My Yankees Lament

Hey everyone. If you are reading this blog for the first time I want to assure you that this is not a typical post. 

I usually write with my readers in mind; doing my best to entertain and inform them based on my experiences. But this post is just for me.  

I need to do a little bit of "on-screen" therapy and put a season of my life behind me. 

Now don't be too concerned, it's not anything serious to anyone but me. It's all about the way I handle the New York Yankees being eliminated from the MLB playoffs. 

In the 45 years I've been a Yankees fan they have been to the World Series 11 times winning 7 of them. 

Fans of no other team in MLB have a higher level of expectation when it comes to finishing first in the MLB each season. This year was no exception. 

As a Yankees fan who has lived in Kentucky for 20 years, typically, I do as much as I can to follow the team throughout the season.

I listen to the games as called by John Sterling and Susan Waldman and all the Yankee talk on MLB radio channel on XM satellite radio both in the car and on my internet devices. I watch the games that are televised on the MLB network, ESPN and Fox sports channels. And of course, I follow all the baseball news through social media. I'm a pretty avid fan. 

But the 2019 season for the Yankees and me were quite different. 

In March, I got a call from my cousin, Roger in New Jersey. He is a big Phillies fan and knows how much I like baseball. 

He had signed up for a new cell phone service and got 4 free subscriptions to MLB TV. He offered to sign me up for one of them. 

So from opening day in March through just this past Saturday, I had the chance to watch every single Yankees game. 

Over the course of the next 6 months I got to see more of the Yankees than I have in 2 decades. This season has been one of the best for me as far as the enjoyment of following my team. I want to thank Roger for the gift that helped make it happen.  

The season for the team didn't work out be anything like it was projected to be on opening day. 

Over 30 times players went onto the, newly named, injured/reserved list over the course of the 162 games. Only 2 players on the roster were not transferred to the IR during the season. 

There were several players out for majority of or the entire season. Some came back and then went back on. Both the pitching staff and every day players were effected. 

But this is where the "next man up" them came in. It seems that whoever came onto the roster did an outstanding job. 

No matter who the Yankees brought in they came through. Cameron Maybin, Mike Taughman, Mike Ford, Edwin Encarnacion, Tyler Wade, Clint Fraiser (at least when it come to offense), Kyle Higashioga just to name a few.  

That aspect of players stepping up and contributing is the one thing about this 2019 edition of the Yankees I will remember.

Throughout the season, the Yankees became an offensive machine. They broke the record for number of home runs in a single season and scored the most runs in all of baseball. 

Their hitting style and presence at the plate led to one of Aaron Boone's most memorable moments on the field in 2019. 

During an argument with an umpire over balls and strikes, Boone exclaimed loud enough for the field mics to pick up, "...my guys are (expletive deleted) savages in the box". It quickly became a mantra that spread throughout the Yankees fandom like wild fire. 

There were several players who also stepped up and had career years. Brett Gardner, at age 36 in his 12th year, hit the most homers of any single season as a Yankee. 

Gio Urshella came through at 3rd base and had a career year at the plate. Gleyber Torres led the team in homers and was amazing with runners in scoring position. 

Speaking of hitting with runners on, DJ LeMahieu, aka "La Machine", led MLB in batting average with RISP. Signed over the off season as a utility player, he was without a doubt the MVP of the team. 

While it was initially percieved as being, good enough to get the job done, the starting pitching staff left a lot to be desired. Newly acquired, James Paxton was inconsistent for the first half of the year. J.A. Happ had first inning issues all year. C.C. Sabathia in his last season battled with a multitude of physical breakdowns and injuries. In the end his body broke down while he was on the mound in the ALCS. He left the game with a shoulder issue literally unable to pitch any more. 

However, the emergence of Domingo German as the #1 starter (18 wins) was truly a factor in stabilizing that part of the team. 

The bullpen was amazing all season long. With the parade of Chad Green, Tommy Kahnle, Adam Ottavino, Zack Britton, and Aroldis Chapman coming into the game from the 6th inning on, the Yankees were almost unstoppable when holding a late lead. 

The pitching staff was far from being the best in baseball but the production of the Yanks' savage offense covered a multitude of issues on the mound. 

The Yankees ran away with the American League East. There was almost never any doubt that they would capture that flag this year. It was the first time since 2012. They ended the season with 103 wins. 

While it had been an impressive season in many ways, the Yankees failure to get home field advantage in the playoffs by having a better record than the Houston Astros foreshadowed the troubles they would have in the playoffs. 

At the end of September as a fan I could look back at a season to remember for a long time. 

While the Yanks were awesome and a lot of fun to watch during the long 162 game season, the big question going in was, would that translate into success in the playoffs.  

Even before they clinched the division there were signs that there were cracks in the savages' armor. Factors that would eventually take a season to remember and turn it into another October to forget. 

First the good news. During the last 2 weeks of the season, The Yanks #1 starter, Luis Severino, returned and was very effective. Although it was with limitations he would be available for the playoffs. 

Now here's the bad news. In mid-September it was announced that the return of the injured Giancarlo Stanton, who had played in less than a dozen games all year would delayed more than expected. 

He would return with only a week left in the season and would be injured again in the middle of the playoffs. 

Catcher, Gary Sanchez, and DH Encarnacion would also suffer injuries in September that would effect their playoff performances. 

Ace reliever Dellin Betances returned to the mound on September 18 but just for one inning. During that appearance he injured his Achilles tendon ending his season entirely. 

Ironically, the biggest blow to the Yankees pitching staff in regard to the playoffs had nothing to do with injuries. 

On September 20th, Major League Baseball announced that Yankee starter, Domingo German, was put on administrative leave pending an investigation for domestic violence against his girlfriend. He would miss the playoffs as well. This had resounding effects on how Aaron Boone would have to handle his pitching in the playoffs. 

The Yankees breezed through their first round of the playoffs. They dominated the Minnesota Twins beating them three games in a row:10-4, 8-2, and 5-1. 

The winner of the AL wildcard game, the Tampa Bay Rays gave the Houston Astros a hard time in their division series but eventually falling in 5 games. 

This set up a rematch of the ALCS from 2017: The Yankees against the Houston Astros. 

The Yankees really stunk up the place in this series. With the exception of a very good performance in game 5 performance by Mike Paxton at Yankee Stadium the starting pitching was basically ineffective. 

This forced Aaron Boone to use his bullpen pitchers frequently. This  resulted in a familiarity with those pitchers that give good hitters like those on the Astros an advantage. 

On the other side of the coin, the Yankee hitters turned from savages to "sissys" at the plate. Suddenly the guys who chewed up opposing pitchers all season couldn't do anything. 

It seemed systemic all throughout the line up. Aaron Judge, Edwin Encarnacion, Brett Gardner, Gary Sanchez, and to a lesser degree, Didi Gregorious all seemed lost or just couldn't time or catch up to the Astros pitchers. At times they looked like all they wanted to do was make an out and start the off season. It really frustrated me.  

Against pitchers like Justin Verlander and Gerritt Cole, they looked like minor leaguers. They couldn't get a big hit when they needed it, with runners on base they could only make outs. 

I was optimistic when they won the first game in Houston. But when they couldn't get a big hit in game 2 and lost in extra innings, I knew this wasn't going to be their year. 

After being unable to get to Cole early in game 3 they were shut down in the later innings and lost the first game at home. 

Game 4 was rained out on a Wednesday and stacked the deck even more against the Yankees as  some of the guys in the bullpen would have to pitch 4 days in a row. That was something none of them had done all season. 

When game 4 was played on Thursday, the Yanks failed both at the plate and in the field. When a  two out passed ball in the top of the 6th allowed a run to score and the Astros then added two more in the inning I knew the season was over. 

I was so depressed at the end of that game. I actually wanted the series to end the next night.

You see every year since 2010 I have had to deal with the Yankees losing in the playoffs every October. I don't do it with an shrug and a matter of fact "oh well, better luck next year" attitude. I actually mourn a playoff loss. I get really sad and depressed for at least 2 to 3 days. It may seem silly to some but it's part of my passion as a fan. 

But thanks to a very good start by Paxton the Yanks managed to win game 5 and send the series back to Houston. 

As I sat down to watch game 6, I had a little spark of hope. If they could come out of their RISP slump and get one or two timely hits, perhaps the Yankees just might beat the odds and sneak past the Astros. I've seen the great Yankees teams turn things around mid series. Even though they hadn't shown me any sign that they were I was waiting for them to take their place among those great teams. 

A game 6 first inning 3 run homer by the Astros off opener Chad Green quickly doused that spark. 

But the Yanks kept coming at the Justin Verlander. A pair of great defensive plays made by each of the Astros corner outfielders rushing in and making diving plays for outs were major factors in the game. One resulted in doubling up Judge off of first, ending a promising inning. 
  
After that double play, I knew that it was just a matter counting outs until the Yankees season was over. 

I forced myself to sit alone in my living room to watch the top of the 9th inning and the end to a disastrous ALCS for the AL East division champs.

When DJ LeMehieu hit a game tying 2 run homer off Astros closer Ozuna, I was excited but cautiously optimistic. Of course I held out hope that maybe they could get to game 7. 

When Chapman came in and got the first 2 outs I totally expected the game to go into extras. 

A 4-pitch walk to Springer didn't alarm me because I'd seen Chapman do that before. Beside that, he was squeezed a bit by the home plate umpire. 

Because Chapman was the last sure fire bullet in Boone's bullpen gun I was certain that if it did to into bonus baseball it would result in an Astros walk off series win. 

There's an adage in baseball that you don't let the big guys beat you. So why in the world Aaron Boone didn't walk Jose Altuve; especially when Chapman got to 2-1 in the count,I'll never know. Pitching to defensive replacement Marisnick would have been a much better choice. 

But that's all water under the bridge. They did continued to pitch to Altuve and Chapman hung a breaking ball resulting in the home run that sent the Astros to the World Series and the Yankees into the off season. 

It was terrible way to end an awful team performance in the ALCS. It really hurt to see it end that way. 

As soon as Altuve touched home plate I turned off the TV and went to bed. I fell asleep but not for very long. 

At 3 AM I was awake again. I couldn't stop thinking, "don't let their big guys beat you"!!!! Aaron Boone managed that series like an rookie. Up until this series, he had won me over. I think he should win the American League manager of the year award. 

I know he wasn't the one who didn't hit or made bad pitches but he made some awful choices that ended in the very disappointing results. 

I also blame Yankees GM, Brian Cashman, while he did bring in the pieces that made the Yankees season a success, he also failed to bring in anything at the trading deadline in July to plug up the holes that left the Yankees vulnerable in the playoffs. 

He claimed that the asking price for the pieces they needed was too high. I think that's just an excuse.

A good GM gets what the team needs at the price they can afford. I think Cashman's days with the team are numbered. But I could be wrong. After all he is considered the architect of the last great Yankee dynasty which gives him a long rope. But I must point out that its been a decade now since that dynasty. 

With this year's ALCS loss, the Yankees missed going to the world series in a decade (2010-2019) for the first time ever. That tells me that some thing needs to change. I'm not sure what but they need to be built for both regular season and playoff success. Get to work, Mr. Cashman.  

As I write the blog I am still in my grieving period for the way the Yankees season ended. I won't watch the World Series. I won't even listen to MLB radio on XM to find out the results. As far as I'm concerned the 2019 baseball season ended on Saturday night. 

It will probably take all winter to get over this year's elimination. 

I will watch what the Yankees do over the off season to improve their team. I'm not even sure that they will offer a contract to my favorite Yankee, Gregorious. I hope they do. 

As I always do, by next spring my optimism will return and I will be a fan again. 

I look forward to next season because the Yankees interleague schedule brings them within a days drive for me at least 3 times next season. I'm sure I'll be going to see them play at least one of those times. 

Maybe 2020 will turn out to be another one of those Octobers I won't want to forget. Only time will tell. 

So there you have my personal therapy session. I feel much better now. I will be back later this week with another Yankee Near Nashville blog post. 





   

Another Night Of Comedy

Thanks for coming back to the Yankee Near Nashville blog. I'm writing this post on Sunday October 20, 2019. 

It was supposed to be published on the 18th but several factors prevented that from happening. 

Going on a school field trip with my grand daughter in the morning and a fund raising event for her school in the evening on the 18th prevented me from finishing it that day. 

Saturday included my wife and I going to get our flu shots, celebrating with my grandson at his 3rd birthday party, and then going to see the new Maleficent movie. 

So it wasn't until Saturday night, while I watched the New York Yankees lose in game 6 of the ALCS to the Houston Astros that I finally got to finish writing the original post. (I'll go on my annual rave about that next time)

After I finished it and tried to save and then publish it, the blog spot server glitched and wouldn't do either. Long story short, I lost almost all the post. 

So now here I am in front of my laptop rewriting about the first of several memorable events from the month of October. Here I go. 

Back in August I put up a post about going to Zanies comedy club in Nashville to support a friend of mine, June Colson, as she performed as part of the graduation ceremony for the School of Laughs comedy writing class. 

Not long after that night, June announced on her Facebook page that she was producing a night of comedy she called, "Let There Be Laughter", at a local church, Meadowlands Baptist in early October. 

I got my free tickets right away to support June and I wanted to see the headliner act, Robert G. Lee. 

The night of the show I found myself in the front row of the center section of the church's auditorium; on the aisle just 6 feet from the platform. 

The place was filled with a lot of June's family and friends. This included several people I knew from Oakland Baptist Church. 

Around 7PM, the pastor, Adam Trent, introduced the first comic, Christy Conder. 

I knew of Christy because she was once a guest on Rik Roberts' School of Laughs podcast. This was the first time I'd seen her on stage. 

She did about 10 minutes of material and was very funny. 

June was the featured comic on the bill so she took the stage next. 

Now you may think that getting up in front of an audience in a comedy club and being funny is anything but easy. 

But being calm enought to get laughs in a church filled with mostly family & friends falls deeply into the "difficult" category. 

June didn't miss a beat. She was very funny. Her material covered her life as a teacher and growing up with a very unusual family, especially her dad, "Hot Dog." She performed for about 15-20 minutes.The crowd loved her. 

The headliner, Robert G. Lee, was next.

I've been listening to his comedy on XM radio for a long time. Just like Christy Condor, I know about his career from listening to him on a Rik Roberts' School of Laughs podcast episode.  

He's been the audience warm-up comic for some classic sit-coms including: The Golden Girls, Wings, Perfect Strangers and more.

He has produced and directed his own independent film entitled "Can I Get A Witness Protection." Check out his IMDB page for more about his career credits. 

On stage Robert started out by doing some impressions of movie stars from the past, that most hardly remember, singing current songs that nearly everybody's heard. I found the juxtaposition of the two very funny.  

Next he talked about his days as a stand up. This included a very funny story about a spare pair of Fruit of The Looms and trying to sleep in a very noisy hotel room. 

His stories and jokes about his 30 years of marriage led him into talking to some people from the audience. 

He talked with June's mom, about her 48 year marriage and to a couple who had been married just 18 months. He also talked with a couple of teachers who were sitting in the front row. 

He came up with some very funny stuff based on the info and reactions he got from each of them. Playing off of them for about 15 minutes. Out of all the comics I've seen do crowd work, he's one of the best. 

He closed out his time on stage talking about a subject he's writing a book about. It's called "What's The Big Idea?" In it he's going to point out the congruence between the scientific theories and Biblical accounts of the creation of the universe. 

He pointed out some of the funny and unusual things he learned doing his research. It was funny way to close out his time on stage. 

I really enjoyed finally seeing Robert G. Lee. It really helped confirm why he's one of my top 5 favorite funny men. It also helped me appreciate him as both a a clean comic and a fellow Christian. 

After about 45 minutes Robert brought June came back to the stage. She gave a brief testimony regarding how she got into her comedy career/ministry. She gave some spiritual encouragement for those who might need it. 

Once she was finished, Pastor Trent came back and closed out the show with a prayer.

Before I left I made my way across the room to meet and say "hi" to Robert G. Lee. He was at his merchandise table. 

I shook his hand and told him how much and how long I've appreciated his work. We talked about a lot of things. I asked him about his sit-com warm-up days. He told me some cool behind the scenes stories. 

I asked him if he could pose for a picture with Christy and June. He said "sure". 

But although about half the crowd had left, the room was still pretty busy. Most who were still there were family and friends congratulating June on the show and posing for pictures. Some of them she posted on her Facebook page later that week. 

Looking at them I realized that as I stood around waiting for the photo op with the comics, I unintentionally got into a one of her shots. 

Finally after a few minutes I got the 3 comics together and got my blog pic. 

Before I left to head home, I took the time to thank June for doing such a great job with "Let There Be Laughter." I told her that with the success of her first live event and her genuinely funny material I'm anxious to see where her career takes her. 

There you have the story of another night of comedy. This time it was practically in my backyard. 

If you should ever get the chance to see any of these three comics on stage I highly recommend it. You can get information about their performance schedule at their respective websites. Here are the links:

junecolson.com

christyconder.com

robertglee.com

I also suggest you follow June Colson's comedy Facebook page at this link: 

June Colson Comedy

So there you have the story behind the first major event for me in this very busy month of October. 

Coming up on this blog is a series of posts about where my wife and I spent our Fall Break getaway. I'll give you a hint. We've been there more than a dozen times over the last decade. Any guesses? 

For my next post, I'm going to write about something I've already mentioned at the start of this one. I'm going to be taking y'all out to the ball game. See you then.   

Neighborhood Update

Hello again. Welcome back to the Yankee Near Nashville blog. This past weekend autumn weather arrived here in south central Kentucky. 

The temps actually got down into the upper 30s at night while rising no higher than the mid 70s during the day. Overall it was very nice weather but hard to dress for a full day out.   

It's been a couple of months since I've written about the goings on in our little town. I've got some updates on the construction projects as well as a restaurant expansion and a change in the scenery on Main Street. 

I'm going to share the story of one of the best days of the year around here and how my wife and I participated for the first time. So there's the "tease". Let's get started. 

The convenience store that's under construction right off the I-65 exit is making progress. I've seen signs around town advertising that Speedway is hiring. Not sure when it's supposed to open but there is still some work to be done. 

The office/garage and condos being built at the end of Stanley Rice Road look close to being finished. The houses that are being built in my neighborhood are still in the midst of being build. I will share pics of them when they are closer to being finished. In the meantime the ambient sound of construction continues to be part of each day for us. 

Here are two new things in "The Grove" that were added so quickly, I didn't get the chance to get shots of them as they were being constructed. 

Cinco De Mayo, the Mexican restaurant on Main Street, is the place I go to sing Karaoke. It's where I won the parody contest back in May. 

In the summer time, Karaoke is held on the patio outside the restaurant, on the open air patio. When the weather is pleasant or not too hot in the summer it's a nice place to spend the evening. But once the weather gets cold or it rains, the Friday night singing is cancelled. 

Last month, this all changed. When Luis, the owner of Cinco De Mayo, had an addition added onto the building. Now there's an open air screened in dining area where the patio used to be. 

I look forward to enjoying some good food and singing on Friday nights yet to come. 

The other addition is a display of creative talent by an artist named, Waz Blankenship. 

He and his wife own a quilt shop on Main Street named "Psycho Granny's." On the wall inside this shop you'll find Waz's collection of what he calls "Rock & Roll" art. They are painting of music and pop culture icons as Waz sees them. 

There is a building on the south side of the railroad crossing that divides Main Street that's been empty for as long as I can remember. On that building are half a dozen boarded up windows. 

The condition and look of that building has been that way for quite a few years. 
Over the course of several weeks I noticed that paintings were replacing those boards. 

One day when I was passing through town, I noticed a guy putting up a new one on the 5th window. I stopped to talk to him. It turned out to be Waz. 

I asked him about his neighborhood beautification project and he explained why he was doing it.  

He explained, seeing the dullness of those weathered unsightly boards Waz decided to do something to make the area look better. He would paint pictures of images similar to what he has on display in the quilt shop. Pop culture images that everyone in town would recognize.

The collection is now complete and here's what it looks like. 

Here are close ups of each of the them. 

I salute Waz and his efforts as a citizen to improve his community with his talents. 

On Saturday September 28, our town held it's annual street festival. It's the day that many residence have yard sales. Part of that celebration is a craft show and sale that allows vendors to set up booths on Main Street in the center of town. 

It's one of three big days that happen here during the last 4 months of the year. "Trick or treat" night in October and the annual Christmas parade in December are the others.   

For the first time, Paula had a Color Street booth at the festival. We set up right on the grass just behind The Flavor Isle. 

There were a couple of the memorable things about that day. We were in the midst of an early autumn heat wave with the temperature reaching highs in the 90s .It was a day we had to focus on staying hydrated and do our best to keep cool. 

The other thing was that where we set up under a black walnut tree. The green walnut pods were falling off the tree all day. Thankfully, our canopy saved us from both the direct heat of the sun and getting knocked in the head. 

This being only our 3rd vendor event it was pretty surreal being set up so close to home. Ironically, Paula had her best day as a vendor so far. That's probably the thing I'll remember most about that day. 

Last but not least I want to mention something interesting about living in a town just off an Interstate that runs right past Bowling Green, home the National Corvette Museum and Beech Bend, a drag strip race park. You get to see a lot of different classic cars and hot rods. They pull off and stop off gas, fast food, or a rest stop on their way to or from events at either place. 

Here's the latest classic vehicle I saw just the other day. I found it rather interesting. 

Not being a car guy I can't tell you the make, model or year of this classic coupe but I did really like it. I saw the owner get in and out of the car so I know it had suicide doors. I'd appreciate it if someone who can identify it would message me on Facebook. 

The thing that caught my attention was the trailer. I've never seen a classic car towing a trailer, much less one that's the same style and color of the vehicle. 

It's just the latest example of the interesting things that you might see coming off I-65 in my home town. 

So there you have an update on what's been going on in my little corner of the world. Hope you enjoyed reading about them. 

In my next post I'll start sharing with you where I've been and what I've been up to this October. It will include a Fall break vacation, another vendor event and more. I'll start off telling you about the night I got to see one of my all time favorite stand up comics. 

See y'all next time. 

  

Indy Dis Meet 2019

After a few days away in the Smoky Mountains with my family, I'm back and ready to get back to blogging. I have so much to tell you about our time in Tennessee but that will be in the distant future. 

For now let's get back to my September weekend in Indianapolis. 

Late on Saturday morning, as I drove away from the hotel,  I was ready to put the problems I had finding lodging for a night, behind me.  

 That would happen when I pulled into my parking spot at the Indy Dis Meet, the reason for being there in the first place.  

The event was held at the Hamilton County 4H Fairgrounds in Noblesville. 

There is so much happening during this event that it's not possible to mention it all in one blog post. So I'll just focus the things that were a part of my day. 

Once I checked in at the front door, I received one free raffle ticket, a schedule, a couple of special activity sheets and a canvas shopping bag. I went on to buy another $20 worth of raffle tickets to increase my chances of winning a prize. 

There were dozens and dozens of Disney related items including gift cards, Disney related books, collectibles and more.  

Every hour throughout the event, which started at noon and lasted until 6, a dozen or more tickets were pulled from the bin and the numbers posted on a dry erase board for everyone to see. You had an hour to spot your number and claim your prize. 

Throughout the entire day, I only found my number on the board only once. I won a Dis Meet Christmas ornament.  

I also bought a ticket for the chance to win a Disney vacation. It was basically the "grand prize" for the event. I didn't win but I was close. I'll explain what I mean by that at the end of this post. 

Now you might think that being by myself without friends or family at an event, like this, would make it a little difficult when it comes to social interaction. But with a little effort meeting and talking with people was pretty easy.  

Of course there was the common thread of Disney fandom. I mean that's the reason everyone was there. In addition, the organizers of the meet do their best to encourage guests to mingle. 

They give each person a sheet of paper with a Disney based scavenger hunt. Printed on it are various Disney experiences such as:"has attended the EPCOT Food and Wine Festival" or "been on a Disney Cruise" and you have to find someone who has done it and get them to initial the box on the sheet. 

If you got all your boxes initialed you dropped the sheet into an entry box. You then had a chance to win a $100 Disney Gift card. It's a very effective way to get to talk with people you don't know. 

There was also the same type of activity being sponsored by MEI Mouse Fan Travel. Their prize was a VIP tour at a WDW park. 

I completed both of them but didn't win either. But it gave me the chance to have some conversations with other people. 

Although the hall was basically set up the same as last year, I did notice several changes. 

The silent auction tables were at the front of the hall and not the back. The area with kid's activities was not there. Someone told me that they didn't have it because they needed the space for extra tables for everybody to sit and eat. 

Based on this picture giving you an overview of the entire seating area, they needed it. 

One of the things that keeps me coming back to the Dis Meet each year is the opportunity to meet some of my favorite Disney based podcasters. 

I met Jim Hill for the first time last year at the Dis Meet.I was looking forward to talking with him again. He's a nice guy and knows a lot of inside info and Disney history.

Over the last year, Jim has expanded his media presence from one podcast to half a dozen. I had a plethora of questions to ask him about them.

By looking at the list of event times, I was given with my welcome kit, I discovered that Jim was scheduled to give a talk in the "breakout room" in just a few minutes. 

Jim always has cool inside info and stories about all things Disney. I made my way there a bit early to get a front row seat. 

But when it came time for the session to start Mr. Hill was no where to be seen. Instead, two other guys, Terry Weaver and McNair Wilson, came in. 

They announced that they were in this session because Jim Hill could not make it to the meet due to illness. 

I knew Terry but had never met him in person before. He has been part of the WDW Today podcast, which I've listened to over the last 3 years. I have him as a Facebook friend and occasionally "likes" or comments on my posts. 

He's a motivational speaker and calls himself an "ideaprenaur". He has his own podcast called "Making Elephants Fly". It's inspired by Walt Disney's Dumbo. Terry's a good guy and all about encouraging people to take the steps to make their dreams, a reality. 

McNair is a former Disney Imagineer. He worked for Disney for 10 years. He was on the design team for 7 Disney theme parks. He is currently a consultant who works with groups and businesses to how utilize their creative abilities.  

They spoke for about 45 minutes. Each took turns talking about the subject of their most recent book. 
I already mentioned Terry's book. McNair's book is called "Hatch" and focuses on the way to effectively brainstorm. 

Later in the day I would visit them at their table to get a picture taken. 

I also bought both of their books. I'm hoping they can help me get motivated to take the next steps in what I want to do. 

I'll have more about them and their books future  posts.

A big part of the Dis Meet hall is devoted to what is called the "expo". It's a series of tables set up so you can walk around and visit a variety of vendors. Most of them are Disney based travel agents, but there are also some selling Disney inspired products and there are authors promoting their latest books.  

As a way of encouraging people to visit the expo you were given a "passport." As you stopped to visit with each vendor you got them to ink stamp your passport. If you got all your vendor spaces stamped you could return the passport for a chance to win yet another prize.  

I made my way around the expo. Some of the vendors I knew from the past few years. Others were new and very nice.   

When I came to the Jim Hill Media table, Jim's co-hosts on two of his podcasts, Aaron Adams and Dan Z, were there. I talked with Aaron for a while about the "Wilhelm Scream" a sound effect used in hundreds of movies over the years, and we exchanged stories about our time working in radio.

The other table I was excited to visit was WDW Radio/MEI Travel. It's always nice to see the WDW Radio podcast host, Lou Mongello, he is an icon in the Disney fan community. But this was the first time I got the chance to meet his partner and frequent podcast co-host, Becky Menken. 

Becky is the owner of MEI Mouse Fan Travel. A service that I've used to plan one of our trips to Walt Disney World. 

I was lucky enough to get to talk with both of them for a while and got a picture taken with them. 

At this point, I have to stop and mention one of the best things about the Dis Meet, the food. 

Everyone who comes to the event is asked to bring a side dish or dessert for a pot luck buffet. This year I took a large brownie tray from Sam's Club. In addition, local restaurants like KFC, Papa John's, and Subway there food as well. 

There is so much to choose from that if you go away hungry it's your own fault. Best of all, it's all free. 

Another important part of the Dis Meet is the walk around character appearances. Disney Princesses and Star Wars characters to be specific.  

The Star Wars characters were from both the original trilogy and the most recent films. There was Rey, Kylo Ren, Hans Solo and plenty of Storm Troopers. 

I got the princesses to make a video greeting to my granddaughter. 

I'm not really into Star Wars but I did have a couple of encounters involving Star Wars at the Dis Meet. 

The first one happened when I was sitting at a table enjoying what I had selected during one of several trips to the food line. 

As I sat eating, I saw the Han Solo character walking toward me on his way to the other end of the hall. 

I stopped him and said, "I know why you are walking all alone. Because you are SOLO!!!" He kind of smiled but then leaned over to me and responded, "You know why they don't send donkeys to college? Because nobody likes a smarta**."

At first I thought it was really out of character for him to say that. But then I realized it really wasn't. 

The other Star Wars thing had me returning to the breakout room. That's where, Dan Zehr (host of the Coffee With Kenobi podcast) and Aaron Adams along with Tom Gross (Dan's CWK podcast co-host) were recording an episode of the Jim Hill Media Network's "Looking At Lucas Film" podcast. 

I really didn't understand a lot of what they talked about during the recording. But I did manage to be part of it by asking a question on mic. If you should go back and listen to Looking At Lucas Film episode 25 you will hear my interaction starting around the 38:10 mark in the podcast. 

Earlier in the day, Dan and Tom were on the main stage in the center of the hall recording a live episode of their own podcast that I mentioned earlier. Their guest was Lou Mongello. 

They talked about their visits to the new Star Wars Galaxy's Edge at the Disney parks on both coasts. 

It was while I was sitting listening to them that I realized that I also knew Dan Z from his occasional guest appearances on one of my favorite podcasts to listen to called "The Geek Supreme." 

Later I would get to talk with Dan about being on that podcast and the co-hosts, Jeff McGee and Scott Murray. It was cool to know he had been a part of that program. I miss those guys. 

The main stage was the place where several sponsor podcasts recorded episodes. Also there were a couple of special entertainers to appear there. One of them did something special for me. 

Brian Hull, a Disney voice impressionist and You Tube star shared his talent with the Dis Meet crowd. He sang some of the songs he's made famous on his You Tube channel. You can check it out here: 
Brian Hull On You Tube . He also took impersonation requests from the crowd. He's very talented. 

Of course the impression that got my attention was his "Goofy". So after his performance, I stopped by his table at the expo and asked him to record a liner for my Rewind Soundtrack program. He was gracious enough to do so. Here's a video of the recording on my phone voice recorder. 

 The other Dis Meet performer I want to mention made his 2nd appearance on center stage this year.

Yeeha Ha Bob Jackson's 15 year tenure as an entertainer at the River Roost Lounge in Disney's Port Orleans Riverside resort has long been a "must do" for the Disney fan community. Getting to see him outside of Disney World is a rare treat.

Here is a link to just a short 1 minute clip of his performance and interaction with the crowd. It's on my You Tube page.
YeeHa Bob Jackson @ 2019 Indy Dis Meet

For the 2nd year in a row, I made it a point to seek out the person representing Give Kids The World at the event. I talked with Stephen Amos. He told me to contact him and he will supply materials that will help get sponsors for a fund raising event. I am determined to organize a GKTW fundraiser of my own in 2020. 

I had a great time at this year's event. It is one of the highlights of my year. The organizers do an amazing job. They expand the event every year and pretty much have it down. 

The only thing I would suggest to make it better is try and get some Marvel characters for meet and greets.   

Oh, by the way, earlier when I wrote that I didn't win the Disney vacation giveaway but was close. What I meant was this. At the end of the day, when the winner was announced she was sitting beside me at the very next table. So I was close to the winner. The nice thing about it was she was there on her 50th birthday.  

The real winner was the Give Kids The World Village. $55,000 was raised. That's an amazing amount for an event that's just 6 hours long. I am proud to have been a part of it.   

If you want to know more about the Indy Dis Meet here is the link to their Facebook Page. 
Indy Dis Meet FB Page

You can check out what Give Kids The World Village is all about here: GKTW.org

There you have a recap of my experience at the 2019 Indy Dis Meet. Hope you enjoyed reading all about it. If you are a Disney fan, want to have an day to remember, and live within driving distance, I highly recommending traveling to Noblesville,IN and attending. It will be well worth the trip. 

That's all for this post. Be sure to come back in a couple of days and read my next one. I will once again be focusing on the town where I live and a special day Paula and I spent close to home. See you then.