JMH Takes the Lone Star State Part 1

Growing up, there was only ONE sport to me and that was the sport that had been instilled within by my Grandpa Joe since day one, baseball.  So when Matt came up to me in the summer of 1996 asking me to travel to Dallas, Texas and see the Cowboys play, I really wasn't that excited about the concept of the sport.  Football had always been a bit foreign to me, too many guys on the field at once and two many rules to keep up with.  But because I had never had the opportunity to fly anywhere or even been to that portion of the country, I saw this as an outstanding opportunity to travel with my Pal and have another adventure to add to the chapters of our lives.

 I remember needing to pack my bag the night before departure after working a long shift at Long Johns.  I think we were planning on flying out on a Friday morning, so in order to get a Friday, Saturday, and Sunday combination off I really had two choices.  I could sign a contract in my own blood and sell my soul to Treasure Isles for eternity, or I could work my ass off the Thursday before and the following Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.  Valuing my soul just a tad, I decided to take the second choice. 

 I pulled up to Matt's house late that night before heading home to get my stuff ready. Everyone seemed asleep and I let myself in the back door of the house.  Matt's mom always kept the back door unlocked for me because of my usual late night visits.  As the years progressed and the world around us became more and more of an unsafe environment, she began locking that door and provided me a key.  I always felt special and privileged that she felt as if I was one of the family.

 I entered the house and saw Matt in the front room with his bag.  We gave each other our traditional hello hug and began to exchange pleasantries.  Matt gave me a brief rundown of the trip, sort of an itinerary.  Then he put up a finger.

 "And I have a surprise for you!"  He smiled and disappeared down the hallway.  Now when Matt uttered those words, I never knew what to expect.  Sometimes it was a good thing.  Sometimes it was a bad thing. It was NEVER an uneventful

 I turned down the hallway and saw Matt dart into his parents' bedroom.  He was only gone for a matter of moments and then he reappeared into the hall literally slamming the door behind him.  I winced.  Matt's parents were the heaviest sleepers I had ever come into contact with.  I would show up at their house at ungodly hours of the night and early morning.  Matt and I would horseplay, scream, yell, dance, swim outside their bedroom door, and even throw parties and I would never ONCE see either of his parents show up to tell us to quiet things down.  Matt always told me they were sleeping and I believed this for years.  Later, as I got older, I was having a conversation with his mother.  She did come clean and told me that they heard EVERYTHING that had been going on and ALWAYS did.  There were times they couldn't even get to sleep because we were so loud.  So why did they never say anything to us and tell us to shut the hell up?

"Jeremy, we knew if you and Matt were hanging out here together, we knew he was safe.  And being a parent of a teenager, that peace of mind means more to us than a good night's rest."

Made sense...

"What is that?"  I asked as Matt tore down the hallway right past me to the couch in the front room.  He was carrying a small black bag with him.  I turned and followed.  My interest was definitely peaking.

"This," Matt said as he unzipped the high school English textbook sized bag, "Is the FUTURE!"

I was even more intrigued than usual.  "The future, huh?"

I walked up to Matt as he turned around.  In his hand was a handheld camcorder.  "Behold the future!"

 Now, let's pause for a minute and reflect, because I know several of you are trying to figure out, "Why in the hell is a handheld camcorder the future?"  Well, Matt and I loved to film things.  We have several of our adventures on tape and DVD if you are interested.  The only problem, we only had access to one piece of recording equipment.  It was what we lovingly referred to as "The Anvil". 

"The Anvil" was the one and only video camera my family had. Originally purchased by my grandmother from a video store in Mt. Vernon called Curtis Mathis (which is now a tanning salon), she used it to video me and my cousins for years.  The problem was the camera itself  was about the size and dimensions of an actual studio recording device.  You ever seen the news crew guys with the cameras on their shoulders?  Yep, that was what this thing was.  GINORMOUS!  Bulky and incredibly heavy.  An actual FULL SIZED VHS tape was used for recording.

Besides its Kraken sized appearance, "The Anvil" had another drawback.  Battery life. In today's world of technology, your cell phone battery or digital recording battery may give you endless hours, even days, of recording pleasure.  Well with "The Anvil", it took the famous phrase of life being short too literally and made it about ten minutes.  Luckily life's big events are often made up of quick sprints and not long distance runs. 

This beast use to be my grandmother's pride and joy.  I'm not really sure how it ended up being in my possession, but it did.  Matt and I used it to record some of our greatest adventures.  However, as time passed, we realized it was becoming more and more of a job for us than anything to take "The Anvil" out and fewer and fewer appearances by the device became a reality.  Matt and I always talked about buying something smaller and easier, but we never had, at least not until this day.

Funny thing is, "The Anvil" is STILL in my possession today.  It is sitting in my garage collecting dust, probably still works too...even for a matter of minutes. My wife and I had a rummage sale a few years back.  I put "The Anvil" on sale.  Started the price at $10 and worked my way down to FREE.  It still sits in my garage, someday maybe as an artifact for the JMH Hall of Fame. 

So now you understand why this thing was THE FUTURE!

"Where did you get that!"  I asked reaching for the camera, but Matt pulled it back from my hands.

"Careful.  It's Mom's.  She's never used the thing.  Dad got it for her."  He turned the camera around and around in his hands as if he held some sort of precious gemstone.  He then placed it back into the bag carefully.

I read his behavior quite well.  "Meaning, you are taking it without permission."

Matt looked at me and shook his head.  "NO!"  He then smiled.  "WE are taking it without permission!"  He then laughed.  I wasn't sure I was liking this at all.

"So are you ready?" 

Matt looked at me and grinned.  He grabbed his bag and he camera bag from the couch. 

"The question is not whether you and I are ready.  The question is, is Dallas ready for JMH?"

 

 

"The Anvil" today...

Look Out Insidious!

During our New Years Eve get together, we had a little Insidious-a-thon, watching parts one and two back to back.  Pretty intense stuff...

After watching THIS commercial, however, I think the director of this Old Spice short should be our director for Insidious Chapter 3.

Creepy stuff!

JM

Forget Being Like Mike...Can We Just FIND HIM!!!!

1992, Woodlawn High School, Woodlawn, Illinois...40 members in our class that year.  As I look back and reminisce, several of these people cross my mind from time to time.  Some I see and talk to quite frequently, most however, are just memories in my joggled brain.  But ONE person in particular constantly comes forward from my past, begging to be remembered and a mystery involving him to be solved.

MICHAEL LOGAN!

Where the hell is Michael Logan?  This is a constant running question within JMH.  Why?  Because it simply appears as if he just vanished off of the face of the earth!  In today's world, that is simply unheard of with all of the social media and Internet possibilities.  But that is what appears to have happened.  Michael Logan is simply a ghost.

Michael was a quiet and all around nice guy in high school.  Blazing red hair, always smiling, and extremely quiet, Michael sort of floated under the radar through his last year of school.  A mathematic genius, a master of sleeping in classes and not getting caught, and virtually unbeatable at arm wrestling, Michael was sort of an Everyman's friend. 

One of the most vibrant memories I have of Michael was his attendance to the Metallica concert at Carbondale with us.  Michael chose to drive and when he was asked to follow another car out of the Hardees parking lot, Michael just did that.  In a Nissan four door sedan, Michael went off roading down the hill and over parking lot stoppers not wanting to miss the lead car.  Typical Michael Logan fashion.

Here are the clues that we have...

Clue #1:  Michael use to live in the blue house directly behind Woodlawn Grade School.  I did find out that his mother sold that home shortly after Michael graduated high school.  Why?  Where did she go?  Where did he go? Hmmmm....

Clue #2:  Michael use to work at Country Fair at the mall complex in Mt. Vernon.  He was there until they shut down.  After their closing, he vanished.  He could be working in a grocery store near you!

Clue #3:  Michael has a tattoo of a black panther on his upper arm (can't remember if  it was his right or left) that the tail descends down the forearm.  Quite noticeable.

Clue #4:  Rumor is he joined a branch of the military.  Not sure how accurate this detail is.

This is ALL we know.  Please...JMH would love to contact Michael and speak with him.  It has been over 20 years since we have since this guy and we would love just to touch base with him.  If you have ANY information on his whereabouts, please comment on the Facebook post or message me or Matt Hails.

Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster, Roswell, and now...Where the hell is Michael Logan?  This is one mystery of the universe that can be solved!

I'm thinking...

JM

TOTD

May not be the same "snow", but a great tune nonetheless! 

JM

TOTD

My CRYSTAL BALL states it is going to get FRIGID out there! 
JM

TOTD

A bit chilly out there today folks!  Jammin' to this will warm ya up!

JM

TOTD

Get ya new year rollin'!

JM

Goodbye 2013...Hello 2014!

 



JMH would like to thank all of you for being a part of our lives this past year.  We are looking forward to being an even BIGGER part of your lives this year!  HUGE announcement coming soon from JMH!  Keep checking back with us for further updates!

 

 

James Belushi!