Now that your unpacked and got to test drive the area for a bit, encountered some locals and yokels, and hopefully some actual people that moved to the area from your home town or state its time to list the likes you have of your new or semi-new, or heck if the area is your native home than by all means and ways list what you like! Y'all got it? Well here goes!
Weather! You like or not!
Year round flowers!
Long springs!
Longer Autumns!
Shorts year round! For the hearty ones that is.
Variety of sub divisions to chose from!
Snow is a neat event versus a ho-hum not again event!
No rust on older cars! Amazing if your from the Northeast!
Can fish year round without cutting holes in the water (ice) for us North Easterners!
Pretty country side is usually only 5 minutes or less from where you live anywhere in the triangle.
People R People. No matter what they say!
Day trip to Mountains!
Day trip to Ocean!
And in a lot cases no trip at all to the many lakes, ponds, river, and streams that spot the area!
Good food can be had by all and more is always welcome irregardless if they are called viddles or pickins!
Out away from the city lights the sky at night explodes with the many stars that fill the emptiness of space with the occasional flying star to catch a dream or two on!
Groceries can be cheaper but we all have to eat!
Sure it takes time to get use to this place, remember the place you came from was called home and that is never a easy place to replace! But give it time, explore the area and get involved and this place too will be your new home not only in name but in feeling!
May the triangle, RDU, RTP, Crossroads, the Quay, Wake Forest, Knightdale, Apex, Raleigh, Durham, Zebulon, Oxford, Mossisville, Franklinton, Youngsville, Chapel Hill, Henderson, ...seems like I am forgetting somewhere.
...????......Oh yea! and Cary, be with you!
Oh Tarheels! I forgot to number the above as I did say I would count thy ways!
Weather! You like or not!
Year round flowers!
Long springs!
Longer Autumns!
Shorts year round! For the hearty ones that is.
Variety of sub divisions to chose from!
Snow is a neat event versus a ho-hum not again event!
No rust on older cars! Amazing if your from the Northeast!
Can fish year round without cutting holes in the water (ice) for us North Easterners!
Pretty country side is usually only 5 minutes or less from where you live anywhere in the triangle.
People R People. No matter what they say!
Day trip to Mountains!
Day trip to Ocean!
And in a lot cases no trip at all to the many lakes, ponds, river, and streams that spot the area!
Good food can be had by all and more is always welcome irregardless if they are called viddles or pickins!
Out away from the city lights the sky at night explodes with the many stars that fill the emptiness of space with the occasional flying star to catch a dream or two on!
Groceries can be cheaper but we all have to eat!
Sure it takes time to get use to this place, remember the place you came from was called home and that is never a easy place to replace! But give it time, explore the area and get involved and this place too will be your new home not only in name but in feeling!
May the triangle, RDU, RTP, Crossroads, the Quay, Wake Forest, Knightdale, Apex, Raleigh, Durham, Zebulon, Oxford, Mossisville, Franklinton, Youngsville, Chapel Hill, Henderson, ...seems like I am forgetting somewhere.
...????......Oh yea! and Cary, be with you! Oh Tarheels! I forgot to number the above as I did say I would count thy ways!
Wake Forest, Gosh its a pretty nive place to live!
Posted 03-09-2009 at 08:59 PM by dansdrive
Wake Forest, NC. located in Wake County NC. Some call it Wake's Forest of the Triangle....Ok maybe that's just me. But if you come from the North East, Wake Forest seems to fit. It has some rolling hills and many farming areas.
It has a small town feel but close to Raleigh, you could be down town Raleigh, depending on time of day in about 15 to 30 minutes. You can be at the Virginia border in less than an hour.
It has old Historical homes and some new subdivisions. It certainly worth a look see if your looking and seeing the area. It has transplants from New Jersey, New York, and many other NE State and Mid West and California and....well you get the idea people from all over this great country now calls Wake Forest home!
C'mon down, over, left, or right and check it out you may just like what you see.
It has a small town feel but close to Raleigh, you could be down town Raleigh, depending on time of day in about 15 to 30 minutes. You can be at the Virginia border in less than an hour.
It has old Historical homes and some new subdivisions. It certainly worth a look see if your looking and seeing the area. It has transplants from New Jersey, New York, and many other NE State and Mid West and California and....well you get the idea people from all over this great country now calls Wake Forest home!
C'mon down, over, left, or right and check it out you may just like what you see.
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Thursday July 4 2013 and its 80.0 degrees down from 91 degrees.
Happy Birthday America and in God we trust!!!!!!Posted 07-04-2013 at 07:59 PM by dansdrive
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Monday July 8, 2013 and its an overcast 80.0 heading up to a high of 90.0 with thunderstorms. Super nice weekend, enjoyed the long four days off! Managed to get the desk painted. Used that product by Behr, Deck Over. Really liked it. Its a latex that is thick and seems to lay down a non skid layer. Covers a lot of the cracks some of my deck boards exhibited. So, once that was done....
It was on to the Wicker set we had on the deck. It has always been white. Several years ago now I sprayed a new coat of white on the pieces. This time we went with a different look. Sprayed the set 'chocolate'...sweet so of speaking. SO the deck is done as well as its contents setting on the deck. I did want to make a few bird houses but never really got to do that. One I am going to make is for an Owl. I can hear them at night in the woods around me so I want to see if I can get them to check into a home I make for them.....
Speaking of woods. When we used to camp we would hear all kinds of noises at night. From frogs to Owls. Most were known but occasionally we would get the unknown sounds of a screech or shill into the night. Which reminds me of some of the characters I said this lake had camped at as kids. Being the lake was private with a gate and for members only it had club members that were custodians of the area. So, they would come up and sit around to make sure nothing was going on around the lake. All the years we went there we never seen anything go on so they either did a great job or there was nothing to go on there anyway...
But here are some of the names of the characters, Skinny, Peg Leg, Kapp, Shi, Lou, to name just a few. Skinny was the all time favorite because he had the great storied. He was the original Si from Duck Commanders. He use to come up and sit out on the dock with us as we fished and tell us the most amazing hunting stories we have ever heard. He made claims to 'almost' shooting foxes and Bob Cats, giant deer, turkey and measly black bears. But for some unknown reason his guns would always jam according to him. He was tracking a Bob Cat around the lake and just when he went to shoot it the gun jammed on him and the Bob Cat got away.......He was quite the character indeed. He never slept there he would hang around for hours sitting, talking, and drinking beer and than leave at dusk. He was a legend in his own time, Skinny was and he knew it!
If we were staying only the fist week of camp we would of broke camp Sunday morning so we could be back by noon on Sunday. Dad liked to be home in time for Sunday Pasta, it was a must. In fact when we stayed two weeks camping we always cooked up some Pasta for the Sunday camping meal. Mom made the spaghetti sauce we kept on ice till we needed it. ...and that was oh so good!!!
Quote of the day Dale Carnegie:
“It isn't what you have or who you are or where you are or what you are doing that makes you happy or unhappy. It is what you think about it.”
Happy Monday and may your Pasta always be warm and coated with home made Pasta Sauce!
Song of the day....C'mon you know the words, sing them out.....John Cougar Mellencamp - Cherry Bomb (1988) - YouTubePosted 07-08-2013 at 05:29 AM by dansdrive
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Tuesday July 9, 2013 and its 77.5 degrees outside and chance of thunderstorms as the temperature reaches 91 degrees. As I continue my series of writings this week about camping out when I was younger and talk about the cast of characters that would frequent the lake we camped at I am thankful I had that opportunity to do that as a kid with my Dad and Uncle and cousin....
Yesterday I spoke of 'Skinny' the gun jammier! Seemingly every time he was ready to take that shot his gun would jam. He use to show us the revolver he always carried. He would pop off a round or two sometimes if he seen a snake or turtle at least in his own mind. The man was a classic. Anther classic who would sometimes spend the night in his truck was 'Peg-leg'. Ole peg leg was a Vietnam Vet who had an old Willy's truck. He had a prosthetic leg below the knee from War. He would stop by our camp fire in the evening if we were not fishing and tell a story or two about the War. He would have a few beers during those stories and we had some real good laughs. He had his own views of life and marriage. After hours of talks around the camp fire he would head over to his truck and sleep it off, so to speak. One day in particular we got up and it had rained that night and we saw ole peg leg still sleeping in the truck with his leg hanging out the window completely soaked. He never knew it as it was the artificial one! Ole peg leg's truck had a starting issue. He use to have to roll it and pop the clutch to start it. All the land around the lake tapered down into the lake. The road into where we would park eventually lead down near the lake. Peg leg would let his truck roll down almost into the lake before he popped that clutch and started it. We thought one day the truck would land up in the lake but it never did as far as we knew......
Today we would be just over mid week of out camping week if we stayed one week. It usually meant clean up day at the campsite. Burn any garbage laying around, cut more fire wood to take is to the home stretch. Air out the sleeping bags on the clothes line. Refill the Coleman stoves have an afternoon try at some card games. Gin rummy and Pitch was the card games we played most. We would sometimes go for walks around the lake or into the woods. There were a number of old logging roads in the woods around the lake. Use to explore those.
Than in the late afternoon we would cook up some hot dogs or fry some bacon or heat up some baloney or ham and have a sandwich. Clean up and get our poles ready and head down to the lake for a night of fishing and fun. Dad and my Uncle would talk about the good old days and politics and family while me and my cousin would talk about schools or just cruse the lake shoreline to see what we could see. At night the lake would really come alive. The shoreline was full of frogs, crayfish, small bait fish, turtles, and occasional snakes. My cousin always brought a stock pile of road flares his Dad use to get. We would walk up and down the shoreline with those and they were really cool as you could put them underwater and they would still burn. The downside if the prosperous that came out of them would burn like the dickens when it hit your skin. They stunk too! All part of the fun.......
Quote of the day by Gordon B. Hickley:
“It isn't as bad as you sometimes think it is. It all works out. Don't worry. I say that to myself every morning. It all works out in the end. Put your trust in God, and move forward with faith and confidence in the future. The Lord will not forsake us. He will not forsake us. If we will put our trust in Him, if we will pray to Him, if we will live worthy of His blessings, He will hear our prayers.”
Happy Tuesday and Gordon hit a bulls-eye in his words. Trust and truth go hand in hand and lead to the one above. In trust and truth happiness surely follows.
Song of the day.....enjoy.....Trust Me Elton John - YouTubePosted 07-09-2013 at 08:38 AM by dansdrive
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Wednesday July 10, 2013 and its a cloudy humid 76.1 degrees outside heading on up to 90 degrees with, you guessed it chance of thunderstorms! We did not see many of those when we camped the first week or two as kids. That is not to say we did not have some really gully washer storms but they took place mainly at night and mainly on the night before we broke camp for the week. Anyone that spent time in a tent during a strong thunderstorm knows what I am talking about.
But that is for another day, today I want to continue on with the characters that use to frequent the lake we use to camp at. Another was an old guy named, Kapp. Always had a baseball cap on and maybe that is how he got the name. Anyway, Kapp's son-in-law got the job of making some modifications to the camping area. He had a bulldozer and some time on his hands I guess. One year he spent the whole summer making changes. Kapp and the family brought up a 24 foot camper and parked it on the side of the road to the lake and that was home.
The modification was to take out some trees and open up some more area for parking and camping. He also pushed some dirt out into the lake to make some fishing jetties. Took out an old wooden dock or two and just generally cleaned up the area with the dozier. Kapp was there really for the fishing and camping.
Every evening Kapp would head down to the lake with his pole and lures and stand on the dock and cast his line into the lake, reel it in and do it again, time and time again! He would catch some nice fish but most of the time he would come up with grass on his lures and he would slash that grass off his lures. He never took it off by hand he would just slash his pole around until it was off and cuss and cuss. My Uncle named his the slasher! In the summer months the pond would have a lot of grass on the shorelines and Kapp use to get his rake and rake it out of the shoreline. Gave him something to do and when it dried out he would throw it on their camp fires. Kapp had a younger Son who was about 15 year old. He liked to fish too. He would go through lures like crazy! His favorite lure was called the Panther Martin and his Dad bought them by the Card full which was had about 20 on a card. He was a character...
That was an interesting summer camping as we always had company and were not the only ones camping.
Quote of the day from Denis Waitley:
“Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, or worn. It is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace & gratitude.”
Happy Wednesday and how true is Denis quote....That summer that Kapp and his family spent at the lake camping, working, and living had all the things Denis mentioned above wrapped up in it and so much more!!!
Song of the day......Sums it up.....Nina Simone - Feeling Good - Lyrics - YouTubePosted 07-10-2013 at 07:26 AM by dansdrive
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Thursday July 11, 2013 and its 75.9 degrees outside heading on up to a rumblin thundering 86 degrees! Yes more rain today but those clouds are good as the clouds keep the real heat away! Did manage to work up a good sweat last evening helping a friend with some gutter work. Up and down ladders sure help the sweat go in on direction and that was down! But managed to get the gutter downspouts up without falling down off the ladder, so that was a complete success.
Speaking of success, that typically sums up our camping trips so continue my series on those trips I would talk about a typical Thursday at camp. Each day started as the last but Thursday's for some reason seemed to be the ho-hum day. After breakfast we would clean up and make sure we had enough wood cut for the day and night. It typically was to hot to fish during the day. Sometimes to cool off we would throw on our old sneaks and take a hike around the lake and wade in to fish the 'good' spots! The lake was lined with Lilly pads, especially areas that were not heavily fished. The bottom was muddy and thick grass so we had to keep moving not to sink into the mud and lose our sneakers....learned that one through experience and it was no fun walking back to camp in just socks!
We would catch some nice fish in between those Lilly pads and had a lot of fun and cooled down. We would head back to camp either at lunch or right around lunch. Dad would typically be napping in the tent as he was the early riser about 4:30 to get the coffee perking andhead to the lake at daylight to fish. My uncle would be sitting in his folding chain smoking a perodie cigar and have his radio playing some country western tunes.
When we got back we would get the pops going and fry a few hot dogs or have a sandwich or two and sit back and relax. Looking out over the water from our camp site was pretty darn cool even for us kids. During the weekdays we were typically the only ones camping there, people would arrive after the workdays to fish and would be gone by dark. So we literally had the place to ourselves.
After lunch we would fool around and find things to keep ourselves busy. Like throwing a axe into trees or go on a hike or play cards, clean up the campsite, or just go exploring. We were never bored. We had no electricity, no running water, and other than my Uncles battery operated radio no connection to the outside world. I suppose we were fortunately as only a couple of times my Dad or Uncle had to leave camp for a day or two to take case of something back home.
By late afternoon it was time to cook up super which typically consisted or something Mom had made up for us as a precooked meal from the cooler or a couple of cans of Dinty Moore stew. Anything we ate out there really hit the spot that was for sure. After dinner it was time to clean up the pots and pans which consisted of washing them in a plastic tun with some of our spring water. The four of us would always take two five gallon containers of water and made that last for the seven days we would be camping there. Never ran out, came close but never rain out. When we stayed for two week we had to make a water run after week one. The area had a lot of fresh water springs around so getting the water was not a problem. We never got sick from it either, not sure one could do that today!
Once all the clean up was done it was time to once again fill up the Coleman lanterns, get the fishing gear already, and head down to the lake for a evening and nights fishing. We played this routine out every day till it was time to creak camp on a Sunday morning.......it never got boring and it never got old!!!!
Quote of the day by John 8:32, NIV:
"Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."
Happy Thursday, my hope is that you know the truth and the truth gives you comfort and peace. I know when we were at camp and away from our everyday life we seen the beauty created by the one above and was as close to the truth as we could be........Oh what a feeling!
Song of the day....sing along you know it....Fleetwood Mac-Dreams - YouTubePosted 07-11-2013 at 06:16 AM by dansdrive
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Friday July 12, 2013 and its 73.6 degrees outside heading on up to a wet 79 degrees. Well actually a hot, wet, humid 79 degrees! Ah that's better!
T.G.I.F! Today was it as the day back when we were camping. Friday's at camp meant a few things, one more people would be coming to fish and picnic as it was the start of the weekend. It meant it was fish fry day! Some of the fish we caught during the week was going to be dinner. It was our second to last full day camping out. All in all it was a pretty cool day that is for sure.
Cool in the fact that once our morning routine was over we had the day to do what we wanted to do. From nothing to exploring. We could walk around the lake shore paths and see whatever there was to see. We could toss our lines in the water and catch what ever there was to catch. We could just sit around the camp and play cards or work on our fishing tackle. We could listen to my Uncles radio for hours on end. We could clean up our Coleman lanterns as by this time of the week they were pretty filled with dead bugs. We could skip rocks upon the lakes surface and see who could skip them the furthest. We would stare up at the sky and imagine what the clouds looked like. We could climb a tree or two. We could cut some more firewood and stoke the week long campfire to get it burning again. We could head down to one end of the lake where the dam was and follow the stream that lead away from the lake to see what we may find. It was all up to us.
It was an amazing time. Like no other in my life time where we were free to do what ever it was we wanted to do or nothing at all......the nothing at all never really did set in and we were always doing something. We did not have watches or really kept time. We used the sun to really set our activities from sun up to sun set. Yea, camping back than was a real treat.....a real treat!
Quote of the day Christy Whitehead:
"How is it that one match can start a forest fire, but it takes a whole box of matches to start a campfire?"
Happy Friday and Happy for the weeks gone past and for the Happiness the next weeks holds. Yea, life moves by quickly but a camping trip sure can slow down the pace....
Song of the day.....enjoy....The Doors - Light My Fire (2006 Remastered) - YouTubePosted 07-12-2013 at 07:00 AM by dansdrive
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Monday July 15, 2013 and its 70.8 degrees outside heading on up to 90 sunny filled degrees. No rain threat today, first time in a couple of weeks....sweet! Weekend went by quick, did nothing other than cut the lawn. Today I finish up my entries on camping with breaking camp. That was always a bitter sweet time. Bitter in the fact that we were heading back to reality from roughing it in the wilderness. Sweet to the fact that we were heading to good cooking, running water, showers, and back to our friends.
The night before we broke back which was almost always a Saturday night we would fish late into the night for that last big one. Never seemed to find him thou.... But come Sunday morning we would get up at our usual 7:30 to 8AM. Dad would be back to camp by then already had his morning fishing in. He would be starting to get things organized around the camp. Once we were up camp dismantle would be in full earnest.
We would roll up the sleeping bags, tear down the cots. Looking back it was amazing that we could get all our stuff in my Dad's car. My Uncle would have his own car as he came to the camp after work. But my Dad's car would hold his stuff, my stuff and my cousins stuff. We became real good packers. Once outside after getting our bedding up we would take down the 12 foot x 12 foot Blue and Yellow canopy that was over our eating area. Fold it up nicely. Thanks it was boxing up the pots and pans. Close up the folding table. Fold up the chairs. Folding table fit nicely into the base of my Dad's trunk.
Than it was time to empty the tent of the sleeping items. Would than drop the tent and take apart the poles. Fold up the tent into the smallest size we could. The tent was a canvas 8 foot x 10 foot. Plenty big enough for the four of us. We than folded up the big sheets of plastic we had under the tent my uncle had made up and placed it over the car to let it dry out while we loaded the car.
Item after item we placed in that car until it was filled. Any overflow would go into my Uncles car. Once we were packed up we hoped in the car and headed to my cousins to drop him off than to our house to unload. Sometimes, we would have to put the tent back up to dry out if we had rain on the night before we came home to keep mold from starting.
The lessons learned on those camping trips were to many to name but some that come responsibility, self sufficient, teamwork, and morality. It was great life lessons that certainly supplemented the classroom education we got. All in all it was pretty darn awesome!
Quote of the day from Mother Teresa:
“If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives; be kind anyway.
If you are successful, you will win some false friends and true enemies; succeed anyway.
If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you; be honest and frank anyway.
If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous; be happy anyway.
The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow; do good anyway…
You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God; it was never between you and them anyway.”
Happy Monday and Mother Teresa was an amazing person who puts everyone she encountered ahead of herself, very few people can do that........can you?
Song of the day....one of our years camping this song played all summer..........Starland Vocal Band - AFTERNOON DELIGHT(1976) - AMERICA'S TOP SINGLE OF 1976 - YouTubePosted 07-15-2013 at 05:40 AM by dansdrive
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Tuesday July 16, 2013 and its 70.3 degrees outside and heading on up to 95 degrees with a chance of a thunderstorm or two. This morning when I was pulling out of the garage I got to see a rare site. Down my front yard out near the street stood two big bucks. 6 pointers. As I headed down the driveway one more came running from the woods across the driveway in front of me and it was yet a bigger buck. This guy was an 8 pointer! So three big bucks stood on the side of the road as I went by, how cool was that! These guys were the kind I was use to seeing up north. Pretty darn cool! See a lot of doe and young deer but the bucks are elusive and I usually can see one now and than but to have three all together and with the big racks....it was just sweet! I am not a hunter I just enjoy seeing them in nature....
The biggest buck I ever seen was at the lake we use to camp at. One day my we were leaving at dusk we were driving out of the dirt road from the lake and a big buck came out of the woods and stopped right in front of my dads car and just stood there. Looking as amazed as we must of looked. He was a huge deer and a pointer. After, a few moments he headed into the woods and was gone.
Speaking of gone, I am headed off to vacation for a week or so. Time to recharge the batteries, see the family, and do a little touring around the old stomping grounds. So, wishing all a great week and till I write again, I will keep in my thoughts and prayers. The one above not only knows all but is always and forever with all....and that is A-Okay with me!
Quote of the day from Colossians 2: 9-10 NIV:
"For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority."
Happy Tuesday, Be well, Be kind, Be thoughtful, as the one that benefits the most from all that is YOU! Peace be with you, until we meet again.....
Song of the day....can't say it any better than this....Ray Stevens - "Everything Is Beautiful" (1970) - YouTubePosted 07-16-2013 at 05:05 AM by dansdrive
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Tuesday July 23, 2013 and back from the trip to the north and with it the temperature here is 80.8 degrees heading on up to 91 with thundershowers. Was a wonderful few days seen family and friends I had not seen in a long time, in fact for some it has been over 30 years. Oh my!!
The area has changed so much, buildings that were once there were not and building that did not exist are now existing! Many of the old manufacturing and dress shops in my neighborhood are either gone or abandoned. Crime is off the charts while we were there a young life or two was taken. I have a family member that works security at the local trauma center and after 10 years is ready to leave due to the escalating security threats entering the E.R. He had a many of stories....
It was still good to ride through the old neighborhood and see the things that have not changed. The people are all long gone for the most part and the houses are run down for the most part but as our car rode down the streets and ally ways the memories came rushing back. As if the reservoir holding the memories in my mind was tapped by a spigot that was turned to wide open. The sounds of the street stick ball games, the endless debates on who was the best baseball players of all time. The countless passes of footballs thrown on those streets to the wide open receivers. The literally thousands of miles of bike rides through those streets and alleys. Riding by the once abandoned park that now holds a high rise apartment building but both side of the park did not give up its steps that traversed the ends of the park like book ends. They were still there, albeit most were missing and broken apart but they still stood as a testament to the past.
One street still holds a high wall that is split with steps to go from the street level to the next street level. How many steps maybe 30 with a landing. How high is the wall? Maybe 30 feet or more. How long is the wall? Maybe a full city block or so. How old is the wall? It was built by the W.P.A. during the great depression and yet it still stands. As a monument to the people of that era. Its the steps we used as young children to go from our neighborhood to one of the city pools that has long been filled in and became a parking lot. We would walk to that pool in the summer when we were 7, 8, and 9 years old with our older siblings. Never concerned about a random gun shots or someone grabbing us. Our only concern was crossing the somewhat busy streets on our own. We would swim for hours on end until our skin was warped or we got hungry. Than it was the long track home. Those stone steps was where I seen my first lightning strike. The area was high over the center city which had the tall building and on top of those buildings was a large pole. One day a lightning bolt came down and struck that pole and we all seen it. It was amazing. It was as amazing as growing up in the era I grew up.
But we are not there anymore. Our society got so smart that we seemed to forget the one responsible for all we have. We have forgotten to fear God and maybe that is because we made our places where we live each day so fearful. Sad, so very sad.........
Quote of the day from Jane Jacobs:
“...frequent streets and short blocks are valuable because of the fabric of intricate cross-use that they permit among the users of a city neighborhood.”
Happy Tuesday Happy to be home, Happy to have visited friends and family, happy to see the city I grew up through the lenses of my memory and not my eyes....
Song of the day....you know it.....tap them feet....Montgomery Gentry - My Town.mpg - YouTubePosted 07-23-2013 at 08:02 AM by dansdrive
Updated 07-23-2013 at 08:12 AM by dansdrive -
Wednesday July 24, 2013 and its 72.2 degrees outside with chance of afternoon thundershowers and a high of 91. That's a chance of thunderstorms and not a chance of it hitting 91 degrees, that it will hit!
Speaking of hitting, that's exactly what we use to do along the railroad tracks growing up.....hitting passing rail cars with rocks. The trick was not to hit them. A lot of the box cars that passed had their doors open on both side so the challenge was to toss a rock through a moving train without it hitting the train. A real challenge when the train if cracking along the tracks. Sometime a head or two would poke out the box car from the guys that would hitch a ride on the train as I am sure the rock hitting the box car would shake them up a bit.
It was always an adventure hanging around the rail yard. Sometimes the box cars were open and we could see what was in them. Other times we would be chased by Bums that would hang out at the rail yard. They would never catch us and it would not happen that often as most times they were just sleeping off a hangover. We got to know some of the rail yard engineers and workers and they would give us chalk that they would use to write on the train cars. That was cool. They even would bring us up into the engine to look around. That was really cool!!! Once we had our fill of the rail yard we would head back to our homes but always stopped by the Pepsi bottling plant as we knew some of the workers there and they would give us bottles of Pepsi soda. We had to drink it there but that was fine. They even gave us tours of the bottling operation and to us kids of all of 9 years old or do it was the coolest thing ever! Next to the Pepsi bottling facility was a bakery that made bread. When we wind blew just right our neighborhood smelled great! Fresh bread.....we never linked up with any of the workers there for some fresh bread but the smell was divine!
One end of our neighborhood was lined with railroad tracks and two rail yards. They are all long gone now and in fact one of the rail lines is a roadway and they other is just track-less! But last week a many a memories came clicking back as I passed those former rail yards.......WOW!
Quote of the day from John Moody:
"The United States as we know it today is largely the result of mechanical inventions, and in particular of agricultural machinery and the railroad."
Happy Wednesday and Happy for a summers day and Happy especially for the future!!Posted 07-24-2013 at 06:17 AM by dansdrive
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Thursday July 25, 2013 and its 70.3 degrees outside heading on up to 84 with thunderstorms, few sprinkles on the windshield on the way in this AM. Hard to believe the end of July is closing in on us. Good gracious! The sun is setting earlier now and the grass is drying out and summer is giving back some of its bright early morning skies to the passage of time.
As a kid growing up this was the time when garden vegetables and tree fruits was plentiful. Peaches were big and juicy and tomatoes were red and plump. Hide-N-Go seek games were starting earlier and sitting on the street corner and talking about the up coming school year would close out the evening. Our city streets had lots of kids back then and few homes had air conditioners so windows were always open. Little to no fear of someone getting in through the open screens. Its just the way it was even in the city. So, there was all kinds of sounds, people talking, TV's and radios playing, kids playing and sometimes people arguing. Just the summer time sounds of the city.
Even though we grew up in the city we did not hear many sirens and when we did we would hope on our bikes and try to see where they were going. Back in those days a siren meant two things either a ambulance or a fire truck. Rarely would a Police Car use a siren. When they was an accident it meant the drivers exchanged words and documents. No cell phones so someone in the neighborhood would dial '0' for the police or ambulance. Unless the car was on fire the firemen never came. Unless someone was injured visibly no ambulance was called to the scene. A Policeman would show up and take the information and call a tow truck if needed, clean up the accident site and be gone. Flip the clock ahead to today and most accidents have police, fire trucks, and ambulances appear. Both parties involved if they are not injured are talking on their cell phones as emergency vehicle after emergency vehicle shows up. We have come a long way, haven't we?
Quote of the day from John 1; 3:18 NIV:
"My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth."
Happy Thursday and do you remember the truth? I know you do. Now that you do will you use the truth, speak the truth and honor the truth? That is your challenge to this day and all forward.......
Song of the day.....truth i snot always pleasant.....Two roosters don't make a chicken - YouTubePosted 07-25-2013 at 05:12 AM by dansdrive
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Monday July 29. 2013 and its 71.1 degrees outside with semi wet roads from overnight rain as the temperature climbs to 88 degrees today! Project of the weekend. Took down a light I have in between the garage doors. Reason: turned into a condo of sorts for some birds. But we will get back to that in a moment. Now, I wanted to spend a few minutes on a car I rented while I was in PA visiting family.
The car was a new Ford Focus. Good looking car but the good part stopped at the looks. This car was jerky and rough in low speed. The shifting was stiff and not smooth. I had expected more from this Ford. The dash was filled with all kinds of gadgets that even would confuse inspector gadget! It kept trying to link my iPhone to the car even thou I never asked it to. The main dash screen was confusing and I pressed a button and it took me to a Trip 1 screen and I was never able to get back to the main screen. I went to Trip 2, Trip 3, and so on screen and would scroll back to Trip 1 screen. I like to think of my self as Tech savvy, but even for me the dash was confusing and to many gadgets. The other thing I did not like about it was the space on the dash. From the frontof the dash to the bottom of the windshield it seemed like one could sleep in all that space, comfortably I might add. All in all it was a thumbs down for the Ford Focus. Looks nice functions not so nicely.
Speaking of not so nicely that is exactly what my our door light fixture became. Two of the panes had broke closest to the house and that allowed some birds to choose the fixture as a birds nest. So through spring and most of summer they lived in the light fixture. But, this weekend the light fixture was condemned once they vacated it. The young ones were out of the roost and that was my time to take it down and clean it up.
Bird nest are sure messy. It is amazing all the things they use to build up a nest. Once I took it down I removed the nest and all the twigs wrapped around the light socket. I did tape off the light switch just to be sure it did not go on while they were nesting. Once the nest was gone it was time to power wash the light fixture. Than to Home Depot for some plexiglass to replace the missing glass. Put it all back together and now have a functioning light again. No chance for the birds to come back either. Of coarse while the power washer was out other things had to be power washed like the eves that had a lot of cobwebs on them and around windows. Power wash complete and last evening I went around and sprayed the bug spray around to keep the spiders and other crawly things away from the eves and windows.
Did get to sit back and watch the beautiful sunset last evening. Spectacular was ever........
Quote of the day Jo Walton:
“There's a sunrise and a sunset every single day, and they're absolutely free. Don't miss so many of them.”
Happy Monday and hope you seen the sunrise today, if not tomorrow is another and after that another and so on, so no excuses!!!!
Song of the day...you know it, its Monday get up and dance to it..... Beatles- Here Comes The Sun (with lyrics) - YouTubePosted 07-29-2013 at 05:50 AM by dansdrive
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Tuesday July 30, 2013 and its 75.5 sunny degrees outside heading on up to 90 degrees. Very nice! As July comes to a close so does most of my garden. The spring and early summer crops are all but a memory. Tomatoes are still producing. One section has been rotor-tilled under for some fall crops. Harvest was good, especially with the abundance of rain we got this year. Already planning for next years planting. Something neat about planting and watching things grow and develop.
Preparing the soil to get ready to plant those seeds. Since the beginning of time, seeds placed into the ground will germinate and grow. The time when they come forth from the soil and sprout is neat. Then day by day they grow bigger and stronger. They produce flowers which turns into fruit and vegetables. They mature and than through the lack of sunshine they tend to wilt and decay. The plants that get the proper sun light and warmth, get feed properly, and watered properly will do the best. The ones that don't will typically produce fruit and vegetables but at a lower rate and quantity. That is just the way nature made it.....
Gee, substitute plants for people and its a similar process. Well, we don't sprout from the soil, nor do we produce fruits and vegetables but we do reproduce our off springs. We do need sun, food, and water to grow in size and strength. But one major thing we need that plants do not need and that is LOVE. LOVE is the plant food for the human body. With proper care, hugs, encouragement there is no limit on what we as a people can achieve. Without any of the key ingredients we don't have to look far or wide to see the consequences do we?
The message is simple, feed your neighbor, nourish not only their physical needs but their spiritual needs as well. Because in the end when we too start to wilt from the finite time we are given we must face the reality that we will face our maker and what will he say to us....our time to speak was over our lifetime. His time to speak is when we come face to face with him in judgement. Are you ready for what he might say? Feed your neighbor!
Quote of the day from 2 Corinthians 5:10 ESV:
"For we must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil."
Happy Tuesday, Happy for yet another summers day, Happy to be the first day in the rest of my life, Happy to know the one above!
Song of the day.....you know now sing it out....Diana Ross - Ain't No Mountain High Enough - 45 RPM Short Version - YouTubePosted 07-30-2013 at 08:02 AM by dansdrive
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Thursday August 1, 2013 and its 71.1 cloudy degrees outside heading on up to some thunderstorms and 84 degrees. Here we are the the start of August already. Gracious me! July is but a memory. Hopefully a great one for you. August as a kid meat the last month of freedom. Last month to get all the playing in, all the swimming in, all the bike riding in, all the 'not school time' in!
Up north we went back after Labor day so we always had a full month of August off. It was still warm and we did everything we did in July but with more zeel as we knew September brought back school. Which in retrospect was not a bad thing at all. We would get to see friends we would not see over the summer months. We would get a new teacher. We would get the lecture on being a year older and hopefully wiser. But that all came in September.
This month of August still meant freedom! It meant waking up to the sounds of kids playing in the neighborhood outside our windows. It meant have a quick bite to eat and off on our bikes. Destinations unknown. We would congregate in front of my cousins house a city block up from my home. This was hang out central. One by one kids would come and we would decide what to do next. Sometimes it was just a bike ride around the neighborhood and sometimes it was head up to the old park to see what we could get into. Sometimes it would just be sitting on our banana seat 2 inch bikes and shoot the bull. While other times we were more active. We would play a game with our bikes of weaving between each others bikes without hitting them. Sometimes that did not end well but for the most part we were pretty good at it. Today, I can only dream what it would be like to have the bikes and ramps these kids have today and the parkour they do. We did things like that but no where near the art it became today. We would jump walls and off of roofs but nothing like they do today. Today if I attempted that I would be a hurting man! Yowsers! But in those days when we fell we would just get up and dust ourselves off and keep playing.
Which reminds me of the one time riding my bike up our street by myself and really pushing it. Things were going just great until the handle bars came off in my hand. YIKES! I went head over heals over the front of the bike and landed on the handle bars. Hurt like the dickens but I got up reattached the handle bars and rode back home to tighten them up. That was a scary feeling when you are pumping full bore up hill and the handle bars disconnect from the bike. There were many instances of bike wrecks, to many to remember. But I will share one more that did not happen to me but to my cousin.
We were playing in front of my house and I was on my bike and he was off his standing in front of my house. These kids came flying down the street on their bikes and in an instant my cousin was laying under a 10 speed bike. One of the riders lost control and jump the curb on his bike and ran my cousin right over.. The rider went flying off the bike and my cousin got up close and person with the run away bike. It happened so fast, fortunately for the both of them neither was hurt badly. My cousin did have a tire mark up his back side up to his shoulder! Ouch!!!
To this day we still talk about the day he was ran over by a bike! In fact the boy that ran him over passed away only a few short years after that from a epilepsy fit in his sleep. Which will be a story for a future entry.....
Quote of the day from Henry David Thoreua:
“One must maintain a little bittle of summer, even in the middle of winter.”
Happy Thursday and may your memories of your summer time off let you be a child once again of only in your minds eye!!!!
Song of the day....get them feet moving and hands clapping.....John Mellencamp - Jack & Diane - YouTubePosted 08-01-2013 at 05:49 AM by dansdrive
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Friday August 2, 2013 and its 67.8 degrees heading on up to 90 party sunny degrees. Sweet! Friday is here already. It did not sneak on up on us, it was ever present lurking as we went through the week. I think it is pretty cool that Friday starts with an 'F'; for Finished, Finite, Friendly, Fun, and Fruitful! Its the start of the weekend and that is Fine with me!
Plans or no plans for the weekend, key is to have fun! Which reminded me of a summer when I was 16 years old. My cousin and I did electrical work over the summers and this was the first summer we had our own cars. My cousin had a Willy's jeep, bright Orange with a black roof. It was a 1940 something model year. He also had a interest in fixing up cars. So he pulled out of a junkyard a 1950's vintage Ford Panel truck. Towed it to his sisters house and dropped it off in the backyard. It was his project which became mine as well. All the time we were not working doing electrical work we spent on the truck. We tore it apart and literally used paint remover to take ever drop of paint off that old truck. Did the body work on it. Spent hours at the local junk yard pulling cable, lights, switches, etc out of old cars so we could put them in this panel truck. Welded in new floors throughout. Cleaned up the under carriage. Stripped out the motor and tranny. There was no end to the work this truck needed. But it was fun! The old truck never got finished, my cousin and I got it back to running condition with a coat of gray primer on it. Didn't have the money for the Candy Apple Red flake paint we wanted to put in it nor the Craig SS rims. He landed selling it to someone else for a small profit. The person that bought it did manage to get it painted and it was pretty cool but never finished to what our dreams for it were! Being electrical and electronics was our gig back then we planned for a Disco in a truck theme with wall to wall to floor to ceiling shag rugs with every strobe light and blinking light imaginable. Oh to dream! That would of been in the words of Austin Powers, 'Shag baby' truck!!!!
We may have never finished it but it was one of the funnest summers we ever had!
Quote of the day by Winston Churchill:
"Courage if what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen."
Happy Friday and Winston got a lot of things right and the above quote was one on them!
Song of the day.....you know it.....Gary Wright - Dreamweaver (1976) - YouTube
Peace be with you.......Posted 08-02-2013 at 07:13 AM by dansdrive
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Monday August 5, 2013 and its a cloudy 63.7 degrees outside heading on up to a party sunny 84 degrees. Weather word for today: Pleasant! Weekend has come and gone and getting further and further in the rear view mirror. Managed to find a couple of project this past weekend.
One was trimming some bushes in the back yard that got rather large. Nothing that a step ladder and pruning shears could not tackle....and they did! Yesterday was spent replacing the old mailbox holder out by the road. Had a large vine that overtook it and basically was holding up the mailbox as the wood pole was let's say Swiss cheese from all the insects over the years. How old was it...not sure. I think it had carvings on it showing the paths of the buffalo.....
Anyway, was going to make a new pole but elected to purchase it to save time as I wanted to get it back up and ready to accept snail mail starting today. Mission accomplished. Bought, painted, cemented, and installed yesterday. The mail carrier will be well pleased as I think it was always a challenge to deliver our mail being they were sometimes met with swarms of ants, spiders, and newts. They would love it sit on top of the mailbox and wait for the mail I suppose. Well not any more as the vine that had taken over the mailbox area is not more! Sweet!
Oh yea the other cool things this weekend was watching three bucks, a two, four, and six pointer grazing in our front yard on the row of hostess we have. They truly enjoy those and we truly enjoyed watching them up close. All in all it was a beautiful weekend!
Quote of the day from Colin Power:
"A dream doesn't become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work."
Happy Monday and Colin knew a little about hard work and determination.....do you?
Song of the day....oldie but goodie.....Steve Earle - Copperhead Road - YouTubePosted 08-05-2013 at 04:55 AM by dansdrive
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Thursday August 8, 2013 and its 78.1 degrees outside heading up to 88 sunny degrees! Nice! August growing up meant a couple of things, one; school was just around the corner. Two; school shopping was upon us. Mom always made sure we had new clothes on for the first day or two of school. Don't know why, that was just the way it was.
The clothes either came from a trip down town which for us was a walk of about a mile to town. Or one evening Dad took us all to a Department store. In those days there was not many to chose from. One was called Zayre's and another was Arlens and yet another was King's. These were the days before K-Mart even. But unlike the stores downtown these stores had toy isles and sporting goods isles. Soon as we hit the store we all seemed to just split up. Dad hit the sporting goods isle for fishing gear, we kids hit the toy isles, and mom was left to peruse the clothing and home interior isles. Eventually we would all meet back up again. A real family outing!
We never look forward to those back to school shopping days as we knew all to well what that meant!
Quote of the day by C.S. Lewis:
"Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in. Aim at earth and you get neither."
Happy Thursday and as they say aim high you may just achieve it and better yet be with the one above! My wish for you is just that.
Song of the day....you know this one.....Beatles- Here Comes The Sun (with lyrics) - YouTubePosted 08-08-2013 at 05:03 AM by dansdrive
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Friday August 9, 2013 and its a cloudy 77.7 degrees outside heading on up to some scattered thunderstorms day of 90 degrees. Hot! In fact chance to thunderstorms right though the weekend. Summer weather pattern less the high heat!
My Blog has spent most of the time talking about the past, my past growing up in a different era. An era I would trade for nothing and remember my life time. I recently have been involved with helping a young man hooked on drugs and lost in life. His story is not an uncommon one as it appears. Grew up in a middle class family, had many material things, the newest game stations and games, clothing, you name it he had it. Than the teens hit and things started to get tough. He was not a kid anymore yet seemingly wanted to be. He lost his Dad in his very early 20's. Became angry and lost. Who was there to take him in and provide him false comfort? The one below who lurks looking and finding our young to exploit and use and cast their souls into the heap of the damned. For this young man, the streets became his home and drugs became his life's blood. He went from about 220 pounds down to 170 pounds. He went till he was busted and drug to justice....but he now is at the crossroads of life.
He is in rehab for a month. It took him years to get to where he is but 30 days is what they say he needs. It a start at best. Challenge is to keep this young life from an early exit. He lost a friend his age recently that maybe got through to him that he was on the wrong path. Maybe not.... My challenge is to show him people care if he cares himself. To introduce him to the one above for hope, guidance, and love. To get him back on his feet and off the street where destruction and death await.
My hope and prayers is he can do it and help future kids who are following that path and to show them by example that they too can change. But that is far down the road for this person. He has to fight addiction everyday. Find a way to start over from nothing. A roof over his head, a job to go to, start the learning process of a skill or college, a faith to cling to when life throws the curve balls. Its a big hill to climb but not climbing it can only lead to falling into the pit of scourge.....
This young man is one of thousands that face this giant hill to climb, hopefully we can ALL be along the path that leads to the top to lead a hand, a drink, some food for the stomach as well as the head, and words to reenforce the faith they so desperately need.......where are you on the hill?
Quote of the day by C.S. Lewis:
"Education without values, as useful as it is, seems rather to make a man a more clever devil."
Happy Friday and think about what Mr. Lewis is saying.....now look at our present day society...Bingo! But faith, hope, and love will defeat the forces of evil!
Song of the day....you know it...now sing it! George Harrison-My Sweet Lord (Studio Version) Original - YouTube
P.S. Enjoy your weekend and be inspired!Posted 08-09-2013 at 07:07 AM by dansdrive
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August 12, 2013 and its 79.9 degrees outside heading on up to 94 degrees. Seen a cool shooting star on the way to the office this morning......cool! Remnant from last nights meteor shower.
Last day of the work week for me as heading out to the mid west to see our daughter. So, first and only posting to the Blog this week.
Weekend was quiet and no projects were started, worked on, nor completed. Just a relaxing weekend. One word to some that up: Sweet!
Happy Monday and may your week be fruitful, flexible, and fabulous!!!!
Peace be with you!Posted 08-12-2013 at 04:46 AM by dansdrive
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Thursday August 22, 2013 and its 72.2 degrees heading on up to 91 degrees with some thunderstorms. Nice! Trip to the mid west was equally as nice! In fact the weather was outstanding! Several days in Chicago there was not a single cloud....rare for that neck of the woods!
Came back to a vehicle that did not want to start. Seems like it did not like not being used. Finally got it going buy now the battery light comes on and goes off. Quick check of the electrical system in autozone land yielded nothing. Said the battery was not charged enough to check the system. Ugh! Possibly the alternator. I have a life time guaranteed one so I ordered a replacement and will swap it out and see if that is the problem. Battery is less than a year old so it should not be that. But never say never I suppose.....
Other than the above its the same old same old. Keeping busy as a candle lighter in a wind storm.
Quote of the day from Henry James:
“Summer afternoon—summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language.”
Happy Thursday, Happy to be back, Happy summer afternoon!
Song of the day.....turn it up and remember.....Ambrosia - How Much I Feel (with lyrics) - YouTubePosted 08-22-2013 at 06:09 AM by dansdrive
