Mars Hill, Family Jamming

Went to Mars Hill this morning and was blown away how not-church like it is, and how almost every seat in The Shed was filled.

The band got up and rocked out five songs in a row, a pastor made a few announcements, and the speaker got up and spoke, and boom, an hour and 15 minutes went by just like that.

It's uncomplicated and to the point and no wonder Mars Hill is bursting at the seams.

A great stay with Brother David and family, followed by a Hart Boyz jam session on the Lake Michigan bluff.

Back tomorrow. The first thing I'm gonna do is .... HOT TUB!

Moon Walk, GR Hockey

Reportedly The Mighty One was in rare form last night at the Dueling Pianos .....

In Holland yesterday I walked on the moon. That's what the Lake Michigan beach looks like, frozen stretches jutting into the water. It was weird not hearing the waves crash into the beach, total silence while walking on a lunar landscape. Pics coming next week since dumbell here forget his download cord.

Then it was off downtown with the boys to watch the Grand Rapids Griffins play at Van Andel Arena. This isn't the downtown GR I remember, that's for sure, young 20-somethings all over the place. It was $1 beer night so ya, fun fun fun!

It was great to see my old buddy Mike VanderKlipp too. Unfortunately he locked his keys in the car and his wife had to come down to bail him out. Fortunately he's a FoHead for life and used to it. For a minute there I thought we were in the Joe Louis Arena parking lot and it was 1985.

Going back downtown to do some ice skating this afternoon at Rosa Parks Circle, and back to Holland tomorrow for a jam session with the Hart Cousins Boyzzzz .....

North

Heading north after work Thursday for a little R&R and revelry with friends. Among the plans: Grand Rapids Griffins and Founders on Friday night, skating at Rosa Park Circle with the little Harts and Youngsmas, and a Hart Boyz jam session on Lake Michigan Sunday (after church in the old mall).

Figures. The ice has returned and I'm outta here ... hopefully still around next week.

Blues Fan

I am slowly becoming a Blues fan. There. I said it.

Blues fans are long-suffering. Their team struggles to make the playoffs, or has to play the Red Wings or Canucks when they do get in and a few games later it's so long, let's make a tee time.

I like some of the Blues players like David Perron and T.J. Oshie. The Blues have speedy guys like Andy McDonald that tend to get steamrolled when other teams clamp down on defense.

Some players I don't like. Paul Kariya is the most overpaid player in the NHL. The defensemen are solid but have a decided lack of flair and except for Barrett Jackman, couldn't score if they had an open net and nobody around to block the puck.

The Blues need an offensive-minded defenseman, and a pure goal scorer.

They also need killer instinct. Last Saturday against the Ducks they had a 3-0 lead in the third period and went into a shell and choked big time. It's been a distressing trend. Their play at home until this month has also been miserable, but the badly needed coaching change has helped that.

So I'm watching them Calgary tonight and I'm actually hoping they do well and win a tight game.

An added bonus - they have great TV guys. John Kelly is a solid play by play guy (his father, Dan, was one of the best ever) and Darren Pang gets a bit excited sometimes, but knows his stuff. I really like Bernie Federko stationed at the player's bench, that adds a different perspective.

Hey! Perron just scored and it's 2-0. Maybe they will hang on and win.

Saturday List

— Awesome breakfast at Coach House this morning - CHECK.

— Woodland Walk - CHECK.

— Vaccum, laundry, ointment on burned out warts (you REALLY don't want to know), make all three beds — CHECK.

— Stretch strings on Les Paul - CHECK.

— Scritch head of Bella The Destroyer who is sad she is not really a border collie but she's still a bitch .... CHECK.

— Nap...... now ..... dkjfaslkdgha[oweiurtoa[wieur .....

Lack of light

Remember that yellowish orange thing that hangs in the sky? It makes you feel warm and cheers you up.

It has a name, but it’s been nearly two weeks since it’s been out around here. What is this, Seattle?

We need to do something to get the sun out and to start cheering people up around here. I used to think seasonal mood disorder and light deprivation were hooey scientific terms, but I’m beginning to see why they might have some meaning.

If you have some ideas on how to get that big yellowish orange thing to make an appearance, let me know.

Adopted honor

My surrogate mother and father in Quincy, Bob and Anne Mays, rock all the time.

Bob was inducted Wednesday into the Quincy Area Chamber of Commerce Business Hall of Fame. Bob mentioned me as his adopted son during a very funny and to the point speech.

I had to hide behind one of the pillars because I got a tear in my eye ....

God bless you, Bob and Anne!

I sat next to Bob's granddaughter, Sarah Frank, at the luncheon. We started playing the "Dutch Name Game," since Sarah went to Calvin College in Grand Rapids, as did I for one disastrous and foggy year a long, long time ago.

"Look," she said, pointing at some random Quincy business guy in the crowd. "There is Jay VanWingerReimersma!"

I bruised my spleen I laughed so hard.

If you ain't Dutch, you ain't much ....

Happy Birthday, Bad Movie

You know, for being such a big dumb dog, Bella the Destroyer really isn't all that bad.

I can't believe I just said that. Happy birthday, you big dumb dog.

Last night I was ready for bed when one of the 5 million movie channels started showing the horrendous "Point Break" with Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze. I got into a discussion with Shey Fey about this and said I thought it was so bad it was good.

"Nope," she said. "Any movie with Kay An You Reeves and Patricks Swayze is just a bad movie, period."

As usual, she is right. But after years of watching bad movies on bad cable with terrible commercials every two minutes, it's nice to actually watch a whole movie without breaks.

I will say this about breaking the cable TV cycle - I can still watch the Blues, a boring NFL playoff game (both games yesterday were awful), Cops and a movie at the same time. My thumb doesn't get tired, either.

Thaw

Farewell to the first good ice of the year .... last year we had a second good freeze and it could happen again.

Some rumblings of future Funions activity. Reportedly a St. Patrick's Day weekend show is planned, and Rock Against Rape is again in the works for April.

The longer I do this and have to write about stuff like this, the more I appreciate Fridays. The end of the day on Friday, especially.

Dog hair — gotta deal with it. Shey Fey is picking hair out of her winter toe socks and arch ankle doo-dad.

It's with much chagrin we admit Bella The Destroyer is probably not Border Collie. It was suggested by Rock A. Bye that she's more English Terrier and Lab, and a little internet research showed it's probably true. Bella is waaaayyyy too dumb to be Border Collie so there's some relief, too.

SHOCKING UPDATE: The 6-2 freshman no longer has a curfew. Gasp. GASP ....

I Hate American Idol

There. I said it. And I feel a lot better about it. More here.

Winter Sun

Awesome time as usual on the South Side pond with the Niemann boys. We took on the neighbors from Timberline and prevailed on chippy ice.

Yes, it's cold, but the sun makes it feel a little better and fortunately there is no wind. Looks like the ice won't be around much longer, sadly, though last year we had a second freeze at the end of January.

Had some fun last night Deadly Weapons style with TMO and Rock A. Bye in Calftown.

Hopefully we'll have Funions updates soon with some upcoming gigs but things are slow right now.

Keep warm Q-Town!

So Long, Gil

Sorry to hear about the passing of well-known former Quincy Police Department officer Gil Feld Thursday.

Visitation is Sunday night at Duker & Haugh, more info here.

The Funions played at Gil's benefit in April 2007 behind America's Best Value Inn. One of the better parking lot shows we've done if memory serves.

Not long ago I was at a Crime Stoppers event and there was Gil in his goofy Panama hat and big old cigar.

Gil would email me once in a while with questions for The Whig's Answers Column. Unlike many of the mundane questions like "why is there light at such and such intersection," Gil always had interesting questions and I enjoyed communicating with him.

Gil is riding his Harley in a much better place now, and we are all better off for having him around.

Winter Wonderland

Thanks to Rev. Dirk, Shey Fey picked up an awesome umbrella from Amazon.com, and we enjoyed snow-free hot tubbing tonight. HUUUUUGGGGGEEE .... Snow everywhere in the Q-Town, be careful out there!

The ice has been awesome on the South Side. Thanks to Corey S. and the boys for letting me hang out. What I've discovered is that another year goes by and I'm at least three steps slower. Awesome pickup game today with the crew.

Reportedly the Grawe gang from Timberline is coming over for a big rematch this weekend.

Went down to St. Charles today for work and rode with a fellow media member. I miss the good old days in Alpena when we all knew each other and hung out. Bigger town, different rules, and I understand that .... but it was nice to have the good company.

America's Team, YOUR Central Michigan University Chippewas are playing in the GMAC Bowl and sadly, the final game of the bowl season is tomorrow night.

Drag Queens

On Facebook, my cousin Natalie just posted a comment about how she "just explained the concept of 'drag queen' to her children and they cannot stop laughing."

NEITHER CAN I!!!!!

Sharp skates

Went to South Park this morning to check out the ice. Put the new blades on for the first time and .... CRAP. Duller than dull. Couldn't get any grip or move at all, and this with a glistening sheet of ice all around.

So I went to Boyers and asked them to sharpen the skate blades again. I brought them there about a month ago and figured I'd be good to go.

I came back a few hours later, picked up the skates and headed out to the South Side Pond Of Doom. Onto the ice and .... beautiful. They cut right through and were perfect. The guy at Boyers didn't charge me anything either when I told him about the first sharpening. He might have lost out on a few bucks but he's a smart businessman, because I'll be back.

Just a warmup today .... big game arranged tomorrow on the South Side and it will be HUGE.

Winter has a way of wearing you down and you gotta find ways to embrace it.

Make the tourists wait

Tell me there is anything better than spending a whole day watching college bowl games ....

— I always pick against the Big 10 in bowl contests. Always. Today's it's coming back to bite me. I cannot stand Ohio State and I still think they stink. There. I feel better ... Poor Northwestern. They deserved to win against a brain-dead Auburn team but got killed by a little kicker.

— Now it's time to watch Central Michigan East play Florida. Why can't I feel sorry for Urban Meyer?

— Watching the East Coast feeds on DirecTV and the commercials from New York are awesome. "Make the tourists wait in line" is the slogan of one NY City company. Nothing says New York like a smug slogan.

— Hey. You can eat Taco Bell and lose weight! Whodda thunk?

— Took the girls to South Park today to check the ice and they happily splashed in the creek for a few minutes. I was worried about them catching frost bite, but they move too fast and have too much fun running around to catch frost bite. The ice is about three or four inches in some spots, not thick enough just yet but the next two days might just make it thick enough to skate.

— But I will probaby bring the water wings with me just in case ....