On The Fly

“Captain Fantastic raised and regimented hardly a hero, just someone his mother might know.” - Bernie Taupin. In this episode - Captain Fantastic . . .   1975 was my first full year of college; like most teens, music was my world. The ideals of our small midwestern town of Cuba, Illinois, were being reshaped by a record, at least for me. For those who don't remember, 1975 was the year the album  Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy  was released; music by Elton John and lyrics by Bernie Taupin. Hundreds, maybe thousands of hours were spent with that album spinning on turntables while studying that grotesque album cover. During the 1970s, many records spun on home stereo systems and radio stations throughout the world that brought artists like Elton John to your town. LP Record albums with flashy covers were the delivery vehicle for music, lyrics, album art, and what parents considered wild ideas in the minds of the baby-boomer generation. In hindsight, music had...

Photo's Robert & Orasa Weldon In the world of gemstones, people desire rarity and beauty. There is no better  way to achieve both of these goals than with nature’s treasure, a fine spinel. Once distinguished as history’s most under appreciated gemstone, spinel’s eminence is rising meteorically. Spinel is a magnesium aluminum oxide occurring as octahedral crystals in a wide range of colors: red, orange, purple, pink, blue and black. Red spinels range from pure red to a purplish-red, not unlike the color of ruby, a gem with which it was sometimes confused. Today, collectors praise it’s rarity and pay enormous prices to obtain it.. The earliest known use of a spinel gemstone was in 100 BC, as an ornament on a Buddhist tomb in Afghanistan. It is believed that the first known systematic mining of spinel was in Afghanistan, around 750 AD. Some 500 years later, the Venetian merchant, Marco Polo, was to travel through the region, likely filling his pockets with the red g...

Wrigley Field, Chicago On April 23, 2015 Chicago Cubs fans will celebrate 101 years of Wrigley Field, could this be 'next year'? Click to see video on YouTube . During the dog-days of summer baseball fans come to the stark realization their team has been mathematically eliminated from the pennant race. And the chant begins again, “Wait till next year.” Cub fans have been waiting since 1908. Yes, believe it, 1908 was when the Cubs won their last World Series. Way before television, long before radio, and by a fluke of what baseball fanatics call Merkle’s Boner. For those not familiar with the story, now that I think of it, not many people I know today were there to witness the twist of fate that allowed the Cubs the opportunity to win the National League Pennant that year then the World Series. The heated race for the Pennant came down to the Cubs vs the New York Giants. It was the bottom of the ninth, with two men out, two men on base, and the score tied on...

I've never known my friend to be in better form, both mentally and physically, than after we returned from our adventure in Hawaii.  Hercule Peridot, like all great artists lived for arts’ sake, the chase. His mental acuity was heightened when engaged in the science of deduction or traveling the world to renew old friendships. His reputation as a gem expert and personal shopper was growing even more quickly from the blog posts of our adventures that apparently were capturing the attention of many gem enthusiasts. I’m Adamas Bontemps. Peridot and I had returned home a few weeks ago and I was back to my early morning routine - chronicling our travels. This morning, while tickling the keys on my computer, I received a FaceTime notification to chat. An image of a turquoise door appeared on my screen, [Incoming video from 1740 Tsavorite Lane]. It was Peridot. Magically, the front door opened and Peridot appeared on my computer screen. He was impeccably dressed; a fine sil...

That ball is - “Slicker than boiled okra" – that's how Red Barber described a baseball that a fielder was unable to get a grip on. The 2015 baseball season is underway! - "Oh Doctor!" Radio? Who needs a radio? Today with the magic of the iPhone, Android phone, tablet device, computer, or yes an ole’ fashioned radio - fans of the game can once again experience the melodic cadence of baseball. Tune to your favorite local radio station or download MLB.com  At Bat ®  and enjoy your favorite team. According to the historical records, the first baseball game ever broadcast on radio was over 93 years ago. It was the Pittsburgh Pirates versus Philadelphia Phillies game on August 5, 1921. The game was broadcast by KDKA staff announcer Harold Arlin of Pittsburgh. S orry  Phillies fans, the Pirates defeated the Phillies 8-5 that day. However, it  wasn't  until 1933 when Larry MacPhail in partnership with Paul Crosley, the owners of two local radio stati...