Mondays? Never a problem

I don’t know if I just picked the right jobs, or I am just happy wherever  Do you know anything about churches/businesses and their problems with temperature controls.  That is one of the largest headaches, having a building the right temp for the public.

I had a pastor tell me once that I must be a lizard, I didn’t care what the temp was, I never complained.  Many folk, like my Girl Sherry, carry a sweater or jacket in the hot summer, if they plan to enter a building, because most places are too cold for her.

I have heard folks complain about Mondays all my adult life, I don’t remember complaining about Mondays, if I did it had to be in school, school was not my favorite place growing up.

(Had one of these)

I have mentioned IQ before. Learning I had an extremely high IQ made me lazy. I thought that meant that I was very smart.  The secret of a high IQ is that YOU HAVE POTENTIAL, you CAN make logical analytical decisions. IT DOESN’T MEAN THAT YOU WILL!  There in lies the joke on us with a high IQ, you  end up being mediocre.

Don’t get me wrong, I never feel sorry for myself for not reaching my potential, you probably didn’t either. Most folks don’t.

Most nights I tuck my love in, and I tell her she is the most important thing in my life.  I always tell her, ‘we would have had nothing, if it was not for you’.

Every once in awhile we laugh at life. Comparing our first place, a rented 8x26 foot 1 BR trailer; to this 38 ft. Motor home. Sherry says, ‘I thought our little trailer was a mansion’. What we lived in has never made any difference.  I moved her into a remodeled chicken house once.It was each other that mattered.

My ‘55 with Marty Kerns

But come Monday morning? I was ready to go to work, earn that paycheck, no matter how small, it provided for my girl and me.  I honestly feel sorry for folks who hate to go to work. I wish everyone could love their work,their mate and be happy with their life.  Life is so much better.

Our old ‘68 I fixed up for  Mark.

We love Lucy here on the net.  Lucy refers to us as ‘rich’ sometimes. We live like millionaires so I don’t mind. At one time we were pretty well off. In the last 20-25 years we have really wanted for little. But we have never required much. We have never needed a new car. I never minded driving a car 10 years old. My pickup trucks were old, I never felt the need to impress any of the other builders.

(Our ‘55 Ford)

I could have had an office down town, but why? Sherry never minded talking to potential buyers and furnishing coffee. It upset my son a couple times, because he felt running with the Big dogs was impressive; but I could underbid most of the competition, because I could settle with less  profit.

Enough, Be happy with your portion in life, if you are really unhappy ask yourself why?  If it is that important then change. If not, Love life and smile.

Life is good. Just go ask MA, or the Boomer!

http://onyama.blogspot.com/

http://brboomer.blogspot.com/

Nite Shipslog

PS:

Don’t ever wrestle with a pig. You’ll both get dirty, but the pig will enjoy it.

—Cale Yarborough

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One of my work trucks ‘65 Ford

I like to read, I have even read a classic.

A classic car, the 1953 Nash-Healey

Some classic’s were recommended for me to read. ‘Bleak House’ by Dickens and ‘The Mayor Of Casterbridge’ by Thomas hardy. I picked ‘Treasure Island’ by Robert Louis Stevenson myself.

I succeeded in reading ‘The Mayor’ very quickly, probably 4 nights. I enjoyed it, but did not like the irony of the ending. I am so disappointed in ‘Bleak House’ by Dickens. It definitely isn’t ‘A Christmas Carol’ or ‘A Tale of Two Cities’. I am having a rough time getting thru it. I have been trying for months.

Since I have the Kindle, many of the classic's are free. I am now ‘enjoying’ Stevenson’s ‘Treasure Island’.  I still cannot get used to reading the e-books, I need to refer back too many times, and it is hard on the Kindle to know how far back I want to go.  It is not like going back say, 10 pages, is easy, you must go back one page at a time. 

If you have read Bleak House, tell me what makes it a classic. I am wrestling with it and I usually do not do that, I usually just drop what I do not like.

Reading is a great past time. I regret that I did not start reading earlier for enjoyment.  Starting late has some advantages, you have many books to read to catch up to the latest of living authors.

Writing is a different story. You must get into a certain frame of mind. If I try to make myself write, I seldom use what I wrote and just destroy it.  I have been in that position since I published “S’Gar”. I have started a senior romance book, but only have 14 pages of stuff I wish to use. I am hoping to get a boost after Tax time. hahaha.

Read and enjoy.  Read and Escape. Read to forget your troubles. TV used to put my Sherry to sleep, Now it is reading. So read to go to sleep.

Thanks for Reading this ‘stuff’.

Nite Shipslog

PS:  However Einstein said this about that:

The person who reads too much and uses his brain too little will fall into lazy habits of thinking……………………(?)!

—Albert Einstein

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I believe this is an old Studebaker

next….Citrus

One big advantage of being in Florida is the availability of citrus. I have learned a couple new names. Valencia and Hamlin these are juice oranges.  They keep pretty well and are good to eat or juice.  I had never paid any attention, but I must have heard of the Honey-Belle.  It is a sweet orange, but does not keep well. Every one knows the Navel, It peels good and is good for juice or eating.

There is a road side, honor system spot on Estes Road East of Eustis that sells the fresh fruit. Juice oranges are $5 half bushel honey belles, Navels and Tangelo’s $6 for half bushel.

96% of all citrus is picked by hand using wooden ladders and canvas sacks. The average Picker earns about $10 an hour. Since it is becoming hard to find pickers, they are experimenting with mechanical harvesters, they account for the 4%.

Citrus is a great fruit but it does not ripen once picked. Any orange that hits the ground stays there because it is damaged by rot or disease. Unlike apples that you can eat  from off the ground.

An Orange reaches a certain sweetness when it is still green, and can be picked for juice. The Orange blossom is a sweet smell, the orange tree will bloom with fruit still on the  tree. The smell carries for miles!

When I first came down I thought there were two harvests, but not so, only one a year.

I think the best juice is a combination of all the oranges.  You can imagine the amount of waste bi-product of the orange, some is incinerated and some processed for cattle food. In towns where they process the juice you can smell the peel,pulp and seeds, not as bad as the paper plants were at one time, but you can smell it.

I am always amazed at the amount of oranges hauled to the plants.

I love tangerines, but they are not a BIG thing here in Florida. Saturday we walked to the local farmers market and one lady was selling her tangerines for a $1 a dozen.  Grapefruits were 5 for a dollar.

I believe the Texas Red Grapefruit is redder than the Florida reds, but I am not sure. Texas also has some great citrus.

We have a half bushel to juice now, probably tomorrow.

Thanks for coming by the log.

Nite Shipslog

PS: (Not bad logic)

I’d rather live with a good question than a bad answer.

—Aryeh Frimer

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1955 VW, the first car I ever did see that was not built in America.

Does anyone make soupy rice?

Growing up in the Grace Darnell home we had ‘soupy Rice’ when we had rice.  There was no steaming rice.  I still do not know how she made it, but I think  she added milk.  I know I loved it.  It could be a meal by itself.  And for a snack in the evening I would eat the left overs with milk, like corn bread and milk.

Another think I liked was the green beans that she put the little ‘new’ potatoes in. I don’t know what else she put in it, either bacon drippings or a little ham I think.

My mama was one of the best cooks, if not the best, in the world. Many folk have said that. Her fried chicken was the talk of every evangelist that ever sat her table.  Sherry learned from my mama and our boys have always said Sherry should have started a Chicken chain.

After coming into our family Sherry would always say your mama can turn around in the kitchen a few times and have a meal fit for a king, really she  could. Every morning was two pans of biscuits made from scratch. I can still see her tamp her signature touch to EVERY biscuit in the big pan. Her first two knuckles touched every one.

I have never tasted Chicken and dumplings as good as hers. Once when she was bed fast at our house I decided to make dumplings. Back and forth to her room following instructions (I thought).  Finally I went back into her room and said, “Mama, I have some real thick chicken soup!”

She laughed, “You are supposed to move them around, You stirred them didn’t you?”

“Yep”.  Mama knew it all. Once in Missouri the Mz Downing, who ran ‘Downing’s Trailer Park’, gave everyone who wanted it, space to have a garden. I was so proud, I think I planted 50 tomato plants. and a row of turnips. The turnips grew long like carrots, and they were bitter. So I called mama.

“What?” she said, “This is spring son, you plant turnips in the fall, and thin them out so they will have room to grow.”  She knew I weren’t no farmer.

Well here I am 73 years old and still want some of that soupy rice.

Thanks for coming by the log.

Nite  Shipslog

PS:

47. Don’t ever wrestle with a pig. You’ll both get dirty, but the pig will enjoy it.

—Cale Yarborough

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Do not know what year, but it is an Edsel.

guessing 1959. (they were produced 1958-1960, I think)

Who do you REALLY know and care about.

If you have been reading my ‘stuff’ for awhile you know, I am older than most folks I associate with ‘cept Lucy. In the past few years I have reconnected with friends, some from over 50 yrs ago. I just received this from one of those guys, Richard. Well, no one called him Richard, HE IS BUDDY. In my Books, one of the good guys  is Buddy. The Character is REAL.  Some escapades are also real. Bud, Tuck, Sam, Sticky, Fred, Sonny, and many more have made my life GOOD! This is no secret, but today it is special…So here goes….

The Charlie Schulz Philosophy

The following is the philosophy of Charles Schulz, the creator of the 'Peanuts' comic strip.
You don't have to actually answer the questions. Just ponder on them.
Just read the e-mail straight through, and you'll get the point.
1. Name the five wealthiest people in the world.
2. Name the last five Heisman trophy winners.
3. Name the last five winners of the Miss America pageant.
4 Name ten people who have won the Nobel or Pulitzer Prize.
5. Name the last half dozen Academy Award winners for best actor and actress.
6. Name the last decade's worth of World Series winners.
How did you do?
The point is, none of us remember the headliners of yesterday.
These are no second-rate achievers.
They are the best in their fields.
But the applause dies..
Awards tarnish..
Achievements are forgotten.
Accolades and certificates are buried with their owners.

Here's another quiz. See how you do on this one:

1. List a few teachers who aided your journey through school.
2. Name three friends who have helped you through a difficult time.
3. Name five people who have taught you something worthwhile.
4. Think of a few people who have made you feel appreciated and special.
5. Think of five people you enjoy spending time with.
Easier?
The lesson:
The people who make a difference in your life are not the ones with the most credentials, the most money...or the most awards.
They simply are the ones who care the most!

'Don't worry about the world coming to an end today. It’s already tomorrow in Australia !'
''Be Yourself. Everyone Else Is

Taken!"

I just wanted to pass this along.  Thanks for coming by the Log.

Nite Shipslog

PS: (The group I ran with could have said this!)

I am patient with stupidity but not with those who are proud of it.

—Edith Sitwell

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My first car,  ‘48 Chev Convertible.

next….Fun things in life…

(1951 Packard popular when the Hit Parade was on TV)

I remember listening to the radio at night and had a ball. I remember going to friends houses and watching TV, fun.  I loved Wrestling so we watched Hit Parade with Snooky Lanson & Gizzell  McKenzie, that came on before Wrestling. That was all fun.

I remember a few songs from growing up and many from the teen years.  I wonder if the teens to day will remember the words to songs, I cannot understand the  words (or could not before going deaf).

(People drove the 1939 Studebaker and listened to Jeepers Creepers on the radio)

Do you know the song that was top on the charts the day you were born?  Well the day I was born (Jan 17, ‘39) it was “Jeepers Creepers”. (Probably what daddy said)

If you want to know what was top of the charts click on this:

http://www.joshhosler.biz/NumberOneInHistory/Old%20Files/SelectMonth.htm

Something else I thought was funny, posted by Bonnie on a Forum I frequent:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5_DuZ8WuMM

She entitled it, maybe ‘Bird Brain’ isn’t such a slur after all (paraphrased).

I am amazed at what I find on the net by accident even. Our system is via cell signal so we are very slow and most times will not play a video, so I do not watch many.

As I get older, it takes less to tickle my funny bone. Maybe I am understanding the  rules better, or life changes the rules to fit my situation, not sure which.

This is my Birthday month, I can laugh about that (much better than crying).

Thanks for coming this way.

Nite Shipslog

PS:

It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.

—Aristotle

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1912 Delauney

Where is my Belt Buckle?

(Pictures , I have no idea what they are I just thought they were pretty)

I am getting old and losing things. I just noticed I cannot see my belt buckle. Military men will tell you there is a Gig-Line. And if it is not straight some loud mouth Sergeant or Chief is gonna tell you.
Before going on liberty or standing inspection you always glance down to make sure your shirt, belt buckle and fly are in perfect alignment! I looked down and could not see my buckle, Wow, I am in trouble if I have to stand inspection?

Everyone’s life makes changes, no matter the occupation or life style. Retirement is a good thing for some folk, but it does not fit everyone.
 
I am sure my life would have been different if someone could have gotten thru to me that education was a good thing. But when I reached 16 and could ‘quit’ school that is what I wanted to do. I respected my parents enough that I would not quit unless I had a job.
Something early in my life instilled in me a respect for the Military Uniform, so I tried to enlist underage, but got kicked back when the SBI confronted me with charges of falsifying official documents, forgery and a list of charges. Of course there was nothing to the charges, but to a 16 year old facing the SBI Agent, he made a believer out of me.

So on my 17th birthday I was back. I adapted to taking orders and the corresponding life. I actually liked it.
When I got out  I bounced around a little until I found another nitch I loved, building.  I could not wait to get to work and hated for the day to end.
I built (mostly self taught) until Sherry was ready to retire. I was on the road to becoming the second millionaire in our family, I was a High School dropout, so I took pride in my accomplishment. My brother, the rich guy,  also was a dropout, but very smart.

As Sherry reached retirement age, we talked about the future. I was putting 60-70 hrs a week on the books. I had a subdivision in my sights. But we talked, life was too sweet, to push and have a stroke or heart attack. So, when Sherry retired, I just QUIT. As a builder there is no retirement income but of course we had put some back.
We started in the motor home traveling and have never looked back. She says I go to Lowes just to smell the lumber, and I guess I do. But basically, except for family problems, our life is great.  I guess you worry about your children for life. my dad worried about me. I wish he could have lived to see me successful, but we don’t always get what we want.

But now, here we are, able to go where we want to, and have all we need, but I still want my belt buckle back!

Nite Shipslog
PS:
All men are frauds. The only difference between them is that some admit it. I, myself, deny it.
—H. L. Mencken
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1959 Fury (Plymouth)

Time & Birthdays

As I grow older I realize that kids do not understand age. I am still in my early 70’s, but I am realizing that your mind/brain does not age. You get forgetful because of the filing system of the brain, but what you learned is still there.

Your body does indeed age, it cannot accomplish what it once did. I smile out of respect when I see a WWII veteran. I try to picture this OLD DUDE with a 70 lb. pack on his back handling a 9 1/2  lb rifle like it was a broom stick and charging up a hill or toward a beach landing.  It is hard to imagine that, because his body is bent, bald or grey, and wrinkled.  But he once was young tough and virile.

But unless dementia had ravished his brain or mind, he still can vividly remember that young man, although I cannot. I took time to write a couple of my grand children to tell then what I once read on a tombstone out west:

"Remember me as you pass by/As you are now so once was I/As I am now so you must be/Prepare for death and follow me.”

I only used: As you are, once were we,  As we are now, you will be.

One a Junior in HS, One in college and One expecting her first baby, our 2nd Great granddaughter.

To the HS Jr. I told how it seems only yesterday I was in the same school he is in, chasing his grandmother who was the prettiest girl in school. I remember it as yesterday.

To the college kid, I could only relate in age. But I remember 18-19 very well.

To the Grandaughter, I remember her Grandmother pregnant with our first child. I smile now, thinking of what she said she thought.  “I thought I was ugly and fat.”  When I thought she was the cutest ‘WOMAN’ in the world.

(Remember maternity clothes?  Look at that pony tail.That is our Biloxi Apartment behind Sherry & her mama)

I did not tell Reece of our apartment in Biloxi, Miss.with no a/c and the mosquitos that plagued us. A young Airman and his pregnant wife, standing up on the bed bouncing as high as we could toward the 10’ ceilings and killing mosquitos.  What crazy fun.

Sherry’s mama came down to be with her baby girl during the delivery. We lived a couple blocks off the Gulf Coast. They went down and walked on the beach collecting shells. The shells were washed and placed on the tubs edge in the bathroom.

That evening I heard a scream, I ran toward the bath room and met Sherry with her pants down trying to run. They did not know that some of the shells were ‘alive’ and one (a hermit crab)was crawling toward Sherry as she sat on that porcelain throne

Yep, I remember as if it was yesterday. Funny how the brain does not age.

Thanks for visiting the log.

Nite Shipslog

PSain’t it the truth)

We learn something every day, and lots of times it’s that what we learned the day before was wrong.

—Bill Vaughan

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Compare 60 yrs difference….

2011 Buick Lesabre

1951 Buick Lesabre