The fouth celebration

Hello Possum's! Many of you have written in wonderin what Ole Bubba was up to on the fouth celebration this year! Well here's the dish! Sorry I'm runnin a little late gettin this far with the update my dear Possum's and Peep's!!! Twas a warm evenin ta say the least. The humidity was something awful! Our fouth celebration really happened on the 3rd and was totally by accident. Me and my Dad and a close friend of ours decided to head out to dinner that night.



Our dear friend Savannah Jane came along for the dinner out. We chose the Spaghetti factory in down town Nashville. Ya'll know this is where all the country music jargon takes place, The Ryman and all. Much to our surprise upon arrivin down town, was there was a big 4th celebration that night and we showed up not havin a clue as to what was goin on!



After dinner we decided to walk around the town streets. My Dad and I have a fascination for neon. It kind of reminds us of the 1950's.



Ya'll know what a camera nerd my Dad is! Oh wait! My camera crew! Yeah! That's it!





There streets were shoulder to shoulder. People out celebratin for the nights party. Check out this cowboy! Had to stop and photograph for Nashville's sake.



Neon as far as the eye couold see!!!! All up and down the street. The colors were great!






There was a free concert! Sorry Possum's....I am not familiar with the country music folks to know whom was playin that night. I was enlightened that it was some very big names in the business!



The Hard Rock cafe neon is always a pleasure.







To top off the end of the night was the fireworks. They were truely beautiful! Not to mention they were a surprise to our day! Well that's about all there was to my 4th celebration Possum's.

Have a pleasent and safe night! And so I close The Sock Drawer on another day! Bubba

The true story

WE MADE IT THROUGH ANOTHER MONDAY!!!!!!!! Bubba

The colors of Monday

Many of ya'll remember the Tie-dye blog of a few days ago? Remember how we had extra fabric left over and I said a project for another day? The project for another day is today! My dad was watchin old reruns of Project Runway this mornin and got inspired to sew. So out came the scissors and the left over tie-dye fabric. The next thing this celebrity Sock Monkey knew was, I had a pair of pants to match the tie-dye shirt! Talk about That 70's show! Well slap me five and call it colors! I can run around the livinroom and we'll call it paintin with all the colors of the wind! I think if there were a Project Runway for Sock Monkeys....My Dad would win the lottery! Stick that in your 3rd runner up Sock Monkey contest!

Don't forget to stick around and see the tiger fabric get turned into my celeb Sock Monkey stylin! Remember that blog? I was plopped down on the cuttin table that day as the fabric was wheeled off the bolt! Visions of Africa flashed before my green button eyes!!! The pochers were advancin! I had no where to hide kind of stuff!!! Afraid what the future of my red heeled bum would actually turn out to be! I know I said in a previous blog that one day my 1960's tail would have to be replaced, but let's not turn it into an ash tray! ( The flashback ends and Bubba comes back into his celebrity happenins in the here and now).

Aaawwww The reelin imagination of my Sock monkey mind simply takes my breath away sometimes! I mean think of the evolution thing. What? Monkeys were runnin through the jungle one day and out popped humans! Ya gotta laugh at that thought! The Bible says we're sons of Adam and dauthers of eve! Didn't mention a thing about monkeys! Well....except that God created two of each kind and monkeys were part of that. Although we Sock Monkeys didn't arrive on the scene until the great depression. It's sad to say that Sock Monkeys were not two of a kind on the ark, but let me put on my colors and see where my story goes? I'm not a Sock Monkey that smokes weed it's something that the tie-dye does to us when we wear it. The high of the folks that created tie-dye is woven into the fabric! Makes us have the feelin of bein high. LSD got us the great works of Alice in Wonderland! Think about it! What human would chase a rabbit down a hole? Enjoy the colors of Monday Possum's! Bubba out!

Tie Dye

Good mornin in the wee hours of the mornin Possum's! Lot's goin on here in the Sock Drawer! The most recent bein that my Dad and I visited one of the local thrift stores this week and fonud a Tie Die T-shirt! Brightly colored was right up our alley! With a $2.00 dollar price tag...It simply screamed SOCK MONKEY outift! Folkart in the makin! As ya'll can see there is some left over for another project sometime. Did ya'll see the artical I posted in an earlier blog? I'll be darned! Sock Monkeys are back! Written in 1999 by the L.A. times. Well let me be the first to say, that we never went away! My dad and I have been doin stuff all along. It has become a complete lifetime change! The two of us together! I coundn't imagine it any other way! Even in the unravelin times...and they do happen to a sock! Dad just throws down another patch and goes to stichin! He's good to talk to me during the life threatenin saga, so as to get me through the sting of it all. I mean let's face it! The day is comin when my 1960's tail will have to be laid to it's final restin place and replaced with a newer version from the 21st century Sock-a-mania! Aaaawwww the love of a Sock Monkey. Yes...We may be stiched to life by the poor, but bring a wealth of love and passion to the owner! Two back pacs have been completely worn out from all the travels and places we've been together. And with back pacs bein made out of parachute fabric...It takes quite a while for that to happen! Years! Anyhoo.....To keep with the 70's vibe of this tie dye creation...we used the letter beads for buttons on the front as ya'll can well see. They spell out Bubba Sock. Bubba bein on the left of the shirt and Sock Bein on the right side of the shirt. That's what my Dad calls me..Bubba Sock. Most folks consider it pathetic for a 52 year old elderly gentlemen to be goin all over creation takin photos of his Sock Monkey. He's gigglin and laughin over in the corner havin the time of his life while others look on and wonder what makes him so happy. Hug a Sock Monkey! It makes you giggle and feel silly! Not to mention, it makes you think of your grandmother! If he hadn't found me in a flea market some 30 years ago...I shudder to think where I might have ened up today! Fate! Possum's Fate! With the economy crashin down around us and unemployment on the rise...Things have stayed the same here in The Sock Drawer. Makin Sock Monkey clothes, havin a laugh or two. Who's got time to worry about the latest 40 inch TV or the latest video game? We have socks! What else do ya'll need? Here's two havin the bestest Thursday ya'll can muster! Cheers! Bubba

I'll Be Darned, Sock Monkeys Are Back - Los Angeles Times

I'll Be Darned, Sock Monkeys Are Back - Los Angeles Times: "I'll Be Darned, Sock Monkeys Are Back
Page 2 / News, Trends, Gossip and Stuff To Do | Web
Watch The Toy Grandma Made Wins Over a New Generation
July 18, 1999|ELAINE GALE | TIMES STAFF WRITER
More than 50 years ago, women used to make toy monkeys out of socks to keep their kids company because many toys were too darn expensive. Now, nostalgia has catapulted the homemade monkeys back into people's hearts.
There are hundreds of sock monkey World Wide Web sites on the Internet--from cheeky to reverent--where owners reminisce about owning a monkey 'just like Grandma used to make.'"

I can see your lips movin

I see ya'll are still with us and I shall continue with the trip of yesterday. I was mesmerized at the history and art work.

Today, between 900 and 1200 people visit the Vent Haven each year. The museum also host an annual International conVention.







Over 400 ventriloquits come to the conVention to learn and entertain each other, as well as to visit the museum.
As a result of the planning and forsightedness of W.S. Berger, Vent Haven Museum is a permanent institution, open to the public and devoted to the art of ventriloquism.









And so the sun set on our way back home. I just had to take a picture of it, lookin out the car window. A perfect and fun day!

And so I leave ya'll with a picture of a Ronald Regan vent figure and.......



Jimmy Carter Vent figure! All the way from the peanut farm! Bubba out!

Time to vent

Good mornin Possum's! Remember the roadtrip I told ya'll about for yesterday? This is the blog you've been waitin for! First off was our four hour drive from Nashville to FT. Mitchell KY. I know, I know what your thinkin! What could possibly be in FT. Mitchell KY. that would get ole Bubba so excited? As ya'll all know, my Dad and I are products of the 60's. And just as the Sock Monkey come back to fame and popularity...well so is this. We started off with a good cup of joe from the local BP station and a tank of gas. Let the journey begin!



This is a museum dedicated to the history and art form of none other than Ventriloquism. A place called Vent Haven! Vent Haven was founded by Cincinnati Native William Shakespeare Berger. Known to his friends as "W.S.". In 1894 , when he was 16, W.S. began workin in the mailroom of the Cambridge Tile Co. in Cincinnati and in 1947 he retired the president of the company. While on a business trip to New York in 1910, W.S. purchased his first ventriloquist figure, Tommy Baloney, and his fabulous collection was begun. Although originally contained in his home, the collection quickly outgrew its quarters and W.S. renovated his garage and even built a second building to house the figures.

From the late 1940's until 1960, W.S. was the president of the International Brotherhood of ventriloquist. His leadership helped the organization grow from about 300 members to over 1000.



Here I am with the museum curator and tour guide Jennifer Dawson! She was kind enough to grace us with a photo op. together. I was totally amazed at her passion for this really cool collection!





W.S. also published a monthly magazine called "The Oracle" which kept the ventriloquist abreast of current events in the vent community. Mr. Berger also maintained extensive personal correspondence with ventriloquist around the world.



My Dad and I doin the monkey business when no one was lookin! Ssssssshhhhhh! Don't tell anyone! Dude! Put the figure down! A Sock Monkey in jail is not a pretty sight!



Bubba! Your old and I mean really old Dad is ahead of you!



Ms. Dawson was ever so kind as to demonstrate the mechanics of the figures. We'll call him type writer number one! The operations of the facail features work much like a type writer in the olden days on this paticular figure. Ears wiggle, eyes rollin and wig flippin fun and laughter!



Near the end of his life, W.S. had outlived his wife, son and grandson and he had no other heirs. Fearing his collection would be divided and dispersed, he sought advice from his attorney who helped him set up a charitable foundation for his assets, property and collection.









Vent Haven is the only museum of its kind in the world. It houses over 700 figures, thousands of photographs and playbills, and and a library of books, some of which date to the 1700's. On june 30,1973, a year after Mr. Bergers death, a public opening and dedication of a third building was held. Edgar Bergen and Jimmy Nelson were among the performers.





Edgar Bergen's cast of characters above.....



Jimmy Nelson's Danny O'Day and Farfel. Nestles Chocolate commercials of the 60's.



This paticular character is MaDame. The puppeteer was Wailen. He was not a ventriloquit. Back in the day they hosted The Madame and Wailen show. MaDame came right to the edge of bein a smut mouthed comedy act. Upon Wailens death the puppet was donated to Vent Haven. This being a long blog....I will have to continue tomorrow or maybe later today. So stay tuned to Bubba's Sock Drawer for more Vent history. Bubba