Is That ME on That SUV? – and Other Thoughts

Things I Didn't Expect While Expecting the Unexpected:

So, I'm driving on the Eisenhower Expressway on Friday night, heading west- traffic absolutely awful and dragging- and I look off to my right, and several cars ahead, in that lane- I see the back of a Ford SUV. There's not much unusual about that- expect that, on the passenger side of the rear is a HUGE SVENGOOLIE FACE- identical to the one on the front of our t-shirts!

I could not believe it- and kept hoping the genius in the muscle car in front of me who clearly didn't know how to keep up with traffic would maintain enough speed for me to catch up with said vehicle. I finally got closer, and, it appeared to be painted on the car- along with a few other things- a black cat in front of a full moon with a bat flying near it- on the side, Snoopy hugging Woodstock, and near the front end, a mysterious frightened looking face. It looked like a couple were riding in the car, but I never got close enough to get a good ID- and, didn't  have my phone out to take a photo of the car. regardless, it made that trip in lousy traffic more interesting- has anybody ever seen this vehicle, or knows whose it is? Please let us know- or, at least, keep an eye out for that car!

I was sorry to hear of the passing of Maurie Berman, who, with his wife Flaurie, established Chicago's iconic Superdawg restaurant. Maurie and Flaurie were at my special event at the Museum of Broadcast Communications, and, in fact, Superdawgs were being served to the attendees who came to celebrate my career with me. The Bermans, longtime Chicagoans, maintained their family business on the Northwest side and even opened a second place out in Wheeling- both topped by statues of the strongman hot dog and his adoring girlfriend, modeled after- of  course- Maurie and Flaurie themselves. Our condolences to the Berman family- "from the bottom of our pure-beef hearts" to paraphrase the slogan on the boxes that Superdawgs come in.

Also sorry that David Letterman will be saying goodbye this week. I'm a long-time fan, from back when he did his morning program, and have always enjoyed his clever humor and  personality. I was fortunate to have attended one of his shows done at the Chicago Theater back in 1989, and , in talking with his bandleader/sidekick Paul Shaffer when I did an event with him later that year, found out that the Chicago audience's reaction came as a pleasant surprise and relief to Dave and his staff- because the last remote they had done was in Las Vegas, and the audience there had been borderline hostile! The outpouring of love at the their Chicago shows meant a lot to them. I will definitely miss Dave, Paul, and all the fun times and great music.

I'm happy to report that the AAZK Trivia night in Brookfield has sold out- and our Svengoolie-sponsored team table will be at full strength as well! Good luck to all the trivia buffs- and thanks for helping!

Happy to see a special DVD has come out -"It's Good to Be King"-featuring my friend Jerry "the King"Lawler- WWE Hall of Famer, artist, commentator,the guy who feuded with Andy Kaufman (ooh- another Letterman tie-in!), etc. I'm picking a copy up, and hope you will, as well- the King's story is fascinating, and the documentary included (along with some of his wrestling matches) provides a terrific profile of a very talented man. We spent sometime with Jerry when he was in town for both the C2E2 convention and a WWE pay-per-view event- be watching for part of our visit with the Memphis icon in a show later this month!