Oh. Glad to hear it. I'm a bit embarrassed though because after talking to you last year and trying to catch up on decades of life in a matter of minutes, and then months later sending that letter, I somehow in my scatterbrained brained head thought that your kids were all girls. I had just discovered Raw Impressions, and it wasn't until after the fact that I heard an episode with you guys talking about your son. Of course our good will extends to him as well. By the way, excellent choice of name. That's another thing I love about the podcast; it includes a good dose of talk about kids. I guess that makes sense, it being "Barlow Family..." Anyway, it's one of the things I most look forward to every week. Thanks again!
Just finished checking this out. I was practically rolling on the floor. But also greatly moved by the back story. Beautiful and sad and badass late 70s and early 80s reminiscences. What a proper and awesome friend to have. Sorry you lost him. I've never latched on to any podcasts before, but I'm hooked on Raw Impressions. Maybe it's a generational thing, and it strikes a chord, but you guys kill it, and I'm always looking forward to the next installment.
Not sure I still have them or if they’re even playable. For the longest time, I stored them in a giant Campbell Soup can that I called it “Cream of Tapes”. The last they may have seen the light of day must have been when I was at Smith (Yes, a former Western Mass, Northampton-ite- we may have run in the same circles, early 90’s, Bay State, Hôtel Massachusetts, Mal, Zeke, David, Storm King, Gobblehoof, et. al). What an opportunity missed to have never played any of these gems on WOZQ!
This is great!! The argument over long distance calls. I can’t tell you how many of these tapes I made as a pre-teen, with friends, alone, soliloquies, Dr. Demento inspired, fake commercials, with Who songs interspersed, making horrible noises with a vacuum cleaner on my face (gave myself awful hickies!!), and the layers and layers of recording over other recordings. It’s a lost art form. And I remember it being a total blast!!
Really enjoyed your tribute to Mark (have listened a dozen times or so, so far). You could say I'm among Mark's surviving family members (non-biological; nuclear by marriage). Mark and I became (step)brothers in 1973—after my bio mom, Leslie Rathburn (Vognild/Gorham/Harris), divorced my first stepfather, Jeffrey Gorham (under the absurd and false pretense that she had physically assaulted him by pushing him over an ottoman (at the time no-fault divorces weren’t an option)); Mark's bio mother and father divorced/their marriage was annulled by the Catholic Church (an absurdity readily granted at the time); and the two couples switched partners and married. Previously, Mark (and Ken) and I were just friends, from the time we met at a pool party at the Popes in late summer of '70 (Sep 8) in Winnetka (Illinois), the first day of the school year, just before Ken turned 2 (Sep 9) , Mark 4 (Sep 21), and I 5 (Sep 29). A quite memorable event, because Ken fell into the pool, sank to the bottom, children screamed, a parent dove in, dragged Ken’s limp body to the surface, gently placed him on the edge of the pool; another parent pressed on his abdomen, Ken coughed up water and resumed breathing. That was also the day Marvin and Leslie met. It’s a long and complicated story (a foundational episode in the prequel to Insanity #1?).
Would love to hear all of Insanity #1, if possible. After Mark and Ken moved to Jackson with Jeff (their new stepfather/my ex-stepfather) and DeAnn, I visited them once or twice a year (travelling alone by train on Amtrak from Chicago), until I moved to Doniphan with Marvin and Leslie and my bio-sister Mere(dith) in 1977. I always liked DeAnne and appreciated her use of “minced oaths” such as “crimine” and “Judas Priest” “for Pete’s sake” but regrettably never saw or spoke to her after the move to Doniphan.
In 1978, Mark moved to Doniphan to attend 7th grade, probably in large part (I now presume) because you (Lou) left for Massachusetts and he (Mark) was apparently left friendless in Jackson. At the time, the reason wasn’t well articulated—DeAnn said: Mark wasn’t happy in Jackson; he and Ken weren’t getting along; and Mark wanted to move to Doniphan to live with us. Mark and Ken had visited us in Doniphan earlier in the summer of ’78 for a couple weeks and they seemed to have a pretty good time, though Mark complained quite a bit about the oppressive heat and humidity. Mark taught me the word “heatstroke” on that visit, which I later learned was an established word, not coined by him. So it was a bit of a surprise that Mark wanted to move to Doniphan. We shared a bedroom (and a trundle bed). He made friends with peers in his grade. Mark seemed to adjust well, but seemed somewhat frustrated by his inability to convince new friends that country music was trash or that black culture had positively contributed to American music and culture and black people had more in common with white people than a fondness for watermelon and fried chicken...
... Mark returned to Jackson for Christmas break and decided to remain there for second semester of 7th grade... According to my recollection, Mark didn't return to Doniphan until he had graduated from Perkiomen after a stint in rehab. Ken came along (he was 15 and had just finished 10th grade in Syracuse (at the Catholic school that Mark had been expelled from or chosen to leave?))...
If you still feel you can’t share all of Insanity #1 out of respect for DeAnn, please at least let me know which if any minced oaths were elicited from her in the argument instigated by Mark for your entertainment.
Sincerely,
Eric (Alan Vognild), formerly known as Eric Harris (1973-1983), Eric Gorham (1968-1973), Eric Vognild (1965-1968)...(if you believe in reincarnation)
P.S. If you want, I can introduce you to Marvin with photos, audio recordings, etc. He and Mark were a lot alike. Unlike Mark (and me), he skied in the Alps as a young boy and his mother (Grandma Lucy) and (step)father (Grandpa Ken) were extremely wealthy (https://www.edgarmiller.org/lecture-lucy-montgomery). When Mark was a young boy, Grandma Lucy and Grandpa Ken were still married, Marvin was heir apparent (it seemed), and Mark was next in line. You can get my email address from Cindy.
Oh. Glad to hear it. I'm a bit embarrassed though because after talking to you last year and trying to catch up on decades of life in a matter of minutes, and then months later sending that letter, I somehow in my scatterbrained brained head thought that your kids were all girls. I had just discovered Raw Impressions, and it wasn't until after the fact that I heard an episode with you guys talking about your son. Of course our good will extends to him as well. By the way, excellent choice of name. That's another thing I love about the podcast; it includes a good dose of talk about kids. I guess that makes sense, it being "Barlow Family..." Anyway, it's one of the things I most look forward to every week. Thanks again!
Just finished checking this out. I was practically rolling on the floor. But also greatly moved by the back story. Beautiful and sad and badass late 70s and early 80s reminiscences. What a proper and awesome friend to have. Sorry you lost him. I've never latched on to any podcasts before, but I'm hooked on Raw Impressions. Maybe it's a generational thing, and it strikes a chord, but you guys kill it, and I'm always looking forward to the next installment.
I love how Prank Calls is like a Laurie Anderson song ☺️👍
Not sure I still have them or if they’re even playable. For the longest time, I stored them in a giant Campbell Soup can that I called it “Cream of Tapes”. The last they may have seen the light of day must have been when I was at Smith (Yes, a former Western Mass, Northampton-ite- we may have run in the same circles, early 90’s, Bay State, Hôtel Massachusetts, Mal, Zeke, David, Storm King, Gobblehoof, et. al). What an opportunity missed to have never played any of these gems on WOZQ!
This is great!! The argument over long distance calls. I can’t tell you how many of these tapes I made as a pre-teen, with friends, alone, soliloquies, Dr. Demento inspired, fake commercials, with Who songs interspersed, making horrible noises with a vacuum cleaner on my face (gave myself awful hickies!!), and the layers and layers of recording over other recordings. It’s a lost art form. And I remember it being a total blast!!
Hey Lou and Adelle,
Really enjoyed your tribute to Mark (have listened a dozen times or so, so far). You could say I'm among Mark's surviving family members (non-biological; nuclear by marriage). Mark and I became (step)brothers in 1973—after my bio mom, Leslie Rathburn (Vognild/Gorham/Harris), divorced my first stepfather, Jeffrey Gorham (under the absurd and false pretense that she had physically assaulted him by pushing him over an ottoman (at the time no-fault divorces weren’t an option)); Mark's bio mother and father divorced/their marriage was annulled by the Catholic Church (an absurdity readily granted at the time); and the two couples switched partners and married. Previously, Mark (and Ken) and I were just friends, from the time we met at a pool party at the Popes in late summer of '70 (Sep 8) in Winnetka (Illinois), the first day of the school year, just before Ken turned 2 (Sep 9) , Mark 4 (Sep 21), and I 5 (Sep 29). A quite memorable event, because Ken fell into the pool, sank to the bottom, children screamed, a parent dove in, dragged Ken’s limp body to the surface, gently placed him on the edge of the pool; another parent pressed on his abdomen, Ken coughed up water and resumed breathing. That was also the day Marvin and Leslie met. It’s a long and complicated story (a foundational episode in the prequel to Insanity #1?).
Would love to hear all of Insanity #1, if possible. After Mark and Ken moved to Jackson with Jeff (their new stepfather/my ex-stepfather) and DeAnn, I visited them once or twice a year (travelling alone by train on Amtrak from Chicago), until I moved to Doniphan with Marvin and Leslie and my bio-sister Mere(dith) in 1977. I always liked DeAnne and appreciated her use of “minced oaths” such as “crimine” and “Judas Priest” “for Pete’s sake” but regrettably never saw or spoke to her after the move to Doniphan.
In 1978, Mark moved to Doniphan to attend 7th grade, probably in large part (I now presume) because you (Lou) left for Massachusetts and he (Mark) was apparently left friendless in Jackson. At the time, the reason wasn’t well articulated—DeAnn said: Mark wasn’t happy in Jackson; he and Ken weren’t getting along; and Mark wanted to move to Doniphan to live with us. Mark and Ken had visited us in Doniphan earlier in the summer of ’78 for a couple weeks and they seemed to have a pretty good time, though Mark complained quite a bit about the oppressive heat and humidity. Mark taught me the word “heatstroke” on that visit, which I later learned was an established word, not coined by him. So it was a bit of a surprise that Mark wanted to move to Doniphan. We shared a bedroom (and a trundle bed). He made friends with peers in his grade. Mark seemed to adjust well, but seemed somewhat frustrated by his inability to convince new friends that country music was trash or that black culture had positively contributed to American music and culture and black people had more in common with white people than a fondness for watermelon and fried chicken...
... Mark returned to Jackson for Christmas break and decided to remain there for second semester of 7th grade... According to my recollection, Mark didn't return to Doniphan until he had graduated from Perkiomen after a stint in rehab. Ken came along (he was 15 and had just finished 10th grade in Syracuse (at the Catholic school that Mark had been expelled from or chosen to leave?))...
If you still feel you can’t share all of Insanity #1 out of respect for DeAnn, please at least let me know which if any minced oaths were elicited from her in the argument instigated by Mark for your entertainment.
Sincerely,
Eric (Alan Vognild), formerly known as Eric Harris (1973-1983), Eric Gorham (1968-1973), Eric Vognild (1965-1968)...(if you believe in reincarnation)
P.S. If you want, I can introduce you to Marvin with photos, audio recordings, etc. He and Mark were a lot alike. Unlike Mark (and me), he skied in the Alps as a young boy and his mother (Grandma Lucy) and (step)father (Grandpa Ken) were extremely wealthy (https://www.edgarmiller.org/lecture-lucy-montgomery). When Mark was a young boy, Grandma Lucy and Grandpa Ken were still married, Marvin was heir apparent (it seemed), and Mark was next in line. You can get my email address from Cindy.