Flat Wheel Cafe - Late Winter 09

[grampaw pettibone]

Good morning CW and all. 34 degrees and clear in Carolina this lovely morning. It is supposed to top out around 67. Thanks for breakfast. It hit the spot.

Quentin, Jerry Murad and the Harmonicats were formed in 1944 and first hit the charts in 1947 with PEG O MY HEART. They all died in the late 80s through early 90s.

Everybody stay safe and warm

[cherokee woman]

Good Saturday morning, everyone.  We have, at 6:37 a.m., a temp of 53 degrees.  Supposed to get up to mid 60s today, with plenty of sunshine and warm breezes from the south.  

Coffee, juices, hot chocolate, hot cider and hot water for tea are ready.

On the warmer bar this morning:  turkey bacon, sausage patties & links, scrambled eggs, bagels, bear claws, homemade buttermilk biscuits w/sausage gravy, and cinnamon rolls.  

Hope everyone of you have a very good day today.  And I hope to see you all back here tonight for our pizza fest.  Take care and keep safe.

[Deggesty]

Good evening, all (it may past bedtime for some of you). Another, as usual, different day. Low forties, with high air quality this morning, so it was safe to have a fire in the living room fireplace (the fireplace was the reason we bought the house). Fully overcast at walk time this morning, so no sun in my eyes, with rain off and on during the day.

My roommate, the first two years of college, was from Mobile, and had never seen snow. I think that first winter we were in Bristol, Tenn., we had more snow that in any other one. One Christmas, some of the students from northern climes (north of Georgia) went down about to Orlando to spend Christmas with a native Floridian--and it was a cold winter. The house had no established way of heating it, and they had to use kerosene heaters to begin to stay warm. I think that a kerosene heater was used when necessary when we were living near Tampa (I was two when we moved to S. C., so I do not really know).

Johnny

 

[Modelcar]

.....Thanks Carl......That's all interesting.  That group was very popular back then.  Wouldn't mind having a re recorded side of music from them over onto a CD.

[CShaveRR]

Quentin, Jerry Murad was the lead player for the Harmonicats. I forgot the name of the guy who played the bass harmonica. Al Fiore played the large chord harmonica, though. He passed away about twelve years ago--turns out that Fiore was his stage name, heavily Americanized from something Italian, he lived in the Lombard area, and his grandchildren went to school with my daughters! There is now a music scholarship in his name at "our" high school. The first winner was a very talented girl, now a professional harpist, who was (still is) a close friend of my younger daughter.

[Modelcar]

....Thanks Tom.   I especially liked the sound  {was his name Jerry}, they made out of that big base harmonica.  Believe what we're talking about dates back to about the late '40's or so.....

And Jen....When we get a massive cold system coming down from Canada it can sink all the way down to south Florida. Sure the Alleghenies are stretched down from New England to just into Georgia but that doesn't impede the flow of such massive cold air.

I once experienced 47 degrees down in Miami many years ago and I almost froze.  We were down there working on a project and caught the flu and waiting in the Miami airport I was really so cold and so glad to get home....That was back in the latter '60's.

[grampaw pettibone]

Quentin, it was indeed the Harmonicats. And of course, don't forget Bob Dylan

[Mookie]

I am still amazed that it gets as cold as it does in the southeast.  Even Miami was downright cold.  The Driver keeps telling me that you have mountains on the southeastern seaboard and it gets very cold, but I still wonder about some of the temps.  I just figured you were hot and humid year round.  Even Houston getting cold surprises me. 

Yeah, I know - I don't get out much....

Mook

[baberuth73]

Talk about changes in the weather! I work outdoors and was decked out with insulated underwear, work pants, three shirts and a heavy jacket yesterday. Today, no jacket, no insulated underwear, short sleeves.  Someone told me that the reason you folks in the frozen north won't move to the South is your feet are frozen to the sidewalk. Oh well, good ol' 90/90 weather is just around the corner, then I can gripe about the heat.

[Modelcar]

A beautiful morning and now starting afternoon.....Blue skies with bright sunshine.  Temps above freezing....That's  a change.

Even ran my truck thru the car wash this morning, confirming the roads are not too bad....But with warmer temps, of course more of this {old}, snow will be melting and messing up the roads again.  Just had to get a layer of salt off it....

7.6 unimployment figures for today and the market has been riding higher all morning. 

I had a harmonica in younger days....Much younger.  Decades ago a group or two even had some Harmonica hits on the pop music scene.  Was it the Harmonicats......

[cherokee woman]

Mookie, I'd like to see a picture of that harmonica w/small bagpipe attached!! 

Our Friday Fish Fry is now under way.  We have cod, haddock, halibut, flounder, crab cakes, rolled oysters, oysters, oyster stew, perch, trout, bass, shrimp and scallops.

And these side dishes:  baked beans, mac & cheese, fries, hush puppies, cole slaw, fried mushrooms.

Dessert menu today:  chocolate cake, yellow cake w/chocolate icing, yellow cake w/caramel icing, and the following cobblers:  apple, cherry, peach; and pecan pie, all available with ice cream, if anyone prefers.

I want to welcome those from elsewhere on the forums, who are now coming into  the Cafe/Diner (old name habit keeps propping up every once in awhile).  I hope you come in often, and enjoy the atmosphere around here.  As has been said before, we can talk about anything and everything in here, as well as discuss trains and railroads.  

 

[Mookie]

It is beautiful here in Lincoln!  Out yesterday and left coat at home.  Just wore sweatshirt.  But every time we have nice weather, it follows that ugly weather will be right behind. 

Driver taking off work early so we can go out and enjoy the warm weather. 

Dale, that is a beautiful bird.  Owls are such interesting birds. 

Jim - since you liked the weather, we will send it home with you.  Enjoy until next week when Arizona is sending us some bad weather again.  Joy and Rapture. 

Nice to see all of you in here.  Makes the conversation more lively. 

Tree - Driver said last nite he is ordering his new harmonica.  Comes with a small bagpipe attached. 

[jeaton]

eolafan

'mornin everybody...I'm in Omaha today and have been since Wed. calling on customers.  Yesterday was an absolutely glorious day with temps just about 60F here and I had a short while I took off my winter jacket and walked outside without it, which was great...it's supposed to hit 60 again today here and be in the fifties at home tomorrow so I can give my dog a bath!

Heat wave coming  Woo Hoo!!!

[blue streak 1]

Nanamoni:  Had same problem until I uninstalled Kodak Easy Share ---- in fact it was slowing down all functions on my computer.

[CANADIANPACIFIC2816]

Good morning, Ray is checking in. I'm busy this morning in my kitchen, baking bread, I'm getting ready to ship a care package to a cousin of mine who lives in Grand Lake, Colorado. 

I baked 8 dozen oatmeal cookies with butterscotch chips yesterday, and I'm going to leave 2 dozen of them here in the Flat Wheel Cafe for everyone to enjoy. I know they will be gone in a flash! Yesterday I had taken a couple dozen oatmeal cookies to work with me at Wendy's and anytime I show up at work with cookies fresh out of the oven, one of my supervisors just goes nuts. She's like a little kid on a Christmas morning. Yesterday while I was changing into my work shoes, she said to me "Your cookies make me happy!!"

Yesterday's temperature in Sioux Falls hit 48 degrees or maybe a bit higher than that. Right now we have a temp of 29 degrees. I don't think our weather during the weekend will be nearly as nice as it was yesterday, so I reckon I'd better enjoy the relatively nice conditions we are enjoying right now.

I hope the rest of you out there all have a good day, stay warm!

Ray     ooo    ooo ooOOOOOo

[eolafan]

'mornin everybody...I'm in Omaha today and have been since Wed. calling on customers.  Yesterday was an absolutely glorious day with temps just about 60F here and I had a short while I took off my winter jacket and walked outside without it, which was great...it's supposed to hit 60 again today here and be in the fifties at home tomorrow so I can give my dog a bath!

I had a real treat last night and was able to have dinner with a U.P. dispatcher from Harriman dispatching center who is a friend of my local rep salesman here.  He shared lots of stories about the U.P. and Amtrak trains including one about a moose getting stuck in a tunnel out west and blocking Amtrak 6 for over an hour!

CW, may I please take a bear claw and a decaf with sugar and cream to go please as I am on my way to more sales calls and then to the airport for my trip back to Chicago....thanks and hope everybody has a wonderful day.

[grampaw pettibone]

Good morning, it's Friday. At present, 22 degrees and clear in Carolina this morning. I'm not sure what the high is supposed to be, but whatever it is, it is welcome. Paula, thanks for breakfast. Everybody take care and stay warm/safe.

[cherokee woman]

Good Friday morning, everyone.  At 6:53, we have a pleasant temp right at 32, or 33 degrees, and looking for a high of 50 today.  Locally, we only have about 600 people still without electricity.  My brother has electricity back, but their phones are still out. 

Dale, good to have you coming in!  I liked your 'quiz' on the tablecloths.  What's your next quiz going to be?

Coffee, juices, hot chocolate and hot water for tea are ready.  As well as some Diet Dew for at least a couple of you all in here, that I know drink it.  

On the warmer bar this morning:  bagels, bear claws, donuts and danish.  Donuts include:  cake, glazed, chocolate covered, vanilla covered, chocolate covered, cream filled long johns, chocolate covered vanilla filled long johns.  Danish include apple, peach, raspberry and strawberry.

You all have a good morning, and take care.

 

[nanaimo73]

Thanks Carl.
I'd like to come up with another question on Fallen Flags that a casual reader of Trains Magazine could read, but I'm drawing a blank. Perhaps someone else could try.

Hey Murph, good to see you in here. My computer takes 15 to 30 seconds to load each page on this "improved" forum, so I'm only following the Cafe for now. Good to see that you and Railway Man are still working together so well on other threads.

The birdwatchers here in Nanaimo are quite excited as we have our first ever Northern Hawk Owl.
What a beautiful bird.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Hawk_Owl

CW, thanks for the late nite/early morning snack!

 

[tree68]

CShaveRR

I thought this whole tablecloth-quiz thing was a stroke of genius on your part

I have created a monster - but a fun one!

Another frigid one tonight - already -11F.   Hopefully it will be better tomorrow - I'm assisting with crowd control during calling hours.

Saturday is supposed to be 40-ish, but possibly rainy - and I'm doing traffic control.  Well over 100 apparatus are known to be coming for the service and procession.   Estimates of up to 2000 people have also been made.

[cherokee woman]

Good evening, everyone.  My goodness, I haven't been able to get in here since early this morning.  We've had some things to do today on the computer, but wasn't able to get to trains.  (And to top everything off, I've had a splitting headache all day long!  It's beginning to go away now.)

If anyone is hungry, you'll find a couple of large pots on the warmer bar.  One has bean and ham soup, and the other one has cream of broccoli soup.  And there's also cornbread and/crackers to have with the soups.  

Everyone have a good evening, and take care.

 

 

[Murphy Siding]

nanaimo73

Good job, Paul. That was the answer I was looking for.

It is unfortunate that Mr Perlman did not have deregulation to work with when he ran the New York Central.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_E._Perlman 

Dale-you came out of hiding!  Did you see your shadow?

Palm trees!!??? Wow.

[CShaveRR]

Yes, that was my hypothesis, too--Alfred E. Perlman. I thought I'd give somebody else a chance, because my response was really too soon for most people to see it, and I didn't want to spoil the fun. Johnny, I'm sorry I disappointed you.

Dale, I wasn't really talking about food--just making the logical extension between the correct name and the tablecloths. (Oyster stew...Pe(a)rlman...get it?) I thought this whole tablecloth-quiz thing was a stroke of genius on your part, and look forward to more from you--or perhaps contributing some of my own. A more difficult variant--leave one table open, and ask which tablecloth should go there, and why.

[nanaimo73]

Good job, Paul. That was the answer I was looking for.

It is unfortunate that Mr Perlman did not have deregulation to work with when he ran the New York Central.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_E._Perlman 

[Modelcar]

....It's still cold here...19 now.  But beautiful clear sky and bright sunshine which makes it very warm streaming in our sliding glass door on the south side.  2 degrees early this morning.  Feels cold now too because of some wind blowing 19 degree temps....

If weather people are correct, that is to change after today...and for a while too.  Much warmer.

[miniwyo]

Good Afternoon All!

Was sitting in the atrium next to the T Rex and enjoying the afternoon sun here before I go to class and decided to pop in for some lunch.

Its a toasty 31 degrees here today and still calm. That is 3 days in a row now! 

Johnny, I tried to send you an email, but it was returned to me this morning my the mailer daemon. Thank you for pointing out my mistake. I will definitely be headed down March 7 for the show. 

Dale, Although after reading Paul North's answer to your mischief, I was thiking it had something to do with being the northernmost railroads becasue oyu put them at the north end of the room, but in retrospect, I am wrong as there is a couple railroads that were farther north than the DRG&W. 

[Paul_D_North_Jr]

[

nanaimo73

I've been up to some early morning mischief, and now the 6 tables at the north end are covered with NP, CB&Q, D&RGW, NYC, Penn Central and Western Pacific tablecloths, in that order. Can anybody guess the pattern?

Alfred [C. ?]  Perlman was employed by all of them, in that order.  Although you didn't ask, here's my best recollection of the positions he held for each - note that this is off the top of my head and is not researched, so is not represented to be 100 % accurate:

NP - Chainman, Rodman, or Surveyor

CB&Q - Asst. Chief Engr. or similar - fixed massive flooding damage in the MidWest (nothing new there, eh ?) with off-road equipment, as I recall

D&RGW - Chief Engineer or VP of Engrg. or Ops

NYC - President

Penn Central - President (& chief whipping boy)

Western Pacific - CEO & elder statesman for the industry

And no, I'm not a genius or walking encyclopedia of railroad trivia - it just popped into my head in looking over that list - it would take a psychologist to explain why.  But I've always been curious about Perlman.  

Then again - nanaimo73, why did you arrange the tablecloths in that order ?

- Paul North.

[Deggesty]

Good morning and afternoon to all. Much warmer today; it was a little above forty when I went out, just before nine, to get a root pulled ( a crown broke off a couple of weeks ago). We expect not one, but two, storms in the next four or five days, but there willprobably be little snow in the valley.

Paula, thanks for the breakfast. Perhaps we should make it joint effort to prepare a King's Dinner? I can grill steaks, and I will let each diner season to taste (if you like mesquite, I can add some mesquite pellets to the charcoal). Thanks to Murray for giving us the general idea of what was in that unique meal; I did not remember any details in the IC's advertising. I did eat dinner in a Panama diner once, in 1968, but my meal was much simpler.

Brian, I also at first thought "order of falling," too, but I saw that this just would not work. Can someone tell us before Carl, in shame for not having already told us, relents and tells what the significance is?

Johnny

[nanaimo73]

Hi Brian,
No, that is not the answer I'm looking for.
Only those 6 railroads have this in common.

Carl, I don't know about oyster stew, but does "AEP" confirm your answer?
BTW, it is good to see you in here talking about food. 

[blhanel]

nanaimo73

I've been up to some early morning mischief, and now the 6 tables at the north end are covered with NP, CB&Q, D&RGW, NYC, Penn Central and Western Pacific tablecloths, in that order. Can anybody guess the pattern?

Would that be the chronological order (oldest to most recent) of when those flags fell?