The trip

I got distracted and took a long walk down memory lane to a trip
from many years ago. The interstate highways weren’t done and the
best way to get from here to most places west was Route 66. So the
family took the mother road to California.

One afternoon we stopped in Flagstaff, Arizona for the night and I
remember it being warm enough we were shorts and t-shirts yet the
guy behind the counter handed out blankets and explained how to
turn the heaters on in the rooms.

Being a young lad I thought he was crazy and saw no need to pay
attention to his speech. My mind changed after dark when it got
colder than well diggers butt and I couldn’t remember how to turn
the gas powered heater on.

We finally got the heater going, and used the blankets he handed
out earlier. When we got to California my Grandpa suggested us guys
all go fishing. We were all for that so he hitched up his boat and
took us out on the ocean to fish.

Ran into a school of halibut and before we knew it had a boat full
of the strange looking fishes. Later that day we had a cookout and
I haven’t eaten so much fish before or after. It was quite a trip
and now, 55 years later, I still remember how much fun we had.

Enjoy our Thursday as that means Friday is just a dream away. And
since somebody drained my coffee cup, I need a refill.
Comments are always welcome.

The old days

Went over to visit Dad today and found out he had a tooth pulled
yesterday after it broke off. That didn’t stop his appetite as he had breakfast and one of the donuts I’d brought over. Then we went into the front room, he got comfortable in his recliner, and we talked.

He got on a roll about the winter of 1936 and how all the farmers
got together with scoop shovels and cleared the gravel road all the
way to the highway. My back hurts just thinking about that. But as
happens in the country during the winter the road drifted over in
places.

Grampa was really sick so they called the town doctor and he agreed
to drive out to the farm. A little later the doctor called from a
farmhouse down the road to say the road drifted over and could
someone come with a team of horses to pull his car through the
drift.

So my uncle took a team of horses and pulled the doctor through the
drift then followed back to the farm. Grampa got some medicine to get
him better and the doctor went back to town. Thankfully Grampa made
it through his illness and lived to the ripe old age of 94.

Kind of makes starting the snowblower and following it around seem
almost like play instead of work. I may clear a half block of alley
along with the driveway and sidewalks, but at least it isn’t a mile
of gravel road using a scoop shovel.

Enjoy the rest of our Tuesday as tomorrow we may see a camel
running around.
Comments are always welcome.

What a walk

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Our local election is over, the results are in, and don’t believe
too many are surprised by the results. If you live around a while and
follow such things you come to realize incumbents usually get the nod
and keep their positions.

Late again as it’s nice out and I’ve been enjoying the weather before
it turns cold. Our high is supposed to be 50 today yet next Tuesday
the high is predicted to be 20. Not really ready for that kind of
change yet.

I have also noticed the wildlife has been absent the last few days
and don’t know if it’s because they feel the weather change coming or
it has been too windy. At any rate I’ll keep bringing the camera out
with me and will get more pictures.

The visit with Dad went great and he was in a decent mood again so
felt like talking. We talked of memories of how cold an outhouse was
in the winters when you needed to use it, wringer wash machines,
how the wash used to get hung on clotheslines, John Deere tractors,
and Model T Fords.

When I left we were smiling from our walk down memory lane and the
feeling lasted. Even thoughts of the sulfur tasting well water had
me grinning. So many memories on those 200 acres. Even though the
buildings are gone now I plan to visit sometime soon.

Enjoy our Wednesday as we will. Now for some more coffee and a big
cheeseburger for a snack.
Comments are always welcome.

Truck talking

Had a good visit with Dad this morning that went longer than usual and I’m still grinning. When the mood strikes him he talks up a storm. Today he was in a mood to talk about some of the things that happened during his 30+ years of being a trucker.

He talked of the time he was heading toward a small town down a hill
and got stopped for speeding. He kept arguing the truck couldn’t go
fast enough to speed unless one pushed it off a tall cliff. He still
got the ticket.

Been there done that. And he mentioned another driver who dropped his trailer at the terminal and left with the Tractor for a date. That driver ended up in jail and Dad had to get it and drive it back. We laughed at many old stories, and a few new ones.

His caregiver shared some pictures of her family and life on the farm.
She wanted to have one enlarged and cropped and asked if I knew of
someplace to do it. I did and told her and she replied that if her
first choice didn’t pan out she’d try mine.

Nobody seemed to know where the year went with it being October and Dad wondered how it got to be Tuesday so quick. He claims he lost Monday and couldn’t figure out where it went. I didn’t lose Monday so I had no idea where it went.

Enjoy our first Tuesday in October as we may be turning on the heat
for October 2nd. Now for more coffee.
Comments are always welcome.

Of raccoons and visiting

When I stepped out yesterday afternoon and ran into this critter who
was giving me the ‘sad puppy dog eyes’ look. I almost fell for it then
came to my senses. So I stomped my boot on the sidewalk and told
him to git.

The raccoon had other ideas and showed his teeth while hissing at me
to get the point across. I started laughing at the thought of this
small creature trying to scare me off. We had a stare down until he
finally waddled off as only raccoons can.

This morning I stopped to get donuts for Dad on my way over and the
lady at the counter told me the price. Then she said she didn’t know
why she told me the price as I always have the exact change. When I
left we were both smiling.

Over at Dads I noticed he had a new coffee pot. He told me he didn’t
know who got it, or why he needed it, but there it sat. So I made him
some coffee in his new pot and got him some juice out the refrigerator
to wash down a donut.

Then we sat and talked for a while about the rising cost of just
about everything and how back in the day you could leave your car
unlocked all night with nothing missing in the morning. We agreed that
the best anti-theft device on cars today is a manual transmission.

And how on some older cars the keys just turned on the ignition and
you have to put your foot down on a button on the floor to actually
start them. We talked of cheap cars back when and some of the
inventive ways used to keep them running. It was all good for a laugh.

Then when I got home the wife wanted macaroni and cheese while I was hungry for burritos. We compromised. She made her mac and cheese and I cooked up some burritos. All in all a perfect day. Enjoy our Tuesday as we won’t see another until next week. Now for some coffee and another burrito.
Comments are always welcome.

Talking with Dad

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Went over to Dads for a visit and as happens the talk turned to cars. He gave the opinion, again, that the best car ever made was a Model T Ford. He claimed that out in the country a Model T would get you anywhere you wanted to go.

He mentioned a time he was driving a Model T on a two-lane road and ran out of gas. He had a gas can in the rubleseat and took off on foot to find some gas. About a mile down the road he came across a farmers gas tank that was near the road.

He went on to say he was surprised the nozzle wasn’t padlocked so he helped himself to enough to get him home. It was when he poured from the tank to the can he knew it was diesel fuel. He poured it in the tank and claimed the car made it home, but smoked like crazy.

We talked of travels we had and sights we’ve seen and laughed again about a trip we made as a family in the 1960s and stopped in Flagstaff, Arizona. When we pulled onto the lot of the motel it was a nice warm summer day. The person behind the counter explained how to turn on the heaters in the room.

I thought that odd, until it got dark and temperature dropped like a rock. Yes, it got cold enough to need the heater and I wished I had paid attention when we were told how to start them. The room the folks were in was nice and toasty while us kids were freezing right next door. It was an experience I’ll never forget.

Enjoy our Tuesday as the middle of the week is only a dream away. Now for more coffee and some leftover pizza.
Comments are always welcome.

You ever wonder about…

A lot of us grew up watching cartoons on Saturday morning and I’ve learned some interesting things about one of my personal favorites, Popeye. The character was created by Elzie Crisler Segar in 1928 in Chester, Illinois. He started out in the comic strip “Dice Island” in 1929 as a sailor for hire.

I did not know Popeye was based on a real person. Frank “Rocky” Fiegal was born in 1868 and was a local legend in his hometown of Chester, Illinois. He was a lot stronger than he looked, smoked a pipe, didn’t back down from a fight, had a squinty (or missing) right eye, and at times butchered the English language when he spoke.

If you watched Popeye you remember Olive Oyl. Her character was also based on a real person. Dora Paskel owned a general store in Chester, was tall and thin, dressed like the cartoon character, and her gravestone is engraved with the face of Olive Oyl.

Remember “I’ll gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today”? That’s right, J. Wellington Wimpy was based on J. William Schuchert who ran the local theater and at one time was Segars boss. He was not a cheap person but did have a love of hamburgers and round shape.

And I also didn’t know that the first “Popeye the Sailor” cartoon was part of the Betty Boop shorts. So now we know the real Popeye didn’t live on the island of Sweethaven, but in Illinois.

Enjoy our Saturday and try not to think about old cartoons. Now for some coffee and a cookie.
Comments are always welcome.