The March Whirlwind!

They say March is the month for strong winds, and from my perspective, it's been a month that's already seen a lot of travel.
The travel actually began in February, as Tommy and I decided to head over to Detroit to catch a Red Wings game. It's the final season for the team at the Joe Louis Arena, and we both thought it would be cool to see a game there, the Arena has been home to so much history. Tommy had his winter break, and luckily for us, there was a home Red Wings game on Tuesday the 21st. And, even better, it was against our beloved NY Islanders! So early Tuesday I picked him up and off we went, flying west in the Bluecuda. The trip took a total of 9.5 hours, with a leisurely stop for lunch and gas someplace in Ohio. We got to Detroit early enough that we were able to relax in the hotel for a bit before heading to the rink. Once it was time to go, we walked two or three short blocks and found the station for the "Detroit People Mover", an automated light rail that runs around a loop in the downtown area. Paid the .75c fare, and off we went. Followed some nice people from the train to the main entrance of the rink.

"The Joe", as they like to call it, is one of the older NHL rinks, having opened in '78 or '79. It's being replaced next season by the "Little Caesar's Arena", which is going to be even closer to the downtown area. The Pistons of the NBA are also going to play at the new building, and it's hoped that having this new building in downtown will help with the revival of that area. Into the rink we went, and the first thing that crossed our mind was, 'its a dump'. And it is. It's a lot like the old Nassau Coliseum was, although we both thought it had a little more seating capacity than the old barn did. it's a similar design though, one main concourse around the outside, and when you enter, you either go down to the good seats, or up a staircase to the less expensive ones. It's got a similar low ceiling as Nassau has, and so the place gets loud; real loud! And the sightlines are great, you can see everything very easily. I took this shot just before the boys skated out.

Good seats for the price we paid ($40 each I think), and we sat with some very nice people, who were polite even though we had on our blue Islander jerseys; there weren't too many of those in the crowd that night, though we did see a few. We enjoyed a couple of good cold LaBatt's blue on draft, and a so-so hot dog (with the typical cheap yellow mustard) and saw a great game that the Islanders won, so the out of towners went home happy! We popped in to a local Irish pub after the game for a celebratory pint of Guinness, then back to the hotel, as we wanted to get on the road early the next day. I probably should say something about Detroit, since we've all heard so much about how nasty a place it has become. I can't talk too much about the entire town, but I can say that the downtown area is really starting to come back. There are lots of shops, cafes, pubs and the like that have opened up in some of the vacant spaces. They had a small ice rink set up in the town square, and to be honest, the immediate area around our hotel was clean, well lighted, and felt safe as we walked to and from the People Mover. However, on our way out of town on Wednesday, we saw the other side of Detroit, as we passed literally block after block of abandoned, semi wrecked, burned out houses. It seems as if the really bad areas are on the outskirts of the city, where people have just picked up and left. Many of the houses have been burned, or partially burned, they've been picked clean of any copper pipes and wiring, and are pretty much just waiting to be knocked down. Tom and I heard that the city has about 13,000 houses that it wants to demolish, but they don't have the funds. I don't know about all that, but I do know that when the new arena opens up, we just might take a return trip.
On our way home we took a slight detour up towards Cleveland and spent a few hours with Tom's aunt Mary and her husband Bill. Two really fun people, we had a great time, including a terrific lunch that Mary prepared for us. We're going to have to scoot past their house more often!
Next up, a trip to sunny Florida to visit my Aunt and Uncle, and to attend a George Reeves/Adventures of Superman friendship weekend.
Headed out on Wed. March 1, with the west coast of Florida as my destination. The fellow who published "The Adventures Continue" fanzine, and who operates the Facebook group of the same name, put together a great event for us. It was scheduled for Saturday March 4 in Sarasota, so I decided to stop and see my Aunt Audrey and Uncle George on Friday March 3. The trip down was pretty uneventful, I made my 'halfway' stop at the usual place; South Of The Border.

Located just as you enter South Carolina, S.O.B. has always been a good spot to stop. Yes, it's a tourist trap, and they make no bones about it. But they have clean, comfortable rooms at a good price. I had a 'king' room, and it was just $65.

A little disappointing, as most of the 'faux Mexican' stuff has been removed, along with the ugly shag carpeting, and they now have cable television in the rooms, so you can get more than 3 or 4 channels. Decent Wi-Fi and a renovated bathroom with a good, hot shower, a nice restful stop on the way.
Hit the "Sombrero" restaurant for dinner, chimichangas and a cold beer.

First time I've had a meal at the Sombrero that wasn't really great. The chips and salsa were fine, but the refried beans were close to cold, and the rice wasn't much warmer, and was lacking in flavor. The Chimi's were okay, but the beef filling seemed to have been overcooked a bit, it wasn't as 'loose' and tasty as it usually is. Still, not a bad meal for a reasonable price. Wandered through the gift shop (must have a dozen different backscratchers!), but amazingly, didn't buy anything. I'll just have to stop in again and pick something up!
Thursday, back on the road, a nice easy drive down to the Port Charlotte area. Arrived just before dinner time, found a nice local spot for dinner, then settled in for the night.
Friday, did a little shopping for a few things I'd run out of, grabbed lunch, then over to Audrey and George's for a nice long visit. Cousin Patty came over after she finished work, along with her husband Paul, and we had a really nice visit. I hadn't seen them all in a couple of years, and it was good to spend time with them. Not a lot of Dad's family left, and Audrey and George were always so close to he and mom, it means a lot to me to see them whenever I can.
That night, I decided to treat myself to a hockey game. The Florida Everblades, the minor league affiliate of the Carolina Hurricanes, play at Germain Arena in Estero, about half an hour south of Audrey's house. I had bought a ticket online, and so off I went to find the place. Fortunately, the arena is just off of I-75, in a mix of gated communities and industrial parks. Found it and parked, and inside I went.

It's pretty much your standard minor league rink, a one level bowl, with the concourse running around underneath the stands. Nice clean, well lighted building, with decent concession stands. Got a LaBatt's Blue on the way in (although the keg kicked just as I ordered it!), and found my seat. The East Coast Hockey League is one level below the American Hockey League, so you get a good mix of young prospects and older experienced pros. The visiting team was the Atlanta GA Gladiators, which is the affiliate of the Ottowa Senators. For my $22 ticket, I had a great seat!

And, more importantly, I saw a great game. Well, it was a great game for the Everblades, who are one of the top teams in the ECHL this season. They came out flying, and had the visitors on their heels from the first puck drop 'til the end of the game. I was really impressed with how fast the game was; the Everblades play a very aggressive forecheck, they skate hard at all times, and really force the play. I think even some NHL teams might have trouble containing such a fast, mobile team. By the second intermission, it was pretty clear that the home team was gonna win.
I wore one of my prized possessions to the game, the replica L.I. Ducks jersey that Billy and Tommy gave me a couple of years ago. Proud to be reppin' that legendary franchise at all the minor league games I attend!

The Everblades blew the game open in the third period, and eventually won by a 7 - 2 score. It was a fun game, in a nice rink, with a small but intense crowd. Lots of fun! I took a photo of the scoreboard, you can see how one sided the game was by the number of shots on goal each team had.

46 shots to just 13 for the visitors! All in all a fun night.
Back to the hotel, a good sleep, and up and out early for my ride back up the coast to Sarasota for the George Reeves Friendship Luncheon.

There were about 80 of us who met for this event, people from all over the country came to celebrate the life of George Reeves, and the friendship we share with each other. I saw lots of familiar faces that I know from the 2014 event in Hollywood, and from our dinner in NYC in 2015. The program was great, there were guest speakers, a panel discussion, a trivia game, and what some would call 'the holy grail' for TAOS fans, two authenticated costumes that were worn by George during the filming of the show!
For me, one of the highlights was the chance to hear Al Vacio speak.

 Al is the son of Natividad Vacio, a well known character actor, who also happened to be one of George Reeves closest friends. George and Natividad met while both were attending college, and remained friends until George's untimely passing in 1959. It was interesting to hear stories of George, not from a fellow actor or co-worker, but from someone who knew him as "Uncle George". In fact, when speaking of him, Al still refers to George as "Uncle"; very touching. Al spoke for about 40 minutes, filling in so many blanks in George's life, telling stories of the man, not the actor. it really brought to life some of the things we'd heard about George, about his generosity, his love of children, and the way he lived his life. Al said George had three principles that guided him; Charity, Benevolence, and Friendship. George spent many days at the Vacio house, arriving in the late afternoon after shooting, and staying late into the night. George and Natividad would play their guitars and sing, along with Natividad's wife, who was also a professional singer. Even after 58 years, the love that Al has for George, and that he obviously felt from George, was evident. I won't repeat all that was said, I'll just say that it was quite touching, full of love, and for me, deeply moving. After listening to this man, looking in his eyes as he spoke, and considering all the very personal things he said about George, I can no longer accept the idea that George willingly killed himself. Before listening to Al, I was of the opinion that a case could be made either for suicide, or for foul play. After listening to Al, I can not accept the idea that George would end his own life.
After Al spoke, we had our panel discussion, trivia contest, and some video presentations, all of which were fun. And then, we were invited to visit two tables, one at each side of the room. One table was full of memorabilia from the estate of Jack Larson, who passed away last year. There were loads of personal photos, letters, business documents, and even Jack's original contract to portray Jimmy Olsen. Really cool stuff! One contract was for his guest appearance on "Gomer Pyle, USMC". Jack appeared in one or two episodes as a favor to a friend. For these shows, he was paid $200 per day for each day he worked, up to a maximum of four days each show. Big money, eh?
The second table contained what many in the room had come to see, George's Superman costumes. Jim Hambrick, and his daughter Morgan, who own and operate "The Super Museum" in Metropolis Illinois, were kind enough to bring these suits for us to see. And, much to my surprise, to touch - they were not behind plastic, not sealed up in a bag, we were allowed to (gently) touch the suits! 

This photo was taken before the suits were put out on display. There is one suit from the black and white seasons, and one from the color seasons. The b&w suit was made of those colors because the actual red and blue suit would not photograph well on the black and white film. When they started to film the series in color, they went to the red, blue, and yellow costume. Incidentally, the yellow belt is a reproduction and not authentic to the uniform.

This particular black and white suit is a bit special. It was given to Mr. Hambrick by Thol Simonson, who was the special effects person on most of the shows filmed. Initially, the special effects were done by a gentleman named Danny Hayes, but he was replaced after there were a couple of accidents, including George falling some 8 feet when the wires that were used during his takeoffs broke. This suit is one that George wore while he was 'flying'. There are two holes on the pants, one on either side of the hip, where the wires went through and were attached to the harness that lifted George.
The cape, 100% virgin unprocessed silk, shows a lot of wear and tear, from the flapping around in the breeze when George 'flew'.

But it is soft and shiny, and you can see how the light weight of the silk would make the cape move so nicely when George was in the flying rig.
As much history as there is in the black and white suit, we all were struck by the color suit. Manufactured by Western Costume (which is still in business), like the b&w suit, it's made of a very heavy woven wool fabric. We know this one is George's, due in part to the tag.

The costume IS very heavy, I can attest to that from lifting the top up. George wore long underwear under the suit, as well as some padding, and with all of that, and the hot wool, it had to be agony in that thing under the hot lights, or filming outdoors under the sun. It's been said that George was also somewhat allergic to the suit, and would begin to break out in a rash after about 20-25 minutes.

Add in the fact that George did most of his own stunts, and you realize that it couldn't have been any fun running around in that thing all day.
The cape from the color suit was, for many of us, just a breathtaking piece of cloth.

Like the b&w suit, it's 100% virgin unprocessed silk, and it is one hell of an eye catcher. It's bright crimson, a true, deep, bright red; with the yellow and red emblem, it looks fantastic. The feel is, like the b&w cape, smooth, silky, almost watery. Lightweight, long, and somewhat elegant. The color shows, as good as they are, do not do this cape justice; it is a beautiful piece of work.
Our luncheon began at 11:00, and we stayed in the function room until well after 5:30. And I doubt that six hours ever passed so quickly in anyone's life. Between the great program that was put together, and the opportunity to speak with Al Vacio one on on, with Jim Hambrick, and the other dignitaries and guests that were there, the time flew past. We did gather later on in the lobby bar for drinks and a light dinner, and the conversations there were informative, fun, and enlightening. I know that to some people, this is 'geek central' stuff, my goodness, The Adventures of Superman? That old show? Yes, that old show. The show that impacted millions of baby boomers here and around the world. It's still being shown, the DVD's are available everywhere, and the sight of George launching himself out of the window of the Daily Planet building still excites us to this day.
One of the people who spoke at the luncheon is a college professor, and he occasionally hosts students at his home for social gatherings, discussions, and movie nights. He said that he's begun showing TAOS to these kids, usually one b&w episode and one color episode each night. Amazingly, while many of them had no idea that there had even been this television show, he said that each group is totally taken in by the opening credits to the show. That 59 second opening captures the idea of the show so perfectly, that even these kids, who have seen all kinds of high tech camera work and computer generated images, are mesmerized. It's been 60+ years since folks first saw George go flying out of the window, and apparently we're still captured by the charm, the drama, and the excitement this show brings into our homes.
That's the wrap on this trip, it was great fun, I left Sarasota on Sunday morning, and was home a little after lunch time on Monday. Not the kind of trip I prefer, I didn't get to do a lot of wandering, but the people I saw, and the places I visited, were swell. And now, I think I'll pop in one of my Superman DVD's. I'd suggest you do the same, and catch one of the classic shows; perhaps "Panic In The Sky", or "Around The World With Superman", or one of the last shows, "The Perils Of Superman", directed by George.