Plastic Peters

I wrote earlier today about Steve Coleman, jazz musician and MacArthur Genius laureate. Earlier today, however, apropos of nothing, and he of infinite jest, I made a post-modern pseudo-writing job by cutting and pasting bits of nine previous works in which I mention Keith Peters, who is 1969 not 1968 thank you. (He corrects me but doesn’t want that info, even correctly, on the web. I am posting here but home either he does not see it or changes his mind. I actually thinks he deserves a mayoral proclamation for his close to 50 years as a local sports writer.)

To wit:

Plastic Peters
edit to add, two years later, January 2014, mainly because this keeps getting hits via the search engines, but with a tiny bit of additional reporting: here is a draft of a Mayoral Proclamation that then-Mayor Yiaway Yeh agreed to issue but somehow fell through the administrative and protocol cracks — I would say that I dropped the ball, not to mix metaphors, or let this slip out of my graps, or wriggle away,  I lost focus and apologize: but best wishes and good luck to all the current and former Gunn grapplers, their parents’ and coaches; I got the idea from Keith Peters’ excellent coverage in the Weekly, and also interviewed Horpel in person to flesh this out a bit. Someone told me that Eugene Robinson, the writer and musician, has a child on the team now and wrestled for Horpel back at Stanford back in the day. I think Chris Horpel deserves accolades for about a decades’ work in building the program. Oh, yeah, one final note: I noticed in recent (2014) coverage that Matt Maltz’s son Andrew Maltz, a freshman, won a tourney title at 285 pounds. Mazel to all the Maltz’s as well. (I’ve known Matt since we were both under 150) (Feb., 2012 about Gunn wrestling and Cadence Lee, daughter of my classmate Emmie Fa)
June, 2012 about poker champ Phil Hellmuth and the media: The Palo Alto Weekly had a cover story, in 2006, which I may have skimmed at the time. But now I think about tipping Keith Peters of the Weekly the news of the Hellmuth bracelets but  opt –as you see here — for the self-glory of the local excloo,; dear reader can r.m.a.i at Las Vegas Sun, ESPN and others.
April, 2013 about Gunn softball, and its coach my classmate Matt Maltz: On my way to the field Wednesday, I caught up to Keith Peters and Veronica Webber of the Weekly and pitched them on doing a story on Maltz. I think its laudable anytime an alumnus returns to teach or coach at his old school. An interesting fact about Matt Maltz is that he was mostly known for football at Gunn and did not play organized baseball. He was also an outstanding swimmer as a child, won the 1980 CCS frosh soph championships in 200 free and fly, but gave up swimming, perhaps as part of his overall adolescent growing process; football being a team sport, consistent with his role in our class as one of the most social and amusing classmates. I actually recall him telling me he hated baseball and once threw the ball from centerfield over the backstop, either in protest, anger or not knowing his own strength (or maybe we was describing a scene from “Bad News Bears” where Tatum O’Neal’s bad-boy friend shows off his arm and is drafted for the team).
September, 2013 about a year ago, in a 20,000 word treatise on history of jazz in Palo Alto — and the media — in a long section on Stanley Jordan the guitarist and Gunn grad: Stanley Jordan is mentioned here 15 times already but I feel I am giving him short-shrift and had started taking notes on his catalog, stored in a word filed on my girlfriend’s laptop — computer — and I also bought a recent album, the one with all the environmental idealism, not unlike my rationale in founding or at least naming Earthwise Productions plus an early breakthrough album the first or second Blue Note either Gold or pretty close, procured at Rasputin’s along with about a dozen others on or about my 50th birthday — I was searching for Helen Sung new release but had to settle — and I also noted by let pass on by, as I recall jazz booker Reggie Marshall quoting he says Kesey as a life-philosophy (“Use what you can and let the rest float on by” — as opposed to speaking out, standing up, resist, revolt, or neurotic obsession — Oh, Reggie, I am with you in Richmond, with Toots, and Rachel Z, and Allison Miller –doing a selfie with a Kodak disposable but not with our feet like Tommy Jordan might do, carrying her bandmates’ bass, and jogging at Half Moon Bay airport and getting teased by Miriam and Rachel because we are dressed alike — and when Stanley played the Cub Adrienne Drayton did an amazing drawing of him from his press photo the poster still stands or is pushpinned in the Cubberley Theatre tech office, or was; anyhow check back with more to say about this great guitarist who also played a small theatre in Livermore recently as part of an axe summit. Stanley was in Sedona at the time we did our business together and seemed obsessed by the internet; I recall Keith Peters of the Weekly noting when a Jordan track recond –long jump –was eclipsed more recently. Somebody’s CCS sports website lists him as someone who “showed.” Check back for update!
In July of this year, 2014, as part of a meta-article about track Hall of Famer Harry Hillman, mentioned him in a list of sources I had consulted in the actual article — mostly unpublished, about the 1904 Olympian; it references a discussion we had if not the person per se: n my file
1. 02/04/03 letter from Don Burnham, 4 pages
2. 03/06/03 letter from Don Burnham
3. tear sheet from Dartmouth Alumni Magazine with notes:
a. according to Michelle from Alumni Records (603) 646-2253, the son died on 04/13/92
b. Don Wheaton ’39 — nephew (828) 894-(XXXX)? Columbus(?), NC?
c. “Susan”, Cynthia and “Hallie”
d. Phil Crunnervelt — alumni records — (603) 646-0538? helped me with contacting the nephew. Recommends switchboard.com
e. 724 Bentley Village, Naples, FL 34110?
f. Did I speak with Jack Faunce 1940 re Hillman’s survivors?
“Trinka”, Canton, CT, (860) 693-XXXX Check my phone records?
5. Hillman resume via Burnham
6. Mile Progress Chart supplied by Burnham:
Gunder Haegg, 1945, 4:01.4
7. excerpt from NYAC history, supplied by Burnham, re gold watch incident, 1905
8. Burnham c.v. 4 pages (1996)
including 28 article cited he wrote on psychology 1955-1996
9. my notes on Burnham interview from 01-13-03
10. receipt for $XXX for scrapbook from Resser-Thorner Antiques
11. January note to Burnham after interview
12. xerox of photo of Hillman and Burnham, circa 1940
13. xerox of display case photo + 3-legged race photo
14. my notes from November, going thru SID files
“1,000 prizes, 50 titles”
“Company C, old 13th, Putnament Sonner(?)
“fire, 1944″ article on fire
Brooklyn High School for Boys
NYAC “Star AC Brooklyn”
Mason (?)
Dick Whiting (603) 863-6067
15. Keith Peters, 12/18/02
16. John Klein ’52 re camp
17. Joel Platt 01/23/03
18. article ms “Three-legged Race: Oddity or ritual or both” by Burnham and Weinstein 1994 unpublished 19pp 5,000 words
19. article from Ed Burns ’85 1985 Sports Illustrated on ancient Olympics
20. phone numbers, per 3., above
H.Q. Hillman (239) 254-XXXX (Susane)
Harold Hillman (941) 761-XXXX
Har J Hillman (727) 896-XXXX
possible descendants of Hillman from switchboard.com: FL 01/03
21. query response from Sean Plottner 12/02
22. Wallin notes 03/06/03 cf Frank Zarnowski (301) 646-XXXX reference on track history
cf Cornelia Wallin (603) 646-3713
23. interview with Dick Whiting ’40 — also an athlete
24. John Herdersheft of Track and Field news (650) 948-8417 re Roberto Queratamis book John Hendershott
25. macdisc@iccas.com is this Mac Wilkins? Bob McKay, reference to 3-legged-race in AAU book, 1940
26. emails: Crumpacker, Chapin
27. Gregorian, Vaje
I have, in a telescopic fashion, written about Keith Peters five more times just this month, the first being a B-side or coda, or shaggy dog’s tail, about robotics but morphing into “haps” as compared to “haptics”: speaking of haps, I am looking forward to the Gunn at San Mateo football game, Friday night lights. This is the varsity debut for Sam Rothstein, linebacker, son of my good friend and fellow Dartmouthite, Scott Rothstein. The team also includes the son of my Terman football teammate Matt Maltz, meaning his son Andrew Maltz, a sophomore nose tackle who tips the scales at 300 pounds (what do you feed him, Jamie?). Vytes of the News suggests that Rothstein and Maltz (sounds like a law firm, or a good place to nosh on knish) will have a great time chasing down Line Latu, who accounted for 325 yards agains the Titans last year. I am going to be posting a synopsis of the game to “Coach” Keith Peters, son of music teacher Ken Peters, another Gunn grad, of The Weekly; GS of the Weekly suggests that because I am running for office I should post under a non de plume. I am pulling for: Sphinx Fitzwater II. Although I will never reveal why. Also: my Terman and Gunn classmate but never actually a teammate Chris Strausser is now an offensive coach at Washington, moving over from Boise State when his jefe Chris Peterson joined the Pac-12 Huskies staff. I recall Chris rassling with his Georgia Ct neighbor Greg Zlotnick when we were tykes. Chris took the long way to the helm of Gunn football, backing up Nick Sturiale, Billy Parker and others before persistence and a growth spurt finally brought him to behind center. He was Gunn’s answer to Paly’s Jim Harbaugh in 1982. (I believe Chris was 2nd team or 3rd team All-SCVAL, and then played for Chico State and Foothill, before John Ralston launched his coaching career, at SJSU). In more recent times, there are at least two Titans suiting up for NCAA gridiron: Sean Lydster a walk-on at Purdue in the Big Ten and Craig “Big Cat” Venuta for Harvard in the Ivy League. Sam Rothstein says he is as fast as Lydster was and is now taller. I hope he keeps up the enthusiasm after meeting Line Latu a few times. My joke is that Rothstein and Maltz are working to convert Line Latu; it is Shabbat after all, Friday night.
And then 3 days later in a discussion of, or comparison between football betting and American elections as “horse races”, more specifically about meeting former Michigan congressman Mark Schauer, a Democratic candidate for governor, in Palo Alto and being affected by that, naturally (?!) leading back to a recent obsession with Gunn football, which features three boys’ whose dads, and in two cases mom, I know well: And this is a good a place as any to amend in my head and now here the dispatch I sent to Keith Peters last night about the excellent Gunn 20 San Mateo 27 tilt. I said Gunn was not so much out-played as out-archetyped, in that our “Riggins 1983 Super Bowl” run was matched by their “Steve Young versus Vikings” run plus a Larry Csonka or really Bronko Nagurski. When I paraphrased Shinichi Hirano as saying Gunn failed to execute I meant in both figurative sense of clearly touching down the ball in end zone for a winning score and in the sense of more literal and perhaps too explicit “kill shot”. They had the Bearcats on the ropes, so to speak, but could not knock them out. It was 18 or 17 versus 45 so it was pretty close to a draw. And I was worried about my friend Sam Rothstein playing linebacker at 5’11” 195 going up against Watson Filikitonga (rhymes with Csonka) who is 6’2″ 230. He did pull down that load a couple times as well as a td-saving near-horse-collar drag down of either Austin Perez or maybe Line Latu. Sam dislocated a finger on very first play but got close to his normal minutes nonetheless. If his brother Michael reaches 140 pounds by his sophomore year – if he goes to Gunn, he is now at Jordan — the hand of Saturn will reach out and Titanize him for Gunn grids. I recall Michael at age 5 (and 60 pounds) wanting to 1 v. 1 one me in soccer in his family’s yard, me at about 200 and clumsy. Noah Riley of Gunn at 5’9 145 had quite a command of the troops, so to speak. Baird told me that there is a family of coaches in his tree. And,not to digress, he said that Bob Melvin’s cousin went to Cub and is an NFL assistant coach, latched to Andy Reid via their mutual SF State days. I believe that, close enough for Plastic Alto and upon further review in the suss-injuns. (Central Michigans are Chippewa I learn, speaking of the how and howl).
Last week, in a discussion of the Mitchell Park library, time and I forget the rest: oh, yeah, my discussion of why it took so long to have a party for the new community center — they call it “come together” but I think “helter skelter” includes my upcoming — then and skill — appointments, although I am here at Coupa at 8:30 on a Wednesday and not at HRB which was cancelled. I meant to write out my 3 minute proposed address — about the 98 articles in Plastic Alto constituting a type of history of jazz per se, like in the above “Jazz Time Travels” —but re-booted as a Peters for reasons I won’t get into here. But you can learn anything about anything with these parallax or oblique angles Fri, Sept 12:
i. HRC retreat at Art Center 9 a.m. and I wrote I would talk about my recent burg in my bonnet.
ii. my Friday breakfast klatch will soldier on without me
iii. there may be something about the Gunn 50-years-50-classes reunion, like a pre-game BBQ. Thanks, Marie Miller for trying to keep me loopy I mean in the loop.
iv. Gunn hosts Carlmont at 7 and I think I am covering this for the Weekly, having discussed this with Keith Peters (a Gunn 1968) for an hour yesterday. I have a CCS field pass. #149 [I romanized the organizing, to avoid ! confusion]
“Nu Serif and Gunn Fiddy” (new sheriff and Gunn’s 50th, plus something about typography), from Sunday, two mentions, naturally enough: Max McGee (I call him “Bill”) and I traded lines from “Men Of Dartmouth” in the fourth quarter of Gunn – Carlmont and it worked: two fumbles recovered, a fourth down stop and two TDs. Thanks, Max! (He’s our new PAUSD supe and a Dartmouth intramural gridiron legend). Moments earlier I was hearing Gunn legend Don Briggs give total recall and therefore muffed my stats table I was preparing for Keith Peters…I will chug. And: This is not my report but we will see if Keith Peters updates this: on a night when the school began a three-day celebration of its 50th anniversary, the Gunn football team came up short in a 24-19 nonleague loss to visiting Carlmont. The Titans (0-2) trailed 24-6 before rallying for a pair of touchdowns to make the game close for the second straight week. Gunn fell to San Mateo in its opener, 27-20. {Note: still not my report, despite cut and pasting it twice -ed}
I mention Keith as my editor and some detail — inside baseball stuff, media per se as opposed to football per se, which is a higher purview of Plastic Alto anyhow, notwithstanding the recent obsession with football and Gunn football. There are 904 posts on Plastic Alto of which 10 mention Keith Peters (a Gunn grad, whose son went to Paly, and his parents both taught in PAUSD). I said somewhere privately that Keith’s nearly 50 years covering prep sports merits a Mayoral proclamation – and I would know, despite the conflict of interests — I’ve ghost-written 3 previous proclamations, for 3 different mayors. Synecdothe or part and parcel that I sit down to write about a hypothetical 3 minutes about the 98 jazz stories constituting a type of HRB historic resource board and then write or re-write or cut and paste in a modern post modern and postShieldsian way, about a sports writer, again still more David Shields than Richard Ford. I did also pick up a great book on history of football writing, at first because it features THE CATCH (and by the way Devon Cajuste, he of the THREE CATCH, said he idolized Dez Bryant but has never heard of Dwight Clark) but further because it has Andrew Warrant on Joe Namath, 1971 (which is actually a compilation of quotes, the part I read to Steve and Rich the shoe guys, of Mailer, Breslin and J. Edgar Hoover), and an anti-praise by Steve Almond, like myself (and maybe Peters) ad former editor (small e) of the Oracle. I trained Almond; KP, who I did, above, call “coach”, trains and at time tries me.

I saw Keith for about an hour today, and cannot say why. I am looking forward to covering the Gunn-Branham football game Friday, for Plastic Alto. After November 4, there may be some interest in the Palo Alto Weekly using my coverage of the final couple Gunn football games — but November 4 seems far away: how many Titans will be left in uniform by then? I also wonder about selling my stories as a chapbook or broadside: Titan City.

I ran in to my favorite school board member Camille Townsend, who said she is “follower” number 33 at Plastic Alto. Later today, at a Pace Gallery opening in MP, I met Kyle Morrow and Emily Jagoda, and shot some photos of them. (Star shot Kyle and I thinking Duane Hanson in front of Jim Dine — which Emily labeled “dynamite”; turns out the piece caught Terry’s eye as well).

I did acknowledge that a previous post used info or statements Keith Peters told me in private. That xxxx’s.

edit to add:this says 2,929 words, although most of it was previously published; this is post 910. Did I mention that I also saw candidates Greg Scharff (council) and Katherine Crystal Foster (who I call Chrystal F, is running for school board) in the lobby of the Weekly. I should also post the photo of publisher Bill Johns watering the plants at 450 Cam.

I mention Peters 20 times on this page. If you type “Keith Peters” into the internal search function here, you get references to the 10 original contexts this mash-up comes from. Also, and total red herring, the New York Times had article I would read — perhaps in a parallel universe — about Absolute Warhol campaign by Stuart Elliot and about fourth down conversions in the NFL. I admit that I don’t know how to account for the fact John Reid of the Daily News said Nozo scored on 4th-and-12 whereas I have it as 4th-and-2.

Also I misidentified Larry Merchant the sportswriter somewhere. He wrote a cool article about Joe Namath, in 1971, something about being the hippie that appealed to squares.

I have a hunch Beneath the Underdog by fantasy GFL team got 40 points in Week 2.