Tonight Show Silver Anniversary! Part 2: The Day of the Show

November 22, 1989 - November 22, 2014

"It was 25 years ago today" that I sat in Carson's guest chair.  Today's post follows the events and my thoughts on that particular day.  It was the day before Thanksgiving, 1989.  This was the era before smart phones or the world wide web, so it was harder to document things back then.  I relied on newspapers, a film camera, and VCR tapes.  This year, I have collected these souvenirs to post here.  If you missed it, Part 1 of this series, "Before the Show,"  explains how I got to this point.  Part 3, "Aftermath," will follow in the next month or so.

Tonight Show Silver Anniversary! Part 1: Before the Show

It's been 25 years since my lifetime's most public moment, a four-minute civilian guest spot on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.  I am taking occasion of this silver anniversary to gather memorabilia and publish a full account of the TV appearance and all that surrounds it.  There is a lot of ground to cover, so I'm breaking this into a three-part series.  Part 1 discusses my alphabetizing talent itself and events leading up to the TV spot.  Part 2 will follow on the broadcast's anniversary date, Nov. 22, and will give my behind-the-scenes account of that particular day.  Part 3 will cover the aftermath:  publicity, events, and what I learned from being on TV.  

Partial Solar Eclipse, 10/23/14

Now it's the sun's turn!  These are my photos of the North American partial solar eclipse on October 23, 2014.
 

Fagerland, Meyer, and Beck updates

GGGT 2014 Part 2:  SD and UT

This is the second and final update of my GGGT 2014, summarizing what I learned in South Dakota and Utah.  My parents, Grandpa Fagerland, and gravesite of Grandma Fagerland are in South Dakota.  In Salt Lake City, I spent two days at the Mormon Church's Family History Library (FHL). 

Kaitlin at her great-grandmother's grave.  She picked out the flowers.

To see results in the Meyer, Fagerland, and Beck branches:

GGGT 2014: Washington

Fagerland History

Here's my first report from the road on the Great Grand Genealogy Tour of 2014.  I was in Washington June 27 - 29.  There is a sizeable Norwegian community in Washington.  The Fagerland branch of the family started settling there in the 1950s. 

The Seattle skyline, 6/28/14

My purposes for this trip were:

(1)  To tap the memories of Orville Fagerland, my oldest living relative.
(2)  To look for a picture of my 2nd-great grandparents Fagerland.
(3)  To see a collection of family artifacts at Pacific Lutheran University.  

The GGGT of the Western US, 2014

This summer, I will finally take the first of my major Great Grand Genealogy Tours (GGGT), as described a year ago.  I simply couldn't afford it in 2013.  This year, I am in a much better situation.  I also have very generous financial support from Dad and Grandpa Fagerland.




My 3rd Great Grandparents Svare (seated)

Lunar Eclipse, April 14 - 15, 2014

Photos - Observations - And don't miss the video at the end!

I took pictures of the moon about every 15 minutes during this last eclipse (except when it got too cloudy!)  :(    Here is a time-lapse montage of how the moon changed shape and brightness during that time. 

ScotFagerland.com, my all-in-one portal

Please note my new portal, www.ScotFagerland.com, which lists and links to all of my various websites, personal and professional.

My book-in-progress, "The Evolution of Human" (TEOH) now has its own website: 

www.TheEvolutionOfHuman.com

All updates will be posted there, not here.  I will be using Scot's Spot for personal purposes.  For example, this is a good site for my genealogical updates.  I will also post a 25th-anniversary commemoration of my Tonight Show appearance here this year.