Mickey's News and Views

Hey Folks, Well, it's about that time again. Time to touch base and let you know just what's been happening lately. Like always, I have been traveling a lot lately. July was a very busy month.

It all started with an appearance on the 4th of July at the Tehacapi Municipal Airport. It was a chance to help save the airport from the brink of destruction. There was talk about bulldozing it to make room for low cost housing. It was also a chance to show off my K&B Construction "Tool Time" Tow Rig along with my beautiful Castle Motorcycle. And the best part of the day was seeing all of the airplanes as well as the old warbirds and meeting all of the folks in Tehacapi. Boy do I love those old fighter planes. I want to extend a personal thanks to my friend Bob Souza of Techacapi. He was responsible for inviting me to come and spend a special 4th of July. The fireworks show that night proved to be very exciting. It started a large fire but the news report the next day said it was "part of the show" Right!

The next weekend I spent in Chicago once again doing a celebrity golf tournament. I love that city. I was there during the weekend festivities of "A Taste of Chicago". That was blast. On Saturday, the 8th, we went to a Leon Russell concert. That was pretty cool because Leon is an old friend of mine. I couldn't wait to see his face when I showed up. I went out to his bus and knocked on the door. His guitar player opened the door and knew me from "Home Improvement". He yelled back, "Mickey Jones is here". I heard Leon say, "Mickey, get in here". We visited for about an hour and then I sat on the front row for Leon in concert. As usual, he was GREAT! We said good by at the bus after the show and vowed to stay in touch.

On Sunday the 9th, Jay Cash, the promoter of the celebrity golf tournament arranged for all of the celebrities to attend a Cubs game at Wrigley Field. We watched the game from the rooftop of one of the buildings across the street from the field. They are now special places to watch the game. They are usually corporate outings. It was also a special game as the Cubs were playing the White Sox. That made for a jammed stadium and a lot of fun. I met a couple on the roof who also had tickets but wanted to experience the rooftop. We later went over to the field and I watched the last 4 innings in Wrigley Field. What a trip! We did the tournament on Monday and came home on Tuesday.

Going to Chicago reminded me of the National Hardware Show. I go there for Dead On Tools and the last time we were there we stayed at the House of Blues. That was a hoot.

I played a charity golf tournament at Elkins Ranch in Fillmore on July 21st for the Santa Paula Hospital. My friend Jim McCoy always has me come out for this event and it is well worth the time and effort. They are a great group of folks. I will always do anything I can for them. I had to leave before the dinner because of something very special.

I got a call a couple of weeks before the Santa Paula Hospital tournament from one of my grandson's mom telling me that my grandson, who is also a drummer, would be playing at The Whisky 'A Go Go on July 21st. Yep! The same Whisky 'A Go Go that I opened with Johnny Rivers in 1964. I didn't realize just how important it was for me to be there until I got there. My 14-year-old grandson, Dane Butler, is the drummer with a couple of his buddies in a heavy metal band called "Geppetto's Other Puppet". He kept saying, "Can you believe this Grandpa, I am playing in the same place that you played". He introduced me to all of his friends and that's when I realized just how important it was for me to be there that night. Dane, I wouldn't have missed it for the world.

On July 24th I did a celebrity golf tournament for The Los Angeles Fire Department. I'll go anywhere and do anything for those guys and gals. We played at Lakeside C.C. in Burbank. That is truly one of the great golf courses in Southern California.

I spent the last weekend of the month in Eugene, Oregon. I attended the Nokie Edwards Music Festival. As you may know, Nokie Edwards is one of the legendary guitar players ever. He was the lead guitar player for The Ventures. He is a God in Japan. I was the MC for the 2-day festival. The festival was great but the travel was a nightmare. I flew United Shuttle. If you ever get a chance to fly United Shuttle - MISS IT!!! Three of my four flights were, either cancelled, delayed or over booked beyond belief. That was miserable. The hotel had to be evacuated on Saturday night because a drunk driver knocked out the electrical paned of the hotel and cut open a propane tank. We finally got back into our rooms around 1:30 AM. Then came the final straw. The airport shuttle taking me home at 3 in the morning slammed into a car that had just run a red light at the airport. All in all it was the trip from Hell. But, I did get home safely. Something to be said for that.

I leave next weekend for bike week in Sturgis, SD. I am currently doing stuff for Indian Motorcycles. I will be one of the folks roasting Peter Fonda as we induct him into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame on the 9th of August. I will be riding an Indian Motorcycle on a couple of rides during the week and then we will close off the week with a concert at The Full Throttle. I will be the guest star on the Branscombe Richmond show. Branscombe played Bobby Sixkiller on the TV series "Renegade" with Lorenzo Lamas. Branscombe is the National Celebrity Spokesman for Indian Motorcycles and wants me to get involved with Indian. I believe Indian is not only back but they are here to stay.

Next time, I will give you the whole story of Sturgis. Till then, all the best and God Bless!

Mickey