Almost two years ago, my wife signed us up as members of St. Andrew’s South Golf Club, as it occurred to her I was spending too much time sitting behind a computer or working late into the evening, and my only outlet was doing yard work. Somewhere along the way, I became my father! I wasn’t doing anything fun in my spare time. Try explaining that to someone who spends half their year bundled up during the winter months, and they’ll think you lost your mind when you live on the water and close to a host of golf courses. Sure, there are more challenging courses than St. Andrews; for years, when asked why I didn’t join, I would tease and tell them that due to the relatively flat terrain of the course, that’s where they used to host the areas Greyhound races. Now before you think, “This guy must be some golfer,” let me tell you this course has gotten the better of me in more ways than one. While St. Andrew’s South may not be hosting the U.S. Open anytime soon, this club is second to none in terms of the people we’ve met and the friends we’ve made.
Golfers have their unique brand of humor. They can hit a great shot and tell you it’s just another of the many great shots they routinely make. And no one is quicker to tease you about the shot you just hit into the water or lost in the trees than the guys in your foursome. This may sound cruel to some, but that makes the sport so much fun, and the guys I play with will never miss an opportunity to celebrate your crummy shot. While there is no shortage of sarcasm, they are equally supportive of the good ones too….or at least they feign they are!
Unfortunately, that fun time on the course ended in April. I was playing in a small tournament with this cast of characters when I tore my rotator cuff, and I haven’t been able to play golf since. For anyone who has had this injury and gone through surgery and physical therapy, I can tell you it isn’t something you would put on your bucket list. Perhaps the most frustrating part of the recovery process is the sleepless nights, but there is always a silver lining with every challenge.
While the rest of the neighborhood was sound asleep, I was entertained by some shows and comedians we grew up watching. Between all the documentaries and infomercials, it was as if they were all waiting for me. There was Groucho Marx, All in the Family’s Archie Bunker, Sanford and Son’s Redd Foxx, Don Rickles, Robin Williams, Eddie Murphy, Richard Pryor, Rodney Daingerfield, and George Carlin, to name a few. Shows and comedians I hadn’t seen in what seemed like decades not only took my mind off the discomfort I was experiencing but somehow made me realize the stark difference in the things that entertained us back then and how many of those things couldn’t be said today. How did we become so thinned-skinned that we couldn’t laugh at ourselves or gain a better understanding of life’s injustices without going into the frenzy we see today? Can we blame it all on the media?
If you have ever played a sport, you know what teasing happens between your teammates and in the locker room. The nationally-ranked high school soccer team I played on was comprised of virtually every nationality you could imagine. I was one of the few American-born kids on the team, and don’t think we didn’t make fun of each other when we could barely understand what our teammate was saying. We laughed at our differences and celebrated the things we shared in common.
We had friends who were politicians and others whose political opinions differed from ours. Maybe it was a time when we didn’t feel like doomsday was right around the corner and the president our friend supported was in the process of driving the train over a cliff. To this day, we still can discuss our differing viewpoints without the thought of a friendship being compromised. I always felt it was better to listen and learn from other people’s experiences, which made the shows I mentioned earlier so special. While most watched them for entertainment or just a laugh at the end of a long work day, I developed an even deeper appreciation of them during these overnight hours.
As diverse as these shows and comedians were, their performances were all based on some form of social commentary. While we laughed at Archie Bunker referring to his son-in-law Michael as the “Meat Head,” most would agree it was Archie with his narrow-minded personal and political views. Richard Pryor and Redd Fox had us laughing till our sides hurt, but no one painted a better picture of the injustices so many people of color endured regarding their interactions with the police. Eddie Murphy’s SNL skit Mr. Robinson’s Neighborhood, where he describes gentrification as “A magic trick where the white people pay money, and the black people disappear,” could never be shown on television today.
Don Rickles was an equal opportunity insulter. He made fun of every nationality and race you could imagine. If the celebrity guest or audience member wasn’t quick enough to catch on to his insult, he called them a “moron.” He always followed up with, “You know I’m kidding,” and then would roll his eyes to confirm that person was a moron. Try saying that to someone you don’t know today and see the response you get.
This leaves me with the last three, Robin Williams, George Carlin, and Rodney Daingerfield. No one was more quick-witted than Robin Williams. While we remember him for his rapid-fire one-liners, the diversity of his movies, such as The Dead Poets Society, Good Morning Vietnam, and The Birdcage, often shed more light on many of the social issues we faced then. In contrast, we remember Rodney Daingerfield not only for his iconic role in Caddy Shack but as the one comedian who always made fun of his deficiencies and bad luck. His “self-deprecating” sense of humor that always ended, “I get no respect,” was refreshing in many ways and made us take ourselves a bit less seriously. Unfortunately, like Robin Williams, Daingerfield fought depression most of his life, which was another life lesson so many quietly suffer from today.
I saved George Carlin for last, as he was perhaps the best regarding social commentaries. In an article written by Helbert Enrique Asprilla, entitled “Why George Carlin Is My Dead Mentor,” he reflects on the life of the late George Carlin, who was known for his “thought-provoking, stand-up comedy, tackling topics such as politics, languages, and the human condition.” Asprilla continues by saying, “Carlin offers a wealth of knowledge and insight, challenging social norms and encouraging us to think critically about the world around us. Whether through his commentary on politics and government, his observations on the human experience, or his critiques on authority and institutions, Carlin’s comedy has much to teach us about the absurdity of the world and the importance of questioning the status quo.” In one of his routines, “Life is Worth Losing,” Carlin relates, “We’re all just temporary custodians of our bodies…we’re just passing through, and this is just a stop along the way.” Asprilla concluded, “Carlin’s perspective on the fleeting nature of life can help us appreciate and make the most of the time we have, rather than getting caught up on the trivialities and materialism of the world today.”
While many of these comedic icons have passed, the life lessons through their work live on to this day. I’m convinced comedy is not just a respite from the everyday challenges life throws at us but is the antidote we need to put life into a bit more perspective and take ourselves a bit less seriously.
-Gary Cardillo
I have often been amazed at the talent all around us, and if you’re like me, you often ask yourself, “How do they do it?” Sometimes those with these unique gifts make it look so easy we think, “I can do that.” I remember when the Beatles first came to the states and appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show. While many artists appeared years before the Beatles, they were credited with ushering in what is referred to as the “British Invasion.” There was something extraordinary about them that everyone wanted to emulate and ride their coattails to success, including us kids. I was in elementary school then, and my father thought it would be a grand idea for my brother and me to learn the accordion. So periodically, we would bring our accordions into school and play for our classmates.
Unfortunately for me, the Beatles, Rolling Stones, and Doors ruined my career on the accordion as my classmates didn’t want to hear me play “Fascination,” or “The Volga Boatman;” they wanted to hear “She Loves You,” “Satisfaction” or “Light My Fire.” Despite my father’s urgings, I quickly ditched the accordion for the more popular guitar and later got into a band. My father said I could take guitar lessons only if I continued with the accordion. I guess he wanted to carry on the rich musical tradition of his father, who attained fame as a composer of opera and was the voice coach of world-renowned opera singer Enrico Caruso. After a half dozen lessons, my accordion/guitar teacher said, “It is very apparent you are no longer practicing the accordion. What puzzles me is you can’t play “Little Brown Jug,” which I gave you to learn on the guitar, but somehow you can play “Light My Fire.” I knew I had reached my right of passage and was on a journey with my friends to a musical career as a rock and roll band guitarist. My bandmates and I thought fame and fortune were just around the corner, as we could now tell our classmates we were in a rock n roll band called “The Illusion.” I never realized how fitting that name was until my father, after hearing one of our band practices in our basement, came down and said, “If my father was still alive and heard this trash you call music, he would destroy the instruments.” I guess it was an illusion; we just didn’t realize it at the time. For someone like myself who was pretty much self-taught how to play the guitar, I compare myself to some musicians today who are self-taught and think, “I would have been better off picking up a rake.
To me, nothing sings more to my soul than music from those British Invasion years and the groups who followed them. However, when I hear some bands cover these songs, I want to listen to them played like the original artists who recorded them. Perhaps I have some of my father in me, as he wasn’t so interested in hearing the interpretation as much as how the song was originally performed. Don’t get me wrong; many artists have done excellent jobs covering songs written and performed by the original artist. Still, when it comes to rock and roll, I love to hear it performed as close to how it was originally written. Two groups come to mind where the members were self-taught on several instruments or took their skills to a higher level that went well beyond the lessons learned. They are “The Alter Eagles” and “Mike Imbasciani and his Bluez Rockerz.”
I’ve followed Mike since he was a solo act and so young they had to pass around a hat for people to tip him for his performance. Over the years, this guitar virtuoso astounds me each time I see him. Talented and highly personable, I find it amazing that he can play lead guitar solo riffs without missing a note, all while walking through the crowd and periodically stopping to engage people in the audience in a short conversation. Most people haven’t mastered the art of walking and chewing gum at the same time, yet Mike can hold a conversation with you while entertaining the rest of the audience. And if you have enjoyed the music of Eric Clapton over the years, Mike’s tribute to this famed artist takes you on a historical journey where he masterfully weaves the inspiring moments of Clapton’s career with the music of that time.
Over the years, I’ve learned the difference between a “cover band” and a “tribute band,” The Alter Eagles are a tribute band that vocally and instrumentally sound precisely like the original Eagles. Todd Pitts, the founder of the band, is self-taught on multiple instruments and has an exceptional vocal range. To read the bios of band members Todd McNamee, Ken Custalow, Tim McMaster, Guy Ruvolo, and Michael Beattie, you will quickly appreciate how they execute each song. Equally engaging and entertaining, I’m amazed at how not one but an entire group of individuals can come together with such precision yet make it look so easy and not just on their instruments. Guy slides over from his drums to keyboard, and guitarists Todd Pitts and Ken Custalow take turns putting aside their guitars to move on to the drums without missing a beat, leaving the audience astounded at the talent on display. I then think of my father’s comments and realize he wasn’t trying to discourage us but to let us know in his way that there is a great deal of passion and innate ability that create those pieces that move us, whether it is in the form of a painting, writing or song. I also realize that we are all born with unique gifts.
When asked how we can create the things we do, we often find ourselves at a loss for words in trying to explain what comes naturally to us but would be a challenge for others. I learned that lesson the hard way while building a deck with my son. While my father was not handy, somehow, I picked up an ability to see things and create them. Our son, who was helping me, asked, “Dad, how do you know how to do this? You make it look so easy?” I was at a loss for words and replied, “I don’t know, I just do.” Unfortunately for me, my wife was within close earshot of my response and, giving me “the look,” said, “That taught him absolutely nothing.” I then shared with him that there is often much thought before the project, making the result look more effortless. You have a mental image of how you want it to look, and then you mentally figure out how to accomplish it; almost like solving a puzzle in your mind.”
However, it was during those studies, a Spiritual Director and Psychologist noticed his inner restlessness and struggle with the thought of celibacy that suggested he take time out to “live in the world.” It is from here his life takes some extraordinary twists and turns. He has been a religion and music teacher, driven a furniture truck, and with his brother John, formed the Kaywell Brothers Band that toured for two years.
In the early 1980’s he partnered with Dale Herigstad,and they became pioneers in the digital animation and digital music industries. They worked with singers like Kim Carnes, creating TV commercials for major brands such as Honda, 7-Up, American Airlines, Mercedes-Benz, to name a few. The pair won numerous Clio Awards for creative excellence in advertising, design, and communication.
While the Almanac says there is no direct record St. Patrick actually used the shamrock as a “teaching tool,” in the early 1900’s O.H. Benson, who was an Iowa school superintendent, came up with the idea of using the shamrock as an “emblem for the newly founded agricultural club.” In 1911, the “four-leaf clover” was chosen as the emblem for this national club program, later known as 4-H.
Opened in 1997 by Proprietor Kevin Doyle, “The Celtic Ray,” as it is known by the locals, has continued to evolve and expand from being one of the only places around offering “the quality of imported beers and the atmosphere of a traditional Irish Pub,” to an eating and entertainment destination. As Kevin Doyle, “Publican” so aptly states on his website, “Bars are filled with lonely people. A pub is a very social scene. “You may come alone, but you won’t be for long,” and if you are around this St. Patrick’s Day, you’ll be in good company with hundreds of Irish men and women just like yourself!
I don’t think you’ll confuse Kevin or his Celtic Ray with St. Patrick and his mission work, but somehow the atmosphere Kevin has created is a place where strangers come from all walks of life leave as friends. 
While most people would like to talk about themselves, Gary and Gail have always put their clients first, and their diverse backgrounds have provided their clients an unparalleled level of service and knowledge throughout the past years.