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Friday, January 31, 2014

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR!!

Year of the Horse




HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR!

This story has been on my blog before, so stop me if you heard it.  A few years ago we read an ad that a certain Chinese restaurant near  Wodstock, Ga, would be celebrating Chinese New Years and the ad read, "COME CELEBRATE WITH US!"  It was illustrated. with fire crackers popping into, Champaign  flowing out of the bottle, confetti, in general a big happy party.  More importantly, they said two could dine for the price of one.

We went.  I was having hopes of watching a community of people singing their hearts out, crying, laughing, dancing, firecrackers popping at our feed, paper ribbons, maybe line dance being part of a paper Chinese dragon,  and the fun just wouldn't stop.
That wasn't the way the evening unfolded.  We were the only two customers in the restaurant.  The only people we saw was the waitress, and her child who would peek at us through a door to the kitchen that was partially opened.


However,  I read in the paper that  about a week later they did have some bang bangs!  It wasn't firecrackers, it was a shoot out of a drug deal that went bad.

Thursday, January 30, 2014

James Wm Garrett, and his baseball team




The is a picture of a baseball team in Fannin County, Georgia.  The player on the front row, center is a distant relative, James William Garrett (1867 - 1951).  The picture was probably taken before 1900.

March 1961 Ice Storm and More





Our current weather condition reminds me of the Ice Storm of March 1961.  When the storm came it was during the night.  In March, we woke up to a frozen white Winter Wonder Land.  I worked in Atlanta at the time and it was too dangerous to try to drive to work.  So, I called in.  So did all my friends that were not away at college.  We went out to play on the frozen  slippery terrain.

Larry Southern got a near worthless used car from his father's car lot and we rode around and learned a lot about the physics of driving on slippery ice.  We went to Town & Country Shopping Center, which was empty of customers' cars because of the weather and used the wide open spaced parking lot as a training ground.  We would spin, get speed up and slam on the brakes en enjoy the slide.  Later we tried climbing a steep hill and I forgot what happened but it put an end  to our riding that car. 

The steep hill was leading off Powder Springs Street across from Garrison Road.  We were just a block or two from the Marietta Country Club.  We got the idea of going up to the golf course and sliding down the big hill there on the green.  When we walked up to the  Country Club we realized we were not the first ones to think of sliding down the hill on the golf course.  Many kids were there sliding.  They had serving trays they were using that they slipped in and got from the dining or kitchen area of the club.  Other kids had flattened big cardboard boxed, and even one group of kids brought a car hood they rode on.  I tried a serving tray, a cardboard flat, but finally got the not so bright idea of riding down on a round red Coke sign, which the face of it was facing the ice.  I started down the hill, picked up speed, and for some reason the Coke sign started to spin, or I should say  the Coke sign and I started to spin faster and faster.

The Coke sign became a runaway out of control Coke sign.   I couldn't get off or guild it.  At the bottom of the hill is normally a pretty little pond.  That day it was partially frozen .  I  hit the pond, it may have skidded to put me more in the middle, then sunk. 
It was thigh deep in cold icy water.  I walked out.  The fun was over.

I needed dry pants.  My pants were sloshing  and about to get stiff with ice.  I was walking.

Sometimes I can be resourceful when it comes to surviving.  I sloshed and crinkled my way across town to Colonial Circle, where Mrs. Latimer lived.  My friend Gene "Jenky" Latimer was killed in a drag race the previous May or early June.  I knocked on  Mrs. Latimer's door.  She was happy to see an old friend of Jenky's.  I told her my pants were wet, could I borrow a pair of Gene's pants.  She gladly gave me a pair, which I went to the back and changed into.  Then Mrs. Latimer baked us some banana-nut bread, which we had with hot apple cider. 

Still, each time I ride by Colonial Circle off Fairground Street, or  eat banana bread I think of that day.



Another  ice/snow memory that bubbles to the surface of my brain from time to time that I would prefer it didn't, is one time when I was a timekeeper/Date Collection clerk at the Atlanta Postal Office in the Federal Annex  on Spring and Forsyth Streets, right next door to old Rich's.

A big snow storm came in essentially paralyzing  Atlanta.  But the mail must get through.  The time keepers had to be there to see that those that came in get paid.  I put a blanket in the car in case I got stuck or something and dodged stranded cars all the way to Atlanta.   My reporting time was midnight.   Then, it took about 10 clerks per shift to run the time timekeepers office, but more in the daytime, so there were 35 timekeeper positions.     We were time timekeepers for about 5000 postal employees.

When I reported to work there was only one guy , his name is Salmen,  was there on the evening tour, doing the work of 10 men.  I jumped in and started helping.  I was the only one that showed up for my shift.  Salmen stayed and helped me.  We worked all night long hard, without breaks, lunch, or anything.  The morning shift only one person could make it in.  So, Salmen and I stayed and helped him.   No other clerks showed up for two days.  Three of us worked doing our jobs at a high paced level for over two days without sleep or breaks, so that people would be paid right.
Did anybody get any kind of recognition or monetarily awards for our dedication?  Of course they did.  REM, the Department Head of Finance got public recognition from the District Manager and also because of people under him saved the day he got a quality step increase, which  would be a bonus when his retirement was figured.  Not bad, for a person, who said he couldn't get out of his driveway to come to work.


By the way, almost 20 years later when I was a window clerk in Marietta a lady I was waiting on proudly told me her father was retired from the Postal Service.  When she told me her dad was REM I told her what I thought of us doing all the hard work and he got the  monetarily award for our work.  She looked stunned and probably avoid coming to my window on her next visits. 



Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Pete Seeger (1919 - 2014)





Pete Seeger died Monday,  at age 94.   He was a humble man that moved mountains..... wait, that is not totally correct,  let me rephrase that:  He was humble unpretentious  who kept mountains from being moved for the sake of industry. 

He was, by trade a banjo, player and folk singer.   He was part of THE WEAVERS folk song group.  The Weavers sung about peace, brotherhood,  the downtrodden and other anti-elitist songs.    After Pete went out on his own is about when we went to hear him in concert.

We went to hear him at the Unitarian Church in Decatur.  I was impressed with his simple way of singing in an enthused way.. At the Unitarian Concert, we were in our seats early (of course) and I watched some grunts arranging the piano in the best place.  One of the grunts it occurred to me was the star of the show, Pete Seeger!

Pete was big follower of Woody Guthrie and Guthrie's THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND was a song Seeger really but his heart into.

I  was impressed with him when I saw him help move a huge piano.   Over a several year period I bought 4 or 5 of his LP albums.  The one that stands out is "LITTLE BOXES".
Not long after that he that involved in cleaning up the Hudson River.  He spent years and years with volunteers picking up trash and figuring out ways to getting the river unpolluted.    I hope New Yorkers appreciated this.

He had other causes he worked hard for too, such as working for peoples  voting rights.


I hope another  Pete Seeger like person comes along, but I am afraid they threw away the pattern.


Tuesday, January 28, 2014

What The Hell Were We Thinking?






Living in the hometown I grew up in at  almost every corner of the downtown area I am reminded something of my formative years, some pleasant, some not-so-pleasant, some funny, and some "what in the hell where we thinking?"  Which was the case recently when driving I approached the intersection of the South Marietta Parkway and  Cobb Parkway, South.... or back then the two streets were Clay Street and The 4 Lane, which is what most of us OM's still call those two streets.

I had a flash memory of two of us in a car in the same spot I was sitting in at the moment and

  A car full of teenagers rode by and one of them shot us the finger. I don’t remember how, but we immediately identified them as Sprayberry High School Students, and I think they just as quick identified us as Marietta High School students. It might have been the SHS AND MHS jackets that were often worn.   There was a slight rivalry between the students of the two schools, but not to be taken seriously.

So, somebody in the SHS car shot us a bird. To show them that we were not afraid of them, MC did a u-turn and got in hot pursuit of the car. At a red-light some cars were already stopped, so they could not run the red-light, which I think they would have if they could. We got behind them and jump out of MC’s car and we rushed over to their car and dared them to come out. They sat there with the car doors locked and looked straight ahead.

Boy, we looking mean, shaking the car, daring them to just come on out… there were four of them and two of us… we were brave weren't we?

The light changed and they drove off, leaving us standing there. WHEW! I felt relieved.  I immediately thought why in the world did we do something so stupid?

Thank God they did not open those car doors. I probably would have screamed.


Monday, January 27, 2014

If I Were Handing Out Grammys...

Tuba Skinny would for sure get an Grammy.... maybe one for each band member and the hound too.

Here they are playing BIG CHIEF BATTLE AX on the street.


Sunday, January 26, 2014

SUNDAY FUNNIES!! MAD #22, Bill Elder, the Child


click to enlarge to be able to read.



The 22nd issue of MAD Comicbook was completely different in comicbook style.  Editor Harvey Kurtzman, was known for being being innovative.  In this issue the whole comicbook was devoted to one of his artists (and longtime friend) Will Elder   It is not to be taken seriously (sometimes you have to point that out); just enjoy it for what it is.






Saturday, January 25, 2014

Today In History, January, 25, ..





1863 General Joseph Hooker replaced Burnside as head of Army of Potomac.

General Hooker also fought here in Marietta in 1864, if I remember correctly, at Kolbs' Farm.
The General also initiated the practice of bringing wild women to entertained his troops, on one on one relationships, if you know what I mean.  Thus Hooker's name, HOOKER was a new slang name  for prostitutes.





1947 Al Capone Chicago gangster, dies of syphilis at 48.     
Maybe Al  "Scarface" Capone believed in Teddy Roosevelt's saying, "Speak softly and carry a big stick, A big swollen stick that is."






Today is AFRMA Fancy Rat &; Mouse Day.

I have no idea what AFRMA is.


Friday, January 24, 2014

Hanging Out In the ER Waiting Room




Hanging Out In ER Waiting Room. A man in his 30s or early 40s was seated near me. He twist and turned wailing, moaning, and crying. His cell phone did a song and dance like chimes, he answered without looking at the caller i.d. And said, "Hi Pumpkin!". I could tell it was his daughter. He told her to do her homework and Mom would be home soon. He also told her "No, you can not go over to Nancy's and play!". Then he kidded her a little, which I think was a ploy to let her know they were still buddies. He said bye, clicked off and immediately went back moaning, wailing, groaning, crying and vomiting into a plastic bag. Then his phone rang again and whoever it was he told (very loudly) that he was being completely ignored by the staff in the ER. He went on to say he had kidney stones, two to be exact, he told how big they were in metric measurements and he also knew where they were, one in each kidney. I suspect he was having to wait because thr ER was crowded with sick and injured. I decided it would do no good to tell him that I went to the ER at 5am Christmas morning and they immediately took me to the back.

Also I had a nice conversation with a pleasant young lady that had a thick accent. She had been waiting 3 hours. She asked me was the ER very expensive. She was wearing braces on teeth, which an't cheap.

Thursday, January 23, 2014

Marie Is In the Hospital

My mother-in-law, Marie Prance was admitted to the hospital yesterday.    For over a week she has not felt well, like tired all the time and just to walk several feet she got out of breath.  She is 93.

Monday we carried her to her regular GP doctor for various tests and an x-ray.

Yesterday morning the doctor called Anna and talked to her for about 40 minutes, which  is extremely good, getting that much time from your doctor is highly unusual.  I think there will be a special place in Doctor's Heaven for doctors like this.

The doctor told Anna several things, blood quality and blood flow related are making Marie feel like the does.  The doctor went on to say, bottom line, she needs to be in the hospital to get the right medicines and stuff into her body to get the heart pumping good blood again.


There will also likely be more tests also.  She will probably be there a few days. 

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Checking Out JOBS

click to enlarge




JOBS, directed by Joshua Michael Stern and starring Ashton Kutcher, is not what you think.  That is, it is not what you think if you are thinking it is going to be a spicy movie, like the kind of movie Linda Lovelace was in.  Get your mind out of the gutter!

It is about a compulsive guy named Steve who started a new company he named APPLE.    APPLE became known as a very innovative computer manufacturer.  Steve hired a lot people and fired people if they didn't share his enthusiasm.  There were a lot of JOBS coming and going.  Then it went public and it became a corporation with a board of directors.  And suddenly Steve was fired from his own company - he lost his JOB - and APPLE was ran like a corporation it was and lost its reputation for  being fearless, innovative, exploring new ground.  The stock began to fall and people were laid off - JOBS lost!

Steve and some friends started their company in his parents' garage.  Walt Disney started  his Walt Disney productions in a garage.  Maybe like Disney Steve relied on the technical know-how of his geek friends, which the movie hinted  Steve did not share the monetary awards property.   The movie did not mention it, but it appears that Steve might have had the Asperger syndrome - completely able to focus  on one subject  and could care less about the human distractions around him.   

The board of directors knew they needed Steve's reckless dreaming leadership, so they gave him his own JOB back as CEO.  And he got rid of many of his old buddies - in a separation packages he bought  the controlling JOBS.  


Is it no wonder the movie was called JOBS?  Oh, and another thing, Steve's last name was  JOBS.   I say "was" because he  died.

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Monday, January 20, 2014

THE INVISIBLE MAN GETS LOST IN THE WAITING ROOM.   True story:  Today the Invisible Man went to the doctor.  There were two receptionists behind the front counter. 

After the Invisible Man signed in one receptionist handed him a clipboard with some forms on it and told him to fill it out.  As he was filling it out, he noticed each time someone finished their clipboard forms they went up the counter and one of the receptionists would take it and tell that person to go to Waiting Room A, B, or C.  When the Invisible Man finished his he went up to hand in the clipboard.  The two receptionists were deep in a conversation about what they did this past weekend.   The Invisible Man felt like an intruder, but handed the one closest the clipboard with the forms.  She didn't even look at them or the IM.   She said "Thank you" and went back to say what she was about to say.   He stood there a short while and went back and sat down, after all, they acted like they didn't need him.  Two more people finished their  clipboards and turned them in and were told which waiting room to go to.  The Invisible Man decided they didn't notice he turned in his forms, so had no reason to tell him to go to a waiting room.  

He went back up the counter and asked shouldn't be sent to a waiting room.   One said he needed to fill a some forms first.  He did and pointed to the clipboard in one of the receptionist's hands.  "There they are."  She said, "Go to Waiting Room A!"   A little unnerved that someone had  questioned her workmanship

TUBA SKINNY - Preconcert Stretches




I lifted this from my friend Joe Stewart's blog TALLEY HO! http://joeb-tallyho.blogspot.com/  I hope he knows that imitation, copying,  or stealing from is the sincerest form of flattery*.

This appears to be a candid view of  musicians of the TUBA SKINNY BAND getting ready for a concert.  It also seems the camera-person is paying attention to mostly to the cornet player and possible leader Shaye Cohn.  

The video was taken December 29, 2013.

Because the concert has not yet started it is almost like looking into their private lives, like Voyeurism. 



*To nearly quote MAD Comicbook creator Harvey Kurtzman when MAD imitators hit the market.

Sunday, January 19, 2014

SUNDAY FUNNIES!! WONDER WARTHOG, SUPER PATRIOT

Click each image to enlarge to make it readable.
By Gilbert Shelton (the same cartoonist who brought you The Fabulous Freak Brothers).






Saturday, January 18, 2014

An Important Announcement

We have an announcement.     

We switched the comment button to off.  If I did it right, you will not be able to make comments.  

 I had a reason for disallowing comments.  For the past week or so my blog posts have been receiving comments from people I suspect are originally from the Far East.  The comments are in a foreign language, which doesn't allow me to approve or disapprove of what is being said.  I had a person well versed in foreign languages and the Internet look at the comments.  He said it is spam in Malay, trying to lure people to their product.

No free advertisements on my watch!


A fellow blogger once told me he didn't allow comments because they are a pain in the ass.  He had a point.

After a while, I may turn on the comments button back on.  It may be weeks or months.

Does Anybody Know What Time It Is, or Really Care?






A fellow blogger, Susan, of  Patchwork  Reflections, http://patchworkreflections.blogspot.com,  had an interesting post about time pieces, such as watches, clocks, and the math of it all.   Check it out at http://patchworkreflections.blogspot.com/2014/01/got-time.html.

I heard recently that there is a trend among the elite, fashionable, and pacesetters to not to wear a watch for the sake of seeing what time it is.  If I understand it right it is OK to wear a watch like an expensive gold bracelet, it doesn't even have to hands or other moving parts, as long as it is chic.  It is like making the statement, "I'm so cool and worldly, time is not important t me, it is too materialistic."
If this trend continues to spread a whole lot ways of life will have to change.
When attending church is when  does the sermon start, when the pastor arrive or the  most of the  congregation?
When making a doctor's appointment  make it for "when I get there.  If you get there at  4 hours after the office is closed you can say, "How crude!  And  call the doctor at home to come back in, he didn't take into account you are a chick person that doesn't believe in watches that tell time.

If people tell  you to spring forward one hour in the spring time look at them  in pity and feel sorry for them.
If  in school your child's school principal calls you and tells you your child never arrives on time.  Just smile and shake your head and explain to them there is no such thing as time.

If you come into a movie theater and the movie has already started, demand they stop and it and start over.  If they tell you that you are late, you can say, "Not late at being cool and fashionable!  Now,  restart the movie like I told you."
If you go to a concert, the same applies.

When McDonald and other fast food restaurants take down their breakfast menu at 10:30 and you show up when the sun is in the middle of the sky (don't use the word "Noon")  demand a sausage and biscuit and tell them you might not wear a watch but your money is good as anybody's.

If they get this trend to work, next they might work on throwing away calendars unless they like seeing the monthly pictures.


Friday, January 17, 2014

Jesse the Duck




Today while shopping  my old friend Jesse was on my mind.  The last I heard Jesse was an electrician by trade but by skill and profession, a blackjack dealer in Mississippi.

I think the reason I was thinking about Jesse today was because  of the crowd.  No matter where you look there are crowds.  Jesse had a special trick he used to play on me in crowds:  If a lady is in front of me Jesse would manage to get behind me and run his hand around me and either grab or pinch her on the butt and withdraw his hand quickly.  The lady would turn around quickly and see me and if she saw Jesse standing behind me he would be looking blankly clueless.  More than once I have been threatened because of his sneaky grouping hands.  I remember one time in particular we were standing on some steps going up to the second level of a new golf driving range on the 4-Lane across from Dobbins Air Force Base.  We were waiting for the crowd of people to move on  up to the top so we could follow.  The lady in front of me jumped and turned around and  gave me a dirty look.  It took me a moment to realize Jesse was no longer beside me but behind me.  When she turned back around I looked at Jesse and he smiled - showing a mouth full of teeth.    He tried doing it again and I blocked his hand, then he tried to force his hand and we made a ruffling noise and turned around and realized the full story.  or, I think she did.  Her and her boy friend moved up a few people away from one of our reach.


Jesse was also good at coming up behind you  when you didn't realize he was near and grab your rectum area and quack like a mad duck.  He did it so sneakily and his hands felt so much like a riveting duck's bill it causes you to instantly panic.  His first cousin Larry Southern was also very good  at quacking and his hand imitating a snapping duck. Those were the good old days.

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Hands on the Olympic Torch

click image to enlarge.
Our son Rocky holding the Olympic Torch

Rocky's wife, our daughter-in-law, Sabrina (right) holding the Olympic torch.






To hold the Olympic Torch is something special.  It had made trips all over the world letting people briefly hold it or carry it a specified distance.  Everybody knows what the Olympic Torch is.  It has even made a trip in outer space.  What I am wondering, when it was Rocky's turn did he wipe it clean of other people's germs.  After all, a lot of hands have been on it.  

Brumby Auditorium Post Card


click to enlarge



Fee Fi Fum
I smell smoke
in the Brumby Auditorium.

If these walls could talk, a lot of us would have been in trouble (including some of the faculty).


Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Today is Dress Up Your Pet Day!

Today is dress up your pet day!  I hope your pet enjoys it as much as you do, but I doubt it.

Click on each image to enlarge it.






Monday, January 13, 2014

Visitation at the Funeral Home





We went to  Mayes Ward Funeral Home  in downtown Marietta to pay our respects to the departed and the departed husband and daughters.   The departed  had a fair amount of blood relatives  and fellow church members there.  Because they are my in-laws I knew all the relatives but the church members  I wasn't sure about some, but I think I knew most of them too.   But did the ones that I knew know me?  No.    That is because I am invisible.  One of the church members I have seen many times in different social surroundings. He knows my in-laws well, but I know he has never really focused on me.    The little devil  sitting on my shoulder dared me to speak to him by his first name and watch his expression.  I did.  The man looked at me puzzled, first like, "I heard my name, where did it come from?  Him?"  He looked at me and I smiled.  He said, "How ya doing?"   And gave me an eye-twinkling smile.
I said, "Same ol, same ol"   And walked on.

Arnold Parish, a life-long family friend  came in.   He spoke to me by name and haven't seen me in a couple of years.  That always surprises me.   He used to live with his family in the Clay Homes.  He is about the same age as Frances.   He told me he was a volunteer in the Cancer Unit and knew the deceased's husband there,  where he was also a volunteer.

David Green, another  life-long friend came in.   He and the deceased's husband are both in the  Masons.  Poor David is having back problems.   A horse threw him and did a number on his back which he looks to be suffering terribly  with, he even now stands in a warp position.  I hope he gets relief for his back soon.

By random chance two life-long  friends  showed up at my aunt-in-law's visitation.  I wonder if  I went to any visitation of any Marietta native if I visited long enough would somebody I know come in to pay their respects?  What about two people showing up?  What do you think the chances are?  I think the chances are pretty high.

Once the widower was sitting alone.  I sat down beside him.  It didn't seem right that he should  sit along when everybody  were socializing.   He told me earlier he had to sit, his back was hurting him. He asked me how I was doing.  "Fine, and you?"
"She is better off now."
"No more pain."
"And in a better place."
I nodded.

It is good that people can come to a place that is all about their relative or friend's death and socialize and keep everything light hearted for closure.  It is like the old expression, "I'm laughing to keep from  crying."


Sunday, January 12, 2014

SUNDAY FUNNIES!! LI'L ABNER SUNDAY Stories,, B&W

Remember LI'L ABNER in the Sunday Funnies?  On week days the comic strip was in black and white, however on Sundays there was a separate LI'L ABNER story running in color.  But, the only difference is these are in black and white.  These were lifted from my longtime friend Harry Greeneye's blog www.hairygreeneyeball/3.blogspot.com.

click to enlarge to be able to read it and see facial expressions





disregard the second segment in the below.  That is the start of the next Li'l Abner Story

Saturday, January 11, 2014

Tuba Skinny GIMME SOME






This is Tuba Skinny GIMME SOME, which is on their new CD.  In watching the video pay attention to Robin Rapuzzi the washboard player and the drummer next to him.  We almost have dueling percussions.

Friday, January 10, 2014

Miller Prance Poor Miller (1925-2014)



Marry Miller 1979


Mary Evelyn Prance Miller ((1925-2014).  Anna's aunt Mary Prance Miller died yesterday.  Mary  is Anna's father's sister; the youngest of six children and the last one to go.   She  died one day after her 89th birthday.  Her husband is Lamar Miller and she has two daughters Martha Cabanillas and Pat Ballew.   She worked at Rich's.   Mary was a member of Noonday Baptist Church.  She had been ill for several months.

Going Postal With Mr. Rice - Recycled





While going reviewing my old posts on chicken-fat.com I came across the below post of July 2009.  I thought I would 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.

Thursday, January 09, 2014

Tip for the Doorman

Today in the Whicher Street Parking deck I was trying to take a picture of the hospital from the deck's opening.  A lady was struggling to load some heavy stuff on  a gurney with wheels.  I asked her could I help her and she said no thank you, she had it.  So, I went on.
At the door I heard wheels rolling and turned around and saw the same lady huffing and puffing rolling the gurney full of cases and boxes.  I held the door opened for her and  I said, "I got to help you after all!"  She smiled and thanked me.
After the doctor's visit going back to the car walking out into the parking deck I saw an old lady stepping out of a car, shouting, "You mean I suppose to walk way over there?"
The young lady driving, probably her daughter, just shrugged, like saying, "How else?"  And she drove to a place further away to park.
I was walking and saw that the little lady on the walker was going to have a hard time  opening that big metal door. So, I U-turned, passed her, got to the door and held it opened while she hobbled in. 
She complained, saying, "They ought t to do something about these doors!"  

It reminded me the last time, before today, that we ate at John Boy's.   When we were leaving I held the door opened for my mother-in-law, and behind her were a few more elder people that I kept the door opened so they could come out too.  Then when  they got through  and I was about to shut the door here come another elderly couple.  Again, I  opened the door for them and held it. 

Then just as  I was about to shut it a group of business men came walking towards the door, I thought to myself, "Hell, why not?"   So,  held the door opened longer for them to walk through.  One of the well dressed men said, "Are you doing this for a tip?"  In a witty kind of way.
I returned his wit, by saying, "Of Course!"
He said, "Here's a tip, never bet on a horse with a wooden leg!"

And he got in the driver's seat of a Mercedes.  

Paul Everett Foster (1895 - 1936(



This is Anna's grandfather, Paul Everett Foster, that she never met.  He died about 12 years before she was born.   He was a Singer Sewing Machine salesman and repairman and also a teacher.  He also was in interesting pictures that represented the times of his time on earth.

click on each image to enlarge


family, Paul front center


Paul right

Family, Paul front left

Paul right

Paul right

Paul standing, second from right.

Paul and Myrtle Irene Jones, fiance', proofs

Paul, Irene Jones Foster and Anna's mother.