There was this Looney Tunes cartoon when I was little: This old man’s walking down the street, when he comes across a dancing frog in a top hat singing “Hello! Ma Baby.” He can’t believe his eyes! But when he tries to show his discovery to literally anyone else on the planet, the frog just sit…

For the first half of my life, everything I knew about music I learned from the back seat of my dad’s car. Dire Straits (Brothers in Arms), Bryan Adams (Cuts Like a Knife, Reckless), Tom Petty (Full Moon Fever, Wildflowers, Greatest Hits), John Mellencamp (then “Cougar”) (American Fool), John Foger…

LA/XC-4 DAYS EIGHTEEN, NINETEEN, TWENTY, AND TWENTY-ONE:  POSTING FROM MOUNT SHASTA, CA Westbound mileage to L.A.: 3,602 Mileage while in L.A. area:  524 Three-day mileage from Santa Monica to Mount Shasta:  772 Total LA/XC-4 mileage:  4,898 Road Music:  Tuesday —  Willie Nelson’s “On the Road…

LA/XC-4 DAYS FOURTEEN, FIFTEEN, SIXTEEN, AND SEVENTEEN:  POSTING FROM SANTA MONICA Yesterday Carol, Kemba, and I drove up the PCH to visit our good friends, former-Westporters Susan and Rick.  (Carol flew into L.A. Thursday for a long-weekend visit; as I’m sure you know by now, this whole cross-co…

I hear Ricky was kind of disappointed with my first Duck Dog post.  Said I bounced around from topic to topic — “like a pinball.”  I get the feeling he was trying to say I’m immature.  I understand what he means.  It’s just that I get really excited by a lot of different things.  I’m not even 8 mon…

LA/XC-4 DAYS TEN, ELEVEN, TWELVE AND THIRTEEN:  POSTING FROM SANTA MONICA Two-day mileage (Tempe, AZ to Los Angeles):  447 Total LA/XC-4 mileage:  3,602 Road Music:  Sunday:  Sirius Radio — “The Hot 45” on The Highway with Storme Warren; Green Day’s Dookie, for old time’s sake; Monday: Mets vs…

So I see the pup has finally found his voice (The Duck Dog Speaks, April 2).  Good for you, little Kemba!  I was kinda wondering when you’d start chiming in.  Here’s a little tip for you:  Slow down.  In your first post you bounce around to like 8 different topics — eating paper . . . dog parks…

LA/XC-4 DAY NINE:  POSTING FROM TEMPE, ARIZONA Today’s mileage:  387 Total LA/XC-4 mileage:  3,155 Road Music:  Sirius cycle; Green Day’s American Idiot; Duke vs. Michigan State Weather leaving Las Cruces, NM Saturday morning:  68 degrees, partly sunny, breezy, pleasant Weather arriving Temp…

LA/XC-4 DAY EIGHT:  POSTING FROM LAS CRUCES, NM Today’s mileage:  421 Total LA/XC-4 mileage:  2,765 Road Music:  Sirius cycle; “Music of Nashville” playlist (5 CDs from the Nashville TV show) Weather leaving Sonora, TX Thursday night:  77 degrees, mixed sun and clouds Weather arriving Las Cru…

LA/XC-4 DAYS FIVE, SIX, AND SEVEN:  POSTING FROM SONORA, TX Three-day mileage:  1,079 Total LA/XC-4 mileage:  2,344 Road Music:  Sirius cycle; all my Carrie Underwood, in honor of passing through Checotah; all my Trish Murphy, in honor of my visit to Austin Weather leaving Memphis, TN:  70 degr…