Here We Go Again

Okay, Fellow Survivor Geeks, and you know who you are, it won’t be long now. It’s what we have been craving since December 19 at 10:18 pm CST. That’s right, the 22nd season of the award-winning reality show that we love so much, will finally return on Wednesday at 7:00 pm CST on CBS. And it should be epic!

I am sure that you aware that Russell Hantz and Boston Rob Mariano will be reigniting their epic feud on Survivor: Redemption Island. If that wasn’t enough, there will be several “twists” introduced this season.

Besides giving Hantz and Mariano a third and fourth chance, respectively, to redeem themselves and win Survivor, the show has introduced a major twist that gives voted off contestants a chance to return to the game. Obviously this is where they came up with the name, Survivor: Redemption Island. Duh.

I have read several online articles on how this new “twist” will work. This explanation by host Jeff Probst was the best.

“How it works is very simple,” explained Probst. “When you’re voted out at Tribal Council, you don’t go home. You’re not out of the game. You go to Redemption Island and you live alone. And at a certain point in the game another person will join you. You will compete in a duel. The winner stays. The loser goes home. So you’re continuing to live out there on your own with very basic supplies. But you’re still in the game. And at a certain point you’ll be allowed to reenter the game and have a shot at the money.”

In other words, people that are voted out will compete against each other for a chance to later rejoin the game.

Unfortunately, since each episode will include a Redemption Island duel, you can expect there to be just one combined reward/immunity challenge per episode for the players that have yet to be voted out.

If this is the case, I might not be a fan of the format switch. I was always a big fan of two challenges each week. Although the Redemption Island duel could potentially provide enough drama, we might forget that we are only getting one challenge. Only time will tell.

Here are the Opening Night lineups:

Ometepe Tribe


Rob Mariano (35), Pensacola, FL

Andrea Boehlke (21), Random Lake, WI
Ashley Underwood (25), Benton, ME
Francesca Hogi (36), Washington, DC
Grant Mattos (29), West Hollywood, CA
Kristina Kell (46), Malibu, CA
Matt Elrod (22), Nashville, TN

Natalie Tenerelli (19), Acton, CA
Phillip Sheppard (52), Santa Monica, CA

Zapatera Tribe


Russell Hantz (38), Dayton, TX
David Murphy (31), West Hollywood, CA
Julie Wolfe (50), Oceanside, CA
Krista Klumpp (25), Columbia, SC
Mike Chiesl (31), Del Mar, CA
Ralph Kiser (45), Lebanon, VA
Sarita White (36), Santa Monica, CA
Stephanie Valencia (26), Long Beach, CA

Steve Wright (51), Huntington Beach, CA

If you want more information on the competitors, check out my blog from last month, “Look What I Found”.

Based on the results of my Survivor Hall of Fame poll, bad-guy Russell Hantz is the fan favorite among many of the From the Booth crowd. If you disagree make sure you cast your vote before Wednesday night. The poll is located just to the right of the blog.

Yes, here we go again, Russell Hantz vs. Rob Mariano. And I know who I’m rooting for. Until next time…from the booth.

Charles Nelson Reilly Rules!

The past few days I have been messing around with Jib Jab. Today I came across this little gem that pays homage to the great Charles Nelson Reilly. A special thanks to Weird Al for his hard work. I thought I would share it with those of you not on on facebook. There has been some problems with the YouTube version. Hopefully this will work for everyone!

Click here to see my tribute to Charles Nelson Reilly.

Pretty cool, huh? Did you notice Gene Rayburn? As long as you're here, please take a moment to vote on my Survivor Hall of Fame poll if you haven't already done so. It's located just to the right of this blog. Only three days left. Thanks! Until next time…from the booth.

Welcome To Wisconsin!

Someone needs to make sure that representatives from the Lake Geneva Visitors Bureau, the Kenosha Area Convention & Visitors Bureau, the Wisconsin Department of Tourism and the Wisconsin Chamber of Commerce read this blog. By doing so, they will become aware of the best advertising tool they could ever dream of. Seriously, this blog will bring to their attention the greatest destination-marketing implement they could ever hope for. Want to know what it is? I won’t make you wait.

It’s my friend Michael Chagdes from Lake Geneva.

You are probably asking yourself why some guy from Lake Geneva would be some a marketing boon for drawing people to America’s Dairyland. Let me explain by starting with a quick background of Michael Chagdes.

Michael hasn’t always lived in Lake Geneva, or Illinois for that matter. Up until last year he and had resided in Illinois all of his life, the last eight in the western suburb of Lisle.

He and his wife Rose, run Wacker Hardware Company located in Chicago on West Jackson Blvd. Michael is the President/CEO and Rose is the Vice President of this highly successful company that has been in business since 1936.

Wacker Hardware is the Midwest source for security hardware, locksmith supplies, and master keying specialties. The company not only serves locksmiths but also, hardware stores, industrial supply houses, building contractors, and many other types of businesses.

Michael is much more than an accomplished businessman. Although he is a self-proclaimed curmudgeon, he is also funny and a very straightforward kind of guy. What you see is what you get with Michael Chagdes.

I first met Michael and Rose on facebook a couple of years ago. I finally met them in person when they came to Sister Act Painting and Creative Treasures for my book singing this past July. You couldn’t ask to meet two more charming people.

Okay, now that you know a little a bit about Chagdes, chances are you are still wondering why he should be the Spokesman for the state of Wisconsin. Maybe these two quotes will help you see why:

“I’m 60 and have been in Illinois for 59 years and Wisconsin for 1 year. I have met more nice people up here in 12 months than in the previous state in almost 6 decades. Just sayin’…”

“I’d say it's a great day to live in Wisconsin, but then again, EVERY day up here is great!”

Both of those remarks were made on facebook when talking about how he liked living in Wisconsin. Most of the people he was talking with were from the Land of Lincoln.

Wait, it gets better. Not only has his residence changed in the last year, also has his sport allegiances. Oh, yes.

According to Rose, Michael has been a Cubs fan since he was 5 years old! After last season he had enough and decided to be a total Brewers fan. He has already bought hats and will assuredly be acquiring more Brewer items, as the season gets closer.

Not only has he converted to the Brewers, he is also a Packer fan. I bet you think he was a Bear fan, right? Wrong.

Recently, some of Michael’s Bear fan friends were giving him a hard time on facebook for cheering on the Green and Gold during their Super Bowl run. He responded with, “No “flipping” here. I have NEVER been a Bears fan and I most assuredly never will be.”

He went on to say, “I’ve been a Dallas Cowboys fan since 1967. I jumped on the Packers bandwagon this year mainly because it annoys so many Bears fans. But I really do admire the organization and my neighbors are happier when they win.”

There you have, Lake Geneva, Kenosha and Wisconsin Visitor Bureaus, a former Illinoisan who has nothing but wonderful things to say about our great state. He is a successful businessman, loves the Packers and the Brewers and genuinely cares about his neighbors. Michael Chagdes would be the ideal marketing tool, so feel free to use him and his wonderful quotes.

Until next time…from the booth.

It Won’t Be Long Now

This blog is just a reminder that it won’t be long now. That’s right, in just seven short days two significant things will happen. On February 16th, the Milwaukee Brewer pitchers and catchers will report to Phoenix, Arizona for spring training. Equally important, on that same date the twenty-second season of the CBS award-winning reality television series Survivor is scheduled to premiere. Wow! It doesn’t get much better than that, does it? That’s rhetorical – you don’t have to answer.

This means starting next Wednesday I start writing my popular Survivor recap blogs. Although I am sure that this pleases Fellow Survivor Geeks, I know that it doesn’t do much for others. Yes, Sharon I’m talking about you.

Don’t worry I will continue to write entertaining blogs on various subjects in between Survivor blogs. In fact, if there are any topics that you would like to see me write about, feel free to leave a comment here or email me at vag57@wi.rr.com.

Before I wrap up, I want to mention my From The Booth page on facebook. If you are on facebook, click on From The Booth to be a part of this page. Once there, click on "like". There will be updates regarding upcoming blogs as well as providing another place for you to leave comments.

That’s it for now. Join the From The Booth page on facebook, because it won’t be long now! Until next time…from the booth.

R.I.P. Ziggy

I just read that Larry Gutowski had passed away at age 54. Larry was one of the characters that I worked with at Koos Inc. and was better known as “Ziggy”. He was one of the mellowest people that I ever knew. But trust me, he was a character in the truest sense of the word. In honor of Ziggy, I would like to repost the first blog I wrote about Koos.

My first Labor Day was June 9, 1975, four short days after I graduated from Tremper High School. This was my first grown-up job. Oh, I had worked at Howard Johnson’s and Burger King while I was in school, but those were high school jobs.

I had a job as a laborer at the infamous Koos Inc. fertilizer/ice melter plant. This was a bona fide, real-life job where I went to work each morning five days a week and received a paycheck for $91.18 each and every Friday afternoon.

The amount of $91.18 was after taxes were taken out. My gross pay was $120.00 for forty hours. Insert your own joke here.

Hey, I said it was a real-life job, I didn’t say it paid a lot. For my $3.00 an hour I got to lift 40-pound bags of fertilizer in a hot, sloppy plant with slippery mud covered floors. In the winter we were treated to 50-pound bags of ice melter in a building that had no heat whatsoever. Although we were freezing, at least the floors weren’t muddy. Now they were covered with a toxic dust that you inhaled all day long.

Did I mention that Koos Inc. featured no running water? Most guys simply stepped to the nearest open dock door to relieve themselves. Otherwise, if you wanted to use an actual restroom you had to maneuver through the entire plant, walk down a long flight of stairs and go across the yard to the “Jap Shack”.

The “Jap Shack” was nothing more than an old storage shed with a few beat-up lockers, a couple of picnic tables, a number of rats and a toilet with a sink. This venerable structure received its colorful name because it allegedly held Japanese war prisoners during World War II.

Don’t ask me, I just worked there.

And so did a multitude of fascinating characters. People like Virgil Tucker, Dead Man, Bone Head, Stretch Babic, Munk Ekern, Tyrone Walker and Ziggy Gutowski. Each one possessed unique characteristics. They obviously had to, with monikers like those. They all left a lasting impression on yours truly.

But none like the legendary Arno Schubert. I could easily write a story about Arno each day for a month. This ornery “old” German was well known in every drinking establishment between here and Paddock Lake. I say old because he was about 36 and I was only eighteen years old at the time.

The only problem about sharing stories about Arno is that it would take so long to clean up the language. With Arno, cursing was an art form. He made Dice Clay, Earl Weaver and other high-profile foul mouths look like choirboys. Let me give you an example.

Because of his propensity for filthy phraseology, he was often asked to “watch his mouth”. One classic moment is when a burnout named Lanny challenged Arno that he couldn’t go the whole day without cursing. Arno’s response? Cover your ears mother.

“F*ck you, you stupid motherf*ckin’ c*cks*cker.”

That was one of the things that I learned on my first Labor Day. How not to talk! Koos Inc. made me realize why Emil and Milly Vagnoni had been drilling that stuff into my head throughout my childhood. Now I was experiencing why in my first real-life job.

On that first Labor Day, I honestly considered making a run for it during first break. I often wonder how my life would have been different if I had. Do I regret not quitting Koos Inc. on my first Labor Day?

Probably, because I ended up working there for over sixteen years. Things would have definitely been different. Maybe better, perhaps not. Who knows? One thing that I am sure of, staying at Koos Inc. on my first Labor Day has provided me with a mountain of material for future columns.

It also provided me with many memories. R.I.P. Ziggy. Until next time…from the booth.

Smash Mouth Football

I have been a fan of NFL football since 1962; yes I’m that old. My favorite team was the Green Bay Packers and because I was five years old at the time my favorite player was Paul Hornung who just happened to wear number five. However, the Golden Boy wasn’t the only player I admired.

Among my favorites were Ray Nitschke, Jim Taylor, Dick Butkus, Mike Curtis, Jack Lambert, Ernie Holmes, Mike Lucci, Alex Karras, Deacon Jones and Conrad Dobler. All of these guys had one thing in common; they all played smash mouth football. They could dish it out and in turn, take it as well.

Football is a tough sport and players get injured. They are assured of a lifetime of aches and pains. They understand that they will probably never play at 100%. There is a pervasive attitude that anyone who sits out with any injury short of a broken bone is some kind of wimp. Football is a game played by tough guys.

I loved football. Especially smash mouth football. Or at least I thought that I did. Then something happened.

In the NFC Championship game, Chicago Bear quarterback Jay Cutler left the game with a leg injury that turned out to be a second degree MCL tear. He was immediately labeled a quitter, a baby, a pussy and a few things that I won’t repeat.

These attacks came from fans, players and members of the media. NFL stars, past and present were taking shots at the Bears star. Players like Maurice Jones Drew, Derrick Brooks and Fran Tarkenton were seemingly standing in line to question his manhood.

I was stunned. Not because Cutler’s toughness was being questioned, but because I found myself defending him. Remember, Cutler is a Chicago Bear and I don’t particularly like Chicago Bears. Especially petulant douche bags like Jay Cutler.

But right is right. Who knows how bad his knee was? I certainly didn’t.

In the week following the game, I engaged in several facebook “discussions” regarding Cutler’s virility, always taking the Bear quarterback’s side.

I even participated in a rather heated debate regarding the subject on my friend Pat Hegewald’s RapidDraft.com Fantasy Lunch show heard on BlogTalkRadio. In the end, we agreed to disagree.

Even though I felt that I was right, I was a bit confused. Was my love for tough, smash mouth football fading?

After listening to the Cutler discourse rage for over a week, it finally hit me. Maybe Cutler was scared. Maybe he didn’t want to end up like Dan Hampton, Willie Wood, Jim Otto or worse yet, like Mike Webster or Darryl Stingley.

Let me explain. These are all former NFL stars that have suffered a myriad of physical problems because they played smash mouth football. Some more so than the other. Here’s what they got for being tough guys.

For example, Hampton endured 10 knee surgeries (five on each knee) and had two more just after finishing his 12th NFL season in 1990. After his contract expired after 1989, Hampton signed a 1-year deal for $850,000 to play the 1990 season for the Bears. This final contract was incentive based, if he played he got paid, if an injury forced him to the sidelines he would not.

Wood is currently living in an assisted care facility and has had many operations as a result of his being injured during his NFL career. He has had replacement knees and replacement hips, dementia and forgetfulness, and his current NFL pension of a little over $1100 per month is just not enough to pay all of his bills.

Wisconsin native Otto punished his body greatly during his NFL career, resulting in nearly 40 surgeries, including 28 knee operations (nine of them during his playing career alone) and multiple joint replacements. His joints are riddled with arthritis, and he has debilitating back and neck problems.

One time, Otto nearly died on the operating table. He also fought off three life-threatening bouts of infections due to his artificial joints, and during one six-month stretch, was without a proper right knee joint because he had to wait for the infection to clear up before another artificial one could be implanted.

After retirement Webster suffered from amnesia, dementia, depression, and acute bone and muscle pain. He lived out of his pickup truck or train stations between Wisconsin and Pittsburgh even though his friends and former teammates were willing to rent apartments for him. Webster was only 50 years old when he passed on.

In a preseason game against the Oakland Raiders at Oakland Coliseum on August 12, 1978, Raiders defensive back Jack Tatum hit Stingley. As Stingley and Tatum collided, Stingley lowered his helmet, which collided with Tatum's shoulder pad. The hit compressed Stingley's spinal cord, breaking his fourth and fifth cervical vertebrae. He eventually regained limited movement in his right arm, but spent the rest of his life as a quadriplegic.

Although controversial, the hit was not a violation of NFL rules at the time. No penalty was called on the play.

On April 5, 2007, Stingley, at age 55, died at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago after being discovered unresponsive in his home. His death was attributed to heart disease and pneumonia complicated by quadriplegia. The Cook County Medical Examiner listed Stingley's cause of death as an accident.

I realize that no one forced any of these tough guys to play in the NFL; it was a choice they made. They decided to play smash mouth football. Regrettably, because of those choices, they are all crippled or worse.

I understand that violence in the NFL is part of the equation. However, it's still just a game, with rules and referees. Unfortunately, life is not a game. It is precious and all too short.

Maybe I don’t like smash mouth as much as I used to. Until next time…from the booth.