I am thankful for these things (part 1)

In July, writer Joe Posnanski wrote a blog post about 50 things that make him happy. The concept of the post was to list 50 “non-cynical” things that, obviously, make Mr. Posnanski happy. I enjoyed reading the post a lot. Since imitation is the greatest form of flattery, here is my list of 50 things that make me happy. I am not going to say my happiness is cynical or non-cynical. Cynicism is in the eye the beholder, after all. What I will say, is that these things make me happy regardless of context.  Mr. Posnanski says his things are listed in no order. I suppose that is true for my list too. Mostly because I do not want to have to rate things that make me happy. But, it is fair to say that these things are generally listed in the order that they occurred to me. That may indicate a ranking of a sort. Reader(s)™ might notice that this list does not include many people I know and love. That is because most long-term relationships contain a mixture of emotions, sort of like we see in the movie “Inside Out.” Put another way, if you are not on the list, it is because you were 51.

1. Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. Mr. Posnanski and I agree that Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups are a source of pure happiness. I have consumed a lot of Reese’s peanut butter cups in my time. I have never regretted eating one (or more). For my money, the Big Cup is the best. But they are all good. My niece and I once did a double-blind taste test to determine whether the milk chocolate or the dark chocolate peanut butter cup was better. Milk chocolate won and it was not even close.  
2. Cedar Falls, Iowa. I lived in Cedar Falls until I was 12. I think every kid probably thinks that their childhood home was great. Or rather, I hope every kid thinks that. Looking back on it now, moving at 12 was good in the sense that none of the emotional baggage that hits people in their teenage years applies to my hometown. I really do not have any unhappy memories of the place. Everything about that town was the best. I thought that the Malcolm Price Laboratory School was the greatest place for early childhood education. I thought that St. Patrick’s was the best church and best grade school. I thought the public library was the best public library. I am certain that Ray Edwards pool was the greatest swimming pool ever. The Dr. Max Show was the finest in children’s entertainment. Fun fact: my first baseball coach, Randy Scott, was inducted to the Iowa Football Coaches Hall of Fame in 2010. He was a college student when he coached me. If memory serves he played tight end for the University of Northern Iowa football team. He was a great coach. I did not have a lot of experience playing baseball at the start of the season but thanks to his efforts, I was one of the better players on the team by the end of the season (or so I believe).   
3. Rickenbacker guitars-The guitars look great and sound great. The guitar sounds you hear on great songs like “A Hard Day’s Night,” “Eight Miles High,” “The Waiting,” “If She Knew What She Wants,” “Passionate Kisses,” “Behind a Wall of Sleep,” were made by Rickenbacker guitars. I am very thankful that Rickenbacker guitars exist.
4.  “This Is Spinal Tap”- I don’t even know how to begin discussing this movie. A “mockumentary” about an English heavy metal band, this movie has so many great lines: “But this goes to 11”; “You can’t dust for vomit”; “ Authorities said best leave it unsolved”; “They are treading water in a sea of retarded sexuality and bad poetry"; and on and on and on.  Just watch the movie.
5.  Elmore Leonard’s writing-Elmore Leonard’s stories--his early stories set in the old west to his crime thrillers set in modern times--are full of amazing dialog that makes one wish one were clever enough to talk the same way. Mr. Leonard’s plots are usually compelling on their own. Reading one of Mr. Leonard’s books at night is a great way to ensure that one does not get enough sleep because the books are so hard to put down. Fun fact: I went to college, and was friends with, one of Mr. Leonard's children. At the time I had no idea who he was so my friend was just my friend and not the child of a famous author.
6. Timothy Olyphant’s acting- Mr. Olyphant was great as Seth Bullock in “Deadwood.” Mr. Olyphant was great as Raylan Givens in “Justified" (a show based on a character created by Elmore Leonard no less). He was also great as comedic version of himself in “The Grinder” (boy do I miss that show. If it were still on it would be on the list. It's cancellation made me unhappy, however, so not on the list).  I do not know much about acting but I know that the man has been great in everything in which I have seen him appear.
7.  Roger McGuinn’s guitar playing-Maybe this is a subset of Number 3. But Roger McGuinn is a fantastic guitar player. His playing with the Byrds was great. His playing with Aimee Mann was great (Buy that linked Aimee Mann album, you won't regret it). His solo work is also great.  His comments in the 1995 “The History Rock & Roll” documentary are akin to Shelby Foote’s in the “Civil War” documentary by Ken Burns.  Heck, even his look is great. 
8.  “Fall on Me”-I was already in love with R.E.M. by the time this song was released. I think this song is my favorite R.E.M. song. This song has a little bit of almost every ingredient that made me fall in love. Peter Buck’s guitar playing is sublime. Bill Berry’s drums sound great. There are three different vocal parts happening at various points in the song. Even though it isn’t entirely clear what the song is about, the lyrics are full of evocative phrases. This song sums up a R.E.M.’s first 4 albums (one of the great 4 album runs by any group). Whenever I hear this song, it makes me happy. 
9. People I love who shall (mostly) remain anonymous. As I mentioned long-term relationships with people sometimes do not make one unreservedly happy. But there is a subset of my friends-like Mr. Torvik-that I am always happy to see and be around. I will not name them because: (a) I don’t want to embarrass anyone; and (b) to the extent these people do not know who they are, I do not want to put pressure on them the next time I see them. Suffice it to say that I know some people that make me smile or laugh just by thinking about them. I hope everyone has a few folks in their life like that.
10. My aunts, uncles, and cousins. I am afraid I won't explain this one very well. I know people who barely know their extended families and don’t care about knowing them and are happy not knowing them. Some people are also better off not associating with their extended families due to abuse, addiction, or other issues. I am not saying that all families are great. But for as long as I can remember I thought being around my particular aunts, uncles, and cousins was a lot of fun. Regardless of whether I see them because of a funeral, a wedding, or just a visit, I am always-and I mean always-happy to see members of my extended family.
11. Randolph Scott/Bud Boetticher westerns. In the 1950s, a director named Budd Boetticher teamed up with an aging actor Randolph Scott and made 7 westerns. The cinematography, the screenplays, the supporting actors, and Scott’s stoic acting make for really engaging films. You can read more about them here.
12. “Unforgiven”-This Clint Eastwood western is flat-out amazing. The cinematography is stunning, the acting is sublime, the writing is highly entertaining, and the direction is subtle.  The screenplay has so many fantastic lines “It’s a hell of a thing, killing a man. You take away everything he’s got and everything he’s ever gonna have.” “Deserve’s got nothing to do with it.” “I guess you think I’m kicking you, Bob. But it ain’t so.” (said to a man that definitely being kicked by the speaker) “The Duck of Death.” “Unforgiven” turned 25 recently (Car Rental birthday, What!?!).  The Ringer has a good article about the movie here. 
13. Ralph Weber-Dr. Ralph Weber was a history professor at Marquette University when I attended undergrad there. He retired before the Internet was ubiquitous and, accordingly, his online presence is limited to stuff like this. He was a fantastic teacher. And while I already loved history, he certainly encouraged that passion. He pointed his students to fantastic books like “A Bright Shining Lie," the work of Barbara Tuchman, and did a great job of bringing history alive. I was taking one of his classes when the Berlin Wall fell, and I remember him coming into the classroom and pointing out that the fall of the USSR was something so monumental that it was inconceivable just a year or two before. A gigantic change in modern history was happening right at that moment (cue this song). In addition to being a great teacher, he was a delightful person. He wrote me a couple of letters after I graduated and I am very happy to have them. When I get nostalgic for college, he is one of the things I miss.
14. “Love and Death”: The band Uncle Tupelo wrote the song “We’ve been had” about how eventually every artist one admires turns out to have feet of clay. Bill Cosby was once the most popular comedian in the United States but is also alleged to be a serial rapist. Louis C.K. admits that he is an exhibitionist. Al Franken does bad things to (at least one) women he works with. Woody Allen has made some great movies and can be very funny. Mr. Allen is also the subject of some very disturbing allegations. At the very least, he married someone 25 years younger than he is and whom he had known since she was a small child. I think everyone can agree that doesn’t happen very often. But (and wow does this particular conjunction have to do a lot of heavy lifting) I can’t deny that  “Love and Death” is one of my favorite movies.  The movie has jokes upon jokes upon jokes. The duel scene with Mr. Allen and Harold Gould is a great homage to Bugs Bunny cartoons. There are also scenes that pay homage to the Marx Brothers, even Russian silent film director Sergei Eisenstein. Diane Keaton is great as Sonja. Like “Unforgiven” it has so many great lines. “A droll spoof aimed more at the heart than the head,” “the young coward all of St. Petersburg is talking about.” “No, you must be Don Francesco’s sister.”
15. “He was a man. He had a beard”-The Will Ferrell movie “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby” is not a great movie.  But it does contain an amazing scene that makes me smile every time I think about it. The move tells the story of a NASCAR racer played by Ferrell.  The second half of the movie drags a little and there is a father/son subplot that really is unnecessary. But this scene where Ricky and his family eat a Thanksgiving meal comprised entirely of foods that sponsor Ricky’s race car is pure gold and argue about their favorite Jesus cracks me up every time I think about it.
16. “Hold Me Up.” If you don’t like this song, I will fight you. It has a great guitar lick, drums that sound like they were hit hard, and inescapably catchy backing vocals. I don’t think I have ever been able to listen to this song just once. People who can write songs like this get special seating in heaven (this may not be theologically accurate).
17. Facebook-Some people find it overwhelming and/or a repository for bragging. But every time I log on, I see pictures of people I like having fun. Using Facebook I’ve reconnected with people I lost touch with long ago and would never have reconnected with pre-Facebook. Logging on to Facebook makes me happy. So go ahead post pictures of food, vacations, kids, grand kids, memes, dogs, and cats. I love it all and am thankful for it.
18. Neil Gaiman-What can I say? His writing never fails to amaze me. The guy can write it all: kids books, novels, short stories, and the greatest comic book series of all time.
19. Father Clement Burke-It seems incredible now but when I was a kid in Cedar Falls, the town's Catholic church had 3 priests assigned there at the same time. There was the pastor, Father Grace. Father Grace seemed very old and kind of scary. There was the hip, young priest that everyone loved (it was the mid-70s in a college town remember), Father Heaman. There was also an associate pastor, Father Burke. I was a Father Burke fan. He seemed to me like a very serious person. He was one of the few authority figures in my life at the time who seemed to take what I had to say seriously. That feeling is very important for a kid (or at least it was for this one). He also showed a little independence in Mass by ending the gospel with a phrase that I've never heard any other priest say. After the congregation would say "Thanks be to God" at the close of the Gospel, Father Burke would say "May the words of the Gospel wipe away our sin." Since he was the only person who said that, most people wouldn't say anything in response. But my dad, God bless him, would say "Amen" like he knew exactly what was going on. Anyway, 30 years after moving away from Cedar Falls, I was at an early morning mass in Minneapolis. The very old priest ended the Gospel by saying what Father Burke used to say. I did a little sleuthing (OK, I made a phone call to the parish office) and turned out to be him. I was very happy to connect with him after so many years. It makes me happy to think of him. RIP, Father Burke.
20. Rocky Rococo-For those of you unlucky enough not to live in the upper Midwest, Rocky Rocco is a Wisconsin-based fast food chain that sells deep dish pizza. I worked there for several years as a QC (pizza cutter), restaurant manager, and delivery driver. As an employer Rocky’s was, um, not my favorite employer. But some of the people I worked with have been friends of mine ever since. More importantly, Rocky’s pizza is flat-out terrific. I ate it nearly every day for years when I worked there. If there was a convenient location near me, I would still eat there as often as possible. Every time I go to Wisconsin I make sure to have at least one meal there. When ordering, the super slice of sausage pepperoni or the extra cheesy superoni are the way to go and make sure you include an order of breadsticks.
21. Running-Sometimes people ask me if I am a runner (or more problematically, an “avid runner”). I never know what to say in response. I run/jog/trot so slowly that I hesitate to call what I do running. But my primary form of exercise is to "run". Ideally, I run 5 days a week. I meet that ideal more often in the summer than in the winter. Sometimes those runs are a form of suffering due to weather conditions or distance. But I always feel a sense of accomplishment when I am done running and I normally feel happy that I ran.
22. Lionel Hutz. Lionel Hutz is/was a character on "The Simpsons" TV show. The character was a barely competent lawyer and voiced by the late, great Phil Hartman. I have not watched “The Simpsons” since I got out of law school. I cannot say that I miss it. But I love, love, love Lionel Hutz. I love this scene. Here are some more great Lionel Hutz quotes.
23. Rainbows-Whenever anyone says, “look a rainbow!” I look to see it. I’ve never heard anyone say, “rainbows are the worst” or “Seen one rainbow, seen them all. People are always impressed by rainbows. I think that is pretty cool.
24. Donuts-I prefer cake donuts and old-fashioned donuts to yeast donuts or glazed donuts.  There has never been an occasion when I ate a donut and regretted it.  Donuts are fantastic.  There is nothing else that needs to be said. 
25.  Waterfalls.  The office building where I work just did a big remodel of its common areas.  Among the new items in the common areas are some video screens. At first the screens just showed weird color patterns.  Lately. However. The screens have been showing scenes from Minnesota.  Reader(s)™ may or may not be aware that Northern Minnesota has a lot of great waterfalls.