How you gettin' down to the shore? Especially back in the '80s …

Random Rambles on the Late '80s

Because, why not, you know …

Matt Nokes, 1987. 

1. Jim Walewander wasn't much of a baseball player, but he got recognition because he was a big leaguer and fan of the punk rock band, the Dead Milkmen. I wonder if Wales ever owned a "bitchin' Camaro?" Walewander was on the fun Tigers team in 1987, the one that featured some aging stars and some young up and comers. The Tigers were upset by the Twins in the playoffs in '87, and it wasn't long before they were back in hibernation for a decade and a half. And the ace pitcher from the '87 Tigers would make postseason memories in 1991 for the Minnesota Twins. Sparky Anderson was an interesting manager who could juggle many personalities. We never knew how good we had it with him running the show until we didn't have him anymore. 
2.  That same '87 team featured rookie slugger Matt Nokes. Nokes was a solid backstop for, well, 1987. He did have a couple of 20 HR seasons for the New York Yankees down the road, but his one big year was that '87 rookie slate. Of course, we was 16 HR shy of the American League Rookie of the Year that season, Mark McGwire. 
3. This journey back to the '80s is interesting. I remember when Bon Jovi's new platter New Jersey dropped and I drove into Camelot Music after school to pick it up. I would've been a junior in high school at the time and wanted to be the first to have the new LP. Probably had a dance to DJ on Friday night and wanted to spin some new Bon Jovi. Can you believe that thirty–some years later he's still recording and touring. Well, he is. 
4. In 1989 KISS put out Smashes, Thrashes, and Hits, a greatest LP disc. Yep, bought that one too. It was one of those releases with a new track or two, intended to get people with all the other albums to get this one too. Imagine, these dudes are still touring and they didn't even let a pandemic hold them back until they had to. 
5. Speaking of getting down to the shore, growing up in Elk Rapids provided plenty of opportunities to be in and out of water on a regular basis: the bay, Elk Lake, Elk River, the back of the dam … Indeed, how did we get down to the shore? 

The Ford Ranger with sweet wheels. That's how we got down to the shore.