TD has been in touch with Louise (A.) F., CGHS '64, and she updated him with the names of several folks she knew that have passed that were not on our Memorial. TD added the names there.
Reading many of them brought back a flood of memories.
See if you have the same experience.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Friday, March 26, 2010
Open All Night
I've always been a nightowl. Back in the days we were walking the creaking floors of the old middle building my Friday and Saturday nights would find me awake until 3 A.M. or so, then sleeping in until 11-12 O'Clock.
(And that sleep schedule made Monday mornings mighty difficult.)
But thinkin' about those days dredged a couple stories up from 'way back in the grey matter-
The Greybeard garage was a place to congregate.
A great tool inventory, plenty of available light, Jacks/jackstands, a lift for pulling engines, and a radio for top 40, news, weather, and sports.
Near perfection.
It was perfectly normal to find several teen-aged boys changing a clutch/pressure plate/throwout bearing at 1 A.M. Saturday morning at Greybeard's folk's place. We'd listen to Rock-n-Roll on WIBC until midnight, then when "Dawnbeat" came on we'd try switching over to WLS out of Chicago so we didn't have to listen to the elevator music Dawnbeat offered. Sometimes Dick Biondi would be on WLS... (Remember "Greasy Kid Stuff"?)
Fond memories...
And part of the reason they are fond memories is because IF, in the middle of our mechanic-ing efforts we broke something or found something worn out that we didn't expect, we knew we could call "Hi-Way Parts" and check to see if they had what we needed. Hi-Way Parts was "Open All Night"!
I wish I had a nickel for every muffler and tailpipe I've changed in the wee hours using parts procured from Hi-Way parts...
I could now buy a fine cuppa Joe!
When the wrench-twisting was done and our stomachs were growling, we'd head to the newly opened "White Castle" on Madison Avenue...
Open All Night...
What an interesting place to be at 3 A.M.! It's understatement to say the clientele there at that hour was "diverse".
I can remember standing in line with TPO one morning when he informed me the reason White Castle's burgers were so cheap was because they were made from "lame cows". White Castle got 'em for bottom dollar 'cause no one else wanted 'em!
At the cash register, the name-tag on the gal said "Betty", and beneath that it said "Manager".
From that point on, any time we saw her we referred to her as "Betty Manager". Betty Manager tolerated us with a big smile.
It may have been that same morning that a VERY drunk, mid-twenties black man in front of me started singing...
"La di dah di di... La di dah di die." (Sonny's part from Sonny and Cher's "The Beat Goes On".)
He turned to me and with a mostly-toothy grin and said, "I wrote that!"
"You wrote what?"
"That part of that song. They couldn't figure out what to put in there, so they called me. I told them what to put in there."
So now you can imagine what I think of every time I hear Sonny singing on the radio:
"La di dah di di... La di dah di die"... even these fifty or so years later.
Now...
Echo is knee deep in a Real Estate deal.
Cissy is thinking about going postal at her new/old job.
Rita is overworked and she and Bob need a trip to Alabama.
HF is thinkin' about catching fish.
GB and Sara Jean are headed to L.A. to visit Big Bubba this weekend.
Many of us are looking forward to fine fellowship and an adult beverage while overlooking lovely Lake Eufaula.
It's Friday Forum time.
Tell us...
What's upcoming on your agenda?
(And that sleep schedule made Monday mornings mighty difficult.)
But thinkin' about those days dredged a couple stories up from 'way back in the grey matter-
The Greybeard garage was a place to congregate.
A great tool inventory, plenty of available light, Jacks/jackstands, a lift for pulling engines, and a radio for top 40, news, weather, and sports.
Near perfection.
It was perfectly normal to find several teen-aged boys changing a clutch/pressure plate/throwout bearing at 1 A.M. Saturday morning at Greybeard's folk's place. We'd listen to Rock-n-Roll on WIBC until midnight, then when "Dawnbeat" came on we'd try switching over to WLS out of Chicago so we didn't have to listen to the elevator music Dawnbeat offered. Sometimes Dick Biondi would be on WLS... (Remember "Greasy Kid Stuff"?)
Fond memories...
And part of the reason they are fond memories is because IF, in the middle of our mechanic-ing efforts we broke something or found something worn out that we didn't expect, we knew we could call "Hi-Way Parts" and check to see if they had what we needed. Hi-Way Parts was "Open All Night"!
I wish I had a nickel for every muffler and tailpipe I've changed in the wee hours using parts procured from Hi-Way parts...
I could now buy a fine cuppa Joe!
When the wrench-twisting was done and our stomachs were growling, we'd head to the newly opened "White Castle" on Madison Avenue...
Open All Night...
What an interesting place to be at 3 A.M.! It's understatement to say the clientele there at that hour was "diverse".
I can remember standing in line with TPO one morning when he informed me the reason White Castle's burgers were so cheap was because they were made from "lame cows". White Castle got 'em for bottom dollar 'cause no one else wanted 'em!
At the cash register, the name-tag on the gal said "Betty", and beneath that it said "Manager".
From that point on, any time we saw her we referred to her as "Betty Manager". Betty Manager tolerated us with a big smile.
It may have been that same morning that a VERY drunk, mid-twenties black man in front of me started singing...
"La di dah di di... La di dah di die." (Sonny's part from Sonny and Cher's "The Beat Goes On".)
He turned to me and with a mostly-toothy grin and said, "I wrote that!"
"You wrote what?"
"That part of that song. They couldn't figure out what to put in there, so they called me. I told them what to put in there."
So now you can imagine what I think of every time I hear Sonny singing on the radio:
"La di dah di di... La di dah di die"... even these fifty or so years later.
Now...
Echo is knee deep in a Real Estate deal.
Cissy is thinking about going postal at her new/old job.
Rita is overworked and she and Bob need a trip to Alabama.
HF is thinkin' about catching fish.
GB and Sara Jean are headed to L.A. to visit Big Bubba this weekend.
Many of us are looking forward to fine fellowship and an adult beverage while overlooking lovely Lake Eufaula.
It's Friday Forum time.
Tell us...
What's upcoming on your agenda?
Friday, March 19, 2010
See The Eufaula Alligators!
H&C warn that expecting your GPS to get ya there may getcha in trouble. I've personally come to depend so heavily on "Carmen the Garmin" that I frequently cannot tell you which direction I'm going, (and for a pilot, that's a Cardinal sin!) But GPS leading us astray? I'll wager this is one of those situations where the GPS will do fine until we get onto some of the uncharted two-lane roads down close to the Lake.
SO.... in order for ya to arrive safely and non-frazzled, instructions are provided:
From the South:
Take Hwy 431 North towards Eufaula, AL out of Dothan
From the Headland Hardee’s on 431 go 33.3 miles
Turn Right on Hwy 95 – Go 4 miles
Turn Left on Old River Road (Same as Hwy 97) – Go 4 miles ( Turns in front of Church on Left as you start to go up hill)
Turn Left (stay on 97… hwy 93 goes straight) – Go 2 miles
Englewood entrance located on left side of road
Turn Left on Galaxie Drive
Take First Right on South Galaxie
Go to dead end stop and turn Right on Englewood
5th cabin on left just around the curve (459 Englewood Drive)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From the North:
Take Hwy 431 South to Eufaula, AL
From the Eufaula Wal-Mart located on 431 travel 5.7 miles South
Turn Left on Hwy 95 – Go 4 Miles
Turn Left on Old River Road (Same as Hwy 97) – Go 4 miles ( Turns in front of Church on Left as you start to go up hill)
Turn Left (stay on 97… hwy 93 goes straight) – Go 2 miles
Englewood entrance located on left side of road
Turn Left on Galaxie Drive
Take First Right on South Galaxie
Go to dead end stop and turn Right on Englewood
5th cabin on left just around the curve (459 Englewood Drive)
Don't be confused... use of the term "Cabin" above does not mean we'll be staying in "Cabins".
We'll actually be in tall cotton. We have two full-size, gen-U-WINE homes reserved and we're still looking for schoolmates to fill vacancies. Why not do something out of the ordinary, you "stick in the mud, boring person"? Surprise yourself and everyone else by doing something a little crazy and spontaneous... head to the Deep South for fun, relaxation, and ALLIGATORS!
From previous experience I know the week will start with smiles and hugs and from that point will only improve. And you're gonna risk missing this?
Are you CRAZY?!!
Once again it's Friday open forum time...
Let 'er rip!
SO.... in order for ya to arrive safely and non-frazzled, instructions are provided:
From the South:
Take Hwy 431 North towards Eufaula, AL out of Dothan
From the Headland Hardee’s on 431 go 33.3 miles
Turn Right on Hwy 95 – Go 4 miles
Turn Left on Old River Road (Same as Hwy 97) – Go 4 miles ( Turns in front of Church on Left as you start to go up hill)
Turn Left (stay on 97… hwy 93 goes straight) – Go 2 miles
Englewood entrance located on left side of road
Turn Left on Galaxie Drive
Take First Right on South Galaxie
Go to dead end stop and turn Right on Englewood
5th cabin on left just around the curve (459 Englewood Drive)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From the North:
Take Hwy 431 South to Eufaula, AL
From the Eufaula Wal-Mart located on 431 travel 5.7 miles South
Turn Left on Hwy 95 – Go 4 Miles
Turn Left on Old River Road (Same as Hwy 97) – Go 4 miles ( Turns in front of Church on Left as you start to go up hill)
Turn Left (stay on 97… hwy 93 goes straight) – Go 2 miles
Englewood entrance located on left side of road
Turn Left on Galaxie Drive
Take First Right on South Galaxie
Go to dead end stop and turn Right on Englewood
5th cabin on left just around the curve (459 Englewood Drive)
Don't be confused... use of the term "Cabin" above does not mean we'll be staying in "Cabins".
We'll actually be in tall cotton. We have two full-size, gen-U-WINE homes reserved and we're still looking for schoolmates to fill vacancies. Why not do something out of the ordinary, you "stick in the mud, boring person"? Surprise yourself and everyone else by doing something a little crazy and spontaneous... head to the Deep South for fun, relaxation, and ALLIGATORS!
From previous experience I know the week will start with smiles and hugs and from that point will only improve. And you're gonna risk missing this?
Are you CRAZY?!!
Once again it's Friday open forum time...
Let 'er rip!
Friday, March 12, 2010
ON THE ROAD AGAIN-Tampa, Fl to Greenwood, IN
Hello everyone, Mrs. Hawk here, today is the morning after.....Hawk and I left Tampa yesterday at 9:11 AM and I was driving. We knew there was rain ahead before we got out of Florida, but did not realize how much. Sheets of gray pouring rain made driving 15 to 20 MPH the best we could do. Stopping for gas just before Gainesville, FL when the rain let up a little and being blocked in by a fire truck and an ambulance at the gas station was our first blessing (a lady in the bay next to us had some kind of medical problem and the emergency trucks were there for her). Back on the road, and rain not so bad, but traffic soon came to a stop. As we edged forward slowly, we came upon an accident with 9 cars smashed like coke cans. The cars were scattered for maybe 1/4 mile on either side of 75 North. Only one police car had arrived on the scene, the accident had just happened. Had we not stopped for gas and been blocked in by emergency trucks........
During the rain, I was driving. I kept commenting to Bob the way we were bumping along. I thought it was caused by the heavy rain I was driving through. After the rain slowed down, I could still feel the bump, but reasoned it must be the road.
I missed our exit for 10 West and we had to turn around. At this time the car gave a warning message of "low tire pressure". We stopped, Hawk checked our tires and found a bulge on the left front tire. A steel belt had separated. Using the GPS Hawk found a tire store 1.7 miles away. We got a new tire and were back on the road at 3 PM. It was 6 hours after we left Tampa and we had traveled 175 miles. Our second blessing was not having that tire cause us to crash........
About 5:30PM yesterday, March 11th, and in beautiful sunshine we passed through Chipply, Florida, home of Carol and Harry F. Such a nice town. We had to get to Montgomery, Alabama where our overnight reservations were, or we would have made contact with them. We will see them in 3 weeks in Eufalla and will visit then.
This morning we see again rain ahead for our trip home up 65 North. Looks like the bad storms are now over Atlanta. By God's Grace we will be home to Greenwood tonight.
Peace and love, Mrs. Hawk
During the rain, I was driving. I kept commenting to Bob the way we were bumping along. I thought it was caused by the heavy rain I was driving through. After the rain slowed down, I could still feel the bump, but reasoned it must be the road.
I missed our exit for 10 West and we had to turn around. At this time the car gave a warning message of "low tire pressure". We stopped, Hawk checked our tires and found a bulge on the left front tire. A steel belt had separated. Using the GPS Hawk found a tire store 1.7 miles away. We got a new tire and were back on the road at 3 PM. It was 6 hours after we left Tampa and we had traveled 175 miles. Our second blessing was not having that tire cause us to crash........
About 5:30PM yesterday, March 11th, and in beautiful sunshine we passed through Chipply, Florida, home of Carol and Harry F. Such a nice town. We had to get to Montgomery, Alabama where our overnight reservations were, or we would have made contact with them. We will see them in 3 weeks in Eufalla and will visit then.
This morning we see again rain ahead for our trip home up 65 North. Looks like the bad storms are now over Atlanta. By God's Grace we will be home to Greenwood tonight.
Peace and love, Mrs. Hawk
Thursday, March 11, 2010
vacations
Moribund?
Dormant, maybe, but not moribund (I hope).
Anyhow, I haven't been on in awhile and then I find I'm listed as dormant & moribund.
Ha ha. I don't mind, at least I'm not alone.
I have a little story about Lake Eufaula, it goes like this:
My ex-husband has relatives in Southern Georgia and every year (sometimes twice a year) he and his fishing buddies would take his bass boat and head to Eufaula and stay with his cousins. They caught tons of bass. He would take the video camera and tape the dead fish they caught lying on the picnic tables. A simple picture would suffice, but he had to use the video of dead fish lying there! Then all summer, here in IN, he would go fishing on weekends at Lake Monroe, Patoka Lake, or wherever he heard the fishing was good. He even entered contests.
I was never asked to go to Eufaula, not that I would have anyhow, but it would have been a nice vacation for me and the kids.
Meanwhile, my sister-in-law (she being a single mom of 2) and I, with my 2 kids, would make a yearly trip to Disney World in Orlando. Now, don't you think a husband & wife should take vacations together? Especially when they have kids? In the whole 18 years I was married, I think we took, maybe, 4 or 5 vacations as a family.
I'm not trying to be a downer and I'm sure Eufaula is beautiful; all I saw of it was a video of dead fish lying on a picnic table, but I just had to put my 2 cents worth in. Ha!
I hope you all have a wonderful time, really. But for me Eufaula leaves a bad taste in my mouth and is definitely one of the reasons I am no longer married.
Joker
Dormant, maybe, but not moribund (I hope).
Anyhow, I haven't been on in awhile and then I find I'm listed as dormant & moribund.
Ha ha. I don't mind, at least I'm not alone.
I have a little story about Lake Eufaula, it goes like this:
My ex-husband has relatives in Southern Georgia and every year (sometimes twice a year) he and his fishing buddies would take his bass boat and head to Eufaula and stay with his cousins. They caught tons of bass. He would take the video camera and tape the dead fish they caught lying on the picnic tables. A simple picture would suffice, but he had to use the video of dead fish lying there! Then all summer, here in IN, he would go fishing on weekends at Lake Monroe, Patoka Lake, or wherever he heard the fishing was good. He even entered contests.
I was never asked to go to Eufaula, not that I would have anyhow, but it would have been a nice vacation for me and the kids.
Meanwhile, my sister-in-law (she being a single mom of 2) and I, with my 2 kids, would make a yearly trip to Disney World in Orlando. Now, don't you think a husband & wife should take vacations together? Especially when they have kids? In the whole 18 years I was married, I think we took, maybe, 4 or 5 vacations as a family.
I'm not trying to be a downer and I'm sure Eufaula is beautiful; all I saw of it was a video of dead fish lying on a picnic table, but I just had to put my 2 cents worth in. Ha!
I hope you all have a wonderful time, really. But for me Eufaula leaves a bad taste in my mouth and is definitely one of the reasons I am no longer married.
Joker
Friday, March 05, 2010
It's March!
Well, here we are. Time flies, doesn't it? Buds on trees here look ready to burst. We've had a couple 50+ degree days here when the breeze blowing out of the South made it impossible to deny Spring is just around the corner. Soon the Willows will be green and Dogwoods will be in bloom...
A wonderful time of year.
The countdown to Eufaula has also begun. I've been working 56-hour weeks for what seems to be forever, so I cannot tell you how much I'm looking forward to rising in late morning, pouring a cuppa Joe, sitting in a chair overlooking the lake and visiting with whomever happens to be within arm's reach. If that sounds like good duty to you, we still have plenty of room for you to join us. Get in touch with me, TD, or H&C and we'll add your name to the list. Details are available at links in posts below, so check it out and get the ball rollin'!
Ferdy left a comment at the post immediately below this one about Jim Robinson's Mother. Anyone with more information, please update us.
I'm convinced Sara Jean has a mild case of pneumonia. She's been hacking now for more than two weeks. She feels fine until she climbs stairs or otherwise taxes her body. TD said he has something similar, and the last time I chatted with him he said he believes he's finally on the road to recovery. There's still lots of stuff running around to catch, so take care of yourselves and don't let your immunity get weak. Obviously, we can thank God the predicted Swine Flu pandemic was another false alarm.
Now... it's Friday again. You've got news to share, haven't you?
A wonderful time of year.
The countdown to Eufaula has also begun. I've been working 56-hour weeks for what seems to be forever, so I cannot tell you how much I'm looking forward to rising in late morning, pouring a cuppa Joe, sitting in a chair overlooking the lake and visiting with whomever happens to be within arm's reach. If that sounds like good duty to you, we still have plenty of room for you to join us. Get in touch with me, TD, or H&C and we'll add your name to the list. Details are available at links in posts below, so check it out and get the ball rollin'!
Ferdy left a comment at the post immediately below this one about Jim Robinson's Mother. Anyone with more information, please update us.
I'm convinced Sara Jean has a mild case of pneumonia. She's been hacking now for more than two weeks. She feels fine until she climbs stairs or otherwise taxes her body. TD said he has something similar, and the last time I chatted with him he said he believes he's finally on the road to recovery. There's still lots of stuff running around to catch, so take care of yourselves and don't let your immunity get weak. Obviously, we can thank God the predicted Swine Flu pandemic was another false alarm.
Now... it's Friday again. You've got news to share, haven't you?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
