I got back to Utica late Monday night basking in the glories of a Raider AFL Championship! That warmth didn't last long cause it was freezing out there; cold and snow and darkness......JANUARY!(not quite California). And I was tired. Monday was gone and Teusday I was comatose. And as the day dragged on I had to get prepared for the ultimate- a trip to the Super Bowl! That night I was on EBay for hours. Tickets were being asked 2,000 dollars! GROAN! Sheesh was I gonna haveta pay that much. I was tired! Wednesday dawned with a sinking feeling...this was gonna be a difficult operation. Struggling through a work day and then home to sit in front of that computer for however long it took to find those precious ducats. Prices are high yet. No luck. The day is over and Thursday brings the gloom associated with a long Utica winter. That gleam of hope was fading fast and the window of opportunity was only open for 36 more hours. It is a restless Thursday night and I am in a foul mood! This is the SUPER BOWL gosh darn it! THE FIRST RAIDER appearance in 19 years! The possible crowning glory to my decades long Raider passion! THERE WILL BE ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO STAND IN MY WAY COME FRIDAY!!! I AM GOING TO GET THAT TICKET!!!!!

Friday morning I awaken with that determination and the feeling I was gonna get it done! Though I gotta go to work, Friday evening leaves me with 20 hours to go before a plane leaves for California, getting me there in time! Wishful thinking! Onto Ebay and tix are still hovering at 2 grand. There are available seats on trusty Southwest out of Albany and now it is 9pm. 10pm. 11pm. And then at 11:45, before my weary eyes, somebody from San Diego has the big prize! 1450 dollars gets me a seat in the upper deck at Qualcom! I blink and look again......WHAT THE HECK AM I DOING!!!!!!! Time is wasting.... BUY IT NOW!!!!!! And like that, there they are!

I AM GOING TO THE SUPER BOWL!!!!! RRRRRAAAAAIIII-DDDDEEERRRRSSSSS Hey wait! I need an airplane, a car and a hotel! SHEESH!! I am leaving in 11 hours!!! NO PROBLEM! And by 1:30am Saturday morning I can turn the old computer off and call it a loan cause next stop.....SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA and a date with destiny!

How could I possibly sleep that night! I was gonna be a part of NFL history in less than 36 hours and WHO KNOWS...it is now Saturday morning! Naturally it lasts mere minutes and by 12 noon I am out the door driving down that Thruway to Albany and a cozy Southwest flight into Los Angeles. There I will meet the incomparable Dave Davidson from Oakland who will join me for the drive to San Diego. An LA landing at 8:30 and by 9, me and Dave are on the I5 southbound. And by midnight we check into a hotel and the table is set as Sunday January 26 is finally upon us! SUPERBOWL SUNDAY!!! Still without our tickets, gotta pick em up in the AM...how the heck am I possibly gonna sleep!!! Not again!!!! ZZZZZZZZZ I AM SO TIRED!!

AND WHAT A MORNING IT IS!!!! Clear blue skies and glorious warmth! Temperatures to crest in the 80's! We are up we are off we want our tickets! A few blocks from Qualcom and we meet our ticket connection! Many dollars pass hands and at last...that moment arrives when they are OUR tickets! And the rest is history.....what more can one say.

The rest of the day flies by and turns into my worst nightmare. The journey of thousands of miles and dollars, filled with great expectations, is slammed in our faces as Gannon greets the clear blue skies again and again and our SUPER DREAMS are of naught. WE ARE CRUSHED! THE RAIDER NATION absorbs a beating of epic proportion, unparalleled in Raider history....and we are on the plane heading home to the dispair of Utica and the cold and snow and gloom and....oh well, there is always next year....and thus January 2003 comes to a close.

A little Springfling'03! Music, cars and friends mixed in with a little driving the Northeast. Perhaps to be an annual thing, now that it is two years running! And wouncha know it....this year THE DOORS are playing the Northeast! First appearance on the eastern seaboard in over 30 years! Can I contain my excitement as I pursue tickets for shows in New York City and Philadelphia... Upper Darby no less, one time home, now removed, to Ardmore, of the one and only ....JIM FROMALBINI...or two and only, and KAREN KEY!!! Friends extraordinaire for decades now and co sharers of many Gooch adventures! What a thrill for us all!

NEW YORK CITY! The most incredible place in the known universe as far as I am concerned! I love visiting this place! Awe inspiring and downright beautiful with a multitude of wonders on every block! And THE DOORS! The Roseland Ballroom, 52nd Street. April 24 A sunny, cool Thursday with the exquisite Amanda accompanying me on this rock'n'roll journey! Now Amanda is a co-worker at the good old Heritage and all though a few decades younger!!?!?, I was impressed by the tunes she listens to and her love of THE DOORS! And she woulda been a gosh darn great hippy back in the 60's! So I was elated that she made her initial NYC visit on this historical April day! WE ARE TALKING THE RESURRECTION OF THE DOORS!!! CANCEL MY SUBSCRIPTION TO THE.....Well we set forth from sleepy Utica 9 that morning with hopes of hitting Manhatten by 1 and getting in line! GENERAL ADMISSION!!! My fave! I will wait for hours cause it really is fun , that mad dash for the front of the stage, and choice locations for...well whatever wonders to unfold. When that passion for rock'n'roll fades, one truly dies before they got old! Midtown Manhatten! Undoubtedly one of the wonders of the world. Whatta ya think, Brad? OK so parking is a veritable pain in the coolie at times!!!like today...so we end up parking at old reliable, 31st St by the Garden...not bad, only 40 beans! And only a 20 block walk to The Roseland...but hey, this is New York, no ordinary walk down the street! And wouncha know it! 1:30 and no one is there! With the prodding of a Roseland employee, hinting that the old farts wouldn't get there early, we set out for Central Park. A beautiful sunny day to view this grand old hunk of green and a few John Lennon sites. 150th anniverary this year! INCREDIBLE

OK! A new day! Friday is on our mind and lo and behold.... Philadelphia Freedom for me, Dicky and Pete! Off we go down 81 south and breaking on through to Frackville for Phase One, in which Doris gets her oats! Saturday morning on the road! No Denny's in Frackville, so Granny's Kitchen with the big pancakes is the logical choice! Specially for Pete, who can't eat most human foodstuffs, but those that he can....he consumes in mass quantities! He who pays least, eats most. And what a squallid day for a car show. Gray and gloomy cold and damp! DAMP!!!! Hershey is awash! A torrential downpour...oh well.....watcha gonna do about it!

So, we headed back to Upper Darby for the thrill of the day...THE DOORS....alive she cried! What a charged audience! 1968 was rolled back and Ian Astbury admirably filled in for Jim as Robbie and Ray LET IT ROLL!!!! The Tower was bathed in a 60's glow and once again....WHEW...What a show! I was happy! And it was over. A fitful nights sleep awaited and the morning promised a visit with the ever incredible Jim Fromalbini and the wondrous Karen Key! ALL RIGHT! YOU KNOW THAT IT WOULD BE UNTRUE!!!!

Well come Sunday morning wouncha know there is a Denny's down the way a way from our hotel! We are hungry! We wanna eat! FOOD! GRANDSLAM SLUGGERS! HAHAHA! Unfortunately, we cannot get a hold of Jim so we eat alone. Trying to hunt him and Karen down takes the rest of the AM and a cryptic note on his porch sends us off yonder. And finally, we meet at the good old Jewish deli in Haversham!!??! HUH! Oh well, one more picture for posterity and well, we are on our way home. Oh well, send our regards.

Who woulda thought! It is spring of 2003 and we have known McCoys since we moved to Bradford Ave which is now 33 years running. He has shared in many Gooch adventures and him and Dicky have been good friends for decades. It was one New York winter too many. After 5 months of cold misery and snow piled as high as can be.....ENOUGH!!!! We are moving to FLORIDA!!!! WOW!!! SHEESH! Dicky has decades of car parts savings crammed into that decrepit barn on Scadden Road! We gotta move it! Welcome to the Summer of '03.

I musta known Amy at least 20 years! From the good old Record Giant days at Riverside Mall thru Sangertown and Saturday Matinee thru to The Wall and FIY!? I mean RECORDS!!!!! SHEESH! MUSIC.....don't mean nothing to me! And finally, July 4th, Neil is at Saratoga! She was so excited! We been talking about going for years! So we did on a splendid summer evening. Hey Guy and Marilyn, how are ya!

So, the McCoy's have been packing for 2 months and it was now early July. A house has been bought in Florida and lo, the final New York weekend was upon us. A coupla pizza lunches and getting the old Spitfire road ready called it a loan and don't dream, it's over! The last trek down Eureka Road, cresting the hill and driving southward...warmth, sunshine....no cold no ice no snow. Start spreading the news....Well, their old homestead hadn't been sold yet, so Dicky still had six weeks to clear out the rest of the stuff. Mind you, that barn was crammed full....cars that haven't moved in decades. A dirty tedious task. People came outta the woodwork looking for items, but in the end, the forlorn barn stood empty, the remaining cars had been pulled out and the grass needed cutting! The house was sold and August is fading away. Summers almost gone. One more load and we sail off bidding adieu to a twenty year adventure. Now we have a new place to visit and I am sure a Florida escapade is in the making. Gimme some orange juice! It is the Labor Day weekend. Must be SEPTEMBER!!! ALL READY!! SHEESH! Can ONLY mean one thing! Are ya ready for some FOOTBALL!!!! ROAD TRIP! CALIFORNIA DREAMING!!

But one more interlude. In the middle of August THE DOORS are again in the New York area! And the rumor is L.A. WOMAN, the album, will be played in its' entirety!(Hmm, suspect spelling!) Now that has never happened before! Something I did not wanna miss! Get some front row tix for Jones Beach and hey, the raven haired Lynne accompanies me on this journey! Newly won over to the darkness of the Doors, we set forth on a glorious August day, stopping off in a quaint part of Brooklyn to visit her father, and then off across the City to view again, the greatest American band OF ALL TIME! WOW! The music will never be over.

August, hmmm, preseason for the upcoming NFL season. How will the Raiders react to that horrendous January showing in San Diego? A very disturbing trend early...the team cannot score points and victories....well, preseason or not, JUST WIN, BABY!September 7, the opener in Tennesee, Sunday night football, the whole world's watching... a titanic struggle...poor play, poor calls, penalties, injuries...a loss...SOS for the long year ahead.

HEY!!! Dicky celebrates the big 5-0 this Friday, Sept 12. Let's go to California! OK!!! Off to Albany, get on that Southwest jet and off we go to the land of 3 hours earlier! HuH! A late arrival in Ventura gets us to sleep immediately, anticipating the AM and, yep, DENNY'S, and the big Porsche show by the seaside! We been going a coupla years now and as the morning mist rises...there they sit....hundreds of Porsches, tittilating the senses of the Porsche enthusiast! And after traipsing a mile or 6 for 5 hours,

SEATTLE-TACOMA SEPT'03

		Thursday, Sept 18 After visiting Jimi's grave one last time we ease on down to SEATAC board a plane bound for L.A. and the last few days out west

Out in Irvine, Neil Young was continuing the Greendale tour. With Elvis Costello opening(we missed him), a rockin' Saturday night awaited us. The Greendale album was performed, wrapped around a little play and I kinda liked it! Sun Green! And a liesurely Sunday had us on the ocean in Santa Monica and in the fair city itself, checking out some Doors history. The sun set, it arose a few hours later, we got on a plane and back to Utica we came. Back to where it all began. September came to a close and I started gearing up for west coast part 2. The weeks melted away and as October 17 dawned, who woulda thought that we could be California bound again! Must be nice! So let's see what it had to offer.

California Part II

	We landed late in LA then had an hour or so drive out to Riverside. By midnight we hit the sack cause....we knew what awaited us in the AM! ALARUM!!! DENNY'S!!!HAHAHA! After those Grandslam Sluggers, we drove down Mission Blvd to the Mission Inn and Triumphest 2003. We have been to quite a few down the years now, but this was the HOTTEST! Temperatures in triple digits! Whew! Not as big as Ventura, so it did not take long to peruse the assorted allotment of classic English motors. Where were ya, Len? After a few hours, we decided to drive east in search of.....cemeteries! NO WAY! A 60's CLASSIC...JOHN PHILLIPS, Mammas and Pappas, was buried in Palm Springs. And wouncha know it! Smack dab in the middle of Harley weekend! SHEESH! How do we get outta here! We found the cemetery and located the grave, thank you Findagrave.com. California Dreaming is becoming a reality. Monday Monday Classic 60's tunes that will stand the test of time. We eased on out of Palm Springs and drove back to Riverside and seeing things winding down at Triumphest...well, kiss those 100 degree temps goodby cause we are Pomona bound! Sunday morning..a beautiful , sunny day...yep, we found one! Denny's...breakfast and off to the Pomona Fairgrounds! A HUGE expanse of cars and parts and people with miles to walk if everything has to be seen and uh-oh, temperature is rising! Eventually, I am tiring after 4 1/2 hours. Jetlag and hunger and thirst and heat and stuff! As the early afternoon set in, people closed things down and well, the show was over. Hmmm, we had cems in mind! Eddie Cochran and Karen Carpenter!!! A musical weekend as we hunted for Cypress, found it and well.....whatever! I am pooped. It is getting late. Gotta rest up cause Monday brings.....do I need to really say! WE ARE GOING TO OAKLAND!
	Monday Night Football! Brings out added excitement with the knowledge that THE WHOLE WORLD'S WATCHING! The Raiders are 2-5. A disastrous season. The glories of 2002....are just that. A yearlong struggle has left the team on the brink. Perhaps saved by a victory over the undefeated and needless to say,HATED Kansas City Chiefs. And wouncha know it....GANNON goes down! Shoulder injury...season ending! Well, see what Tuie can do. A desparate comeback. A 17-3 laugher becomes a 17-10 nailbiter, the Raiders are driving, mere seconds remaining, 4th and goal at the 7, Tim Brown is in the endzone, here comes the throw, TIM STEPS OUT OF THE ENDZONE, catches the ball, gets tackled, game over, Raiders lose, 2-6 and the playoffs just ain't gonna happen this year. A sellout crowd silently filters out. Ah, what more can be said. Nice catch, Tim! We take our leave of Oakland, ominously quiet.
Bad news. Dicky gets sick on Tuesday and suffers through a brutal night. Bad pizza! Imagine! Wednesday he feels no better so we must lay low and take it easy for a few days. The Bridge School is Saturday and we are flying home Sunday, rather hectic, so he has to get better. So, the rest of the week is just that. By Friday he feels better and as Saturday morning dawns, we are off to Mountain View for the Shoreline Amphitheater and the Bridge School Benefit starring Neil Young and company.		We have been going to this off and on since '95. with Crosby, Stills and Nash on the bill and Pearl Jam...hey, let's do it. For the first time ever, we stay till the end. About 6 hours of music on an absolutely incredible late October California evening! Along with Incubus, Dashboard Confessional whatever and even Willie Nelson...well a great show to end our trip! Made even better with the Yankees losing the World Series that night! HHAAAAHAHAHA Oh well, we are going home.

Wow! We have not been in Utica on Halloween in years! Hmmm, more fun in California. Oh well, November and December pass by uneventfully. The holidays always seem to speed the year up. The Oakland Raiders. What more can be said. A 4-12 record. Competing for the worst team in football. A rather grim future with no noticeable bright spots. OK, the best punter in the game. Well, now I gotta pay for all this stuff! Send our regards to 2003 and PEACE