Day Tripping: October 26

Kind and Generous

After her birth in 1963 in Jamestown, New York, Natalie Merchant was raised in a musical environment with no television. Her mother took her to symphony concerts and played her favorite records form the the Beatles, Petulia Clark, Al Green, and Aretha Franklin.

When she was 12, Natalie was “dragged” to a Styx concert where she winessed the rock world in the raw. Though terrified by the environment, she was fascinated with the white piano that rose onto the stage.

After an adolescence spent mostly alone listening to music and learning to play, Natalie joined the 10,000 Maniacs in 1981.

“Poetry comes alive to me through recitation.”

In 1993, Merchant left the band she had written lyrics and sang for to pursue a solo career. The Tigerlily album of 1995 was a major success, selling over 2 million copies.

Always one to march to her own drum, Natalie Merchant walked away from music in 2002 after two more albums. Her full time pursuit since has been as an activist and a voice for environmental change. She is also a member of Artists Against Racism.

Today is:

Howl at the Moon Day and Night — well it is almost Halloween.

Musical Ride

A study of Ozzie Osbourne’s genome sequencing was revealed in 2010. The results showed a high perdisposition for subsatnce addiction and that his ancestry dated back to Neandrethals. How shocking.

Interesting Notes

The famous Gunfight at the O.K. Corral took place in Tombstone, Arizona. The legend of the Earp brothers and Doc Holliday is the most written about gun battle in American Western mythology.

Gone But Not Forgotten

Glen Little, or Frosty Little was only the fourth, and last living clowns to be named Master Clown by Barnum & Bailey. He died in 2010 at 84.

Notable Births

1947 — Hillary Clinton said, “Giving every child a chance to reach their full potential is the best work anyone can do.”

1973 — Seth MacFarlane interestigly said, “I’m big on the importance of science, particularly right now at this point in time when there’s sort of a systematic rejection of science by a lot of people in America.”

K. Barrett Maria Rattray Maryam Merchant Dr. Mehmet Yildiz Tree Langdon Myriam Ben Salem Phil Truman Chelsea Mandler MAT Terry Mansfield Hollie Petit, Ph.D. Terry Trueman Dr. Preeti Singh John Gruber Bill Abbate James G Brennan ScienceDuuude Marcus Liam Ireland Claire Kelly Noorain Hassan, BMS Amy Pierovich David Acaster Nora Thewriteyard David Perlmutter Joe Luca Holly Kellums Michael Burg, MD Lucy Dan Dave Logan

All previous Day Tripping entries are available at the following links:

The Story Of Day Tripping Through History What’s Past Is Often Present

A comprehensive directory for Day Tripping