12/12/12
1- Twelve is a dozen. Twelve times twelve is a gross. Twelve times twelve times twelve is a gross dozen.
2- The Dirty Dozen is supposed to be a good movie. The trailer is politically incorrect.
3- Twelve divided by twelve is one. One divided by twelve is .083333. The Three on the right never stops.
4- Many doomsdayers believe 12/12/12 will be the end of the world, thanks to an interpretation of the Mayan calendar. Others say December 21.
5- Palindrome lovers will enjoy 1:21:02. At that time, a date-time combination which will be read the same both backwards and forwards. 2012-12-12 1:21:02 = 201212-1-212102.
6- Three is generally considered a heavenly number and often represents the soul or godhead. Four is the number of earth and mankind – for example, there are four elements (earth, air, fire, and water) and four cardinal directions (north, south, east, and west). Because of this, the product of the two numbers, 12, has been said to encompass both the secular and the sacred.
7- December 12, 2012 is exactly 6 years, 6 months, 6 days from June 6, 2006, or 06/06/06.
8- From culinary cuisine to calendars, 12 has been a significant number since its creation. Just think about it – 12 months in the year, 12 hours of night and day, 12 astrological signs, 12 Olympic gods and goddesses, 12 days of Christmas, and Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. Oh, and let’s not forget about eggs – which are cheaper by the dozen!
9- People born on December 12: 1863 – Edvard Munch, 1915 – Frank Sinatra, 1943 – Dickey Betts. Deaths on December 12: 1968 – Tallulah Bankhead, 1999 – Joseph Heller, 2012 – Ravi Shankar.
On December 12, 2000, The United States Supreme Court releases its decision in Bush v. Gore.
10- Kiam Moriya, from Birmingham Alabama, was born on December 12, 2000 12 minutes after midday, in Bronxville, New York.
11- Some are calling 12/12/12 “National Soundcheck Day.” That is: “one, two. One, two. One, two.”
12- Thirteen shopping days are left until Christmas.
13- The pictures are from ” The Special Collections and Archives,Georgia State University Library”.
Some entries were borrowed from 12/12/12: Twelve must-know facts about last once-in-a-lifetime date this century. Thank you Wikipedia.
Barlow
PG has worked, off and on, for many years in blueprint shops. One thing you do is pull staples out. A while back, PG got tired of constantly looking for a staple puller, and began to use a pocket knife. The blade he uses today has a black handle, with two blades, a screwdriver, and bottle opener. PG found it under a dresser, while pulling up a carpet.
Until a few minutes ago. PG thought this was a Barlow. The four blade knife has the word “Imperial” stamped into the base of the largest blade, with no other lettering. Another knife, which looks somewhat like the four blade knife, has the word “BARLOW” stamped into the bolster.
In the embedded video, Bessie Smith sings “I cut him with my barlow, I kicked him in the side, I stood there laughing ov’r him while he wallowed round and died.”
The Barlow that PG owns is a CAMCO 551. It was made in 1948, and is worth $42.95 in good condition. The unit PG owns spent a winter under the seat of a Toyota Corolla in 1986.
Pictures,from The Library of Congress. are Union Soldiers, from the War Between the States.
#Quotes
There is a popular topic at twitter, #quotes. The first one to catch the eye here is by Joe Namath. @TomMooneyADP ” If you aren’t going all the way, why go at all? – Joe Namath. Now, Joe Willie was a good quarterback, but he is nobody to take life instruction from. When Mr. Namath was in his prime, PG was 13 years old. Joe Namath was said to be a bad influence on young people. When you are 13 years old, bad influences are important.
For some reason, quotes from Albert Einstein are popular.
@ptarkkonen “The important thing is not to stop questioning.”
@JohnnyFocal “Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.”
@tino503 “The difference between genius and stupidity is; genius has its limits.”
@_motivatedmind A perfection of means, and confusion of aims, seems to be our main problem.
The only one, of the four quotes, to be listed in wikiquotes is the first. “The important thing is not to stop questioning; curiosity has its own reason for existing. One cannot help but be in awe when contemplating the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality. It is enough if one tries merely to comprehend a little of the mystery every day. The important thing is not to stop questioning; never lose a holy curiosity.” Quoted in LIFE magazine (2 May 1955)
There is a questionable quote about mistakes.” I made one great mistake in my life—when I signed that letter to President Roosevelt recommending that atom bombs be made; but there was some justification—the danger that the Germans would make them!” – Written by Linus Pauling in his diary after a conversation with Einstein (16 November 1954). Quoted in The New Quotable Einstein by Alice Calaprice (2005), p. 175. The quote was copied directly from Pauling’s diary. On June 23, 1946, the New York Times Magazine quoted Dr, Einstein in an article, “The Real Problem is in the Hearts of Man.” “A new type of thinking is essential if mankind is to survive and move toward higher levels. “
Before you complain about negative attitude, it should be noted that PG did agree with at least one quote. @ruhanirabin “Courage does not always roar. Sometimes it takes courage to remain silent.” Often it takes more courage to listen than to speak. Many so called tough men would do well to shut up.
This was written like Kurt Vonnegut.
Judy Roasting On An Open Fire
SFFILK (Not his real name) passes along a story about Mel Torme. It seems like Mr.Torme was eating a leisurely breakfast at a food court in Los Angeles, and a quartet appeared singing Christmas songs. They wound up performing “The Christmas Song” for co- author Torme…and the singers had no idea who he was. It is a good story, better told in the link.
According to the inerrant Wikipedia, Torme colloaborated with Robert Wells , until they had a falling out. One afternoon, on the hottest day of July in 1945, Mr.Torme went to visit Mr.Wells, and saw the first four lines of “The Christmas Song” (including “Chestnuts roasting on an open fire, Jack Frost nipping at your nose”). The lines were on a note pad, and the two agreed to beat the heat of summer by completing the song. Supposedly, Mr. Torme did not like the song very much. After three divorces, he probably didn’t see many of the royalties.
Mel Torme was the music director of the ill fated “Judy Garland Show” in the early sixties. He wrote a book about it… The Other Side of the Rainbow: With Judy Garland on the Dawn Patrol . The story is that Miss Garland would get blasted, call Mr. Torme in the middle of the night, and pour out her troubles. While the show did not last longer, there are some great youtube clips left over.
This is a repost. It is written like Stephen King.
The Blank Bowl
The Atlanta Falcons want a new stadium. One proposed name is the Blank Bowl. The Georgia World Congress Center Authority (GWCCA) is meeting Monday morning to vote on a 24 page document outlining the terms for building the facility. If the measure passes, there will be more negotiations to work out details. It is not known who will have the authority to green light the deal, or when this step will be taken. Evidently, voting taxpayers will not be consulted.
The fishwrapper has a story with quotes from the proposed agreement. None of the 34 comments support building a new stadium.
sad_newspaper at 10:02 a.m. Dec. 9, 2012 This city is too damn hood for a new stadium. We have so many other pressing issues, my explodes just thinking of ways I’d spend the $300 million dollars and no, a stadium is not on that list.
ThinkHarder at 8:53 a.m. Dec. 9, 2012 I can’t believe that this is even being considered. Some of the low parts in Atlanta smell like raw sewage, many of the roads are in shambles, crime still permeates many communities, and were considering the replacement of a more than adequate event stadium. This benefits a few exceedingly wealthy men at the expense of everyone else in our community. The hotel taxes are already high. Of all the things Atlanta needs to improve, the GA dome is way down towards the bottom of the list. We better get our priorities straightened out, and we better get it done in a hurry. This is a sham.
The Blank Bowl would cost an estimated one billion dollars. This is 5555% of the cost of Atlanta Stadium, the original home of the Falcons. The state will have a hotel-motel tax, which is estimated to bring in $300 million. The Falcons would cover the rest. The sale of Personal Seat Licenses will bring in an estimated $100 million.
“Falcons contribution: Other than the proceeds of the bonds backed by the hotel/motel tax, plus the seat-license sales, the Falcons “are responsible for funding the remainder of (the stadium’s) costs, including cost overruns” and must “provide reasonable evidence to GWCCA of a financing plan.” (Ballpark math: If the hotel-motel tax covers about $300 million and PSLs about $100 million, the Falcons would be responsible for about $600 million. The team could be eligible for up to $200 million in loans and grants from the NFL.)”
The Blank Bowl would replace the Georgia Dome. The Dome was built in the early nineties, after the Falcons threatened to move to Jacksonville. The Atlanta City Council voted not to approve the deal, and then changed it’s mind a week later. (This history is based on PG’s memory, and may not be completely accurate.) The Dome was built as part of the World Congress Center complex, and is used as exhibit space for trade shows.
Two sites are being considered for The Blank Bowl. Both are downtown, near the present Georgia Dome. “The north site has more property, which would give football fans more opportunity for tailgating before games. It also sits up higher on a hill, which could provide better vistas to show off the $1 billion stadium in relation to the skyline.”
PG has a few questions about The Blank Bowl. 1- Construction uses a lot of water. What will happen if Lake Lanier runs dry during the construction of the Blank Bowl? 2- The State of Georgia is broke. The City of Atlanta is broke. MARTA is broke. The city sewers are need repairs. The schools need more money. This list could go on and on, but you get the idea. Why does a new stadium for a privately owned football team take priority over the needs of the rest of the citizens? Why don’t we take the hotel-motel tax and build a pipeline to the Tennessee River? Or, we can sell Personal Seat Licenses for a sewer system. 3- The United States is on the edge of a fiscal cliff. There is an expensive war being fought. Why does the National Football League have $200 to spare right now?
Pictures are from “The Special Collections and Archives,Georgia State University Library”.
Someday Soon
When a blogger can’t get a song out of his head, he should write about it. Find a youtube video of the song, both lipsynced in 1969, and repeated on later tv shows. When you have more media than message, you recycle the past. The singer probably has a book , which means interviews to sell the book. The song is Someday Soon, and the artist is Judy Collins.
PG first heard “Someday Soon” on WPLO-FM. There was a little black radio, which had AM, FM, and a few short wave bands. It ran on D size batteries, and was the first FM radio that PG owned. WPLO-FM was the hippie station, the first FM station to play rock music in Atlanta. “Someday Soon” was a shocker, with it’s lyric “damned old rodeo”. 1969 was a more innocent time.
Judith Marjorie Collins was the gf of Stephen Stills around that time. He wrote Suite Judy Blue Eyes about her. Mr. Stills was helping Ms. Collins with and album, and they heard “Someday Soon” on the radio. The song was written by Ian Tyson. The song was included on the album, and was somewhat of a hit. (Here are TV performances with Ian Tyson, Stephen Stills and Graham Nash.)
The Daily Beast article, written to promote the book, is Judy Collins’s New Book: Suicide, Alcoholism, Nude Photos, and More. Judy Collins has had an interesting life, sometimes in the sense of the Chinese curse. The eldest daughter of an abusive alcoholic, she became a severe drunk herself. Somehow, she came out of everything ok.
Along with alcoholism, suicide has been a problem. The son of Judy Collins, Chuck Taylor, took his life in 1992. He had struggled with depression and substance abuse. Judy attempted suicide when she was 14. This is roughly the same age as PG, when he heard that song where the lady says damned. Ms. Collins has worked to help others avoid taking their life.
One Judy Collins hit is “Chelsea Morning”, written by Joni Mitchell. Bill Clinton was inspired to name his daughter Chelsea. Unfortunately, Judy Collins and Joni Mitchell are not friends. Both women are known to have attitudes, so there is no telling what the problem is.
As for another famous sixties singer, with a J name, the DB article has this postscript. Editor’s Note: This interview incorrectly stated that Judy Collins had a “love affair” with singer Joan Baez. Today Judy Collins wrote the following in an email to correct the record: “Joan and I both agree that we wouldn’t mind it if people thought so—she has been very open about her sexuality too, and that’s where the lines might have crossed—but I wanted to get the facts straight anyway.”
Holiday Hemisphere
Why Prose is better than poetry
1- Cons is not the opposite of poems.
2- Poetry slams can get violent.
3- Prose is not expected to rhyme.
4- Pornography is always prose.
5- Prose does not get set to music. .
6- Knee jerk is better than hip hop.
7- Prose writer pants stay up better.
8- Prose makes more money than poetry.
9- Free verse always winds up costing something.
10- If you are depressed you cannot take poetryzac.
A- Dictionary says pro is the opposite of con.
B- Will Rogers said the opposite of progress is congress.
C- Is the opposite of a protest, a contest?
D- Is the opposite of a profession, a confession?
E- Is it profound that this would confound?
F- It is a profusion of confusion.
Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low-stress, non-addictive, gender-neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasion and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all.
I also wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2010, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make America great. Not to imply that America is necessarily greater than any other country nor the only America in the Western Hemisphere . Also, this wish is made without regard to the race, creed, color, age, physical ability, religious faith or sexual preference of the wish. This holiday wish does not represent the views of and is not endorsed by this website, webmaster or any affiliated subsidiaries thereof.
The information transmitted is intended solely for the individual or entity to which it is addressed and may contain confidential and/or privileged material. Any review, retransmission, dissemination or other use of or taking action in reliance upon this information by persons or entities other than the intended recipient is prohibited. If you have received this email in error please contact the sender and delete the material from any computer. E-Mail is not a secure medium and should not be used to communicate confidential or personal information.
This greeting is borrowed from joemyg-d , who received it from “Scott”. This is a repost .
German Pastry Christmas
PG got an email today from Allen Hunt a radio announcer. The letter had a Christmas message. PG read the story, and heard the ding ding ding of his BS detector. Here is the story.
Merry Christmas! As the wars about the public celebration of Christmas become filled with pettiness and hostility on all sides, be not dismayed. Your celebration of Christmas depends solely on you and nobody else. I heard the story of Oswald Goulter years ago and it reminds me of that simple fact. I am responsible for how I embrace the gift of Christmas.
Oswald Goulter served as an agri-missionary to China. On his way back to the USA for furlough during World War II. His sponsor mission agency gave him a ticket to get home by boat. When Oswald arrived in the port of India, New Delhi, he found boats filled with Jews, housed there to protect their lives from Nazi Germany. The Jewish boats couldn’t land anywhere. They were not accepted or welcome anywhere at the time
Oswald went to see them and said, “Merry Christmas!”
“We’re Jewish,” they responded.
“I know, I know. But what would you like for Christmas. Merry Christmas!”
“Don’t you understand? We are JEWISH.”
“Merry Christmas. What do you want?”
To get rid of this nuisance, they said, “How about some German pastry? That sure would be grand.”
Oswald scoured the city until he found a bakery that made German pastry. Oswald sold his ticket for home to get money to purchase some pastry. He went back to the boat and shared it with them.
As he spoke about this experience later in one of his supporting churches, a very prim member of the congregation stood and asked, “Why did you do that? They were Jewish. They don’t even believe in Jesus.””I know,” Oswald replied, “but I do.”
PG sent a reply to the original email. This post is being written an hour later, so it is not unreasonable that Mr. Hunt has not replied.
Allen do you have any proof that Oswald Goulter existed? This story seems a bit far fetched. I googled Oswald Goulter, and all I see is the same story told over and over.
Why did he go to India? This is over the Himalayan mountains, or around Vietnam. Couldn’t he do just as well in North Asia, or even Russia?
When did this incident happen? There are mixed indications in the versions I read, and no exact dates. If this was after WW2, then maybe the restrictions about admitting Jews would start to loosen up.
Why German pastries? After all that the German people had done to them, this seems a bit strange.
There are hundreds of real, verifiable Christmas stories out there. This one seems a bit fishy.
After sending the email, PG hunkered down in the google.(Snopes never heard of Oswald Goulter) It seems that Oswald John Goulter was born June 22, 1890 in Oklahoma. He died in March 1985, in Santa Clara California. He was interviewed in 1971 as part of a project involving missionaries to China. “This interview supplements the account of Goulter’s life in Wilfred Powell’s Scattered Seed. Mr. Goulter portrays the disruption in Chinese life in the area of Lu-chou (Hofei) in Anhwei province during the years 1922 to 1951. He tells how the Communists were able to take advantage of the disorder caused by warlords and bandits and the Japanese invasion to drive the nationalists from power. He also discusses his conception of practical Christianity and its applicability in China.”
There is another story about Mr. Goulter. After the communist takeover, Mr. Goulter and his wife, Irene, were taken into custody. Mr. Goulter was beaten repeatedly, but refused to renounce his faith. Finally he was released (or, in some versions, escaped). This imprisonment is generally agreed to be three years long, and if he left in 1951, that would be consistent with the time line of the communist takeover.
In the Hunt version of the story, Oswald Goulter left during World War 2.
This does not answer the question of why Mr. Goulter would go to India, before America. It also does not account for the appearance of the Jews in India, six years after the end of World War 2. It should also be noted that India was in chaos, with the advent of Independence and the partition. Would they have Jews hiding in the city?
There is a book, Scattered Seed: The Story of the Oswald Goulters, Missionaries in China 1922-51. PG does not know if it discusses German pastries.
This is a repost from three years ago. The original had several comments about Mr. Goulter, which we will share. Allen Hunt sent a reply, which was lost in a hard drive crash. It was rather snide. Mr. Hunt has quit sending PG emails. His radio show is on WSB am Sunday evening. The show is a partially sponsored by ChikFilA.
indsay goulter said, on February 26, 2010 at 3:26 am Hi oswald goulter was my great uncle.Born in Auss. If you would like to know more about him please reply to my e/mail. lindsay g
Teena Anderson said, on October 30, 2010 at 10:02 pm
Oswald Goulter is my grandfather. He was a missionary to China for 30 years. His story is told in the book Scattered Seed by Wilfred Powell. Oswald and Irene had 3 daughters, Lovena, Doris ( who is still living!) and Jean. Doris and Jean were born in China. Jean was my mother-she spoke excellent chinese with a Hefei accent. I am the eldest grandchild. They lost a baby boy born in China and buried him in the mountains of Kuling, where the missionaries would go for the summer.
My husband, Hugh Anderson (Presbyterian minister) and I have taught in China with the Amity Foundation. Our first summer of teaching we traveled to Hefei and met Rev. Zhu who helped Oswald after he had been confined in the internment camps. They were great friends. Rev. Zhu’s son is now a Disciple of Christ minister here in the United States. Teena Anderson, Medford, Oregon.
chamblee54 said, on October 30, 2010 at 10:09 pm
Thanks for stopping by. Do you know if the story about the German Pastries was true? It is an inspiring story, but as I noted in my post, there are a few issues with it.
Miaohua Jiang said, on January 19, 2011 at 11:06 pm
The book by Wilfred E. Powell titled Scattered Seed came in mail yesterday. I searched in the book for any evidence that this story might actually happened. Unfortunately, the story as it is stated never happened. At least it did not happen in India.
The sabbatical year was between 1936 and 1937. The family did take the western route going through Europe to return to US. They arrived in US in September 1936. Christmas of 1936 was their first Christmas in US in many many years. They were not able to return to China because of Japenese invasion until late 1937. Mr. Goulter did help refugees in Shanghai around Christmas time 1937. The book did mention that Shanghai also had ships with Jewish refugees. So, the story could have happened in Shanghai, China, instead of India. It did not involve boat tickets. Mr. Goulter had clothings shipped from Los Angeles to Shanghai. Also Mr. Goulter was interned by Japenese for many years, not communists.
chamblee54 said, on January 20, 2011 at 12:02 am
Thank you for following through. That is an inspiring story, too bad it can’t be proven to be true.
Miaohua Jiang said, on January 1, 2011 at 10:13 pm
Doris is visting us this new year’s day of 2011!
Miaohua Jiang said, on January 4, 2011 at 2:23 pm
This is what I got from my conversation with Doris, O.J.’s second daughter. According to Doris, Mr. Goulter did not like his first name. Chinese people would simply call him Gou Shee-Sang (Mr. Gou). Doris was born in Hefei in 1924. Her mother homeschooled the girls. By the time she was 10, they felt it was time for girls to have a more formal education in Shanghai. Before they left for Shanghai, they travelled for a year to Europe, going through possibly the Hongkong – India route. So, it was around 1934 – a time Jews were forced to escape Germany. So, the story is credible. The girls stayed in Shanghai until 3 month before Pearl Harbor was attacked when American government ordered evacuation of women and children. Mr. Goulter stayed behind and was imprisoned by invading Japenese because of his British citizenship. I am ordering this book and hopefully when Doris visits again next time I will have a chance to verify a few more details with her. Amazingly, after leaving Hefei for more than 75 years, she can still speak the local dialect and sing local children songs forgotten even by the local people.
Teena Anderson said, on October 30, 2010 at 10:09 pm
Oswald Goulter was my grandfather. He was born in Australia. He heard about the Boxer rebellion and felt called to go to China. He came to the U. S. to get more education. He married Irene Goucher (my grandmother) in Oklahoma and they spent 30 years together in China. They had 3 daughters, 2 of whom were born in China. My mother was born in Tsingtao but spent 10 years in Hefei (Lu Chow Fu). She had a great Hefei accent. They also had a baby boy that died and was buried in the Kuling mountains. (Lu Shan)Oswald Goulters life was written by Wildfred Powell in the book Scattered Seed. Our family still have ties to Chinese that were ministered by my grandfather. There are many more accounts of what my grandfather accomplished in China. He loved the Chinese and they loved him. Teena Anderson of Medford, Or.
Lauri Penry said, on March 25, 2012 at 8:27 am
My grandparents (Dr. and Mrs. Paul R. Slater) served as medical missionaries in China with the Goulters. I have heard the story many times of how my grandfather met up with Mr. Goulter, and he wasn’t wearing shoes. So my grandfather gave him his. The next time they crossed each other’s paths, Mr. Goulter was again without shoes. He told my grandfather that he found someone who needed them more than he did.
I was just going through some pictures at my parents’ house this weekend, and found one with Mr. Goulter in it. I am in the process of reading Scattered Seed now. My parents were attending Phillips University when Mr. Goulter was a member of the faculty. From what I have always heard about this man, he was exceptional, and a true servant!
John McBride said, on May 10, 2012 at 10:10 am
Oswald Goulter is my grand uncle and he was born in Australia. I had the pleasure of meeting him and Irene in in either 1973/4 when they visited Australia and later in San Jose in 1981. He was quite some bloke who’s achievements were quite incrediable. My grand father was a potato farmer at a place called Irrewillipe, about 100 miles west of Melbourne. One year my brother and I spent our Easter weekend (4 days in Australia) helping dig up the crop. At night, my grandfather read Oswald’s letters to us by kerosene lamp beside the wood stove in the kitchen. As a ten year old, those letters were more exciting to listen to than reading my Superman comics.
Pictures are from “The Special Collections and Archives,Georgia State University Library”.
A Dog Story
A band, Pearls Before Swine , put out an album called “These things too”. The title track told the story of a Persian king, who wanted a saying for all occasions. His advisers had a conference, invited experts, ate, drank, and thought. The phrase they came up with was “these things too shall pass away”.
Today, Persia is known as Iran. It is rich in oil, but has a troubled recent history. Instead of a king, they have a fashion challenged President, who says things that allegedly threaten Israel. (PG does not speak Farsi, and must depend on translators. There are differing opinions as to what the man said.)
You might ask, what does this have to do with a bunch of dogs, in Piedmont Park, on an overcast December afternoon? Perhaps it relates to the dog who, when asked to pose, thought you wanted to smell his butt. That is how dogs greet each other. Why should that man, pointing that little orange box at me, be any different?
A sunday in December means NFL football to millions of people. The Falcons were in Houston this day, and lost. This is another thing that is always true… somebody has to lose. The football angle could be what the wisemen meant. They just didn’t say what would happen to that pass. There are three things that can happen when you pass, and only one of them is good, at least for the offense.
Today is a repost. This is a Wednesday. The 2012 Falcons are 11-1, in the regular season. Whether they will turn into postseason pumpkins remains to be seen.
It took 85 minutes to get from Smyrna to Brookhaven tonight. Whoever said “these things too shall pass away” did not travel on I-285.
A person walked through a door, ahead of Dorothy Parker. The first one through said “Age before beauty.” Mrs. Parker replied “Pearls Before Swine.”
Hindsight For The Blind
There was a suggestion for a post, with the title “Daily Prompt: Hindsight”. The concept is “Now that you’ve got some blogging experience under your belt, re-write your very first post.” If you want to skp ahead and look at pictures, that is ok.
The first post was published on blogspot September 21, 2005. There are no pictures, or links, and the small print black font is used.
It had to happen sooner or later.
This is my first post to this blog.
Maybe I should start with a summary of my life . I am 51yo, 6’5″190# single white male residing just outside Chamblee GA.
50 hours ago, the owner of the company I was working for called me into the office, and said “I am gonna have to let you go, there is not enough work to keep you.”
I had been there 13 days.
I still don’t know which end is up.
More later..
Lets start with an update. Black fonts are obsolete. Text is just something to go between the pictures. Chamblee54 is on WordPress, and likely to stay for a while. Most posts are written in third person, with PG standing in for the literal author.
Having a blog gives you something to do with pictures. Taking pictures gives you an excuse to post. The two work together. The business of tweaking pictures has gone very nicely with the blog thing.
The unincorporated area of DeKalb county is about to become the City of Brookhaven. PG voted in the runoff election for Mayor this morning. Local politics are fun to write about. This has been an exhausting political year, and it is good to know that this is the last election.
The economy is horrible. The incident in this post is not the only time PG has been called into the office. One time, he got the ax over the phone, from a third party temp agency. The possibility of not having a job until social security kicks in is real. While PG is luckier than many, he still wishes it could be better. The good side is having more time to spend on the blog.
There was more later. The blog has evolved into what it is today. The present readers are appreciated, and maybe they will be joined by others. Writer’s tackle is reality.
Bubba Claus
CHANGING CHRISTMAS CONTRACT:
A new contract for Santa has finally been negotiated. . . Please read the following carefully:
I regret to inform you that, effective immediately, I will no longer be able to serve Southern United States on Christmas Eve. Due to the overwhelming current population of the earth, my contract was renegotiated by North American Fairies and Elves Local 209. I now serve only certain areas of Canada and the northern boarder states.
As part of the new and better contract, I also get longer breaks for milk and cookies so keep that in mind. However, I made certain that your children will be in good hands with your local replacement who happens to be my third cousin, Bubba Claus. His side of the family is from the South Pole. He shares my goal of delivering toys to all the good boys and girls; however, there are a few differences.
1. There is no danger of a Grinch stealing your presents from Bubba Claus. He has a gun rack on his sleigh and a bumper sticker that reads: These toys insured by Smith and Wesson.
2. Instead of milk and cookies, Bubba Claus prefers that children leave an RC cola and pork rinds [or a moon pie] on the fireplace. And Bubba doesn’t smoke a pipe. He dips a little snuff though, so please have an empty spit can handy.
3. Bubba Claus; sleigh is pulled by floppy-eared, flying coon dogs instead of reindeer. I made the mistake of loaning him my reindeer one time, and Blitzen’s head now overlooks Bubba’s fireplace.
4. You won’t hear On Comet, on Cupid, . . ., when Bubba Claus arrives. Instead, you’ll hear, On Earnhardt, on Wallace, on Gordon and Labonte. On Rudd, on Johnson, on Elliott and Petty.
5. Ho, ho, ho! has been replaced by “Yee Haw!” And you also are likely to hear “I herd dat!”
6. As required by Southern highway laws, Bubba Claus’ sleigh does have a Yosemite Sam safety triangle on the back with the words “Back off”. The last I heard it also had other decorations on the sleigh back as well. One is a Ford or Chevy logo with lights that race through the letters and the other is a caricature of me (Santa Claus) going wee-wee on the Tooth Fairy.
7. The usual Christmas movie classics such as “Miracle on 34th Street” and It’s a “Wonderful Life” will not be shown in your negotiated viewing area. Instead, you’ll see “Boss Hogg Saves Christmas” and “Smokey and the Bandit IV” featuring Burt Reynolds as Bubba Claus and dozens of state patrol cars crashing into each other.
8. Bubba Claus doesn’t wear a belt. If I were you, I’d make sure you, the wife, and the kids turn the other way when he bends over to put presents under the tree.
9. And finally, lovely Christmas songs have been sung about me like “Rudolph The Red-nosed Reindeer” and Bing Crosby’s “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town”. This year songs about Bubba Claus will be played on all the AM radio stations in the South. Those song titles will be Mark Chesnutt’s “Bubba Claus Shot the Jukebox”, Cledus T. Judd“All I Want for Christmas Is My Woman and a Six Pack”, and Hank Williams Jr.’s “If You Don’t Like Bubba Claus, You can Shove It.
Sincerely Yours, Santa Claus
(member of North American Fairies and Elves Local 209)
This is a repost. It was written like Vladimir Nabokov. The original author was Gartalker.
L5P Sunday Afternoon
PG and Uzi went to Little Five Points Sunday afternoon. The afternoon got off to an early start, with the days getting shorter and colder. The drive down Clairmont Road centered on epistemic closure, epistemic circularity, palindromes,and the uroboru. This is not to say that anyone knew what those words meant, or how to pronounce them.
The wisdom of going to L5P was confirmed when a parking spot appeared just off McClendon Avenue. There were no signs warning against parking in this spot, and there seemed to be enough room for cars to turn onto the road. After getting out into the warm afternoon, PG left a shirt layer in the vehicle.
One goal of this trip was to see what happened to some old tv sets. Uzi had donated some non functioning boob tubes to the Variety Playhouse. The two went in back of the theater, and saw where the tv sets were no longer on the pallet behind the venue. Some resident black cats were not amused.
At some point, Uzi went into Junkman’s Daughter, while PG stayed outside to take pictures. A man was panhandling in the alley, and talking the ears off a young couple going to dinner with their young children. The street person said he never had children, which the family man said was a blessing.
The Vortex was discussed as a dinner alternative, but PG was concerned about the no idiot policy. A decision was made to go to the Piccadilly in Tucker. Since the Peachtree Industrial cafeteria closed, PG has been considering the alternatives. Uzi had concerns about the Tucker facility, but was persuaded to give it a try. There was a family in line ahead of PG/Uzi, ordering meals to go. They took a long time deciding what they wanted. After a while, they paid for their meals.
Chamblee54 
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