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Monday, July 31, 2017

Important Researh








It looks like I may be in deep research for the next two weeks.    I have to dig deep.   Coming up with these fake news stories is a bitch.



If this same post appears the next time you go to this blog it may mean I am deeper in research or kidnapped!


If I don't show up in mid August  start getting ransom money ready (Fake News).




Sunday, July 30, 2017

I Ran Into a Door











On Facebook I posted the latest picture of our grandson Benjamin at his dance class.  He was wearing a red cape.  That reminded me of a picture of his father Rocky, wearing a Superman suit with a red cape at his birthday party years ago.   I said, "Like Father, Like Son".

Then, being the self-centered lout that I am, I thought, "What about me?"

I am a father of a son mentioned there.  Did I ever do the Superman thing when I was young?

"Hmmmmmmm" (me stroking my chin thinking way back).
I don't remember doing Superman with a cape.

But I did do MIGHTY MOUSE.
I played I was Mighty Mouse.  That was in the early 1940s before TV.  I was fairly new when I played MM, probably age 4 or 5.  We lived in the Clay Homes. 

My sister Frances and I shared a bedroom.  We had twin beds.  I remember I had a cape on, just like Benjamin and Rocky, but I think mine was a towel.

I jumped from bed to bed, springing from one bed upright, and with my arms out like super heroes do, get parallel  then land on the other bed on my head.

One time I missed and my head hit the dresser and blood spurted everywhere.  I was rushed to the Old Hospital (3 or 4 blocks, we probably walked) and stitches was put across my left eyebrow. 

I haven't noticed if the scar of no hair across my eyebrow is still there or not.

I was proud of my stitches and gauge and when someone first asked what happen I told the  truth they laughed at me and I felt humiliated.

The next person that asked me, which was Mrs Cannon, who lived upstairs in the next unit, I told her I ran into the door.
I'm not sure but I think I have never heard  the "ran into a door" excuse before.


From then on, when I heard someone give the "run into door" excuse I felt pride.

Friday, July 28, 2017

Niles Visits His Hometoen

Niles Trammell



This morning's Marietta Daily Journal, on page 2, their Looking Back is about Leander Niles Trammell (1894-1973).   The photo was taken in 1942 of Marietta dignitaries welcoming their old friend chum Niles Trammell  back to Marietta.  Niles was president of National Broadcasting Company at the time.

Niles is 3rd cousin, twice removed, to me and my Hunter first cousin.  Jacob B. Trammell are our first common ancestor.
Niles grew up on Trammell Street, two or three doors down from his state famous grandfather  Leander Newton Trammell (1830-1900). 
The article mentions he was president of NBC in crucial times,  like jumping on the television bandwagon, but did not mention he is the one that signed up AMOS & ANDY on radio. 

I don't know, but I think Niles being from Marietta and several of the AMOS & Andy cast from Marietta is why "MARIETTA, GEORGIA"   Marietta was mentioned often on the sitcom.

Georgian Oaks Lodge, Richard's Girlfriend, and Bob





Remember the Georgian Oaks Motel?  It was just down about a block north of Fisherman's Grill and a hop, skip, and a jump southwards  from Fisherman's was a restaurant I forgot the name of it but it was considered an alternative hangout, like Varners.  It was more directly in front of main gate at Dobbins Air Force Base.
But getting back to The Georgian Oaks Motel (and/or Lodge):  I have a facebook friend Richard that comes and goes.  Sometimes he is gone over a year.  He is a cook by trade.  Every once in a while he will come up with a surprised bombshell.  Once he told me either a girlfriend or waitress friend burned up the Georgian Oaks and she went to prison for it.
Since he told me that every time I think of The Georgian Oaks I think of that.
Also I think of a kid whose parents ran the Georgian Oaks then.  He helped his father with different kinds of vending machines.  He metamorphosed   himself to be a great vending machine repair person and collector of antique machines.

He is Bob Halliday of Bob's Garage  that is on JVL Industrial Drive off Shallowford Road.  Refurbishes cars, trucks,  juke boxes and many more things.  He has a national and probably international reputation.  

Thursday, July 27, 2017

Throwback Thursday, The Reece Family





Bob Reece, of Marietta, named the people in this family:

"My dad TJ is the tallest boy.  The other boy is Byron Herbert Reece.   Juan and Emma  Reece are the parents.
Jean is in Emma's lap.  Eva and Kate are the 2 older girls."
The father is Juan Wellborn Lance and the mother is Hannah Lou Emma Lance.
Emma's grandfather is Rev John Henry Lance.  You might recall in these blog posts that Rev. John Henry Lance was killed for his stand against moonshine in Union County.   Rev, John Henry Lance is the grandson  of our ancestor John Hunter who died in Union County about 1848.
And the shortest boy, Byron Herbert Reece was the poet  and farmer.  His family farm which he worked is a museum in Union County now.  Here is what I have on him in genealogical notes:

Bryon said he was a farmer first and a writer second.  However, he was rewarded  the Guggenheim Fellowship for his poetry.  His poetry is known over the world.  He taught at Young Harris College.  He spent time in the Battey Hospital in Rome, Georgia, which specialized in tuberculosis.  It has been handed down that he went to a funeral home, picked out a casket and paid for it.  The proprietor did not know he was picking it out for himself.  That same day he took his own life by gun.

     Books by Bryon Herbert REECE:
Ballad of the Bones, Bow Down Jericho, A Song of Joy, The Season of the Flesh, Tents Swords Sodom, The Hawk, and the Sun and  A Dinner of Herbs.

     His biography:
"MOUNTAIN SINGER: THE LIFE AND THE LEGACY OF BYRON HERBERT REECE" by Raymond A. COOK.


Wednesday, July 26, 2017

Bluegrass in Woodstock




Just a tad of bluegrass music the smokey's farmland band played in Woodstock, Georgia, last Thursday night.


Tuesday, July 25, 2017

Banking Business




Today we had bank business.  While I was standing with Anna at the teller's window I spotted over on a counter a complementary coffee machine.
I love free coffee at places like this!  (1)Banks and doctors' receptionists areas like to put their best foot forward and have the very best top quality coffee.
(2) and it is free.
I casually went over to it and selected a medium roasted premium name I never heard of before.  The coffee pack was in strong plastic wrap.  I could not figure out how to open it.
I went back and stood by Anna but was studying the machine.   I remember a machine similar to that in a doctor's office but you did not open the pack up, you just put the whole thing in it and slap the mechanism together and brewed quickly.
I went over and studied the machine again but could not figure out exactly how to slap it in there or tear the wrapper off or what.
I gave up and was walking away.
A professional well-dressed lady saw my dilemma and asked if I needed any help.
I said yes.
She showed me how to do get the coffee  step by step.

I got my coffee and as we were walking out I saw the lady that helped me talk to another professional lady and they broke up laughing.

Monday, July 24, 2017

MAGINON 4k Ultra 4K Camera. Latest Toy Report.




MAGINON 4k Ultra 4K Camera. Latest Toy Report.



This picture of the camera is with the bicycle adapter.  It is a small camera, about the size of a ring box.    However it comes with many adapters and attachments, it comes in a box about the size of a cigar box. 

I bought it the other day.

As already noted it comes with bike adapter;  a flat stand,  as to sit upright on your car dash: and a helmet adapter, and maybe more I have not figured out yet:  It has a lot of little plastic extras.

It was complicated (to me) to figure out what parts I needed to assemble the bike adapter.  Interesting, the first time I assembled it and attached it to my bike's handlebars I did not notice until I was about to pedal away that the camera was mounted upside down.  That would not do, so I unassembled and  assembled it again, right side up, and then saw the camera lens were facing me, the driver, not forward,  but backwards.  AARRRGGggg!

That would be something,  a 1.5 maiden voyage with my new camera with nothing but my facial expressions the entire time.  A video selfie!

Back to the drawing board.

I finally got it all connected (with Anna's with the instructions ), rode my bike with the camera looking ahead for about 1.5 miles. 

When I got back and looked at the video it only recorded the last two blocks.

About the area it started recording I remember about that time the camera was pointing forward and down.  I thought it might be recording the street pavement.  So I pushed she pulled to get the camera to start pointing more level.  I must have accidentally pressed the "record" button which should have been on anyway.

More later when I learn more about this $59.99 camera.

Sunday, July 23, 2017

Leverage or Blackmail?

What if you were officially sworn in to investigate an organization that appears to have made some illegal actions,  then the organization you are investigating hires investigators to investigate you   for "Leverage"?


Is that legal?

Saturday, July 22, 2017

Hello Dali (again)


Artist Savadore Dali's body was exhumed two days ago  because of a court order.  A professional tarot card reader claims her mother had an affair with Dali and she is the love child result.  The purpose is to check the artist's DNA and compare it to the tarot card reader's DNA.  If her claim is proven true she would be the only known descendant of Salvadore Dali and could be worth a half billion dollars.

I thought about Dali's art.  He was a master of surrealism art.  And I thought of one of his paintings, titled Ballerina-in-a-Death's Head: 



Thursday, July 20, 2017

Harvey Kurtzman Cip-Art





video



This is mostly about the art selections of Harvey Kurtzman (1924-1993), editor and creator of MAD Comic book and the art of his artists and how the stuff they produced is natural raw clip art.
My old friend Archie Richardson introduced MAD Comicbook to me when we were in the 7th grade.  It literally sent my mind in directions I never dreamed of.  I became an instant fan and I still go over old MADs and Kurtzman's other satirical magazines.
At first I was completely amazed and transfixed by the bold art with human body language expression.
I soon swooped up the three back issues of MAD and subscribed.  I was  at the age of making friends and seeing a lot of them move away with their parents.
I took it upon myself to keep my friends that moved updated on the latest news in Marietta that I thought they would be interested in.  My friend Sam Carsley was also doing the same thing and pasted clip art that was cut from the funny papers, mostly LI'L ABNER.
I thought I could do better with clip art clipped from MAD, which I thought was more expressive.
In time MAD metamorphosed itself into MAD Magazine and Harvey Kurtzman got fired and had a history of three other magazine before he and his same original  MAD artists started Annie Fanny in        PLAYBOY.
When I approached middle age I had a want to review the old MADs and the other magazine only to remember most of my satirical magazine was cut in shreds for the sake of having funny expressive envelope s.
I, just like the officer in River Kwi, said, "What have I done?"
It just so happened in a timely manner, about the same year,  the first 300 or so issues of MAD were digitized on 5 CDs, named TOTALLY MAD.
Not only did I get to re-study the stories and art, I could copy and paste old home made clip art like old times.
I took the old idea of putting clip art on correspondence to putting clip art on much of my blogs and facebook posts.
Harvey Kurtzman was the editor for E.C. Comics MAD, FRONTLINE COMBAT, and TWO-FISTED TALES.  He wrote every story except some war stories that historically wrote themselves.  After he wrote a story he would meet with the artist he assigned to it and with body language explain just what he wanted to see.  I would have loved to have been invisible watching Kurtzman demonstrated what he wanted by swelling up like a bully, or waving his arms and legs like a ballet dancer, to holding his arm out to catch an invisible baseball.  Kurtzman was a bald short person.  He probably put on an amazing show.  It's a shame Youtube wasn't around then.
I sorted out the artists works so you can see their personal styles better.

Not all the artists here worked for MAD.  Robert Crumb was his assistant editor  at HELP Magazine.  Don Martin was and artist for MAD after Kurtzman fired, but he had the Kurtzman visual  spirit and excellent clip art creator. 


Harvey Kurtzman



Wednesday, July 19, 2017

Throwback Thursday: The Hunt House

Picture by Marie Prance (I think)


This house was on Butler Street in South Marietta.  Then, the city engineers did some street flip-flopping and now the house was on Atlanta Street.  Then there was no house.  It burned up.

The house had a long history.  In the Civil War it was a Union soldiers hospital.  In the early 20th century it belonged to Mary Phagan's grandfather.   About 20 years later Anna's mother's family lived there when she was young.

It is what I always thought of as the Hunt House.  When I was a preteen the Hunt  Family, owners of Hunt Ice Cream on West Atlanta Street and the Economy Hot Dogs and Ice Cream on Church Street.

As a kid we played football on the huge side-lawn on Sundays sometime.

Time stands still for no man (or house).

Which reminds me the other day we were riding down Powder Springs Street and I looking down Hedges Street and West Dixie Avenue I saw that all the houses have been bulldozed away.


I think that is step one of gentrification .  It seems  to me that should be unconstitutional.  It pushes out low income families and make way for the wealthy.

Doctor's Appointment



True Conversation:

Doctor:  You are doing great.  See you in six months.

Me:  Which brings up this question:  Do you go to any of the other offices?

Doctor:  I'm over all the offices.

Me:  Yeah, I know.  But do you see your patients at the other offices?

Doctor:  No, just here.

Me:  Well, I was wondering, if you came to East Marietta or the Woodstock office.

Doctor:  Why, do you live near Woodstock or East Marietta?

Me:  I kind of live between them.

Doctor:  Why do you want to go to one of those then?

Me:  The parking is free there.  You have to pay here.


I think I saw the doctor's eyes rolled.

Tuesday, July 18, 2017

One Single Action an Argument For and Against Seat Belts





According to Uncle John's Bathroom Reader:  50% of Americans admitted to running a red light.

OK.  I wonder how what percent also ran a red light but did not admit to it?

Out on a lone dark road, waiting what seems forever on a red light to change green and no traffic is in sight either way, I know what I have done.  But I admit nothing.

I know of a man who once ran a red light and did not live long enough to admit it or not admit.

I know, because I was going through the green light as he ran the red light.  He went through the windshield of his truck and he hit me on the drivers side and the force knocked me on the other side of my green Gremlin before it crushed that side.

Neither one of us had on seat belts.  He died because he did have a seat belt on and I lived because I did not have mine on.


That was the Spring of 1975.  I am not sure they even had seatbelts then.

Monday, July 17, 2017

Darlene and the Drunk Ex-Nun





This  picture was taken at Anna's retirement party several years ago.  It looks like I am whispering sweet-nothings to Anna's already retired co-worker Darlene.  What you don't know is that Darlene is deaf and wears a hearing -aid, which she keeps off most the time.  So, is probably faking her expression, with no idea what I am saying, just by my eyes she could probably tell I just told the punch line so she should giggle.

Years before when we worked, Darlene and I carpooled to Kennesaw  Junior College together.  She had a little Beetle VW and I think at that time I had a little Volvo PV544, about the same size as the VW.   We took turns driving.  I smoked back then but was a gentleman enough not to smoke in the car with her.  She detested smoking.


I remember one night when I picked her up she told me her apartment clubhouse was having beer party.  I forgot the details, but I think we played hooky.  We drank beer and socialized with a crowd that would be called Yuppies in today's world.  I remember a drunk woman sat down with us and she was very talkative.  Interesting, the drunken lady was an ex-nun.  It was the first time and only time I got woozy with an yakking ex-nun.

We heard Darlene is in a nursing home now.

Yesterday's Birthday Dinner

We kept my birthday on low key yesterday.  We did not to an upscale restaurant yesterday or anything like that.

But we did go to a nearby small restaurant that has good food.  It was just the owner and one tall teenager that was waiter.  Or I think he was a teenager by the way he carried himself, but he may have been in his early 20s.
The food was good.  I had blackened catfish, hushpuppies, and coleslaw.  At first we were the only customers, then three other groups came in.
After we finished Anna asked the young man if they did  anything for birthdays.  The guy looked puzzled.  I think the tall awkward guy imagined himself singing "Happy Birthday" to me.  Then he said he could give me peach pie.  It was agreed, I would get peach pie with ice cream.
He asked did I want to peach pie warmed up and I said sure.   After all, let's go for it all!
The owner brought the heated peach pie, no ice cream. 

I found out something I didn't know.  Freshly nuked peaches in peach pie hold their hotness.  When I bit into the pie the almost boiling peach juice clung to my tongue I wanted to run around screaming.   I settled for a mouth of cold water. 

Sunday, July 16, 2017

Then There Was Me




I thought therefore I am.



My birthday  started off pretty good today.  The fact that I woke up at 76 is an accomplishment.




Photos enchanted by Joe Jenkins

Saturday, July 15, 2017

The Old Belmont Hills Shopping Center Transfored


The Bouncer



Today we had lunch at the Opa Greek Village Taverna at what was the Belmont Hills Shopping Center  the restaurant and some others shops are in the L-shape cluster of stores in the northwest Corner.  The Greek Village Tavern sits about where Twelve Oaks Restaurants sat in the Belmont Hills days.

Unfortunately, the huge Belmont Hills parking lot is still there, at the time unused.  The payment has been scraped away, now the area is covered with three feet high weeds.  It seems they could at least grow corn of something, just to make it useful, until it has further development.  On west end, about where Belmont Hills Shopping Center was is a gated community and on the south side of that is a big two storied grammar school that looks like it has not opened yet.

Back to the Opa Greek Village Taverna:  It was delicious and very Greek.  Greek music and murals of a typical Greek Village, and of course Greek food.  Olives, garlic, and feta cheese galore! 

It was a nice dining experience. 



Friday, July 14, 2017

More Benjamin's Birthday Pix

These excellent pictures were taken by Adam's good friend Savvy.













Wednesday, July 12, 2017

Throwback Thursday: The Jones Sisters


Anna's Grandmother Myrtle Irene Jones Foster (1895-1991).



Edith Gertrude Jones Wood (1898-1986)



Vernice Vera Jones Sudan-Wood-Brown

Brenda and Marvalyn at a Varner Reunion



click on picture to enlarge



Brenda and Marvalyn  at a Varner's Reunion.    I have close connections to both of them.  Brenda worked for the Woodstock Post Office and I worked for the Atlanta and Marietta Post Offices.  Marvalyn lived around the corner, only three houses away.


I did not know either until these reunions. 

Tuesday, July 11, 2017

Bird's Getting Kicked Out of the Nest





We have a hanging fern plant.  Yesterday the fern sounded like a big bird party was coming from it.  There were chirping, screaming, and tweeting.  In a way, they tweeted more drastically than Trump.
I think yesterday was the day the parent birds, Wrens, I think, decided it was time for the baby birds to be booted from their nest and find someplace else to live.
I tried taking pictures but the birds were not in a posing mood.  They had a new phase in their young lives to deal with.  I found this picture on Google.
I knew there was a bird sitting on eggs in the fern plant, actually she and hubby are the second couple that moved in that I know of.   Every time I watered the ferns a bird would shoot out of the greenery and would return after I left.
It was interesting to see partly the process of the graduation ceremony.  Apparently, Mom and Dad Bird would pick one of their young ones, and nudge it to the edge of the nest and somehow root it out into mid-air and it would either sink or swim, I mean fly.  I saw one fall through the air and hit the carport payment,  but quickly fluttered his wings and he went and perched on a slat  in the lattice, and I think I  heard it squawk, "I can fly!"
One took off like Peter Pan, went down then up and landed on a branch in a nearby bush.  The parents hurried over to give it moral support and maybe some advice.
Once I saw four birds, which I think were the two parents and two young ones on a limb overlooking the carport.  One of them were learning how to keep its balance with the help of flapping his wings.

They have a lot to learn.  Rule number one:  Stay away from Willow and the neighborhood cat.

Monday, July 10, 2017

For You Joe Stewart!




Today is the Late Joe Stewart's birthday.   He and I were big Tuba Skinny fans.  He got to see them perform one time a little over a year ago.  It made his day, week, or year.

This is for Joseph!

Speaks For Itself

Yeah, it speaks for itself in more ways than one!


click on it to make it even larger

Saturday, July 08, 2017

Benjamin's Birthday Party Today!

Today is Benjamin's Birthday Party Day!

Actually,  his birthday is a few days later but this is a case of logistics and proximity we will celebrate today.