I WAS A HAMILTON TIGER CAT FOOTBALL PLAYER FOR TEN MINUTES

In 1983 I was entered into the Chedoke Hospital Evaluation Centre in Hamilton, Ontario for a six week program. They would put me in different work situations to evaluate what I would be good at when and if I entered the work force again. I had been in a severe car accident in September of 1980, ( May 27th posting ) and had sold my Dempsters Bread franchise as I could no longer do the extreme physical work it entailed. I stayed in a motel for the duration and would return home on the weekends. While in Hamilton I would go to various eateries for my meals. One night I decided to have my supper at a restraunt in this big hotel. As I was dining I noticed two young women continually looking at me. I was a little self conscious because in the past several years I've had a lot of "plastic surgery" and dental work. I had also done a lot of exercise and weightlifting to come back to a bit over 200 pounds from 135 pounds. Anyway the next thing I knew these two women were at my table and asked me if I would give them an autograph. I told them that I didn't know why they would want one. They said that they knew that the Hamilton Tiger Cat football team was staying in this hotel and that by the looks and size of me I must be one. I told them that I was not a player and did not want to fool them. They were sorry that they had made the mistake and bothered me. I informed them that they had not bothered me but instead had paid me a great compliment. After they left I sat with my coffee and had a smile from ear to ear like a Cheshire cat, but not a Tiger Cat. I was on the road to recovery.

YAHOO FOR MOUNTAIN DEW, POP BOTTLE COLLECTING

Remember when we used to go pop bottle collecting so that we could get a few cents to buy penny candies. I do. A friend of mine from California recently reminded me of the times when we would walk along the sides of well travelled roads searching for bottles that were thrown from car windows. Two cents was the worth of each bottle. Five bottles would pay for a chocolate bar or 20 blackballs. Mountain Dew bottles were a favorite back then in the 1950's and 60's. I came across this bottle a few weeks ago at a Flea market. A lot of us kids bought this pop because of the silly commercials on TV. This is for you Bobby of California. This bottle was filled by Jim and Clara.


Trivia:   Question; What is a natal cleft?
            Answer: The medical term for butt-crack.

Did you know?  When prospector Ed Schieffelin told a soldier he wanted to prospect for silver in an area controlled by Apaches, the soldier laughed and told him the only thing he'd find there was his own tombstone. When he found a giant vein of silver in 1878, Schieffelin named the mining camp Tombstone to spite the soldier. That is how Tombstone, Arizona came to be named.

MY GARDENS, JULY 2012, "GARDEN OF EDEN"

Just thought I would update some pictures of our home and gardens. We didn't want the usual layout that people do, such as placing flower gardens around the border of the property. Sometimes you just have to go "out of the box". Hope you enjoy as much as we do.

Trivia: There are 15 Starbucks coffee shops in O'Hare International Airport. There are only 6 in all of South Dakota.

Did You Know?   The original Starbucks logo featured a mermaid with naked breasts. (almost makes you want to get addicted to caffeine)

THE MILKMAN AND THE BREADMAN HOME DELIVERY, MILKBOX

Remember when the milkman and the breadman would go door to door selling their wares. I do because I was a breadman. In 1964 when I was 12 years old I would help Bob Myles (and later John Hartwick, 2 terrific fellows) every Saturday on their bread route. I wore a "pouch" around my waist to collect money for whatever the customers would purchase.We would fill up our "basket"(2 feet by three feet with a handle) and carry it to the door of the home. Boy, that was heavy work for a kid back then but I was sure glad to get my $1.50 at the end of the day and maybe a "twofor" for myself and a choice of a nearly stale loaf that would be thrown out that day, for my family. We would then knock on the door and shout  "baker" to announce that we were there. I shouted "baker" so much in those years that it started to sound like "beggar". We sold breads of all sorts and sizes, dinner rolls, pastries, butter tarts,eccles bars, cinnamon rolls and what we called "twofors". They were little packets of 2 butter tarts, 2 cupcakes or 2 of any snack for 10 cents. Some people would put signs in their windows saying,TOASTMASTER the name of the bread company (which meant they wanted bread or something) or a sign saying NO BREAD, to save us stopping. A lot of times we would check the milkbox (remember those?) for a note as to what to leave and we would mark in the "book" how much they owed us when we came to collect at the end of the week . I learned math real quick. The milk man had his hands full also. He too used the milkbox for messages so he would know what to leave. The wooden,5 inch by 5 inch adjustable order plaque is what some customers would use. I snatched this out a rummage sale and it brought back GOOD memories. Enjoy

Trivia:  Storage unit? You can fit 600,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 atoms in a thimble.

Did You Know?  Hawaiians once used coconut husks as toilet paper. OUCH!!!

J.F.K. flicker ring,President John Fitzgerald Kennedy dime store or gumball machine flicker ring 1962

This is a flicker ring featuring a picture of John F. Kennedy and the American flag. Kids loved these in the early 1960's. I still do. He was the 35th president and the youngest at 43 to be elected into office. He is most commonly known by just his initials, JFK. I still remember the day(November 22nd ,1963) when he was assassinated by Lee Harvry Oswald. They let us out of school early so I knew this man must be important. Over the years I see him as a man that did not back down from other oppressive regimes or countries. He had balls. It would be nice to see other leaders in the free world take after him. That is my opinion and I'm stickin' to it.

Trivia:  Question: What do your coccyx(tail bone) and your appendix have in common.

            Answer:  Nobody knows what they're for.

Did You Know? A 54 year old man from Fort Worth, Texas, died on December 29, 2008, from complications of a gunshot wound he had sustained 35 years earlier.

MARX NUTTY MADS "THE THINKER" . 1963

Another silly creation from the 1960's. They are still cute and bring back fond memories of that time in my life.


Trivia: On average, men spend 45 seconds in a public restroom stall. Women typically spend 80.


Did You Know?   In Switzerland, it is illegal to flush a toilet or pee standing up after 10 p.m. ( I bet that's a crappy rule to enforce)

WEIRD-OHS CAR-ICKY-TURE OF BASKETBALLS "FRANCIS THE FOUL" THE WAY OUT DRIBBLER, 1960's

A terrific model from the 60's. These models were the rage back then.

Trivia:  A single tiger can eat six tons of meat a year......the equivalent of 60,000 hamburgers.


Did You Know:   Several security screeners at Denver International Airport were reprimanded after they sent themselves through the X-ray machine "to see what their brains looked like." (I think it was an empty space)

1960's WEIRD-OHS "SLING RAVE CURVETTE," THE WAY OUT SPECTATOR

                                               ODE TO CURVETTE

Curvette, Curvette-tall, slim, young,
   Oh Curvette, you are a pearl
And there are others just like you
   All caught up in the dragstrip whirl

You are there to help your man
   To cheer, to yell, to scream, to sigh
And when his car finishes last
   We often see you cry

Your's is a waiting game
   Complete with sacrifices and all
Because he worked on his car
   You missed the high school ball

But there are compensations
   To the game you wish to play
Like when he's top eliminator
   You are Queen that day

Sometimes you even make the magazines
   Oh yes, we see you next to the car
And with those stretch pants, funny eyes,
   high hair----yes, you'll go far

But as we watch we wonder
   To whom are you really true?
Is it to him, dear Curvette

   Or is it to only you????

Trivia: In the 1800's people segregated their books by the sex of the author.

Did You Know? Rabbits can see forward and backward at the same time. ( They probably use bunny-noculars)

HAWKS " LEAKY BOAT LOUIE " WEIRD-OHS 1960's MODEL

Another strange but cute model from the 1960's. This was a phenominal decade to live through and watch the changes in our world. Things were a bit simpler as this model implies. Enjoy "Leaky Boat Louie" as he races around in his drunkin stupor.

Trivias: One of every three insects in the world is a beetle. "Let it be. Let it be."

Did You Know? Why do we say people have "skeletons in their closets" if they hide their past? The expression comes from a fairy tale about Bluebeard the pirate, who, legend has it, he murdered all his many wives. When he gave his new wife the keys to the house, he forbade her to open a specific closet at the end of a long hall-which, of course, she did the moment he left on business. When she unlocked the door and looked inside, she was horrified to find all the skeletons of Bluebeard's previous wives.

VINTAGE 1950's RENWALL BUICK @ CHEVY DELIVERY TRUCK, HARD PLASTIC TOYS

These two old hard plastic toys with white wheels were a mainstay in most sand boxes when I was growing up . They bring back good memories of those times when us children would make roads to drive our toys around on. They are in pretty good shape for being about 60 years old. Enjoy.

Trivia:  Zagazig is a city in Egypt; Wagga Wagga is a city in Australia.

Did You Know?   A giant panda consumes about 120 pounds of bamboo per day. ( Good ruffage)

1960's WEIRD-OHS MODEL, "FREDDY FLAME-OUT" THE WAY OUT JET JOCKEY

Another interesting creation from the early 1960's. This is Freddy trying his best to keep his airplane flying even though he probably forgot to top up his fuel tanks.

           The engine coughed and stopped;
            The overcast could not be topped
           A mountain suddenly arose,
            Into it went Freddy's nose

           The 'copters went a 'searchin'

            For our friendly little urchin

           But alas it was no use

            Poor Freddy had cooked his goose

           The fire lit the rocky scene

            The sudden stop was awfully mean

           Fred had forgot to check his tanks

            Now he's joined the angel's ranks

                                             Anon

Trivia:  A mirage can be photographed.

Did You Know?    Costa Rica has no army.

HAWKS " SILLY SURFERS " MODEL, HODAD MAKIN' THE SCENE WITH A SIX PACK, 1960's WEIRD-OHS

This is another cool model from the early 1960's. They were fun to paint and add your own inventive touches to them. The hardest part of the process was waiting for the paint and glue to dry so that you could complete the next step. Enjoy. 

Trivia:  There are 41 references to dogs in the Bible.....and most of them are negative.

Old Russian proverb:  " Do not spit into the well--you may have to drink out of it."

EDISON BLUE AMBEROL RECORD, 1913, (THE REASON WHY WE HAVE ROCK AND ROLL)

This record is what helped to start the music world we live in now. Thomas Alva Edisons inventions have made a HUGE impact on our world of today. This is just one of his many inventions. This record revolved on a turntable with a needle going through the grooves making the sound just like future record players would (remember those?). This round disc would play a song for just over 4 minutes at a speed of 160 RPM. The number on this song is 1538 and played the tune," I Will Love You When". It was manufactured in December of 1913.Other inventions by Edison are : the incandescent light bulb, kinetoscope, phonograph, motion picture camera and many more. He had over 1300 patents. Born in 1847 he died october 18, 1931 on the anniversary of the invention of the light bulb.


Trvia:  Scientists say that you have more nightmares when your bedroom is cold. (And that's the cold truth)

Did You Know?  Lobster was so plentiful in the 1800's that it was considered a
"poor mans" food. In Maine servants often wrote into their contracts that they would not be fed lobster more than two times per week.

HAWKS " SILLY SURFERS " MODEL , (HOT DOGGER HANGIN' TEN) 1960's, WEIR-DOH MODEL

Here is another silly model from the 1960's. It was cool to own one at that time and they were a "blast" to paint and put together. Enjoy

Ttrivia: A day on the planet Mercury is 1400 hours long. That is over 58 days in time. Can you imagine what the nights would be like? Loooooooong

Did You Know?  Son Weiguo of Jiangyan, China, has preserved his amputated leg in formaldehyde for more than 20 years to warn others of the perils of drunk driving because he lost his left leg in a motorcycle crash in 1989 due to his driving intoxicated. He puts it on display every year on the anniversary of his mistake.

VINTAGE, OLD HARPERS WEEKLY JOURNAL NEWSPAPER, SATURDAY, JULY 29, 1865

Here is an item you do not see very often. This a newspaper that is original and is over 146 years old. This edition was printed three months after President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth. The pictures are artist renderings since the camera was not widely used yet. The reading of this print is interesting as the way they spoke was a bit different from the way we communicate now. Their humor was also unique in its own way as it was mildly amusing. No George Carlson or Richard Prior back then. ( Example: When can a donkey be spelt with one letter? When it's U. Nothing personal meant.) One page even shows Paris Fashions for July. The only skin you can see are the faces and hands. The last pages are reserved for advertising. Examples :( Derby's Sure Cure For Piles), (Beautiful False Mustaches 50 cents and $1 per pair. Sent Free) ( Whisker and Mustache Potion to make it grow in 3 to 5 weeks on the smoothest face) ( Gold Rings $3 to $25 Each) (European Pocket Timekeeper $1)( Harpers Weekly Newspaper subscription for one year $4) (Paper Collars) (Old Eyes Made New , without spectacles, doctors or medicine, pamphlet mailed free upon receipt of 10 cents) Very interesting articles and scams as you can see. This was a period of time when the country was still in turmoil after the Civil war. It would take a long time before the country came to be what it is today.

Trivia:  Minimum wage in 1950?   75 cents an hour

Did You Know?  Trinidad's paradoxil frog starts as a foot-long tadpole and grows into an inch long frog.