We like Trains

"We Like Trains" is a classic Jim & Jesse album from the late 1960s or early 1970s. The songs are drawn from many songwriters, but each and every one resonates with me. I just love trains.

Here I am in the Great Hall of the train terminal in Chicago. I had just rolled in from Cleveland after dropping the boy off at college. I was met by the lovely and talented Therese at the station, who snapped a couple of shots.
If you have not visited the train station in Chicago, you are missing out. Anyway, that's the connection when you're traveling between Cleveland, my hometown, and Portland, OR, my current home. It's always a treat to ride the Empire Builder across this beautiful land--you go through Glacier National Park, many tribal reservations, the Wisconsin Dells, Milwaukee--it's a stunning trip of about 45 hours duration.

And the trip is bracketed by two of the most well-designed and maintained train stations in the nation: Portland and Chicago. There I am at the right, leaving the station as the lovely and talented Therese captures another of my many moods.
The Cleveland train terminal is a beauty, too, but Amtrak doesn't pass through it. Too bad. Another mistake that Cleveland probably will never correct.
Anyway, I like trains and I love the people who like trains. So if you like trains, too, look for me in the view car on the Empire Builder. I'll be the guy with the big smile on his face.

Mountain Man

I love the mountains. Got hooked on them in 1960. The old man drove mom and the 3 kids to Rocky Mountain National Park from Cleveland. From that day on, I wanted to live near the big ones. Living in Portland, OR is the perfect spot for a mountain junkie.

I've spent a lot of time on and around Mt. Hood. Tom and Paul Balmer did the Timberline loop with Rob and me back before the Cloud Cap section washed out for good. That was fun.
But my true love is the Sister Wilderness in Central Oregon between Bend and Sisters. Here's a photo of Dr. Paul, Dr. Wayne and myself near the summit of Middle Sister in 2009 (we did not summit that day). For sheer beauty, for isolation and for a challenging trek, there's nothing better in my book that a good backpack in the Sisters.

Music: These are the people I know

I've played and sung and written music my whole life. You can see more of the early band stuff from Cleveland here. It's mostly about the legendary Backdoor Men.

Most recently (i.e., the last decade), I've played and recorded in Portland. My primary sidekick for years was Tom Chartrand, an excellent drummer. He and I have worked out many original songs over the years, many of which have been recorded, usually not by the two of us. We have one really killer take on a song called "Back From the Dead" with Suzi Z on bass. Tom and me at our very best.


More recently, since June of 2008, I've played and recorded a considerable amount of music with Since June. That's Dave G on drums, Ann T on accordion, Suzi Z on bass and me on everything else. The songs are either by myself or written with Terry Hartman, currently with Dead Beat Poets
You can go to the MySpace link at Since June to hear us and learn more about the band.

What Dan does: Music, mountains and movin' on the train

Ah, the many moods of our Mr. Cook.
Backpacking with Dr. Wayne and Dr. Paul;
Music with Since June;
and captured by Therese in Chicago as he detrains in September.

Farewell to baseball--for now

I tried mightily to maintain my interest in (forget passion for) baseball in the last two years. But between steroids, liars all around, gobs of money and flat-out greed, I just couldn't do it. My own recent awakening put it in perspective. I'll always love Vic Power, Willie Kirkland, The Rock and Daddy Wags. I'll never stop consulting the Baseball Encyclopedia (1993 edition). But my days of following professional athletes are over.

The site will be converted to something more utilitarian (kinda like Hector Lopez): my personal portfolio site. As I enter my 10th month of job-hunting, I realize I need to be able to direct people somewhere that they can see what I have done. And maybe some of those eyes will get a kick out of the old baseball material on the site. Maybe I'll get hired by an Indians' fan. Stranger things have happened. Take, for instance, that bad hop that hit Kubek in the throat in ... wait, I'm not going there.

Bye bye now.
Dan