for the first time in my life, i have a job i like :)
Sunday, November 29, 2009
new job
this past week i started my new job as charlotte's nanny. she has been no problem all week long and the only time she really gets fussy is when she gets the hiccups and she gets frustrated that they won't go away! the first day i was there, she was a super happy baby and she just laid there and let me do a photoshoot :)
for the first time in my life, i have a job i like :)
for the first time in my life, i have a job i like :)
Thursday, November 26, 2009
thanksgiving.
here are some things i am thankful for this year.
1. josh, and our one and a half years together. he takes such good care of me and makes me happier than i have ever been!!
2. my three cats, who drive me BONKERS on a daily basis but make me smile thiiiiiiiiiiiiiis big.
3. my parents, who are amazing people and have always put us kids first no matter what. and i GUESS my brothers, even though they are sometimes pains in the you-know-what ; )
4. my family and friends, who are the greatest...including matt and amy's perfect new baby, charlotte!
5. wcsb for doing amazing things and letting me be a part of them.
6. the future, and all the possibilities it holds.
1. josh, and our one and a half years together. he takes such good care of me and makes me happier than i have ever been!!
2. my three cats, who drive me BONKERS on a daily basis but make me smile thiiiiiiiiiiiiiis big.
3. my parents, who are amazing people and have always put us kids first no matter what. and i GUESS my brothers, even though they are sometimes pains in the you-know-what ; )
4. my family and friends, who are the greatest...including matt and amy's perfect new baby, charlotte!
5. wcsb for doing amazing things and letting me be a part of them.
6. the future, and all the possibilities it holds.
Monday, November 23, 2009
serial killers
anyone who has read more than a few entries here can probably tell i have a slight obsession with dead things, creepy things, dark things...and serial killers. i always have and my mom recently joked that i "worry her" (to which i replied, "when I'M the one who starts keeping skulls in buckets, THEN you can be worried!")
so it comes as no surprise that i was intrigued with the recent news that cleveland apparently has a serial killer that the press has dubbed "the cleveland strangler." it has been all over the news so chances are most people know what i'm talking about...if not, here is an article about the cleveland strangler. last i heard, there were 11 confirmed victims, including a skull in a bucket sitting in the basement. the creepy thing is that josh worked about 5 minutes away from the house where all the bodies were found! eeek.
amazingly enough, some people (even fellow clevelanders!) don't know that cleveland had a serial killer on the loose back in the 30s that was never caught. these killings became known as the cleveland torso murders. also referred to as "the mad butcher of kingsbury run" because of the area where the bodies (and body parts!) were dumped, the torso killer claimed 12 victims, most who are still unidentified to this day. eliot ness was safety director of cleveland during this period and although he appointed a special task force to catch the butcher, they were never able to. eliot ness has a memorial stone at my favorite place lakeview cemetery, to mark the spot where his ashes were scattered in a nearby lake.
here i am at lakeview cemetery. the caption should be "don't worry, i forgive you for not catching the torso killer!"
recently, a friend of mine gave me some penpal letters belonging to someone he knew. i guess he does a lot of trades for weird, random stuff and got these letters from the guy who was writing them to several serial killers in prison. my friend decided that they were "too dark" for him to have in his possession anymore, and he gladly handed them over. is it totally creepy that i was so stoked to get these?? wait, don't answer that...
so i did some research about the guys that authored these letters and it was truly fascinating what i found out. morbid, awful and heinous...but also fascinating. here are short bios of the five guys i have letters from, followed by a summary of their letters. it's spooky just holding them in my hand, knowing who wrote them and what they did with those very hands that touched the paper i am now touching...
roy norris and lawrence bittaker
these two dudes drove around california in one of those stereotypical rapist vans, abducting 5 young women in 1979. they nicknamed their van "murder mack." they tortured the girls by duct taping their mouths, tying them up, raping them, and sticking ice picks in their ears until they bled. then they would tie wire hangers around their necks and tighten them with pliers until they strangled them to death. one of them used a sledgehammer to bludgeon one of the girls in the head while the other guy strangled her. they also tape recorded most of the torture/murder sessions.
richard ramirez
richard ramirez is one of the most well-known present day serial killers. also known as "the night stalker," he was convicted of 13 murders in the los angeles area although it is believed he committed others. among his victims was a woman with her throat slashed so violently that she was almost decapitated, one woman whose eyes had been gouged out, two women who were beaten with a hammer, one woman beaten with a tire iron, and a husband and wife who were shot to death and then mutilated with a machete. ramirez was interested in satan and the occult, and left pentagrams at several of his crime scenes.
elmer wayne henley, jr.
henley was a teenage accomplice to serial killer dean corll. henley and another teenage boy would help lure other young boys to corll's house, where he would then murder them. the two teenage accomplices would help corll bury the bodies, which totaled 27 by the time they were discovered. henley ended up shooting and killing corll, believing he was about to be the killer's next victim. he then contacted police and revealed their involvement in the murders.
jack trawick
trawick is believed to have murdered at least 5 women (although he claimed as many as 14 without providing proof), including one college student that he kidnapped, choked, hit on the head with a ball peen hammer, and stabbed. trawick was put to death by lethal injection in june 2009.
so those are the dudes i have letters by. they were all written to the same kid (a friend of my friend). most were pretty nondescript, although the ramirez one made me giggle and the tranwick one was kinda disturbing. quite a terrible bunch, eh? here is a little about the letters...
the norris letter: he has crazy-neat writing that looks like type. he says that he will write to anyone that writes to him, no matter if it's hate mail or not. he feels that he has a "responsibility to society" to answer any questions about the crimes he committed (but he does admit there are some aspects of the crimes he is "reluctant" to talk about in his letters). i wonder if he still feels this way and writes just as many letters, as this one was from 10 years ago. he mentions charles manson in his letter and says he will be transferred to the same building soon.
the henley letter: considering the nature of his crimes, i'm not sure if henley is being ironic or not when he tells the letter recipient "happy belated birthday! honestly, be glad you aren't a teenager any more - people don't take teens as serious, ya know?" he also talks about preparing for an art show that he says is a big deal for him. i like that he ended the letter by saying, "you take care and smile lots" like some kindly old grandma would write.
the ramirez letter: i thought it was funny that ramirez talks about a new ozzy/black sabbath album that came out and wants to how how it is so he can order it later. articles that i read about him kept mentioning that he was a big ac/dc fan as well. he mentioned that he is allowed to get "nude pictures of women" and asks for some to be sent. he signs the letter, "yrs cruelly richard."
the bittaker letter: bittaker's letter is the only one that is not hand-written. he mentions that he used to make "interesting pop-up greeting cards" which i wish he would have included. unfortunately, none. he mentions that he is listening to a page/plant tape he borrowed from a neighbor while he writes the letter. heh. he also says that ramirez was his neighbor a few months earlier.
the trawick letter: this letter is the only one that mentions explicit details of a crime that was committed. trawick opens the letter by saying that one thing that is true about death row is that you can never have too many penpals (you might recall that i mentioned earlier that he has since been put to death -- no more penpals for him). he describes himself as a "sexually motivated serial killer" who has "more murder cases than you have fingers." he claims that he never wanted to be caught and enjoyed his "reign of terror" -- and that he would continue, if allowed. he said that since being locked up, he attacked 3 female prison guards/health officials. he talks about how his favorite thing in the world is cars, and says he built his first hot rod at age 14. he mentions that he likes to paint in prison and add his body fluids to the paint, "especially blood." he gives the letter recipient a choice of what he wants to talk about in their letters, citing topics like "violent sex murders, travel, hot rods, food, cooking or art." for some reason i find it funny that he cites his favorite music as "soft classic rock and roll like fleetwood mac or jefferson airplane." then it takes a turn to CREEPYVILLE when he says "if you are a chubby, blonde sexie female - you usually don't live long after meeting me." again he lets the recipient know that it is up to him what topics they want to talk about in their letters. trawick writes, "i can graphically describe how i kidnapped, butt raped, strangled and sexually mutilated a cutie pie in a crowded bank parking lot or i can tell you how i built an ass-kicking chevy." pretty open guy, right? sheeeesh. he signs the letter "your new psychotic penpal, j."
i always wanted to start penpalling serial killers myself, but i never went through the trouble of getting a p.o. box. now that there is a post office right down the street from me, maybe it's about time...
to close, i'll share a few serial killer things i have for sale in FRENZY!
*JUST ADDED!*
a new design in the "cuddle with a serial killer!" pillowcase series: richard ramirez, the night stalker!
you can also get charles manson:
or john wayne gacy:
there is also a listing right now for a "choose two" set of pillowcases where you pick which two serial killers you want. they are gold pillowcases with pretty floral borders :)
also in the shop is this vintage book about angelo buono and kenneth bianchi, better known as the hillside stranglers:
hope i didn't creep you out TOO much. stay tuned for more pillowcase designs >:)
so it comes as no surprise that i was intrigued with the recent news that cleveland apparently has a serial killer that the press has dubbed "the cleveland strangler." it has been all over the news so chances are most people know what i'm talking about...if not, here is an article about the cleveland strangler. last i heard, there were 11 confirmed victims, including a skull in a bucket sitting in the basement. the creepy thing is that josh worked about 5 minutes away from the house where all the bodies were found! eeek.
amazingly enough, some people (even fellow clevelanders!) don't know that cleveland had a serial killer on the loose back in the 30s that was never caught. these killings became known as the cleveland torso murders. also referred to as "the mad butcher of kingsbury run" because of the area where the bodies (and body parts!) were dumped, the torso killer claimed 12 victims, most who are still unidentified to this day. eliot ness was safety director of cleveland during this period and although he appointed a special task force to catch the butcher, they were never able to. eliot ness has a memorial stone at my favorite place lakeview cemetery, to mark the spot where his ashes were scattered in a nearby lake.
here i am at lakeview cemetery. the caption should be "don't worry, i forgive you for not catching the torso killer!"
recently, a friend of mine gave me some penpal letters belonging to someone he knew. i guess he does a lot of trades for weird, random stuff and got these letters from the guy who was writing them to several serial killers in prison. my friend decided that they were "too dark" for him to have in his possession anymore, and he gladly handed them over. is it totally creepy that i was so stoked to get these?? wait, don't answer that...
so i did some research about the guys that authored these letters and it was truly fascinating what i found out. morbid, awful and heinous...but also fascinating. here are short bios of the five guys i have letters from, followed by a summary of their letters. it's spooky just holding them in my hand, knowing who wrote them and what they did with those very hands that touched the paper i am now touching...
roy norris and lawrence bittaker
these two dudes drove around california in one of those stereotypical rapist vans, abducting 5 young women in 1979. they nicknamed their van "murder mack." they tortured the girls by duct taping their mouths, tying them up, raping them, and sticking ice picks in their ears until they bled. then they would tie wire hangers around their necks and tighten them with pliers until they strangled them to death. one of them used a sledgehammer to bludgeon one of the girls in the head while the other guy strangled her. they also tape recorded most of the torture/murder sessions.
richard ramirez
richard ramirez is one of the most well-known present day serial killers. also known as "the night stalker," he was convicted of 13 murders in the los angeles area although it is believed he committed others. among his victims was a woman with her throat slashed so violently that she was almost decapitated, one woman whose eyes had been gouged out, two women who were beaten with a hammer, one woman beaten with a tire iron, and a husband and wife who were shot to death and then mutilated with a machete. ramirez was interested in satan and the occult, and left pentagrams at several of his crime scenes.
elmer wayne henley, jr.
henley was a teenage accomplice to serial killer dean corll. henley and another teenage boy would help lure other young boys to corll's house, where he would then murder them. the two teenage accomplices would help corll bury the bodies, which totaled 27 by the time they were discovered. henley ended up shooting and killing corll, believing he was about to be the killer's next victim. he then contacted police and revealed their involvement in the murders.
jack trawick
trawick is believed to have murdered at least 5 women (although he claimed as many as 14 without providing proof), including one college student that he kidnapped, choked, hit on the head with a ball peen hammer, and stabbed. trawick was put to death by lethal injection in june 2009.
so those are the dudes i have letters by. they were all written to the same kid (a friend of my friend). most were pretty nondescript, although the ramirez one made me giggle and the tranwick one was kinda disturbing. quite a terrible bunch, eh? here is a little about the letters...
the norris letter: he has crazy-neat writing that looks like type. he says that he will write to anyone that writes to him, no matter if it's hate mail or not. he feels that he has a "responsibility to society" to answer any questions about the crimes he committed (but he does admit there are some aspects of the crimes he is "reluctant" to talk about in his letters). i wonder if he still feels this way and writes just as many letters, as this one was from 10 years ago. he mentions charles manson in his letter and says he will be transferred to the same building soon.
the henley letter: considering the nature of his crimes, i'm not sure if henley is being ironic or not when he tells the letter recipient "happy belated birthday! honestly, be glad you aren't a teenager any more - people don't take teens as serious, ya know?" he also talks about preparing for an art show that he says is a big deal for him. i like that he ended the letter by saying, "you take care and smile lots" like some kindly old grandma would write.
the ramirez letter: i thought it was funny that ramirez talks about a new ozzy/black sabbath album that came out and wants to how how it is so he can order it later. articles that i read about him kept mentioning that he was a big ac/dc fan as well. he mentioned that he is allowed to get "nude pictures of women" and asks for some to be sent. he signs the letter, "yrs cruelly richard."
the bittaker letter: bittaker's letter is the only one that is not hand-written. he mentions that he used to make "interesting pop-up greeting cards" which i wish he would have included. unfortunately, none. he mentions that he is listening to a page/plant tape he borrowed from a neighbor while he writes the letter. heh. he also says that ramirez was his neighbor a few months earlier.
the trawick letter: this letter is the only one that mentions explicit details of a crime that was committed. trawick opens the letter by saying that one thing that is true about death row is that you can never have too many penpals (you might recall that i mentioned earlier that he has since been put to death -- no more penpals for him). he describes himself as a "sexually motivated serial killer" who has "more murder cases than you have fingers." he claims that he never wanted to be caught and enjoyed his "reign of terror" -- and that he would continue, if allowed. he said that since being locked up, he attacked 3 female prison guards/health officials. he talks about how his favorite thing in the world is cars, and says he built his first hot rod at age 14. he mentions that he likes to paint in prison and add his body fluids to the paint, "especially blood." he gives the letter recipient a choice of what he wants to talk about in their letters, citing topics like "violent sex murders, travel, hot rods, food, cooking or art." for some reason i find it funny that he cites his favorite music as "soft classic rock and roll like fleetwood mac or jefferson airplane." then it takes a turn to CREEPYVILLE when he says "if you are a chubby, blonde sexie female - you usually don't live long after meeting me." again he lets the recipient know that it is up to him what topics they want to talk about in their letters. trawick writes, "i can graphically describe how i kidnapped, butt raped, strangled and sexually mutilated a cutie pie in a crowded bank parking lot or i can tell you how i built an ass-kicking chevy." pretty open guy, right? sheeeesh. he signs the letter "your new psychotic penpal, j."
i always wanted to start penpalling serial killers myself, but i never went through the trouble of getting a p.o. box. now that there is a post office right down the street from me, maybe it's about time...
to close, i'll share a few serial killer things i have for sale in FRENZY!
*JUST ADDED!*
a new design in the "cuddle with a serial killer!" pillowcase series: richard ramirez, the night stalker!
you can also get charles manson:
or john wayne gacy:
there is also a listing right now for a "choose two" set of pillowcases where you pick which two serial killers you want. they are gold pillowcases with pretty floral borders :)
also in the shop is this vintage book about angelo buono and kenneth bianchi, better known as the hillside stranglers:
hope i didn't creep you out TOO much. stay tuned for more pillowcase designs >:)
Sunday, November 22, 2009
this and that
i tend to be a pessimist and see the worst in things, especially PEOPLE. josh and i often laugh about how perfect we are for each other because we get so annoyed by people in public that we would rather stay home with just each other. partly because of this, i sometimes forget the good there IS in people...and i forget just how lucky i am to have some of the most amazing friends and family surrounding me that are an exception to the rules. having those exceptions in life are priceless and i can only hope that maybe someone else thinks of me as an exception. i don't normally make new years resolutions, but i want to try harder to do random acts of kindness. pleasant surprises are the best feeling in the world, and i think it would do my soul some good to pass on the warmth ; )
for example: recently a friend of mine asked if i knew where she could sell a vintage silver christmas tree. my stomach dropped. i have always wanted one! i told her she could sell it to me, not knowing if i could afford to since she could probably make more selling it to a vintage shop or something. the friend responded by asking, "would you promise to love it and give it a good home?" ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? i would probably start sleeping under the tree at night just so it was the last thing i saw before i went to sleep and the first thing i saw when i woke up! that was when my friend admitted that although she no longer wanted to keep the tree, it belonged to her parents and it was their first christmas tree together. she wanted to make sure it went to a good home where someone would actually appreciate it, so she would just give it to me if i promised to take good care of it. that warmed my heart more than i can express! i love anything with a special history or memory attached to it (that's why i collected strangers pictures when i worked at the thrift store..or all the other old junk for that matter). the fact that the tree is as old as it is (her parents will be married for 50 years this summer!) and was loved and passed down, then loved and passed down again by my friend...it's like i'm getting this really special one-of-a-kind gift. that's soooo cool. plus, like i said, i always wanted one and can't wait to put it up :)
another cool thing happened thanks to a friend. it's easy to get down about things considering how rough the times are lately. and it gets really annoying after a while to see people promoting themselves over and over again without supporting others. does that make sense? i know everyone is just trying to SURVIVE out there, but sometimes you have to give a little in order to get a little in return. i'll be the first person to admit that i'm broke (both literally and spiritually sometimes) and i feel like i don't have much to give...but maybe i have been looking at things the wrong way. for instance: my friend called me up and told me she really needs some new music. being a dj/record nerd, she knew just who to come to. in return, she offered to cut/color my hair because she is a fantastic stylist. perfect, because i reeeally need a haircut and my roots are showing terribly! we both have something to offer and are able to support each other while getting something we need in return. that's so cool. i have thoughtful, resourceful and talented friends. i won't feel so useless because i'll be helping someone out. i won't feel guilty because they will be getting something they want as well. win/win. why didn't i think of this before???
i feel like i had really important themes to touch on in this post and i don't know if i expressed them very clearly. i'm just extremely grateful for knowing the wonderful people i know, and for the reassurance that people still do care about one another. it gives me hope at a time when i really need it.
on a completely unrelated note, my radio show HOT TRASH now has a fan page on facebook. feel free to be a fan if you might already dig it :) it is listed as "hot trash on wcsb 89.3fm":
hot trash on wcsb 89.3fm
off to make a big pot of soup and enjoy sunday with my sweet boy.
for example: recently a friend of mine asked if i knew where she could sell a vintage silver christmas tree. my stomach dropped. i have always wanted one! i told her she could sell it to me, not knowing if i could afford to since she could probably make more selling it to a vintage shop or something. the friend responded by asking, "would you promise to love it and give it a good home?" ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? i would probably start sleeping under the tree at night just so it was the last thing i saw before i went to sleep and the first thing i saw when i woke up! that was when my friend admitted that although she no longer wanted to keep the tree, it belonged to her parents and it was their first christmas tree together. she wanted to make sure it went to a good home where someone would actually appreciate it, so she would just give it to me if i promised to take good care of it. that warmed my heart more than i can express! i love anything with a special history or memory attached to it (that's why i collected strangers pictures when i worked at the thrift store..or all the other old junk for that matter). the fact that the tree is as old as it is (her parents will be married for 50 years this summer!) and was loved and passed down, then loved and passed down again by my friend...it's like i'm getting this really special one-of-a-kind gift. that's soooo cool. plus, like i said, i always wanted one and can't wait to put it up :)
another cool thing happened thanks to a friend. it's easy to get down about things considering how rough the times are lately. and it gets really annoying after a while to see people promoting themselves over and over again without supporting others. does that make sense? i know everyone is just trying to SURVIVE out there, but sometimes you have to give a little in order to get a little in return. i'll be the first person to admit that i'm broke (both literally and spiritually sometimes) and i feel like i don't have much to give...but maybe i have been looking at things the wrong way. for instance: my friend called me up and told me she really needs some new music. being a dj/record nerd, she knew just who to come to. in return, she offered to cut/color my hair because she is a fantastic stylist. perfect, because i reeeally need a haircut and my roots are showing terribly! we both have something to offer and are able to support each other while getting something we need in return. that's so cool. i have thoughtful, resourceful and talented friends. i won't feel so useless because i'll be helping someone out. i won't feel guilty because they will be getting something they want as well. win/win. why didn't i think of this before???
i feel like i had really important themes to touch on in this post and i don't know if i expressed them very clearly. i'm just extremely grateful for knowing the wonderful people i know, and for the reassurance that people still do care about one another. it gives me hope at a time when i really need it.
on a completely unrelated note, my radio show HOT TRASH now has a fan page on facebook. feel free to be a fan if you might already dig it :) it is listed as "hot trash on wcsb 89.3fm":
hot trash on wcsb 89.3fm
off to make a big pot of soup and enjoy sunday with my sweet boy.
Friday, November 20, 2009
a sale and some adorable things
just wanted to pop in to let y'all know that my darling friend phoebe is having a sale in her etsy shop xoxo phoebe marie! i own two of her adorable tiny polaroid necklaces and i love them so much i want to marry them, pee wee herman style. the sale that is going on right now is DOWNRIGHT INSANE, as phoebe's creative brilliance is worth much more than she is currently charging all of you fine folks. she also does really aweseome collages that look so real you want to argue with her that they aren't. BUT THEY ARE REAL! SO REAL!
anyway, go check out the sale. i know for a fact there is at least one more tiny polaroid necklace left with a cute little pink cupcake on it. you can do some christmas shopping AND get yourself something sweet for less money than a pepperoni pizza...yowza!
anyway, go check out the sale. i know for a fact there is at least one more tiny polaroid necklace left with a cute little pink cupcake on it. you can do some christmas shopping AND get yourself something sweet for less money than a pepperoni pizza...yowza!
Thursday, November 19, 2009
gorgeous vintage dresses and more
hey all, i know it's been a minute since i've listed anything new in the two etsy stores. but business has not been booming for swamp rat and that's a damn shame. if anyone is looking for a unique gift this holiday season, might i remind you that art is always nice?? specifically photography like i've got just waiting to grace someone's empty wall :)
i finally got some new stuff up in frenzy, including three of the most gorgeous vintage dresses i've ever found! i've been holding on to them forever but i finally have to come to terms with the fact that i'm never going to be a b-cup and these are never going to zip :( my loss is someone's TOTAL SCORE. seriously, they are BEAUTIFUL.
there are also two great vintage iron-on tshirts up for grabs:
and lots of music-related things! from some of my most favorite bands ever:
maybe you'll find something for someone on your shopping list? i can't believe christmas is right around the corner...ugh!!!
i finally got some new stuff up in frenzy, including three of the most gorgeous vintage dresses i've ever found! i've been holding on to them forever but i finally have to come to terms with the fact that i'm never going to be a b-cup and these are never going to zip :( my loss is someone's TOTAL SCORE. seriously, they are BEAUTIFUL.
there are also two great vintage iron-on tshirts up for grabs:
and lots of music-related things! from some of my most favorite bands ever:
maybe you'll find something for someone on your shopping list? i can't believe christmas is right around the corner...ugh!!!
Monday, November 16, 2009
wild and wonderful
josh was born in west virginia and lived there until he was about 4 years old. he still has some family there and goes every once in a while to visit or just to escape from cleveland and go fishing or whatever. i have never been to west virginia and he has been saying since we met that he wanted to take me. we finally got our chance this past weekend when his mom had to drive down for a baby shower and asked us along.
after dropping josh's mom off, josh and his younger brother took me sightseeing. they showed me where family lived and where they grew up. i drove up my first holler and learned all about the proper terminology (you can drive UP a holler or DOWN a holler but you can't drive ON a holler. and you can drive up A holler, but you can't drive on THE holler. ha!)
here are some pictures i snapped while we drove around.
back when josh's mom was growing up here, she knew the brothers that lived here because they went to her church. one night, one of the brothers took an ax and killed his father in his sleep at this very house. creepy, huh?
then we went to mudriver mall. more specifically, we drove up to some family's property where they have a permanent yard sale set up. there are piles of junk everywhere: in chicken coops, on top of old cars, in trailers. if you need a bluejean sundress with a rooster on it or a set of mismatched dishes, this is the place to come! josh found a few rolling stones records so that's cool. i did not see anything i needed; however, this is probably just because we didn't have time to look at everything and not because there wasn't some treasure laying there waiting for me to find it. this is not nearly the entire mudriver mall, but i was trying to sneak pictures when the family (sitting outside in lawn chairs) wasn't looking.
here is another shot from mudriver mall. apparently it's a big thing for people in west virginia to have one (or more) old school buses laying around on their property. this was one of the more extreme cases that i saw. how many old school buses does one family need??? but i digress.
i guess this guy and his property are kinda a local legend. josh said at one point he had a tractor ON HIS ROOF but unfortunately it's no longer there. he did, however, add some old hot rods to his front yard decor. sweet! you can spot all kinds of junk in these pictures if you look close enough. or you can play one of those "i spy" games...can you find the pink scooter? what about the rebel flag?
josh and i were really hoping we would have a run-in with jesco white while we were in west virginia...a.k.a. the dancing outlaw. we didn't, but we did hear plenty of good stories about him from the family friends we were staying with. they said they probably could have went out and rounded him up by looking in the right places if they knew we wanted to meet him, but by that time it was already too late at night. maybe next time!
something you gotta know: we were on a mission. one of the things we planned to do on our trip was find a certain cemetery. while we were out looking, we stumbled upon this old truck cemetery first. cool.
but what we were really looking for was the burial spot of legendary one man band, hasil adkins. things in west virginia aren't always marked, so we spent plenty of time driving around, asking locals, and accidentally passing the place up. the insightful directions we had to work with gave instructions like "look for a low water bridge," "take a dirt road over some railroad tracks," and "go up a hill." great. when we finally got to the spot where it seemed like we should be, we realized the path to drive a car was overgrown and inacessable. what to do?
i forgot to mention that i was standing there holding a bag of hot dogs. you see, hasil adkins is infamous for singing crazy songs about things like fried chicken and hot dogs. in honor of his song "no more hot dogs," we stopped at the local dairy queen and got some hot dogs that we knew we were gonna need later (but i'll get to that in a bit).
so i'm standing there holding this bag of hot dogs and out of nowhere comes this big dog over the railroad tracks. my first instinct was to get my hot dog-toting ass back into the car because i couldn't tell from his manner whether he was friendly or trained to attack interlopers. he didn't bark or attack me for the hot dogs or anything. he just stood around with us while we tried to decide what to do.
then some coal miners (or something) pulled up and josh asked them how to get to the cemetery that we were just GUESSING was at the top of the big hill in front of us. they said the road was closed off, but we could just hike up the hill in the backyards in front of us. so now not only did i have to hike a hill (with my asthma inhaler in my purse) with a wild (?) dog eyeing my hot dogs, but we had to risk going through someone else's property and hope we didn't get shot!
the dog tagged along and actually led the way up the hill. when we lagged behind, he would stop and turn around as if to say, "almost there! c'mon, guys!" here is a shot of josh's brother with the dog when i was almost to the top of the hill:
this is looking back down the hill we just climbed. the white line in the background is the back road we took to get there. i also forgot to mention that there was no clear path up the steep hill, so we were dodging tree branches and thorns the whole way. by the time i got to the top, josh had to say, "wait, stop!" and pull all the leaves from my hair.
this is what i saw when i finally climbed to the top:
we looked around and saw several plots for the adkins family, but none for hasil. it was overgrown and looked fairly undisturbed. we began to worry that we found the wrong cemetery and might have to keep hiking through the woods for another. yikes.
then josh called out.
aaaah! at long last! the world's greatest guitarist and one man band!
we pulled out the hot dogs and gave him our official rock'n'roll salute: by celebrating this wild and wonderful man the only way we knew how!
josh and i wanted to leave something on the grave but we didn't think to bring anything. i dug in my wallet and came up with a "crazy 8s" playing card that just said "CRAZY" across it. it seemed very fitting for this ultimate wildman...and i mean that in the most sincere and flattering way possible!
in his younger days he was one wiiiiiild mutha. you gotta get some of his old recordings and listen to them to understand. most of the video that exists is from when he was older, but you can still get a sense of his wild spirit :)
josh found a business card for the cleveland record store my mind's eye. that way, hasil and anyone else visiting his grave would know that his fans come from far and wide just to pay their respects and show their admiration! plus, this is the place josh bought his first hasil record, so it was quite appropriate.
it was a neat little cemetery and i was glad we went through the trouble of finding it. it was very peaceful and a bit touching to be up on the hill in the middle of the woods with one of the most outrageous musicians that ever lived. one man bands are all the rage right now, but once upon a time this wasn't always the case. i think it's safe to say that hasil inspired most of the one man bands that are around today and paved the way for wild and crazy rock'n'roll, one man band style.
here is a view from the top of the hill, with the main road and west virginia hills in the background:
josh was lucky enough to see hasil perform twice while he was alive. i never got to, and that is something i will always regret. while we were up there, the big dog silently followed us around and waited for us to finish our visit. when it was time to go back down, the dog again took the lead and went first, turning and stopping to wait for us whenever we were too slow. we joked that it was hasil's dog-angel-spirit that appeared to accompany us. i like to think that's true, and i really DID get a chance to hang with him during my lifetime :)
it was a fun weekend and a nice little roadtrip to get out of town for a while. we listened to stories from the guy we stayed with about having an uncle froggy, and how he was originally from a spot in west virginia called "big ugly" (so he could technically say he was a "big ugly man"). i ate authentic biscuits and gravy for breakfast, and even saw a sign in someone's front yard that said "4 sell." ha! stereotypical jokes are the best.
it was also cool to see where josh came from and to meet some of his family (including his 87-year-old great aunt, who insisted we take an apple pie with us). it put things into perspective and made me realize just why my boyfriend is as wild and wonderful as he is :)
here is another video clip of hasil, from a documentary called "the wild and wonderful world of hasil adkins":
after dropping josh's mom off, josh and his younger brother took me sightseeing. they showed me where family lived and where they grew up. i drove up my first holler and learned all about the proper terminology (you can drive UP a holler or DOWN a holler but you can't drive ON a holler. and you can drive up A holler, but you can't drive on THE holler. ha!)
here are some pictures i snapped while we drove around.
back when josh's mom was growing up here, she knew the brothers that lived here because they went to her church. one night, one of the brothers took an ax and killed his father in his sleep at this very house. creepy, huh?
then we went to mudriver mall. more specifically, we drove up to some family's property where they have a permanent yard sale set up. there are piles of junk everywhere: in chicken coops, on top of old cars, in trailers. if you need a bluejean sundress with a rooster on it or a set of mismatched dishes, this is the place to come! josh found a few rolling stones records so that's cool. i did not see anything i needed; however, this is probably just because we didn't have time to look at everything and not because there wasn't some treasure laying there waiting for me to find it. this is not nearly the entire mudriver mall, but i was trying to sneak pictures when the family (sitting outside in lawn chairs) wasn't looking.
here is another shot from mudriver mall. apparently it's a big thing for people in west virginia to have one (or more) old school buses laying around on their property. this was one of the more extreme cases that i saw. how many old school buses does one family need??? but i digress.
i guess this guy and his property are kinda a local legend. josh said at one point he had a tractor ON HIS ROOF but unfortunately it's no longer there. he did, however, add some old hot rods to his front yard decor. sweet! you can spot all kinds of junk in these pictures if you look close enough. or you can play one of those "i spy" games...can you find the pink scooter? what about the rebel flag?
josh and i were really hoping we would have a run-in with jesco white while we were in west virginia...a.k.a. the dancing outlaw. we didn't, but we did hear plenty of good stories about him from the family friends we were staying with. they said they probably could have went out and rounded him up by looking in the right places if they knew we wanted to meet him, but by that time it was already too late at night. maybe next time!
something you gotta know: we were on a mission. one of the things we planned to do on our trip was find a certain cemetery. while we were out looking, we stumbled upon this old truck cemetery first. cool.
but what we were really looking for was the burial spot of legendary one man band, hasil adkins. things in west virginia aren't always marked, so we spent plenty of time driving around, asking locals, and accidentally passing the place up. the insightful directions we had to work with gave instructions like "look for a low water bridge," "take a dirt road over some railroad tracks," and "go up a hill." great. when we finally got to the spot where it seemed like we should be, we realized the path to drive a car was overgrown and inacessable. what to do?
i forgot to mention that i was standing there holding a bag of hot dogs. you see, hasil adkins is infamous for singing crazy songs about things like fried chicken and hot dogs. in honor of his song "no more hot dogs," we stopped at the local dairy queen and got some hot dogs that we knew we were gonna need later (but i'll get to that in a bit).
so i'm standing there holding this bag of hot dogs and out of nowhere comes this big dog over the railroad tracks. my first instinct was to get my hot dog-toting ass back into the car because i couldn't tell from his manner whether he was friendly or trained to attack interlopers. he didn't bark or attack me for the hot dogs or anything. he just stood around with us while we tried to decide what to do.
then some coal miners (or something) pulled up and josh asked them how to get to the cemetery that we were just GUESSING was at the top of the big hill in front of us. they said the road was closed off, but we could just hike up the hill in the backyards in front of us. so now not only did i have to hike a hill (with my asthma inhaler in my purse) with a wild (?) dog eyeing my hot dogs, but we had to risk going through someone else's property and hope we didn't get shot!
the dog tagged along and actually led the way up the hill. when we lagged behind, he would stop and turn around as if to say, "almost there! c'mon, guys!" here is a shot of josh's brother with the dog when i was almost to the top of the hill:
this is looking back down the hill we just climbed. the white line in the background is the back road we took to get there. i also forgot to mention that there was no clear path up the steep hill, so we were dodging tree branches and thorns the whole way. by the time i got to the top, josh had to say, "wait, stop!" and pull all the leaves from my hair.
this is what i saw when i finally climbed to the top:
we looked around and saw several plots for the adkins family, but none for hasil. it was overgrown and looked fairly undisturbed. we began to worry that we found the wrong cemetery and might have to keep hiking through the woods for another. yikes.
then josh called out.
aaaah! at long last! the world's greatest guitarist and one man band!
we pulled out the hot dogs and gave him our official rock'n'roll salute: by celebrating this wild and wonderful man the only way we knew how!
josh and i wanted to leave something on the grave but we didn't think to bring anything. i dug in my wallet and came up with a "crazy 8s" playing card that just said "CRAZY" across it. it seemed very fitting for this ultimate wildman...and i mean that in the most sincere and flattering way possible!
in his younger days he was one wiiiiiild mutha. you gotta get some of his old recordings and listen to them to understand. most of the video that exists is from when he was older, but you can still get a sense of his wild spirit :)
josh found a business card for the cleveland record store my mind's eye. that way, hasil and anyone else visiting his grave would know that his fans come from far and wide just to pay their respects and show their admiration! plus, this is the place josh bought his first hasil record, so it was quite appropriate.
it was a neat little cemetery and i was glad we went through the trouble of finding it. it was very peaceful and a bit touching to be up on the hill in the middle of the woods with one of the most outrageous musicians that ever lived. one man bands are all the rage right now, but once upon a time this wasn't always the case. i think it's safe to say that hasil inspired most of the one man bands that are around today and paved the way for wild and crazy rock'n'roll, one man band style.
here is a view from the top of the hill, with the main road and west virginia hills in the background:
josh was lucky enough to see hasil perform twice while he was alive. i never got to, and that is something i will always regret. while we were up there, the big dog silently followed us around and waited for us to finish our visit. when it was time to go back down, the dog again took the lead and went first, turning and stopping to wait for us whenever we were too slow. we joked that it was hasil's dog-angel-spirit that appeared to accompany us. i like to think that's true, and i really DID get a chance to hang with him during my lifetime :)
it was a fun weekend and a nice little roadtrip to get out of town for a while. we listened to stories from the guy we stayed with about having an uncle froggy, and how he was originally from a spot in west virginia called "big ugly" (so he could technically say he was a "big ugly man"). i ate authentic biscuits and gravy for breakfast, and even saw a sign in someone's front yard that said "4 sell." ha! stereotypical jokes are the best.
it was also cool to see where josh came from and to meet some of his family (including his 87-year-old great aunt, who insisted we take an apple pie with us). it put things into perspective and made me realize just why my boyfriend is as wild and wonderful as he is :)
here is another video clip of hasil, from a documentary called "the wild and wonderful world of hasil adkins":
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