Book Board Chat

Full fall here now, yay! Lots of red, gold, orange tan and green. My rose bush bloomed again, a surprise from that one. We had a lot of warmer even hot and dry days in Sept / Oct. Glad it's cooler now. Jim--I don't think people in general are as friendly, for example, at events.
Brian--I have some kind, probably wild, grapevines and Virginia Creeper on the chainlink fence in back--I like it for privacy and better looks in the clement seasons. Neighbors have them too--I don't know if I gave it to them or they gave it to me. 🙂
the neighbors got those big metal tub things for their tomatoes and vege--the rabbits and chipmunks decimated last years efforts. They have a hefty crop this year.
I read a new Jesse Stone (new author Christopher Farnsworth, did a good job on it. some dialogue a bit too glib but overall I liked it.) Also read a new Kellerman that I like, Dr Delaware and Milo come through. I am invited to a Book Club with my cousin, they are reading Thursday Murder Club--I know it's popular--my library has a hundred copies out. I didn't tell her I tried to read it before and stopped before the end--but maybe I will be more in the mood for a cozy this attempt.

Marefus Happy 87th birthday where ever you are.

I just went and read that Sherwood Anderson short story, The Egg. I liked the short story authors of the early last century like Anderson and James Thurber etc., who wrote of their nutty but whimsically amusing family members. Very amusing.

Brian,All the cruise ships now have wifi. In the olden days the people going on cruises were mostly older, retired people. Now with wifi readily available there are a lot of younger people who I assume are "working from home" via wifi. Most of the newer ships are now geared toward family groups with lots of water slides, kiddie pools etc. No longer is it, " I say, Lady Ramsbottom, will you and Colonel Smythe be joining us for a rubber of whist this evening?"

People used to sit outdoors on the large wooden boat deck and greet people passing by. Now many newer ships no longer have a wooden boat deck and the people sit around the far upper pool decks and with the kiddies or go on the large water tubes etc. Young children have to speak louder to be heard so the times of having a quiet evening meal are sometime interrupter by loud, "MOMMY, MOMMY..." voices. Still, for the most part, we enjoy ourselves. The world is just changing and we go along with it.

Jim That's the cool part!....My yard is flush with the deepest black glorious loam I've ever seen. I grew up in Kentucky, where all the reddish clay soil looks like dog poop and barley tolerates plain old grass. Here?, hurl a half eaten bagel out the back door, and next year you've got a field of poppies. It really helps to compensate for the naturally occurring laziness I seem to have been born with.

5-6 years ago I got shipped four tiny sticks from the Burpee catalog of 100% pure strain Concord grapes (a bonus given free because I bought other seeds). Sort of like those "approvals" they used to send young stamp collectors in the mail circa 1950's. So I planted them, forgot about it....aaaaand there are now beautiful purple bunch filled tendrils, stretching across the low branches of the swamp maples up to THREE yards over. Four plants are now 642+. My direct next door neighbor commented over brats and beers, that he's worried because his young kids keep munching them like candy. I told him to relax. "I can attest that those are a 100% catalog certified pure strain of Concord grapes. He paused for a moment looking at me.... and burst out laughing.

I suspect a similar scenario is responsible for all that kudzu across the deep south.........

As for the tomatoes, I'm stunned too. We ended up with 15 plants as wide as your outstretched arms....and equal in height to me (i'm 6'1"). Roughly 50 tomatoes on each. We don't even possess enough Ball jars for all this! Even Mrs Briguy has run out of tomato based casseroles to try.

The year before I harvested six tomatoes....as in exactly SIX individual tomatoes....LOL!! Everything else in our garden seemed to curl up and died off meekly. Except for the beets and the Zucchini....i ended up with like 150 zucchini. Don't ask me how many times I've eaten tomato stuffed zucchini surprise this summer.

Functional question How is it you're able to post from a cruise ship? Some sort of magical ocean wi-fi? Elon Musk Star Link? Just wondering.

Lynne Oh, such attitude is common around here. Apparently something in our water leads to great tomatoes as well as deep personal entitlement. Earlier this year a flood took out a bridge everyone uses to commute over. The replacement cost was estimated at over eight million dollars. The local paper was soon filled with dozens of letters to the editor demanding that WE shouldn't have to pay for that, because that's why we have a GOVERNMENT. I wanted to hunt down those writers, grab them by the neck, and chant "E Pluribus Unum" three times.

Brian, You are either lucky or very good. I would plant a half dozen tomato plants in my back
yard in New York. At first I would get some great tomatoes and then my plants would suffer from "blossom drop" for the next few months with no tomatoes. Then in the early fall I would get a few more tomatoes before the frost set in. Still, they were great when I had them.

I can't imagine meeting someone for the first time and telling them what they should do with their hard won bounty! Gad. I'm a fair weather gardener myself, which means here in Tassie I don't get bountiful crops of things I actually plant and tend, plus I work so don't have enough time. One of the things I intend to change when I retire.

Ah ha ha ha!

I just read back my own post and realize I've literally plagiarized the Sherwood Anderson short story "The Egg" !

Well, guess what?...I didn't get paid for that missive. Hopefully, I added enough tomato flavoring to it to keep his estate from suing the crap out of me.

Again, have a blessed day.

Brian

Life started quite humbly, as dried seeds in a dusty jar. Laid out geometrically on a damp paper towel, the teeny bits of hope for resurrection resided on my window sill. Once germinated, they were individually and lovingly moved to recycled egg carton slots. Once again, at 3-4" tall, they moved, this time to the garden. Each got a new home, gently nestled into compost bedding laced with added fertilizer. Their new homes were in a "white privilege" community too, complete with protective fencing (and a human guard) to keep the cute but devastating baby bunnies away. Any nearby weeds were terminated. Buckets of cool soothing water delivered religiously during any dry spells. Even an old scary Halloween mask was nailed to a stick amongst them to warn off aerial intruders. As they grew their protective guardian provided individual sticks to tie up their branches on, so each precious leaf could get full Sun, subliminally suggesting that even more wee little yellow flowers (leading to juicy fruits) were quite welcome.

The end result is a bumper crop. Case after case of gorgeous heirloom tomatoes. REAL tomatoes mind you, plump red, juicy, and full of FLAVOR. Nearly unrecognizable compared to their grocery store cousins, who are sickly pink, hard as rocks, and contain less flavor then the corrugated boxes they were shipped in.

I was there standing over them, whispering sweet nothings again, as I picked perfect ready ones. "Remember the kitchen 'lil feller?....you're going back there....its BLT night!" It was then I was hailed by a long low whistle. The new neighbor of sorts....his own back yard touches mine kitty corner. He called out "Man.....did you get lucky" My mind raced. Lucky?....did he just say lucky? He kept going. "Those look beautiful! ..."each one of those is like....two bucks plus at the store.....you could buy a new car now!" I walked over to him, three of the best beauties in hand as a gift, to make our first introduction. I'm not going to lie. I was beaming. I had the same sort of contented smile I imagine a father has, as he watches his daughter up on the podium, receiving her new Olympic medal.

Dude ...just....wouldn't....shut ...up. Nice enough fellow, but he kept on with "being lucky". Even suggested I pass out a basket of them to every house up and down the block. ....because, you know, that would be the "right" thing to do. I finally unclenched my teeth and said "I think the 'right thing" word you're looking for is "compulsory". They used to use that word a lot in situations like this....back in 1958 Soviet Russia!!" He was a bit....uuuuhm... taken aback. However, I completed the rest of the conversation politely and headed back in. Silently fuming.

[Enter Mrs Briguy] "I see you've met the new guy back there.....what's he like?" Grrrrrrr, I responded. "He's sadly typical". Then I opined "I bet that entitled dork will be paving over his entire yard soon with asphalt, then breaking some glass over it....so he feels at home like the Chicago he escaped from."

Last I saw of Mrs Briguy she had her head elevated towards the heavens whispering something. I suspect it was that same Lord help me I've married Archie Bunker plea again. I get it. I've blown it. Now the onus is on her yet again. She'll have to bake a pie or cookies or something....in order meet the wife over there and explain I'm actually a nice guy......who simply spent 500 hours of effort under the hot Sun....all for a tomato.

Go ahead. Say what you will. Just bite into one of these tomatoes first...and you'll be on my side :o) BTW --(we're going to can the overflow, NOT pass them out to strangers)

-------------------------

Anyhoo, I just felt the need to express myself via the written post on the internet. (buying a journal and ball point pens costs money) Plus, I know the BB chat has always enjoyed my musings on stamps, gardening, woefully failed fishing trips, whatever. So enjoy.

I hope everyone is turning this wonderfully warm clear summer day into a blessed one. I love you all.

Brian (Briguy)

Hey Patsy -- have a great day! Many more ahead we hope.

Patsy, Happy Birthday.

My wife and I are on a two week cruise on the Star of the Seas the largest cruise ship afloat. Having a quiet and pleasant voyage.

I'm not using eBay right now, but might have to start doing that. Apparently the next step is opening up parcel post but only if you have a special account to allow for payment of the tariff, which will of course mean shipping will be even more expensive.I already lose sales to the US because of postage so I don't suspect that will help.

Lynn, I once sold to buyers only in the USA. I had a notice on my auction, "For sale in United States only". I did have some Europeans ask if they could bid and I would allow them to. I guess you would have to put a notation in your auction, "For sale in Australia only".

Well yesterday I received the first book order I had to reject -- someone from Idaho ordered a book and I had to tell them there's no shipping available to the US from Australia for small parcels. No idea how long this is going to be a thing, but as Abe doesn't let you identify countries to which you can't ship I expect it's going to be an ongoing disappointment for everyone.

I see on TV that after Labor Day they are saying it is the end of summer TV. I don't see much difference. I remember way back in the 1950s, summer TV was when many TV shows were live and to give them a break they would have temporary summer replacements. The "$64,000 Question" started out as a summer replacement. Now shows are on tape and rerun several times from spring or late winter to late summer.

Here in Florida it is summer weather all year long. No longer thinking that at the end off summer TV it is time to end going to the beach, having outdoor barbecues and breaking out sweaters and heavy coats. My shorts and T-shirts are fine all year long as is going to the pool or beach.

Because of front access door trouble the newspaper delivery man left my newspaper by the building front door. There was only one other newspaper there. It is hard to believe that for a 90 unit building, only two people get the paper newspaper.

Thanks everyone. I should have clarified, I buy the Subterranean editions as investments; that book I paid $191 for is currently worth around $1000 and a reputable bookseller has a matching set of the trilogy, like mine, for sale for almost $Aus3400. I'm at the point where I'm considering selling some of my collectibles so I'm not sure if I need to keep buying books purely as investments. I could buy a lot of "reading" books for the cost of the collectable duology...

Lynne I run into this a lot since I have so many series. I've asked myself the same question each time a new book comes out in a series. Some I still buy, others I try to find just to read. So, ask yourself, are you a collector or a reader of that series? If a collector buy it. If just a reader, find another way to read it. That's saved me a bit of money this last year.

Lynne, books gain and lose in value. Depends on how long you want it to hold it's value. Check out the genre, and who it appeals to. Clive Cussler is an author whose books were around $300 - check the current value of his first book. Value also depends on how many are printed. Just do some careful internet research.

Spending around !80 US$ for a book is a bit out of my class. I wonder if the book is available on Kindle? But, I am sure you would want a hard copy. I read about one book a week but I usually get free kindleunlimited editions. I have read about seventeen books in a series that way.

I have a dilemma. As I near retirement I'm cutting down the number of books I buy, but I'm still buying books related to the ones I own -- for example if I have part of a series, I will buy the rest of the series. My dilemma is this: I have all the Subterranean limited editions by a collectable author, and a new one is coming out. Back in 2017 when I bought the first one it cost me $Aus191 plus shipping; if I buy this new one, which is the first of a duology so I would have to buy both, it will cost me $Aus287 plus shipping. Thoughts on whether I quit now or keep going?

Thank you for the birthday greetings. Yes, it was on the 3rd. Had a fun day. Sunshine Boy, who is now 15, at one point looked at me and said, "You're ___ years old." I paused and then told him, yes, I'm still young up here (pointing to my head) but it's the rest of me that's old! He laughed.

It sure has been a busy summer. We're going camping next week and to a family reunion in the Wisconsin Northwoods. Haven't had the camper out for quite a while and I'm looking forward to it.

Hope everyone else is well. This board has been quiet this summer!

Felicitations Jane from the 3rd!

Jane, Happy Birthday. Have a great day. (Although your birthday may be tomorrow.)

I am visiting with my grandkids in Spokane, WA for a few weeks. Then it will be back home and off on another short cruise or two. It is good to be retired. How did I ever get anything done when I had to work for a living.

I was watching an old movie, "War Games". It is about a high school computer hacker who unwittingly accesses a United States military supercomputer triggering a false alarm that threatens to start World War III. It was made in 1983. It was interesting to be reminded of how computers were used back then. The kid had to pick up a telephone and use the phone line to connect to the internet. I remember using AOL because I used to travel and AOL provided local connections all through the country. Otherwise, the phone call might have been long distance. I would have had to pay the long distance charge for as long as I had the computer connected. (And I had to carry a telephone wire to connect the computer to the wall phone jack.) Now everything is wifi, no phone needed.

It is hard to believe that people born after 2000 AD are in their 20s, finished with school and college and don't remember the "good old days" of computers.

You might remember I traveled a lot before 1990 - all over the USA. I picked up book matches and had a large collection. Sold it on ebay before I left TX and wrapped it in aluminum foil before mailing it. I havae a couple of strike on the box matches to light my many birthday candles.

Hello to all from Belleville, Illinois where we are experiencing typical hot humid summer weather.

I get my internet, telephone, and TV through Spectrum ... and they have been having service outages off-and-on for several days now. Service is spotty so I never know what will be working and what won't work. A wide area was affected. I keep seeing Spectrum trucks in the neighborhood, so at least they are aware of the problem.

Jim With the decline of smoking, I've noticed that I seldom see book matches anymore. When I was younger, I had a matchbook collection. As I would go to restaurants, bars, hotels, and many other businesses I would pick up free matches. Matchbooks were a good source of advertising for these places back then.

... and, in all those old novels everyone smoked. If someone went into a room the first thing they would do would be to light a cigarette or be offered a cigarette. After a good meal in a restaurant they would light up a cigarette of a cigar. Light up a cigar in a restaurant? Good grief.

In the 1942 novels all red blooded men joined the armed forces to fight. The main character in a novel would have time to solve the crime stating that he was to report for active duty in a few days or weeks. The male detectives in 1942 movies would often say the same thing. I know from the TV series that the character Perry Mason served in the navy during WWII. I wonder how, or if, that was treated in the 1940s Perry Mason novels.

In one 1942 novel the detective was stationed in San Diego waiting to be shipped out, He would send instructions to his female partner telling her what to do to solved the local crime. That worked out okay.

By 1943 and later, it seemed that not so much emphasis was put on the men in novels to join up.

I enjoy reading old books. I am now reading one written in 1941. It is fun to see the detective looking for a drug store so he can use the phone booth to make an important telephone phone call. (Do Walgreens and CVS have phone booths?) Then there are the automobiles with their manual shifting gears, throttle and choke knobs, running boards, etc. The cars all had noisy engines. Today's car are so quiet that one can't hear the idle engine when parked or stopped. Most of the noise from today's cars is the road noise of the tires on the road surface.

When I got my driver's license back in the late 1950s, if you used a car that had an automatic transmission there would be a restriction on your driver's license limiting you to use with auto transmission vehicles. Now almost all cars have auto transmissions. Back then, most people would stop at a traffic light and have one foot on the clutch pedal and one over the accelerator, nothing on the brake pedal unless on a hill. The brake lights would not be on. Now all brake lights are on at all the cars stopped at a traffic light. I sometimes shift into "N" or "Park" and take my foot off the brake pedal at a traffic light. I wonder if the person behind my it thinking, "Say, that guys brake lights aren't working."

We have returned from our three and four day back to back to back cruises. We shall take one month off and then repeat the short cruises again. The trouble is that they repeat the same menu every three days so there doesn't seem to be much variation. Never-the-less, we had a very enjoyable time.

Living in southern Florida, even in winter, the temperature seldom drops into the 60s. I like that, no need for winter coats or galoshes.

And today we have our first real frost, feels like -5.5C right now.

Welcome to winter in Tasmania -- my fruit trees are budding, my sweet box has both berries and flowers and my chickens are so confused by the weather they haven't laid for months.

My wife and I are off on another Caribbean cruise. Actually it is three small back to back to back cruises of three and four days each. It seems like the shipping companies now have more short cruises than full one week or longer cruises.I guess they make more money that way. It is a little bit of a nuisance. We couldn't get to keep the same room for each trip so we will have to change rooms each time. Still, I will just try to sit back, stare at the ocean and relax.

We seem to be in that rainy period also, over 1 inch on Friday and will get more this week. Our backyard hill looks like a jungle.

Hello to all from Belleville, Illinois where it has been very rainy. Just about every day we have had rain. Some days it was off-and-on light rain, at other times there would be a steady downpour. Everything outside is very, very green right now.

It's been quiet around here. Sis and her DH have been gone the last two weeks on a trip to Costa Rica. The neighbors on the other side have been spending more time at their place out in the country. Another set of neighbors have been in Florida for the past week. The quiet does not bother me at all, but it seems strange not to see people and vehicles coming and going.

When I watch golf on TV all the players are wearing long pants. One time on a regular show I saw some men challenge each other to a golf match. When they played they were all wearing shorts. It looked so strange to me to see men wearing shorts while playing golf on TV. Why? I don't know. My condo is on the edge of a golf course and I see every man that is playing is wearing shorts and it looks so normal.

One time I saw two men on the golf course. A man in long pants was giving instructions to a man in shorts. Obviously the man in long pants was the club pro. His feeling would be, "I am a professional golfer; I wear long pants".

Hello Brian! and hello Diane, Jude, Beth, Jim, Lynne, and Jane 🙂
We're having a bit of every kind of weather, but apparently the roses and peonies love it--they bloomed in masses and now are going over early. I did some planting and digging and mulching--not that much and it pooped me out every single time--I guess I'm officially old. Next year it shall be about 3 petunias in pots and the perennials can fend for themselves among the weeds.
I think many women don't wear shorts because they don't like glaring white tones, or mottling, or veins, to show, or think their legs are too fat too skinny or too something else. I wear the lightest gauze cotton or loose cotton/rayon pants. Some women look elegant in wrinkled linen, but I look like a slob in it so I don't wear it.
There is a possum in the shed sometimes, I guess it will have to be repaired sooner instead of next year. The three darling black chickens with their feathery leggings continue to visit, and there was a Rose Breasted Gross Beak at the birdfeeder one day for the first time!

I like to see men with well formed brown legs wearing shorts, no matter the age. My son, 66, started wearing shorts 2 years ago. He never wore whort in his adult life, but is comfortable doing so now.

My brother is 81, NEVER wore shorts. The Temp could be 100 degrees and he still wears long pants. "My legs are too hairy"..I have tried to convince him otherwise but it just wont work. Oh well............

I notice one thing as I live in Florida. Most men wear shorts when they go out but women wear slacks for the most part or dresses or skirts. The last time I was in a doctor's waiting room all the men (but me) wore shorts and all the women wore slacks. I guess most men say they wear shorts to feel more comfortable. I feel perfectly comfortable wearing long pants but would feel uncomfortable wearing shorts in a restaurant displaying my hairy legs to the other diners. So, why don't more women wear shorts since " they are more comfortable"?

Nice to see Brian here. Love his stories.

It rained again on Saturday, a steady all day rain. According to TV weather people, that is 25 Saturdays in a row with rain. So, of course, it has been the worst garage sale season yet. No flea markets open.

Curt, Happy Birthday. I believe today would be your actual birth date. I see you have updated your Fancy Feast Fund. Very nice.

Happy birthday to our Webmaster!

June 6, 1944, D-Day. I was a mere infant back then. I still have a feeling of gratitude to the men who gave so much of themselves on that day. God bless them all.

Not a lot happening down here -- well apart from the accidental cat, the water tank that started leaking when we put some water in it which means replacing two tanks and winter is almost here. It's been unseasonably warm all through autumn, so all the hens around here have stopped laying because it's all too confusing apparently.

Frankly, I wish more would post. I enjoy hearing from all of you.

I haven't been posting much lately, 2 funerals and this week a wedding with everyone descending on us. Plus I had cataract surgery and couldn't see very well up close for quite a while. Now I'm having back trouble - spinal stenosis is causing some problems with my legs and feet. I had injections last week and still can't spend much time on my computer.

I'll quit complaining now. We have had some absolutely gorgeous weather. All our annual flowers are planted and they are starting to look nice already. The lettuce is coming up. Looking forward to seeing the family at the wedding of my niece this weekend.

Hope you all are well.

I think most of the regulars(?) now post on Facebook. I have Facebook but rarely use it. I limit my posts here as I don't want to make it look as if I am hogging the board. Many a time I think of something to post here but don't bother if it will look like I am the only one posting.

Geeeesh.....does anyone post anymore??

It used to be all you had to do was say something negative about cats....and BOOM....tons of angry vitriol.

Where is Ebozo when you need him? (I know -dead). Steamboat Bill is in heaven too, laughing.....nice try ya hapless fool...get up here, and I'll show you how to rile up the ladies.....grrrr.

Part of a chat room....is....well ..chatting!

Life is......interaction. Don't lose what made it special. Go ahead, rip me a new one for complaining. I'd welcome it.

I miss the give and take :o(

Rant stated....hope all are having a blessed day....................

Oh my. Sounds like several of you folks live in detecting paradise! I live 3000 miles from the sea Diane, also nowhere near any old colonial farms. My version of "detecting" is stumbling around in a muddy cut corn field (I'm in the mid west). My views are always flat nothing that stretches off to the horizon.

Any one of you might wake up tomorrow and find me sleeping in my car, parked in your drive!

I spent almost three hours sniffing around today. Got all of $1.08 in filthy modern clad and a rusty Matchbox car. Grrrrr.

Still....its WAY cheaper then getting hooked on golf, so I've got that going for me. :o)

Nice to see some old s/n's from the past again. I'm serious.....when my buddy and I return to that leech infested swamp, I'll post about our results. Finding an 1855 coin around here is quite unusual. So yeah.....we'll be going back!.....we'll be wearing hand me down pantyhose too!....we'll find exactly what those leeches are guarding!

May you and your loved ones all have a blessed Memorial day. Enjoy your families, eat too much, lose a few coins in the grass while you're at it. :o)

Brigiuy. I live near the beacjj which gets a new crop of treasures yearly. Good to see you.

Briguy, The farm that I was raised on in New England would have been great for a metal detectorist. Our dairy farm was built in the early 1800s. The farm down the road had a building with someone's initials and the year "1823" carved in a beam. Our old work shed had two old Civil War muskets with bayonets and a trove of old tools, etc. Far into the woods my brother and I once found a stone house base surrounded by the forest. How long ago anyone had a house and lived there is anyone's guess. One could also find a lone stone fence in the middle of the woods. Was there ever a field and buildings around there? Who knows.

Welcome back Briguy.

Hello all !!!

I figure that I have to make a post about once per year, because you are all wonderful people whom I still to this day think about. So how about a Mrs Briguy story?

Many remember me as the weirdo stamp collector, but I have other hobbies too. I hunt, metal detect, fish, etc (you know -- guy stuff). In my 15+ years of serious metal detecting I've learned a few tricks that have led me to hundreds and hundreds of old silver coins. Pretty much impossible today to head to the city park and find one of those anymore, because....well.....people like me have been there already. Old silver coins aren't like mushrooms -- they don't grow back next year. So serious "detectorists" have had to adapt. One way is to spend the cold unhospitable winter months researching. That involves pulling up online the old 1870 plot maps of your county and transposing them over a current one. AH HA!!!......in the back of this old field there was once two homesteads and a barn! Given that sort of heads up its usually not very hard....utter silence as you wander the area, then suddenly buzzes, grumbles, and static pops. Human created metallic debris, usually rusting iron bits left from long ago forgotten lives, perhaps a foot down in what is now a cut flat soybean field. Time to make bigger and bigger circles slowly, adjusting your gain way up to hear any specific squeak of what you're looking for.

What we're after is that silver thimble a little girl lost under a long gone apple tree, trying to repair a hole in her sock (sometimes engraved with her name!). Perhaps it'll be an old Indian head penny that bounced out of a workers pocket back in 1862, ....you get it. This works in water too, as modern (well, the expensive ones) detectors are water proofed. Late last year, I found a small creek, surrounded by expensive modern homes. The homes are worthless to detect.....they've been there only 10 years. However the old creek....oh my goodness that creek, has been flowing through the area since before white men arrived.

My first efforts of dabbling there resulted in a 1915 silver dime! Second target turned out to be a 1855 large cent, one of the original copper pennies the size of a modern quarter. Oh yeah, I'm hooked now. I also don't do this alone. My detecting buddy is a fellow church member and the two of us being kind honorable Christians (ssshhh, don't mention to him what you know of me) we have a pact. We share together the secret spots we find. So back we came together, to shuffle slowly through that fetid swampy water waist deep. Both of us old grey men, with $1000+ in electronics strapped to us, looking like crazy 2024 versions of Robo Cop.

It......uuuuhm....well...it didn't end well. Ever see the movie "Stand By Me"? Oh yeah, two old guys screaming in terror, stripping off our clothes, as we yanked dozens of hungry leeches off each other. Must have been quite the sight for anyone passing by.

[Act 2]
Fast forward to the first week of May 2025. The two leech victims are now sitting next to the Fox river in Wisconsin, trying to catch walleyes. Enter a third character to the story, a local we fish with who is very much an interesting fellow. By that I mean SCARY....but interesting. He's 78 years old now, but remains one of those no nonsense type guys that people just look at quickly and say -- lets not mess with him. He did THREE combat tours in Viet Nam as a door gunner in a chopper, and still to this day he has utterly no problem with being right in the middle of a bar fight. As we sipped our chilled brandy (never did get a walleye) he got drunk enough to start telling us war stories. One doozy was about his buddy, only two days in country, being beaten unconscious in the bathroom of a Saigon bar. Why you ask? He laughed at the guy next to him at the urinal, a hard azz special forces soldier who dropped his pants and revealed he was wearing........pantyhose.

Why pantyhose you ask? Apparently ALL the tough as nails special forces guys wore them over there. The reason is simple. As you slowly creeped through swamps and flooded rice paddies, the pantyhose prevented leeches from being able to latch onto you. I looked at my detecting buddy. He was looking at me. in unison we both blurted out -- "Does your wife still have any pantyhose?!?"

Act 3, back in Illinois.
[Briguy] Honey, do you still have any old pantyhose?
[MrsBriguy] Are you saying its time for me to shave my legs?
[Briguy] Oh, of course not.....I want them for me.
[Mrs B] Whaa..uuuh....whatever for??
[Briguy] To wear, of course.
[Mrs B] *long pause* Did you not see the result of the last election?.....the woke transgender stuff isn't in vouge anymore.
[Briguy] I'm not going to a gay bar to dance.....I'm going to wade into a swamp wearing them.
[Mrs B] WHAT?!!.....(looks at me, puzzled)
[Briguy] In fact....Ken is going with me...so I need two pairs :o).
[Mrs B] Dare I ask?
[Briguy] Probably best if you don't....(but I filled her in)

End result is I now have FIVE pairs of crumpled old "Leggs" pantyhose, from way back in the day, when they used to sell them in plastic eggs at the grocery store. At one point she even commented "Oh wait,... this one has a big run in them, ...still want it?". I laughed and said, I doubt the leeches care.

Her final comment was that if we get picked up by the cops.....don't call me for bail.

I'd love to post to the BB chat what the results of Act 4 is/will be, but the two of us are still waiting for the water to get warm enough again. Final result will have to wait until my next unexpected appearance here. I'm only certain that NOBODY here saw this one coming. :o)

-- Brian

Hello to all from Belleville, Illinois where after several days of severe weather the next few days should be much nicer. Tomorrow Sis and I are driving down to our old hometown to decorate family graves for Memorial Day. This is always a good day because it brings back memories of people we loved.

I am in Facebook Hell. I got an e-mail from them over the weekend stating that my account had been suspended. They never said just why this happened. My efforts to contact someone at Facebook have failed. I'm not sure how much time I want to spend trying to resolve this. Facebook is good for some things, but I could easily live without it.

Hello. I am at sea on a four day and back to back three day cruise in the Caribbean. It seems the shipping companies make more money on four and three day cruise totals than they do on seven day cruises. At least there do seem to be more of the shorter cruises than the seven day cruises.

Florida has banned the use of fluoridation of public water. Remember back in the 1950s when it was such a controversy? Many people fought it on the basin that it was a communist plot to poison Americans. It did pass and cut down on tooth decay. One of my dentists a few years ago did pro bono work in the mountains of Georgia. People there drank pure spring or well water. My dentist said that all the peoples' teeth up there were rife with cavities. I haven't had a cavity in years. Maybe now we are going back to the good old,"Look, Ma, only two cavities."

Beth.. I gave up on Ebay. It got slower and slower. As of May 1st I have nothing listed. Etsy is (was) doing well. Almost to a stop because of Mothers Day coming up. Wishing all those mothers out there a beautiful and joyous day.

Hello all. Where have I been? Well, I got a new iPad for Christmas, set it up a few days after New Year’s Day and kept forgetting to look up my password on my PC so I could post on the iPad at night.
Rain, rain, rain. If we get any sun at all, it is just a few minutes in early evening. But everything is greening up. Grass is green and 90% of the trees in the valley areas. The mountains are just beginning to get leaves on the trees. Another 10 days and the mountains will look like bright green carpet.
Still listing daily on EBay, but same amount of work and number of listings as last year is producing half as many sales. It is a different world on online selling than it used to be.

My wife has a hard time sleeping through the night when first off of the ship. I slept like a rock and woke up feeling refreshed. My wife tossed all night and sits on the edge of the bed glaring at the wall.

"How is my little bundle of sunshine?" I ask.
"Shut up", she explains.

My wife and I do not drink. We usually get off our cruise ships with three or six bottles of free wine. Some of it we give away, the rest is in small wine racks running over the tops of the kitchen counters, over four dozen bottles. With hood exhaust fans and the AC vent blowing up high it doesn't get hot up there. The upcoming Mothers' Day will give us a chance to go visiting and give away some of that wine. Aren't we generous?

I am back and we had a good time on the cruise ship. O my regular cruise line, with over 100 cruises, my wife and I are Pinnacle, top priority guests. We get free water, wifi, 12 free drinks per day, three bottles of wine in the room and a lot more. On this cruise line we had to pay for everything including $5.50 for a can of water! I do not know why they had the water in cans and not in bottles, one couldn't keep an open can in a carry on when moving about. Next week we are gong on another one week cruise on our regular cruise line. We look forward to that.

Wonderful weather here, although there were storms all night. Got a new ceiling fan for my BR and son installed it yesterday. Has a light fixture and I can see in this dark room for the first time since I moved here. Feeling better, but still not 100%. Lost a little weight and to this point have not gained it back. My go to sleep videos on utube have moved on from ancient mediterrean history to art and major artists. Am learning a lot.

Good morning. Spring is finally arriving here too. After being in the 30s last night we're supposed to have 70s all week. The leaves are just starting here, but our pear tree is in full bloom.

I am recovering from cataract surgery. Had both eyes done and for the first time in 60 years I can see decently without glasses! However, now I can't see anything close up so will probably have to get glasses for that once my eyes settle down. This recovery is long than I expected but it needed to be done.

Hope you all are well.

Happy May Day! Happy Spring! We're finally having spring weather here, trees are leafing out, grass is green, There are dandelions, daffodils, violets, scylla, magnolias, and rhododendrons in bloom ! We've had some much needed rains and sunshine.
On the home front, we got our new roof and eaves troughs finished that's a big project finally done. (and taxes went in) I got my eyes checked, and will need new glasses, other wise healthy eyes, good to learn.
Glad to see you hanging in here, Jim Diane, Jane, Lynne , June, Jude, and any other posters and lurkers !

Diane, thank you for checking the list for me.

Curt, looks good to me. Thanks again for all you do for us.

Hello Everyone,
Just a note to let you know I've updated the "In Memoriam" page. Thank you for helping me! Please confirm that I have the names and Ebay IDs correct. Hopefully I haven't accidentally added anyone who shouldn't be there.
Thanks again,
Curt 🙂

I am heading off on a two week cruise with my wife, brother, niece and their spouses. It should be fun. See you later.

Happy Birthday Jim!

Felicitations Jim!

My actual birthday is tomorrow, or course. Still, this notice came as a surprise to me. My instinct is that my birthday is a few weeks away.. I don't know why I feel like that. Must be old age.

My sister and I both had measles and chicken pox. Unfortunately when my children were little I got measles again. I can remember quarentine signs on door for scarlet fecer, and of couse knew several children who had polio. My parents wouldn't let us go anywhere there were crowds of people in the summer because of polio.

Hello to all from Belleville, Illinois where light rain is falling. Luckily nothing severe is expected.

Sis and I both had measles and chicken pox when in elementary school. I was born in 1954 and Sis was born in 1957. Just about every kid we knew had them also.

My sister, brother and I all had measles. And chicken pox.

I was reading an article that said that anyone born before 1957 could be safely assumed to have lifelong immunity to measles due to having had this extremely contagious disease. Well, neither I nor my brother or sister or next door neighbor had measles back then. I guess this "history" was written by people who hadn't been born back then. How many people here had measles when they were children?

Curt< I went through the member list and these names should be added to the memoriam list. JoAnn, Minnewville, lookwhatbobfound, dan, oceanabooks, Teddi, adderbolt. There may be others I don't know about. There are other people who no longer post here, but I see them on other sites.

Thank you Curt for continuing this page. It's been quiet lately but I do appreciate hearing from people.

Hi,
I believe there are a few people missing from the "In Memoriam" page. I modified that page to make changes easier, so if you could remind me who's missing I will make sure to add them. You can either post them here, or email them to me.
Thank you!
-Curt

June If that's the only issue afterwards I'll be quite happy.

Hello to all from Belleville, Illinois where it is an overcast day. Storms (possibly severe) are expected tomorrow.

Jane I had cataract surgery a few years ago. What I remember most about the after-surgery is how glaringly bright everything seemed to be. Just looking out the window on a somewhat sunny day made me want to reach for my sunglasses.

Jude51 70 here yesterday, 30s and rain, ice and snow today and tomorrow. This has been a very strange year so far weatherwise.

I'm having cataract surgery on Wednesday (one eye now, the other 2 weeks later). I'm hoping I won't be off my computer very long.

Weather here has been rain, rain, drizzle, rain etc all year. Highs in the 50s once in a while. Today and tomorrow temps will be dry and in the 70's. I don't know where that came from, but I will take it. Then temps and rain will make a comback.

Hello to all from Belleville, Illinois where today is a nice sunny day.

We had our share of bad weather over the past week. A string of strong storms moved through the area and towns near us had tornado damage. For a few days we had very strong, howling winds. The sound of that wind really bothered me. The cats didn't like it either!

Diane Happy Birthday to you. From what I saw on Facebook, it looks like today is your actual birthday.

Glad to hear you're getting better Diane -- enjoy your birthday 🙂

At least I'm having one! Finally making some progress - staying up at least half a day. Lonster and birthday cake tomorrow! Thanks Jim.,

Diane, Have a happy birthday!

I went to a restaurant. At two parking spots next to the restaurant were the signs, "Parking for Neosport customers only. All others will be towed away." I thought the store owner just put that up to keep non customers way. That was a public parking area and so anyone could park there at any time. Right? I looked it up on line and was amazed to find that the store owner was legally right. He could have cars towed away from "his" parking spots in front of his store. I guess when you buy the store you also buy the parking spot as well.

Happy first day of spring, everyone.

Thanks Jane, had a lovely day.

Happy Birthday Lynne!

Thanks Jim. Because the board is now on Australian time today is in fact the 17th and thus my birthday 🙂

Lynne, Happy Birthday. (Maybe)

75 degrees here today, a new record for this date. Tomorrow it drops and will be 20. A 25 degree drop in 24 hours. I have to admit I enjoyed sitting on our deck today!

Happy PI Day .... !!

The trick about calling the cell phone number to find the phone only works if the phone is charged and turned on!

Sis's DH ran into that problem when he was working on a landscaping project. He likes to work with plants and occasionally takes on a side job working in other people's yards. The phone had fallen out of his pocket but, since he always turns it off when he is working, it wasn't possible to call the phone in order to locate it. The phone was never found and he ended up buying a new phone.

JIM That happened to me a year ago. I live in a one bedroom apartment....Where the hell could it go? I must have circled the apartment 3 times. Finally went next door and had my neighbor call me. It was on the charger being charged. oh...yeah..

The trick, of course, when someone misplaces their cell phone is to have someone call that number. Then, when the phone rings, it is easy to find.

Jim I'm glad we didn't have cell phones when my DH was alive. He was a person who would set something down, walk away, and forget where he put it. We were always looking for his keys, his coffee cup, his small pocket notebook, or whatever he had last had in his hand.

I keep my cell phone in a phone holster on my belt. I read recently that men keep their phones in a belt holster to prove they are over 50 years old. Hmmph. It seems to me like a convenient and easily accessible way to carry a cell phone. At least I don't crack it by having it in my back pocket and sitting down on it. If I am sitting down, I don't have to move around to get access to it if it is in a pocket. Why would it be that younger men don't carry their phones that way?

June It's not a glitch, obviously the site has been set to Australian time 😉

Hello to all from Belleville, Illinois where the sun is shining and the temperature is close to 60 degrees,

It looks like he "leap year glitch" is still with us. My birthday is actually today, March 7th. However, I do want to thank those of you who wished me a Happy Birthday yesterday,

Not much going on here. I live a nice calm quiet life ... and like it that way!