-Photograph by Kevin Parson
maxmanUnfortunately, this always comes to mind:
When I was in my 20s, when that movie came out, I looked EXACTLY like Animal Mother. I had the identical muscley-but-not-ripped arms from years of repairing heavy equipment.
I was disappointed in his portrayal in the movie. He was a a fascinating character, and the movie didn't quite do it right.
I wish I had a picture of me in my Animal Mother costume. It was amazing.
I Am Become Death!
-Kevin
Living the dream.
SeeYou190I was disappointed in his portrayal in the movie. He was a a fascinating character, and the movie didn't quite do it right.
??
Didn't know he was a real person.
Hello —
This nondescript little brick building once played part in a historic endeavour:
110928_36 by lmyers83, on Flickr
CSX has since unceremoniously leveled the building in 2021 but at one time (1927) it was part of the proving ground for the first Centralized Traffic Control installation on what was then the New York Central.
Read more about that here: Railway Signaling Magazine
York1Chicory coffee that is dark and thick,
I remember my first sip of 'hearty', chicory-laced coffee on a GM&O dining car aboard the Abraham Lincoln on my way to Chicago from St. Louis. It was a real 'wake up' call!
The heavyweight dining car was still in service even after the Amtrak takeover in 1971.
GMnO_Diner-1075 by Edmund, on Flickr
Fond memories!
Time Has Run Out by CG Tower, MP 142.3, on Flickr
Cheers, Ed
maxman SeeYou190 I was disappointed in his portrayal in the movie. He was a a fascinating character, and the movie didn't quite do it right. ?? Didn't know he was a real person.
SeeYou190 I was disappointed in his portrayal in the movie. He was a a fascinating character, and the movie didn't quite do it right.
The movie was based on the book Short Timers. Short Timers was part 1 of the story, the second part is the book The Phantom Blooper, that I have never read. Part 3 does not exist.
I read Short Timers when I was a senior in High School, about two years before the movie came out. I read it immediately after I read Myth Adventures and Christine. I read three of my all-time favorite books that year one right after the other.
Anyway...
The movie is no where as messed up as the book is. Seriously, that book will mangle your brain.
In the book Animal Mother is a pure psychopath that will kill anyone he feels deserves it. The squad knows he has killed two of their own, one an officer, and it is rumored he killed another officer. He has opened fire with his M-60 on another US platoon, unknown how many he killed.
The tension in the book is incredible as the platoon not only needs to fight the PAVN, but also they know Animal Mother is their enemy as well. However, Animal Mother will lay down his life anytime to protect the squad, and he is the fiercest warrior, so they know they need him.
In the movie they kind of explain this when 8-Ball states that under fire Animal Mother is one of the finest human beings alive, he just needs someone to hurl grenades at him for the rest of his life. That pretty well sums it up.
It is similar to the tension in the book It where the children are not only pursued by a homicidal clown that may or may not be real, but also a psychopathic bully named Henry who is just as dangerous, but absolutely real. The movies could never capture that tension.
The biggest difference in the movie was Sgt Hartman on Parris Island. In the book he has a different name, something like Sgt Gershwin, and he is physically brutal and insane. In the movie he hurls insults, in the book he actually tortures the recruits. The movie really glosses over the basic training section with R. Lee Ermie's enjoyable and amusing portrayal. It is nothing like the horror in the book.
All the recruits are going insane on Parris Island, Pyle is the only one that snaps. Joker barely keeps it together, but he does start hallucinating that his rifle is alive.
If you can get the book, READ IT. It is truly a great book. It has been out of print since the movie was made, so it might be a bit pricey, but very worth it.
"The rifles we love will never love us back."
I've been to Cafe Du Monde. Love it.
I went to a medical convention and walked from my hotel to the convention center. There was a bar where you play pool with a topless woman. One morning I passed a woman coming to work there and she was so high she could barely walk.
In the afternoon, I think by the convention center, I saw a woman from a distance that looked like one of my co-residents, except she had gained 50 pounds. I caught her eye as I was trying to decide if she was Lois. She wiggled her finger in a come here motion and I instantly felt guilty. She was not Lois!
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
The house next to me is for sale!
For $290,000.00 you can become my next door neighbor.
Come on down & live the dream.
Good Evening,
Another very hot day here. It was 90F, far above normal. I don't like the heat anymore. At one time I didn't mind it even during a trip to Sarawak in 2001 where it was very hot and humid. An amazing place and my wife got to hold a baby Orangutan. I couldn't take that heat now.
We are busy planting but too hot to do a lot. Getting daily visits to the yard by a male Mallard. He eats some seed on the circle and then goes for a dip in the pond. He quacks non stop so we always know when he arrives.
Nothing else new.
CN Charlie
SeeYou190 The house next to me is for sale! For $290,000.00 you can become my next door neighbor. -Photograph by Kevin Parson Come on down & live the dream. -Kevin
I am happy here, no hurricanes, no earthquakes, no volcanos, no forest fires, and no nasty critters. And we have all the fresh WATER that we need and you can't have any.
Rick Jesionowski
Rule 1: This is my railroad.
Rule 2: I make the rules.
Rule 3: Illuminating discussion of prototype history, equipment and operating practices is always welcome, but in the event of visitor-perceived anacronisms, detail descrepancies or operating errors, consult RULE 1!
CNCharlie Ed, do you ever hear from Ken?
I called his home number back in January shortly after he made a brief, one-time appearance in the Diner but all I got was a fast busy signal like the number wasn't in service anymore. It would be nice to hear that he's OK, though.
Clear Signals Ahead by Don Kalkman, on Flickr
Good evening from the West Coast where the weather has been perfect for weeks.
Thanks for the move Dave, signals will be interesting.
I think I am finished with the bark mulch finally. Six loads were enough. I have also been very busy with other duties and I am wasted. All I could bring myself to do was 8km with the mutt and a couple of hours on the guitar out back.
My daughter was watching a PBS show on rising sea levels last night and while I had only half an ear open I heard Cape Coral mentioned. I think I will stay where I am on the high ground after what I heard.
The Mother-in-law died in March, but eight years ago she bought this magnolia tree for us that takes three strong men to move in its pot it weighs so much. Every year it blooms and is magnificent, not this year, not a speck of a flower has come out. We think she is sending a message.
I have some friends that sent me photos today of them scuba diving on the Barrier Reef in Australia, that sure took me back. When I was working and single, I could just tell the boss I was taking time off and go hop on a plane, I even kept a go bag in my car. I had my own parking spot at the terminal and could just leave my car there. I just decided one day I was completely bagged and walked out of the office and climbed on a plane for Australia and was scuba diving on the Great Barrier Reef some 30 hrs later, those were the days. I met a girl that was from Winnipeg,(my hometown) on one of the dive trips and we hung out together for a couple of weeks. That was a great trip. I remember I was coming home on a Qantas 747 descending to Vancouver and we were really rockin and rolling on the way down. It was pouring rain and cold and I walked over to my office with a really good sun tan and ask how many more weeks of leave did I have in the bank? It was 47.
Like John, my wife and I are starting to lose a few friends as we creep up into our 60s. The ones we have lost and the ones suffering from disease all have one thing in common.
Have not been to any funerals as people are catching on to that racket, we have attended celebrations of life at people's homes that have been much more pleasurable to attend. We had a celebration of life for the MIL back in April that was very well attended. We had hundreds of photos and videos of her on the big screens that people loved seeing and my wife and her brother cooked up a sea of the MILs' favourite foods for all to enjoy.
Lots of light still left so I think I will head up the street and see what neighbour holds up a beer and waves me on in to set a spell.
All the best to all.
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
"Wadda' ya' want to do today? I dunno, how bout just hang around a while..."
Union Pacific Railroad - UP gas turbine electric locomotive Nr. 75 - Salt Lake City Workshop, Utah by Historical Railway Images, on Flickr
The horns and classification lights count as signals
Click on the image to see it in Flickr, you can really see a lot of detail.
Regards, Ed
dti406I am happy here, no hurricanes.
Frankly, I am completely over Hurricanes.
Since I have owned this house, we have been hit by five Category 3 storms, and one Cat-4. I have lost track of all the 1, 2, Tropical Storms, Waves, Depressions, and whatever else have hit us.
The first 20 years I lived in Cape Coral I do not remember a single storm making landfall here, or crossing the state as a stable Cat-3. The past twenty years have simply been too much.
BATMANMy daughter was watching a PBS show on rising sea levels last night and while I had only half an ear open I heard Cape Coral mentioned.
It is not going to submerge in my lifetime, so I am not going to sweat about it.
That being said, anyone who doubts sea level rise should talk to a long term resident of Southwest Florida. All of the old stationary docks built in the 60s-80s have had to be replaced because they were underwater all the time. Fort Myers Beach had to build seawalls several years ago because high tide was getting to the streets. Vanderbilt Beach is completely underwater at high tide now.
This still is true...
Saturday morning and nobody is here?
Good thing the door was unlocked.
I think I'll just make my way to the kitchen and cook up some eggs.
Good morning, diners. Bacon, eggs, and black coffee, please.
Not much going on out here in flyover country. Crops are planted, pivots are running, insects are out in force -- everything pretty normal for this time of year.
I'm making final preparations for a trip later this month. I think I have everything in order. Years ago, I could just do all this stuff two days before leaving -- now it takes me two months to be sure I haven't forgotten something. One of the easier things this year is that most countries have relaxed the requirements about Covid. It took a lot of planning to get entry into certain countries the past several years. That seems to be gone this time, at least for where we're going.
Have a great Saturday, everyone.
York1 John
I asked my doctor if I gave up delicious food and all alcohol, would I live longer? He said, "No, but it will seem longer."
SeeYou190 Saturday morning and nobody is here? Good thing the door was unlocked. I think I'll just make my way to the kitchen and cook up some eggs. -Kevin
Attuvian1Holy smokers! Kevin's in the kitchen! Hey, Kevin, do you do grits? Boiled beans? Greens?
Today the only things on the menu are toast, bacon, and scrambled eggs!
Enjoy!
SeeYou190 Attuvian1 Holy smokers! Kevin's in the kitchen! Hey, Kevin, do you do grits? Boiled beans? Greens? Today the only things on the menu are toast, bacon, and scrambled eggs! Enjoy! -Kevin
Attuvian1 Holy smokers! Kevin's in the kitchen! Hey, Kevin, do you do grits? Boiled beans? Greens?
Attuvian1Holy smokers! Kevin's in the kitchen! Hey, Kevin, do you do grits?
The only place I was able to get grits here on the plains was at Cracker Barrel. Now, the last time I was there, I didn't get grits with my order. Not sure if it was a one-time thing, or if they decided midwesterners don't eat grits.
Grits...... Hmmmmm.....
I've had grits a few times quite a while ago. IIRC they taste pretty much like what ever you put on them. Meh.....
I would much rather have a few ears of fresh sweet corn on my plate!
73
Ray Seneca Lake, Ontario, and Western R.R. (S.L.O.&W.) in HO
We'll get there sooner or later!
Hey Kevin, what about Spam?
I Hate Spam!!!!
https://www.facebook.com/Thetvarchive/videos/monty-python-sketch/194942545471352/
Have long heard that Spam is far more popular overseas than here in the U.S. Ate a lot (?) of it as a kid - before I outgrew it (and learned how "bad" it was).
Lori in High School, when she got pissed at you, would tell you to eat Spam!
Always did like Lori
TF
Wow. The Diner's got to be in pretty marginal shape for the conversation to have devolved to a discussion of Spam! Monte Python lives.
Is your spam filter working?
Spam_Yum by Edmund, on Flickr
Yummm... It is the 'Meat of Many Uses!'
Spam_55 by Edmund, on Flickr
Fresh paint:
Rod Detail by Bob Anderson, on Flickr
No, ...Didn't have my Spam filter on, but I'm certainly looking for it
gmpullmanIs your spam filter working?
Why do I have this urge to regurgitate my last meal whenever I see an ad for spam?
Our cottage didn't have refrigeration when I was younger, and buying ice was a luxury that my parents couldn't afford. That meant that our protein was either fresh out of the lake or it came in cans. The worst was corned beef, followed closely by Spam. On occasion we would be 'treated' to a canned ham which was tolerable but I hated the gelatin.
We couldn't just run to the local store either. The closest store was 24 miles away by water and we only had a 16' open boat.
I mentioned a while ago that I was given a watercolour painting of the view from the front lawn of our old cottage on Baie Fine on the north shore of Georgian Bay. Here is the painting. It was done by a long time friend. The hills are called the La Cloche mountains and they are made of white quartz. Our sons are sitting on a newer boat (which made the trip a lot easier):
Cheers!!
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
Next time I wander into the kitchen I will makew my legendary Spam, Mild Salsa, and Cheese omelets with grits on the side.
You are in for a treat!
SeeYou190Next time I wander into the kitchen I will make my legendary Spam, Mild Salsa, and Cheese omelets with grits on the side.
Sorry Kevin, but I'm not much on grits either. (I can hear the howls of derision from all of my neighbours to the south!). Maybe that's because my mom's family insisted on serving porridge every time we got together for breakfast. I hated it!!! I also don't do polenta and I barely tolerate cous cous. I'm not a fussy eater but some things turn me off.
That's a great watercolor and a treasure to have, Dave. We had a friend paint one for us of the caboose in winter. These artists have a talent I couldn't possibly come close to.
I made a log suet feeder for the birds the other day. Just a chunk of maple branch with some 1.625 holes bored with a Forstner bit.
Suet feeder by Edmund, on Flickr
We bought a whole hog last fall and Dee Ann rendered the lard (got first place at the county fair) so we have a surplus. I mixed in some peanut butter, corn meal, sunflower seed, black fly larve and some dates and raisins.
Suet feeder closer by Edmund, on Flickr
The hairy and the downy woodpeckers really go after the stuff!
Train order signals, beacons on the locomotive, operator coming down the stairs (and another one going up?) plus that '71 Olds Vista Cruiser with a dinged right-rear quarter. I always wanted my dad to get one of those.
EJ&E SD-38's at Chicago Hts tower 1988 by Mark LLanuza, on Flickr
I did get to ride in a Greyhound Scenicruiser once. From Detroit to Cleveland — not much in the way of grand scenery!