Dem Germs Where have they been all my life?

I just read about germs, where they hide. Your toothbrush holder is full of ‘em. Your  wash cloth, your dish rag (same as dish cloth), Your steering wheel,  hey watch out for the handle of the shopping cart! Then there is your credit card, covered with germs! Our money? Filthy! (I will e-mail you my address, you should get rid of all your money!) Mobile phones have 18 more times the germs than the  toilet handle. Don’t even think about your cabinet tops! The list goes on!

Please do not get me wrong. I do believe in being clean. I also don’t think you should tempt your health, but what I want to know is was money dirty when I used to put it in my mouth? In the 1940’s there was a company that packaged a nickel pack of redskin peanuts. Every little round box contained a coin. Most were pennies but there were nickels and dimes on rare occasions. But the coin was just dropped in with the peanuts, WHO KNOWS WHO HANDLED THOSE COINS?

I mentioned it before, hundreds of times I have drank from the same Pepsi bottle that my friends did. I’ve used my friends pencils from school with teeth marks all over them.  Did you ever chew your pencil?

Did you mama have stew beef and chicken on the same cutting board and use the same knife?

Wash day all our colored clothes went together and all the whites, handkerchiefs, snotty arms of our shirts, all of it, washed together. (I don’t mean to be nasty by that, but boys wiped their runny noses on their sleeves ‘til they were slick.).  I am sure girls were nicer.

I will be honest, I had one teacher, Mrs Grill. She was the best teacher I ever had bar none, 7th grade. Mrs. Mellissa Grill, Valdese High School.(I guess it was Jr. Hi), but I do remember her teaching health and said she always washed her handkerchiefs separate in Clorox to kill the residual germs.  I don’t remember doing it, but I remember her teaching it.

I’m just wondering why we weren’t lying all over the streets and yards dying from all the germs, or do germs follow the rule of ‘What you don’t know won’t hurt you?’  Just wondering.

Thanks for coming by the log.

Nite Shipslog

PS:

Screwed-up people settle fights through violence. Screwed-up people start wars that could kill millions. Normal people settle fights through cookies, cakes, and pies. Normal people are fat.

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Bugatti, I am not sure If I have ever seen one before up close and personal.  It is certainly a classic.

1945… Burlington, NC The RED BOX

Miss Cherry was my first grade teacher. I got in trouble quite regular and became quite familiar with that stool in the corner.  That was before they knew that it could ruin our self esteem to be called out or punished. I DO NOT remember a pointed hat with dunce written on it as I see in pictures, but the stool? Yeah, little Jackie knew about that.

No red cars in  1945, BUT

:

Something I did not know about was the red box with a ribbon on the top and a slit in the top. It appeared on Mrs. Cherry’s desk sometimes after Christmas. No explanation was given, it just sat there for a couple weeks. In due time Mrs. Cherry asked if we all knew what Valentines Day meant?

Her explanation as I remember was that it was a day to show folks we cared for them. That day she turned the box around and it had a beautiful Heart shape on it, She said, “This is our Valentine box. for anyone in the class that you want to send a valentine to, get your mama to help you write their names on the card, but you can write your own name now, so I will expect your name at the bottom.

Valentines day we will have a little party and give out the Valentines. I will have a memo graph list of the class for each of you!  WOW!

25 people in the class and 25 cents would buy everyone a card. Most of us done that.  We hadn’t developed the attitude, “I don’t like George or Hattie” yet.

That was exciting, we made valentines for our mothers and of course mother said you must give Miss Cherry one.

Later of course Valentines Day became more interesting when I learned what a valentine really was.

All thru grade school that valentine box was exciting. TODAY AS A SENIOR and with the internet, I can wish you all a very Happy Valentine’s Day. There comes a little sorrow with age, because so many have lost their true Valentine over the years. But Ahhhhh how nice the memories must be.

Right now, young love is easy for me to remember, how amazing, how my heart soared. How light my head would get and how I floated on to my house, after walking my baby back home!

So love to you all, What a wonderful time of the year. LOVE IS IN THE AIR.

Thanks for coming by the log

Nite Shipslog

PS:

In ancient Greece, tossing an apple to a girl was a traditional proposal of marriage. Catching it meant she accepted.

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RED cars for Valentines Day!

Heroes, Indians,Walking and running & a Massacre

One of our favorite places to stay is Gila Bend, AZ (Pronounced He-la Bend). The area is the land of the Pima Indians. Having been a marine, I knew the history of one Pima Indian, you have have heard of him, Ira Hayes.  Ira was one of the men who raised the flag in the most famous flag raising in the world, the one on Mount Suribachi, Iwo Jima.

Ira died near Gila Bend, Always a hero to others  but he said he never felt like a hero.

The Barry Goldwater bombing Range is near Gila Bend.

WE began enjoying hiking in the desert. I had always pictured the desert as sand, but it is hard surfaced, lots of small rock gravel and  scrubs. We heard of the Oatman Massacre. We began to ask around, no one could point us to the area. We were shocked. There was one small book written a few years after the incident, we bought it.

(A lone Saguaro Cactus guards the Oatmans)

We spend days driving into the desert then walking and climbing Mesa’s, we knew the massacre occurred on the edge of a mesa.  We were assured, when you find it, it will be marked. It took over a week of mis-steps, but we found it. A pile of rocks, with one small sign marking the spot.

(The only picture I have my experiment with a timer on the camera)

In 1851, the Oatman family, with what was left of a small Mormon group, had decided to press on toward Fort. Yuma. They had been following the Gila River and climbed the South Wall to camp. A group of Indians walked into the camp. Mr. Oatman, an humble, soft spoken man, explained in Spanish that they had very little to eat but shared water and bread with the Indians.

After eating and smoking the pipe, without warning, the Indians let out the war yells and began to batter the family with their war clubs. The number killed varies, but it was at least Roy and his wife and the baby. Other reports tell of another boy and girl. Lorenza the boy was assumed dead and thrown off the Mesa. Olive 13 and Mary Anne, 8, were taken captive. Forced to walk and run over 200 miles in 3 days. They had very little clothes and no shoes.

A day or so later Lorenza came to his senses, he walked and crawled one hundred miles, he was discovered by two Pima Indians on Horseback and  was delivered to some wagons. The wagons were from the same train, that had delayed their time starting to Ft. Yuma.

The frail Mary Anne died in Olive’s arms after a couple years. She begged the Indians to allow her to bury instead of cremate her sister. They allowed this tough young lady to do that. She was tattooed as slaves were. She taught them how to plant and grow good crops by fertilizing.

Unknown to Olive, Lorenza(whom she thought was long dead) had never given up searching for her. A Mr. Grinnel a carpenter at Fort Yuma helped Lorenza.  In 1856 Grinnel found Olive and traded a horse and some blankets and beads for her.

(The cover featured Olive, the tattoos were never removed, this book was written following Stratton’s)

Royal B. Stratton(a Methodist minister), wrote the first book using Olive’s tales. All profits from the book paid for the two remaining Oatman kids education.

An interesting study for us.

Thanks for coming by the log.

Nite Shipslog

PS:

Revenge is good. It's what separates us from the animals and the hippies.

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A beautiful 1951 Ford  also a 1950 Ford

Same cruise in at Buchanan, MI

Horses mean a lot!

I read Mel’s comment about her childhood and the number of horses she could remember, and thought, how neat was that childhood! Wow, being pulled on a sled by someone one a horse, that too!

My mind went back to the few horses I have known. The first horse I ever saw up close was Trigger. Roy was on stage at the Saturday morning movie in Burlington, NC. Roy asked who wanted to ride Trigger? With about three hundred kids jumping up and down and yelling , ME, ME!! He picked ME! He smiled shook my hand and introduced himself, then lifted me into the saddle. He led me around the stage once. Probably 50 or 60 feet all totaled. BUT from then on I was gonna be a cowboy.

The next one I rode was bare back, about 12 yrs old. We did not know whose horses, but in a field and my buddy Vondale showed me how to grab the mane and swing up. So I did, we rode the ponies for about a half hour. No one caught us. Probably would not have cared anyway.

The next one was Frank, a pinto pony. He belonged to Jim & Bub page in Valdese. I went home with the Pages  after church on Sunday. After Sunday dinner, Jim saddled Frank. Frank was frisky. He rode him to the front yard of the house. “Wanna ride ‘im Jackie?”  Ha, has a cat got a climbing gear? “Sure!” I swung up into the saddle, Frank took a couple steps and began to buck. I let go the reins, and grabbed the saddle and held on. Then Frank hit the ground and rolled, but I was out of the saddle before he could roll on me. Jim grabbed the reins and led Frank back to the front yard.  I was shaking like a leaf.

Jim’s Dad said, “Get back on him Jackie, if you  don’t he won’t ever let you ride him.”  I got on, he hesitated but then started walking up the road. I reined him in and turned  and rode him back. Frank and me became great friends.

About a year later our phone rang, Jim was crying. Frank’s dying Jack, can you come over?

Dad said it was okay, I put my overalls on grabbed my bike and rode to The Page’s house. about three miles in the dark, with no light on the bike. Frank had gotten into the oat barrel, then went to the creek and drank too much water, that night I learned about foundering. The Vet could not save Frank, he died that night.  What a sad night and an introduction to the death of a BIG animal. Horses seemed too big to die.

Even Kids must learn about life.

Thanks for coming this way.

Nite Shipslog

PS:

No problem is so big and difficult that it can't be blamed on somebody else.

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1930 Lincoln

1930 Ford (I guess I am slow, but I just realized why we call the card trunk the trunk!)

Made in the Shade

Remember when everything was going well, you  had it ‘made in the shade!’

Merle Haggard put out a song many years ago that I adapted as my song. “Shade Tree Fix it Man”, it seemed to fit because I am pretty lucky about fixing stuff.

Electronics are very well constructed now. How often do you drop your phone and wonder it it will work? Most of the time it does. Our camera has been dropped a couple times  bending the nose. I just straighten it and push it in, works.

Some folks remember back when tubes were in radios and even TV’s. If it wasn’t working right you could give it a good slap and it started working. What you had accomplished with the slap was jarring a connection or tube to make better connection.

Once in church the Organ quit working, I walked up and slapped it, and it started. I got an ovation for that.  The preacher said DO NOT try that on your wife!! (I didn’t ask if he was speaking from experience! LOL)

If you  ever saw ‘Ma and Pa Kettle’, when they were listening to the radio and it quit, he would bounce his chair on the floor, and jar the radio into playing.

Having been around electronics since 1956, I am amazed at the reliability of electronics today. They are no installing the monitor screens in those little cold rooms, you know, the ones you go into, get undressed and wait, and wait and wait on the Dr.  Now they are cutting down on the wait some places, you won’t even see him personally, he will only be on the monitor. Your nurse or the assistant will hook up wires so he can see you and all your vitals; and discuss your problems.

Not going to be too personal.

Thanks for coming by the log.

Nite Shipslog

PS:

Observations on Growing Older

***** Everybody whispers.
***** Now that your mate has retired, you'd give anything if they’d find a job.
***** You have three sizes of clothes in your closet, two of which you will never wear again.
***** But old is good in some things -- old songs, old movies,
and best of all -- old friends!

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1919 Chevrolet, could have gassed up above.

Fort Huachuca, AZ

I had a entry awhile back about our stay at the home of the  Buffalo Soldier. I then talked about Tombstone, and the Earps.

The area is filled with Old West History. We were privileged to drive up to the Chiricahua Monument.  Now I am used to a monument being a statue or something like The Washington Monument, or Lincoln Memorial, imagine my surprise when it was a huge plot of land dedicated to the Chiricahua Indians. The formations are something like the ones in Utah at the Arches National Park.  Very interesting indeed.

On the way to the Monument we went to Wilcox, AZ.

One of my favorite singing Cowboys. Always with that hat on the back of his head. It is said that he was the only true COWBOY  of all the singing cowboys, he was raised on a ranch and knew which end of a horse could bite.  The museum is like most small museums, GREAT and not well attended.

There were a wealth of ghost towns around these parts, over 30 dead towns, from the days of Silver mining.

Just South of Wilcox is Cochise Strong hold. A place for the tribe and Cochise to live and no one could flush them out.

Sherry at the only entrance to the Strong Hold.

There was even more to see. We went south, near the Mexican border and went into a cave that we had to crawl into the entrance. It is owned by the State, but has never been set up for tourists. We were allowed to go in if we had enough flash lights, they required at least two.

Very big cave once inside but very eerie. AND so dark it ate up the light from the flash lights.

That area of Arizona is great to visit.

Thanks for coming by the log.

Nite Shipslog

PS:

Observations on Ladies Growing Older

***** Your mascara clumps , and your eyebrows are disappearing.
***** You don't have hair under your arms and very little on your legs, but your chin needs to be plucked daily.
*****What used to be freckles are now liver spots.

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This seems to be very unique, a 4 door convertible.1935 Ford

Your best idea

One of the many Auto Ideas:

(1956 Ford X2000, an idea that never happened)

Everyone has an idea for something new, a modification or an improvement over a product..  Some work out some do not.  What has been your best idea? I have cleaned a lot of house gutters.  Have you   ever seen a bush or tree growing out of someone’s gutter?  I have many times but I never thought of this, and I should have:

Yep Gutter garden. When I saw that I loved it.  I might do this this spring.

In a motor home we are always looking for ways to save space. I have a couple compartments that have plastic containers, but the one I am most proud of is the hand tool section. (of course).

(I took this flat section that was not being used to hang some often used tools.)

Sherry wanted this, so I installed it for her, an easier to put groceries away, the sliding shelf:

(Also on the back of the door is a needle point map of the Appalachian Trail. Look closely you will see my girl in the mirror at her computer)

I have never come up with an idea that is earth shaking, but many ideas have made our lives better. I admire someone who is continually thinking of a better way to do something.

Again, what is/was your best idea?

Keep your mind alert. There may be nothing new under the sun, but what is here can always be improved. Make your life better. THINK! 

Thanks for coming by the log.

Nite Shipslog

PS:

Observations on Growing Older

***** Notice everything they sell in stores is "sleeveless"?
*****Many of the people in People Magazine you've never heard of.
*****Your lipstick bleeds.

*********************RV’ers************************

Part of our nomad ancestors.

There have always been folks on the move.

We spotted this one in the back country of Maine:

Life on the road has changed, but the feeling is the same. sometimes we ‘Boondock’ which is RV’ing for ‘roughing it’, without the ‘shore’ hookups.

Girls know things. Some tastes just go together

 

I have always (it seems) had a problem selecting the right container for left overs. Usually I pick one too big.  Now I just hold the two up that I think might work and Sherry will nod to the correct one. She never misses. Right size every time.

She knows Navy Blue ain’t black, and that navy blue don’t match black. What?

So I cannot wear navy blue socks with black pants if I plan to cross my legs and show my socks. AND what if I have an accident and some nurse laughs at the old man who can’t tell Navy from Black.

I take her word for the matching stuff, cause she knows things that I don’t.  Did you know jeans sheets get dirty?

WE normally do not give birthday presents, this year the girl done something different. I opened my card and there was a hundred $20 bills.  Okay not a hundred of ‘em but $200 worth.  So yesterday I finally spent my present. I ordered a spanking new Milwaukee cordless  drill and impact tool from Amazon. I mean, they sell my books, I should do business with them. Wow whata deal, $202.

(My buddy Sonny would be proud of me, he preferred Milwaukee, I was always too cheap to buy them)

“What is this $202 on the credit card?” SHE ASKS!

“Honey, that is my Birthday present!”

“Didn’t I give you CASH?”  Women know too danged much (as my buddy Sonny would say).

“Okay, it is next years present!”

“And how do you know that you will get a present next year?”  I guess she doesn’t need a lesson in logic, so I will shut up until I find a good response to that.

Tastes? As I sit here I am eating salty peanuts and an orange. Orange and peanuts seem to go together.

(I stole these from ‘The blind pig and an acorn’)

At our house we called milk Sweet or butter. Cornbread and sweet Milk or butter milk. Crackers and sweet milk.  Now don’t ax me why. It is what mama said.

Sardines go with crackers and water. Growing up I ate sardines. Dad loved them. Once while grocery shopping (not long after we were married), I grabbed a couple cans of sardines. When I got around to opening one, it was yellow. I threw the can away, knowing it was rotten (you know you cannot go by the smell of sardines. haha).  Then I read on the other can, PACKED IN MUSTARD! How could that be? God created sardines packed in oil, not mustard, not ketchup, not hot sauce; OLIVE OIL, for heavens sake.  Oh well, live and learn, maybe?

Thanks for coming by the crazy log.

Nite Shiplog

PS: 

Observations on Growing Older

**** You use more four-letter words -- "What?"..."When?"
**** Your husband has a night out with the guys but he's home by 9:00 PM; next week it will be 8:30 PM.
**** You read 100 pages into a book before you realize you've read it.

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1954 Packard Panther, GRP (Glass reinforced plastic or fiberglass) body. straight 8 engine, 275 HP and done 131+ MPH at Daytona.  Never made production I think.