Happy Birthday, Mason Williams! of "Classical Gas" fame!
I had no idea Williams served briefly as the head writer for "SNL" in 1980!
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From Wikipedia:
Mason Douglas Williams (born August 24, 1938) is an American classical guitarist, composer, writer, comedian, and poet, best known for his 1968 instrumental "Classical Gas" and for his work as a comedy writer on Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour, and Saturday Night Live.
In 1968, Williams won three Grammy Awards for his guitar instrumental "Classical Gas".[
Williams has recorded more than a dozen albums, five on the Warner Bros. label (The Mason Williams Phonograph Record, The Mason Williams Ear Show, Music, Handmade, and Sharepickers). The LP cover for the 1968 'Music' was painted by pop artist Edward Ruscha. The credit reads "Sorry, Cover by Edward Ruscha."
Like many writer-performers, Williams was also a stand-up comedian. He set most of his comic ideas to music and sang or recited the jokes in lyric form with guitar accompaniment. In 1964, Vee-Jay Records released Them Poems, a record album on which Williams entertains a live audience with "them poems about them people", covering such varied topics as "Them Moose Goosers", "Them Sand Pickers", and "Them Surf Serfs". A typical "them poem" is "Them Banjo Pickers", which begins: "Them banjo pickers! Mighty funny ways. Same damn song for three or four days!" Several other "them" poems, along with many ditties, song lyrics, odd and amusing photographs from around the country, and assorted bits of visual and verbal silliness are collected in The Mason Williams Reading Matter (Doubleday, 1969), and the Them Poems record album was reissued (also in 1969, on the heels of the success of "Classical Gas"
as The Mason Williams Listening Matter.
Williams has written more than 175 hours of music and comedy for network television programming and was a prime creative force for CBS' controversial Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour.[20] His experience in folk music gave him the background for many of Tom and Dick Smothers' comedy routines and with co-writer Nancy Ames, also composed the show's musical theme.
It was on the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour that he created and perpetuated the 1968 "Pat Paulsen for President" campaign, an elaborate political satire. Williams also helped launch the career of entertainer Steve Martin. Martin was hired by Williams as a writer on the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, for which his contributions were initially paid out of Williams' own pocket. In 1968, he won an Emmy Award for his work as a comedy writer on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour.
Other television personalities he has written for include Andy Williams, Glen Campbell, Dinah Shore, Roger Miller, and Petula Clark. In 1980, Williams briefly served as head writer for NBC's Saturday Night Live, but left after clashing with producer Jean Doumanian. In 1988, Williams received his third Emmy nomination as a comedy writer for his work on The Smothers Brothers 20th Reunion Special on CBS.
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That's why I don't eat White Castle....
I was living at the beach on lake Michigan. My downstairs neighbor came up and we spent the day talking shit at each other between bong hits while playing a fight game on the PlayStation. Good time! Anyway, we got hungry, so we headed out to find food. Everything was closed. Everything. Streets deserted.
"Hey man there's lights on at Arby's."
Drove up, got no reply at the sign. Drove up to the window... There was a wedding going on! At an Arby's. On Thanksgiving. Talk about romance! Amiright? Anyway, finally ended up gorging ourselves on "the new" jalepeno sliders. Ya wanna talk about classical gas? Whoo boy.
Arby's food seems fake ish so no.
The fact my brother worked at one and one of his jobs was "to keep the vermin population down" has nothing to do with it because I also know folks who have worked at White Castle and tales are told by all 
Maybe an employee took the Arby's space because it would be empty - hey big cheap wedding venue! Esp @ Arby's employee pay rate I could see it ....kitchen plus add some tunes and booze 
One time in FL , friends and I had 7-11 sandwiches and chips cuz yes closed everywhere on Thanksgiving around us
Called my mother to say Happy thanksgiving and she asked if I was having any turkey for thanksgiving
I said yes !
and did not lie but she did not know it was a
7-11 turkey sandwich
Jalapeño slider ? no just no
But that's where the good food is!
Wanna hear a story? My wife came with us on a road trip. We were playing Virginia Beach and somewhere else, I don't remember. Anyway, we were on the way home and everyone's getting hungry. WAFFLE HOUSE NEXT EXIT! Yes! Fucking Waffle House man! We're all psyched because they're not in "the region" (NW Indiana for you non Chicago area folks). So we pull in and pile out.
Now ya gotta understand. 8 band members, manager, and usually 2or 3 more girlfriends, rowdies, friends. It's a complete freak show. Dudes in bell bottoms, shorts, obnoxious t-shirts. Half of em baked. All with long hair. And if you've never been in a band, I'll tell ya. It can be like a traveling comedy show. We basically take over anywhere we go in.
So we're ordering food and it's the wife's turn. "I'll have the jalapeno Mexican chili omelet." I'm like, really? Think that's a good idea. Well, she's got an audience with the other clowns now and replies, "Fuck you. You ain't the boss of me, I'll get what what I want." Of course, everyone including the waitress is laughing. I got my hands up. "Okaayyy. OK. Hey man. Get whatchoo wants."
We get back on the road. 30 minutes later. "Guys, uhm, I'm not desperate or anything, buuuuttttt I'm gonna need a bathroom in awhile." Slight chuckles from the boys as the driver agrees to keep his eyes open. Slight shit eating grin from me. 10 minutes go by. "Guts I'm at defcon 2." Uh huh, (long tooth suck). "Shut up". Okay, I say again. Shit eating grin far less slight now as the chuckles turn to giggles in the truck. We find a place and she's in they're awhile. Like, awhile, dig? And now, of course, I'm holding court at the truck. Everyone's standing outside the truck smoking and I'm, "I tried to tell her man. I tried to tell her. You gotta be steeled for that shit man. She wasn't ready for that. You gotta build up a tolerance baby! Fuck me huh? Fuck me she says. She goes in and orders the nuclear plate. Wtf man, wtf." Everyone's laughing. Yeah man I was thinking the same thing. But she told you're skinny ass. Well she finally comes out. Looking as sheepish as Lambchop. "Fuck me huh? Next time you're on the road, maybe take advice from the road warriors, Yeah?"
So we pile back in and I shit you not. 15 minutes later, "Guys, uhm, I'm at defcon 4"...
I'll bet that's the last road trip she ever went on with youse guys for a long time!
I'm laughing now, because i did something similar to my hubby (before we were married) once when we were driving on a 5 lane highway around Toronto and I told him if he didn't find me a gas station like RIGHT NOW it wasn't going to be pretty .....
rocktivity
