Since I already have a web site full of useless information, I might as well do a bio page. I hope you enjoy it.
As you will see, I was born and raised in Council Bluffs, Iowa, which is on the Missouri River, and is something of a bedroom community for Omaha, Nebraska. Council Bluffs is very hilly and has quite a bit of Victorian Architecture, although the downtown was decimated by an ugly mall that was built in the 70's by a real estate speculator. Other than that, it has clean air, good schools and low taxes, with the sort of friendly folks that you hear about when people talk about the midwest.


This makes Council Bluffs look sort of cool - like the cover of that Springstein Album from the 70's.

This is the Golden Spike - a minor attraction in Council Bluffs. I could make a lot of cheap shots about this rather phallic tribute, but I'll leave that to you. (It actually commemerates the eastern terminus of the Union Pacific) Council Bluffs used to be a company town, but the railroad isn't as prevalent anymore.

This was Mercy Hospital. It was replaced in the 70's by a very mod white marble structure. It has a new name, but I can't remember how to spell it.

Chapter One: I am Born

It was a very cold snowy February 16th in Council Bluffs, Iowa in 1965 My parents lived (still live, actually) in a house way up in the hills, and they were a little worried that mom might go into labor, and they wouldn't be able to get her to the hospital if the roads were closed. There was even talk of transporting her via toboggan, if absolutely necessary.

That, of course, didn't sit well with mom - and I can't say I blame her, as the neighborhood men were those 60's type of good natured drunk suburban men, and if there's one thing a woman doesn't need when she's going into labor, it's drunk neighbors with toboggans. So my older sister was packed off to Grandma, and mom was sent to Mercy hospital.

In true'60's style, mom was knocked out, cut open, and woken up when the hairdresser arrived. Dad sat in a waiting room, drinking Irish coffee with a nun, which I think is much more civilized that this tree hugging midwifery "let's-get-dad-involved-in-the-birthing-process" nonsense that everyone is doing these days.

I was baptized Daniel Anthony Langdon. Daniel because my parents wanted something that sounded like my dad's name, but wasn't my dad's name, because my dad doesn't like his name (which is Donald). Anthony, because all of the Langdon men are given the middle name of Anthony, and Langdon because there wasn't a choice. The baptism was at St. Francis Xaxier church. I was there, of course, but I don't remember anything about it.

St Francis, by the way, eventually had to be torn down because it was SINKING into the old riverbed, along with the Episcopal Church and the county courthouse. But that's a whole other story.

I'll skip the infancy part of it, because I find babies sort of boring.

This is the main street of Council Bluffs in the 60's. All of this is gone now due to some unwise urban renewal choices.

Chapter Two: The PreSchool Years

There's not much to say about these years. I ate a lot of tuna fish sandwiches, because that's what my mom ate, and did mostly whatever she was doing. That meant a lot of lunches, shopping, and the beauty parlor every Friday morning.

My circle of influence included my parents, my sister, my grandma and her maiden lady sister, as well as the neighbor children (Tommy and Becky) and thousands of aunts, uncles and cousins on my mom's side of the family. There was also a collie named Wolfy and a horrible neighbor cat named Fatso.

I was a very active child who was always splitting his head open or running into things. Once I jumped off the top of the refrigerator, and another time I ran off of an elevator in a department store and beaned myself on a display case.


This is James B. Rue, the man whom my elementary school is named after. Council Bluffs is chock full of portraits of distinguished looking forbearers like this. I think I had to write a paper about him once, and it seems to me he might have died of diarrhea, which really grossed me out.

But I might be thinking of President Polk.

This is the Rue Rooster - the mascot for Rue Elementary. I was going to Rue when this was elected mascot. If you click on him, you will be taken to the RUE website to hear the Rue Elementary School Song. I assuming it is being performed by Rue Students.

">

Here is me in a tree in our front yard. Nice Pants, eh?

Chapter Three: I go to School

I went to James B. Rue Elementary School, which is still there.

My Teachers were:

Kindergarten: Mrs. Cunnan. She wore her hair in a bun. She was from the south, and had us sing "negro" songs (her words) and had us call the black janitor "Mr. Boss Man".

Kindegarten was actually held in the basement of the Broadway Methodist Church, which sort of freaked me out. Protestants used to scare me.

First Grade: Mrs. Moore. She was very nice, and had a daughter who looked like Karen Carpenter before the anarexia. She lived in my neighborhood.

Second Grade: Mrs. Royer. She was also very nice, but her slips were always hanging down below her dress.

Third Grade: Mrs. Karr. She was a religious WEIRDO. She once called my mom to school to meet with her because I signed my name "Dam" instead of "Dan" (I was confused between m's and n's in cursive writing. I'm still confused by that, so I generally just print) When Mom pointed out to her that Dam was not a swear word (it's spelled damn) she got very angry with her. Luckily, Mom is not the sort of woman that takes that kind of abuse. My cursive writing was never an issue after that.

Fourth Grade: Mrs. Gatrost. She was a very nice lady who helped me through my multiplication table crisis. I still hate multiplication tables, but now I don't burst into tears at the thought of them.

Fifth Grade: Mrs. Miller. She looked just like Alice on "The Brady Bunch".

Sixth Grade: Mrs. Fulkerson. Another very nice lady, with a HUGE hairdo. I used to sit in class and wonder what held it up.

I should also mention Mrs. Wacker, the music teacher. She was sort of a hottie. I rember her telling us that her favorite song was "Afternoon Delight", which was lost on us at the time.

Other than this, I went to CCD, which was sort of Catholic Sunday School for us public school kids, but held on Wednesday nights. I was also an altar boy forever. Me and my friend Joe(A very cute Italian boy) did most of the weddings and funerals because we were so adorable ;-) At \$10.00 each a service, we cleaned up, at least in kid terms in the 70's.

Please note - these are my obligatory statements about being both Catholic and an altar boy:

  • No, I was never abused by a priest, and it irratates me when people ask me that. All the priests I knew were very nice, very intelligent men.
  • "Recovering Catholics" should stop calling themselves that, and get on with their lives. Nobody likes a whiner, and It wasn't that bad.

Oh, and I was also a paperboy for the Council Bluffs Nonpariel.

I would have put something in from the Kirn website, but it's not working.

The mascot was an eagle, the colors were Blue and White, and the school song was the Notre Dame Fight Song

Chapter Four: Gerald W. Kirn Jr. High

Everyone hates Junior High, and I was no exception. Kirn sucked. Not that the teachers didn't try to make it nice, it was just Junior High. We got a brand-spanking new school the last year I was there, and that was nice. (The old one had been burned down by some students. It was a shame since that building was the old high school, and was sort of a cool structure. Lots of artwork and statuary. All lost in the fire.

This is an artistic rendering of me as the "Bufet Attendant". I have no pictures of me as a File Room Dork, because I didn't want to remember it.

Chapter Five: I start my Career

While going to Kirn, I got my first real job, working in the dining room (the "Crisstal Room") of Mutual of Omaha during the summertime. (In the interest of full disclosure, I guess I should say here that my dad was an attorney for Mutual)

I liked working in the Crisstal Room - It was a fabulously tacky 60's styled room high on top of the ridiculous MoO headquarters (you've got to see the building to appreciate how dumb it looks) It had some amazing views, and the customers were pretty cool.

I was eventually promoted to "Buffet Attendent" for the "Continental Buffet" in the "Frontier Room" and waited tables in the executive dining room. None of the executives ever tipped.

Later, I got moved to the File Room, where I worked during for a few summer. It was the worst job I've ever had. The women I worked for were like Selma and Patty on "The Simpsons" They smoked at their desks, and made me sit by them on my breaks. Although I guess I should be grateful to them for showing by example that smoking is an awful habbit that gives you wrinkles and makes you smell.

It's pretty telling that Rue had the best website. There was nothing fun on the AL website.

Chapter Six: High School

I went to Abraham Lincoln High School, which is the same high school my dad and grandfather went to (Although, I hasten to mention, we were not there concurrently)

AL was the "nice" school in town, which meant it was college-prep oriented. A concientous student could actually get a very good education there, but I did my best to take all electives.

I really liked high school, and even though I managed to actually flunk geometry, I also managed to get into several colleges. Never underestimate the power of extra curricular activities on a college application.

This is the house I lived in in Iowa City. We called it the "Delphi Commune for Social Justice". We were known for our parties.

Chapter Seven: I go to College!

I attended the University of Iowa for a LOOOONG time. From 1983-90. I would probably still be there, but the university finally told me it was time to move on.

I liked college a lot. I wasn't the best student, but l learned a lot there. I spent hours wandering around the library and reading up on stuff. I made some very good friends, many of which appear someplace on this site. Not a bad way to spend seven years.

While there, I worked at the Student Union, and also for the Campus Cable Channel, Student Radio Station, and both the FM and AM Public Radio Stations.

It was while at Iowa that I got the internship that took me to Seattle for the first time. Which you will read about next.

Here I am hanging out with the boys from Nirvana

Chapter Eight: Seattle, Part I - The Grunge Years

I took an intership with The University of Washington in their Student Unions department (I bet you didn't know you could get internships in Student Union Management, did you?)

The university was not very nice to their students but the Seattle was a blast. I lived in a house on Capitol Hill with two college friends who were totally immersed in the music scene. Since I didn't know anyone, I became immersed also. I met lots of the people who later became big stars and have some interesting stories that I won't repeat here due to libel laws ;-)

So after hanging out, drinking a lot of beer and smoking a lot of dope, I decided to tie up loose ends at the University and get on with my life. Which brings me to the next chapter.

This is me filling in for Betty When She was too drunk to do the show. It happened more than you might think.

Chapter Nine: The Twin City Year.

I lived in Minneapolis for a year. I worked at a Howard Johnsons and a Marriott, and for a short time the Betty Crocker division of General Mills (The Stepford Company).

Minneapolis and I were not a good fit. I found it to be very provincial (The kind of place where you could wear a T-Shirt that said "Save a Walleye - Spear an Indian!")

So I decided after a year there to move back to Seattle.

One of my hobbies is to take Easter Baskets to children who think that the bird feeder in their back yard is the Space Needle. This is an unseen epedemic, and I am working tirelessly on their behalf

Chapter Ten: Seattle Part II

And so here I am back in Seattle. I started out working for a now defunct company called Photo & Sound as an Audio Visual Technician for the Westin Hotel.

Then, for a time, I was the houseboy for a lesbian couple who used to have violent arguements and drank enormously.

Then I was back in the hotel business, as the AV Manager for the Four Seasons Olympic

Then I did catering sales for the Four Seasons Olympic, working in the Charity and Social markets.

Then I did the same thing at the Seattle Sheraton.

But now I work for an internet marketing company, and I have nothing to do with hotels. Sometimes I miss the glamour and gossip of the social scene, but my new job is much better.

And I've lived in the University District, Wallingford, Belltown and Capitol Hill, before finally settling in my house on Beacon Hill.

So that's my life thus far. I can't beleive you read the whole thing.

Sheesh - take me back to the main page of this insanity!