Tag: Navy

Can a Legend Be Forgotten? Keep Flippo’s Memory Alive
Marshall Flippo · My Books · My Thoughts · My Writing

Can a Legend Be Forgotten? Keep Flippo’s Memory Alive

Larada Horner-MillerLeave a comment
Marshall Flippo - legend

Can a legend be forgotten in five years? Can a square dance legend’s name be erased from the memory of dancers? Only if we let that happen, and I will not let it happen as long as I can sit at a computer and type!

What attributes identified this legend, Marshall Flippo to me?

A Larger Legend than Square Dancing

A young Marshall Flippo in the Navy - legend

For one thing, when we met face-to-face the first time in Tucson, Arizona on October 27, 2017, Flippo spoke of his family then immediately told me about quitting school his senior year and joining the Navy at seventeen. His Navy career spanned four years in the South Pacific. After hearing his vivid description about the end of the war and all his experiences, I realized he had given the reader in this book a sizable birds’ eye view of what happened.  

Texan Twang

Because I knew him later in life, his raspy Texan twang identified Flippo to me. When I wrote the book, I tried to capture his language for the reader because it certainly added a flair to the telling. Listening to his earlier recordings, Flippo had a clear, identifiable voice.

Sense of Humor

Often at a dance when we visited him, I enjoyed his outlandish sense of humor. In fact, when I was writing his biography, I can’t tell you how many people told me their favorite “Flippo Story,” and often it included humor.

While researching his biography, we only met face-to-face twice. I had forty hours of recorded interviews with Flippo. Often “our date” was on Tuesday at 1:00 PM. Lin, my husband, has said he knew I was talking to Flippo because of the laughter.

In fact, he wanted to start his book with a variety of different pieces. We finalized on a tribute to those who had helped him get started with his calling—and then his dirty joke a caller’s wife told him. When he shared it with me, Flippo chuckled and said, “Now you clean it up so we can add to the book.” So, I did!

This Legend Loved After Parties

If you attended any After Party at a dance festival where Flippo called, you experienced another demonstration of his sense of humor—hilarious skits! He loved to take on a persona and play it up to the max! You can see it in the following pictures:

Marshall Flippo in skits - legend
Flippo in a skit!
Flippo on a skit!

Here’s a link to a trailer of his skits: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8u90uFCL4w

One of my favorite song he pantomimed was “I Don’t Look Good Naked Anymore.” How hilarious and fun!

Flippo’s Calling Expertise

Looking back over his many recordings, his amazing choreography and calling entertained thousands of dancers. When I was writing the book, I shared a chapter with my writing group one Monday. Marty, an astute writer asked, “Does Flippo do his own choreography?”

Shocked, I sat for a moment and replied, “I have no idea.” Flip (a nickname for him) and I had our weekly interview date on Tuesday, so I asked him the next day. This opened up a gigantic discussion, and he told me how he choreographed “The Auctioneer,” his premiere hit. He spoke with enthusiasm and joy! It was quite a feat—want to know how he did it? His choreography became a whole chapter, Chapter 20—Flippo’s Choreography.

Listen to a sample of The Auctioneer!

After all his involvement in CALLERLAB, he received six awards for his calling and participation in this organization he helped start!

So, have you forgotten him? Has this legend died in your area? Your square dance club?

Released the book in 2020—the Pandemic Hit

Just Another Square Dance Caller - legend

Before the pandemic, I had lots of pre-orders for the book, Just Another Square Dance Caller: Authorized Biography of Marshall Flippo, but square dancing stopped in 2020. Festivals were canceled—places I planned on selling his book—Indio, California. CALLERLAB convention canceled

In 2021, specifically, I thought our festival in Albuquerque, Hot August Nights, was a go, so I loaded up on both formats—hardbacks and paperbacks. BUT IT WAS CANCELED! So, I ended up with surplus inventory!

A Legend Forgotten – 2023

In 2023, I went to the CALLERLAB convention in Reno, Nevada to sell his biography. I can’t tell you how many younger callers when asked if they knew Flippo, said, “No, who was he?”

Because Darryl Lipscomb helped at a booth next to mine, he retold a sad conversation with Flippo after he retired. Flippo told Darryl that once he retired, dancers and callers would forget him in a short time, three or four years. He retired in 2016. By 2023, it had happened. Therefore, I sold very few books there, so disappointing!

A Legend Still Forgotten – 2024

Being the eternal optimist, I returned to the CALLERLAB convention in Dallas, Texas the next year. Okay, Texas was Flippo’s home state, so come on—wouldn’t he still be known. Yes, more people knew him there, but still a vast majority had no interest in him, his book or the history this book chronicles.

What About 2024 and 2025?

Sadly, I have put out several major sales on his book over the last two years, and the response has been stunning—no sales! Some people buy his book on Amazon, but I’m talking about the copies I have.

So, here I am continuing to honor Flippo. When we started this project, he had one major request, “Don’t make me a hero!” This humble stance is exactly who he was! He never saw his position in the square dance world of mentoring many of our fine callers today. When the CALLERLAB began, Flippo was one of the original eleven, and he repeatedly supported the organization his whole career. Also, he began calling in the heyday of square dancing and continued into his late 80s, moving from live music, to recorded music to using a computer! So, this biography stands as a history book, too.

Finally,

If you haven’t bought a hardback or paperback copy of his biography, now is the time. If you already have a copy, how about buying one for a friend. I have a special offer going on right now—

Got a Friend Who’d Love Marshall Flippo’s Story?

If you already know how captivating Just Another Square Dance Caller is, here’s your chance to share that experience! I have a limited surplus of Marshall Flippo’s authorized biography, and I’m offering the first 10 buyers an exclusive deal:

✓ 25% OFF both hardback and paperback editions

✓ FREE SWAG included with your order

✓ Perfect gift for square dance enthusiasts, music lovers, or anyone who appreciates American folk traditions

Whether it’s for a dance partner, family member, or friend who’d appreciate Marshall’s incredible journey, this is your opportunity to spread the story at a significant discount.

Limited to first 10 orders only. Easy payment through PayPal or Square.

Ready to share Marshall’s legacy? [Order now at laradasbooks.com or contact me at larada@laradasbooks.com before these discounted copies are gone!

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My Fifth Book: Flippo’s Veteran Story & More!
Marshall Flippo · My Books · My Thoughts · Patriotism · square dance

My Fifth Book: Flippo’s Veteran Story & More!

Larada Horner-Miller2 Comments
A young Marshall Flippo, the Sailor - fith book
Young Marshall Flippo, the Sailor

My fifth book was a book project that fell into my lap! How à propos—today being Veteran’s Day, and writing about Marshall Flippo’s biography who served in World War II.

How My Fifth Book Started

Marshall Flippo, an icon in the square dance world, was nearing ninety years old. In March 2017, a group of square dancers were sitting around after a dance weekend and Flippo’s name and age came up. One enthusiastic fan said, “Someone should write his biography.”

My husband, Lin, looked at me and said, “You’re the writer in the group. What do you think?” Nothing more was said, but the thought tumbled around in my mind. We prayerfully considered the possibility, and I decided to run it by Flippo.

In April, I called Flippo and proposed the project to him, and his swift response showed his quick wit. “Larada, no one would want to buy a book about me. But I do have a book you should write: a collection of stories of all the thangs that happen to traveling callers over the years. Wait a minute—that would be R-rated.” Another Flippoism!

At that point, he gave me no definite answer.

At the New Mexico Square Dance Festival, in May in Albuquerque, Marshall fulfilled his last calling contract in New Mexico because he was retiring. Early Friday night, while a group stood around him before the dance, Flippo brought up the topic.

“Larada wants to write a book about me.”

He continued with a humble air, “Who would want to buy that book?”

“I would,” said a longtime friend and caller, Greg Tillery.

“Me, too,” replied Jim Martel, another local caller.

“Put me on the list—I want a copy!” Ted Clements, a caller from southern New Mexico, chimed in. The chorus continued and everyone standing there raised their hands. Flippo turned to me and said, “Come over to my hotel room about 1:30 a.m. and we’ll talk about it.” The group laughed at his flirtatious nature, but he agreed to do it that weekend.

Later that year, I planned a trip to Tucson, Arizona, in October for the Women Writing the West conference. Lin and I met Flippo at the Texas Roadhouse there for dinner on Friday, October 27, 2017, to start our research. We planned to meet on Wednesday, October 25, but the Houston Astros were playing the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series. Flippo, an avid fan, wanted to watch the game, so we changed nights.

When we met, he immediately started with a saucy story. “Mama said, ‘If you play with it, it will fall off.’ Ninety years later, it still hasn’t.” I had to grab my notepad and start taking notes.

The waitress hadn’t taken our orders, and Lin started the questions. Flip immediately jumped into relaying his life with the exact addresses of the multiple homes he lived in Abilene, Texas, as a child. In fact, he had trouble with only one address. I still wonder why he forgot that specific address. But he had also picked a restaurant that had TVs 360 degrees around us, and he watched the World Series out of the corner of his eye.

After dinner, we moved from the restaurant to his home to finish the first interview. We muted the TV, and he watched the game over my head as he talked. One minute he’d be sharing his life stories, the next he’d catch me off guard with a comment on a batter, “Knock the hell out of it.” He amazed me how he could be telling a Navy story about a destroyer tender he was on, then comment on what a player on TV should have done. We took brief breaks when the game took its twists and turns. During one break, he lamented, “I can’t get my mind going again.” Lin and I both assured him that his memory was exceptional.

Within that short evening, he covered many of the major topics of his life: his childhood and family, his Navy experiences during World War II and afterwards, and he ended the night with how he met Neeca, his first wife. With the flair of a master storyteller, Flippo gestured his hands like when an umpire signals the runner is safe and said, “Let’s leave it.” We watched the rest of the baseball game together.

He sent me home with seven photo albums busting at the seams with memorabilia, precious stories, and the assurance that we had embarked on an adventure.

During the next year, we spent many hours together talking over the phone, and we had one more face-to-face opportunity to compile this document. As you can imagine, it was a delightful, fun adventure.

Flippo’s Naval Career

Flippo referenced his naval service several times during our interviews. As a patriotic seventeen-year-old lad from west Texas, his life changed forever the moment he volunteered. Because the war ended soon after he enlisted, his service time took a unique twist—he played baseball for DesPac. Destroyers of the Pacific baseball team took two guys off of all the destroyers who had baseball teams and formed a team. This tells me he was an exceptional baseball player.

So, you can see where his interest in the World Series came that night we talked in Tucson.

Flippo led a large life, calling square dances all over the United States and the world. I Said “Yes!” to the project of a lifetime I will never forget. Grab the book—hardback, paperback and/or one of the popular e-book formats—to see the full extent of his amazing life.

Just Another Square Dance Caller: Authorized Biography of Marshall Flippo - fifth book

How about writing a biography, autobiography or memoir? What family stories need to be told? Leave your comments below. I’d be interested in your thoughts!

Coronavirus Reflections: Bitter or Better? fifth book

Visit my website to find out about my new book, Coronavirus Reflections: Bitter or Better? and my other five books and three cookbooks: https://laradasbooks.com

Flippo’s in the Navy Now!
Marshall Flippo · My Thoughts

Flippo’s in the Navy Now!

Larada Horner-Miller3 Comments
Flippo, the young sailor in the Nay
Young Marshall Flippo, the Sailor

Navy and Marshall Flippo? Really? I never would have guessed that! Marshall Flippo had an amazing life with world experiences I would have never dreamed of for a boy from Abilene, Texas.

During our interviews, he quickly relayed how he volunteered to join the Navy at the end of World War II. It’s a poignant story.

World War II began on September 1, 1939 and ended on September 2, 1945. In 1944, the war was intensifying. Flippo’s sister, Helen, had already joined and was serving. Patriotism flourished across the country with Flippo experiencing his own version in his small west Texas town.

“I joined the Navy when I turned seventeen in 1944.” After Flippo shared this, he sat quiet—his thoughtful silence spoke volumes.

In reviewing the part in the first interview about him joining the Navy, I mistakenly thought he had falsified his records to join.

Quickly he answered, “Whoa, whoa, whoa!! What did you say about the records?”

From his tone, I realized I had made a mistake. “I thought you told me that you falsified your records when you were seventeen. That’s how you got into . . .”

He interrupted me with a resounding, “No!”

So he explained what happened. “Well, Dad had to sign for me, but we didn’t falsify it. I got in. Daddy signed for me, and I went in on my seventeenth birthday. I didn’t falsify anythang.”

Just Another Square Dance Caller: Authorized Biography of Marshall Flippo, p39.

Before he signed up, Flippo’s friend, R. H. ‘Hub’ Evans returned to Abilene in his Marine uniform and this influenced the young impressionable teenager—Flippo was ready to sign up!

In Flippo’s biography, I divided the Navy section, The Texan Becomes a Sailor, into three chapters:

  • You’re in the Navy Now!
  • USS Lander
  • Three More Ships and Baseball

Flippo’s easily made friends and connected with two men in boot camp, Thurman Curry and Harold Snodgrass. Thurman lived in Abilene, and Harold grew up in Tennessee. I loved his stories about hitchhiking with Thurman to Abilene from San Diego between boot camp and Amphibious Training. No one would dare do that today!

Then the three of them—Flip, Thurman and Harold—enjoyed Harold’s car driving around small towns around Abilene and a trip back to San Diego and then around San Diego.

USS Lander - Navy destroyer tender
USS Lander

After Flippo’s training, the Navy assigned him to the USS Lander, a destroyer tender. As he talked about his years in the Navy, he referenced his War book often. I regret that we never read it together, but I used it as a reference for his biography. The book’s title is USS LANDER 1945, so it had in-depth information about his time on that ship. What a treasure this was for Flip!

Interesting fact about the USS Lander: seventy-five percent of the sailors on the ship had never been to sea before! So Flippo fit right in! He looks so young in the pictures!

Young Navy man onboard ship
Young Flippo, the Sailor onboard ship

It was on the USS Lander, Flippo made his first trip to Japan which began a love affair he had with the country and people the rest of his life.

USS Piedmont

After the USS Lander was decommissioned, Flippo sailed on the USS Piedmont, another destroyer tender, and ended up at Yokosuka Harbor again, right back to Japan, right in the same harbor where he had left a month before.

Did you know Flippo was an athlete? Flippo’s sports career started on the USS Piedmont. They had a football team and baseball team, and he was on both.

USS Wiltsie

Then the Navy transferred him to the USS Wiltsie, another destroyer tender. So, the Navy decided they’d make a team: DesPac, standing for “Destroyers of Pacific.” They took two guys off of all the destroyers who had baseball teams. They selected Flippo as one of the two players from the USS Wiltsie to go the USS Dixie for the DesPac team. They played Navy teams or Army teams who had baseball teams. He ended his Naval career on the USS Dixie, another destroyer tender.

USS Dixie

Finally, the Navy wanted Flippo to reenlist, but he wanted to go home to Abilene—he was done! Laced throughout these three chapters in his biography, Flippo shared a bird’s-eye view of World War II and what it was like on a destroyer tender in Asiatic-Pacific Theater, providing support to the Marines on the shores of Iwo Jima and being a part of the occupying force in Japan.

These four years had a lasting impact on Flippo and his view of life. He entered the Navy a young naïve seventeen-year-old and left a seasoned sailor who had seen the world.

Have you read about World War II? Does seventeen seem young to go to war? Was it different back then? To make a comment, scroll down to the bottom of the page! I’d love to hear from you!

Previous Blog Posts You Might Have Missed

Just Another Square Dance Caller book cover

~HAVE YOU ORDERED YOUR AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF THE FLIPPO BIOGRAPHY? AVAILABLE NOW! Go to the homepage on my website & pay for it there: https://www.laradasbooks.com

~One-Year Anniversary of the Release of Flippo’s Biography! Join me to celebrate on May 10, 2021 from 7:00 – 9:00 PM Email me at larada@icloud.com if you are interested!

~Here’s Christmas greetings from Flippo & Neeca, featuring his song, “When Its Christmas Time in Texas”: https://youtu.be/mpJCUGffU3A

ALL FOUR E-BOOK FORMATS OF FLIPPO’S BIOGRAPHY AVAILABLE NOW:

~Visit my website for all the information you need about me & my books: https://www.laradasbooks.com

~My Amazon Author’s Page: https://www.amazon.com/~/e/B00LLQTXSM

~ Visit my Etsy Shop: https://www.etsy.com/shop/LaradasReadingLoft

~VISIT MARY ZALMANEK, A FRIEND’S BLOG: Cooking in a One-Butt Kitchen | Eating Well in Small Spaces: https://cookinginaonebuttkitchen.com/

How Do You Capture & Celebrate Marshall Flippo’s Big Life?
Marshall Flippo · My Thoughts · square dance

How Do You Capture & Celebrate Marshall Flippo’s Big Life?

Larada Horner-MillerLeave a comment

A Texas childhood, a young sailor in the Navy during World War II, a young caller struggling with some basics—all key pieces that led to a successful calling career and a big life for Marshall Flippo. But how do you capture it all?

How do you do it? In words, pictures and sound. Obviously, I did capture it with words and pictures in his authorized biography, Just Another Square Dance Caller. I wanted to bring that story to life.

We are a visual and auditory world today! As a retired teacher, I know the importance of visual tools. I saw it every day in my classroom; students responded better to any lesson with some visual aide. Whenever I added sound, it also enriched the student’s experience.

In our visual/auditory world, people live their lives attached to their SmartPhones, iPads and desktop computers. Our digital world overflows with visual and auditory stimulus, so I harnessed those tools in a fantastic marketing tool to capture some of Marshall Flippo’s big life—book trailers (like movie trailers).

Here’s some key findings about visual learning:

  • Of all the information transmitted to brain, 90% is visual.
  • As opposed to text, visuals are processed 60,000x faster.
  • Humans are capable of getting the sense of a visual scene in less than 1/10th of a second.
  • 40% of nerve fibres are linked to the retina.
  • Our brain can see images that last for only 13 milliseconds.
  • Human eye can register 36,000 visual messages every hour.

https://elearningindustry.com/visual-learning-6-reasons-visuals-powerful-aspect-elearning

As a retired teacher, I know the importance of visual/auditory tools, so I’ve created three trailers to capture three keys areas of Flippo’s life: his childhood and Navy life, his after party skits, and his motto and where that led him here in the United States and the world.

Here are the three trailers! Let me know what you think!

  1. Flippo Trailer #1 – Childhood > Young Caller                               
  2. Flippo Trailer #2 – Flippo’s Motto > Traveling the USA & the World
  3. Flippo Trailer #3 – Flippo’s Memorable After Party Skits

I have a fourth one in production, but what would you suggest after that? I know I need to do one for CALLERLAB. How about Flippo’s athletic interests? What else?

selective focus photography of gray stainless steel condenser microphone
Photo by Magda Ehlers on Pexels.com

An auditory opportunity came out of the blue for Flippo’s book! Marty Northrup interviewed me on Monday, July 13, 2020 on his podcast, Marty’s Podcast about Flippo’s book. Here’s the link:

https://www.buzzsprout.com/474541/4554098

Marty has interviewed many national and international leader/callers in the square dance world, so I felt honored to share my stories about Flippo and his biography.

The list of callers he has interviewed is a Who’s Who of Calling:

  • Steve Kopman
  • Jerry Story
  • Gary Shoemake and Ken Bower
  • Jerry Biggerstaff & Greg Jones
  • Lilith Kopman
  • Darryl Lipscomb
  • Justin Russell
  • Elmer Sheffield, Jr.
  • Tom Miller
  • Randy Page
  • Texas Tornadoes—Ross Howell and Darryl Lipscomb
  • Marshall Flippo Remembered – John Flippo
  • Ken Ritucci
  • Wade Driver
  • Tony Oxendine
  • Patty Greene
  • Betsy and Roy Gotta
  • Ted Lizotte
  • Noah Siegman
  • Mike Sikorsky
  • Jerry Junck
group of people having neon party
Photo by Marcin Dampc on Pexels.com

Lastly, I will celebrate Flippo’s big life at the Zoom Release Party of his biography on Wednesday, July 29, 2020 at 7:00 p.m. MST. I will have door prizes, stories about the book production, and Flippo’s songs. Here’s the link to the Facebook event to register:

https://www.facebook.com/events/598522567534301/

Visual, auditory, words—all tools to describe! After interviewing Flippo, I had over 258,000 words, so I had to condense that down considerably. His biography is nearly 600 pages long with over 450 pictures, depicting Marshall Flippo’s life, a very big life!

What do you think?

~DO YOU WANT AN PERSONALLY AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF THE FLIPPO BIOGRAPHY?   AVAILABLE NOW! New shipment coming in this wee! Yahooo! Go to my website and pay for it there: https://www.laradasbooks.com

ALL FOUR E-BOOK FORMATS OF FLIPPO’S BIOGRAPHY AVAILABLE NOW.  Apple Books (US) – https://books.apple.com/us/book/just-another-square-dance-caller/id151164203                        Kobo (US) –  https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/just-another-square-dance-caller                                                      Apple Books (CA) – https://books.apple.com/ca/book/just-another-square-dance-caller/id1511642036                     Apple Books (UK) – https://books.apple.com/gb/book/just-another-square-dance-caller/id1511642036                    Apple Books (AU) – https://books.apple.com/au/book/just-another-square-dance-caller/id151164(US)                    Amazon Kindle (US) – https://www.amazon.com/Just-Another-Square-Dance-Caller-ebook/dp/B088QS9RH8         Amazon Kindle (UK) – https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B088QS9RH8                                                                   Amazon Kindle (CA) – https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B088QS9RH8                                                                       Barnes and Noble Nook (US) – https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/just%20another%20square%20dance%20caller

~ RELEASE PARTY of Flippo’s biography on Zoom on Wednesday, July 29, 2020 at 7:00 pm MST! Be ready! Door Prizes, the inside story, Flippo song bytes & interview clips and more!~Visit my web site for all the information

~Visit my web site for all the information you need about me and my books:  https://www.laradasbooks.com