The Cole Family's Big Oak Tree

This big oak tree was in the Cole family’s yard. If I remember my Marietta history it is the same Cole family that donated land for the National Cemetery.

That would mean this house, yard, and oak tree was on Washington Avenue. The house had been added to modified many times – it is a lawyer’s office. The Oak tree died and had to go in the early 1900s.

The oak tree was a special tree. When Indians came to town to trade they had to leave their weapons outside of town under this tree. That was part of the treaty.

I haven’t heard if the white man had to leave his weapons someplace – I doubt it.

And even if there was a treaty to that effect, well, we know how the white man was about treaties… they were good about making treaties and they were also good about breaking them…. Take the North Georgia Gold Rush, the land lottery on Indian lands, and the Indian Removal, aka, The Trail of Tears for example.

Veteran Appreciation! 10% Discount!

above - my new toy. click to enlarge.

The other day I tried blowing my leaves and had a hard time getting my old blower to work, I had to replace all the rubber parts and it started and ran only for a brief time

Sunday we went to a Home Depot to shop for a new blower. We were undecided just what kind of blower I needed – I thought maybe one of those things that fitted on your back like a backpack would look nice. Yessiree! Get me a tool belt to fit low on my hips and the backpack blower, man!

The Home Depot we went to had an Echo that fitted on your back. It even had a rod sticking out on your left with the controls – you wouldn’t have to reach around your back. You could also pretend you are Rocketman!*

However, the price for the Echo back-packing blower was expensive. I tried it on. I think I would feel awkward in it and not sure I would be able to control the blower very well.

By the way the Echo back blower rated high with Consumer Reports. So did a certain electric Toro…. off hand, I forgot the model name – and it was much more cheaper.

Just about every box with an electric blower recommended that no longer than a 100 ft electric cord be used. We wondered why. We also had some more questions. We pressed a button for help. A computerized voice told us we would have help shortly.

After a while a guy with an orange apron walked up looking peeved that we disturbed him. We asked him why everybody recommend you not use an electric cord over 100 feet. He more or less, “Just because” and added that he also recommended that you not use over a 100 feet of cord. Again, we asked him why, and he, in a way, said, “Because I say so.”

He was snappy so we thanked him and he shot the hell away.

The electric Toro was also much lighter in weight. It also had a vacuum and leaf chewer We decided to get it.

At the cash register the cashier asked me was I a veteran.

Am I a veteran? I was tempted to tell her that I just about single handily won the Vietnam war. If it wasn’t for me the Domino Theory/Plan would have completely taken over the free world.

Am I a veteran? Ha! That was a good one.

I said, “Yes”.

She said, “Good! You get a ten percent discount for Veterans Day!”

As a shopper I greedily accepted the 10% discount… however, as a stockholder I felt the need to suggest to her to not give just anybody a Veteran’s Discount unless they could prove they were… “Make them show you their Form DD214.” I wanted to tell her – but I didn’t.

Today my Toro blower worked fine. I herded those leaves around my yard that a pro.

*If you are too young not to have known Saturday serials at the movies then the name Rocketman would make no sense to you, run a google.


Rocketman in the flesh, I mean in the tin.


Bottom Line:
Appreciate your Veterans Today - they are the reason you are free.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY U.S. MARINES!!!!

You have earned your separation from the Navy years ago.

Paul E. Foster in his Formative Years

This is Anna's grandfather when he was young enough to be our grandchild. A flip backwards through time.

Cigar Boxes

Above: Farbrica De Tabacos of H. Upmann, Havana, Cuba.
Below: Kennesaw Supreme, made on Trammell Street, Marietta, Georgia.

In early high school when my friends and I weren’t getting into trouble or trying to get out of trouble, we were pursuing our hobbies.

The hobby that we all seem to do at the time was collect cigar boxes and match covers.

I spent most of my teenage years with a wide assortment of cigar boxes. They were nice to keep things in.

I suppose there were about a ten of us who collected cigar boxes. We made our rounds to drugstores, restaurants, grocery stores, and anybody else who sold cigars. We tried to make good friends with the female cashiers at drugstores so they would but their cigar boxes aside just for one of us.

We collected unmercifully, as far as our friends and fellow collectors go. When we collected our friends were our competitors which meant they were also our enemies.

The biggest collector as far as accumulation was Jimmy Pat Presley. In his bedroom he had probably at least ten stacks of cigar boxes reaching the ceiling, lining the alls. And they were all different and he had no Tampa Nugget boxes.

It seemed people in Marietta smoked more Tampa Nugget cigars than any other brand. It was no status symbol to own a Tampa Nugget box.

The Kennesaw Cigar Company, located in Marietta, on Trammell Street was considered a rare box. The cigar plant was a little unpainted shack on the side of a millhouse looking house and the CEO, plant manager, foreman, and plant worker preferred sitting on his front porch watching people walk by rather than produced cigars, but he did when the mood struck him, so his boxes were rare.

If you had a rare box you were careful who you told it to. If Jimmy Pat knew you had a rare cigar box he would pay you a friendly visit. Then he would leave. I learned to search him before you let him leave. If you didn’t, it is highly possible you would be missing the rare cigar box and he would just happen to gain a box of the same name… but he would swear on a bible or his mother’s life that he did not take your cigar box. He was very convincing.

But I have never searched him when he left my parents’ house that I did not find something that belonged to me… and more than once it was cigar boxes.

Old habits are hard to break. From time to time when I am in the convenience store or the package store where I buy my lottery tickets I will ask the clerk does he have any empty cigar boxes. Now I don’t care if they are Tampa Nuggets or not. I just like their size and their sturdiness – they are still nice to put stuff in.

Today in our neighborhood Bill, who lives about two blocks way, was having a yard sale. Poor Bill is in his 50s. He is losing his house. It was sold on the courthouse steps. Now, he is selling almost everything he has because he has to move.

I dropped by. He had a stack of 8 cigar boxes for sale. One was a Cuban box, others were Dominican Republic, Montego, Jamaca, and Honduras.

If I gained these 55 years ago I would have been the envy of my friends – before they killed and robbed me, that is.

I Was Born In and On Dixie!

♫ Look away, Look Away.♪

Really. I was born in and on Dixie. And I was born on Atlanta Street, in Marietta, Georgia. Atlanta Street is the old U.S. 41 Hwy. And the old U.S. 41 Hwy is the Dixie/was the Dixie Highway.

The house I was born in was on this grassy place (top picture), which is now part of the side-base of a railroad bridge (named the Mayor Richard Hunter [my uncle] Memorial Bridge.


Here are some more pictures of Atlanta Street aka Dixie Highway in Marietta.



Alley off Atlanta Street. Once there was a theater next to this alley. One time after a young man sat alone and watched the movie he stepped out in this alley and shot himself in the head. No one knows why. The bullet scar is still in the side of the wall.



Atlanta Street Looking North at the center of town.




Atlanta Street and West Atlanta Street from the Marietta City Cemetery.



Atlanta Street 1st block looking south.


Barnes Big Chicken – really the law office of ex-Governor Roy Barnes.



Clay House on Atlanta Street was the home of Senator Clay and his son General Lucius Clay. Also, I have mentioned it is where my friend Tony H. loved to take a bowel movement behind a bush in the front yard on the way home from school.



Classmate Elizabeth’s grandmother’s house.



Frazier House overlooking Atlanta Street (a Civil War novel was written about this house). It use to be grand old colonial mansion - now as you can see, it is run-down and in need of repairs. Eugenia Price once wrote a Civil War novel based on the residents of this house - I think the name of it was BEAUTY FROM THE ASHES.




Latimer Apartments - my late friend Van Callaway lived here with his parents.



Marietta art Museum which used to be the Library, and before that the Post Office. Which brings to mind, this is another grand old building that gave way to a brick non-nondescript post office building - I am always fussing about the court house - why don't I fuss about this too? I'll have to make myself a note.



This used to be a boarding house where my grammar school principal, Mrs. Whitehead lived.



Looking towards downtown - you are about in front of the building in the next picture.



This building I think was owned by my uncle Crain. It is next to what used to be the Post Office, then library, and now the art museum.




Johnny McCrakens Irish Pub. This is a very typical Irish Pub. Some people believe it is haunted. Upstairs was WBIE Radio Station owned and manned mostly by James Wilder. A very interesting station to listen to.



Gibbs auto – what me worry. Strangely, this building is only about a half block from where I was born. What is that saying, the nut doesn't fall far from the tree?

The Sky Is Falling!!! - Chicken Little

On the 11:00 news last night it was reported that there is buying frenzy on guns.

Stores that sell guns are running out fast. This is happening all over the country.

Why? With Obama taking office in January fear is building that he will ban guns. And not only will he ban guns but he will run all the small businesses bankrupted by taxing them too much, therefore jobless people will be on the streets – you will need to protect yourself.

That is the fear that the McCain-Palin campaign implanted on the masses. There is a lesson learned here: Think about the cause and effect when you make wild unfounded political statements.

Now I know what my neighbor meant when he went to the courthouse to get a gun-permit and said, “Things are going to get bad.”

The gun buying public apparently is overlooking the increasing unemployment rate caused by the present power-holders - it will be all the future administration's fault.

As paranoid and wound tight as they appear to be I hope a balloon doesn’t pop, or a tire doesn’t blow-out or it might trigger off a full scale war within.

Every man for himself!!!

Small Engine Repairs

A couple days ago I used my blower for about 3 hours clearing pine straw. The next day I started back at the same blowing job and could not get it started.

I carried it over to my neighbor Jim for him to look at. Jim is 87 years old and knows about lawnmowers and other small engines.

Jim looked it over and saw that little rubber bulb was split… with it split you could not pump up the fuel. It would just whiff air when you squeezed it. He more or less said if I could shop around and find the rubber bulb that fit it he would put it in for me.

I thought of H******* Small Engine Repair and Sales. The last time I was there a few years ago, it was a busy shop with maybe 5 or 6 mechanics.

I drove over to H******* which is about 4 miles away – or thought I was anyway. When I got there, H******* was no longer there. It was a trailer and trailer hitch company. A man behind the counter told me H******* moved over on Bells Ferry Road someplace. It was too late to go there.

The first the next day I drove to H******* and was at the door when they opened.

Interesting the are now in back of a shopping center, behind a Gold’s Gym. You to behind the Gym and drive down a steep hill. On the sub-level of the little shopping center is a church of some kind and H*******, The exterior of the building was slate rock.

Interesting, to me anyway, was where the building was sitting. On the edge of what was my ancestor’s Eugene Hargraves Tyson’s land, which he won in a lottery in 1832. And when I was young it belonged to my great uncle Will Tyson. I remember seeing him plow with a mule that area at the foot of a hill.

In fact, just about 4 blocks back, I passed by Hunter Trail (Where William and Emaline Hunter lived at one time) on the west side of the road and on the east side was Tyson Woods.

When I walked in there was a young lady behind the counter talking on the telephone. I politely waited.

Looking around the room I noticed something interesting. On all four walls lined at the very top along the ceiling line were ball caps. Dirty greasy ball caps. These were not new ball caps – people had worked wearing these hats. I wondered if they were some type of trophies. Oh well.

The lady looked not over age 25. She was talking very knowledgeable about an engine. She told the person to look at the plate in the center of the back and it would tell them the model number. When they looked and told her she told the person more of what he/she was looking for and they had that part, and would be waiting.

She hung up and asked me how could she help me. I told her I needed a rubber bulb for my McCollough Busy Beaver Blower. And I also asked what radio station she was listening to – an excellent blues song was playing… excellent beat. She told me it was 89.9 – she said sometimes they play blues and sometimes bluegrass. I told her I think that station is WRFG which stands for Radio Free Georgia. All their music is played by volunteers.

She left the room and came back in a minute or so and had exactly what I needed. She said it would be $2.45. I gladly paid.

Jim inserted the bulb and while doing that the little rubber tube going from the carburetor to the gas tank just broke off rotted.

Back to H*******. I told the lady I needed a hose for a McCollough Beaver blower. Without looking she told me that blower takes two hoses from the gas tank to the carburetor. So, she sold me a foot of tubing for $2 even.

I am amazed at such a young lady knowing so much about small engine parts. She knew it all. What she doesn’t know hasn’t been invented yet. I suspect her father probably owns H******* and she charges people what she damn well please, regardless of any minimum – but actually I did not see the sign about a minimum charge. She was good at what she did.

Jim has a one-track mind. He is a totally focused person. It appeared the hose was too big on one end so it would not fit down the hole of the gas tank. “We’ll see about that!”

I think he worked, trying different methods for well over an hour. Finally he got both hoses placed. And now, my blower is back in working like a, well, like a blower should.

And I should add that I am good what I do. I held the flashlight and held the blower as Jim put pressure on it to force the tubing down in the little hole… also, I was sort of a cheerleader or maybe entertainer would be a better word. While Jim worked I told him all the latest neighborhood gossip.

Guarding America Against Americans

After Obama was declared the winner I think I felt the earth tremble a little. Maybe not, maybe it just felt like it. People living near older cemeteries reported that they also felt the earth tremble, but it felt like more than a mere tremble. I wonder why?

Which reminds me:

In July 1959 when I turned 18 there were a couple of things I needed to do. I had to sign up at the local draft board and I felt it was my duty to register to vote.

Where I registered is vague. It seems logical that the voters registration office would be at the courthouse. But, I think it may have been across what was then Washington Avenue (now Roswell Street) at an Army Navy store.

The owner(s) of the Army Navy store had some ties with the county government.

Either the courthouse or the Army Navy store I registered to vote. I brought my birth certificate and all that. I think probably all I needed was the statement “I’m Ed Hunter’s boy” .

But I did it the right way and so did the guy who authorized my voting eligibility. I think his name might have been Luther. He pulled out a worn sheet of paper with typing on it. He told me to me to read aloud what was typed.

It was Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address.

I started reading aloud, “Four Scores and Seven ye…”

I was interrupted by Luther, or whoever. “That is good – you pass!” He told me.

“I don’t have to read it all?” I asked.

"No. You said “FOUR” instead of “Fo’” – that is what I was listening for. If you had said “Fo’” then I would have to turn down your registration application. We can’t let all those crazy people vote – no telling what crazy they would vote for.”

Of course, that was a racist ploy to prevent blacks from voting. Before then, the south used the “Grandfather Clause” to prevent blacks from voting – it was another type of literacy test – but the problem with the literacy test a lot of whites failed it too. They added the clause that if your grandfather voted you can bypass the literacy test.” That was ruled unconstitutional, so in time they fell back to the oral literacy test – which in time was ruled unconstitutional also.

The guy (Luther?) felt he was doing a great service to America by not allowing a certain segment to vote. And I bet no amount of arguing could change his mind.

I cannot think of anything more un-American than refusing a certain segment to vote because you were scared of how they may vote.

Yesterday, if you happened to have been near the cemetery Luther is buried you might have heard deep down in the earth a muffled voice, “I knew this would happen!”

Land of Opportunity

this picture was swiped from Imagine

Yesterday history was made in the United States: A black man was elected president.

That goes to show you America can be the land of opportunity, even for the little guy.

I'm Back!

Yesterday I reported for Jury Duty. I have not been on Jury Duty since the early 70s. Then I was on Jury Duty three times in the same year: The Grand Jury, a Superior Court jury, and a Pettit jury…. But it is all a blur.

We were to report at 8:00. Misjudging my time, I arrived at 6:45, One hour and fifteen minutes early. I reported to a dark room with no one there. I sat down and enjoyed the solitude.

About 7:15 in came a very decently dressed man that looked to be about my age. We buddied up for a while. He is a retired New York City detective. He was very gentle and polite. Now, he is also a preacher. He shared with me that he played hooky Sunday and he and his new wife headed to north Georgia to look at the leaves. He said he went to Blairsville and Brasstown Bald. Of course, he got a brief Hunter history lecture.

By 7:50 there were just a few people there- I told the detective/preacher there were not enough people to have one jury, forget about two. Then, in just ten minutes the place looked completely different. A lot of people had arrived. I don’t see how people can squeeze so close to the scheduled time.

Wait! After 8:00 more people arrived. Up to a dozen people dribbled in all way up to 8:55. Good Lord!

There were plenty of magazines and books. If you were sitting around doing nothing you find a paperback book to read – but I don’t see how you could finish those 500 and 600 page books in your short stay there… they also had a lot of magazines. I picked up and flipped through a National Geographic.

In the back of the potential jury people’s room was two coffee pots, one regular and one decaffeinated. On each side of the room in the back was a door. One had Women on it and one had Men on it.

In the Men’s restroom you can hear the lady on a speaker. There was a speaker above my head as I was standing at the urinal. I heard her say, “Raise your right hand and if you confirm what I say, say something like “I do” or “Affirmative” or whatever.”

Well, I could raise my right hand but then I would have to put my left hand to use. What if somebody came in would it look like I was mocking the whole swearing-in system?

I hurriedly finished my business, washed my hands and got out in the main room, just in time to mumble something affirmative.



And what is bad, apparently the kind hearted bailiff or jury clerk let them get away with it. Why even have a scheduled time?

They lady court clerk told us that the ten or so people that did not show up will be dealt with severely. Hah! I bet!

They called names and formed a group and left with them to the a courtroom. Then, they got up the names of another group, which included me and we went to another courtroom.

This time I was one of probably 50 potential jurors to be interviewed. The very nice looking judge-lady asked the questions. She was friendly smiling, sometimes laughing, and willing to overlook the blunders of us simpleton laymen.

She would ask a question to the whole group and then asked if it applied to you, then you raised your hand and you got to tell the details, and sometimes they were juicy – which we as potential jurors also had nose problems.

Like one girl had to tell about her four siblings who got into trouble – some serious, some not…… I think that fell under “Are you related to anybody that has ever been arrested?”

The judge told at the beginning if it was too embarrassing you could ask to approach the bench and have the counsel move in for better hearing – but nobody did that – everybody that qualified spilled their guts more or less…. And it was over 50% of the room.

I told about my daddy and they asked if anybody ever had a law enforcement person as a relative.

Not only did it seem over 50% had criminals as relatives, or they themselves, but also many of the same were CEOs, presidents, and department heads… the two groups overlapped.

A questionnaire was handed out. We were to stand up, one at a time and tell our answer to each question. They even wanted to know if you had any bumper stickers on your car, and if so what. We don’t have any bumper sticker on either car.

The lady next to me said she had a McCain – Palin sticker, one for the church she belongs to – one religious statement, one animal shelter statement and maybe another one. She interrupted herself and said, “They are all put on very neatly, not gaudy!”

About a dozen people had McCain stickers. One had an Obama sticker.

They wanted to know what your profession was, and if you are retired like me, you was to tell what you were retired from. When I said I was retired from the Postal Service the defense lawyer made a mark on his pad…. I think he crossed out my name.

My jury duty session doesn’t end until the end of this week. I have to call every evening to see if they need me the next day. I feel I need to hold a sign up saying, “Will be a Juror for Food”.

I May Be Gone For a While

I may be scarce this week. Maybe. Maybe not.

I have jury duty. The first day they might excuse me and tell me to be on my way.

On the other hand, they might keep me for a while to hand down some important decisions. I am wondering if I would look too pretentious if I wear a powdered white jurist’s wig during session.

Which reminds me, if they had arranged for my jury duty to be last week I could have went in a Halloween costume on Friday.

I don’t know at this moment if I will be available to do a posting in upcoming day (s) or so, or if I will be locked up for contempt of court of what.

Stay tuned.

Actual Conversations

True Story The Other Day

Office Person 1: You are already back? You were not gone long. Did you get to vote? How long were you in line:

Office Person 2: About an hour.

Office Person 1: I heard people had to stand in line for about three or four hours.

Office Person 2: Er – I carried my wife oxygen tank and hooked it on – they led me to the front of the line.

____________________________________________________________________

Food Channel on TV

Me: Who is that?

Anna: Sandra Lee

Me: I knew it was somebody with an easy-to-remember-name.

Be Aware!

Remember, predictions are not always correct and the only poll that counts is in the one taken in the election booth.

So, Democrats be aware of Karl Rove and his infamous bag of dirty politics and slanted propaganda - he has a couple more days to pull some fast ones.

Remember - Fall Backwards in the Fall

And Spring Forward in the Spring.

Simple!

Back Then When We Were Young..

Many years ago I was in the Boy Scouts. I was in troop 132, sponsored by St. Joseph's Catholic Churches.

The above, the County Extension Office building was on the corner of Waddell and Lawrence Streets in Marietta. The county extension mostly catered to local farmers - to make sure they were using the right kind of soil, rotating their crops, feeding their livestock wholesome vittles, and in general rural kind of advice. Cobb County was mostly a rural county with farms.

In the basement of the County Extension Office was one of the many places Troop met, but we got kicked out of there too. Our problem scout, Jimmy Pat Presley, one night at a meeting went upstairs to the offices and opened drawers, made a mess out of the paper work and did some vandalizing. That was Jimmy for you.... always a busy mind.

After our Scout meeting was adjourned we left the building and walked down Waddell Street to Roswell and Washington Avenue. We then normally walked down Roswell Street to the Greyhound Bus Station and went into the grill there and ordered something to eat and played the pin-ball machines. Inside the little grill I always remembered it being hot and smelled of fried grease.

The bus station itself had a white section and a "colored" section. Out on the walk where people loaded onto buses was a photo booth and a machine to stamp your name onto a round metal thing - a good I.D. like a dog-tag both was a quarter.

One time there on at the photo-booth Jimmy Pat used a bunch of quarters taking pictures of his genitals... then, put them on the various bulletin boards at schools, churches, and where ever, saying, "Want some of this?"

Jimmy got caught again and the juvenile judge punished him and his parents by requiring he seek help - sessions with a psychologist or a psychiatrist.

Jimmy was a mess wasn't he?

After we left the bus station we would walk up to Alexander Street or take a short cut through the Clay Homes and get on Alexander Street, walk down to Phillips Drive, where Jimmy Pat lived, then walk the remaining 4 or 5 blocks home in the dark.

Then, walking alone at night - darting from shadow to shadow you hear every sound - car sounds blocks away, bird sounds, owls hooting - no wait, that was not an owl, that was Jimmy Pat laughing.

Jimmy Pat dropped dead a few years ago. He bent over to pick up his dog and collapsed dead... no warning, no coughing, no nothing - just dropped dead. He left a wife and a grown daughter.

Your Candy or Your Life ... GGGrrrrrrrrrr

TRICK OR TREAT!!!

(psst! click on any picture to make it bigger and more gruesome)

Here are some scary covers of the comic book TALES FROM THE CRYPT of yesteryear. The ones I selected all have sort of a Halloween theme, so BOO!

And coincidentally they all are by Georgia grown EC artist Jack Davis.

BOO!! Again.

Also, if you want to see some classier Halloween blogs, check out my three friends':

Pappy

El Postino

Harry Green

And I know, I know, El Postino used the same punch line I did - if you can call “Boo!” a punch line. It is like El Postino and I are the same person in different disguises – but we are not one – and the same goes for the other two. Or maybe it is just that all warped minds think alike.

A Week at Unicoi Stay park in North Georgia

Anna Ruby Falls at Unicoi Park - click for bigness.

The other day I mentioned we spent our honeymoon in December 1967 at Unicoi State Park, Helen, Georgia.

Wait! There’s more.

On a weekend fall day excursion to the north Georgia Mountains we went to Anna Ruby falls with our married buddies Linda and Joe.

Before we got to Unicoi Park we stopped in Dahlonega, Dahlonega is famous for being the center of the gold fever back in the 1830s. Actually, it was not Dahlonega that was near most the gold mining processing but a little town named Aurara.

We stopped for gas in Dahlonega. While pulling out of the service station lot I remember was a big sign that said, “MAKE PEACE WITH JESUS!”

Joe said, “I didn’t know we were at war with Him.”

On to Unicoi State Park.

We noticed that the park had cabins on the grounds. I think on that same trip we decided that would be a nice place, removed from civilization to spend a week our honeymoon.

We went to park’s ranger’s office, which was adjacent to his living quarters. We told him we were getting married in December the 9th and would like to rent a cabin for a week.

He was somewhat shy but very friendly. He looked to be in his 60s. He told us his wife died a couple months ago and he missed her terribly.

During our visit he told me he wanted to show me something on the back porch. I followed him out and there was a horizontal freezer. I know there is another name for a not-upright freezer but I don’t remember. He began to open it and I braced my mind – I thought I was going to meet the Mrs. Park Ranger, frozen stiff.

He wanted to show me all the frozen vegetables that he and his wife grew and prepared for the freezer. He told us anytime we wanted to some frozen veggies, just come on down, he said, he said he couldn’t possibly eat all that.

The Alpine Helen had not yet been created when we were there that December for a week. It was just a little town on a hill. As I said in a previous posting, two of my ancestor John Hunter’s children were in-laws to the founders of Helen.

I remember the laundry-mat in town and also just north of town was a country store that had a bunch of working good old boys that seem to always be hanging out. I don’t think they were the kind to sit around and play checkers.


The park’s property is huge. There is a big lake with a dam and a lot of trails and little roads which we explored. Off someplace we came upon a barracks. Later we asked the park ranger about the old run-down barracks we saw and he said it was his understanding German prisoners were kept there in World War II.

I bet there is a hidden story about that place.

And of course the Anna Ruby Falls is the big draw. It is multi tear falls.


Here I am at the top of the falls smoking a cigarette looking like I am in deep thought. Back then it was a known fact you could see things much profound and deeper if you inhaled smoke during your thinking process.

If you don’t believe me just look at some old movies with Humphrey Bogart, Clark Gable, or Greta Garbo.

Paul and his Dogs

These two pictures were probably taken years apart. In the one with the bike Paul looks much younger.

I think both make the same statement: These are my dogs!