Greg’s Happenings by Greg Kristapovich
Goodbye Mervyn’s. We’ll miss you. You know, I’ve had a lot of fond memories involving Mervyn’s. My parents and I moved to Sacramento (from Kailua, HI) around Thanksgiving, 1982. Within hours of arriving, I was inside a Mervyn’s buying a big, thickly insulated ski-style jacket (even though I didn’t ski; but I swear I’m gonna learn to ski in 2009! That’s my New Year’s resolution!) I’d shopped at Mervyn’s for years. Then, on Black Friday, 2007, I was to shoot – or rather photograph all the early bird shoppers camped out in front of Sonora’s Mervyn’s. It was my first photo assignment for SMT. Had to get up at 2:30 a.m.! The store was to open at 4 a.m. And as I arrived there at 3:15 a.m., those who weren’t still snoozing in their sleeping bags were standing in line, bleary-eyed. There were irresistible incentives: incredible deals, and a free $25 shopping card to the first 250 shoppers. I shot a few photos of those in line, and then asked the manager for permission to stand just inside the door, to capture the excitement of the stampede. Doors opened. Click, click, click!! Then, with lightening speed, I raced to the end of the line, crossed my fingers for good luck and prayed to the big store manager in the sky that I might get a free shopping card, too. And, I got one! And with that little shopping card, I was able to purchase a leather wallet, with a belt loop chain for a mere 72 cents! Sometimes it pays to get up at 2:30 in the morning! Now, as I write this, I’m preparing to take advantage of the end-of-the-year sales, and pretty soon, the inventory sales! Sadly, Mervyn’s won’t have any.
It has been an intriguing psycho-sociological study, to observe the many sandwich board sign carriers on the street corners, advertising Mervyn’s Going Out of Business Sale. These workers are the unsung heroes of the retail industry. So, I dedicate this week’s column to them! I composed the following lyrics, which should be sung to the tune of Bob Dylan’s “Hey, Mr. Tambourine Man.”
Hey Mr. Sandwich Board Man, turn your board my way
‘Cause you’ll soon get all your pay
Tho’ the store has gone away
I know that you are here to stay
Just point me the right way……
Hey Mr. Sandwich Board Man, sell every pot and pan
Sell all the things you can
And you’ll fondly be remembered by us all……
Hey Mr. Sandwich Board Man, wipe off all the rain,
Forget all your shoulder pain
You’ll be in our Hall of Fame
‘Cause no one else can do it like you do……
I actually composed that while I sat in a hotel room in San Diego, staring out at the pouring rain. Sometimes, rain can inspire me. I do believe I needed this little vacation. I felt I was starting to get a little bit of writer’s block. And I did enjoy six days of deer-free driving! Ya know, San Diego is a pretty sick (cool, in modern lingo) getaway! There’s some incredible shopping, in Horton Plaza (downtown); Fashion Valley Mall (Mission Valley); and University Town Center (La Jolla) – which even boasts a year-round indoor ice-skating rink! I dined on Saimin and all-you-can eat fish and chips at Big Kahuna’s (Pacific Beach); talked to the animals at the San Diego Zoo. I also noticed people wearing lightening bolt apparel all over the place! That’s ‘cause the Chargers were set to host the Denver Broncos in a playoff game. There is real Charger Mania down there (as I write this)…I rode bumper cars at Belmont Park in Mission Beach. (But I chickened out when it came to their gigantic roller coaster) Belmont Park is kinda like their version of the Santa Cruz Boardwalk). And I ate a big juicy bacon cheeseburger at Hard Rock Café (downtown San Diego) That place is mind-boggling! There are literally dozens of rock n’ roll artifacts on the walls, including autographed guitars that were once played by Sheryl Crow, Crosby Stills and Nash, members of KISS (this guitar resembles a medieval axe); a smashed guitar that had belonged to Chris Cornell of Soundgarden; I mean I could go on for pages, about what I saw at the Hard Rock…….!
So I’m back at the hotel room, I’m itching to know what the weather’s like back in Sonora. I pull up My Mother Lode.com on the laptop. Whoa, chain controls as low at 2.5 miles east of Sonora! I could have guessed that, ‘cause it’s raining torrentially here in S.D.! But it still gives me a real rush to pull up the Mother Lode road conditions! I also pull up streaming on-line broadcasts of classic rock (104.1 The Hawk) out of Modesto – as well as CW31’s Good Day Sacramento, my favorite morning television show. I ( ) the internet!
Christmas day, and as far as I can tell, the only things open are Denny’s, Walgreens – and the movie theatres. Checking the marquee; hmmm, this one sounds interesting: “Bedtime Stories,” starring Adam Sandler! I ( ) Adam Sandler! And this movie’s a winner! It’s about a young boy who’s a bellhop in his father’s small, struggling motel. The father is forced to sell to a rich hotelier/entrepreneur – who then builds a superstructure hotel around it! And now, the young boy is grown, and is employed as a maintenance man there. He gets promoted. Then, the rich hotelier wants to build an even bigger hotel – right where there’s an elementary school! But Sandler, our hero, doesn’t want the school demolished because his sister’s children go there. There’s a lot of action, and adventure in this movie; as well as side-splitting, knee-slapping, gut-busting humor; romance and of course bed-time stories! This movie is for anyone who has, or who has had kids; babysits kids, is into hotel/motel management – or just likes a really good, funny movie! I give it 3 ¾ out of 5 hotel towels! (rated PG).
The only bad part of my trip was the drivers on I-5 and Hwy 99. I mean, how can people bring themselves to drive 85mph in a 70 zone, while maintaining a distance of only about 1 ½ car lengths between them and the car ahead?!?! Seems a little suicidal to me. And I saw maneuvers on the rain-slicked freeways that even the Blue Angels wouldn’t attempt! When I took the Hwy 99 off-ramp into Merced, to continue the journey home to Sonora, (via J-59), the roads were all but deserted, and the rest of the drive home was relaxing and pleasurable.
Ah, home sweet home! My friends tell me that, indeed, it snowed pretty good in the Mother Lode when I was gone. But I looked at the seven day forecast (on Sunday night, December 28th) and it didn’t hold much prospect for a good rain for perhaps a week, or more. Well, I’ve got this new tool in my hippy dippy rain dance arsenal! It’s the “Musical, Magical Rainstick” from Chile! A friend who runs a lodge up Hwy 108 has allowed me to borrow it for use in my hippy dippy rain dances. The rainstick is eight inches long, two inches in diameter; and this one was made “by an artisan in Chile.” The brochure that came with the rainstick states, “Rainsticks are used in ceremonies to bring badly-needed rain to regions of the Atacama Desert. Rainsticks are made from the wood skeleton of a dead Quisco or Copado cactus plant.” Per the i use instructions, “To maximize the length and evenness of the rain-like sound, hold the rainstick at about a 60 degree angle and slowly rotate the stick, allowing the tiny stones to roll and trickle down over the thorns that have been pounded into the interior of the stick in a spiral formation.” I have now incorporated the rainstick into my hippy dippy rain dance, and we should get some more rain real soon!!
You know, the Mother Lode has something kinda like the Hard Rock Café. It’s called the Nugget Bar (at 75 Big Tree Road in Murphys). They serve hot dogs, tamales, crunchy snacks, cold beer, shots, etc… and get this: there’s a guitar hanging on the wall, amidst the memorabilia, that’s been autographed by the members of Molly Hatchet! Remember them? They’re the blues-boogie and heavy-metal band from Jacksonville, FL (home of Lynyrd Skynyrd, .38 Special, Blackfoot and Grinderswitch). Their debut LP, “Molly Hatchet” (1978), went platinum! Their second album, “Flirtin’ With Disaster” (1979) went double platinum!! And, there are also some pretty interesting characters at the Nugget. For example, there’s Mason Griffin, who, if you’re nice to him he’ll make you an origami-jumping frog, made from a dollar bill! He made me two. And it blew my mind, ‘cause then we could have a “frog jump” – right on the counter! We don’t even have to wait until the Jumping Frog Jubilee (at the Calaveras Fairgrounds in May)! We can have a frog jump anytime at all! The Nugget also rocked steady in 2008 with some pretty awesome live bands. Look for the music to continue on through 2009!!!
Ya know, when I was away in San Diego, I also missed the radio up here in Sonora: Justin and Maryann on the Star 92.7 Morning Show, and the groovy country tunes on KKBN (93.5 FM). I’ve been listening to 93.5 a lot recently, and there’s a new disc jockey named “Mark Corona” I listen to him, and I KNOW I’ve heard that voice somewhere else before. Does anybody out there recognize that voice??
Had another senior moment and misstated the day for World Mercantile’s (S. Main Street, Angels Camp) “Open Mic Night.” It’s not Friday, but rather, Saturday (4 p.m. – 7 p.m.). Ya know, I don’t have any particular talent. I can’t sing. I can’t play an instrument. But I can read. So, I’m probably going to get up on stage and read excerpts out of a groovy little book I’ve borrowed from “The New Guy” here at SMT. The book’s called, “The World According to Mister Rogers.” Hey, this dude, Mr. Rogers, is profound! To wit: “All life events are formative. All contribute to what we become, year-by-year, as we go on growing. As my friend the poet Kenneth Koch once said, ‘You aren’t just the age you are. You are all the ages you ever have been!’” Now, THAT is deep! Happy New Year!
