Mad Over MAD

When I was a student at Kennesaw Junior College, I took an economics course. A little smiling fella with a doctor’s title and an accent taught. The only thing I learned because I think it was the only thing he taught. He repeated it over and over is that the price of goods or product depended on the demand and the availability. I have known that since about the 7th grade when I was a kid of the streets. Which reminds me of a price and demand adventure I had back then: In the 7th grade I discovered MAD Comicbooks and to say it changed my mind-set would be an understatement. And, being the compulsive person I was and am, I swooped up all the back issues of MAD Comic books. By reading every word of every issue I had I learned you could buy back issues of every issue for fifteen cents each. I was a boy with limited means, so I bought a few issues every other week. What I did not take into account was that other kids in my age bracket that loved MAD too. One acquaintance, that lived on Alexander Street one day visited me. He said he heard I had a MAD Comicbook collection and he would like to see them. He did not humbly ask to see them, he demanded to see them. This kid and I were not friends, I thought he was snobbish and considered himself better than us. He went through my MAD Comics and said he wanted my MAD issue #5. I said NO! He said to complete his collection he needed #5. He offered me different prices, up to $5 (this is where the price is determined by demand and availability comes in) I told him to send off for it, like I did. He said he wanted I now. Again, I said NO! It is interesting that this guy and I, completely different in personality, at the taste for certain type o comic books. He left mad, or should I say mad but not MAD? Shortly after that my old friend Jimmy Pat paid me a visit. He is a neighbor to the boy that wanted my MAD #5. Jimmy Pat wanted to go through my MAD comics, which I pulled them out and we both went through them and I talked about the artists and pointed out things I thought were worthy of pointing out. In a short time Jimmy Pat said he had to go and left. The next day I was going through my MADs again and saw that MAD #5 was gone. Jimmy Pat was known for his sticky fingers talent. I knew what happened. Jimmy Pat with his expertise swiping ability stole my MAD #5 out from under my watchful eyes and handed it over to the kid that that wanted so bad, for a price of course. Jimmy Pat denied it taking it and seemed hurt that I would consider him a thief. I knew him too well.

Going Postal With the Boss

GOING POSTAL. In reviewing my old posts on my blog, Chicken-fat.com I came across the below, which I wrote in 2009. I immediately thought maybe I could recycle it and get some more mileage out of it. When I started to work for the Atlanta Post Office in 1968 I worked through the night at the Parcel Post Annex off of Chattahoochee Blvd. We had two supervisors. One of the supervisors’ last name was Rice and the other one was Beckum…. Or it may have been Beckom – who cares? Rice was about ready to retire. He was short and had his gray hair cut in a flat top. Later I found out he had a drinking problem. One morning about 4:30 or 5:00 he called all us to gather around him, which we did. He was sitting on a little stool. He told us he just received a call from the Main Post office that the head of operations was coming to pay us a “surprise” visit. He used his fingers to use to quote the “surprise”. As he talked he took off one of his shoes and then his sock for that shoe and began rubbing his fingers between his toes. He explained they were on their way now and they wanted to catch us being lax so they could go ahead a get rid of him. He said that he thought they wanted to catch him in one of the back rooms asleep and the people under him just goofing off. He put his shoe and sock back on and took his other shoe and sock off and continued his talk and rubbing his other toes. He said, lets show them that we are hard workers… I forgot what he said but it was pep talk to get us energized. He said life is short and we had to seize the moment. It was about a 15 minute drive from the Main Post Office to the Parcel Post Annex where we were at. The operation manager and his entourage walked in. Rice walked up to the operations manager and shook his hand and told him that his visit was a pleasant surprise. Then he shook the hands of the other men who came along. Each time Rice shook a hand you could hear someone make a stuffed chuckle or a muffled giggle grunt. Then I knew Mr. Rice was a jewel of a boss.

Showing Off and Wrestling Bears

Note: The opening cartoon by Georgia’s own late Jack Davis is from MAD’s first issue as a magazine, #24. 1 thru issue #23 were comic books. On Facebook I saw something about wrestling back in the day and it reminded me: This time I went with Daddy. He did not go inside the main room. He liked to hang around the snack counter and talk to old friends he knew all his life. Being chief of police he wore his uniform, which was extra security, not to mention probably free admission. A professional wrestler was billed to wrestle with a bear that night. There were to be two or three events. The bear was to be in the last event. I ran into a friend and we played on the highest bleachers. I found that almost in almost every bout you have a Mr. Clean Cut vs Mr. Meanie. So the winner is pretty much predictable unless one of opponents is a bear. Then who knows? I was anxious to find out. A little girl about my age was sitting with her parents not far away. I did what any 9 or 10 year boy would do, make a spectacle of myself. My friend and I played all over the bleachers and did many death defying tricks for the girl’s amusement. Then in leaping from one high perch to another I made a miscalculation and fell. I broke my arm. My arm looked all twisted. I put my jacket over my arm so Daddy might not notice and hunted him down. As I expected he was leaning against the concession counter talking to another policeman. I walked up to him and told him I wanted to go home. Daddy said, “And miss the bear?” Being the experienced policeman he was, he said, “Why do you have your arm covered?” He lifted my jacket and saw my broken arm. He first drove by the house, only a couple blocks away and went into the house to tell Mama he was taking me to the hospital. The gave me gas and I woke up with a cast on my arm. Kenestone Hospital was new. They haven’t quiet figure out where to put preteens. They put me in the toddler ward.

HAPPY 57th BIRTHDAY JEOPARDY!

Adeline St. John and Isaac Wright

Anna's great great grandparents on her father's mother's side. Adeline was the daughter of James St. John (1756-1850) and Elizabeth Boomer (1757- 1850s). Isaac was the son of Isaac S. Wright and Charity Catherine Fox. Adaline and Isaac were married 19 Apr 1855, West Virginia. But I think at the time it was Virginia. West Virginia did not form itself until 1861. They has 12 children, 5 daughters and 7 sons. Isaac served in the Confederate Army. They are buried in Enon Cemetery, just north of Woodstock, Georgia.

YES!

Monday Evening: What the f…? We wee gone a few hours today. When we returned there were 5 sheets of Sheetrock neatly on their side with a paint canvas covering them. By canvas I don’t mean an artist canvas. I mean a canvas on the floor when you paint. We are afraid they might finish the job the Sheetrock is for. Tuesday Morning: Mystery solved! The Sheetrock belonged next door. A man drove into the people across the street’s driveway and looked around. I walked over and asked him was he looking for Sheetrock, he said yes. I asked him was he going to do some remodeling. He said yes. After a few other questions I decided the only English word he knew was “Yes.” I pointed two the Sheetrock in my carport and he nodded. I walked back home,opened the door and then I noticed he was coming in with me. I pointedly told him it was not our house but the people across the street. He took his phone out, dialed a number, said a few Latino words and handed me the phone. A lady with an accent asked was my name the name of the people across the street. Then I gave him his phone back and he got to work moving the stuff across the street. Alls well,, that ends well. A little unrelated sidenote: On my walk this morning another neighbor drove by and stropped at the stop sign, rolled down his window and asked what was new. I told him about the sheetrock episode. He listened making comments anow while his big truck rumbled and rumbled. The truck rumbled itself out of gas!

Larry Bradford

This is Larry Bradford. He is one the funniest quick witted people I have ever met. He has done some insane things, but haven't we all? His wild things seem more memorable. Once he and I got kicked out of the Strand Theater for life but his mother went to the see the manager on our behalf and they settled for a good scolding. I forgot what we did at the Strand that day. So, that is one of his antics that is not so memorable - if it can't be remembered then it is not memorable is it? But here is one I do remember.: My aunt Opel Petty worked at a printing company in downtown Atlanta. Next door to the printing company was novelty company. She once bought me fake cigarettes there and another time she bought me a poo-poo, or a Whoopie cushion. I carried it to school and during phys ed Larry and I played with it., blowing it up and squeezing it to make loud farting sounds. Coach Lundy took it away from us. Later in the day Larry and I were called to Mr. Cox's office. Mr. Cox was the assistant principal. He had us stand in front of him and suddenly he pulled out the poo-poo cushion from behind him, it was inflated. He suddenly squeezed it and it made the loud farting noise. We broke out laughing. Lloyd Cox looked furious. "What is so funny about that?" He asked. I said, "I don't know but it is!" He glared at us and told us to stay in his office the remaining two periods of the day. And he walked out of his office. When the last bell sounded for us to return to our home room before leaving for the day Lloyd Cox still wasn't back. We were leaving and Bradford said wait. He went over to Lloyd's desk and opened all the drawers until he found the poo-poo cushion. He blew it up and placed it into Lloyd's seat of his chair and left laughing. Nothing was ever said. Larry now donates his time to a needy cause on Tuesdays., there he is a volunteer to help the homeless.

Trump via Doonsbury

The Walkers, Petty Cousins

Attn: Petty Cousins: Did I ever tell you about my half 2nd cousin, once removed, Hobert Walker went to a party for his brother getting married and got killed? My great-great grandfather, Elijah Petty (1803-1881), and his second wife Sarah Parker (1818-1897) had seven children. The oldest is Martha "Mary" Petty (1851-1945) married William Peyton Walker (1850-1936) and they had eight children. Their third oldest William Richard Walker (1877-1958) married Alice Matilda Tiffar (1884-1946). They had eight children also. One of their sons, Lester William Walker (1909-1987) married Odean Tanner (1919-1992), on 23 March 1937. Another of their sons, Hobert Walker(1915-1937) died on 23 March 1937, the day Lester and Odean were married, Here is the only explanation I found: Hobert and another boy were carrying Lester on a rail during what was called a (Sereande) to celebrate the marriage of Lester and Dean Tanner. Some accident happened to Hobert that caused him to lose his life. First picture: Mary Petty Walker. Second picture: Walker-Petty Family

George Washingtron and my Uncle Will

I read that some artists considered George Washington hard to do a pleasant likeness of him on canvas. He was uptight when posing, that was the main problem. One artist, Gilbert Stuart, noticed when a horse walked by the window or when the subject of horses came up he relaxed. So the Stuart got George to ramble about horses and the portrait was great. Which reminds me of my great uncle. I, inro genealogy, went to see the brother of my grandmother, who was about 93 at the time. I brough a tape recorder. Most of his answers about his family were just “yeah”, “Yes” or “I don’t remember”. Somehow his mule came up in the conversation and he could say enough about her. He talked of he mule’s eccentric habits, when and what she like to eat on breaks and so on. After he sold most of his land and there was no use for his mule anymore, he sold it to another farmer in the area. After that he visited mule from time to time with a snack of its favorites. I wonder if the farmer that owned it then got jealous?

SUNDAY FUNNIES!! MAD's Late Will Elder's Crammingf

Here there are two comic book first page splashed.. They are both by one of MAD comicbook's first artists Will Elder. Elder was recognized world wide. It is amazing just how detailed the details are. Look at both, and don’t look at the big pictures but look at the details. It took a lot of cramming on Elder’s part. Look, take a break and go back and look again. I bet you missed something, Wait a couple of days and go back and maybe you will see more you didn’t realize on your earlier visits,. And again, maybe not.

Tackling Windmils

Something happened here today that I never seen before. I am attempting to read the complete literary works of Samuel Clemens on an e-book on my I-pad. As you probably know there are many long drawn boring pages that I know nothing about. Not surprisingly, I dozed off while reading. I woke up, opening one eye seeing pages zipping by me going backwards. I had either a finger or a thumb on the screen. I lifted my hand the pages stopped. I have no idea where I stopped, so I think I’ll start over on the damn thing. I have no idea why I decided to do late in life. It is like tackling a windmill head on.

Chief of Police, my post 2 years ago

Today we were sitting in a doctors' office waiting room. We were listening to two men, apparently not knowing each other, talk about weather, football, hunting, and Texas, where he was from and doing most the talking. The other man was easy going. I noticed he was wearing a dark blue business-casual type of uniform, he had a name tag: Cox, Chief. After the guy doing most the talking left I asked the polite guy what was he chief of and he said the Cobb County Police. I jumped right in and said my father was Chief of he Cobb County Police and before that he was the Chief of the Marietta Police. He looked impressed. We (Anna too) talked a lot about Marietta and Cobb County, how things have changed and so on. Back to Daddy: He asked Daddy's name: "Ed Hunter". He asked when was Daddy chief of the Cobb County Police? Mid 1950s, maybe nearer 1960. Chief Cox said, "That was before I was born." I felt old. Maybe I should have called him "Sonny". Small world. Driving home and thinking about it, I should have asked him did he know my friend Lee Moss and Jerry Millwood, Cobb policemen (now retired). Picture is of Ed Hunter, Cobb County Police Chief. I trhink now Chief Cox has moved on. I.

Senate Hearing Questioning & Interviewing Supreme Court Nomonee Judge Jackson

It appears that with all the cameras present almost all senetors, when it was their time, felt it was all about themselves. It appears that elected officals feel "It is always time to politick!"

Mrs Rakestraw's 4th Grade Class, Waterman St. School, c1950

Ms Rakestraw and her 4th Grade Class at Waterman Street School, Marietta, Georgia, c1950. All left to Right: 1st Row: Tony Hester, Eddie Hunter, Archie Richardson, Frankie Holder, Walker Gaines, maybe Mike Martin, Tony Partain, ?, and ?. 2nd Row: Janice Benson, Pat Rainwater, Betty Edwards, Donna LeVann, Alice Tibbetts, ?, Pat ?, Janice Belmore, ?, and Carolyn Mills, 3rd Row: Mickey Wilbur, Gresham Howren, ?, Joann Mitchell, ?, ?, Jerry Flowers, Larry Southern, Vann Callway, Sam Carsley, and ? Back: Ms Rakestraw.

Harry Houdini was born this date, 24 March 1874

Have you heard the theory that if you put 100 monkeys in front of 100 keyboards and teach them to pound on the keys, the chances are one of them one day will probably type something great and profound. So, with that theory in mind, I take plenty of pictures. I do not claim that I am a good photographer, but I take so many pictures the odds are working in my favor that one of them every once in a while might be good. This is the case of this first picture I taken about 1976 of the pink dogwood trees lining a driveway on West Paces Ferry Road in Atlanta.

HAPPY PUPPY DAY!

Comeuppance or THE GILDED AGE

The last segment of THE GILDED AGE was on the tube Sunday. I don’t know if it will be continued into another age period or not. The whole scenario appears to take place up on the north end of 5th Avenue in New York City, where the wealthy, rich wanna-bees, ruthless industrialists and the help interact. I liked it noting this history went on that went on in a proposed off-screen (your mind) production. It seems that THE GILDED AGE characters were either trying to rub elbows with the rich and powerful or that was what they were. I thought there were a lot of comeuppance in it, almost every scene.

James Marion Prance and Jane Pannel Prance & watermelon by the Well

1925 - James Marion Prance (1857-1935) and Mary Jane Pannel Prance (1853-1927) eating watermelon out by the well | The Prance Farm - Canton Rd., Noonday Creek District, Cobb County

Herbert Hunter and his uncle Ed Tyson on the Prowl

Throwback Thursday. Two wild and crazy guys on the prowl: Herbert Hunter (1901-1976) and his uncle (mother's brother) Ed Tyson (1888-1967). Ed was about 13 years older than his nephew but just return from WWI (as a medic) and not yet married. He married Lula Kuykendall in 1935. It may have been Hubert's last fling as a single man. He was married shortly after that. See the girl on the in the background eyeing them? It reminds me of the old PLAYBOY Magazine ads with the caption: "What type of man reads PLAYBOY?" But again, that girl could be a cousin. There were plenty of them around. Ed spent his life as a farmer in the Hwy 92 and Bells Ferry Road area of Cherokee County. Herbert spent his life as a barber and Marietta's unofficial town crier. See less

Never Underestimate Powers of a Hissie Fit

SPRING IS HERE!

First Day of Spring

HAPPY FIRST DAY OF SPRING!

SUNDAY FUNNIES!! HELP'S We Were Spies in a Turkish Bath

by Susan Pearl and Gloria Steinem This is before Gloria Steinem got famous. She worked for HELP! Magazine at the time.

From HELP magazine, 1960s, Editor, Haevey Kurtzman

Herman Talmadge Policking in 1980

Pictures I took of Herman Talmadge in 1980 in Marietta on his last campaign roundup. He lost.

This is Absolutely the Truth!

The most untruth and insincere word in the English language: ABSOLUTELY. I think when one in charge, or a contractor, promises a deal and ends the promise with ABSOLUTELY it falls through. It appears that saying ABSOLUTELY is equal to crossing one’s fingers when the deal is sealed. Really! I ABSOLUTELY believe that.

A Deaf Friend

We just watched on THE TODAY SHOW the cast of CODA interviewed. As in the movie, in real life all were deaf except one. They are up and/or have received all kinds of awards and recognition. We saw the movie and feel they well deserve the recognition they are getting. CODA means Children of Deaf Adults. Maybe I misunderstood, but one of the deaf actors in praising the one who could talk, in hand sign language said she even had to change her accent to make the movie. Which may me wonder, do deaf people have accents, like southern accents, New England accents, British? And so on? Maybe it was a private joke. Anyway, that reminded me of my old co-worker Joe. Joe was happily married to a deaf lady and they had 3 small children. His wife, with their kids on board, made a driving error and had a wreck, which killed all three children. After it became the past Joe divorce her. He couldn’t live with her any longer. On his off time he just wanted to be alone. A bought a lot in the North Georgia mountains. On his off days he and his faithful dog spent the night on his mountain lot. No cabin. He slept inside his truck and his dog tied to a rope which was tied to a tree or something near. One morning he woke up to find his faithful dog mauled, probably attacked by a bear. The dog probably barked and pitched a fit, but Joe, totally deaf slept through it. Why, I don’t know, but I think probably his children’s deaths and his dog’s death, all violently, added to what Joe did next: He quit the post office and joined a motorcycle gang. Then the whole gang moved to Florida. That was many years ago. I hope he found peace.

The Wrights on Umbrella Rock on Lookout Mountain, Chattanooga, Tn

The Wrights are related to Anna through her Father's mother family.

Just Plain Wrong

We put flowers on our parents’ graves today. We noticed a solo elderly, yet perk, close by dealing with the flowers on her husband’s grave, we were soon to learn. I made a polite comment about being in the cemetery on such a nice day. That got her started. She talked and talked about her husband bought them cemetery plots without talking to her first and it may her furious but now she is glad he did. She said he died one year ago today and she needed to talk to someone. She cried over what a good thought man he was. And chuckle over some of his wit. Darn! I decided pinching her for not wearing green on St. Patrick’s Day would just be wrong.

ST Patrick's Day Parade by Arnold Roth

HUMBUG Magazine, in the late 50s

HAPPY SAINT PATRICK'S DAY

23 Skiddoo! Bee Hunter Crain and friend

23 Skidoo! (whatever that means). The Roaring 20s young lady on the right is Beatrice Elizabeth "Bea" Hunter Crain (1903-1971). I heard the reason of Bea's nickname "Bea" is because one of her younger brothers, my father, could not pronounce Beatrice when he was a toddler and the big family adapted. Bea was the only daughter of nine kids and the only one born outside of Georgia (Hunt County, Texas). Before she married she was a Southern Bell Telephone operator in the days before they had telephone dialing. Instead of dialing you would tell her who you wanted, and as a small town as Marietta was at the time, probably you could tell her the first name only. In 1931, Bea married Robert Spencer Crain (1903-1991), who owned several local businesses. They had five children and took in some of Spencer's orphaned kin and raised them as their own. Bea was very generous and opened her house for family wakes, I remember visiting both my Hunter grandparents' bodies (two years apart) in her living room, and hosting big family get-togethers.

Ding Dong! Avon not calling

DONG! Anna said, “That is the doorbell!” We are not used to people calling on us unannounced. I was not sure it was the doorbell or not. I forgot how it sounds. I opened the door and three young ladies were standing there with their Bible and pamphlets. They were Mormons; LDS. I don’t intend to change my ways but I am not rude. They have a mission and I need their church’s help now and then. The Mormons go to great expense with helping one with genealogy. I used to visit their research facilities a lot. They, not hem, but others in their church have helped me a lot before I had a program, methods, and so on. I told the three young ladies how their church has helped me. They seemed please to hear that. I gave them a good example: I knew my great grandfather was adopted so his real surname was not Hunter. He was in the Civil Warf and fought here in Marietta, the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain.. He was wounded, shot in the knee. He recuperated in a private residence in nearby Woodstock. After the war, back home in Franklin, North Carolina, he and his uncle Van Trammell got in a political argument about the Civil War with a guy named Lambert. The argument got physical and Lambert lost his life. William and Van fled and was wanted for murder. William went to Texas and he thought about the Woodstock family that cared for him when he recuperated and how nice they and their neighbors were. So he and his young family moved to Woodstock, Ga. He changed his surname to Hunter. After much research I discovered William’s real surname is Hunter. His mother, Rebecca Trammell sued the Franklin’s town constable for bastardy. She won. The person sue sued was Jason Henderson Hunter. Se when William was on the run, he reverted to his real name which he never used before. The three LDS women did not know what to say to that. I think they rightfully figured they were wasting their time with me and asked did we know anybody that might want some spiritual guidance. I can’t say that I do.

Fish and Cartoonist Skip Williamson

These were my friends Bluto Peck and the late Skip Williamson. taken 2001 about two months after 9/11. Bluto and I are big comicbook fans. Skip Williamson is a notable comicbook artist that lived in Marietta at the time. He created the character Snappy Sammy Smoot. . It is a long boring story how we all became friends. Bluto lives on the west coast, or did then, I haven't heard from him lately.. He came to Georgia and spent ten days with us. It is true what they say about fish after 3 days.

Beware of the Ides of March

Tom Petty, Photos

My mother's oldest brother Thomas Jefferson "Tom" Petty (1908-1979) and his wife Mary Jo Johns Petty (1913-2000). Tom was born in Murray County, Georgia, and Mary Jo was born in Gordon County, just down the road. Tom was a cabinet maker and carpenter. They lived at various places in and around Dalton, Georgia, and Cleveland, and Chattanooga, Tennessee. They also lived in Marietta a year or two where we learned they were also gospel singers. By most the pictures it appears that Tom was something of a ham in front of the camera. He also appeared to be a romancer, at least in front of the camera. They had no children.