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  Dan Hicks & His Hot Licks   - Now Playing in Valparaiso In '71 or '72 I visited my friend Bill in Valparaiso (Valpo) and it was during that visit when I first heard the music of Dan Hicks. Bill and I were at his friend Duke's place and Duke was playing a Dan Hicks & His Hot Licks album on his stereo. Dan Hicks' first album with his Hot Licks was released back in 1969. Prior to that he had been a drummer in a group called “The Charlatans” out of the Bay Area. I was not aware of that group at the time either. When we walked into Duke's I immediately noticed the music (Dan Hicks) and liked it. After a couple of songs I asked Duke about it and made a mental note to purchase some Dan Hicks albums when I returned home. That was one of the highlights of that trip for me but that trip turned into a very odd visit. This was my first visit back to Valpo since I was there on leave to marry Donna back in '69 and really the first trip back where I was th...

  Checkers with Andre M y mom heard someone talking about the NYC Fresh Air Child Program on the radio one day. It was a program that finds host families for children from inner city under served communities. A host family takes in a child from a poor family for a week or two over the summer essentially providing a child a sort of summer vacation with a family in the suburbs or the country. Mom inquired about the program and she and my father decided to host. The organization asked my mom what kind of child she was interested in and she asked for a boy near my younger brother's age. My brother was probably around 9 and being 9 and a half years older that would put me at 18 or 19. I was a freshman in college at the time. They asked her if she had any preferences in regards to race or ethnicity. My Mom asked which kids they had the most trouble placing. The answer, not surprisingly, was black children so my Mom said she would like a black child. S o that summer Andre f...