My Interview at Literary Asylum

Matt Cunningham is a guy after my own heart...into movies, metal, NASCAR and young adult fiction (which he also writes himself). He also has a great site called Literary Asylum. So of course I'm gonna say yes to an interview request about Killer Cows.

Here's the link to the interview:
http://literaryasylum.blogspot.com/2010/05/killer-cows-are-here-run-to-your-local.html

Ronnie James Dio: Rest In Peace

I just read the news on Twitter, right after the NASCAR race was over and I settled down to get my homework done, but not before checking out my tweets...


Ronnie James Dio, one of my lifelong heroes, and one of the few celebrities I ever had the fortune to meet (who signed my copy of his first Dio album), passed away today at the age of 67.

For those of you who don’t know who he was, heavy metal lost a giant today. And for me, a lifelong fan of the music he helped to shape and symbolize, this is worse than Elvis or John Lennon dying.

Not only that, he was simply a nice guy. I knew that from the few minutes I spent talking to him one day in a music store 30 years ago, when he signed my record. Despite the hundreds of people clamoring for a pictures or autographs, Ronnie took the time to talk with every one of us, answering our questions and agreeing to pose for pictures. When I talked to him with my well-prepared questions, he was congenial, enthusiastic, and generally seemed happy to talk to me, even though I must have been the hundredth or so fan waiting to meet him. In a genre filled with more than its share of arrogant rock stars, the man had total class

Right now, as I write this, I’m listening to “Heaven & Hell,” arguably one of his greatest songs Black Sabbath ever recorded, and it’s hard not to cry. I gotta crank the volume in his honor, which makes me even sadder. He died before his time, and considering he and his Sabbath bandmates (now called Heaven and Hell) were gearing up for a summer tour, I can’t help but mourn the loss of more music to come.

I need to stop writing now. All I want to do now is listen to his songs, since there won’t be any more.

Mr. Mulkins: 7th Grade Teacher (#11)

Ode to Mom

The best moms never stop being moms, no matter how crazy they drive you.


I’m 46 years old, with a wife of twenty years and two daughters, one 15, the other, 6. I’ve been a teacher for 14 years.

Still, my mom laments the fact I wear my hair long, constantly comments on my taste in music (which hasn’t changed a lot since I was a teenager) and feels the incessant need to offer life-advice as though I had just recently landed on this planet.


But you know what? I love her for it. I look forward to our pointless debates over issues which seem important at the time, revel in our clashes over personal values, and despite my advanced age, enjoy the rebelling to the point she gets upset (most recently, my somewhat belated decision to get a tattoo). You know why? Because no matter what our differences are, whether I'm right or she is, I know my mom cares about me.

I love her for all of that. I love her values, even though they aren’t mine. I love the fact that she (unconsciously?) allows me to actually feel rebellious, despite my middle age, which makes me feel young again. We argue about lots of stuff, though I doubt either of us really think we’ll convince the other they are wrong. It’s the conversation with Mom I truly love.

Mom may no longer be a toting parent I grew up with, but she’s so much more now...my sounding board, my mentor, my moral compass, my friend. We agree on almost nothing, but I respect everything she says, simply because she’s my mom and because, everything I am, everything I think or believe, I owe to her.

Mother’s Day is coming up, and I’ll likely venture to my nearby Barnes & Noble to pick up a gift card to tuck into her Mother’s Day card. Is it a gift worthy of the attributes I’ve mentioned about my mom?

Of course not.

Who else but your mom will selflessly let you know how important you think you are?

She’s my mom. I owe her everything.

And, no matter what your age, not matter what your beliefs, you owe your mom everything, too.

Mr. Mulkins: 7th Grade Teacher