Rockin in Little Rock

This weekend I decided to take a short trip to visit a college friend Mark Warner who is currently living in Little Rock, AR (not by choice). I set out early on Friday in effort to beat the afternoon rush to the airport, and had no problems getting out on the Austin to Houston leg of my trip. As I was boarding the the plane, sitting there in 1st class was Eric Estrada. Also better know as Ponch!

Mr. Estrada has come a long way since the days cruising the streets on his bike in "Chips." He was sporting all of the lastest fads (Mickey Mouse watch, 5 strands of power beads, 3 gold chains, and a blue jean jacket). It was like 4 decades wrapped into 1.

After the short flight to Houston, I had to stand-by for the next flight to Little Rock. I missed the first flight by 1 seat and then couldnt get on the next two. 4 hours later my name was finally called for the 730 flight to Little Rock. They actually bussed us out to the runway, stored my bag under the plane, and loaded us on. After finally sitting down in my seat, I was breathing a sigh of relief, when I hear "Passanger Hill" being called out over the PA system. When flying as a non-revenue stand-by, this is NEVER a good sign. Before I knew it, I was being pulled off the plane and driven back to the airport, bag in hand.

After about 20 games of Sudoku, I finally got to Little Rock about 10 on Friday night and was more than ready for a beer. We headed out to the bars in an area called The River Market. In the heart of it, runs President Clinton Ave.

Prez Clinton is not the only famous celebrity, because while Mark and I were drinking beers in Little Rock's most popular Piano Bar, in walked Scottie Pippen. Yep, he was as tall and as ugly as he is on TV.

I also got the priviledge of going to my first and last University of Arkansas football game. Unless they are playing the horns of course. Don't get me wrong, the people of Arkansas are some of the nicest people I have ever encountered in my travels, but some of the worst dressed. I have never seen so many people wearing camoflauge and sequins at any place in my life. Quite the site and only the Hog fans can pull it off. The photo below can further explain what I saw.

Needless to say, my trip to Arkansas was an unforgettable one and it made flying stand-by worth the price once again.

Evolution of Milktoast

Welcome to wide world of Milktoast. I am sure you are asking yourself, "What in the #$%* is Milktoast?!" Well, I really have no idea myself. The nickname was given to me by my Uncle David in high school and it has just served as my screenname ever since. I have since looked it up in Webster's and found out that the word actually exists, but is spelled, Milquetoast. Anyhow, this is how Milktoast was born.

We were on our way to a family vacation to Destin, FL and while driving down I-10 (which now, I am sure is considered Hurricane Highway) he decided that we should all have nicknames for the week long trip. My friend John Groberg and Jenny Cannoles had come with me on the trip, so they of course, we lucky enough to get nicknames as well.

The naming process:
In HS, Groberg had the tendency to mumble and some of the things he said could not quite be understood. So when my uncle asked John what his last name was, my uncle mistook it for Homer. So Homer's nickname was Homer.

In 1997, a very popular song on the radio was by the Outhere Brothers titled "Boom Boom Boom let Me Hear You Say Way-ooh" and the lyrics went like this:
boom boom boom let me here you say way-ooh
me say boom boom boom now everybody say way-ooh
boom boom boom let me here you say way-ooh
me say boom boom boom now everybody say way-ooh

So with that song coming on the radio every ten minutes, my uncle decided that our friend Jenny deserved the nickname "Way-Ooh."

With Jenny and John both sporting their new nicknames, this left me. Based on the criteria that my uncle used to name the two others, I had no idea what to expect, other than something really ridiculous. Well, the next thing out of Uncle Dave's mouth was, "The other day I was drinking some milk and eating some toast." A light bulb appeared above his head and there it was, my nickname for the 1997 Hill family vacation...Milktoast. Not to be confused with Milquetoast.

MMH