Friday Night Videos

Jimmy Buffett died last week from a rare form of skin cancer. This news has hit me surprisingly hard. I'm not one who normally obsesses over the lives (or deaths) of celebrities. I liked Buffett's music--or a significant portion of it--although I wouldn't consider myself a Parrothead. My affinity for Buffett certainly preceeded my love of tiki by a couple of decades (although Buffett isn't tiki, strictly speaking). I'd always wanted to see him play live, and for Christmas in 2019 Lisa gifted me with tickets to his show in San Antonio--for March 2020. We all know what happened next. First, the show was rescheduled. Then it was cancelled outright. When his tour ran through Austin last year at the new Moody Center, tickets were twice the price and I was in no position to go. Opportunity lost forever. Still, many of his songs speak to me in a way that's hard to articulate, but one stands out: "We Are the People Our Parents Warned Us About." With this one, there's no difficulty in articulating. As I grow older I increasingly identify with this song, and the recognition of the ever-widening gap between who I am and who my parents wanted me to be will never be reconciled. Were I able to travel back in time 45 years, I really don't think my parents would like me much at all, regardless of whether they knew my identity. We are just very, very different people, and I wasted many, many years in a futile quest to try and please them. Knowing what I know now, I would live my life much differently and make different decisions. And I'm fine with that, mainly because this silly song helped me recognize blind spots in my own life.

Plus, Jimmy gets bonus points for the Gardner McKay reference.

Previously on Friday Night Videos... Howard Jones.

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Seguin signing!

I've had a whirlwind of Inside the Texas Chicken Ranch book signings and appearances of late, but I'm not finished yet! Tomorrow, September 2, I'll be at Pecantown Books & Brews in Seguin from 1-3 p.m. These are great folks and they've got a good thing going in Seguin (which has a lot of good things going there, come to think of it. Maybe I'll show up early for some barbecue...). Believe it or not, Seguin is the closest bookstore to me. That's true--the Book Haus in New Braunfels closed last year, as did the Half Price Books in San Marcos. Of course, we all know the sad demise of Hasting's in both New Braunfels and San Marcos back in 2016. The moral of this story? Support your local bookseller! Especially if they're cool and have a wine bar in their store!

In related news, I will also have a signing on September 16 in Brenham, at the Book Nook. I've been talking with them about scheduling an event since March, so it's great to finally make our calendars jibe. I hope to see you at one or both of these appearances!

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Friday Night Videos

Wow, it's been a while since I put together an installement of Friday Night Videos. Did you miss me? Ha, loaded question. But you know someone I'm missing? Howard Jones. Surprisingly, out of the decade-plus I've been doing Friday Night Videos, ol' HoJo himself does not show up even once. Let's rectify that now with "No One Is To Blame," which was a striking departure from his earlier work when it first came out in 1986. The arrangement really captivated me and prompted me to buy the album based on the strength of this song alone. Spoiler alert: The album did not quite live up to the promise of this one song.

Previously on Friday Night Videos... Bob Seger.

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Chicken Ranch road show!

If you ever get the notion to have book-related events in Houston and Waco on the same day, I suggest you reconsider. Particularly if you are starting out from New Braunfels at 4 a.m. Exhaustion is a thing. Other than that, yesterday was a blast!

A quick recap: Months ago I scheduled a book signing with Fabled Bookshop & Cafe in Waco to promote the 50th anniversary edition of Inside the Texas Chicken Ranch. Shortly thereafter, I received an invitation from KHOU-TV to appear on the morning show, Great Day Houston to promote my upcoming book signing at Murder By The Book (which is 3-5 p.m. on Saturday, August. 26. Thanks for asking!). Trouble is, Great Day is a morning show and I'd have to be there by 8 a.m. Because of Houston's notorious rush-hour traffic and the fact that New Braunfels is 150 miles away, I had to depart shortly after 4 a.m. I'll confess I am not a morning person, friends. That was rough.

But never let it be said I do not rise to a challenge. I made it to KHOU-TV studios with time to spare, hung out in the green room while various producers and guests came by to chat about the Chicken Ranch and Marvin Zindler. Then it was showtime and I'll tell you there wasn't a wasted moment, with host Deborah Duncan jumping right into the interview as soon the national programming ended. She's worked with Marvin Zindler in her formative years as a television journalist, so she had stories. She was also quite adept at keeping me on track and nipping any tangential ramblings in the bud (I'll admit I tend to take the long way around when relating any type of story). It was a fun experience and I am flattered they decided I was interesting enough to warrant two segments on their show (separated by a commercial break). If you want to see for yourself, the whole shebang is online: Jayme's Great Day Houston Chicken Ranch Interview.

Then I headed up Highway 6 to Waco. Because my signing wasn't until 7 p.m. I was able to take my time. I pulled over in Hempstead to marvel at the sprawling monument to garden statuary that is Frazier's Concrete. I hadn't driven this way for more than 30 years, so seeing all those life-sized concrete dinosaurs caught my attention, see? After working up a sweat (literally) hiking around their property, I continued on to College Station where I had a late lunch at Freebird's World Burrito. At least I assume that's still the name. Tavistock has watered that place down so much, and cut so many corners since they purchased the chain that it's barely one step removed from Chipotle at this point. I remember when Freebird's was a great place to eat. Now, it's merely adequate. Sad. After lunch, I headed up to Waco and was baffled to see the locally famous "Aggie barn" was now closer to the road and on the opposite (?) side of the highway. Is that just me? Am I misremembering geography? Is the old barn gone and replaced by a facsimilie? Getting old sucks when you can no longer trust your memory. In Waco I had some time to kill, so I wandered around a couple of antique malls for a bit before heading over to Fabled for the signing.

Folks, I have to say I was blown away. I've been to more than a few indy bookstores, and by and large they have to make do with a retail space that is far too small for a full-blown bookstore. Not Fabled. It's spacious (see below). Actual stacks. Wall shelves. Display tables. Reading and work spaces. Plus a beer and wine bar that's coupled with an actual cafe. I'm telling you, Waco is lucky to have it. I'd be over the moon if San Marcos or New Braunfels had something even half as nice. And the staff was great as well--my host for the eveing, Kai, was delightfully enthusiastic and led a Q&A session with me before the 20 or so folks who'd turned out for the event. I signed lots of books--some brought multiple copies to give as gifts--and then signed all the remaining stock in the store. Hey, I may not have Neil Gaiman's drawing power with folks lined up around the block, but any time I can help a bookstore sell a few copies, I count that as a win.

Speaking of which, I hope to see you folks at Murder By The Book on Saturday!

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Speaking of the Chicken Ranch...

Interest in the story of the Chicken Ranch continues to run high. Next Tuesday, Aug. 22 is going to be packed for me. First up, I am appearing on Great Day Houston, KHOU-TV's morning show in Houston where I will discuss the 50th anniversary closure of the infamous Chicken Ranch brothel of La Grange. I'm looking forward to it, although I'm not looking forward to getting up quite a bit earlier than I'm used to in order to make it to Houston on time! But that's not all, because that evening starting at 7 p.m., I'll attend a book signing at Fabled Bookshop and Cafe in Waco. There's already been a great deal of interest in the signing and I'm looking forward to meeting history buffs from Waco, Temple, Hillsboro and beyond. As if that wasn't enough, on Saturday, Aug. 26, I'll be back in Houston for a signing at the great Murder By The Book 3-5 p.m. The last time I was there we had a packed house and sold out, so I'm looking forward to my return engagement. My appearance on Great Day Houston may alert a few more folks to the shindig. At least, that's my hope.

My signing at Fabled Bookshop is not without media attention, either. I am interviewed by Dr. Stephen Sloan of Baylor’s Institute for Oral History on the current episode of Waco History Podcast from Rogue Media. Dr. Sloan is known for his discussions with others about Waco’s known and unknown past, and this time out we do a deep dive into the life of Fay Stewart, aka Jessie Williams, aka Aunt Jessie, the madam who made the Chicken Ranch into the most important brothel in Texas. She was also born and raised in Waco, so there's a lot to unpack. (That's Dr. Sloan and myself in the photo at the top of this post.)

I am also a guest on American History Hit Podcast, an international production that delves into all manner of historical curiosities large and small, hosted by Don Wildman. I was humbled to be invited onto their show, and despite some initial concerns on my part that I'd babbled like a fool, I'm quite surprised by my rational-sounding self in the end result. Give it a listen if you have a chance!

Finally, if you're looking to get your own autographed copy of Inside the Texas Chicken Ranch: The Definitive Account of the Best Little Whorehouse 50th anniversary edition, but cannot attend one of my bookstore signings, you can order it here, from my Big Cartel site.

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Chicken Ranch anniversary: Happy birthday Marvin Zindler!

On this date in 1921, KTRK consumer affairs reporter Marvin Zindler was born.

Zindler, of course, is forever linked with the Chicken Ranch, as his series of exposés on the brothel directly led to its closure. Marvin clashed with his father (who owned the well-regarded Zindler's clothing store in Houston) growing up and went on to try his hand at a host of different career options. He was a drum major (briefly) at Tarleton State, served in the Marines (again, briefly) before being discharged as 4F, was a radio reporter for defunct Houston radio station KATL, was a reporter for the defunct Houston Press, ran for mayor of Bellaire, was fired by one TV station because he was "too ugly for television" and was a Harris County deputy sheriff for years, where he worked in civil fraud and fugitive extradition before setting up the consumer fraud division.

Had he not died of pancreatic cancer in 2007, Zindler would've been 102 today.

Autographed copies of Inside the Texas Chicken Ranch: The Definitive Account of the Best Little Whorehouse 50th anniversary edition are available at https://jaymeblaschke.bigcartel.com/

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Armadillocon in the rearview mirror

Armadillocon this year was a great deal of fun. I went in with the intent of taking a bunch of photos, and the image to the right of myself with the incomparable Howard Waldrop is the only one I managed the entire three days. Best laid plans and all that. Jennifer Juday and Marshall Ryan Maresca put on an excellent, well-balanced convention that offered seemingly something for everyone. The only real hiccups that occurred were an unusual number of panels swapping rooms at the last minute which led to a great deal of confusion. I'm sure they'll get that sorted out, because it was weird and I can't recall anything similar happening in recent history.

One thing I want to bring up before I forget about it is the fact that a significant percentage of the attendees were 30 somethings, and more than a few folks looked to be in their 20s. There's been a great deal of hand-wringing about the graying of fandom in recent decades, for good reason. Armadillocon itself has lost some of the oldguard to the ravages of time in recent years, and even more of the regulars have endured health scares. We won't be around forever to shake our fists at clouds. Whatever Armadillocon is doing, they're doing it right, because the next generation of fandom is here and engaged. That makes me happy.

Beyond that, a few highlights that stood out for me was Toastmaster Tonia Ransom, who turned out to be a funny, witty dynamo on every panel she was on; outstanding readings from Sim Kern and Jessica Reisman; running into old college friends, some I've seen recently and others not for 30 years; late-night conversations with Joe R. Lansdale and snarky banter with Mark Finn; and too many others for my age-addled memory to recall with any degree of accuracy. The absolute highlight of the weekend had to be the screening of "Night of the Cooters," a 30-minute film based on Howard Waldrop's 1987 short story (which also inspired the anthology, War of the Worlds: The Global Dispatches), produced by George R.R. Martin, starring and directed by Vincent D'Onofrio, from a script adapted by Lansdale. The animated film is just as weird and wonderful as one would expect from Waldrop's brand of Texas Weird, and I was happy to learn more about no fewer than four other Waldrop works currently in various stages of production. The reception to "Night of the Cooters" has been so positive that there are negotiations to develop into a limited run series for streaming. That'd be fun.

Can I wait until the next Armadillocon rolls around? No. No, I cannot.

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