I ran into a totally bizarre scene when I boarded a city bound trolley the other night. Now I’ve been riding SEPTA since 1972 and have seen a lot of kooks but this duo was crazy. It was already going on whe I boarded at 46th street but held off whipping out the Sanyo Xacti till the “lady” started slugging the “gentelman”. The ordeal lasted till City Hall and I pushed the paparazzi factor till I faced the two head on with same snappy results. Happy to say that there was no violence and a happy ending. The bitch dropped the loser, you go girl!
Jimmy CraicHead
Well, it’s June of 2009 which means that we’re well underway with babies born in 1959 turning 50. And I’m on that list too! In just a little over 2 months I’ll be hitting the big “L” milestone so I’m enjoying my last summer in my forties. There was much hype last year when Madonna, Prince and Michael Jackson all turned 50, but 1959 wasn’t too shabby either. If 1958 gave you the “pop” stars, 1959 got a bit darker with the births of Robert Smith (April 21) of The Cure, Ian McCulloch (May 5) Echo and The Bunneymen and Steven “Morrissey” (May 22). Other notables include, John McEnroe, Mathew Modine, Catherine Keener, Brian Setzer, Rossanna Arquette, Danny Bonaduce and Magic Johnson. And of course all my high school and college friends too!
But the person turning 50 that I hadn’t heard of in 35 years was Pamelyn Ferdin. I had a real crush on this actor when she played Edna, Tony Randalls daughter on The Odd Couple. She was also the voice of “Lucy” in 3 Peanuts specials. I loved her sexy voice then and still love it now. Take a look at this video I found of her promoting some of the work she had done with including Clint Eastwood, Shirley MacLaine and William Shatner on Star Trek.
So a big belated Happy Birthday Pamelyn!
Jimmy CraicHead
I finally finished up one of the first videos I ever shot with the 2 piece RCA VCR and camera I bought in 1983. It was quite cumbersome by today’s standards and the battery life was quite short. My good friend Chris “Theo” Theodore led the interviews with some of Philly’s most colorful characters. The Sixers had just won the NBA Championship and Old City was in quite a Brotherly Love kind of mood.
Keep an eye out around the 2:40 mark for a ghost town of 300 block of Market St, years before any type of revival had started. Enjoy!
Jimmy CraicHead
Every time I travel to a place that has big water, I just love to find me a sailboat that takes people out for a good sailing trip. In Aruba my favorite sail is Mi Dushi, which I’ve done a number of times. This voyage is from Sail Freedom an incredible sail from a sailing family team out of St Augustine Florida. Freedom is an authentic replica of a 19th century blockade runner. She is a 72′, double masted, gaff-rigged, topsail schooner. She was built in Norfolk, VA in 1982 by famed Naval architect Merritt Walters, the first of his many Rover schooners. Enjoy!
Jimmy CraicHead
Demanda Diamond and I flew down to Tampa to visit some of her family over the Easter break and decided to make the 4 hour drive to St Augustine . I’d never been to St Augustine but knew how historical a city it was, dating back to the 1500’s. It’s a small town and most of the touristy shops close up by 6pm, but there are more than enough pubs and restaurants to keep me happy. We stayed at a quaint hostel type place called Pirate Haus located right in the heart of the old city. The St. Augustine Inlet is a nice protected harbor to moor your boat, and that’s how I hope to arrive next time I return to rape and pillage!
Jimmy CraicHead
My brother Andrew and I visit our dad’s grave who passed on tax day April 15th 2004. Nothing real heavy here, just a few minutes to pay tribute to Coffey loved ones. I’m guessing dad is rolling over in his grave upon hearing that neither Andrew or I knew the name of the cemetery that his family has been buried in for over 50 years.
John Coffey
Road trip to Florida to visit Samantha’s father in Port Richie, about 40 miles north of Tampa Bay. Quick stop at Tarpon Springs, famous for it’s sponge diving.
