The Jacks of our family

 Memorable Automobiles from The Past: 

This was brand new when The second jack was born in 1958.

Growing up at our churches we wore roses on Mother's day. IF your mother was alive you wore a red rose, if she was deceased you wore white.

First Happy Mothers day to all the mothers out there. Sherry and I had wonderful mothers. It is hard to think of Mother's day without thinking of them of course. We have some wonderful mothers in this family. Sherry, Corinne, Sherece, Mary, Megan, Jennifer and Kiersten. Happy mother's day especially to all mothers in our family.

For today's other stuff:

I was named Jackie when I discovered America back in the ice ages of 1939. My parents did not know there was a Jacky and a Jackie.  But I have been known as Jack most of my life. Then came this kid,

we named him Jr. so he was the second Jack in the family.

Then Josh and Megan brought in Oliver Jack, This is Grandpa Jack holding Oliver Jack. He is almost a year old now.

Now this is Oliver Jack's big sister, Rosie, she is three now:

Now the latest, and probably the last Jack,  is Jack Wiley brought to us by Matt and Kiersten.

We were invited to one of Maverick’s ‘T’ ball games today and of course his little brother jack Wiley came along. It is hard to imagine Mav playing ball, he is only 3 years old.

Anyway I wanted to introduce the Jacks of our family.

Now normally, if you were holding 4 Jacks, you would have a winning hand.

 

NiteShipslog

Discovering a treasure (LOL), It seems, nothing lasts forever….

 Memorable Automobiles from The Past:

 Skip Gibson and Gary Balough - Hialeah Speedway the last picture posted by friend Jimmy of Miami. Today WAS Jimmy's birthday!

(What many people called 'Stock-car racing', hot rodders who souped up their own engines and ran on dirt tracks, But then, nothing lasts forever)

For today:

Yep I am old, I remember when wall to wall carpet was the ultimate. No more cold floors to traverse to the bathroom in the mornings. That old cold floor was almost a reminder of the trip to the outhouse,,,,,,,, I said ALMOST!

It is amazing to see the look on someone’s face when they remove that old nasty, dirty, ragged wall to wall carpet that has done its time for the world of changing fashion, now it is headed for the dump. Oh the face? YES that face when the person sees a beautiful hardwood floor that has been hiding for 30-40 years, just waiting to be rediscovered. 

Before above and after below

YES, today is the rebirth of the hardwood floor. Most hardwood covering today is the nice new no-nail planking, the ‘slap down’ floating flooring. But, but seeing ¾ inch tongue in groove solid-oak is a dream come true to some. Just refinish and voila. Up-to-date and downtown.

Oh yes, nothing lasts forever, remember the bee hive teased hair-dos? The hula hoop?

Asphalt driveways break up, concrete driveways break and crack.  I just thought of what my concrete man, Jerry Ward said when he and Darby would pour for me. I always asked if his guarantee was the same. “Yes sir it is. I guarantee my concrete to get hard and crack !”  He was honest, old Jerry, may he rest in peace.

Sherry and I were in a restaurant the other day, I could hear a weird noise.  I finally asked, “What is that noise?”

“Honey, that is music,” she said.  I said, “Country music didn't last forever, did it?”

YEP, paint fades, clear skies get cloudy, and every tree will eventually come down. We who have them around our houses hope it is not in our lifetimes.

Speaking of lifetime. Auto oil doesn’t last a lifetime. If earth’s memories are still around in heaven, daddy is telling mama, “Jackie’s oil needs to be changed soon.”

I know that Dad, because you have been replaced by the auto manufacturers, they are in cahoots with the oil industry, now my car tells me to CHANGE THE OIL!

NiteShipslog

Now she can go Barefoot (plus kids clothes)

Memorable Automobiles from The Past:

 I do not miss muddy roads....

BUT I DO MISS the ROADSIDE STANDS!!

For today: (Most pics from the net!)

We always had enough of what was NEEDED as we grew up. During childhood most of us had two pairs of shoes, play and Sunday dress up. Barefooted was normal in the summer. May 1st, in Sherry’s family was the time to go barefooted. In my family the shoes came off when we thought it was comfortable.

I have never liked short pants, I still do not wear them.

I never liked nor wore sandals, I never understood how folks kept from getting stones between the foot and sole.

BUT I can remember when I thought those two toned (black and white) shoes were the cat’s meow.

I remember going thru a phase of peggin our pants legs. Sorta doubling them over and rolling them up.

There was also a phase of ‘snake hips’ where pants were worn lower, but NOTHING like ’pants on the ground’ I have seen in the last few years.

We also did the thin belt thing, the belts were about a ½ inch wide and in colors.

I liked ‘Overhauls’ with  galluses ((over-alls) smile) until I was about ten yrs old. Leaving one gallus hanging loose was COOL! LOL

(The straps were called galluses but my dictionary says it ain’t a word)

'Overhauls' ideal for playing marbles.

I didn't like short pants but I did like stilts. 

I still had stilts when I was older. Here are the twins trying mine out.

NiteShipslog

PS Closest definition I can find today :gallous(Adjective)

Fit to be hanged; wicked; mischievous….

Does anyone else remember what the straps to the bib on over-all’s were called?

 

 

Friends and Cats

 Memorable Automobiles from The Past:

 The Morgan, made in the UK and the only auto hand made and has a wooden frame.

For today:

We took a trip today to have dinner with some fellow campers, some from a few years back.  We had a great time our former chaplain from the Three Flags Resort and his wife also came. I think they drove the furthest, probably 70 miles. Don & Evelyn came by and picked us up.

Several of our friends have had very serious physical problems, but today they seemed to be doing much better.  We had a great time, but we are a little tired.

One bit of news, Tiger 2, the Pussycat has moved her new puppies into our basement and hid them way back in the corner. Tiger 1 the Tom, still comes in the basement also. I reminded Tiger 2 that her mom Stormy Daniels raised them in the basement. she said she remembered. LOL   ‘Mama knew you were easy and would feed us all good, I am just following her example.’

NiteShipslog

Following a dream….

Memorable Automobiles from The Past:

 Not sure if this is someone's dream or nightmare!

For today:

We hear that statement a lot, “Follow your dream!” It always sounds like an adventure or challenge. dreams cost, either in sacrifice of other things, money or effort. I have an old shipmate I have mentioned here. I am from the south and Polish names were new to me. Aboard ship many men are affectionately known by a nick name. Ski (skee) was an easy going computer repairman and became a friend. 50 years later, I was pleasantly shocked that our friend Ski  is now Protodeacon Michael Malanowski of the Orthodox Church. It was great to reconnect with him.

His son is in a ‘Monastery’ and a Monk (?). Life requirements are very strict. His dream has cost him a lot, using the standards I consider normal.

 I also learned a lot in the process of reconnecting. I learned a little about the Orthodox and Catholic Churches. They are definitely different.

I had the privilege of meeting several Monks in Spain way back in the hills. I believe the port was at Alicante, Spain. In their remote monastery they produced ‘Olive Oil’ using a huge stone wheel and spent a lot of time in prayer and meditation.  I am not sure if they were Catholic or Orthodox. BUT they gave up a lot to follow a dream.

This little dream of mine (and it may just be a dream or hope) to walk the AT will take me by a Monastery in New York.

(From the internet)

The Graymoor Spiritual Life Center is a monastery that generously allows hikers to camp for free in the picnic shelter on their ball field. Come on, when else are you going to get to camp at a monastery? Do it for the experience. The monastery is about 0.4 miles off trail on Franciscan Way. Mile 1,430.8: RPH Shelter.

I have been working on stoves. I have built three alcohol stoves. They weigh less than an ounce. It takes ½ of a coke can to make one. The latest takes 11 minutes to boil 2 cups of water. Ramein noodles will be my main daily meal on the trail.

Stove stuff:

This has been our progression of stoves:

The three stoves uses this far, the one with the big black tank was too heavy. The one not real clear has a smaller tank. The flat can in front is the catfood can stove, also alcohol. the black tape just holds it together for travel.

These are the three I just built. They take 5 table spoons of denatured alcohol to boil water.

The little pancake stove fits in the screen as below:

Of course only one is used , the others will be spares if I go this way. I would still have to carry the fuel.

 

NiteShipslog

It happened so FAST

 Memorable Automobiles from The Past:

 The 1939 Hansa

New when I was born, making me OLD!

For today:

For some reason lately I am around a lot of OLD people. ( :-O))…  99% of us old people act like we got OLD overnight.  We all say, it seems yesterday I was 35-40 and looking at many years ahead with the family.  Now my mind tells me, hey you are like the roll of toilet paper, it spins faster toward the end.

Down inside we all know we have lived every one of those years.  WE know we had 24 hours in every day just like when we were 15 years old. If the old person is in good health, and their mind is good they actually feel 10-15 years younger.

The problem with age is physical problems. Jack Jr, Sherry & I were discussing a friend of his and a friend of a friend. The man is near 95, the family has moved away and he sticks around home. He says weeks at a time no one stops by to say hello. The one down side of living into your 80-90s is your peers have mostly made that final journey.

Yep, I think about age a lot. I was telling my son, I do not want to have the title of the ‘Oldest Man In the World’.

“WHY?” you may ask. Well I will tell you. The guy that attains that title or record, doesn’t hold it long.  LOL

Take care, be safe, grow old and enjoy the great grands (OR GRANDLOVES as friend Dar says!).  If you do not have a favorite writer, find one.  Get a good rocker or swing and travel in your mind using the book. Do some cross word puzzles or find someone to play dominoes with. Let’s not become an old scrooge, let’s live to the end and be READY to meet our Maker with no regrets.

So you didn’t get to the moon, but your smile may change someone’s life.

 I hope you smiled.....

NiteShipslog

Hearing, playing, Learning and stuff

 Memorable Automobiles from The Past:

 1962 Chevy Impala

For today:

I must say something about hearing impaired folk.  We who cannot hear well are very frustrated with the mask wearing requirement. I am not saying that wearing a mask is stupid or unnecessary, I really do not know. I hear from folks who are trained in the area of disease spreading that it does help. WHAT I DO KNOW is that it makes it much more difficult for me to communicate!

But what I am noticing is that people who did not know they read lips have learned that they actually do use lips to help them ‘HEAR!’ I have not seen any stats of hearing aids, but I would bet that the aids sales have gone up in the past year.

Do you have a problem understanding others that wear masks?

Ok, on the lighter side but some consider it morbid. Have you ever heard that hair and nails continue to grow after death?.....

I certainly remember hearing that.  I just tried a quick research. Some say ‘maybe a little’ others say NO!  Then some say that everything else on the body shrinks after losing the moisture and the hair and nails do not, so they appear to have grown some.

I just thought that is something you just wanted to know. LOL

We here at out NC house had a great time with the family members who still live in this area.  We had Red Lobster cater it and had a great time. The great-grands' shot some hoops, walked some logs, used the swings and hit some balls into Stella’s portable batting cage.

There was one misfortune. Jack Jr and his granddaughter Rosie were in our latest swing. It is hung with new chains. One of them broke, dropping one side of the swing scaring Rosie. It cause a few tears of course, she is only three years old. The swing right beside it has hung on the same type of chains for 25 years and NEVER a problem. I was shocked to have the new chain break and felt bad for JJ and Rosie. Fortunately it was a fright mostly, not physical damage, i,e, NOT a foot or hand caught under the swing.

NiteShipslog

Bent nails

 Memorable Automobiles from our Past:

 

Jamaican Orphan busses in our driveway when we loaned our home to them for a week a few years ago, they were on tour in the USA and are very talented singers and dancers.

For today:

For many years growing up, my dad assigned me the job of straightening bent nails. The nails came from a collection of construction jobs and especially remodels to parsonages and churches. Those nails were saved for reuse. That stuck in my mind for years.

I even had a part time job once ‘cleaning old boards’ for reuse and also the nails. That went away for many years, nails were less expensive and no one straightened nails. Of course ‘OLD Weather beaten BOARDS’ are still cleaned today, but to be used in the more modern homes to make ‘accent walls’.

On my first real job as a carpenter’s helper, my boss (and mentor) Luke Tucker saw me picking up nails I had dropped. He stopped what he was doing to make a point. “Jackie, how much am I paying you?”

“75 cents and hour sir!”

“That is right, I am paying 11 cents a pound for the nails. Do not drop them on purpose, but never pick one up. That is not efficient in today’s building market.”

Life and priorities change out of necessity…. Since I am retired I will sometimes straighten a nail. LOL.  The one thing I do practice, is saving wood screws. They lend themselves to reuse.

I never will forget seeing a carpenter driving screws like a nail. The boss yelled at him, “Don’t you know what those threads on the screw are for?”

“Yep, I ain’t that dumb, they are there to remove the screw!”  (NOTE: Every carpenter has driven a screw on occasion! That was long before screw guns.)

There is one in every occupation!

NiteShipslog

PS: They say you can buy anything onthe internet, now I believe it: