John1955

This may sound minor, but what pleased me today was seeing some prices actually lowered at my grocery store. Most prices had been going up slightly in the last few months, so seeing beef and pork prices back to normal did please me. And the store offered eggs for 79 cents a dozen (large size) when you purchased $25 worth of other groceries (limit: 2 dozen at that price). I love eggs. And finally, it also pleased me that locally grown peaches have ripened now and are plentiful and 99 cents a pound. The weather here has been nearly perfect this year for area farmers, and that's meant big harvests and low prices. Unfortunately it also means I'm eating too much fresh fruits and vegetables. That would be healthy except that I'm making a pig of myself.

That made me think back to many years ago when a small, local drug store here announced it was going out of business. At the back of the store was a shelf with about 30 or so 1/25 model kits on it, all AMT and Jo-Han original issues from the 1960's and very early 1970's. Why I had never seen them there before was because I'd never been in that store before that day that I spotted them. A few were opened and no longer sealed and all of them had a thin layer of dust on them. No wonder they'd never been sold, that shelf was practically invisible so far back. There was also Testor's paints, but the bottles looked like the paint inside was all dried up. A sign read "All items on this shelf 90% off marked price", which meant a $1.50 Jo-Han kit would be 15 cents! I was late for work and in a hurry so I grabbed the aspirin I'd stopped in to get and left, reminding myself to go back the next day and buy them all. But I had to work heavy overtime and didn't make it back there until three days later. The store was closed down and locked up, out of business. I hope no one heard me cursing to myself.

If you sacrificed and bought a very expensive bottle of wine and were enjoying a glass of it and a fly landed in the wine and was struggling to get out, what would you do? Would you pour the wine and fly down the drain or on the ground? Would you remove the fly and drink the wine anyway?

The drivers that scare me are the ones who don't even see me. So many are texting or yacking on their phones that they aren't paying much attention to the road. Apparently it doesn't matter to them that it's illegal here to use a mobile phone while driving. A friend of mine is a paramedic and told me that he sees too many victims of accidents caused by this. He also says that often drivers can't hear the ambulance behind them due to having the music blasting so loud in their cars.

I've never even seen a Fed-Ex guy. I don't know what the UPS guy looks like either. Maybe they are afraid of me or something, but when they leave me a package, they never even knock on my door, they drop it off next to my door and take off. There is a rather mean looking stray cat that sits on my porch, perhaps that's why they are in such a hurry to leave.

Sometimes, life has strange coincidences. After all these years, I see this item that I'd never heard of before even though I've done extensive research on EVERYTHING ever made in 1/25th and 1/24th scale. Now another one popped up! And it's in even better condition, looks almost brand new. I find this to be bizarre. I don't need another one, but can I resist?

What pleased me is that I FINALLY located a 1/25th scale Greyhound bus for my collection. I'd already purchased several 1/25th scale Trailways buses made by PMC in 1954-1957 but they will need lots of detailing to make them worthy for my shelves. I was aware that an unknown manufacturer did produce 1/25th scale Greyhound buses for Greyhound in the 50's and had seen two of those for sale over the last 20 years on eBay and at a collector site, but the prices were beyond what I am willing to pay and neither one was in great condition. I had never seen or heard of this particular replica before though, made by Bell Products, Inc., a toy that was equipped with a motor and used batteries. But these I'll remove and save (still works). I was shocked when the seller accepted my best offer that was 75% less than their asking price with a low shipping charge. It had only been listed a couple hours when I grabbed it. My goal will be to add detailing, possible repainting, mirrors, red and amber marker lights, etc. If not for my bad health, I'd go all out to make it more authentic, but I can't. I've checked all measurements and it is truly EXACT 1/25 scale in every way.

https://twitter.com/i/status/1400971027979571200 It's hard to find the words to describe this video. I can watch it several times and my eyes still get wet. https://www.post-gazette.com/sports/high-school-football/2021/06/04/Hayden-Hamilton-paralyzed-WPIAL-football-Laurel-High-School/stories/202106040136

I so much hope that as we celebrate this 4th of July that we keep in mind that it's not just about fun and games, or hot dogs and fireworks. There is nothing wrong with any of that as long as we also remember that many sacrificed their lives so that we could have what we have. On this major holiday, it doesn't matter what current politics are or what any religion says. Forget our differences for at least this one special day, remember that what we all have in common is far more important. I remember the July 4th holidays that I spent onboard my ship while serving in the U.S. Navy. Despite being a mighty military vessel (aircraft carrier), they were days when officers and enlisted mingled together like friends on the flight deck which was almost emptied of planes. We did have cookouts and we did stuff ourselves with good food, but we also read out loud the Declaration Of Independence, parts of the U.S. Constitution, the Gettysburg address by Lincoln and had dozens of American flags waving all along the deck. Interestingly, we had no fireworks at all. Even "the old man" (the Captain) joined in and on a carrier, even catching a glimpse of him was usually rare. I was so young back then but I understood the message very clearly. Some things still matter and always will.

Ya know - possum stew is always better the second day - so y'all come back now - ya hear?

Yes on Hill Street Blues, no on Soap. I tried to watch Soap but found it childish and absurd.

I found Empty Nest just that - empty.

Yep, GM downsized their full sized cars in '77, you're right.