Author Archive

The Big Tree

By From http://odonnellweb.com/ • Jul 27th, 2013 • Category: Blog Entries.Local

Some of my first childhood memories come from Torrejon, Spain, a small town outside of Madrid. My father was in the USAF, a member of the Strategic Air Command helping protect the world from the evil commies in the USSR and East Germany. We lived off-base, in a community of Americans that did not qualify for on base housing. The central gathering point for the kids of the neighborhood was The Tree.

I think it was an oak tree. It was large and it’s defining characteristic, and the reason it was so popular with the kids, was a wealth of very low hanging, very thick and sturdy branches. This was a tree designed for climbing, and climb we did. This tree seemed to have a safe occupancy level of about a dozen kids. I’m not sure the fire marshall would have approved, but I can’t remember anybody ever falling out and being seriously injured. I also don’t remember us allowing girls in the tree. This was back in the early 70?s and the whole equal rights thing had not reached us yet I guess 🙂 I’m not a heights guy today , and I wasn’t back them either. Although I did climb the tree, I had to if I wanted to maintain my standing among the other 6-8 year boys, I think I stayed on the lower branches most of the time though.

This particular tree had another feature too. Some of lower branches extended over the fence and into the swamp. The swamp was off limits. It was not part of the military facility, and we were warned time and time again by our parents to stay out of the swamp. It was land owned by a crazy Spanish farmer who shot at American kids on his property. That was the story anyway. It was a dangerous place, inhabited by snakes and gypsies and all sorts of dangerous things. Of course, crazy guys with guns and mysterious gypsies are just the sort of things bored 7 year old boys are looking for. If they had told us the swamp was infested with girls we probably would have stayed away. As it was, we spent a lot of time in the swamp. We got in by climbing The Tree and jumping down on the other side of the fence. I don’t remember seeing any snakes or gypsies. I do have a vague memory of a shotgun warning, although I really don’t know if it actually happened, or it was the product of our over active imaginations. Probably the latter.

The big kids hung out at The Big Tree (our naming conventions lacked pizzazz). The Big Tree was off base somewhere, not accessible by foot or pedal power. The big kids used their mopeds to get there. The big kids had built a fort in the tree. As I remember it, it wasn’t much of a fort. It was a few planks spread between branches and a floor made out of scrap plywood. Ever once in a while, the big kids would let us come out to the The Big Tree with them. They gave us rides on their mopeds. This being the early 70?s helmets were for sissies. I remember the big tree being fairly remote. It wasn’t a good climbing tree at all. You really couldn’t do anything there except climb up to the fort, which of course was off limits to us little kids. We were just happy to be there. The big kids would climb up into the fort, have a smoke, and then we would go back home. It seemed so exciting at the time.

As I was writing this, the appeal of The Big Tree finally hit me. This was the early 70?s – smoking was cool. The big kids could smoke cigarettes on base all they wanted. I think the school even had a smoking area. I bet those weren’t Marlboros they were smoking at The Big Tree. Funny how that connection hit me 40 years later.



The Big Tree

By From http://odonnellweb.com/pelican/ • Jul 27th, 2013 • Category: Blog Entries.Local

Some of my first childhood memories come from Torrejon, Spain, a small
town outside of Madrid. My father was in the USAF, a member of the
Strategic Air Command helping protect the world from the evil commies in
the USSR and East Germany. We lived off-base, in a community of
Americans that did not qualify for on base housing. The central
gathering point for the kids of the neighborhood was The Tree.

I think it was an oak tree. It was large and it’s defining
characteristic, and the reason it was so popular with the kids, was a
wealth of very low hanging, very thick and sturdy branches. This was a
tree designed for climbing, and climb we did. This tree seemed to have a
safe occupancy level of about a dozen kids. I’m not sure the fire
marshall would have approved, but I can’t remember anybody ever falling
out and being seriously injured. I also don’t remember us allowing girls
in the tree. This was back in the early 70′s and the whole equal rights
thing had not reached us yet I guess 🙂 I’m not a heights guy today ,
and I wasn’t back them either. Although I did climb the tree, I had to
if I wanted to maintain my standing among the other 6-8 year boys, I
think I stayed on the lower branches most of the time though.

This particular tree had another feature too. Some of lower branches
extended over the fence and into the swamp. The swamp was off limits. It
was not part of the military facility, and we were warned time and time
again by our parents to stay out of the swamp. It was land owned by a
crazy Spanish farmer who shot at American kids on his property. That was
the story anyway. It was a dangerous place, inhabited by snakes and
gypsies and all sorts of dangerous things. Of course, crazy guys with
guns and mysterious gypsies are just the sort of things bored 7 year old
boys are looking for. If they had told us the swamp was infested with
girls we probably would have stayed away. As it was, we spent a lot of
time in the swamp. We got in by climbing The Tree and jumping down on
the other side of the fence. I don’t remember seeing any snakes or
gypsies. I do have a vague memory of a shotgun warning, although I
really don’t know if it actually happened, or it was the product of our
over active imaginations. Probably the latter.

The big kids hung out at The Big Tree (our naming conventions lacked
pizzazz). The Big Tree was off base somewhere, not accessible by foot or
pedal power. The big kids used their mopeds to get there. The big kids
had built a fort in the tree. As I remember it, it wasn’t much of a
fort. It was a few planks spread between branches and a floor made out
of scrap plywood. Ever once in a while, the big kids would let us come
out to the The Big Tree with them. They gave us rides on their mopeds.
This being the early 70′s helmets were for sissies. I remember the big
tree being fairly remote. It wasn’t a good climbing tree at all. You
really couldn’t do anything there except climb up to the fort, which of
course was off limits to us little kids. We were just happy to be there.
The big kids would climb up into the fort, have a smoke, and then we
would go back home. It seemed so exciting at the time.

As I was writing this, the appeal of The Big Tree finally hit me. This
was the early 70′s – smoking was cool. The big kids could smoke
cigarettes on base all they wanted. I think the school even had a
smoking area. I bet those weren’t Marlboros they were smoking at The Big
Tree. Funny how that connection hit me 40 years later.



Willie Nile – American Ride

By From http://odonnellweb.com/pelican/ • Jul 21st, 2013 • Category: Blog Entries.Local

Not many people peak after age 50. Willie Nile seems to be one of those people. His new record American Ride continues the remarkable run he has been on in this millennium. IMO, he is maybe the most under appreciated musical artist in the US today. Bruce Springsteen is a huge fan, yet 99% of the people that own a Bruce record have never heard of him. Hell, Willie Nile has been doing Bruce better than Bruce does Bruce for most of the last 15 years.

The new record, American Ride, continues that streak. It’s a classic Willie record, with a couple of odes to New York, a piano ballad, a touch of rockabilly, and a lot of honest, straight from the gut American Rock N Roll. > Buy it, I guarantee you’ll like it.



Willie Nile – American Ride

By From / • Jul 21st, 2013 • Category: Blog Entries.Local

Not many people peak after age 50. Willie Nile seems to be one of those people. His new record American Ride continues the remarkable run he has been on in this millennium. IMO, he is maybe the most under appreciated musical artist in the US today. Bruce Springsteen is a huge fan, yet 99% of the people that own a Bruce record have never heard of him. Hell, Willie Nile has been doing Bruce better than Bruce does Bruce for most of the last 15 years.

The new record, American Ride, continues that streak. It’s a classic Willie record, with a couple of odes to New York, a piano ballad, a touch of rockabilly, and a lot of honest, straight from the gut American Rock N Roll. > Buy it, I guarantee you’ll like it.



Willie Nile – American Ride

By From http://odonnellweb.com/ • Jul 21st, 2013 • Category: Blog Entries.Local

Not many people peak after age 50. Willie Nile seems to be one of those people. His new record American Ride continues the remarkable run he has been on in this millennium. IMO, he is maybe the most under appreciated musical artist in the US today. Bruce Springsteen is a huge fan, yet 99% of the people that own a Bruce record have never heard of him. Hell, Willie Nile has been doing Bruce better than Bruce does Bruce for most of the last 15 years.

The new record, American Ride, continues that streak. It’s a classic Willie record, with a couple of odes to New York, a piano ballad, a touch of rockabilly, and a lot of honest, straight from the gut American Rock N Roll. > Buy it, I guarantee you’ll like it.



Willie Nile – American Ride

By From http://odonnellweb.com/pelican/ • Jul 21st, 2013 • Category: Blog Entries.Local

Not many people peak after age 50. Willie Nile seems to be one of those
people. His new record American Ride continues the remarkable run he has
been on in this millennium. IMO, he is maybe the most under appreciated
musical artist in the US today. Bruce Springsteen is a huge fan, yet 99%
of the people that own a Bruce record have never heard of him. Hell,
Willie Nile has been doing Bruce better than Bruce does Bruce for most
of the last 15 years.

The new record, American Ride, continues that streak. It’s a classic
Willie record, with a couple of odes to New York, a piano ballad, a
touch of rockabilly, and a lot of honest, straight from the gut American
Rock N Roll. > Buy
it
,
I guarantee you’ll like it.



Queensryche – Queensryche

By From http://odonnellweb.com/pelican/ • Jun 28th, 2013 • Category: Blog Entries.Local

I go way back with Queensryche. The first Queensryche album I owned was their EP. And I’ve bought every major release since then, not including the last one with Geoff Tate. I’m not going to get into the current dispute with Tate other than to say this record makes it very obvious which band deserves the name Queensryche.

This is easily their best work since Empire. New singer Todd La Torre sounds a lot like Tate from 15 years ago, enough so that it doesn’t really occur to the listener that this isn’t the old Queensryche. The songs are all solid, sounding like a mix of tunes that could have been on The Warning and Empire. The only thing missing is a big hook. There is no “Take Hold of the Flame” or “Jet City Woman” with a big hook to pull in the casual listener. It’s a solid record of mostly mid-temp rockers with more of a metal edge than they shown on anything since Promised Land. It is a little short though, clocking in at 35 minutes. You can almost listen twice in an hour, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing!



Queensryche – Queensryche

By From / • Jun 28th, 2013 • Category: Blog Entries.Local

I go way back with Queensryche. The first Queensryche album I owned was their EP. And I’ve bought every major release since then, not including the last one with Geoff Tate. I’m not going to get into the current dispute with Tate other than to say this record makes it very obvious which band deserves the name Queensryche.

This is easily their best work since Empire. New singer Todd La Torre sounds a lot like Tate from 15 years ago, enough so that it doesn’t really occur to the listener that this isn’t the old Queensryche. The songs are all solid, sounding like a mix of tunes that could have been on The Warning and Empire. The only thing missing is a big hook. There is no “Take Hold of the Flame” or “Jet City Woman” with a big hook to pull in the casual listener. It’s a solid record of mostly mid-temp rockers with more of a metal edge than they shown on anything since Promised Land. It is a little short though, clocking in at 35 minutes. You can almost listen twice in an hour, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing!



Queensryche – Queensryche

By From http://odonnellweb.com/ • Jun 28th, 2013 • Category: Blog Entries.Local

I go way back with Queensryche. The first Queensryche album I owned was their EP. And I’ve bought every major release since then, not including the last one with Geoff Tate. I’m not going to get into the current dispute with Tate other than to say this record makes it very obvious which band deserves the name Queensryche.

This is easily their best work since Empire. New singer Todd La Torre sounds a lot like Tate from 15 years ago, enough so that it doesn’t really occur to the listener that this isn’t the old Queensryche. The songs are all solid, sounding like a mix of tunes that could have been on The Warning and Empire. The only thing missing is a big hook. There is no “Take Hold of the Flame” or “Jet City Woman” with a big hook to pull in the casual listener. It’s a solid record of mostly mid-temp rockers with more of a metal edge than they shown on anything since Promised Land. It is a little short though, clocking in at 35 minutes. You can almost listen twice in an hour, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing!



Queensryche – Queensryche

By From http://odonnellweb.com/pelican/ • Jun 28th, 2013 • Category: Blog Entries.Local

I go way back with Queensryche. The first Queensryche album I owned was
their EP. And I’ve bought every major release since then, not including
the last one with Geoff Tate. I’m not going to get into the current
dispute with Tate other than to say this…