BOOM! Pop Culture Chronicles
By Mike Olszewski
Cold weather has returned, and in our neighborhood, that means two things: drones and holiday traditions.
The kids down the street fly their drones most nights and spy in our windows. I called the cops and they said, “Tell them to stay there until we arrive; we can’t do anything.” Turns out, neither can we, or we’d end up on YouTube. If you’re boring, they tend to fly away, so we try to be as vanilla as possible.
As for holiday traditions, these can be difficult to explain. There’s always the glass pickle that kids try to find on the Christmas tree, usually for an extra little gift. That almost always ends up in an argument, but hey… it’s something we’ve always done. I know a guy whose family serves Jack Daniels and root beer. Years back, his dad asked his sister-in-law for a “Jack and Coke,” but there was no cola so she substituted root beer, thinking he wouldn’t notice. They’ve celebrated that mistake every year since.
Grandma & the Reindeer
My wife Janice and I have an unusual Christmas tradition that we’ve followed for more than a decade. It involves a grandma, Michael Stanley and a bottle of Jagermeister alcohol.
Eric Sosinski is an accomplished local musician. He played with Michael Stanley, has several successful side projects and is part of the Pink Floyd tribute band, Wish You Were Here. Northeast Ohio has a tight music community. Back in 2009, I got a call from “Eroc,” as he’s known, telling me about a charity Christmas CD that local musicians were collaborating on, involving Michael Stanley, Marc Lee Shannon, Alex Bevan and Tommy Dobecka.
It was a long list of contributors and each sang a carol for the CD. A few months later, Sosinski said he needed background singers for a carol and asked Janice and me to show up at a studio on Cleveland’s west side. “What song are we doing?” I asked him. “You’ll find out when you get here,” is all he’d say.
When we arrived, we saw members of Wish You Were Here and a studio decorated to set the mood — red Santa hats and green bottles of Jagermeister. “We’re doing ‘Grandma Got Run over by a Reindeer,” he announced. Janice’s eyebrows shot into her scalp. These are real musicians. What are we doing here? I assured her that no one was going to hear it and let’s just do our best.
The spirits flowed, voices rang out and, as the afternoon wore on, we’re pretty sure Sosinski started making up verses. No one seemed to remember how the session ended.
Later that year, “Tis the Season: A Heartland Holiday Sampler” was released. Sure enough, there’s “Eroc and Friends” with our raucous version of “Grandma.” The lyrics have improvised references to Jagermeister. And my prediction that no one would hear it? The CD sold out immediately. When it was re-released, it sold out again. The song is on YouTube, so feel free to listen.
Every year since, Janice and I attend Christmas Eve services and race home to toast the holiday and have a huge meal, usually something decadent. But first our annual ritual? We slip the CD into the player, crank up “Grandma” and dance in front of our kitchen window like we’re punishing the floor. And the drones? Hey, if you can find us, you’re welcome to post online. It’s our holiday tradition and we don’t care who sees it.
BOOMER TRIVIA: Last time, I asked about the local novelist who was a long-time columnist at the Cleveland Press and a favorite of author Stephen King. His name was Don Robertson, and King wrote the foreword for his book, “The Ideal Genuine Man.” King traveled to Cleveland for a joint book signing; a copy recently sold for $950.
For next time, a Northeast Ohio suburb’s very elaborate Christmas display was in a Hallmark Movie. Name the town. I’ll give you a couple of hints: It has no connection to the film, “A Christmas Story” and it’s not Chagrin Falls. Answer in the next issue!
