Ah, Garrison.....Nothing pricks pomposity like a spiky limerick !! Amateur proofreader recommends "schnozzola" over "schnoozla". Even your spellcheck underlined it here. (I think my use of "like" was acceptable here.)
I may misinterpret Keats's slouching beast as apostasy, but well-placed amongst all the Protestant commercials. Roger Krenkler L.A.
Long Car Trips! Ah, YES! Dad got a job in New York State with GE (Generous Electric) , halfway across the country from his mother in Oklahoma. You'd think that distance would be enough for parents with kids arguing over "Bury your cows!" ( We were into the bovine mode) and "That wasn't a Washington State - that was Washington DC license plate." But, starting when I was 12, Dad had earned three weeks vacation, and he decided that we should go to every state in the Union.
Sometimes that could be very interesting. We stopped in Gladbrook Iowa once. Our German ancestors had come to Iowa in the late 1800s, with ten sons and three daughters. By the time we got there, the family we stopped at got on the phone, and organized a picnic for 350 of our German relatives! My brother and I got to ride with a teenaged third cousin. He wasn't theoretically old enough to drive, but around Iowa farms, at least in those days, they'd start driving tractors while sitting on their Dad's laps. And, apparently, there werent any rural traffic officers to say anything about the qualifications of the drivers. My brother climbed a windmill, "To see what he could see," and froze with fright up there. All-in-all, our "City Yokels" family gave those Iowans lots of stories to remember! When I returned at age fifty or so, I visited that cousin - and he remembered our visit as if it were yesterday.
The other trip that I remember the most was transcontinental. Dad had an opportunity to deliver a speech at an IRE (International Radio Engineers) convention. We got to stay in the Mark Hopkins hotel - the "Executive Suite" at that - "Top of the Mark!". We could look down from the twelfth floor and see the tiny street, like a stream, beneath us. But, waiting for Dad to get through with his convention was rather boring. To "sweeten" the trip to California, Dad decided to visit his Uncle Gus, in Laguna Beach, as well. The thing was- Disneyland had just opened its gates, and Uncle Gus lived about 15 minutes away from the "Magical Kingdom." Walt Disney World, on TV, had been advertising the new theme park extensively. To be able to go back to school in the fall and have bragging rights about the park was something in itself. In the park, one of the rides we took was on a "Steamboat" (it looked like one, but I'm pretty sure it was diesel-fueled). As we boarded, they queried our "home port" to see which family had travelled the furthest of that group. As New York state residents, we won the privilege of going up into the pilot's aeire. That was memorable! But then, after we had stopped to view the Grand Canyon on the way home, Dad looked at the calendar and realized that we had only five days to make the 2,000 or so miles back home. The rest of the trip was a mad dash!
Yes - in a way my brother and I were fortunate to be in "A travelling family." On the other hand, we had no immediate relatives near where we lived. "Count Your Blessings" - whatever they are! We Prairie-Homers very much enjoy hearing your "Home Life Tales!" You probably got to look deeper into "commonplace" things, because your attention wasn't drawn "out the car window" as much!
This was wise and charming. Thanks
Ah, Garrison.....Nothing pricks pomposity like a spiky limerick !! Amateur proofreader recommends "schnozzola" over "schnoozla". Even your spellcheck underlined it here. (I think my use of "like" was acceptable here.)
I may misinterpret Keats's slouching beast as apostasy, but well-placed amongst all the Protestant commercials. Roger Krenkler L.A.
Oops, sorry mates....I meant Yeats! - Krenkler
Long Car Trips! Ah, YES! Dad got a job in New York State with GE (Generous Electric) , halfway across the country from his mother in Oklahoma. You'd think that distance would be enough for parents with kids arguing over "Bury your cows!" ( We were into the bovine mode) and "That wasn't a Washington State - that was Washington DC license plate." But, starting when I was 12, Dad had earned three weeks vacation, and he decided that we should go to every state in the Union.
Sometimes that could be very interesting. We stopped in Gladbrook Iowa once. Our German ancestors had come to Iowa in the late 1800s, with ten sons and three daughters. By the time we got there, the family we stopped at got on the phone, and organized a picnic for 350 of our German relatives! My brother and I got to ride with a teenaged third cousin. He wasn't theoretically old enough to drive, but around Iowa farms, at least in those days, they'd start driving tractors while sitting on their Dad's laps. And, apparently, there werent any rural traffic officers to say anything about the qualifications of the drivers. My brother climbed a windmill, "To see what he could see," and froze with fright up there. All-in-all, our "City Yokels" family gave those Iowans lots of stories to remember! When I returned at age fifty or so, I visited that cousin - and he remembered our visit as if it were yesterday.
The other trip that I remember the most was transcontinental. Dad had an opportunity to deliver a speech at an IRE (International Radio Engineers) convention. We got to stay in the Mark Hopkins hotel - the "Executive Suite" at that - "Top of the Mark!". We could look down from the twelfth floor and see the tiny street, like a stream, beneath us. But, waiting for Dad to get through with his convention was rather boring. To "sweeten" the trip to California, Dad decided to visit his Uncle Gus, in Laguna Beach, as well. The thing was- Disneyland had just opened its gates, and Uncle Gus lived about 15 minutes away from the "Magical Kingdom." Walt Disney World, on TV, had been advertising the new theme park extensively. To be able to go back to school in the fall and have bragging rights about the park was something in itself. In the park, one of the rides we took was on a "Steamboat" (it looked like one, but I'm pretty sure it was diesel-fueled). As we boarded, they queried our "home port" to see which family had travelled the furthest of that group. As New York state residents, we won the privilege of going up into the pilot's aeire. That was memorable! But then, after we had stopped to view the Grand Canyon on the way home, Dad looked at the calendar and realized that we had only five days to make the 2,000 or so miles back home. The rest of the trip was a mad dash!
Yes - in a way my brother and I were fortunate to be in "A travelling family." On the other hand, we had no immediate relatives near where we lived. "Count Your Blessings" - whatever they are! We Prairie-Homers very much enjoy hearing your "Home Life Tales!" You probably got to look deeper into "commonplace" things, because your attention wasn't drawn "out the car window" as much!