Gas Prices Getting You Down?

On a trip to Amish country, I spotted this old gas pump in a display. You may not be able to read the price per gallon, but it was 19 cents!






I wonder if the folks who paid that, way-back-when, complained about the outrageous price of gas?

The Things You'll See @ LOLmart

I stopped at Largest-retailer-in-the-world-mart today to pick up some mouthwash for my MIL. While perusing the selections, I came across this beauty:

Yes, You are seeing correctly. That is liquid Dial soap sitting among the mouth rinses. The first thing I thought was "Is this for kids who need their mouths washed out?" It obviously is an item that someone no longer wanted in their cart, but I laughed at the irony of it's placement.

Next, Over at electronics, was this great pic:

I always glance through the $5 movies in the bin. While I was there, two teen age Amish girls start rummaging through the bin, picking out certain movies. I could have gotten a MUCH better shot, but I was considerate toward their dislike of having their faces photographed. As I stepped away, they moved to where I was, and I snapped this shot from behind.

You see many funny things at this store. Someone should create a website to catalog all the...What's that?...Someone already has? Oh, Okay.

Flashback Friday # 125

Grandma's Curio Cabinet

A cheery hello on this dreary Winter's day. Welcome back to another edition of Flashback Friday. Today we visit a place that provided me many hours of entertainment, Grandma's curio cabinet.

My paternal grandmother (the one that lived in Westerville) had a penchant for collecting small figurines, miniature spoon & cocktail forks and salt & pepper shakers. All of her pretties were displayed in and old secretary/curio cabinet that looked much like the one below that I saw in Amish country.

The only difference between this and the one she had is hers had a large crack in the glass of the door. It ran from near the lock all the way across to just below the bottom shelf. This crack was covered over by masking tape that had grown yellow & brittle. Touch that tape and you would get cracked.

The neat thing about this cabinet is that grandma let the grand kids play with the contents inside. We were allowed to play with anything in there, as long as we put them back after we had finished playing with it. You would not believe the adventures we had with salt & pepper shakers. Look at the pictures below and tell me that you couldn't have fun with these:

Sir Gattabout & I would have epic battles with giant chickens, flying swordfish, skunks, and funny looking people. One of my favorite sets was two older men. The salt wore a white shirt, was bald, had his hands in his side pockets and was smoking a cigar. The pepper wore a red shirt, had a fringe of gray hair, wore a derby, had his hands in his back packets and also smoked a cigar. Another favorite set consisted of a longhorn that had purple, yellow, pink & green hues. That was the sugar bowl. From the horns hung two smaller longhorns who's horns came together to make a loop. These were the salt & pepper. They were similarly colored.

Also in the cabinet was a small box containing marbles. I had fun looking at them and rolling them down some Hot Wheels track that was there. My Great-Uncle Charles (he of Flashback Friday #113) taught me how to shoot & play marbles. He wasn't too keen about kneeling on the sidewalk, but there was a spot indoors where he could kneel on the carpet and shoot onto a spot on the wood floor. We couldn't draw a chalk circle on the wood floor, so he took some white thread and made a circle to place the marbles in. He always beat me.

There were some old books in there too. The one I remember most was titled "Behind the Red Curtain". The cover of the book said it was shocking and risque. When you opened the book, there was a red piece of cloth. When you lifted it up, there was a bias relief picture (that's raised, for those who didn't know) of a little boy sitting on a chamber pot.

Alas, when Grandma passed, in order to quickly settle her estate, the contents of the house was sold to an antique deal at a ridiculously low price.

My Past...With a Price Tag

Lady Nottaguy-TYG and I ran off to Amish country for our anniversary. While there, we wandered through a very large antique store. Looking through the stuff there kindled some smoldering memories of thing that I had or loved ones had (and no, I am not an antique person, thankyouverymuch.)

The first thing I saw that sparked a memory was a hoppity hop. I never owned one of these, but the neighbors did. For those of you who don't know what those were, they were a large rubber ball with a handle on top. You sit on it and bounce across the yard. The powers that be must have deemed them unsafe because I haven't seen one in years. I took a picture of it, but probably hit erase instead of save.

Another thing I saw, but can't find a picture of either, is the Radio Flyer spring horse. You could keep a child entertained for hours with one of these. It was a large plastic horse suspended from a base by four springs. It must have been deemed unsafe too. Why is it that everything that is fun is also unsafe?

Next, we have the gun that I whacked Sir Gattabout upside the head with in Flashback Friday #1. This may or may not be the actual weapon, but it is exactly like the one I used.

A little further on, I spotted some glass flower frogs. There were used to support flowers at the bottom of a vase. I never saw them used for that purpose. Grandma & Grandpa used them as paperweights & pen holders on their desk. they also used an eight cylinder distributor cap as a pen/pencil holder.
A ways further down, I came across some metal lunchboxes. I never had any of these particular boxes, but I got a new one every year throughout elementary school.

Next we have marbles. Who didn't have marbles? More on marbles in tomorrow's Flashback Friday post. There were two quart jars of marbles in this particular booth. I bought one of them. I told the cashier that I had lost my marbles and my wife was buying replacements.
Finally, we have Frostie Root Beer. That was huge when I was but a tot. My kin liked for me to sing the Frostie Root Beer jingle when I was four or five. I don't even remember how it went. I thought they had stopped making it a long time ago. Apparently not.

Winter... GO AWAY!!!!!

What's up with this? Friday it was in the 50's and sunshiney. Today we get sleet/freezing rain/snow (lots of it). I'll tell you what, I'm getting tired of shovelling all this global warming.

Flashback Friday # 124

Goodbye Stereo

A warm welcome to all who have stumbled upon my ramblings.

Did you ever have something that you assumed would be yours, only to have it taken away? In this post we will examine the heartbreak of a teenager without a stereo. That's like a teen today without a cell phone.

When Sir Gattabout enrolled in the US Army, He left many of his possessions behind. Through basic training at Fort Leonard Wood, MO. and Jump School at Fort Benning,GA., I took possession of his belongings that he didn't take with him. I figured "If he wanted them, he would have taken them with him." Sounded logical to me. Then we got "the letter".

He wrote us saying that he was heading to his permanent base at Fort Bragg, NC. He wanted us to come and visit him there, and bring some of his stuff. His stuff??? Possession is 9/10th of the law. That was my stuff now. Or so I thought.

He wanted some of his civilian clothes (which I didn't care about, since it didn't fit me) and his stereo and records. Noooo!!!! If we took his stereo to him, I would have to use the behemoth console record player downstairs. No more isolating myself in my room to listen to tunes.If he took his records, it would leave me with only a handful that I could legitimately call my own.

I tried to reason with Mom, but she wasn't buying it. So I had to pack up Gattabout's record albums so we could take them down to him. Goodbye Deep Purple. Goodbye Pink Floyd. Goodbye Steve Miller. Goodbye Three Dog Night. I even packed up the 45's that were his.

The stereo was a classic from the 70's. It had an avocado green plastic base that folded up to look similar to a suitcase. It had a record player and an 8-track deck. (yes I packed up all his 8-tracks too).

We loaded up the car and made the long trek from central Ohio to Fayettville, NC. According to Yahoo Maps, it is a trip of over 550 miles taking 9 1/2 hours. When we got there, we were glad to see him & he was glad to see us. I helped take his stuff into his barracks.

A few weeks after we got home, he gave us a call, just to talk. When it was my turn to talk to him, I asked if he was enjoying listening to his records again. He said he loved playing the albums, but didn't care for the 45's. In fact he gave them away! I knew I shouldn't have packed them. Oh well.

Woo Hoo! Two Days In a Row

This picture, that I captioned, made Front page today on I Has A Hotdog.

This is the 8th picture that I've submitted that made the front page on a Cheezburger Network site. (2 on I Has A Hotdog, 1 on Historic LOLs, 2 on Tots & Giggles, and 3 on Pundit Kitchen.) I get pumped every time it happens. I have my fingers crossed for a couple of others.



This just in. 9 pictures. Make that 4 times on Pundit Kitchen. This picture of mine made front page today.

Front Page Again

To some people, having their humor posted on the front page of a website might be old hat. They may think "Oh, Look. I did it again. Yawn." Not Me!

Today, one of my funnies made it to the home page of ihasahotdog (that's I has A Hotdog for those of you who need spaces). It is a website in the Cheezburger Network where you caption pictures of dogs or upload funny videos. Here is the picture that made the homepage:

A Tasty Combination

Last night we had "The Kids"at our house for supper. We had pizza because everyone likes it. "The Girl" was still napping when it arrived. Lady Nottaguy-TYG woke her up and changed her diaper while I got out "The Nom Chair".

She was still very grumpy upon being sat in "The Nom Chair" and didn't want to eat the small pieces of pizza we saved back for her (we had already eaten).I tried to lift her spirits by offering her some dried berries that I munch on which she absolutely loves. She would eat the berries, but not the pizza. Then an Idea came to me.

I took a piece of the pizza and put a dried blueberry on it. I told her "Bite". She did and loved it. She motioned for me to do it again. So I did. I continued putting dried blueberries, cranberries, raspberries, cherries & plums on her pizza while she continued gobbling it up and asking for more. She ate two pieces that way.

I sent "The Ogre" a text to tell her how her daughter ate her pizza. "That's DISGUSTING" was the reply I got. If she likes fruit on her pizza, who am I to complain?

Flashback Friday # 123

Muppets & Puppets

Greeting one and all and welcome back to another edition of Flashback Friday.

When I was a wee bit younger, I watched an excessive amount of television. Many of my funny voices and characters have been gleaned from the many hours in front of the TV. The TV was on from the time that I got up until I went to school and was the first thing turned on upon arriving home from school. It was then on until the time I went to bed. If I had a dollar for every show I have watched, I would never have to work again.

But I digress. One of the most influential TV shows that debuted during my formative teen years was The Muppet Show. I loved the Muppets, and to this day I still can sit for hours watching the genius of Jim Henson.

Any time The Muppet Show was on, I was glued to the tube. I was loaned the first season of The Muppet Show awhile back and thoroughly enjoyed it. I loved all the behind the scenes things that were added too. I do a pretty mean Kermit impersonation, if I say so myself.

One day we went over to the house of one of Mom's co-workers. Penny had three kids. Sir Gattabout was stricken for awhile by her oldest daughter Doris. Brice was a year older than I was, and one size larger so he was a source of hand-me-downs. The youngest, Jess, had some of the coolest toys, even if she was a girl. What does this have to do with anything? When we went over there, Jess was playing with an "Animal" puppet. It was totally cool. You could even make the eyebrows move.

That year for Christmas, I told Mom that I wanted an "Animal" puppet. When Christmas came, I tore open my gifts and found a floppy ear dog puppet. Mom didn't understand that "Animal" was the name of a character. She had gotten me an animal puppet (be careful what you ask for, you might just get it).

I used that dog puppet to make the neighbor kids laugh. I got a some other puppets to go along with it. A couple years later, when I had three or four puppets, Mom came home and absolutely blew me away. Penny was going to have a yard sale and let Mom look through the stuff first. She pulled a few things out of the bag, the she pulled out "Animal". Jess had gotten tired of him, and sold him in a yard sale for a quarter!!!! Whoo hoo!

I was 13 when I got "Animal. I am 47 now, and I still have him.

(Do you know how hard it is to put a puppet on one hand and take a picture of it with a cell phone using the other?) Here's a full view shot:
Alas,34 years have gone by. All the while I have looked through thrift stores, yard sales and auctions for puppets. I have had many given to me. At the writing of this post, I have six totes full of them. They are used in Sunday School & Children's Church functions. "The Girl" loves to play with them. She even uses our gloves as puppets if no others are handy.

Deep within all of use there is a little kid hidden away. I like to think that I let mine out to play every once in a while.

Learn To Live Before You Die

I read a poem the other day (yes, I can read) that contained a lot of truth.

There was a very cautious man, who never laughed or played.
He never risked, he never tried, he never sang or prayed.
And then one day he passed away, his insurance was denied.
For since he never really lived, they claim he never died.

Makes you think, doesn't it?

23rd Anniversary

No, Lady Nottaguy-TYG & I have been married longer than that (#26 is in 2 1/2 weeks). Yesterday I celebrated my 23rd year at the factory in which I work. What makes this even more special is that I get another weeks vacation for being there that long. I'm up to five weeks now (which is the maximum). This new week is special in the fact that I can simply pick up the phone and call off for any reason. I had five of these days previously. Now I have ten.

Flashback Friday # 122

Mungus

Welcome back, my friends. It's time to get back into the groove of Flashback Friday. Today's post covers a vocabulary word that was introduced by one of Aunt Shelly's kids. That word is "mungus".

One night I had several of Aunt Shelly's kids over to spend the night. Very rarely did only one kid come over. The night was growing late and we were getting ready to go to sleep.

As shoes & socks were coming off, I noticed that Munch's socks had some color to them. They were originally white. He was notorious for not changing clothes until forced to. Upon closer inspection, the socks weren't just dirty, they were discolored by something other than dirt.

When asked about it, Munch replied "That probably on of those mungus". Everyone stopped in their tracks. Mungus, What is mungus? When asked about the word, Munch said "Mom always says "There's a fungus, a mungus". Skeeter almost doubled over in laughter while I was still puzzling over the explanation.

Once Skeeter regained his composure, he says "You idiot. That's not what Mom says. She says "There's a fungus among us". From that point on, any unusual mold, mildew, or discoloration became a mungus. Any sickness became a mungus virus. Anything nasty at all was called a mungus. Truly there was a mungus among us.

Did you have any words that were known only to you and your pals?

A Thing Of Beauty

When you've been without meat for 3 weeks, meatloaf is truly a thing of beauty (it tasted mighty good too)

2 days in a row?

I know what you're thinking,"He wasn't on for 3 weeks, so now he thinks he has to post every day". Wrong. I had full intentions of going to work today. I got up, put out the dog, let him back in, and turned on the radio. I then heard that my company had called off 1st shift operations due to the freezing rain we had here last night. Look at the time I posted, I'm usually at work at that time, and I promise you, I don't blog while at work.

Here are a few pics of the ice:

This picture shows a piece of ice that I got off of my truck. It is over a quarter of an inch thick. I know this because I measured it myself. The folks on the radio said we could have up to a tenth of an inch of ice coating. They were a mite off. How many geeks do you know that have their personal set of verniers to measure silly things like this with?

On an unrelated note, I have one more fast story to tell. On the Saturday of the second week, I got inspired. I had heard from many folks lamenting the things they couldn't have during the fast. Some took it farther than the Pastor called for. Instead of desserts, ALL things sweet were sacrificed. No sugar on cereal, no jelly on PB&J sandwiches, no fun shopping,etc. I took it upon myself to wax poetic about it all in this bit of prose:

Daniel or Lamentations?

Breakfast, no coffee. I think I'll have toast. No bacon, no sausage, no ham.

Lunch, a nice salad, a few celery stalks or a peanut butter sandwich without jam.

Dinner, no chicken, broiler or fried. No Pepsi or Coke for you see,

This Daniel fast that the church is now doing isn't going fast enough for me.

So pass me some carrot sticks. Pour me some juice or a tall glass of milk & that's all.

The place in the room where the TV inhabits is driving me strait up the wall.

I'm thinking of hoagies, tacos and chili, spaghetti and cookies and cake.

And each night I'm dreaming

of chocolate ice creaming.

I'm starving to death when I wake. Oh for goodness sake.

Well, I'm tempted to surf the web for hours on end, but it's something I can't on this fast.

I've not seen a down of the NFL playoffs. I don't know how long that can last.

Still as I drive down the street past McD's, a big Mac pops into my thought.

I know others are feeling the same way that I'm feeling. Unity means a whole lot.

There are time I think this fast is pushing me toward the brink of of inanity.

"Cause now I'm reading a devotional book instead of listening to Rush & Sean Hannity.

So I'm reading my Bible, not Reader's Digest. I'm four weeks ahead on my chart.

And I've met at the church, prayed for 21 minutes. Obedience is a good place to start.

My Facebook hasn't been updated in weeks. My Farmville crop wilts on the vine.

I'm finding myself growing closer to God, and I'll tell you right now that is fine.

And though I am craving some meat every night, I'm determined this fast I'll not break.

But, I tell you, just as soon as it's finished, I'm gonna have me a big juicy steak.

Our associate pastor liked that so much, he had me read it over the pulpit Sunday night. Many of my out of town friends that I showed it to during Quizzing thought it was hilarious. One told me they had done the Daniel fast before, but did each thing only one week (meat 1, desserts& drinks 2, media 3) they were completely aghast that we had done all of them for the whole three weeks.