The Great John L

My maternal grandfather died on November 18, 1964 - 50 years ago today.

I wanted to go and leave a golf ball at his grave today, preferably one that somebody had chipped into Palmer Park, where my dad's flag is; but, it's freezing cold, I have no car and I also have a doctor's appointment today. I feel bad that I only ever saw his grave for the first time last month.

I'll get there again eventually, then go have some greasy food at Rutt's Hutt. In the meantime, even though I never met you, you are not forgotten.

So Sayeth the King of Funny Faces!

The Story of Funny Faces

I only saw my father cry twice.

He was crippled up with Progressive Supra-Nuclear Palsy both times. The worst kind of Parkinsonism you can get. That wasn’t why he was crying though. Muhammed Ali’s neurologist said my father’s PSP had two features worse than just regular PSP. Most people with that severe PSP don’t survive for more than a year. My Dad lasted eight.

He could take that. The first time he really cried was when his best friend’s son died in a plane crash. He cried so hard. He was so upset it really startled me. It made me think of how much more he would cry if I had died. That is when I knew, really knew that my father loved me.

The second time I saw him really break down was about two months after September 11, 2001. He had read a story in a magazine about a little girl whose father died in the towers. She said she would never see his funny face again.

When I spoke about all this in his eulogy after he died in 2003, I told about how much my Dad loved to make Funny Faces with his kids. It was his favorite thing to do. The last thing I said was that he was the “The King of Funny Faces.”

Sometime around 2008, I realized this:  

The King is Dead! Long live the King of Funny Faces!

9/11/11

I was with my father 10 years ago today. I was getting ready for work upstairs when I saw the towers begin to fall. I ran down crazily to tell him "The twin towers are collapsing." He couldn't believe it until I turned on the TV and there they were. He told me to go to work. I worked in Secaucus, New Jersey, just across the river. My shift started at 11 am. Many of my co-workers watched the second plane hit from their window. I never made it to work, though. The roads were closed. I went to a Blood Bank to see if I could donate blood, but the line was already 40 or 50 people long, so I decided just to go to a car dealership and get some work that needed to be done on my car since I had the day off. I sat in the waiting room watching the news by myself for a long time.

A few weeks later, I remember walking in on my dad. He was crying terribly. I learned that he had just read a story in a magazine or something about a little girl who was never going to see "daddy's funny faces" again. I mentioned this as part of his story at my father's memorial service. It is the origin of the phrase "The King of Funny Faces".

RIP Rodney Morrison

The Death of Marat

One Year Ago Today the King of Funny Faces Got a Tattoo



It's a thin, one inch, teardrop shaped black stab wound under my right collarbone.



It looks like the wound in "Death of Marat" by David.



Enjoy the rest of this program about the French painter:

BBC's The Power of Art - David p4

BBC's The Power of Art - David p5

BBC's The Power of Art - David p6

Roger Ebert Reviewed My Video

"There's a lot of love in that video."

- Roger Ebert - The King of All Film Critics - December 10, 2010 8:49 PM (look in the comments section of his blog post)

UPDATE: the original Ebert blog was deleted and not saved on the Wayback Machine after he died. If you want to read what I was commenting on it's called "Trying to get a word in edgewise."

Who died and made me King?

This guy:

It is a Good Day to Die

Thank you for making me a human being.
Thank you for making me a warrior.
Thank you for my victories and my defeats.
Thank you for my vision...
...and the blindness in which I saw further.



RIP Arthur Penn
RIP Greg Giraldo

Take care of my son here. See that he doesn't go crazy.

Warm Regards,

Erik B. Anderson, the King of Funny Faces
Independence Township, New Jersey
Established 1782

No Sign of Yesterday

Cheers & Jeers - Daily Record - June 12, 2010

JEER: To a litter problem in downtown Hackettstown. Some residents say that after every town event, the most recent being a Memorial Day Parade, debris stays on the streets for days.

Read the other Cheers & Jeers

I didn't actually say after every town event, just after the Memorial Day and St. Patrick's Day parade.

Discuss this on HackettstownLife.com.

Support the Venkatesh Trust for Education and Excellence

Venkatesh Veeraraghavan
Schooley's Mountain, NJ
- Jan. 1996

Alas, poor Venkatesh!¹ I knew him, Horatio: a fellow of infinite jest, of most  xcellent fancy: he hath borne me on his back a thousand times; and now, how abhorred in my imagination it is! my gorge rims at it.

*** 

• On Any Other Day by The Police

More The Police music on iLike

¹This is (or at least was) a link to a memorial trust set up by Psychologist Vimala Veeraraghavan to advance "Education and Excellence" dedicated to her son and one of my best friends in the whole world, Venkatesh Veeraraghavan of New Delhi, India. He was a member of the West Chester University of Pennsylvana (USA) graduating class of 1997. He was my "Bhai Sahib!", my brother. He died in 2003 at the age of 27, profoundly affecting my life.

Former Wash. Twp. Committeeman Dies at 44

The King of Funny Faces and the

Washington Township Committee

May 13, 2009

From left: Tracy Tobin, Ken Short,
Erik B. Anderson (Long Valley Native)
Howard Popper, James Harmon
Missing in Action: Kevin Walsh

Kevin Walsh dies at Long Valley home
Former Mayor, Twshp. Committeeman was 44
Source: Observer Tribune

WASHINGTON TWP.—Former Township Committeeman Kevin Walsh, 44, was found dead at his home on Saturday, Jan. 16.

Walsh, who had battled diabetes since childhood, apparently died of natural causes.

He was first elected to Township Committee in 2004, serving as mayor in 2007. In November of that year, Wash won re-election, capturing the largest total of votes among five candidates for two positions.Walsh was known for his civic pride. He joined the Planning Board in 1998 shortly after his family moved here. He is credited with founding both the Fall Festival and annual July Fireworks celebration. He was also instrumental in the installation and painting of the white fencing that lines East Mill Road shortly after the entrance to town.

He stunned friends and colleagues when he stepped down from his post at the annual Township Committee reorganization meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 5. He cited professional and personal reasons for his resignation. His seat was expected to be filled on Monday.

Walsh leaves behind a wife, Sandy, and two daughters.

Funeral arrangements are not known at this time.

I barely knew Kevin Walsh. I met him at the Memorial Day Ceremony last year. I took this video of him reading a proclamation commending a wounded Iraq Vet who gave 12 years of his life to the service:

I told him about my father's flag, and how excited I was that my hometown honored my Dad that way. He invited me to lunch. I suggested Mama's Pizza. We had an appointment on a Wednesday at noon. He called and cancelled. I was angry. He wasn't at either of the two committee meetings I went to last year. The picture in the upper right hand corner was taken when I presented the POW/MIA Flag that I wanted to go up my Father's Flag in Palmer Park. I had heard he had a bad reputation. I had no idea he was dying. I really, really regret my anger now. A friend of mine told me about his death last night. I thought that I wasn't affected by it right away, but when I went home, I experienced some very strong emotions.

I have often wondered if my Dad's flag goes down to half-mast during times like this. The Township Offices are closed for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day today. I will call tomorrow to find out.

The Daily Record says that the cause of death is not known at this time. There's a longer article about the man and his life here.

I called up my Dad in heaven just now. I asked him to introduce Kevin to some other cool people from Long Valley, like Jack Borgenicht, Bob Balut and Paul Manos. Kevin died on my Dad's  birthday. Maybe he was supposed to go to the party. I hope he makes Kevin feel comfortable. That is my prayer for the former Committeman.

R.I.P. Kevin Walsh

Erik Visited Kwame Nkrumah's Tomb

Accra, Ghana, July 1995 - I went to Ghana with a group of college students and professors from West Chester and Temple Universities. The first place we went to was the Kwame Nkrumah Mausoleum and Memorial Park.

It is designed to look like a tree stump to signify "The Big Tree Has Fallen." Big Tree is an affectionate term that Ghanaians use to call their leader.

Kwame Nkrumah was the first president of The Republic of Ghana, which is the first African country to obtain independence from one of it's European colonists in 1957. He wrote a lot of books about the struggle for independence. He used many of Mahatma Gandhi's techniques. Mostly forgotten in many parts of the West now, he was almost as influential as Martin Luther King, Jr. in the 1950's and 1960's. It was a great honor to visit his mausoleum on the first day of our trip.

I would like to thank Dr. Nelson Keith of West Chester University, who was our Big Tree. I also want to thank my Nye Bro, Dr. Padmore E. Agbemebiese, the Chief of the Abor Village in the Volta Region of Ghana, for taking us there.

That whole trip was profoundly influential on me in my formative years. I promise to post more blogs about the Slave Castles, Mensah Village and other events in Kumasi, Accra, the Volta Region and elsewhere around Ghana.

Warm Regards,

Erik B. Anderson
The King of Funny Faces
Independence Township, New Jersey
Established 1782

He fought the good fight, he kept the faith.

Erik B. Anderson - Belvidere Cemetery, May 21, 2009

On November 8, 2008, after the Belvidere War Memorial Veteran's Day Ceremony, I saw a small house for sale about 100 yards from this great tomb. I inquired about buying it, even though I was not employed and my income was just a disability check. I also inquired about the story of who was buried at this place. Unfortunately, the house was sold when I returned in December, but I did get this letter:



I think it's pretty cool. Don't you?

Warren County is full of forgotten history.

Warm Regards,

Erik B. Anderson
Independence Township, New Jersey
Established 1782