jeffrey-wimberly Trainman SamSpeaking of ancestry, I have always joked that I am WW III in body. I have Irish, Scottish, English, and German in my blood. My wife has Italian and Polish, so our kids are REALLY gonna be interesting!! LOL That is interesting. I'm American Indian, German, French, British, Irish Welsh and Scot. American Indian for the most part though. That should be enough bad tempers in one sack.
Trainman SamSpeaking of ancestry, I have always joked that I am WW III in body. I have Irish, Scottish, English, and German in my blood. My wife has Italian and Polish, so our kids are REALLY gonna be interesting!! LOL
Linking ancestry to country of origin has as much or more to do with cultural heritage/behaviors than it is to chromosomes. For instance, genetic ancestry of the Germanic peoples became or contributed a long time ago to the ethnic composition of Germans, Belgians, Swedish, Finland-Swedes, Estonian Swedes, Danish, Faroese, English, Scots, Icelanders, Austrians, Dutch and Flemish, and the inhabitants of Switzerland, Alsace, and Friesland. For a more specific example, the English largely result from the gene pool of the germanic Anglo and Saxon invasions. And then came the Norse (Vikings, Normans), and so on. So, I'm not certain that the genes of my English greatgrandfather aren't as germanic as my German greatgrandmother.
Makes me wonder if a Pueblo Indian (like a Zuni) wouldn't find more in common with a German villager than a nomadic plains Indian (like a Cheyenne).
Mark
Good afternoon. A fine day it is despite the fact that I had a lot of trouble getting here. My Virus program cleans my cookies on Friday nights, I guess technically it's Saturday mornings, but I‘m asleep and it‘s dark, so 1:00 a.m. (0100 for some of you) is night to me. Of course that means I have to sign in to the place every Saturday. Today apparently the secure side had a problem or something as the server couldn't be found, and something else about too many people in the pool. Who‘d have thought people would be swimming this time of year. So I've been sitting outside waiting for them to let me in the yard with Joe.
Dodged the bullet for the snow. Ground temps were warm enough most of the day that the snow melted when it hit the ground. That coupled with the fact it didn't snow Thurs night and didn't get as much snow as predicted yesterday, though it snowed all day, left us with less than about half an inch of snow this morning. Cool. (oops, sorry Robby. Didn‘t mean to rub it in) Sun is shining so I don't think it will last long.
I'll have a piece of that Walnut and Apple pie please. Sounds good.
Keith- I have that "stop, slow down and do it right" voice too. THIS time around, I'll do my best to listen! No promises.
Sam- I decided not to fudge history for my little world, I found it easier to just rewrite it. I guess if you have ADD, an engineer is a pretty good job for you. I mean..., it's not likely you'll miss a turn.
One of the great things about this diner is, you can eat anything without concern of diet, or adverse reactions. Hot wings and hot chocolate?
Aztec-True on all the country music comments. At least in my opinion, and apparently yours. We are a dying breed. We're the ones who listen to songs like "Big River" and hear something completely different than others who say it's "lame". Songs like "Long Way Home", "This Time", "It's Not Supposed To Be that Way", "Even Lonesome On'ry and Mean" among countless others have a meaning and are becoming history. Songs just aren't written the same way anymore. Saw Kenny Chesney bunny hop across the stage once. Cash or Jennings would never have bunny hopped. Funny you should mention the Hill Country Flyer. I've patterned a tourist train off of that very thing. Not the train itself, but I use that it is a weekly seasonal excursion to justify my use of steam in the modern era. EDIT: I meant, use it's weekly seasonal excursions as an example to justify a steam tourist train (when it was and will be again) in the modern era.
Been to the Church for soup and sandwich lunch-e-own. Book sale too. Brenda is happy about there being oodles of cookbooks. That's all we need, more cookbooks. After that I've been in the basement continuing with the project.
I've already made my first concession. Right now my bench height is 40" using ¾ foam. I think I'll save myself from cutting 1¼" off EVERY leg and just add the 2" foam on the existing height and go with an odd 41¼" bench height. Hm. I might document this with pictures. Yes good idea. Maybe give PHILIP some incentive. Which reminds me, I hope all is well with him and family. Haven't heard from ol PC in a while.
Ah, my pies here. Hey, what is this Flo? Tastes like chicken.
Have a Great Day!!!
Todd
Central Illinoyz
In order to keep my position as Master and Supreme Ruler of the House, I don't argue with my wife.
I'm a small town boy. A product of two people from even smaller towns. I don’t talk on topic….. I just talk.
Hmm, wierd.
Does anyone know if Railroad Picture Archives uses the same software or something? Cause that was down and I was getting the same error message, and both came back up around the same time...
My Model Railroad: Tri State RailMy Photos on Flickr: FlickrMy Videos on Youtube: YoutubeMy Photos on RRPA: RR Picture Archives
ns3010Haven't been able to get on. Did anyone else have problems logging on over the past two days...?
No problems here, but I hardly ever log out either.
Dr. Frankendiesel aka Scott Running BearSpace Mouse for president!15 year veteran fire fighterCollector of Apple //e'sRunning Bear EnterprisesHistory Channel Club life member.beatus homo qui invenit sapientiam
Afternoon all. Janie, I'll take a RBF, thankss.
Haven't been able to get on. Did anyone else have problems logging on over the past two days...?
Got my spanish paper done. Have my history due on March 3 and chem/algebra due a week later, on the 10th.So I'm free for the rest of the week. I'm hoping to have the room rearranged and possibly some lumber cut and maybe even screwed together for tomorrow. We'll see how it goes.
Darned mind, slipping again... I have several pages to re-read... apparently I read, but did not read everything there was... I don't know, this weekend has really started wierd...
Speaking of ancestry, I have always joked that I am WW III in body. I have Irish, Scottish, English, and German in my blood. My wife has Italian and Polish, so our kids are REALLY gonna be interesting!! LOL
Barry- I have three cats, Schuadnik (Russian for Trouble-maker) is the oldest (just about 7 or 8 years old) and possibly the father of one of my other two cats. Bandit (the cat mentioned before) and Lance are brothers, and are going to turn 5 this year. Schuadnik thinks he's a dog, he will play fetch, waits for me at the door, growls(occasionally) at the mailman, and just wants to hang out with you most of the time. Bandit is an attention hound, he will pester you to snuggle. You can put him down off your lap, but he'll be right back a few seconds later as if you will forget that you just put him down... He does it a lot with my wife, jump up, be put down, jump right back up as if to say "What? You put me DOWN? You really didn't WANT me down, you WANT me on your lap!!!"
Lance is a different story all together... we think he has brain damage! (In the nice way) He will sit in the middle of the living room and CRY CRY CRY for you, but when you call he just stands there and doesn't move. He'll come into the bedroom while we're in bed, and STARE at us crying all the while, but won't move a muscle towards the bed, you have to go and pick him up and put him on the bed, then he'll stay for maybe two or three strokes of the hand then run off, as if to say "I'm satisfied" but then sit there and STARE and CRY again... Very strange cat... He is also the designated "We're out of food" alarmist... the other two don't get out of sorts, they just let him strike up the alarm!
Sam
May He bless you, guide you, and keep you safe on your journey through life!
I Model the New Hope & Ivyland RR (Bucks County, PA)
Cat Tom - That sounds like a 'K'nish! Meat or potato k'nishes were/'are very popular in N.Y.C. .Darn, its been many years since I've had one. Little shop around the corner of 110th and -to many years ago. Yikes, 59 years ago.
Prayers for all.
Flip
Hey guys!
Welcome to the newcomers!
I believe I am in for the day. Waiting for my FiL to get the snowthrower going so we can clear all three houses in one shot, and we are waiting until the snow actually stops. Gives me more time to review my layout Ideas.
(EDIT: My mind has really gone for a loop this weekend... I shoulda remembered that I JUST told you guys this stuff just yesterday... I have got to get out of this house somehow...)
Here's what I plan for the NH&I:
I am "fudging" history just a bit. The Reading built the branchline, but it was never overly busy. Well, I am going to say that the line was busier: Auto dealer that receives vehicles by rail; the three quarries will have their own sidings (only one currently has a meager excuse for a siding) and will hae two or three cars in and out in a given day; the railroad across the Delaware River will have a bridge connecting it to the NH&I for interchange traffic( I am ficticiously calling the RR the Lambertville & Raritan RR [L&R RR]); there will be several more industries added along the RoW (as of yet unknown # and types); also I plan on adding a freight yard and a larger facility for the tourist RR equipment. The busier RR means that the freight portion (when bought from the Reading Company during it's bankruptcy and mergers) will be profitable enough to support the tourist portion, including an excuse for having more steam power on the property! (YES THE BUG HAS BIT! )
The new "expansion" may just include a roundhouse, haven't quite decided but most likely yes. There will be a specific section just for passenger equipment storage. The NH&I currently has two or three (don't remember exactly) cabooses in various degrees of "disrepair" and I would love to see some of them get the NH&I paint scheme, so I will have a few of them for the layout! I want to have it where there are at least two passenger trains runnning at any given time, one leaving from New Hope, and the other leaving from Warminster. THAT is the other issue I am flubbing, right now the passenger equipment only goes to Lahaska, which is right by the famous Peddlers Village so that people visiting New Hope can also do some shopping there. My theory there is that the passenger service should have been from Warminster so that people can take SEPTA from Philadelphia and surrounding areas to go to New Hope and Peddlers Village without having to drive, thus affording them more spending money! So that also means that the Warminster Station would get an overhaul to go with the style and atmosphere of the New Hope buildings! Now all I have to do is copy this text so that I can remember my own ideas! There's still more to come...
Chloe, please fill everyones glass with hot cocoa, my treat! Thanks
(EDIT: Chloe also get them a meal, on my tab, for having to listen to me repeat myself again!)
I'll be in a booth still studying.
Morning all from SoggyCal:
But not as Soggy as the East Coast. OBOY, did you people get socked! I understand it's the worst snowstorm in recent memory. I suppose I could say, "Why, 2-1/2 feet of snow is NOTHING-- out here we get 10 to 12 feet as a BASE," but that would hardly be fair. Out here, I'm talking about mountains, not major metropolitan centers. So believe me, you people have my sympathies!"
Ulrich: Funny you should mention the "German Connection" here in the US. Actually, back in 1781 at the first Continental Congress, German lost by only one vote as becoming the official language in these here United States, LOL!
My own forbearers arrived here (at the invitation of King George III of England) in 1778 or so as Hessian mercenaries for the Crown. Luckily, they promptly changed sides and fought with the Colonists and settled in the New York Hudson Valley. Then part of them moved west, eventually settling here in Northern California where there was a large contingent of German farmers around Woodland. I've still got relatives in New York--found that out when I was doing some Geneology. Their name was Scherp, which got 'anglicized' to Sharp, and when my great-grandmother got married, she promptly wed a Mezger, who had emigrated out west via Pennsylvania from Salzburg Province in Austria. This is my mother's side of the family.
My father's side of the family is descended from a long line of English stagecoach robbers, LOL! One of them--my namesake Thomas--was apprehended and given a choice--hanging or 14 years of indentured servitude in what was then "The Colonies". He arrived in Virginia in 1763 and promptly got involved in the great Pontiac Rebellion. For his service in helping defend Fort Pitt, he was 'manumissed' and given some land in Georgia. That's one side of dad's family, the other half came from Cornwall and came out to California to work the hard-rock gold mines in the 1850's. So when anyone asks me about my 'heritage', I usually answer, "Would anyone like a German Pastie?(a meat, onion and potato pie)" Leaves 'em blinking, it does, LOL!
Well, that's it for now. Back to the 'rescue' locomotive. The mechanism is running pretty smoothly for now, so back to work weighting the boiler. Let's see what new tricks that little Brass Baby has up her sleeve for me TODAY!
Best to all, prayers to those in need.
Tom
Tom View my layout photos! http://s299.photobucket.com/albums/mm310/TWhite-014/Rio%20Grande%20Yuba%20River%20Sub One can NEVER have too many Articulateds!
And a great big ol'"Howdy Neighbor"from Cowtown-Fort Worth,Texas-right back atcha!!
About Teutonic/Slavic last names:Having lived in the Czech/German Belt of South Central Texas,I'm quite familiar with Eastern/Central European names.
Besides Fredericksburg and New Braunfels,there's West-Between Waco and Hillsboro on the UP-which has a big Czech populace;Flatonia;Schulenburg and Weimar on the old Sunset Route which has a mixed Czech and German populace as well.
Now as for myself,the ol'Aztec Eagle's Scots-Irish.My ancestors were Border Reivers*(*Cattle Rustlers)in the Cheviot Hills on the border between England and Scotland who were forcibly rounded up by the British and sent to Ulster(Northern Ireland)to kick the Irish Catholics off their land and in turn the Brits kicked us out of Ulster and sent us in exile to the US.
Upon arriving in Baltimore;Richmond;Charleston;Wilmington and/or Savannah,the Aristocratic English Planters despised us because we weren't Anglicans and the Irish Catholic Minoirity despised us because we were Protestant!!
Seeing as we didn't swear allegiance to neither King George nor The Pope,we set out west to follow the sun into the far blue mountains and set out a life of hardscrabble substinence farming and making moonshine whiskey only to head further west as more and more settlers moved into the mountains!!!
And we Scots-Irish are a pretty loyal yet tough and tenacious bunch of people!!
Some of the famed Scots-Irish were such fighting men as Andrrew Jackson;Davy Crockett;Daniel Boone;Sam Houston;Thomas Johnathon"Stonewall"Jackson ; Audie L.Murphy an;John McCain and Jim Webb not to mention such entertainers as John Wayne;Jimmy Stewart;Robert Mitchum and Johnny Cash.
A very good book to read is"Born Fighting:How The Scots-Irish Helped Shape America"by James Webb.
"If All Else Fails,I Shall Make My Way To The Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia And With The Help Of The Scots-Irish There I Shall Make My Final Stand."-George Washington.
BTW:My Last Name Patterson Means'Son Of Patrick'Translated From Gaelic.
Well,enough History Lessons for now.It's nearly lunchtime and it's Saturday,so Chloe or Floeebring me a Cheeseburger with Pepper Jack Cheese,Lettuce,Tomatoes and Onions,an Order Of Onion Rings and a Diet Dr Pepper!!
Mornin' everyone!
Chloe just a sourcream glazed doughnut and a cup of Dark Roast Coffee in a R7GV Mug please. I'll be sitting at the Rivet Counter for a few minutes this morning.
Today is "Christmas Dinner at my Sister's house in Canandaigua............ OK, I know you didn't ask, but (always ignore anything before the word but....) she was in Mexico over Christmas so we didn't have the usual celebration on Christmas Day at her house (It's a Tradition!). Today is the first day since she got home that all of us could get together, and may be the only possible day for several more weeks. Plus she wants to get all the presents out of her house! I'm hoping she may have some time for me to help her with getting and sending email later this afternoon. (Remember her last computer was an Amiga.....) She sent an email to a friend and it bounced back to her so there must be a big problem with RoadRunner and another friend told her she needs to get aolyahooinghotmail.com which they have and they never have any problem...... etc. Or she may have typed in the address wrong..... (Much more likely.) I think her biggest diffculty is she has too many frinds who don't know what they are talking about when it comes to computers!
I saw on the list of Canadian Inventions Lacrosse was listed. Lacrosse was a Hodenosaunee game (At least according to the folks at Ganondagan, the old capitol of the Seneca near here). Most of you will know the Hodenosaunee as Iroquois (which is a filthy French term for them...). Much like other native games, the losers were executed. Lacrosse originally was played by two villages THAT may be many miles apart. The game continued until the ball had been moved into one of the villages. It may have taken weeks to complete the game which was played from sun up to sun down. If you were injured and survived you hid fixed your wounds, such as a broken arm (Oh, BTW, the Hodenosaunee knew how to set and splint a broken limb and were the ones who taught the "pale face" haow to do it) and then just went back in the game the next day...... Actually I guess the Canadians can claim it as well as the Seneca held a large portion of what is now Ontario Canada.
Flip the derivation of names is a fascinating topic all by itself. My family name, Howard, came from the title of the knight that patrolled the outlying lands owned by a Duke, Count, Earl, or other royal personage in England. The knight was refered to as the Hay Warden, which became Hayward and in the Scottish lands Howard. Howards and Robinsons, I believe, were both part of the Dunn Clan, aka the Scottish Mafia...... Oh, Ulrich, on me mother's side I be a Cooley!
Time to put the Squash in the oven for the Chiristmas Dinner....
Later!
73
Ray Seneca Lake, Ontario, and Western R.R. (S.L.O.&W.) in HO
We'll get there sooner or later!
Good morning all, A little chilly here in North East Ohio, but it sounds like we faired better than Robby with only 5” of snow on the ground.Roundhouse progress with pictures: I have glazed 12 out of 63 windows; everything has been airbrushed before assembly. You can see in the picture this Walther’s kit will accommodate a Challenger with its centipede tender in any of the six stalls. This weekend’s goals are to install the rails and inspection pits and finish glazing the windows. So far I have about 6 hours invested in the project. Remember this is a bit of a kit bash project; I bought two 3-stall roundhouse kits, the expansion kit was backordered until March, not to mention the roundhouse kits are on sale this month.
http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/album/576376778QCKZMD?vhost=home-and-garden
BM1 Lee Soule USCG (ret) L.S.&W Railroad Serving the Lower Great Lakes
Here's some pictures of the snow storm. Currently we have about 20 inches.
"Rust, whats not to love?"
Hello everybody ....
I should have already welcomed AztecEagle to the diner. Welcome! Sorry I didn't do that sooner. You were mentioning games that were invented elsewhere. There must be something that started here. Video Games? PinBall? Jacks?
Madsinger .... good seeing you again, and please visit more often.
Where is Jerry?
Ulrich .... I like the track plan.
Cal Tom ... Your project loco evidently is a real challenge. The feline supervisors are more hinderance the help I suppose.
JimCG.... I still think that one CMW REA truck is the closest to the old photo you showed. I suggest watching regularly on EBAY until one is listed.
The news of snow in DC and other eastern locations reminds me of numerous business trip to Washington. I was on one flight into National Airport there from Detroit in a bad snow storm. I was on a Northwest 727 as we approached National over the Potomac, and the plane was rocking back and forth. It was really scary. The pilot aborted the landing and circled back to line up for another try. The second approach was worse. The guy across the aisle filled his white bag. Yuk! The pilot aborted that landing, too. He flew our plane to Dullas Airport instead. It was a long, very slow bus ride from airport to downtown through deep snow. My meeting was scheduled for 10:00 AM, but we finally met at 6:00 PM.
GARRY
HEARTLAND DIVISION, CB&Q RR
EVERYWHERE LOST; WE HUSTLE OUR CABOOSE FOR YOU
Ulrich- We all came from somewhere else. sometime in the 13th century, in Austria , an ancestor was a keeper of the kings deer,hence-Hirshfeld-Male deer/field. Simple when explained.
Keep the faith ,Ulrich. Remember, in 20 years this will be the good old days.
Phil aka-Flip
fec153Good Morning [afternoon ] Herr Ulrich. Is it true that a disgruntled German is a sour ***
Good Morning [afternoon ] Herr Ulrich. Is it true that a disgruntled German is a sour ***
Yup, it is true, Flip! How come, that so many model railroaders have a German background, or is this only my perception?
Just received my March copy of MRR, so that gives me something to do on a dull Saturday afternoon. I should stop fiddlin´ around with that track plan - I start to like more than it is good for me... .
Zoe, make that coffee and a slice of that walnut & apple pie for me, please!
CUL
Well the news just said my town is in a "state of emergency". One of about six towns in Western PA. Also our town isn't that big!!!
Last time I was in a storm like this was when I was a young kid living in NC. That was about 20 years ago.
Sir MadogOne of these days I might even figure out H2 integrate some staging into this plan. ..
I almost can see point to point with staging under the layout------that would be fun!
Any argument carried far enough will end up in Semantics--Hartz's law of rhetoric Emerald. Leemer and Southern The route of the Sceptre Express Barry
I just started my blog site...more stuff to come...
http://modeltrainswithmusic.blogspot.ca/
Good Morning [afternoon ] Herr Ulrich. Is it true that a disgruntled German is a sour ***?
Lousey joke seen on the back window of a car owned by a Mr.Schmit. No offense intended. I am from Germanic stock as the names,Steinman and Hirshfeld imply.
Gonna try try and catch up on nine pages. Cripes, you folks could have written War and Peace in two weeks.
Prayers for all. Flip
Good morning. Its still snowing, and a few minutes ago we had 17 inches. Its a mess!!!
Well no work last night. Gotta go in Monday night thou. So that will be some overtime work.
So Jim, this will probably be a basement day.
Lunchtime!
Flo, I´ll have a double greaseburger w/cheese and onions, an order of fries, and OJ, please n´thanks!
I am just playing around with my CAD tool - variations on a theme called the Salt Lake Route. Nothing serious, though, just for the fun of it.
I just introduced a few simple changes, like making the left side single track, thus getting rid of the double crossover of MR´s Kato-based plan. One of these days I might even figure out H2 integrate some staging into this plan. .. Wouldn´t that make some of the purists blush?
Sir MadogIt seems, as if Punxsutawny Phil has taken over the job of a global weather beguesser - his prediction fits the bill here as well. It has stopped sn*wing, after we had a record high of 28" of that stuff, with wind drifts up to 5´ ! Now we have the seesaw of temperatures, freezing at night, thawing during the day, and turning the roads into ice hockey fields. According to Phil, it´ll stay like this only a little over 5 weeks
And that snow that fell over PA etc was just south of us too! All we saw of that was the dang NE wind that right now is giving us windchills--since we are at -14C now--of -20C! Any snow we're seeing this week will be on Wednesday. Great. I'm leaving town on a sunny Monday----supposedly---and coming back on a snowy and windy Wednesday
Hello.
I'm up and getting ready for weekend seminar series version II. Ain't it fun? Well---it could be Gotta bunch of guest speakers lined up for this'un. Seeing whether any market prognosticators could come up with some non doomish market news -----
Sir MadogBarry - how awful and scary to have someone not invited in your house. Good to hear that it worked out well. Take care of your cold!
The fellow is being held in custody until his trail date this time---I think they're starting to get the point with some people about keeping repeat offenders behind bars now----I know---one can hope As for this whatzit I got ---- meh---I'll figure it out---it found another vein last night but it's better now
Chloe, I'll have what Ulrich's having please-----Yes, by the corner booth---seems a little out of the wind there please--
twhiteSawyer: Take it easy and careful, my friend. Rugby and Bronchitis are not a good mix. Rest up, okay?
Sawyer: Take it easy and careful, my friend. Rugby and Bronchitis are not a good mix. Rest up, okay?
morning Chloe. Yep, I'm up at 6 am. no, I'm not crazy. my sister has a volleyball tourny in Columbia today, and since my rugby match is near there today (we do have one saturday match) I'm going up w/ my parents and I'll jsut go over to my match when it's time to play.
Sawyer Berry
Clemson University c/o 2018
Building a protolanced industrial park layout
As the sn*w is putting a blanket over the night in the US, a lonesome man is heading for his favorite place. The door flings open - dead silence fills the place in an instant.
Bonjour, Mesdames et Messieurs,
well, this place is getting crowded nowadays - - AztecEagle and Madsinger!
Chloe, I´ll have my regular French breakfast, cafe au lait in my ARR mug, deux croissants, beurre et confiture d´fraise et d´ceries! Merci, madame!
It seems, as if Punxsutawny Phil has taken over the job of a global weather beguesser - his prediction fits the bill here as well. It has stopped sn*wing, after we had a record high of 28" of that stuff, with wind drifts up to 5´ ! Now we have the seesaw of temperatures, freezing at night, thawing during the day, and turning the roads into ice hockey fields. According to Phil, it´ll stay like this only a little over 5 weeks
Barry - how awful and scary to have someone not invited in your house. Good to hear that it worked out well. Take care of your cold!
I just wonder, how Jerry is doing - have not read anything from him lately.
Bon weekend!
JIm,For a cheap version for your layout,how about Life Like's Scenemaster Cars and Trucks?They have a Milk Truck that you could give a quick repaint and lettering job plus it's under$10.00!!
*** HE'S GREAT!!!
Maybe not directly,but the Big 4 and KCS do get inderect Federal Subsidies.
The KCS got Federal Subsidies in order to rebuild the former SP"Macaroni Line"from Rosenberg to Victoria.
Like Arlen,Texas's favorite propane salesman,Hank R.Hill once said"Bobby,Soccer Was Invented By European Women To Keep Their Husbands Out Of The Kitchen!!"
Of course,he also said"Bobby,You Can't Trust Vegatarians.The Other Day I Caught Two Of Em'Trying To Siphon Gas Out Of Our Trucks."
Anyhow,the main difference between Soccer in the US and in England is that in the US Soccer Fans generally don't riot!!
And actually,Canadian James Nesmith didn't invent Basketball!!
The Aztec Indians of Southern Mexico invented a version of it at least 500 years before Dr.Nesmith did!!
However,if you were the Captain of the winning team,they promptly cut your head off as an offereing to the Great God Quezcoatatal!!
Anyway,Good Luck with your Rugby/Soccer Team this season!!!
"That's What She Said!!"-Steve Carrell:The Office.
TMarsh:TABunch for your congrats about my newest Grand Nephew!!
My Neice,though born in Houston lived in Flatonia for her first 18 years on earth.
She probably doesn't recall it,but in May of 1977,she got to watch#4449 haul the westbound American Freedom Train with her Meemaw and Pawpaw and her Uncle John as it steamed through Flatonia,Texas.
Of course,she was a year old at the time,so most folks don't remember what they did when they were a year old!!
So I'm hoping when he's a little older they'll take him down to the junction in Flatonia to see the trains.
Since they live in North Houston,they can also take him to Spring.The ex MP(Now UP)Galveston-Houston-Palestine Line runs through there.
Also,the Texas State RR isn't too far up I 45 North from Htown and the Hill Country Flyer's not too long of a drive on US290 from Houston to Austin,plus Hermann Park in Houston has a great miniature railroad they can take him for a ride on as well!!
I hear you on today's"Country"-And I use that term very loosely!!-Music!!
A good portion of what comes out of"Nash Vegas"is nothin'but"Chicken Fried Hallmark Cards"!!!It's really nothing but cutesy arsed pop country sung by pretty boy hat acts like Tim McGraw and Kenny Chesney!!!!
On the other hand,Classic Country is"Redneck Gangster Rap"!!
It was sung by hard edged men and women who'd seen and lived life's other side!!
Compare Tim McGraw's"Where The Green Grass Grows"to Johnny Cash's"Five Feet High and Rising":Tim McGraw has this kinda'Green Acres'fantasy about packing the wife and kids and leaving the city and moving to the country where he can'Watch His Corn Come Up In Rows'!!
Right!!!I grew up on a farm and it's lonely hard work!!You just don't plant the seed and magically wait for the crops to grow!!!
You gotta buy the seed;plant the seed;make sure bugs;birds;drought;floods or frost don't get to it-then you gotta harvest the corn then repeat the process all over again!!
Now Johnny Cash's"Five Feet High and Rising"is a biographical account of how the Mighty Mississippi flooded and nearly destroyed the family farm and how the Cash family escaped by the skin of their teeth!!!
Of course Porter Waggoner's"Cold Hard Facts Of Life"and;Stonewall Jackson's"Life To Go"wouldn't make it on today's country radio either!!!
One bright spot though,here in the DFW Area there are three stations that play classic country:KTFW-92.1 Fort Worth;KCLE 1460AM out of Cleburne and KBEC 1390AM out of Waxahachie!!
Plus,with the latter two,you can go to Waxahachie and watch the UP(Ex MKT line)and BNSF(Ex BN line)or Cleburne and watch the BNSF(Ex ATSF Mainline)and Amtrak's Texas Eagle AND listen to real country music!!
A couple of bloopers that only a railfan would catch:In the 2004 Ray Charles Biopic"Ray",there's a scene where their band bus goes under an overpass with a modern Stack Train rumbling over head.
In 2005's"Walk the Line",there's a scene where the young Johnny Cash(Jauquin Phoenix)is leaving the family farm to join the USAF.There's the whistle of a passing freight in the distance.Listen closely and it sure sounds like a modrern EMD or GE Locomotive!!
Well,tell Flo or Chloe to just go ahead and bring me the#2 Tex Mex Breakfast instead and cancel the 12 Breakfast Tacos to go!!!
Gustatus Similis Pullis