R.I.P. Wayne Allwine

You have probably never heard of voice actor Wayne Allwine. But there is absolutely no doubt you have heard his voice before. He was the voice of Mickey Mouse, and he passed away on May 19, 2009.

Since Mickey was created in 1928, he has only had three official voices: Walt Disney voiced Mickey from 1928 until the mid-1950's, with his final vocal performances as Mickey being in animated segments from the Mickey Mouse Club in 1955. Sound engineer Jimmy MacDonald voiced Mickey from the mid-1950's until the late 1970's. Wayne Allwine took over the character 32 years ago, and for people my age he was the Mickey we grew up with.

In the 1960's, Wayne started working for the Disney Studios in the mail room. He says he met Walt Disney only a few times before Walt passed away, never knowing that one day he would become the voice of Walt's most famous creation. Wayne learned the voice of Mickey from Jimmy MacDonald (then the current voice of Mickey), and Wayne took over from Jimmy in 1977 when Jimmy retired.

Wayne performed Mickey for literally thousands of projects. Between the TV shows and specials, movies, recordings for the theme parks, computer games, and toys, Wayne has performed Mickey more than Walt or Jimmy did combined...at least a dozen times over.

I hear Mr. Allwine's voice on a daily basis, as Hanna is a huge fan of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, and I can't help but wonder how Mickey's voice will change now that Wayne is gone. Every voice of Mickey has been the same, but different, with each person bringing something unique to the character.

Another interesting fact that most people don't realize is that Wayne was married to voice actress Russi Taylor, who provides the voice for -- who else -- Minnie Mouse. Wayne passed away from diabetes complications with Russi by his side. He was only 62.

Still here after a year...

I first started this blog on May 3, 2008, to commemorate our 10th wedding anniversary. I had no idea if I would keep posting or just let this page slip away to the dark and usused corners of the internet. Who would've thought I would still be keeping up with this blog after a year? Sure, I don't post daily (sometimes I don't even post monthly), but I try to keep it somewhat current. This will be my 33rd post in a year's time. I guess that averages out to around 2.5 posts a month.

I expect to post about our recent vacation soon. Please stay tuned.

Less than 24 hours...

Interstate 75 North beckons.

If all goes to plan, at 5:00 AM on Sunday April 26 we will be heading out of the Sunshine State and on our way to Tennessee.

Unfortunately I have come down with something...it's slightly flu-like without the sore throat and stuffy head. Fever and body aches, but enough to make a trip less enjoyable. Perhaps one more night of Nyquil-induced slumber will get my body to a point where it won't be miserable driving 760 miles. Not to mention the fact that being in a car with me for hours and hours could be potentially hazardous to Hanna and Terri's health! Maybe I should look into some biohazard suits for the trip...

Perhaps I will post on vacation, or perhaps I won't. Regardless, I'm sure I'll have pictures and stories to tell when I return.

The Chariot

The Tocksteins are not minvan people, although I can understand why many people with small children are. If we had more than one kid (and we don't...and won't...at least not until Hanna goes off to college), I could certainly understand the need for a larger vehicle.

The vehicle of choice for our upcoming road trip is my 2006 Volkswagen Jetta. I have a great fondness for this car as it was the first new car I ever drove off of a lot. I've had it for almost 4 years now, and it has a few scratches, dings, and dents, but that just adds character. I still vacuum it out and Armor All the dash at least once a month, and I have done a reasonably good job of keeping up with all of the maintenance on it. I've also recently integrated my iPod into the stereo, so I now have access to 13,000 of my favorite songs at the touch of a button. For the upcoming trip I am going to rig up our personal DVD player to the back of the driver's seat so Hanna can watch her favorite DVDs on the road.

The Jetta has made the road trip to Tennessee only once before. While the road trips are long, there is something nice about having MY car with me when I'm out of town. In my experience I've found rental cars to be a mixed bag, and you seldom know exactly what you are going to get until you find a small 2-door hatchback waiting for you at the airport with barely enough room in it for your carseat and luggage.

I remember telling my Dad I was going to get a Volkswagen, and the only thing he could think of was my last VW, which was a 1986 VW Golf that looked (and smelled) as though it had been pulled out of a junkyard. It was a constant struggle to keep it running (thanks to Herb Piercy for the generous donation of his time and expertise), but that car had CHARACTER! The horn sounded like a T-Rex from "Jurassic Park" and there was always some kind of fungus growing in the seat cushions. I had that car between the years of 1994 and 1996, and I still remember it fondly. (Maybe I should blog about all the cars I've had...that might be an interesting post).

My Jetta doesn't smell gross, and there isn't any fungus growing in the seats as far as I can tell, but it still has character, and it somehow fits me. I'm looking forward to putting a few more miles on her in just over a week.

Till next time, here is the greatest travel song ever....

762 miles of fun!

I've decided to start the blog up again after taking about 6 weeks off. I'm sure the 3 people who read this blog will be greatly relieved that I have returned!

In just a few weeks from now, on April 26, Terri, Hanna, and I will be heading north to Tennessee. Since we've had Hanna, this trip has always been accomplished by a 90 minute plane ride to Nashville or Knoxville. But since we now have to pay for a plane ticket for Hanna, we were looking at upwards of 500 to 600 bucks for a trip. Since gas is still relatively cheap, we decided it would be much more cost-effective to drive.

I have never been in a car with a 2-year old for upwards of 12 hours, and I'm not sure how that is going to work. Hanna has made a car trip from Illinois to Knoxville (roughly 8 hours) without major incident, so hopefully that is a good sign.

The northbound drive on Interstate 75 through Florida and Georgia isn't exactly scenic. There is little to break up the monotony except billboards for "Cafe Risque" (WE BARE ALL!!!) and the occasional rest stop offering free orange juice (in Florida) or pecans (in Georgia). The drive through downtown Atlanta is always an adventure, especially in rush hour. We are driving on a Sunday so hopefully that won't be an issue, but it always seems like there is a wreck on that particular stretch of road. The scenery begins in north Georgia and Chattanooga, when the mountains start to creep over the horizon. The drive from Chattanooga to Nashville is quick but relatively dull, with more fireworks stores and gas stations than I could ever count.

Our first stop will be Terri's folks in Portland, TN, which is about an hour north of Nashville. After spending a few days with them, mid-week we will head over to Knoxville to spend the rest of the time with my folks.

We'll have the iPods charged, the portable DVD player ready to go, the oil changed, the tires brought up to pressure, and enough pillows and blankets in the car to dress a king sized bed (because Terri plans to sleep for approximately 10 hours of the trip).

Look for more updates soon as we prepare for our first big road trip in about three years!

DIY Home Theater, part 2

The home theater isn't quite finished, but it's close. I need to buy a ceiling mount for my projector. I had planned on setting it on a shelf at the back of the room, but that isn't going to work. Currently I have the projector on a very low shelf at the back of the room. Because of this I've had to move the couch to the side of the room (and as you will see in the video it is very easy to cast shadows on the screen!)

However enough of the components are in place that we can watch movies in there now. In the following short video clip I show the size of the screen. I stand in front of the screen so you get some sense of scale, but it may be hard to see in this dark and grainy video.

Needless to say, I am really enjoying it. I am going to find it difficult to drive to the movies now with such a large screen in our home!

Until next time...

Scenes from a Mall

This morning I had to have a flat tired patched at the Sears Auto Center. Rather than sit in the waiting room I decided to venture out into the adjoining mall.

The mall -- any mall -- is an interesting place before 10:00 AM. Most of the stores still have the steel security gates in place. The food court is dark and empty. The small kiosks which sell sunglasses or perfume are covered with large tarps. And of course there are the Mall Walkers.

The Mall Walkers are an interesting bunch. It is a universal law that no Mall Walker is under 70 years old. They are almost always female, and those who bring their husbands leave them to their newspaper and coffee at one of the many "resting spots" in the mall, which usually consist of leather recliners or comfortable couches. In most cases, these abandoned husbands end up falling asleep.

Countryside Mall, the mall closest to my house, has a large ice skating rink between Dillard's and Macy's. It was at the ice skating rink that I witnessed the scene which inspired me to put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) and share this.

In the middle of the ice-skating rink was a group of about twenty ladies, all of them senior citizens, who were waving around hula-hoops with streamers attached to them, going through some kind of synchronized dance routine to the songs "Great Balls of Fire" by Jerry Lee Lewis and "Light My Fire" by the Doors. These two songs played repeatedly for about 15 minutes. I just sat there with my coffee and watched with a mixture of shock and amusement. Where else would I see this but at a mall on a Wednesday morning at 9:30 AM?

I took a very grainy shot with my camera phone, and thanks to the wonders of the Internet I can share this lovely story with all of you.