Random Thoughts on Friday: Remembering Lexington's Jim Varney

I wanted to just take a second to babble on about Jim Varney.  My path never crossed with his, though he rests eternally a very short distance from where I live now.  I am so proud of how far that Kentuckian went.

I remember him from his movies and commercials as a kid.  He was just a funny character.

My friend Heather lived near him back in the day.  She never met him, but loved his movies.  As a kid, she always hoped that she would bump in to him sometime.  Well, of course the one evening that she did not go to the grocery with her mom was the one night that her mom met him.  Heather's mom reported that he was a very nice man.

Everyone knows that he spent some time doing theater at the always entertaining Pioneer Playhouse in Danville (a young John Travolta and Lee Majors would also spend some time there).  I have read in a couple of sources that Jim Varney was a brilliant actor who could do Shakespeare.  

That is impressive, but I can't name a single brilliant Shakespearian actor...  I know Jim Varney though.

I was watching a season 3 episode of Alice the other day....  a show I am going back and watching right now....  and there he was.  Jim Varney.  It was like bumping in to an old friend.
 

The Red Onion "Ghosts and Goodtime Girls Tour" Skagway Alaska

Oh man, we had a great time on the "Ghosts and Goodtime Girls" tour we took while in Skagway Alaska.  This was really a lot of fun, and if you find yourself in Skagway, you need to do this!

The Red Onion Saloon, which is now a brothel museum (in the past, it was simply a brothel) and restaurant does the tour.  One of the "girls" (wink, wink) does the tour.  Of course these are playful tour guides employed by the Red Onion now, playing the character of one of the ladies from the past.

Our guide, Amanda Mount, had us cracking up the whole time.  I kid you not, I laughed so hard at times tears were coming out of my eyes.  

The tour does use a lot of innuendos....  so it might not be the best for kids.  I will say that some of the older folks on our cruise did this tour too and they raved about it. 

Skagway was definitely a highlight on our cruise, and this excursion was tops.  It gets my highest possible recommendation.

"Southern Ohio Legends and Lore" by James A. Willis

Back in 2013 (I think) I bumped in to James A. Willis doing a book signing in Indianapolis.  He was promoting some of the "Weird US" books that he had contributed to back them.  "Weird Indiana" and "Weird Ohio", among others, have his name all over them.

I really enjoyed chatting with him back then.  You could tell that he really enjoyed talking about and investigating, well, the weird.

I was really happy to hear that he would be at the Frogman Festival in Mason this year (see my video from the event).

I picked up a couple of new books from him, and I really enjoyed his newer work, "Southern Ohio Legends and Lore".

One thing that I really love about Weird Willis...  and this makes his writing superior to a lot of other ghosty type books out there...  is that he RESEARCHES what he is writing about.  You know, he goes to the library and checks out what is DOCUMENTED about a place or a legend.

In this book, he does his research and finds exactly how certain urban legends came about.  Strange stories involving a horseshoe mark on a grave and a headless biker are examined.  Willis finds out that there is SOME truth to these crazy stories, and discusses the REAL places and characters that contributed to their origins.

Some of the other stories involve a prison escapee that has never been seen since leaving, exploding boats and blimps, the son of President Taft, and, of course, the Who.

A very cool story you will want to read involves James Willis' personal connect to the old "Touchdown Jesus" that went up in flames.

You simply can't go wrong with James A. Willis.  He tells good stories, and gives you a lot for your money with any of his books.  This one gets my highest possible recommendation.

 

Frogman Festival Ohio 03 04 2023

So, I found out about the Frogman Festival in Mason Ohio kinda late....  this just wasn't on my radar until the last minute.  Still, with short notice, we made plans to go.

Here is my video from the event!

"The Lake Michigan Mothman" by Tobias Wayland

I picked up "The Lake Michigan Mothman:  High Strangeness in the Midwest" from it's author, Tobias Wayland at the recent Frogman Festival in Mason Ohio.

You know I am a fan of the mysterious Mothman, and it was interesting to find a newer book, tracking the strange creature's movements outside of the Point Pleasant West Virginia area.

I can't say that I understand the Mothman any more after reading this book, but the volume does contribute a whole new rabbit whole to jump in to concerning him.

Wayland documents the newer sightings of Mothman, which have MOSTLY been near Chicago, though there have been other reports spread out, but still kinda near.  I was impressed to hear about a sighting in Indiana just a couple of years after the Silver Bridge collapse- often linked to the 60s sightings.

Tobias makes some other interesting observations about the more recent sightings too.  The author gets in to conspiracies and coverups, without going too far out in left field.  There are links to UFOs, witches, pterodactyls, and the Creeper from Jeepers Creepers.  Oh, and I was particularly impressed with investigating done in a Mexican American area of Chicago.

You will want this book on your book shelf right next to Keel and Coleman.

 

Dawes Glacier Holkham Bay Alaska Sept 2022

 

AND....  here is a brief video of our experience with a glacier on our Alaska Cruise!

Capitol Building in Juneau Alaska

While in Juneau, we took a self guided tour through the capitol building.

Juneau Alaska September 2022

 

On our cruise, we were very lucky in that we were able to spend a good amount of time in Juneau!

Skagway Alaska Dug Musher Excursion

One of the many highlights of our Alaska Cruise involved going to a dog musher camp in Skagway.  This was truly something very unique.

Sure, the "main event" was getting to go on a ride where the mushing dogs pulled the car.....  but we got a whole lot more on this excursion.

Our driver/guide Axl gave some great info about the town of Skagway.  We got to ride a unique monster truck type vehicle up and down a mountain.  And, we got to play with some puppies at the end.

Check out my video...  and if you are doing an Alaska Cruise make sure you do this excursion!

Alaska Cruise Excursion: Icy Strait Point Tram and Gondola Ride

On our cruise, we stopped at the cute little area known as Icy Strait Point.  This community has greatly benefited, financially, from the cruise shops stopping by- and they are pretty open about that.

Though it was a very rainy and cold day, we enjoyed a nice excursion here, listening to a local discuss the area and culture.

We took a gondola ride up to the top of the mountain, and then we had a tram ride as we listened to his stories.

Ward Cove to Ketchikan AK Bus Ride Sept 2022

 

We had an interesting ride on a bus from Ward Cove to Ketchikan Alaska on our cruise!

Hodgenville Kentucky January 2023

I really like Hodgenville Kentucky.  I love all of the great Abraham Lincoln history there, and I just like it as a nice little town.  It has a lot more going for it than many people realize.

Abraham Lincoln Boyhood Home Knob Creek Kentucky

I have posted about the Abraham Lincoln Boyhood Home before, but I really enjoy visiting this site...  so here is another video.