Recently, my sister uncovered a photo of my first bike.  It was quite small.  Thus, it didn't take long for me to graduate to a larger frame, and thus we have my 2nd bike, which I took possession of in 1981.

Steve & Dan in 1981

In this photo, I'm the one on the left, hanging out in Grandpa's back yard sporting a spiffy fall outfit!  My cousin Dan, who is a year older, is on the right.  I've moved on to a single-speed, cruiser-style bike, with fatter tires and a coaster brake.  You will note that the bell from my first bike has made the transition.

Oh, and it's a girl's bike!

Closer look at my cruiser bike

An interesting piece of trivia regarding this photo… while the handlebars are different on the two bikes, they are actually the same model!  You see, these bikes were hand-me-downs from Dan's two older sisters (hence the step-through frame), continuing the odd Steve Tanner tradition of never owning a brand new bike.

My parents have a hilarious Super 8 movie of me riding up and down our alley shortly after I received this bike.  Soon there was a car approaching, and I hadn't quite figured out how to work a coaster brake, so to get out of the way and stop, I intentionally crashed into a fence!

While I did enjoy the bigger bike and the ability to coast, when compared to the bikes that my friends had at the time (typically a BMX-type model), I have to admit that I didn't feel very "manly" while riding this thing.

Thankfully, that inferiority complex was corrected with my third bike, my favorite of all time.  But we'll cover that wonderful machine on another day!

Continuing a yearly tradition here on SteveandAmySly.com…

Halloween has come and gone… and so has It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. Now that Turkey Day is soon upon us, why not revisit the special that doesn't get as much attention as its established Halloween and Christmas siblings, A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving.

A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving (1973)

This episode first appeared on CBS back on November 20, 1973 and was the 9th primetime Peanuts special to air. Because its age is older than Christmas and Halloween, most of the voice talents are very different. Linus is voiced by the same person as in You're Not Elected, Charlie Brown, Stephen Shea… who incidentally was the younger brother of the guy who originally voiced Linus in the Christmas episode, Christopher Shea. The episode won an Emmy for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Children's Programming.

Continue Reading…

My sister Karen is our resident family historian. She's been researching our family tree and digging up archival photos for years. The other day she e-mailed me a photo of my first "real" bike.

Steve rides in 1980

Found in the albums of my late grandpa is this photo of me in 1980, riding a red 2-wheeler bicycle. I've moved on from the plastic Big Wheels and tricycles. It was purchased at a garage sale in Wisconsin and repainted, fenders and all. While this bike did come with training wheels, it looks like 5-year-old Steve has moved beyond them!

I'm descending a hilly road at Phantom Ranch Bible Camp, the camp I worked at for many years, and where I met Amy. My uncle was the Executive Director, so we often would drive up there and enjoy the property.  I look so intent and focused, probably because I'm trying not to crash! This was a fixed-gear bicycle, meaning that it didn't have the ability to coast, nor did it come with any brakes.

Take a closer look!

At the time, helmet wearing wasn't in vogue, but check out that bell on the handlebars! I remember it had a little flag logo on it that eventually fell off.  Still, I tried to let people know I was coming by ringing it… a lot!

Completing my cycling ensemble is a stylish tank top that featured the word "Sneakers" printed on it; I'm not quite sure why. How about those red gym shoes? Awesome. And no spandex here… I'm apparently content to bike in jeans.

Interestingly enough, just 3 years later, I would fall and break my right wrist in this very same location. Of course, then it was winter and I got injured while sledding.

I've always loved to ride my bike, enjoying the freedom that comes with that experience. Special thanks to my parents who helped encourage that as I grew up!

I'm White. I Blink!

Just as I've picked up a rear red blinking light for my bike (again, to keep drivers from running me over), I've also added a triple LED front headlight.  It produces a steady light or blinks… and is also required by law in Chicago for riding at night.

As you can see, it also nicely highlights my bike bag bracket, notable for that big grey splotch of epoxy.  I cracked the bracket over 20 years ago, back when I used the same bag on my 10-speed.  Hmm, maybe I should paint that spot black or something! (And if you are wondering how the light works while the bike bag is mounted, yeah, I'm working on that solution as well!)

Spousal Clashing?

You might say that our Halloween costume this year reflects current events!

Continue Reading…

Continuing a yearly Halloween tradition here on SteveandAmySly.com…

It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown debuted on October 27, 1966, as the third Peanuts television special (the first obviously being the Christmas one). It is here that most of the world who wasn't reading the comic strips was introduced to Linus Van Pelt's fascination with "the Great Pumpkin".

It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown LP from 1978

Charles Schulz thought it would be funny to see what happens if a child confused Halloween with Christmas… and the rest was history. This year, the show is celebrating its 45th anniversary.

Continue Reading…

I'm Red. I Blink!

Continuing our theme of stuff to keep drivers from killing me while cycling, I've now got a rear LED blinking light on my bike. With daylight disappearing rapidly, I've been finding that my post-workday rides are being done in far more dusk-like conditions. Hopefully, this helps a bit!

Can you see me now?

Just doing my part to help Chicago drivers see me while I bike this fall!

On Friday, Amy & I were joined by my parents as we attended a showing of Mary Poppins downtown. The traveling Broadway musical returned to Chicago for a short time, and thanks to some fortuitous circumstances, we got a chance to see it.

Mary Poppins? Yup!

I'm not much of a theater goer, but we really liked this production. The combination of familiar elements from the Disney film (including the Sherman Brothers songs) along with non-familiar pieces from the original books and new music worked really well.

Continue Reading…

As some of you may remember, last year I started a project to compile a list of the U.S. Olympic Broadcaster Logos used over the years.  These are not the logos of the Olympic locations themselves, but rather what CBS, ABC, and NBC used to brand their coverage.

I found it odd at the end of the 2010 Vancouver Olympics that NBC didn't tease the look of their 2012 London logo as they usually do.  However, I think I may have come across it today.

NBC's London 2012 Olympics Logo

As part of all the coverage about the Olympic TV bids, I watched a video on NBCOlympics.com.  At the end of the video, the above logo appears. Did a little searching online and found a cleaner version on an NBCUniversal human resources website.

When I get a better quality version, I'll be adding it to the archive.