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RTDNTOTO 🐻 Random Thoughts Deserving No Thread Of Their Own 19 (2024)

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Gedunker said:
It was a wonder to us, for sure.

The counselor had a thing about my sister, partly because she transferred to that school as a HS junior and partly because she was dating the star football player. But, the joke was on the counselor in the end, as my sister got an education degree (and later a master's) and taught for 47 years, one year she was one of three finalists for teacher-of-the-year in Dallas.
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A portrait of the educator as a young person.

Our high school was public, but with compulsory military. No art, no PE, just marching around with M-1 rifles.

No counselors. Teachers took turns trying to help us interpret SAT scores etc, but they had no training.
 
Frankly, for long distance (interstate) moving, the move is only as good as the crew that loads/drives/delivers, and that's a crapshoot, frankly. If you are moving any kind of distance (800-1,000 miles, or more) you are probably better off with one of the big guys, like Atlas, United, or Mayflower. Otherwise, you should look to a family owned mover that will do the haul themselves, and has a good, experienced driver and crew.

I would avoid the companies that claim to be movers, but merely drop off containers for you to load/unload and all they do is haul from one place to another. It's one thing to U-Haul it yourself across town, something else to do it across country.

Congrats on accepting an offer (it sounds like)!
 
There is a prominent pair of hills near American Canyon, California, that my father always called "Dolly Parton" when we were on road trips.

To this day, I still haven't seem them put on a blond wig and sing country music. Can't figure out why he called them that.

What "family landmarks" did you have growing up?

Jim

(Google Street View)
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jumbach said:
There is a prominent pair of hills near American Canyon, California, that my father always called "Dolly Parton" when we were on road trips.

To this day, I still haven't seem them put on a blond wig and sing country music. Can't figure out why he called them that.

What "family landmarks" did you have growing up?

Jim

(Google Street View)
View attachment 62639
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Bad, factories and smoke stacks. Good, most anywhere in Michigan that didn't have smoke stacks and factories. With a few exceptions, my native state isn't exactly the most scenic of all places
 
I unloaded and spread out 2 yards of mulch early this afternoon. I was trying to get it done as fast as possible to get out of the heat, but I think I over-did it.

We still have a lot to do before we can list the house.
 
JNA said:
What unique situation

Railroad tracks through Ferg’s Sports Bar could become St. Pete trail
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My hometown! Ferg grew up 5 houses down from us & went to HS with my brother. He took a big gamble when he opened that place & worked out well for him.
 
jumbach said:
There is a prominent pair of hills near American Canyon, California, that my father always called "Dolly Parton" when we were on road trips.

To this day, I still haven't seem them put on a blond wig and sing country music. Can't figure out why he called them that.

What "family landmarks" did you have growing up?

Jim

(Google Street View)
View attachment 62639
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I'm sure it reminded him of the Smokey Mountains where Dolly is from and owns huge tracts of land.
 
jumbach said:
What "family landmarks" did you have growing up?
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Hoboken, NJ piers where they filmed the movie classic "On the Waterfront"
The Shack coming over the causeway to Long Beach Island, NJ
Little Morro rock in Cayucos, CA
 
Sunday morning at 7:00 am I was awaken by the sound of a truck (loud or no muffler) doing donuts in the park next door. Got out of bed & by the time I got my clothes on, they were burning rubber in front of the house, ran through the yard & took off. I drove through the neighborhood later on and saw at least 10 other places that had tire tracks in the yards and the road.

The rest of the day got better.
 
Planit said:
Sunday morning at 7:00 am I was awaken by the sound of a truck (loud or no muffler) doing donuts in the park next door. Got out of bed & by the time I got my clothes on, they were burning rubber in front of the house, ran through the yard & took off. I drove through the neighborhood later on and saw at least 10 other places that had tire tracks in the yards and the road.

The rest of the day got better.
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7 AM is waaaaaay too early for idiot redneck crap. I usually wait until at least 9 AM to start tearing up the 'hood.
 
Thirty years ago today, OJ took off in The White Bronco. I know this because I got married that day. OJ is dead and I'm divorced. Lots can happen in 30 years, I guess.

Oj Simpson View GIF
 
I was actually just a few miles away and had no idea this was going on . . . my cousin and I had both graduated from high school a few days before and our grandparents were having our graduation party at that time. We were all outside in the backyard BBQ'ing and such. Probably the only 30 people in the US who didn't know about it.

Jim
 
For some reason I always end up doing dad stuff on Father's Day. I fixed up the car for the daughter. A day at the junk yard and a day putting in a window and new gear shift. My daughter went to some thing called Hoby, basically nerd camp that teaches leadership. They did the "big" presentation on Father's Day from 11-1 with no lunch. The kids did nothing. It was just people telling you what your kids were doing and how important it is to volunteer or donate to Hoby. So lunch became my daughter's choice. At least I got a nice ASU t-shirt and my wife got me the wrong set of wrenches. offset wrenches are not ratcheting wrenches. Still had fun though.
 
jumbach said:
I was actually just a few miles away and had no idea this was going on . . . my cousin and I had both graduated from high school a few days before and our grandparents were having our graduation party at that time. We were all outside in the backyard BBQ'ing and such. Probably the only 30 people in the US who didn't know about it.

Jim
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We were in the lounge of the historic Seelbach Hotel enjoying some jazz music and adult beverages, far from the bar. At one point, I noticed the distant TV was in split-screen with an NBA game and what appeared to be a traffic chase. I asked our waitress what was happening on TV and she told us "OJ was making a run for it". :what:
 
Hello, I'm still here.

We are pulling the trigger and planning a move to Des Moines to be closer to our daughter, grandson, and family.

Our son is in NoCal and is a permanent bachelor. I don't have $2M for a decent house there.

We have made many big moves before but age coupled with the need to downsize is quite overwhelming.

Stay tuned.
 
TOFB said:
Hello, I'm still here.

We are pulling the trigger and planning a move to Des Moines to be closer to our daughter, grandson, and family.

Our son is in NoCal and is a permanent bachelor. I don't have $2M for a decent house there.

We have made many big moves before but age coupled with the need to downsize is quite overwhelming.

Stay tuned.
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Wow! That is a big change but it sounds like for good reasons.
 
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TOFB said:
Hello, I'm still here.

We are pulling the trigger and planning a move to Des Moines to be closer to our daughter, grandson, and family.

Our son is in NoCal and is a permanent bachelor. I don't have $2M for a decent house there.

We have made many big moves before but age coupled with the need to downsize is quite overwhelming.

Stay tuned.
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The one time I drove through Des Moines it seemed nice for a Midwest city. Except the freeway was all jacked up with construction, but I put that down to bad timing on my part. I did stop at a nice cigar shop downtown and got some cigars with a set of dominoes.
 
DVD said:
The one time I drove through Des Moines it seemed nice for a Midwest city. Except the freeway was all jacked up with construction,
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Nah, it's pretty much jacked up all the time.
 
TOFB said:
Anywhere we are looking would not include 80, 235, or 35 with any reguarlity.
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I believe we came up 35 and went over to the Quad Cities on 80. My memory is there was construction and people in Iowa can't drive for sh!t.

Phoenix like any city has construction on the freeways, but I think we have enough freeways that it's not the one thing running through town. There are alternatives. Plus we don't drive like they do in Iowa.
 
DVD said:
I believe we came up 35 and went over to the Quad Cities on 80. My memory is there was construction and people in Iowa can't drive for sh!t.

Phoenix like any city has construction on the freeways, but I think we have enough freeways that it's not the one thing running through town. There are alternatives. Plus we don't drive like they do in Iowa.
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Iowa drivers, especially here in the QC, are indeed terrible
 
CAT REBELLION!

So when I picked up the kitty litter this week, they only had one tub of the kind I usually get and I'm trying to stock up since we're going on vacation next week. So I got a different kind of litter of the same brand.

The cats didn't like it.

How do I know the cats didn't like it? Well they pooped over the closet where their little boxes are. Everywhere but in the litter boxes. Ugh. Took me an hour to clean up the mess. The good news is, that closet is as clean as it's been in months.

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Controversial #hottake - Please do not tell your family and friends that you don't want a service when you die, the service isn't for you, it's for the people left behind to grieve together
 
luckless pedestrian said:
Controversial #hottake - Please do not tell your family and friends that you don't want a service when you die, the service isn't for you, it's for the people left behind to grieve together
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Truth. My kids can have a service, picnic or party. They get to decide.

I'm going to see if I can place my ashes in the family cemetery inside the Louisville Zoo just because I think it's a cool thing.
 
kms said:
Truth. My kids can have a service, picnic or party. They get to decide.

I'm going to see if I can place my ashes in the family cemetery inside the Louisville Zoo just because I think it's a cool thing.
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Yes, dictate what you want done with your remains but not the grieving process

I know someone who recently died in a freak car accident and her wish was no service - she was only 52 so has a lot of living relatives and friends and I just feel bad for them - like wtf would you do that to the people that were in your life and feel stunned by your sudden death
 
luckless pedestrian said:
Yes, dictate what you want done with your remains but not the grieving process

I know someone who recently died in a freak car accident and her wish was no service - she was only 52 so has a lot of living relatives and friends and I just feel bad for them - like wtf would you do that to the people that were in your life and feel stunned by your sudden death
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That's sad. They can still have a wake or repast to celebrate her life and recognize their loss. She really won't mind from Heaven.
 
Just speaking for myself, but I find the whole funeral industry macabre and exploitative. I was recently asked if I thought the deceased looked good in the casket. Really? I had to bite my tongue to keep from replying honestly that, no, they looked pretty damned lifeless to me. Please don't get me started on putting eyeglasses on the deceased. Seriously?

No service for me, thank you very much.
 
Gedunker said:
Just speaking for myself, but I find the whole funeral industry macabre and exploitative. I was recently asked if I thought the deceased looked good in the casket. Really? I had to bite my tongue to keep from replying honestly that, no, they looked pretty damned lifeless to me. Please don't get me started on putting eyeglasses on the deceased. Seriously?

No service for me, thank you very much.
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I have a few pretty specific instructions for mine, and one of them includes NOT LETTING the funeral home people comb my hair. You wonder if these folks have ever seen a living person before, combing everybody's bangs like their either one of the Little Rascals or Count effing Dracula.

Plus I want my hair as big as possible when I go to the Great Beyond Country.
 
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