The True-Life Adventures Of Captain Wa Wah

The True-Life Adventures Of Captain Wa Wah
(Fifty Years of Music, Meditation, and Politics)
By John Charles Peterson, M.D.

If your not from Muncie Indiana, you probably haven't heard of this book. The person who wrote it is a local doctor and has only really sold it or given it away to people around here.

The book is made up of short stories about his life and the events he has been through. The book is great and has a good feel to it.

This is what's on the back cover:

"A medical doctor, nicknamed Captain Wa Wah in his collage days, remembers: the music of the 60's, playing keyboard in a regional band, recording at Chess Studios and Universal Studios in Chicago, opening for Sonny and Cher, the Beach Boys and the Doors... Vietnam, the Chicago Seven trial, the Civil Rights Movement, Watergate, Patty Hearst and the SLA, the Maharishi, the Nuclear Freeze Movement, Woman's Liberation, Orville K. Snav and, finally, DOCS Night Club with listings of all the musicians who have performed there since 1999, plus a slew of cool friends and acquaintances along the way."

This really has nuthing to do with the book but more about what I have learned about him. I met Doc and got to know him better when I moved here awhile ago. I know him as Doc. He seamed like a nice guy and always had a smile on his face when I was around him. He also didn't seem like the doctor type meaning he doesn't have a big house, really nice things, or the uppity attitude. He does have a nice regular house and shops at thrift stores. It wasn't until I started learning more about him from his family and close friends that I realized he's an amazing man.

The book has stories about Doc's or Wah's crazy past and experiences but that's not what makes him a special person. It's what he does today for the local community, the people in it, and his attitude towards life. The thing is, you would never know it by just talking to him. He gives freely of himself and expects nuthing in return. For people who cant afford medical services in the area, he will treat them after hours and for trade. Trade meaning, whatever they can afford or for free. That's only one of the things he does for others around here.

It has been great knowing him so fare, but its even better knowing people like this still exist. If you ever want to meet him or say hi, he still plays music on the weekends at DOCS Night Club.

I'm not too sure how much the book costs, he has the habit of giving things away. There are free audio readings of a couple of chapters from the book at www.captainwawah.com

Good book, awesome stories, and a great man.

 

This is a long post but after this one I will shut up.

The Introduction page of the book:

"Introduction

Dear Reader,
We all have stories to tell – stories that give our children a chance to get to know us better. The stories in this book are all in some way related to the musician part of me, as epitomized by the legendary Captain Wa Wah. Well, maybe he wasn't so legendary. As a product of the late '60s, I was introduced to my fellow students at collage as “Captain Oh Wow” - a nickname bestowed upon me for my verbal response to mind-expanding music. My friend Fat Jack, a master of word games, reshaped my name into Captain Wa Wah, lateer abbreviated to just Wah. Everyone called me Wah, even my professors. My wife, Vicki, still calls me Wah.
Captain Wa Wah set the tone for my future adventures as a physician, a metaphysician and even a politician, but the musician was always hiding just beneath the surface. These stories are personal, yet somehow reflective of the larger American experience. They are also short, making them ideal bathroom reading material. After my wife read them, she referred to me as a sort of “Forrest Gump” of music; I witnessed a number of historic events but wasn't really central to any of them.
So here are some of my stories. I hope you will enjoy the ride.
I'll close this introduction as the Venerable Wizard of Lime Creek, Orville K. Snav, used to close his letters: With warmest remains, Wah."

There might be spelling errors but you get the Idea.

 

Has anybody listened to the free audio of the book?

 

sounds interesting

 

Good book.

 

Hello

 

Good ta' see you boppin around Bro, how's things?

 

Good and bad but I'm going to side on the good. haha