So many great things have sprung out of the Golden State. California is now and forever the state of endless possibilities where dreams come true; and this past week, two big dreams celebrated big milestones.
75 Years of Mrs. Knott’s Chicken Dinners
Back before urban sprawl turned Orange County into a concrete jungle, the county was known for its produce. One of the many family farms that struggled to make ends meet in the “Great Depression” was owned by Walter and Cordelia Knott. While times were pretty tough, the location of the Knott family farm alongside State Route 39 made it a popular stop for the thousands of folks who drove down to the Orange County beaches for a nice day out. Unfortunately, selling jams, jellies and fruit were not enough to sustain the farm, so Mr. Knott convinced his wife to open up her kitchen and sell her delicious chicken dinners to the weary travelers who passed the farm each day. Mrs. Knott served her first chicken dinners in June of 1934- 75 years ago.
Word soon spread far and wide that Mrs. Knott’s chicken dinners were something special and soon thousands of people trekked out to “Knott’s Berry Place” to see what all the fuss was about; and they were all treated to the same delicious dinners and warm customer service. In fact, the restaurant was so successful people often had to endure long waits to get a table. In order to deal with these crowds, Mr. Knott began building what would eventually become Knott’s Berry Farm.
The theme park might now overshadow Mrs. Knott’s Fried Chicken, but the delicious chicken dinners still attract millions of guests a year who order the same delicious fried chicken that Mrs. Knott served 75 years ago. It’s hard to believe, but a simple plate of the most delicious fried chicken you’ll ever eat not only saved the Knott family farm, but allowed it to grow into the huge theme park that it is today. Knott’s Berry Farm still lives on as a fun place to visit and a marvelous example of a California dream come true.
The “impossible” Matterhorn turns 50.
Walt Disney always had dreams that often seemed quite impossible, but this one actually seemed doomed from the start- Walt Disney wanted to build a copy of the Matterhorn smack dab in the middle of his young Magic Kingdom. The first hurdle standing in his way was his brother Roy, who protested the idea because of its high cost. Roy was understandably upset, since the young theme park had barely begun to break even when Walt wanted to invest millions more dollars into it. Walt saw the benefit of adding to his park, making it irresistible even to those who had already visited DISNEYLAND, while Roy saw a crash course with the bankuptcy courts. Roy and Walt eventually had a huge falling out, which Walt Disney eventually smoothed over by offering his brother a nice, month long vacation cruise for two. Roy accepted the gift and was soon out of the country on a relaxing cruise with his wife. No sooner had Roy left the country than Walt Disney announced to his staff that his dream of building the Matterhorn would come true. You see, Walt was the sole decision maker at the company when his brother was out of the country, so there was nothing stopping Walt now, except-
Walt brought in a team of engineers and architects and described his idea to build a concrete Matterhorn, with a roller coaster inside of it, a skyway that would run through it and a monorail that would sail right next to it. The architects apologized to Walt, but stated that his idea was impossible and would never actually work as a real building. Walt’s imagineers figured that Walt would get really upset that his idea was dismissed so quickly, but he thanked the architects for their time and saw them out. When he returned, his team of “imagineers” figured that Walt would dismiss them while he came up with a new idea, but instead he told them that he would have his Matterhorn, no matter what the experts said. And he did get it; the “impossible mountain” opened 50 years ago this month.
Walt was always good at making the impossible possible and his Matterhorn mountain is just one of many wondrous dreams that he made come true. Walt arrived in California with just $40, some clothes in a cardboard suitcase and a dream. Lucky for the world, he saw most of his dreams come true.
**By the way, don’t go away thinking that Roy Disney was the dumbest man on earth for going on that cruise when he should have known what Walt had planned to do in his absence. As a matter of fact, Roy most likely knew exactly what Walt had planned; but while he knew that building such a huge project was probably not the soundest financial decision, he also could never really say no to his kid brother. So what was the best way to get out of such a dilemma? Go on the cruise and make his brother believe that he had put one over on him.
What is it about Northern California that causes theme parks located there to change their names almost constantly? Just about every Theme Park will change its name this year. As a service to Northern Californians, here’s Ralphland’s handy guide to the new names of their favorite theme parks.
SIX FLAGS MARINE WORLD- This theme park/oceanarium/zoo is changing its name yet again. Not only has the park changed its name numerous times, but it has even changed locations. This year, the park will be known as Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, but has been known by these other names in the past- ABC’s Marine World, Marine World, Marine World Africa USA, The New Marine World Theme Park and of course, Six Flags Marine World. Visit the park’s website at http://www.sixflags.com/discoverykingdom.
PARAMOUNT’S GREAT AMERICA- This theme park began life as Marriott’s Great America, a subsidiary of the Marriott hotel corporation. Not satisfied with the park’s profit margin, Marriott dumped its theme parks and the Santa Clara park then went through various owners with various names- Great America, Paramount’s Great America and by its apparent new name- Knott’s Great America. (Now that it is a sister park to the world famous Knott’s Berry Farm in Southern California… bring on Mrs. Knott’s Fried Chicken!) Visit the park’s website at http://www.knottsgreatamerica.com.
BONFANTE GARDENS- This park has had a troubled life. When the non-profit entity that operated the park couldn’t make a profit from it, they turned to Paramount Parks to run it for them. Now that the Paramount Parks have been sold, new management has convinced the park’s trustees to change the name of the park to Gilroy Gardens. Visit the park’s website at http://www.gilroygardens.org.
Remember when we talked about how much we enjoyed listening to Jake Simpson? Well he’s got a new CD, just in time for Christmas! “Star of Wonder” is filled with Christmas songs and will a great addition to anyone’s holiday CD collection. You can find the links to purchase the CD at Jake’s website – http://www.jakesimpson.net
You can also buy his first CD at Amazon.com. Remember that both Jake’s CD and Ralph’s book are part of the “Buy 3 get 1 free” deal at Amazon. (You can mix and match selected CDs, DVDs and books.)
It’s not too often that Ralphland goes out on a limb to promote someone or something (Well, unless it is Ralph’s Book, or maybe Frenchie Davis…) but today, we’ll shine our spotlight on a phenomenal talent- Jake Simpson!
Jake Simpson was the champion Adult Singer of the first run of the Arsenio Hall version of Star Search. He wowed everyone with his soulful voice and his excellent renditions of classic Motown songs. In the second run of Star Search, he was asked back to defend his championship on an almost weekly basis. In this iteration, new singers would compete for a chance to unseat one of three champions- Jake Simpson, Vicky Natale and Freedom Bremner. Unfairly singled out by competitors as the weakest of the three champions, Jake had to compete week after week to retain his place as a champion. He not only beat back every challenger, but he took the entire contest in the end.
We can’t say enough about how great a talent we think Jake Simpson is. You can try him out for yourself; get his first CD at Amazon here. (Why not buy Ralph’s book too, while you’re there? As luck would have it, both items qualify for Amazon’s 4 for 3 promotion.) You can also visit Jake’s website for a free MP3 download here.
Jim Verraros. John Stephens. Josh Gracin. William Hung. What do these four American Idol contestants have in common? Other than having very little singing talent, all four of them got recording contracts and released full length albums. (In Mr. Hung’s instance, there have been two albums.) Meanwhile, one of the most talented singers to come out of the singing contest has never been given the chance to sing- I am speaking, of course, about Frenchie Davis.
Unfairly thrown off the show because of some (perfectly legal) pornographic pictures that she took, Ms. Davis has yet to get signed by any record label. If Frenchie had been permitted to stay in the competition, she would have been a virtual lock getting to the finals. (Imagine a Ruben Studdard/Frenchie Davis final two? Now THAT would have been a show.)
In this day and age of anorexic singers, the record companies seem unwilling to sign Frenchie because of her weight, which is a shame. This kind of shortsighted thinking would have kept such talented singers as Mama Cass and Aretha Franklin out of the recording studio and that would have been a shame.
So I implore the powers that be- SIGN FRENCHIE TO A CONTRACT!! Until then, you can hear Frenchie sing on this holiday album:
Saturday Night Live has been on the air for over thirty years now. In all that time, one event has never happened- until now.
This weekend, SNL history will be made when this weekend’s host Julia Louis Dreyfus hits the stage for her monologue. For the first time ever, a former female SNL castmember will return as a host. It is hard to imagine that it hasn’t happened before, but it is true. While former SNLers like Jan Hooks and Molly Shannon returned to the show in cameo roles or as feature players, not one female cast member has ever been the host.
While it is about time, I am surprised that Julia is the first person to break the former SNL cast member glass ceiling. I had assumed that it would be someone who had been on the show more recently like Cheri Oteri or Molly Shannon. I would have thought that if Julia’s Seinfeld success hadn’t brought SNL around to bringing her in nothing would. In fact, I believe that all of her fellow stars from Seinfeld have hosted previously.
So, congratulations to Julia Louis Dreyfus and Saturday Night Live!
Okay, I’ll admit it- I am an author. I wrote the children’s book “The Adventures of Larry the Lemur”. (Available at Amazon.com, Barnesandnoble.com and other fine internet retailers.) In any case, I think the greatest thing about being a published author is how people react to hearing about it.
Since the book is only available online, some people react with indifference. If they could walk into a Wal-Mart and see pallets full of the book for sale, they’d be very impressed. Since they can’t see the book in person, it could be written in Klingon and only available at an alien bookstore in the Delta Quadrant for all they care. When I do produce the actual printed product, their attitude normally changes, but then there’s the inevitable question; “Sure it’s a book, but why is it only available on the Internet?” Perhaps someday the book will make the leap to brick and mortar stores and I can then impress those who don’t fully understand the Internet.
Another reaction that I frequently see are the people who politely nod their heads and congratulate me, all the while thinking about how I’m probably printing the book myself and selling it out of the trunk of my car. I then get to enjoy their reaction when they get onto the Internet and see it for sale at Barnes and Noble or Amazon. Normally they get excited, because “Your book is available on Amazon.com… I buy lots of stuff there!” Of course they don’t want to admit that previously they doubted my sanity and the existence of the book, but I forgive them.
A more positive reaction is when I run into people who are just amazed by it all. There are some people that I see everyday who, upon finding out about the book then begin to treat me like a celebrity. Whereas before it was “Yeah, you’re that guy I have to see every day.” to “Um, Mr. Author, could you please sign my books? I can’t believe I’m meeting the author!”
The most precious reactions are the ones I get from kids. (After all, it is a children’s book!) Since “The Adventures of Larry the Lemur” is the sort of book that I would have loved to read when I was younger, it is extremely gratifying to hear from the kids who love it. Even if the book doesn’t sell millions of copies or get held aloft by Oprah, if just one kid picks up the book and gets inspired to follow their own dreams, it will have all been worth it. (Of course, I’m not saying that I wouldn’t want Oprah to hold the book aloft on her show and announce that she’s giving it to her entire audience…. I’d even give Oprah enough books for everyone and sign each one…. anyone know Oprah?!?)
So- yes I am an author and I’d love to sign your copy of my book. Getting my book published was truly a dream come true and I hope that it is not the last time one of my dreams become reality.
Visit http://www.larrythelemur.com for information about my book and a list of places online to buy it.
