Golden Pear: Whole Foods Opens in Upper Arlington

It feels a lot longer for us Upper Arlington residents who care about food, but for over a year we've had to make do with the cramped, temporary mini-Whole Foods that was scrunched uncomfortably into the Lane Ave. Shopping Center like Woody Allen in a chorus line of Rockettes, but finally the new, spacious Whole Foods has opened up where the old Whole Foods once stood and where Wild Oats stood before that, and it’s pretty great.

First among its virtues is its manageable size. Unlike the Dublin location, the new store doesn’t swallow up Disney World-type acreage. To wit: Disney World is bigger than 17 countries while the Dublin Whole Foods is bigger than 5 of those countries; or at least as big as Tuvalu which coincidentally sounds like an expensive, imported cheese.

This new market comes stocked with all of the quality items you’d expect and a few new tricks to make the UA swells feel like they’re getting the cut above they’re entitled to by virtue of the fact that they’re UA swells.​ For instance, there's a visible dry-aged steak locker, touch-screen order kiosks at the deli and hot bar, and a cute little bistro called The Social where you can order food and have a draft beer or coffee, provided your caffeine needs can't wait until you get to Colin's Coffee...

​On a recent visit to the new digs, I was impressed to see a variety of glassy-eyed whole fish (a sign of freshness) on display – flounder, branzino, and snapper. I'll most definitely be grilling these mothers whole through the summer. And the rest of the selections, from the dairy to the deli, are equally impressive.

I should divulge here that I am a fan of Whole Foods. Now, listen, I would much prefer to be single, have no kids or pets, live downtown, ride a Vespa, dress smartly in skinny chinos, shop every day at the North Market, and scoff knowingly at schmucks who still listen to old-timey devices like the radio, but that ain't my reality. And because I appreciate quality, organic and/or sustainably raised or cultivated foodstuffs without a lot of s**t in them, it follows that I appreciate having a Whole Foods nearby.

Not everyone is as appreciative. One other food reporter was in attendance at the recent media tour of the new store. When I expressed my excitement over a cheese made with beer from Rockmill Brewery in Lancaster, she was quick to point out that the cheese was not made at the brewery, but that the beer was shipped to an Oregon cheesery, added to the product there, then shipped all the way back to Ohio. 

Certainly, I agree that shipping the beer to Oregon and the cheese all the way back probably leaves a Sasquatch-sized carbon footprint, but she was leaning on this  imperfection to dismiss the store. 

I think she saw this cross-country beer-and-cheese long haul as some sort of sin. But to offset that misstep, the market works with a number of Ohio beef, pork, and chicken farmers, gives other Ohio products a place on their shelves, diverts 90% of their waste from the landfill, practices composting, and supplies electric car hook-ups in their parking lot. Isn't it enough to deflect that one blow?

In all fairness, the observation itself was rather vague, but the tone of it seemed leveled at the store and not at Rockmill Brewery.  And this is where we are with our food writing these days. There is an unwillingness to embrace anything, um, unhipsterish for lack of a better word; and UA is most definitely a hot bed of unhipsterishness.

I definitely see the value in the city's food writers ignoring restaurant chains so we can devote more space to columns about independent restaurant owners. I even see the value in dismissing crapholes like Kroger and Meijer outright, but Whole Foods? Seems like there are better places at which to aim their culinary vitriol. 

The problem is our very tightly knit food community. Everyone knows everyone else and no real criticism can take place for fear of pissing someone off or hurting a friend’s feelings. Real criticism has taken a backseat to glad-handing the "in" kids. This often leads to mediocre food being overpraised or a great store like the new Whole Foods being casually dismissed because there's no local, in-kid connection.

None of this will really affect people in Upper Arlington because people in UA wouldn't know good food if it jumped down their gullets and because they're unaware of the larger food conversation taking place in Columbus anyway. About the only engagement with social media in Arlington is the mommy blogging phenomenon wherein women who can’t stop talking about their kids write about them when there are no other women around to talk about their kids with.

The bottom line is that the new Whole Foods turns out to be the latest, greatest hot spot to eat out in Upper Arlington and not just because of UA's food illiteracy and their overall, bland Caucasian-based tastes, but because it's better than 90% of the actual restaurants in the neighborhood. You probably just won't hear the bloggers — food, mommy, or otherwise — talking about it.

A Review of The Hives show, in Chinese. Suck it, Grantland.

Pencilstorm could be as popular as Grantland if we wanted to. Easy. Truth be told, our writers choose NOT to write for Grantland because they weren't interested in winning some high-stakes, corporate popularity contest. No, sir, here at Pencilstorm we refuse to sell out to the man. That is why we all maintain side jobs and refuse advertising dollars of any kind (at this point). Simply put, we will not compromise our art just to make some easy money. 

Knowing this, you would think the suits at Grantland would be happy with their success and just leave us alone? Instead, they flaunt their popularity by updating their site constantly. OK, guys, we get it, you are "professional writers". Are you so insecure that you take pleasure in running up the score and rubbing it in our face? Classless, but what else would you expect from a company owned by Disney?

To this point we at Pencilstorm have managed to stay professional and not get dragged down into the mudpit for a nasty public ​feud. Still, there comes a time when one must defend oneself. Consider this a shot across the bow, Grantland. Better back off or there is plenty more where this came from (talking to you, Klosterman). Who is so smart now?

A Review of The Hives, Cleveland, OH Sunday March 10th.......In Chinese.​

你好，Malcom，我老对手。

你真的等待着用中文写的Hives评语吗？ 哦，多么的自豪，你必须与你的最畅销的书籍和 the high company你保持 in Grantland。Malcom，你可以看到，

我也没有停止写。而且我不只是用英语写，我也开始用中文写。

Malcom, 我现在有您的关注吗？你现在 “Blinking”？是的，我的老朋友，

我现在也回到网上写博客，我觉得我们的竞争走向一个新的“

引爆点”，这一次，我终于找到满意的成果。The Hives......他们他妈的粉碎。他们毕竟是
​
​The Hives review by Pencil Storm contributor Chris Stellato, President of Columbus School of Chinese. Look for him in the scene from Cleveland below. He is wearing the green shirt.

Like This? You Should Subscribe Here Now: http://bit.ly/VErZkw The Hives anticipated new album Lex Hives is out on June 5, 2012. In celebration, the band is taking over Noisey. Every day this week, Noisey will post exclusive video footage from The Hives performance at Webster Hall Studio on April 26.

Hives live in Cleveland, Ohio March 10,2013. Sorry not the best quality video since recorded on iphone.

Queen at Live Aid Changed the World More Than Hitler or the Internet

​Welcome to another Colin personal power hour. It's Saturday, it's late, and I have found my go-to clip for the week. Earlier tonight, Owen and I were fishing around YouTube when we found some recent clips of Queen playing with Adam Lambert and I thought: "That has to be better than Queen with Paul Rodgers singing, doesn't it?"

Well, ​it just flat-out sucked. Nobody can replace Freddie Mercury. For proof, behold the clips below and prepare to stop your jaw from dropping. The first is a BBC story about the show and gives us our headline for this article. The second is the entire 22-minute set from Queen at Live Aid. It is often referred to as the greatest live rock performance ever. I'm not quite ready to go there, but it is pretty damn awesome. Certainly, one could make the case that Freddie Mercury posted highest WAR (wins above replacement) of outside of Elvis Presley. Note the big plastic cups of beer sitting on Freddie's piano. And now, her majesty....Queen. Enjoy.

A documentary clip on the background of Queen's legendary performance at Live Aid on July 13th 1985.

Queen Live Aid at Wembley, 13th July, 1985 Songs in this video are - Bohemian Rhapsody Radio Ga-Ga Hammer to Fall Crazy Little Thing Called Love We Will Rock You We Are the Champions Is This the World We Created

Watching the Mildly Inappropriate Parts of 'Predator' with a 7-Year-Old

Yesterday, I had just settled into a comfy recliner for a little downtime after a long day of standing on my feet at Colin's Coffee, when my 7-year-old son Owen came into the family room and challenged me to a one-on-one game of basketball in our driveway. Now, I am nothing if not a "hands on" Dad and have no problem spending hours at a time playing with the little man. Not only is it quality father-son time, I view it as building an emotional firewall for the day when he finally glimpses his college savings account ($76.34). Anyway, on this particular day, busting my ass chasing him all over the court wasn't sounding very appealing, so I stalled for time with a classic parenting diversion tactic.....

"Hey, O, guess what's on? Predator. Want to watch a little bit to see what it looks like"

I was fairly confident this would stop him in his tracks and allow my dogs some precious extra minutes to stop barking. See, for the past three years, every time we went to the library, Owen would grab the Alien vs Predator DVD off the shelf and ask, "Dad, am I old enough to watch this yet?" and I would answer, "No." The upshot of this is that he was dying to get a glimpse of the Predator, as any self-respecting first-grade boy should be. As with life, timing is everything, so today he was in luck. My strong desire to stay reclined triumphed my need to be a responsible parent. So we switched over to AMC.

Now, I'm not a total jack-ass, I didn't give him carte blanche to watch the whole movie. I just kind of flipped back and forth to scenes I felt were only mildly inappropriate for a child his age. Needless to say, he got the gist of the flick pretty quickly. Futuristic alien hunts and kills soldiers until Arnold kills alien. Standard stuff, really. At one point, after the Predator has showcased his laser guns and invisibility by dispatching Apollo Creed and some other dude with relative ease, the native American warrior decided he was going to take matters into his own hands and kill the Predator... his way.

He rips off his shirt, tosses his machine gun in the river, pulls out his knife and holds it in the air pointing towards the Predator. Owen, who hasn't said a word in 10 minutes, summed up the situation and suddenly said: "Dad, this doesn't seem like a very good time to go old school."

"No, Owen, it sure doesn't," I said. I had never heard him use the expression "old school" in my life.

About 20 seconds later we get to hear the scream of the Indian warrior being killed by the Predator. "Well at least he learned a valuable lesson he can use in heaven," Owen said. "You can't fight old school if the other guy is fighting future school."

Or, put another way, don't bring a knife....

Uploaded by ranzischini on 2011-06-12.

The bit that EVERYONE remembers from Predator

... To a laser fight.

BTW, we did then go play basketball. Owen acting as the Ohio State Buckeyes beat me (Duke) in 72-68 in OT. Personally, I think I got some bad calls but what can you do. got to go now. Customer!​

Colin Gawel plays in the band Watershed. He owns a small coffee shop where he bugs his smart friends to send him things to post on Pencilstorm. His son Owen still isn't allowed to check out Predator vs Alien from the Library. More things Colin at www.colingawel.com.

Brian Phillips' 2013 Baseball Preview: A.L. Central

The American League Central

Welcome to part 2 of my 2013 Major League Baseball preview. In our first chapter I anointed the Blue Jays AL East Champions, and buried the Yankees and Red Sox. It's going to be a strange year in the east.... That said don't look to the Central for change. Things seem easier to grasp there.

1. Detroit Tigers

Measuring the 2013 Motown squad is easy. They're better. It's easy to see why. Victor Martinez is back after missing 2012 with a knee injury. I expect it'll take a few weeks for him to find his bat, but I'm optimistic long term. Lucky for him the Tigers can wait for V. Mart. Miguel Cabrera is coming off the first triple crown season since 1968 and is right in his prime. Prince Fielder is in his second American League season... and showed little sign of discomfort last year. I expect the two of them to have monster years.

Sure the Tigers still look a bit suspect defensively, though free agent right fielder Torii Hunter should help a bit and the Tigers' outstanding staff can cover up a lot of deficiency. Justin Verlander is money every five days. Doug Fister is as consistent as they come, though he was a bit wobbly in the first half last year with some nagging injuries. Anibal Sanchez doesn't garner nearly the respect he deserves, and Max Scherzer will break out big time in 2013 (see below.)

The Tigers' pen is a concern. At this point rookie Bruce Rondon will close. That's a lot of pressure for a kid. 

They'll Hot Rod In Motown If....

- The Tigers can play good enough defense.

- A clear starter can emerge in left field. I'm looking at you Andy Dirks.

- The men in the pen can quickly settle into defined roles.

- Torii Hunter can contribute offensively.

The Car Could Break Down If...

- Rondon can't seize the closer role.

- The Tigers boot the ball around too much.

- Victor Martinez struggles to regain 2011 form.

- Alex Avilla can't shake off a disappointing 2012.

Bottom Line

95 Wins

Fantasy Target

Scherzer. High strike out rate. Better control. This is your last season to nab him at anywhere near a bargain.

Fantasy Turd

Avila. His productive 2011 was luck driven. I see him producing closer to last season's numbers.

2. Chicago White Sox

A year ago the consensus on the White Sox was generally not positive. General Manager Kenny Williams had cleaned house a bit, and big 2011 free agent signing Adam Dunn was coming off one of the worst offensive seasons for a regular in major league history. The Sox surprised though, leading a good deal of the year, hanging in until the end, but coming up three games shy of the division champion Tigers. 

Over the winter the White Sox gave us almost nothing to talk about. Catcher A.J. Pierzynski, who had obliterated a previous career high with 27 home runs and a solid .278 batting average signed with the Rangers, leaving the Sox with rookie free swinger Tyler Flowers as their starting catcher. Journeyman infielder Jeff Keppinger signed from Tampa and looks to be Chicago's every day third baseman (spelling trouble for fading prospect Brent Morel.) That's really it. It was a uneventful around the South Side stove. 

The Sox hope pitcher John Danks can put an injury marred year behind him, and that the resurgent Jake Peavy can handle 30 or so starts again. Former closer Chris Sale proved to be dominate in his first year as a starter and comes into 2013 the staff ace. The bullpen looks a lot like last year. Chicago can't afford another year of shape shifting roles out there. 

The Viciedo, De Aza, Rios outfield was very solid last year. Wrist injuries are a red flag, especially for older players like first baseman Paul Konerko. Sure DH Adam Dunn launched 41 home runs last year, but his contact rate makes him a hack for the ages. Don't look for a repeat of 40 plus dingers, and expect an average around .200. Up the middle short stop Alexi Ramirez was a nice power/speed combo. Second sacker Gordon Beckham meanwhile really needs to take a step forward. Keppinger? Chicago prays that Morel can finally figure it out.

The Sox Will Be Stain Free If....

- Konerko bounces back from the wrist.

- Adam Dunn can figure out how to hit at least .230

- Alex Rios doesn't repeat his great one year awful the next four year pattern.

- Young closer Addison Reed holds that gig all season.

- Peavy can deliver those 30 + starts.

- Rookie catcher Flowers can make huge step forward. He's it. The job is his.

Smelly Sox If.... 

- Dunn continues flailing. There's got to be a less painful way of hitting 41 home runs.

- Konerko's wrist is the beginning of the end.

- Flowers isn't ready.

- The bullpen becomes an adventure.

Bottom Line

83 Wins

Fantasy Target

Viciedo. Barely 24 years old and coming off a 25 home run season, the kid is still lasting long in drafts. Not next year.

Fantasy Turd

Dunn. His 2012 second half was really putrid. He won't hit better than .210 this year. 

3. Cleveland Indians

We're all guilty of overvaluing managers. You don't win without talent. That said the Cleveland Indians' hire of former Red Sox skipper Terry Francona in the off season inspires confidence. What inspires more confidence however is that the Indians added....... talent. 

The bad news first. Their new crop of off season acquisitions all display the same prodigious talent for swinging without making contact with the baseball. In 2012 this year's Tribe newcomers whiffed at an alarming rate: Drew Stubbs (166), Michael Bourn (155), Nick Swisher (141), Mark Reynolds (159). For Stubbs and Reynolds it would have been worse had they logged a full season of at bats. Both have 200 plus strike out seasons in their pasts. Hell Reynolds still owns the all time single season record (223 in 2009). I don't know if the Indians will break the all time team mark of 1,529 (2009 Arizona Diamondbacks featuring..... Mark Reynolds), but I'll bet they lead the majors this season. 

The good news is a meek hitting Cleveland squad has been transformed into one with some pop, and Bourn and Stubbs give the Indians legitimate speed and stolen base efficiency. Nick Swisher provides clubhouse leadership intangibles previously lacking. Returning second baseman Jason Kipnis is a budding star, and catcher Carlos Santana made tremendous strides in the second half of 2012 without much around him in the order. Things are looking up along the shores of Lake Eire. 

On the hill the rotation remains a concern, though in the long run the Diamondbacks will rue the day they traded mercurial prospect Trever Bauer to the Indians. The kid has everything, including plenty of attitude. If he develops the way scouts say he can the Indians will put up with it all day. The pen looks solid, though as I write closer Chris Perez has been shut down with some shoulder tightness. If the flakey Perez can't answer the bell the Indians have an able understudy in Vinnie Pestano. 

Large Stretch Run Crowds Will Cheer....

- Trevor Bauer emerging as a contributor on his way to ace status.

- Drew Stubbs improving his contact skills and cashes in on his blazing speed.

- Reynolds hitting 32 plus home runs.

- Third base man Lonnie Chisenhall emerging as a contributor.

- A Carlos Santana full season break out. 

An Empty Late Summer Progressive Field Will Host....

- A lousy rotation getting it's brains beaten in.

- One flailing swing and a miss after another.

- An unfortunate Kipnis sophomore slump. 

Bottom Line

78 Wins

Fantasy Target

Santana. That second half, featuring a positive walk to strike out ratio and 20 dingers will lead to a break out 2013.

Fantasy Turd

Stubbs. So many tools, but when you dig into the numbers he doesn't profile better than .230.

4. Kansas City Royals

The last time the Kansas City Royals were in the post season was 1985. They won the World Series that year behind 21 year old Cy Young Award winner Bret Saberhagen. Saberhagen is now 48 and retired 12 years ago. An entire generation has grown up in KC without seeing their local team play beyond the first weekend of October. 

In the intervening years there have been a few winning seasons sprinkled on a sea of losses. The last time the Royals were on the positive side of the ledger was 2003. When you lose and lose and lose you draft early and the Royals have loaded up on top picks. On their roster right now are four top three selections including the 2006 number one overall, pitcher Luke Hochevar. 

And that's really where they're at in KC. If this club is going to compete these top picks have to deliver. Hochevar has been an unmitigated disaster, and comes into the spring having to fight for a spot in the rotation. Eric Hosmer (third overall 2008) had a lousy 2012, but the uber prospect is only 23, and was battling injury last season. Don't look for him to be a dominate power hitter however. He doesn't hit the ball in the air nearly enough. On the other corner third baseman Mike Moustakas (second overall 2007) showed some pop last year, but he needs to improve his approach, taking some more walks and turning his middling contact rate into some harder hit balls. Outfielder Alex Gordon (second overall 2005) is, at the age of 29, who he is; a guy capable of throwing up 20 home runs and hitting .280. He's not a star, but a solid contributor. Royals fans can still feel optimistic. Hosmer, Moustakas, and Gordon are all going to contribute. (I'm writing Hochevar off). Catcher Salvador Perez turns 23 in May and is poised to become a super star. DH Billy Butler should turn in something close to .300/25/100. 

The rotation looks better, but at a high cost. The Royals sent 2012 minor league player of the year Wil Myers to Tampa to get James Shields and Wade Davis. Shields is a strike out per inning horse and settles in as KC's ace. Davis had a fine year last year..... as a reliever. The Royals want him to start however, and his career there has not been good. Jeremy Guthrie finished 2012 strong after The Royals somehow convinced the Rockies to take walk machine Jonathan Sanchez for him. Struggling Ervin Santana comes over from the Angels, but his best days are behind him. Bruce Chen again looks to round out the rotation... I have nothing to add to that. The bullpen is very young with Greg Holland penciled in as the closer. High K, but high walk Holland means adventure awaits. 

It'll Be Tubular Like 1985 If....

- New pitching acquisitions finally give KC some stability there. 

- Hosmer and Moustakas ratchet up the improvement.

- Short stop Alcides Escobar repeats a fine 2012. 

- Perez stays healthy for a full year. 

- The bullpen doesn't create a lot of drama.

- Center fielder Lorenzo Cain shows he's more than potential. 

It'll Be A Bummer Like Every Other Year If....

- Jeff Francoeur stinks as much as he did last season.

- Davis doesn't adjust to rotation return.

- Cain doesn't seize the moment.

- The bullpen flounders. 

- Santana continues to serve up gobs of home runs.

Bottom Line

77 Wins

Fantasy Target

Shields. If you're the sort that likes to wait a bit on pitching, the ex-Ray will probably be in a draft position to return value.

Fantasy Turd

Cain. He's been a minor break out candidate for awhile now. Problem is he doesn't get on base enough to cash in on his speed. 

5. Minnesota Twins

How quickly we forget. In 2010 the Minnesota Twins turned in their second of two straight AL Central titles. Since then they've stumbled to a pair of last place finishes. This year I don't see any way to avoid a third. 

Their return trip to the cellar starts on the mound. If you follow this club you know that as an organization the Twins value strike throwers. That's all well and good, but the Twins' inability to find and develop high strike out pitchers is becoming a real problem. This year they enter the season with a rotation of Scott Diamond, Kevin Correia, Vance Worley, Liam Hendricks and Mike Pelfrey. None of the five can even match the American League average for strike outs per nine innings. Worley comes closest at just over 7. Opposing batters know the Twins will be around the plate, and not throwing particularly hard. 

Up the middle the Twins look weak as well. Journeyman utility guy Jamey Carroll is Minnesota's starting second baseman. It's not a good sign when a regular on your club is setting a career high in plate appearances at the age of 39.  Still, Carroll can probably hit .260 which is way better than rookies Pedro Florimon (short stop), and Darin Mastroianni (center field). In most organizations both would be in AAA. Mastroianni may not make it to opening day with the Twins as he has resurgent prospect Aaron Hicks breathing down his neck. Watch those two this spring.

The good news is former AL MVP Justin Morneau was able to log 500 plus at bats last year. Sadly he remains a shadow of his pre concussion self. Joe Mauer is a nice player, but his monster 2009 seems a distant memory now. The $184 million dollar deal that took effect in 2011 is looking worse and worse, and has six more seasons to run. I don't want to be such a drag here so I'll counter that third sacker Trevor Plouffe gives 20 plus home run power and should continue to improve. Ryan Doumit is a nice versatile man to have around. Josh Willingham is a legit thumper. Glen Perkins seems to have found himself in the closer role. 

The Twins Will Not Be As Horrible As I Fear They Will Be If....

- Morneau and Mauer are huge and healthy.

- Ryan Doumit can stay healthy and relieve Mauer of an acceptable number of days behind the plate.

- Pitching prospects Trevor May, Alex Meyer, and Tommy John surgery grad Kyle Gibson can come up at some point and for the love of God strike someone out. 

The Twins Will Be Horrible If...

See above.

Bottom Line

62 Wins.

Fantasy Target

Doumit. Not sexy, but if he gets enough at bats he can approach 20 home runs to go with a .275 average. I'll take that in the catcher spot. 

Fantasy Turd

Willingham. Don't get me wrong. I like him, but his home run to fly ball ratio was a bit high last year. Don't pay for 35 dingers. Look for 25 to 27 on a bad team in a huge park.

Pencilstorm would like to encourage all you fantasy nerds to get out of your Mom's basement for once and join Brian P. and Colin G. for a MLB opening day party at the Treebar Monday April 1st. Reds vs Angels- First pitch 4pm.

Brian Phillips is a longtime jock for the legendary Indi-rock ​station CD102.5. 

The Bathtub (Suicide, Ricki C. and The Rolling Stones)

The Bathtub

I was 13 years old in October 1965. Eighth grade just was not working out. I had been a shy, book-reading child, now hormones were kicking in. I loved rock & roll but I just knew I was NEVER going to know how to talk to girls. (This was years before I got a hold of a guitar.) One really bad Saturday night I decided to kill myself. I had it all worked out. I had seen a movie just that week about a guy getting electrocuted when a radio fell into the bathtub he was in. (I was a very impressionable child.)

After everybody had left for the evening (my mom and dad were working their second jobs, my sister was on a date, my brother was at the bar) I went around the house and found a radio with a cord long enough to reach the bathtub. I ran the bath, plugged in the radio, settled into the warm water, said a little prayer for forgiveness, and let the radio drop. What I hadn't factored in was that although the cord was long enough to reach the tub, I hadn't filled it full enough. Right when the radio hit the water the plug pulled out. I got a nasty shock, I was seeing big purple and black blobs in my field of vision, but it didn't kill me.

I lifted the radio out and laid there in the water a few minutes to let my head clear. I got out and ran some more water in the tub until I was certain I had the right water level for the job at hand. I plugged the radio back in and what was playing? "Get Off My Cloud" by The Rolling Stones. I stood there naked, dripping and chilly, eighth-grade skinny, and listened to the whole song. Right at that moment I quite literally loved that song more than I loved life itself. And then a thought came very clearly into my head – "What if the next Rolling Stones single is even BETTER than this one, and I never get to hear it?"

I set the radio down on the sink, got back in the tub, took a bath and went to bed. If "Danke Shoen" by Wayne Newton or "Roses Are Red" by Bobby Vinton had been playing at the moment I plugged that radio back in I'd be dead now. Long live the Rolling Stones. So began a life of rock & roll.​

© 2012 Ricki C.

for more of what happened in Ricki C's rock & roll existence after this incident, visit www.rickic614.blogspot.com ​​​