds hat. It didn’t have the plastic thing at the back to adjust the size of the hat. It just had an elastic that stretched like a pair of pants on your head.

Being a bit of a completist, I bought that hat to go with the helmet. The original idea was to wear it underneath the helmet. That was something some of the major leaguers of the time did, such as Lloyd Moseby of the Toronto Blue Jays.

That hat sat in a drawer for a few years. Then, for some reason long forgotten, I resurrected it and took it with me to Edmonton in the fall of 1988 for my second year of university. I started wearing it playing basketball on the outdoor courts then, when I started jogging in the late fall of 1988.

Coupled with my glasses, that had “Harry Potter”-sized lenses, my friend James Taylor said I looked like Chris Sabo. He was the energetic third baseman for the Reds who was blonde and wore goggles on the field.

I could see the resemblance in the mirror.

I loved that.

Nothing at all
The first hat I really started wearing regularly, came to me in the 1987-1988 school year, my first in university.

Kim McDonald was one of my best friends at the time. We had met living on the same floor in res. Through a series of circumstances, she moved off our floor, 10th Kelsey, down to Fourth Kelsey. I helped her pack up and move her things.

This hat fell out of a laundry basket full of her possessions. It was white with black netting and no logo whatsoever. I kind of liked it, and thought it would be cool to wear a hat. She said it was from her baseball team.

She really didn’t have a use for it, so she gave it to me.

It also symbolized our friendship, which did change after she moved.

Incidentally, a year later, I was living on Fifth Kelsey. One of my floormates was named Peg and she noticed something. Back then, I wore this white t-shirt with three-quarter length dark blue sleeves and no logo or graphic of any kind.

One day, I was wearing the hat and that shirt. Peg called me “The no-name man” because there were no logos in sight.

I like to think I was ahead of my time, rejecting advertising and the commercialization of clothing.

Cor-vet not Corvette
That same year, 1988-1989, I lived across the hall from a guy named Lorne Zaparniuk. He said he was from Coronation, because that was where he went to school. Yet, as I got to know him, he revealed he was actually from Throne, a hamlet between Coronation and another community called Veteran.

Lorne’s dad Ed had a construction company. He had a sense of humour and, since it was located between Coronation and Veteran, he named his company Corvet Construction.

During that period, Lorne gave me a hat from Corvet Construction that I wore proudly.

It was the only denim ball cap I ever owned.

King Louis swag
That same year, I was the floor coordinator for Fifth Kelsey. One of my duties was to sit on Hall Council, which was made up of all the floor coordinators in Kelsey Hall. One of its main tasks was to organize King Louis, a week-long festival of events in January.

The hall vice-president, who was our illustrious leader, was Joselynne Scoble. She was an innovative thinker, and a great leader. One of her ideas was to have more merch or swag for King Louis. Up to that point, t-shirts were pretty much the only things, especially for hall events.

Joselynne changed that, adding mugs to t-shirts and – hats. The King Louis hat was blue with no stenciling but a patch sewn on the front with that year’s logo of King Louis, which was a lion. I ended up buying one and abused it playing basketball.

Hurricane force
Again, later that same year, after King Louis, I went home to the farm to see my family over either Easter or Reading Week. My brother was home too, visiting from Calgary. We both heard the Swift Current Broncos were coming to Lethbridge to play the Hurricanes. The Broncos were the best team in the Western Hockey League, and odds-on favourite to win the Memorial Cup.

My brother suggested we go to the game. So he drove us to the Sportsplex in Lethbridge where the Broncos were every much as good as their hype. They were strong, fast and talented, beating the Hurricanes I think by a score of 7-3.

Before the start of the second period, I had visited the souvenir stand and picked up a Hurricanes hat. It was white with the original ‘canes logo.

It was also the first, and I believe only, corduroy hat I ever owned.

Lime green Molson Canadian
By the fall of 1989, I was in my third year of Education and it was getting more serious, because the student teaching rounds were starting second semester.

I thought I would try and get more involved with my faculty. I had befriended a fourth-year Education student named Kevan Farrell, and he had heard about this Education slow-pitch tournament.

It was at a nearby diamond off campus and all we had to do was show up, after Kevan signed us up.

We got put on this team of others who just showed up. Everyone else seemed to know each other and had come organized in their own teams.

Well, we weren’t bad and won our first two games. In the second one, I had an experience I will never forget. The Dean of Education, R.S. Patterson was on the other team. Everyone was treating him with kid gloves, letting him walk or have more than three strikes. They called it dean’s rules. I thought it was garbage. Well, he got on base and was advancing to second. I played shortstop and was covering the bag. The ball came and, as I tried to apply the tag, he roll blocked me. Of course, they called him safe – he was the dean.

We untangled and he smiled, as there was a little break in the action. Some rain was falling.

“You should be playing football,” I muttered, mostly joking.

He said he liked football, especially when he was at Michigan State.

I asked him if he ever knew any of the Spartans.

He replied he taught a class with Bubba Smith in it. The big defensive lineman would walk in, wearing sun glasses, sit down and say, “Teach me something.”

We both laughed.

Anyway, our rag tag crew advanced all the way to the finals. On the other team, unbeknownst to me, was my best friend Chris Vining. He always had a habit of winning.

Kevan and I saw the prize table. The winners got these tiny trophies. The runners up got these lime green Molson Canadian hats.

I went back to our team, who pretty much all had seen the same thing.

We had this big guy named Joe, who looked kind of like Herman Munster.

“I think I’d rather have a hat,” he said.

We all agreed.

So, we did try, but we lost that final and got our wish – lime green Molson Canadian hats.

And we hoisted them just like if they were championship trophies.

Parting thoughts
Over the years, I have continued to accumulate hats. There have been a lot with special meanings of their own.

Yet, none compare to those first ones from the 1980s, because they got it all started.

Remembering "Almost Paradise"

It’s a song that took me from the beet fields of Coaldale to the streets of Brooks.

The first time I heard “Almost Paradise” by Mike Reno and Ann Wilson, it was coming from 1090 CHEC, playing on a small radio in my breast pocket while I hoed sugar beets in the summer of 1984.

Before the end of that summer, I had heard it while cruising the streets of Brooks after dark, on the way to the beach at Kinbrook Island, and while holding hands with the first girl I ever dated.

To say “Almost Paradise” by Mike Reno and Ann Wilson holds a special place in my heart is an understatement.

The beet fields
One of the rites of passage on our farm north of Coaldale was to work in the sugar beet fields. They were planted in long quarter-mile rows that we hoed by hand, taking out weeds and beets if they were too close together with no chance of growing.

It was monotonous work, but I was a pretty chatty teenager and had good chats with my Mom. The challenge was that both my Mom and Dad were really fast, so I sometimes found myself outside speaking distance. I had to find another way to pass the time.

I think it was my sister who left behind this pocket radio, or maybe my Mom got it cheap at the SAAN Store in Coaldale. In any event, I brought that to the field. Since I wore a full sleeve shirt with a breast pocket, I stuck the radio in there and listened to music.

That was actually my entré into popular music.

The only station that radio could pick up was 1090 CHEC, an AM outlet in Lethbridge, so it played the same songs over and over, as Top 40 stations do. That was good for me, because I was just getting into music.

One of the songs I heard, over and over, and really fell in love with was this duet called “Almost Paradise”. It was a ballad that could touch my soul.

The singers were Mike Reno and Ann Wilson, and their voices just meshed beautifully.

I had never heard of them before, but that would soon change.

Summer in the city
After the sugar beets were done, I still had most of the summer left. By then, I started spending two weeks every summer in Brooks with various cousins on my Dad’s side.

That summer of 1984 was a special one. My cousin Fred, who was always the cool cousin, not only had his licence but his own car to drive.

When I got to Brooks, I spent a lot of nights with my cousin cruising the streets of town, listening to music and talking.

One day, early in my stay, we were at the Red Rooster and this car pulled up full of girls. Fred knew two of them, but the third was a visitor from Red Deer.

To make a long story short, we hung out with them a bunch, first on the beach at Kinbrook Island Provincial Park then at the Brooks Drive-in Theatre watching “Star Trek III: The Search for Spock” and “Ice Man”. I ended up holding hands with a girl for the first time, that visitor from Red Deer, and really discovering girls for the first time.

Through it all, one of the songs that seemed to play in the background was “Almost Paradise.”

Getting “Footloose”
By the summer of 1984, “Footloose” was everywhere. The movie starring Kevin Bacon as a rebel in a town that outlaws rock music was a hit, and the soundtrack had just exploded. The title track by Kenny Loggins had gone to number one on the Billboard Hot 100. Three more top 40 hits would follow – "Holding for a Hero” by Bonnie Tyler; “Dancing in the Sheets” by Shalomar; and “Let’s Hear it for the Boy” by Deniece Williams, which had also gone to number one.

No movie soundtracks had that much success. I was surprised to discover on “Solid Gold” one Saturday night that “Dancing in the Sheets” was also a part of the “Footloose” soundtrack. Little did I know, or even suspect, there could be more from that soundtrack. There was no way for me to know, without seeing the movie, which would not happen for another 12 years, surprisingly.

I hadn’t even seen the album cover for the soundtrack, beyond pictures of it on music shows on TV, where I learned it was the same as the movie poster.

Then, the first day I arrived in Brooks, I saw it sitting there in the corner of the kitchen on a little table.

It was the “Footloose” soundtrack. My cousin Fred had bought it.

I picked it up, flipped it over, and found out.

“Almost Paradise” was the fifth single off that soundtrack.

Still, I wondered, who are Ann Wilson and Mike Reno?

Dynamic duo
It is almost ridiculous to believe. If I heard “Almost Paradise” today, I could easily identify who sang it by the sound of their voices. Yet, in the summer of 1984, I was just starting out.

To be honest, I am not sure where I first learned it, or if it came in pieces as I listened to more and more music.

For the record, Mike Reno was the lead singer of Loverboy and Ann Wilson was the lead singer of Heart. Back then, everyone knew Loverboy from junior high dances and the radio. I don’t think I had actually heard Heart before then.

That has all changed dramatically.

Thinking back, that was one of the things that got me more and more interested in wanting to know more about music and bands.

The song
“Almost Paradise” was the fifth single off the “Footloose” soundtrack, released in March of 1984. It would go up the charts and peak at number seven on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the third top 10 single off the album and the fifth top 40 song of six from the album.

Parting thoughts
“Almost Paradise” may have been part of the soundtrack of “Footloose”, but it was also part of the soundtrack of the summer of ’84.

When I hear the song, it still gets to me, melting my heart just a bit as I think back to cruising with my cousin, holding hands with a girl at the drive-in, and how all that was an escape from the beet fields.

Life was simple then.

It was almost paradise.

Remembering Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’”

Although it has become an anthem for the New Directions on “Glee” and the death knell of Tony Soprano, Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’” has its roots in the 1980s.

The small town girl living in a lonely world and the city boy born and raised in south Detroit got their start in 1981, on an album that got popular enough it had its own video game.

The song
“Don’t Stop Believin’” was released in 1981 by Journey as the second single from their album “Escape”. It was written by lead singer Steve Perry, keyboardist Jonathan Cain, and guitar player Neal Schon.

It went all the way to number nine on the Billboard Hot 100, and number nine in Canada.

“Don’t Stop Believin’” is oe of the top power ballads of the decade, and an amazing rock anthem.

The album
“Escape”, released in July of 1981, was Journey’s seventh album, but the first one of Journey’s I had ever heard about. The first single released was “Who’s Crying Now” which went all the way to number four on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

“Don’t Stop Believin’” followed, going to number nine, followed by Journey’s biggest single from the album, “Open Arms” which went all the way to number two on the Bilboard Hot 100 chart.

The album itself went all the way to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 album chart.

The game
Unlike any other album in my life, I heard about “Escape” initially not from someone who had it, or by reading a review of it, or seeing it on TV.

I heard about “Escape” through a video game.

Back then, I was big into Intellivision, so I read every magazine about video games that I could find. There weren’t very many, and the ones I found talked about Atari as much as Intellivision, which was fine by me. They had articles on tricks to use playing various games, interviews with designers, reviews of games, and previews.

That’s where I first read about this game called “Journey Escape”. It was for the Atari 2600, which was the standard system of the time, and Intellivision’s main competitor.

“Journey Escape”, the article explained, was about the band Journey and their efforts to evade fans, photographers, and promoters, if memory serves.

Back then, the games were pretty rudimentary, so the graphics were simple, or at least what I saw in the magazine.

I also saw the artwork on the box for “Journey Escape”. It was the same as the cover of the album itself.

So, years later, when I finally saw the actual album cover for “Escape”, I had already seen it, and had to remind myself the album came first.

Sadly, I never did get to play “Journey Escape”.

Seeing is believing
My introduction to the album was in 1985 when my friend David Perlich had come across a copy of “Escape” and had it at school. I immediately recognized the cover art.

By then, I was heavy into music, so when I read the back I could not get over how many songs I knew and how many good songs Journey had put out.

Back then I was partial to “Open Arms” more than “Don’t Stop Believin’”.

Parting thoughts
“Don’t Stop Believin’” has had staying power like few other songs. Boosted by the popularity of “Glee”, “The Sopranos” and a variety of cover versions, it has transitioned into the digital age, had millions of downloads, and been an international chart success all over again in the 21st Century.

It is a song that resonates with generation after generation.

And it all started in the 1980s.

The man who would be king: Remembering Richard Brodeur

Goaltender Richard Brodeur lead the Vancouver Canucks

on an epic journey to the Stanley Cup final in 1982.

Source: https://icehockey.fandom.com/

(May be subject to copyright)

He had a lengthy career in the National Hockey League and the World Hockey Association, but for one memorable playoff run in 1982 he was the man who would be king.

Dubbed “King Richard”, goaltender Richard Brodeur put the Vancouver Canucks on his back, taking the once hapless team all the way to their very first Stanley Cup final.

When I was in Vancouver, watching the Stanley Cup playoffs, I could not help but think of Brodeur and that magical run in 1982.

Pre-history
Richard Brodeur played his junior hockey for the Cornwall Royals, where he helped them to a Memorial Cup championship in 1972. He was drafted by the New York Islanders in the 1972 NHL Entry Draft, but instead joined the upstart World Hockey Association‘s Quebec Nordiques. He played all seven seasons of the WHA’s existence, from 1972 to 1979, and helped the Nordiques to the Avco Cup championship in the 1976-1977 season.

When the WHA merged with the NHL in 1979, Brodeur was protected by the Nordiques but would be traded to the New York Islanders. Already deep in net with Billy Smith and Glenn “Chico” Resch, Brodeur was sent to the Islanders farm team, the Indianapolis Checkers.

In the 1979-1980 season in Indianapolis, Brodeur had 22 wins, four shut outs and a 2.88 goals against average. He also appeared in two games for the Islanders, his first in the NHL, posting one win and one loss.

However, he was traded to the Vancouver Canucks in 1980 for the Canucks’ fifth round pick in 1981, who turned out to be Jacques Sylvestre. The Canucks also got the Islanders’ fifth round pick in 1981, whoturned out to be Moe Lemay, who had a decent career with Vancouver.

Brodeur appeared in 52 games for the Canucks in the 1980-1981 season, winning 17, losing 18, and tying 16. He had no shut outs and a 3.51 goals against average.

Playground banter
It was around that time, in Grade 5, we got into a bit of an argument with some older guys on the playground. We were talking about the Islanders, who were on their way to their first Stanley Cup, when one of the guys named Larry I think, said we couldn’t even name one of the Islander goalies. Someone yelled Smith and another guy yelled Resch.

Then, my friend and neighbour Mike, whose older brother was a huge Islanders fan, said, “Michael Brooder.” He ended up pronouncing the last name incorrectly and getting the first name wrong. After all, we had only read it briefly on a hockey card that said he was with the Islanders.

None of us had ever heard of this guy Richard Brodeur.

That would soon change.

Magical season
The 1981-1982 regular season was better for Brodeur as he won 20 games, lost 18 games and tied 12 in 52 appearances. He also recorded two shut outs and had a goals against average of 3.35.

He was the full-time starting goalie, and with the trade of Glen Hanlon, would play in every playoff game for the Canucks.

Vancouver ended the season on a roll, going unbeaten in nine consecutive games. They hosted Calgary in the first round, sweeping them in three straight. They followed that up by defeating the Los Angeles Kings in five games then dispatched the Chicago Black Hawks in the Campbell Conference final.

The Canucks were off to the Stanley Cup final. It was fitting they would play the New York Islanders, the same team who had traded Brodeur to Vancouver two years earlier.

They got there propelled by the strong goaltending of Richard Brodeur who was not only a good gaoltender, but entertaining to watch. He reminded me of Mike Palmateer of the Toronto Maple Leafs. They both were up and down, flopping around the ice, stacking their pads and flashing the leather. Brodeur was dynamic, acrobatic, and effective because he was not afraid to leave his net to challenge the shooters.

Unfortunately, as good as he had been, the Islanders were better, sweeping the Canucks in four straight games.

Still, Brodeur had taken a massive under dog on an epic journey to within one step of winning the Stanley Cup. Overall he went 11-6 in the playoffs with a 2.70 goals against average.

The years after
Richard Brodeur would make the NHL all-star game the next year in 1983, but had to sit it out due to injury. He played with the Canucks until the 1987-1988 season when, late that year, he was traded to the Hartford Whalers where he appeared in six games, winning four and losing two. Those would be his last games in the NHL. He played with Hartford’s American Hockey League affiliate in Binghampton in the 1988-1989 season then retired.

He had a hockey school and now, has taken some time to focus on his art.

Parting thoughts
When the average hockey fan hears a goaltender named Brodeur they usually think of the legendary Martin Brodeur. Back in 1982 it was a different Brodeur – Richard Brodeur – who captivated hockey fans, leading the Vancouver Canucks on a magical run to the Stanley Cup final.

He was fun to watch and he left an indelible mark on Canuck fans. To some, he reached iconic status as “King Richard”.

My good friend Kevin Tabata was 12 years old when Brodeur led them on that playoff run in 1982. The next time the Canucks went on a similar run, in 1994, Kevin wrote Richard Brodeur a letter.

I have always thought that was so cool.

It just shows the mark that King Richard left.

*For my friend Kevin Tabata, who loved this team more than anyone else I know