Good Times

We had our stewardship dinner with the enthuuuuuuuuusiastic John Capps to speak and motivate our congregation. If you missed it you missed a lot. I figured John would hit a home run, it was a ten run homer if such things existed. Thanks John, and here's a copy of something he handed out, well worth the read if you can enlarge it

In case you've ever wondered how much cigarettes cost these days, and who doesn't.....here it is from Long Island, NY. When I saw the sign I thought well $0.82 a pack, if you buy a carton isn't so bad. No, this is for a pack. Been a long time since I bought a pack, if I still smoked and then quit I could afford a boat payment! But more on that later................

Busy at work while you're reading this? Here's a good way to waste some time........a bear playing tether ball

And if you're still bored, check out this bass player doing his thaaaaaang

Not sure what next week holds but we plan to fish Monday with Jackson while he's home for fall break. Oh yeah, in the new boat, but stay tuned for more information on that later

Cheesey Grits

 

And lots of them in Richmond County........When I moved there in 1978 there was one radio station on the air, WAYN 900. I was confused on my first day at work when I came home about 10:00 PM I couldn't find the station. Turns out they went off the air at dark. You see kids, back in the 70's radio stations used electricity, which obviously was not available to people in Richmond County after dark.....and you can insert your joke here.

Regardless I listened to WAYN in the morning and enjoyed the morning host Jimmy Smith. He rang a cowbell at 6:00, played the birthday song after selecting the winning number with the help of his janitor Oscar, played obituaries on the air, had a morning song which John Boy and Billy used to joke about before syndication.....you get the picture.

Famous quotes I still remember:

"Oscar I need a number between 1 and _____" That was the method for choosing the birthday cake winner.

On any girl turning 16 "she's never held hands or made goo goo eyes or passed notes in school" Probably more to that remark than I recall but very funny and oh so true of all of those Puritan Richmond County girls...........insert joke number two here.

Jimmy was remarkably funny and had a distinctive AM radio voice. When I met the salesman who sold for WAYN I guessed that he was Jimmy Smith, he wasn't, he was Alex and his voice sounded just like Jimmy's. The funny part about that is those were the only two voices you ever heard on the radio, every ad, everything had one of those two voices and they sounded the same. No, you can't make stuff up that's this funny......to me anyway.....insert joke number three here

So why am I rambling on about this? Good question, it's because the righteous and honorable Barry Saunders wrote an article about Jimmy in The News and Observer this week:

 

ROCKINGHAM — Like dozens of little cities and towns throughout the South, Rockingham survived the closings of most of its textile mills and the loss of thousands of jobs. It even survived the departure of NASCAR from the N.C. Motor Speedway.

Can it survive this loss, though?

A few weeks ago, Jimmy Smith broadcast his last show as the morning disc jockey there on radio station WAYN-AM. He’d been as much a part of the city and Richmond County as the race track that brought the city worldwide renown, and the mills that employed generations of lintheads and sustained the businesses in which they shopped.

Twelve years ago, I wrote a column about driving through my hometown and unexpectedly hearing Smith’s familiar voice on the air. He’d been on for 50 years then, and I’d grown up listening to him tell who was born, who died and whether there’d be school tomorrow because of an impending snowflake that may or may not have been headed our way.

How, one wonders, will kids know whether there’ll be school tomorrow without Smith telling them and ringing his famous cowbell?

When he rang it for the final time a few weeks ago, he’d put in 62 years

Not even a radio historian such as Don Curtis, owner and chief executive officer of Curtis Media, could tell whether that made Smith the state’s longest-serving disc jockey at one station, but he knew it was close. He noted that Carl Lamm at WTSB in Smithfield may have been on the air longer.

Lamm’s daughter, Linda Carroll, said Wednesday her father has been on the air “continuously for 66 years. He’s on right now.”

Lamm, 88, has broadcast on stations in Rocky Mount, Dunn and Garner; Smith put in all of his time behind one microphone.

“I was 16 when I started and a junior at Rockingham High School,” he told me. “I was working at the Dixie Home store” – which later became the Winn-Dixie – “which was right next door to the station. I would get off from work there and go up to the lobby of the radio station and watch the deejay and the Associated Press teletype before I would go home.”

One day the school announced that the station was auditioning applicants for a part-time announcer for its platter chatter show.

“There were five of us who showed up,” Smith said, “and you had to go every day” to be tutored and critiqued. “I just kept going back longer than anybody else did. On the day they hired me, I was the only one who showed up.”

See there? Woody Allen was right, at least in this instance: 80 percent of success is just showing up.

Over the years, Smith said, he was courted by stations in Charlotte and Virginia. Was he ever tempted, I asked, to take one of those jobs?

“No, not at all,” he said. “I was in my hometown, which is where I wanted to be, doing what I wanted to do.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, “To laugh often and love much … this is to have succeeded.”

So, too, he might have added, is doing what you want to do where you want do it for 62 years – especially when it takes you less than one minute to get to work from home, as it did Smith.

State Sen. Eugene McLaurin, a Rockingham native, former mayor and pal of mine, said, “Jimmy helped get me up every morning and get motivated for school by ringing that cowbell and talking about cheesy grits. Jimmy loved Richmond County, and Richmond County loved him. I was proud to declare ‘Jimmy Smith Day’ in 2001,” after Smith had been on for 50 years.

I remember that durned sleep-interrupting cowbell, too, but less fondly than does McLaurin.

How did Smith know it was time to sign off for good?

“I heard Woody Durham” – the play-by-play announcer of the UNC Tar Heels for 40 years – “say he realized he wasn’t quite as sharp, and so that’s the reason he retired,” Smith said. “I can identify with that. I realized I was making mistakes that I normally didn’t make.

“I began to feel my 79 years in ways that I didn’t expect to,” he said. “I was not feeling like getting up at 4 a.m. and going in. It was great fun, though. I enjoyed every day of it. I was in love with the station before I ever went to work there.”

Typical Saunders writing, starts talking about Jimmy and immediately jumps to another subject and then back, hope I never get that bad.

And for the record both Jimmy and Alex are great guys, I hope Jimmy has a long and healthy retirement.

Oh there's goes a butterfly

Oh yeah, for the first time this century we bought a boat (notice the second subject jumping in here?) but we'll talk about that later.

Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/10/09/3267658/saunders-mornings-arent-the-same.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/10/09/3267658/saunders-mornings-arent-the-same.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/10/09/3267658/saunders-mornings-arent-the-same.html#storylink=cpy



Late In Early Out

 

Got home late last night and for the next few days I will be lapTOPLESS as the HP is in the shop in Ohio for a tuneup. Come on Windows 8.1 ...............................Off to Hampden-Sydney early this morning for Family Weekend!

Thought you might like the topless comment, bet that will get some hits.

Very productive week in..................well let's just say some northern states and leave it at that. I got an unexpected treat Wednesday night; we finished up in...............well a northern coastal state and took a ferry over to......................an island near NY. I didn't realize there was so much time to be saved by using this service. Little pricey and the sun was down by the time we landed, but a nice treat. Thursday morning we drove back to CT and I realized how much time that ferry saved.



As usual I ate my way through the week, had a couple of really good meals, OK, one really good meal late Wednesday night, and surprise surprise I was able to get a good night's sleep afterwards. Maybe that's the secret: eat a 2,000 calorie meal at 9:00 PM?

Anyway had to go through Atlanta on the way home tonight, not really hungry.....walking through the concourses looking at the same old same old, Oh look there's a Five Guys.......wish there was something different........Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh myyyyyyyyyyyy!

Big news next week, maybe

A Return to Normalcy?

Depends on your idea or conception of reality I guess, and who is to say what is normal and what is lunacy? As a certified madman I've seen plenty of people I could categorically acclaim as crazy, but very few that I think are operating on an even keel. Aren't we all just a little bit crazy?

So you know you were reading this when..........................

 You might have to enlarge this to read it, pretty funny recap of our nutty 50.

Certainly have a scatological theme this week don't you stink?

And now pictures of women bouncing on a trampoline:
Nope, just a before and after shot

This would be the after, looks kinda like a duck's ass

Well maybe not kinda. 

Rush starts today, can't wait. I remember when the 1976 Formula One title race was on, I didn't read a complete recap on the Japan GP until my next Road and Track came a couple of months later, then I read Hunt's book the next year. No ESPN back then; can't wait to see the movie. And speaking of Formula One always want to take the opportunity to say "screw Bernie Ecclestone" Thank you, I feel better

5:30 AM flight Monday morning, told you more are than aren't

OK Sue Me

I know, I'm late again. I didn't get home until late Friday and had a busy day today, so it's late Saturday. Just as well I don't have much to say this week; we displayed at Comfortech in Philadelphia and had a surprisingly good show. This was kind of our last shot at this show, have to see where they go next year. 

So what did we learn? Well I should have gone into the wholesale rather then the manufacturing side of the business: here is a picture of a distributor and good friend driving a rather nice ride. I won't tell his name here, let's just call him Johnny Pro...............and that is a car from an exotic car club. I think its a 430, not sure; probably wouldn't work as a tow vehicle. Nice ride JP

This is called a Philly cheese-steak. I had about 10 of them this week. I've had enough

This is called lasagna, I only had it once this week but I'll be carrying it around for another month or so

Wrong, just wrong in so many ways. But they do know how to make an orange ginger cookie

On Thursday night we went to a party at this place outside the Philadelphia Eagles-Kansas City Chiefs football game                    http://xfinitylive.com/index.cfm?page=about

It was fun but a bit worrisome to be that close to so many rabid Eagles fans as they were getting their collective butts whipped. Philadelphia fans are mean, how mean you ask? This from the internet (therefore it must be true):

The violent acts that were occurring at Veterans Stadium were continuing to increase, thus, leaving Philadelphia no choice but to install a court, judge and jail inside the stadium.

A courtroom was built into the stadium where unruly fans were taken for judgment and sentencing after committing crimes at Veterans Stadium.

The penalties for the crime forced offenders to give up season tickets, pay a $400 fine and sit in jail for the rest of the game.

Since the Eagles moved to Lincoln Financial Field, the crowds have become more subdued by controlling their behavior, and the "Eagles Court" has been closed.

No matter how behaved Eagle fans have turned out to be (not really), the city of Philadelphia still installed a court in their old stadium.

I left at halftime. Speaking of great fans look who was at the NASCAR race last week. Honestly.............

And just one more I promise.....care to put a caption to this picture?
Here's your clue: if you're blue and you don't know what to go to.......................

Let's see...................what else is happening? How does the boat name CooKeeAnna sound? Could be in our near future. Details to follow

Gimme Shelter

I had a busy week going back and forth to work the Famous Supply TriState Expo in Cleveland, Tuesday and Wednesday were long days indeed. The temperature in Ohio was in the 90's and my guess is that factor kept a lot of HVAC dealers working and not at the show. Famous does a great job of running their Expo, it was their 30th, and I'm sure next year will be better.

This week a reader asked what the old BMW 100/7 looked like so I pulled these shots out of the laptop memory bank. Submitted for your approval....................

Yes, that seems like a long time ago. I really do enjoy riding the new bike. 

Now that Nephew Kevin in an officer in the USCG I let Keelyn in on the secret salute; remember this salute when you see a superior officer NK, they really appreciate the added respect

How in the heck is this blog getting > 1,000 views a week? I too suspect foul play

In other news NASCAR went nuts this week; I guess in the future if you come in one lap early to let your teammate lead a lap and get a point in the second race of the year you'll get tossed. I've been checking the sports channels this week to see if I made the Chase. No one ever learned the story of Pandora's box?

Riding down I-77 Thursday I ran past several big road bikes and after the third or fourth one I realized each one had two women on it. That's odd, must have been a rally somewhere; wonder what they could possibly name that type of event?

The City of Brotherly Love is up this week, taking the train from Rocky Mount. I am not fan of Philadelphia but we plan to have a good show and sell a lot of stuff. See you there in booth number 530 at Comfortech. 

Time To Get The Heck Out of Dodge

September 6, 2013

Last Saturday we celebrated Dink's 90th birthday in grand style with darn near all of the family we have. It was a good time; the best thing about being 90 is that you get to open the same presents over and over again. Yes I know.............going to hell for yet another one, but it was funny. Missed Jackson. 

And we had the grandchildren here all weekend. They were a ton of fun, but when they left we both took long naps, followed by our first kayak trip of the year. Figured that would be a great way to celebrate the end of summer: dust off the kayak and do a lap around the creek. 

Odd that the photographer got all these kids to act as though they liked each other, even if it was only for a quick snapshot. We didn't see this serenity very often, but then again they're kids and we're not supposed to see that side of them...................I guess. 

Oh yes, time to leave town for a while. I have too many irons in the proverbial fire, we're planning the 2013 Stewardship program so I'd better duck. Cleveland next week, Philadelphia the week after that. Probably won't have much time to use that new boat...................whaaaaaaaaaaaat?