Forty-Nine Years Apart

This is the back of the album cover for Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass's 1966 recording, SRO. The picture was taken at the Allentown (PA) Fair the summer of 1966.

I am a tiny dot in that picture; an 18-year old, about-to-be-student at a college across the valley from the fair. It was my first real, big-time concert. I ahd been playing in a Tijuana Brass-style group for a couple years and had been a BIG fan of Alpert since he came out with that first hit- The Lonely Bull. It was a great experience.

Alpert's now 78 and I'm 67. Both of us are still playing trumpet. Without the TJB, has been making music for all these intervening 49 years; and I am still a big fan. He won a Grammy two years ago for his album, Steppin' Out. This October he will be in concert here in Rochester, MN, and I got my tickets this past week. He is playing some nice jazz along with his singer-wife Lani Hall.

Here's the official video of his recording, Chattanooga Choo-Choo from his most recent album




I'm psyched and I still have a couple months to go.

Downtown Train

I have many memories of freight trains, growing up along the New York Central line in northern Pennsylvania. That, and the fact that my grandfather and uncle worked for the railroads, helped me fall in love with the rails. One year we took a plane to New York to visit the family in Brooklyn. But we experienced air sickness on the trip to NYC so we came home by train. That sealed it.

Over the years I have had several friends who shared my love of trains and would be out doing what is called "railfanning"- chasing trains, taking pictures and just enjoying the majesty and power of those engines and the call of the railroad. I have often lived not far from train tracks, even having c cabin along the Penn Central line in the wilderness of the Pine Creek Gorge in Pennsylvania. I have had a number of interesting train trips of my own as an adult. The distant call of the train whistle is irresistible.

A couple weeks ago I was downtown on the top level of the parking garage when that whistle came echoing through the buildings. One of the local switcher trains was coming. I was in a good location to get some video, so I pulled out my trusty iPhone and started taking the video. I went home and did some editing, added a bluegrass song (of course!) and came up with a 1:11 view of a downtown train.

Enjoy- and one of these days I may make another one with all the train pictures I have from the past 60 years.

Will Be Gone

A mural on a downtown wall, a now-closed bar. The building will soon be demolished for progress. I don't miss the bar, but will miss this great musical mural. Glad I had the chance to get this picture.

What a Difference A (Few) Days Make

May 2, 2013 - Rochester, MN Snow and 33 degrees F

May 2, 2015 - Rochester, MN Sunny and 77 degrees F

Taking (Another) Walk

Just some pictures from my exercise walk last week. It seems like there's always something to take pictures of.

Rochester is a beautiful city.