Here's some quick reads that will either make you laugh or cry. Some are from me, and some from friends along the way. Click on to listen while you read and to watch the videos.

The Munster Connection

It all began with music, but I wouldn't actually play the Munster Theme in public until many years after I became a fan of the The Munsters, a TV show about a friendly monster family who saw themselves as a typical American family regardless of their background. I enjoyed the show and the music and still have the Munsters album.

I'm amazed that a 1981 video of my band, The Mosquitos, playing the theme at Chelsea's in Huntington, NY made its way to YouTube, but there we are with those cool matching blue

jackets ... and there I am with my Carlo Robelli Explorer copy. What a memory! That guitar was replaced when the guys and fans got together and gave me a Rick for my 18th birthday. The Carlo Robelli would still be one of the many guitars I own, if it hadn't been stolen!

Many years later, sometime in the 90s, I met Al Lewis (Grandpa Munster) at a Make A Wish Foundation benefit in NY. I also met George Barris,

the builder of the special family car for the series. "Here Comes The Munster Koach" is one of the songs on the Munsters album. The model I built of the car was one of my favorites ... yes, I still have that too!

In 2005 when I saw the Munster Koach at a car show I had to resist the temptation to jump behind the wheel and take it for a ride! A tribute to Fred Gwynne (Herman Munster) on the

Munsters site tells how Fred did exactly that. He loaded the cast in full costume into the car and drove off the lot and took a spin on the Hollywood freeway. I'm sure that sight turned heads of a few people on the road! I would love to have been one of them! Something about that family just gave me a warm feeling. Their interactions seemed so normal, regardless of their appearance. They always kept me smiling.

Since I was a kid at the time the show was on the air, I identified most with Eddie. What an experience it must have been to be part of that show. In August 2010 it was a kick to meet Butch Patrick (Eddie Munster). He's a great guy! I also enjoyed another show he was in later called Lidsville.

If you want to hear, see and share more about music and cars, check out the latest post on my Music Memoirs blog.