Spitball Army

Card is titled: “261 – Beautiful Salmon River, Sawtooth Mountains, Idaho. Photo by Wesley Andrews. 9A-H2829.”

Hand-written along the top front border of the card:

11 – 2 – 12.

Printed on back of post card:

This view in the central part of Idaho is taken from U.S. Highway 93, looking toward Stanley and the Sawtooth Mountains. The road forks to the south over the famous Galena Summit. Redfish, Alturas, Stanley, Pettit and other high mountain lakes are in the vicinity. 1943.

Publishing information:

“C.T. Colourtone” Reg. U.S. Pat. Off. – Wesley Andrews Co., Portland, Ore.

To the day I die, I feel I will be intent on shedding the “stuff” that I’ve spent the last half-century accumulating. What a waste of time. I really should just toss these things in the circular file but, instead, I’m documenting them. Go figure. The latest targets are the dozens of mixtapes I compiled during the few decades ending around 1999. They’ve been hibernating in shoe boxes and in car trunks since then.

I was totally into “We Gotta Get You a Woman” when I was eleven or twelve years old. A little later, one of my sisters introduced me to “Hello, It’s Me.” Todd Rundgren’s hook-laden and unpredictable pop songs weaved in and out of my awareness for about twenty years thereafter. From that point on, I just revisited what I’d already heard, though his 1997 lounge album With a Twist (a re-visitation of his old songs, itself) later became one of my favorites from all of his many records.

Most of the songs from this mixtape remain my most-listened of his.

Approximate playing time: 75 minutes.

1. “Long Flowing Robe”  (1971)
2. “The Waiting Game”  (1989)
3. “Hello, It’s Me”  (1972)
4. “We Gotta Get You a Woman”  (1971)
5. “Mated”  (1997)
6. “You Cried Wolf”  (1978)
7. “The Ballad (Denny & Jean)”  (1971)
8. “Can’t Stop Running”  (1989)
9. “Wailing Wall”  (1971)
10. “I Saw the Light”  (1972)
11. “Love Is the Answer”  (1997)
12. “All the Children Sing”  (1978)
13. “Compassion”  (1981)
14. “Believe in Me”  (1971)
15. “There Are No Words”  (1970)
16. “Couldn’t I Just Tell You”  (1972)
17. “Love of the Common Man”  (1976)
18. “Can We Still Be Friends?”  (1978)
19. “Fidelity”  (1989)
20. “Intro (Sounds of the Studio)”  (1972)
21. “The Want of a Nail”  (1989)

This playlist is available to listen to in its entirety (that is, all of the songs listed on the tape insert above) over on Spotify (some songs had to be left off of this blog version due to the overall length of the playlist). Here’s the link.

Card is titled: “Lincoln Memorial, Washington, D.C.”

Printed on back of post card:

LINCOLN MEMORIAL is located on the axis of the Capitol and the Monument. The Union of the U.S. is expressed in the colonnade surrounding the hall. There are 36 columns one for each State in existence at the time of Lincoln’s death. The statue of Lincoln is in the center of the Memorial, while smaller halls at each side of the central hall contain second Inaugural and Gettysburg Addresses.

Text of written message:

Wed Dec 15

Dear Mom Paul & Julia

Am trying to leave here Friday on the 410 PM will wire you before leaving I be in Cincinnati Saturday morning have about hour and half to catch the B&O, so if train from Blackstone to Cinson is late – it will have to be 1 1/2 hours late if I don’t make connections – so I’m almost sure that I be in St. Louis by 5 or 6 PM Saturday.

Regards
C Kaiser

Publishing information:

The Union News Company.

THINGS THAT ARE EASY:
Being kind; Doing nothing; Getting sunburned; Using a turn signal; Listening; Opening the mail.

THINGS THAT ARE DIFFICULT:
Being kind; Doing nothing; Not getting sunburned; Using a turn signal (apparently); Listening; Writing back; A backward 2½ somersault with 2½ twists in the piked position.

Approximate playing time: 67 minutes.

1. The Contours  “Can You Do It?”  (1964)
2. The Folk Implosion  “Easy”  (2003)
3. Iris Dement  “Easy’s Gettin’ Harder Every Day”  (1994)
4. Mary Wells  “What’s Easy for Two is Hard for One”  (1963)
5. Lorraine Ellison  “Try (Just a Little Bit Harder)”  (1968)
6. The Beatles  “You Can’t Do That”  (1964)
7. Laurie Anderson  “I Dreamed I Had to Take a Test”  (1984)
8. The Streets  “Stay Positive”  (2002)
9. Radiohead  “I Can’t”  (1993)
10. Spain  “Easy Lover”  (1999)
11. Nick & Gabrielle Drake  “All My Trials”
12. Three Dog Night  “Easy to Be Hard”  (1969)
13. Bobby Byrd  “Try It Again”  (1973)
14. Barrett Strong  “Do the Very Best You Can”  (1959)
15. Great Lake Swimmers  “Easy Come Easy Go”  (2012)
16. Keith Richards  “Struggle”  (1988)
17. Emmylou Harris  “Easy from Now On”  (1978)
18. Bobby Womack  “There’s One Thing that Beats Failing”  (1972)
19. Fatboy Slim  “Champion Sound”  (2006)

Card is titled: “The Skating Rink at Rockefeller Plaza, New York City – 85. X 2031.”

Printed on back of post card:

The Skating Rink at Rockefeller Plaza was the first of its kind in America, and one of the most unique in the world. Here ice skating is enjoyed for 6 months of the year.

Publishing information:

A “Colourpicture” Publication, Boston 15, Mass. U.S.A.