Boomer Monologues
By Thomas Lyford
Boomer MonologuesJan 29, 2022
I, ROBOT
A fun, philosophical one-hour-and-fifteen-minute-long homage to the likes of Gog, Robbie the Robot, the Lost in Space Robot, the H.A.L. 9000, Colossus, the Terminator, and all those Blade Runner androids, as well as to the likes of Rod Serling, Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, Moon Watcher, Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Philip K Dick, Stephen Hawking, and even Plato, Dylan Thomas and Cole Porter for the little bits and pieces of wisdom and insight. Robot philosophy and psychology.
“I’m sorry, Dave. I’m afraid I can’t do that.” -H.A.L. 9000
LIKE THAT DARING YOUNG MAN ON THE FLYING TRAPEZE
Yes, and let me tell you now... I’ve seen some things at airshows in my time! Some pretty amazing and unexpected things too, as you might imagine. And this? This is the story of one of them.
So welcome back to BOOMER MONOLOGUES, finally. I’m your host, Tom Lyford, and this is Season Two. Our first episode is titled “Like That Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze.”
TOBACCO ROAD
BOOMER MONOLOGUES Episode 8- "Tobacco Road" Hello. Welcome back to BOOMER MONOLOGUES. This is Episode 8- "Tobacco Road.” I’m inviting you to step back in time with me again, this time to Main Street, USA, circa 1955. I suggest you bring your Covid-19 masks along, though, to filter out some of the hazardous-to-your-health, second-hand smoke you'll definitely encounter there. The mid-Twentieth Century is a very smoky era, a land of Zippo lighters; cigarette-dispensing machines wherever people gather; cigarette commercials with the catchiest jingles; cool TV celebrities smiling their big, alluring smiles while smoking their favorite brands all over the boob tube and urging you to join right in with them; and. last but not least, a handful of very impressionable and vulonerable little nine-year-olds, like me.
BORN TO BE MILD PART II: Head Out on the Highway
BORN TO BE MILD PART II: "Head Out on the Highway" (or Zen and the Art of Motorcyclist Wannabeism) continues the saga of a dyed-in-the-wool Walter Mitty-ish man’s relationship with both the stark reality of sheer testosterone daredeviltry and the dream-world of a lurid imagination. Will Tom end up being hit by the... "screamin' deisel that was California bound," a la the song, "Black Denim Trousers"? Succumb to the fate of "The Leader of the Pack"? Or continue on through life as the boring, mild-mannered poet/armchair hobbyist?
BORN TO BE MILD- Part I: Get your Motor Runnin'
"Born To Be Mild" Parts I and II: the phenomenon of Wannabe-ism (a la... The Christmas Story's Ralphie the wannabe Red-Ryder-Rifle-toting cowboy, or Peanuts' "Snoopy and the Red Baron" wannabeism. These two tell-all segments chronicle my own rise from first "living" my childhood Roy Rogers fantasy in my own mind all the way up through becoming a 'bad ass biker' wannabe. Along the way, we enjoy a brief visit with two famous wannabes: Walter Mitty and George Plimpton.
BRAT PACK. PART II: The War on Drugs
BRAT PACK - Part I
What a Long Strange Trip It's Been
all the way up to Dylan's Christmas-ruining release of Bringin' It All Back Home. Here