The Eagles

Summer of 1977
 Dad just moved to San Diego.  School was finally out & the 4 of us kids were being piled into Dad's van for the first of our annual trips to be w/ him for the Summer.  We were in the flat, dusty dessert of western Texas somewhere between Dallas & El Paso the first time I heard it... "Down a dark desert highway..."   Hotel Cal.  was the eeriest song I ever remember hearing.  (of course I was only seven)  In a way, it turned out to be the introduction & themesong to my experience w/ the warm mystique of Southern California.
That was an awesome summer.  Our road trip concluded at the door of my Uncle John & Aunt Nancy Little.  Their house was tucked in the semi-dessert foothills of Northern San Diego County.  Poway was a suburb, but it had a definite rural feel.   Everyone had a dirtbike, skateboard, and many had swimming pools.

We all lived together in this one house...  Nancy & John and our cousins Johnny & Crystal, the 4 of us kids, and my Dad.  It got even more crowded with different family members visiting throughout our stay.  At one point it was the original 9 of us, my Uncle Doug moved into the garage, my Grandma Jane (moved out from Detroit) stayed in the back patio room, my Grandpa Don (Jane's X) & his young daughter (my Aunt) Mary-Louise all stayed in that house at one time.  It was crazy & the most fun I'd ever had.  So many new experiences... the beach, Mexico, LA, Disneyland...  I was just blown away.  

Everytime I hear "There's a New Kid In Town",  "Life in the Fast Lane", or other Eagles songs from that era, I flash back to those first incredible summers in California.
Randy Miesner & Glen - Randy was later replaced by Timmy B. Scmidt.  But if you ask me they lost a lot of "punch" when the lost Randy.  Timmy's voice is just too soft to replace him.  Example:  Listen to the a newer live version of  "Life in the Fast Lane" w/ Schmidt.  It just doesn't compare to the original with Meisner.
Don "Fingers" Felder - guitar genious from the great state of Florida.  (Tom Petty country.)
The Original Eagles Line up   (From Left) Randy Meisner, Bernie Leadon, Glen Frey, Don Felder, Clint Roberts, and Don Henley.    Don was pretty cool in those early days.  The band was like, "Guys we need to grow our hair long", but my hair would just "Fro'", ya know?   So Don grabbed some perm solution to show his support.  That's the way he is.
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