Bridges, love 'em or hate 'em

 Memorable Automobiles from The Past:

 

Grandson Josh sent me this awhile back '31 Ford Convertible

For today:

WE will be on the road after this is published.  Thursday we will be headed to our home base in Belmont, NC. Belmont is Sherry’s home town, she was born on the Climax Mill village and grew up on the Imperial Mill Village. Coming into Belmont on US74 you cross the Catawba River Bridge. At one time it was considered a large bridge, it is now a ‘tight’ 4 lanes and OLD. Looking both ways you see two more bridges, one is I-85 and the other is a RR Trestle. I don’t know why it isn’t a RR Bridge.  But it has memories for men 60-100 years of age.  During that period swimming in the river was the highlight of the summer. Diving and jumping off the RR Trestle was the height of masculinity. The river bridge on 74 has another infamous reason. Many who wanted a beer and lived in Belmont walked the little 2’ area, marked with a white line on one side of the long bridge to get a beer at the 6 or 8 bars on the Eastern shore. Needless to say returning after a few, was dangerous. (Now we are ‘uptown,’ even have our own breweries!)

Bridges seem to conjure up many feelings. Some romantic, some of dread and many the feeling of FEAR. Our good friend Judy who lived in a town called Milbridge, hated bridges, especially if they rose to enough height for ships to go under, as along the coast lines. BUT she fought that fear every year to come to Florida. When we lived in Biloxi, Miss there was a bridge going over Back Bay that threw a fear into Sherry. We lived just at the end of it and had to cross it for work, church and groceries. Her greatest fear was being on it when the draw bridge opened for a ship or shrimp boat. Having to sit on the bridge and wait (forever) to get off of it.

 

I don’t think she has that fear anymore. WE cross some big bridges on I-95, the biggest will be on the 95 bypass.  It is a beautiful bridge, it looks like the twin of the Skyway Bridge near Tampa. WE have had the pleasure of going over it and under the Skyway. It is a beauty.

Skyway Bridge across Tampa Bay

We have driven the Golden Gate and many other bridges. Bridges are just more enjoyable in our Class A motor home. Because of the height we see so much more of the bays and rivers.

What about this bridge in China???

Do you have an opinion on bridges?  Love or hate them?

NiteShipslog

What they said…

 Memorable Automobiles from The Past:

 1963 Thunderbird

 For today:

I enjoyed a short video that Nana Diana put on her blog of what her grand (Sweet Cheeks, methinks) said. It was concerning the crucifixion and Easter. I remember very well the Art Linkletter program, “Kids say the Darndest things.” And once you have had children and grandchildren it becomes so apparent.

Once Grandson Ben came to our house, he was visiting from Utah and had met a new friend. The friend has a REAL Southern accent. Ben came in talking ‘sorta’ like Jeremy. Sherry said, “What is with your speech Ben?”

“Oh Grandma Ah’m jest tryyyin to fi-ut iun! (meaning: ‘I’m just trying to fit in!’)”  He was serious.  We cracked up.

We have one granddaughter. I am sure you will understand this, “She was the best, the sweetest and prettiest granddaughter ANYONE ever had.” (OF COURSE!!!! But you see, when I say it, it is TRUE!  LOL)

Once after eating a bowl of ice cream she said, “I eat it all gone!”  We still say that many times when we clean our plate or bowl.

You know I could go on and on about things we remember, I am sure you can.  There is something about the openness when kids speak. I think I have heard it referred to as ‘they have no filters built in yet,’ that is probably a good explanation.

Anyway that was on my mind. To be honest like most families I could give a thousand examples, but Sherry is getting older and I can’t remember any!) Do you have any that jump out to you!

Y’all take care.

Nite Shipslog

Okay another crazy one. A time Machine

 Memorable Automobiles from The Past:

 The Plymouth Fury of the 50s

For today:

The time machine idea has been around for many years. There have even been wild stories of people coming here from the future, etc. My best friend for many years was enamored by programs on TV in the genre of the future, especially Star Trek.  I have always liked speculating on the future, and what it would be like.  I have never seen something developed that said to me, I remember thinking of something like that.  Now I have seen things such as the ‘weed eater’ and said, why in the heck I didn’t think of that, it is such a simple principle.

Since Time machines can go forward and backwards, I ‘think’ I would like to go back to the time of 1750, If I could take something back with me that would fit in my pocket, I would like to go back and show Ben Franklin a battery powered LED flashlight. Just to let him know his playing with electricity really did amount to something. On second thought, a little battery powered translator to show him how fast English could be converted to French.

Things are happening so fast now that the public at large are seldom amazed, just accept things that are developed or invented.

Am I alone, or have you ever thought about something like that? Shucks, when I was a kid I used to try to imagine what Davy Crocket would think if he all of a sudden walked out of the woods and sees cars and trucks on highways!

If you could go back into the past what would you like to take with you to amaze your past kin?

Nite Shipslog

The writing on the wall

Memorable Automobiles from The Past:

 The 1942 Chevrolet, not many were produced, most went to the army.

 For today:

Dr. Mudd aided Booth after he assassinated Lincoln.  He was found guilty and sent to **Fort Jefferson, a military prison located on a small Gulf of Mexico island about 70 miles west of Key West, Florida. Dr. Mudd’s name is infamously remembered and has generated the statement made to someone who screws up badly, “Your name is mud!”  (Mudd was later pardoned by President Johnson)

(I MEAN NO DISRESPECT TO SCRIPTURE BY PUTTING IT IN SOUTHERN SLANG OR MY INTERPRETATION)

A memorable scene in our Old Testament, King Belshazzar was throwing a big shindig. Then something amazing happened. A hand appeared. The Rock and Roll bands went silent, the jitter bugging stopped and gold goblets of wine were dropped. The hand wrote on the wall: “MENE MENE TEKEL PARSIN, it was in Chinese (I guess) No one could read it.  But Hey, they called old Daniel, who was known to sleep with Lions. The BIG Bell guy WANTED TO GIVE Dan a gold necklace for telling what it said, but Dan said, “Keep it.”  He told Big Bell, “Hey dude, you messed up. Drinking, carousing and not paying attention. YOU ain’t gonna like this! You have pushed GOD too far, you have gone crazy! You ain’t gonna make it.  Tonight you will die. The Meats and Russians (something like that) will have your kingdom.”  That is not exact but close. I don’t know if he was truly sorry or not but he was killed just like the WRITING ON THE WALL SAID.

Since that time, when someone felt doom or a big change was coming, you might hear, “I can read the writing on the wall, this ain’t gonna last.”

You that were aboard when AOL Journals were big, can remember an AOL announcement: THIS IS TO NOTIFY YOU THAT ON XXXX DATE ALL AOL JOURNALS WILL DISAPPEAR.

 Now I think I see some WRITING ON THE WALL. For the past few years Blogging and Blogger have become less popular and social media i.e. Facebook and Twitting is taking over. YOU have probably seen the latest notice by Blogger: ‘FOLLOWING BY E-Mail’ will be SUSPENDED July 2021’ gives me the feeling we are headed the way of AOL Journals.

I DO HOPE Blogger will remain intact even if it is never updated. I am sure this is not EARTH SHAKING to you. Nothing in this technological era stays the same for long. BUT LIFE IS GOOD!

Nite Shipslog

PS: **Fort Jefferson is now part of "The Dry Tortugas National Park." I was fortunate to have a friend fly me out to see it once.

 PS2: I just heard from Betty that the 'Follow by E-Mail' on blogger is a subcontractor, not Blogger itself, so I might be readign the writing wrong.... :-O

Some things you NEVER forget

Memorable Automobiles from The Past:

 

 Future VW concept car NILS

For today:

This morning I woke up singing ‘The Wayward Wind’, when I say singing a song, I mean one or two lines (over and over). That is all I know of most songs. I attribute it to me being a trumpet player. To follow a singer or group you only know the notes and key, not the words because you cannot sing and play at the same time. Piano and guitar players can sing along and require words, or you will be embarrassed.

Case in point: I was asked to sing in a Trio (HONEST!) for a Christmas play. We were to be the ‘Three Kings’. Practice went perfect. But the day of the play, I was nervous. WE approached the manger, the other two Airmen (A/1C George Coleman and Flavous Matheny) sang their parts. My time, I sang out loud and strong, “Myrrh is Mine……..  then quieted down (mind blank) and continued, dah de dah, de dum da de da etc for the entire verse, I could not SHUT UP!  For years we received Christmas cards from my peers, “MERRY CHRISTMAS (dah dah de dah!)” But they got old and cheap, so I don’t get the cards any more.  They did get a laugh. I certainly remember it.

I started following Victor whatshisname and enjoy his wit, wisdom and craziness. Today he mentioned reflections. Hey being a preacher’s kid I know the teaching: “live so others will see Jesus in you”, Vic was speaking of what you see in a mirror, WHAT DO YOU SEE?”

Away from the spiritual, Do you know your left from your right in a mirror? I thought of an experience I will NEVER forget concerning mirrors. WE see ourselves and things in mirrors and it is so common we forget the reflection is backwards. We in the NEW World, know that folks in the United Kingdom drive on the WRONG side of the road. I am here to tell you that in London you could get run over looking to the left for oncoming traffic as you start to cross the street, when the oncoming traffic is from the right (I think). LOL

 

ABOVE: One picture is real the other is a mirror image.  Is that his left hand or his right hand. Now is the car coming around you on your left or right?  I couldn't find a picture to show what I saw on my rear view camera.

NOW to the rest of the story. My ‘back up camera’ on the coach died; I replaced it. There is a switch that reads: IMAGE: ‘REAL and MIRRORED?”. I decided I wanted real. BIG MISTAKE, I am so used to mirror images to the rear  that I almost had a wreck, REAL is confusing, REALLY! I reset it to Mirror-image ASAP!

Are you REALly confused yet?

Nite Shipslog

PS: That REAL REAR VIEW still confuses me that I could not adjust TO IT, you must experience it to understand methinks.

 

Memorize this…

 Memorable Automobiles from The Past:

 

The Russian GAZ 1930s

 

For today:

We humans are all different. I like the familiar saying, “Be yourself, everyone else is taken!” As for me, I have always found it hard to ‘memorize’. In math & Trig I was fortunate, formulas came fairly easy.  Being a preacher’s kid I was expected to memorize a lot of scripture, that was hard for me.

I consider myself fortunate, while in school, the Bible was still used and foremost. Even up to high school until I dropped out, students volunteered to read a verse from the Bible and pray a short prayer over the school speaker systems. I never knew a student who resented that or complained. I said that because one of my third grade assignments I public school was to memorize the 23^rd, 24^th and 100thy Pslam over the year. I still remember the 23^rd and 100^th to this day.

Even today Son J Jr. loves to memorize chapters at a time in the Scriptures.

When I was in the 4^th grade, I remember my dad ‘booked’ an evangelist who was known as “The Walking Bible” for a revival. Even as a kid it was amazing to hear a sermon that was ‘scripture’ from beginning to end.  I am not sure he had memorized the entire Bible, but to me he had. LOL

The above was when I was a kid. BUT when I joined the USAF I had a Staff Sgt that had a ‘photographic memory’. I could actually open a phone book (remember those? LOL) He would look at a page for a few seconds, then tell you anyone’s phone # on that page. You could not ask him 30 minutes later, but he could hold a ‘shot’ o that page for a few minutes, then it was gone.

(I enjoyed this book very much, but not the ending. Don't you  hate it when an author ends a book WRONG (In your opinion!))

Now since my late 50s I have been an avid reader. I am not a ‘fan’ of the classics, but I have read some. The Tale of Two Cities, the Prince and the Pauper, The Mayor of Caster Bridge and Bleak house. I actually enjoyed all except Bleak House. I have been reading on it for 3 years (about a few pages at a time) and have no idea why I continue.

Except the Bible, is there any book you would like to memorize?  I think I would like to memorize Tom Sawyer, but only to use ast stories for my great grands..

 

Nite Shipslog

 Deaf, blind & color blind

Memorable Automobiles from The Past:

 

                A beautiful 1937 Ford Coupe

 

For today:

I have learned a lot since I made the choice to be completely deaf. I was fast losing all my hearing. Hearing aids had reached their limits on one ear, and marginal on the other. My choices were limited to a Cochlear Implant. Once the first one was completed my life changed a lot. I could hear Sherry without reading lips. I could have stopped there and had one ear marginal with a hearing aid. The hearing was so little I dismissed it and chose the second implant even after being counselled that once I did this, it is irreversible, I would be totally deaf when not wearing a cochlear device, the rest of my life. I had never in my life known what ‘no sound’ meant, now I do. At times I question my choice but we must live with our decisions. However at nights I sometimes miss that ‘small’ amount of hearing.

I think of little things now. I have known 3 people who were blind. Two could see forms at times such as people like shadows. The other said he could tell day from night. Once in my mid-30s, I was driving and had to pull over to the side of the road because my vision started to close like a curtain. It narrowed down to about 6” my view was clear, not blurred. I actually thought I might be experiencing death although there was no pain. Within minutes the curtain opened up leaving me with the strangest feeling (Mentally). i.e. WHAT JUST HAPPENED?  It never happened again. Now I think what a blessing to the blind if they could only see 1-2 inches with no peripheral vision.

That brings me to color blindness. IF you were color blind and a Dr. said technology was available to allow your eyes to pick up one color, along with all its hues, what color would you choose?

My first impression is ‘Green.’

Yeah I know I ain’t right and think strange, but not as strange as Victor whatshisname from way over yonder.

Nite Shipslog

PS: Do my Cochlear implants work?  Yes but my hearing (voices, sounds, tunes) will never be the same. never the same. Sherry does not sound the same, and many voices sound animated or cartoonish, ducks etc.  And yes I do appreciate the technology.

PS2: interesting color