Existing In BFE

While back in Northlandia a few weeks ago I learned a friend of mine had died.  Ron "Redi-Mix" Harn of Bushnell was 85, and after a brief stay in a nursing home, died of a stroke.  He was in the Korean War and worked at the hammer factory there all his life.  He was married to Lana, a pretty cool person in her own right.   I met him when I first joined the Western Illinois Antique Auto Club.  The first time we really hooked up was at a car show.  They were parked right across from me and they invited me over to sit with them.  I knew who he was from the meetings and after that I also started sitting with him n the back row.  We did the usual things, make jokes, giggle like kids and generally had a good time. Lana took some pictures of some Club stuff and they gave me a booklet of them back in the day.          I was around when he retired at 65 from the factory.  And I was around when he had his knees operated on.  He told me they p

My Wombie, the egg split in the womb, worked as Aquaman in Emerald City, and then he retired, complete with big party, pats on the back and three side jobs.  Part-time at The Grind, doing the water for Seaton and farming for a group under the Bluff.  Then, through a series of Unfortunate Events, retired Wombie became Aquaman again.  I am assuming another big party when he does retire again, but until then, its Aquaman and Big Drip.  See how I insert myself into the picture like a freshman nerd sidling up to the senior Queen at the Prom.  He has absolutely no time what with his added duties combined with doing the JULIES, too.   If you don't know what a JULIE is, when you take your shovel and dig in the back yard for that pesky mole and nick a gas line, you'll get a quick education.     This is some sort of concoction out at Aquaman's South Lagoon treatment plant at Emerald City.  Last time I was pretending to be Robin to Wombie's Batman, I took this video

What is the difference between a plan and a master plan?  I was thinking about this the other day.  Of course we all have plans, but it seem the bad guys always have Master Plans, right?  I decided, then, that it's the guy's ego that determines it.  +++++++++ Took a picture of this Amscot truck the other day.  Amscot down here in Kookoo Land is a money lending store.  There are hundreds of them and they give you cash advances on job wages.  You can also get money orders and that type of thing.  It's somewhere between a bank and a loan shark.  Anyway, I was first wondering why they had moving trucks.  hey don't have anything to move, really.  And then I was wondering why they had air vents.  There are four from this view.  What do they have that would need air?  ++++++++++    My buddy Norah. ++++++++++ My buddies Kenzie and Whizzbang.  (That's a fake Taco bell tattoo.)  ++++++++++ As a side no

Summer!!! In a land far, far, away there once was an ice cream shop in Emerald City.  It's summer, we have gas in the bikes so let's go get us some. One of my first trips to a Gulf-side beach, I saw this guy strolling along.  I thought "Wow."  So this is summer in Florida? In keeping with the summer theme, party time in BFE. And finally, summer is a time to go fishing.   

I have spoken many times of the morning walks that my dog and I take.  There are a number of obstacles that sometimes get in the way.  Climbing out of a warm cozy bed is the first one.  I set the alarm for 3:30 am and will do a snooze or two before crawling out.  Somewhere in those two snoozes I'll do a scan of my body starting at the toes and working up.  If anything seems out of order I'll push the "Stop" button and head back to Slumberland.   Then I'll do a radar scan on my phone to see if there are any clouds approaching that may contain moisture.  If there are any within a 300 mile radius I'll push the "Stop" button and go back to sleep.   If there are no body parts out of whack, rain clouds approaching, and I haven't slept past 4 o'clock, then I have no other excuse to use so I climb out of my horizontal sanctuary.  We slip on our high-viz shirts and off we go toward Roosevelt.  This first half is the urban portion of the walk.  Ma

++++++++++ This monster was lurking outside near the garbage cans last week.  I was brave and shooed it off.  I am moving.    ++++++++++ No, this isn't Nature Is Metal, a lizard sits atop one of our metal herons outside.   ++++++++++ ++++++++++ It won't be long, now. ++++++++++ I saw this kid in Wal-Mart last week.  While playing a game, hopefully on mom's phone, he was oblivious to everything around him.  Somehow, I think a kid that young should be paying attention to the world around him, even if it is Wal-Mart.  I'm not so sure smart phones/social media aren't the worst possible inventions of the past 20 years. ++++++++++ I see Big Zo might return to the Cubs in the Fall.  Atta boy.  Have your big cry after discovering life isn't all fun and games and big money contracts.  Still a Pussy. ++++++++++ Ayla arrived to

This was first posted June 24, 2008  Saturday was the 125 th birthday party for Seaton , my hometown. My brother Mark called and wondered if I'd like to join he and his wife Holly. I didn't really want to but he had asked me to go to Menard's to get him a couple of flag swags, and i wanted to get them to him so I went. It ended up being a fairly OK time because after the parade I went up with Mark and Holly to Aledo to the Club for a beer or two. Mike, Ivan Ewing, and twin Mark There were rows of old tractors lined against both sides of Main street, and some people selling what looked like yard-sale stuff. What was somewhat amazing was the lack of food vendors. Evidently there was a breakfast but nothing offered for mid-day, and the cafe was closed. The parade was manned by the tractors, a few old cars, various little people and their dogs, two fire trucks, two politicians, and one horse. In one of the old cars were the t

"If Hell were real, each occupant would be a shining reminder that God has failed." I'm not a philosopher, but I played one in college.  Profundity is fun.  And when I spotted this quote somewhere I knew I had to have it.  Kind of like when I first saw the current Mrs. Blythe.  But that's another story.   The above quotation is from some 19th century writer, social commentary and agnostic Robert Ingersoll.  When I first saw it I expected one of those Jerry Springer crowd responses to follow. Yeah, its a pretty badass thing to say.  God is a failure?  Look out for lightening bolts.  Ingersoll survived the comment and was a rather well-respected orator, Civil War general and, for those few readers who hail from Peoria, a fellow Peorian.  In fact there is a statue of him down there someplace.    It seems a shocking statement for the 1880's, much like the Newsweek cover of April 8th, 1966, "Is God Dead?"    I do believe it is the only