Running Bear's April 2022 Coffee Shop


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After much internal debate with myself, I copied and am pasting the text I wrote on that social media place that many of you don't belong to:

Life is a journey. If you are fortunate, you will meet someone special to share your journey, or at least a significant portion of it. I was very fortunate to have found someone to share over a quarter century with. Over mountains, through valleys, and quite a few unpaved roads, I wouldn't want to have shared the journey with anyone else. You were truly special, always putting others before you. I know in recent years, you'd been experiencing the trials of old age and poor health, but you still managed to keep a good attitude and positive outlook.
Marie Weston, I will miss you more than words can express.
 
Well it is Friday afternoon. I am still positive with the COVID and fighting it as best as I can. I feel ok just minor cough and congestion. Nothing in the lungs. Down 17 lbs at the moment. I am still staying active and doing walks to keep things going and pumping all kinds of fluids. OJ, Cranberry, water and ginger ale. Solid foods not so much just soups and such. Working from home of course. All is well there. There were 4 others at work that are dealing with COVID as well.

So on to trains. I ordered my first Scale Trains product and it came in today. Unfortunately they sent the wrong set. I am not mad but disappointed. The set is the water tender set for the UP train excursion. I got the pre-2006 and not the post-2006. I called them and talked to them. Then another person called me back with apologies for screwing up the order. We talked about it and I decided to keep it and ordered another set this time hopefully it will be the correct set. He asured me it would be correct this time. We shall see. $169.99 each set was not bad but times 2 the amount? I will post on the RPO thread for all to see. Well, I will take the hit as I do like the set and will be working on my next 2 steam locomotive acquisitions in the near future. I am looking aorund for a Challenger loco and a 844 loco for my roster. I will aslo be looking at the museum quality Big Blow turbine as well. All in due time.

Also, I scored 3 custom Union Pacific passenger cars by the infamous "Ducky" Rick Dakota Kempf. If you have not seeen any of this guys work it is incredible. I urge ya'll to check him out. I should have these in a few days to share on the RPO thread.

I will be heading out on the water tomorrow while keeping up with my social distance. No human contact where I am going. So safe I will be.
 
Tomo: They're new hires for other departments and not anyone I need to train. Not uncommon to have them at the beginning of a pay period, which starts Monday. I just have to set their computer and email accounts up for their first day. Takes about 5-6 minutes a person to do. I do get notices sometimes after the person starts, although they have gotten better about letting me know before hand. These ones I've known about since Monday. I usually wait so they don't get a bunch of emails that don't apply.
 
Greetings from Texas!

Having a great time here at the Gaylord and at the ASCA conference. The weather has been a tad on the cool side for Texans, but fabuluous for us Minnesotans. Yesterday afternoon at the pool - will probably head there again soon.

The Gaylord has Model trains in their huge Atrium!
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For you, Willie!
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Had lunch with wife wife's sister and BIL. He has been having a terrible time with Fatty Liver disease and cancer. Probably down 100-125 pounds from last time I saw him 7 years ago.

Treated myself to a dish we don't get much up north:
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Early flight home tomorrow morning. Parties last two night and again tonight. Need sleep - and fluids without alcohol in them!

Thanks for the read! Steve J
 
Afternoon All,

Started out doing things around the house then glued down the fake switch machines then re-arranged the mining village a different way. I'll let that percolate in my brain for a while. I also drilled holes in the bottom of the buildings that I wasn't smart enough to do when I was building them for lighting access.

Thank you for the photo likes yesterday.

On the subject of urine testing. In subs the type commander (in this case COMSUBPAC) would select a random last digit of a persons SSN (I believe it was by computer) usually twice a week. On a individual command a Chief (E7) or above was designated the collector. He (all male at that time) had to physically watch the pee leave the body of the testee and take charge of the sample until everyone with that number was tested. Fun times.

Jaz- Nice scenes and figures.

Hughie- Nice lighting effects.

Mike- I shut down my FB account 18 months ago and don't miss it at all. This and another MRR site is my social media.

Todd- That tower looks like a lot of MRR kits.

Marco- Welcome.

Guy- Your work looks good. I would suggest you wait on the ballasting until you do a lot of testing/operating. Problems can crop up when least expected. I have had to remove ballast a bunch of times because I rushed putting it in.

TomO- Very nice work on your scratch build, I love ginger cookies and bread.

Willie- Nice landscape photos. I haven't seen a longhorn in ages.

Steve- That really blows. To sever family ties because of politics is unbelievable to me. Our family is split about 50/50 but we get along.

I hope everyone has a good night.
 
Steve- That really blows. To sever family ties because of politics is unbelievable to me. Our family is split about 50/50 but we get along.

I 100% agree.

Family and friends and Politics. That anyone would sever family or friendship over politics is mindboggling. (I guess it says something about their politics that they would do such a thing). My brother is in-correct politically in my view (because he is "politically correct") but we still talk about things. Politics (and religion) is just off limits to discussion. Everything else is still open and I still go to visit him when I am in Arizona and we hang out etc. Same with my sister, and (some) of her family, who have strayed politically. We just avoid politics when together.

I had pure bred communist friends in HS. They were still friends -- we had lots of other common interests that brought us together. I have friends now from previous jobs or connections through technology conferences etc who are politically 100% opposed to me. But we have common interests -- music (for one of them), technology, etc. that maintains the friendship. I just avoid the politics.

Blood and friendship SHOULD be thicker than politics.
 
After much internal debate with myself, I copied and am pasting the text I wrote on that social media place that many of you don't belong to:

Life is a journey. If you are fortunate, you will meet someone special to share your journey, or at least a significant portion of it. I was very fortunate to have found someone to share over a quarter century with. Over mountains, through valleys, and quite a few unpaved roads, I wouldn't want to have shared the journey with anyone else. You were truly special, always putting others before you. I know in recent years, you'd been experiencing the trials of old age and poor health, but you still managed to keep a good attitude and positive outlook.
Marie Weston, I will miss you more than words can express.
Terry, I don't know the words to describe how beautiful, heartwarming, yet sorrowful that is.
 
I will add one thing to the politics and family issue...

it probably isn't the politics... it is ONE person.
Yes, the character of that person really mattered to the opposite side.

I've been all over the political spectrum recently - including on a campaign vs Mike Pence... (I'm from Indiana and not a Dem, nor a red-hat crew).

If anyone is having family issues and wants to reach out to me, I can try to explain where your left-leaning family and friends are upset. -- Hint, it's NOT just about politics...

And hopefully, make more sense than they are. Feel free to message me. The coffee shop isn't the place to have those types of discussions.
 
I too have had issues with our son who is now 39. He felt that we were too conservative for his extremely liberal views and disowned his mother and our #2 daughter, but not me or #1 daughter. I had a talk with him, and he admitted that his liberal FIL had also spoken with him, and he slowly and thankfully resumed the communication with everyone. Then his wife got pregnant and he came back to being a totally tolerable human again. Even though she shares his ultra liberal views, his wife never went off the edge like him. And we paid for his college education at the same university as daughter #2!!!o_O
 
Politics. Big big can of worms there.

My family background. My parents were civil rights liberals to the extreme and were wonderful parents who tried their best to show us everyone is created equal. Dad was a Dailey Democrat. In Chicago that meant anything Richard J Dailey said, was gossip. Such a wonderful, intelligent man and caring person who just saw his politics the Mayor’s way.

Me. Moved after college into the business world and saw the real world. I call myself a very conservative liberal. Love to play devils advocate just to raise the hackles of the extreme liberal wing of the family. I never had desires to enter politics.

My wife. Moved after college from liberated woman to extreme liberal politics. Still is extreme in her views but while we argue we still love each other. She worked her whole adult life in the Wisconsin Public education system as a teacher and then ad an administrator and has a PHD. I used to kid her that businesses unlike school systems were not run from the public supply closet.

My sister who is 4 years older then me. Similar to mom and dad, liberal, always has been and will be till death. Has a PhD and like Terry has always worked in the public education sector but she was in Illinois. She like Terry hates me when I say, the public supply closet line

The little brother who is 4 years younger then me. Graduated college in 1977 and went right to work for Jimmy Carter. The truest radically extreme liberal member of the family ever, for about 12 years. Hated DC and moved to Wisconsin working for a bank. Realized he could not make great money as a banker or liberal politician. Purchased a failing business his bank was closing due to unpaid loans. Turned himself into a what he calls a conservative, but really is a right wingnut but is now a 1%er. We recently thought he was moving back towards the center but truly believes the many conspiracies which moved him to the far right again

The daughter is extreme liberal. Personally because of her politics her MBA is a waste of money. Now heads up a non-profit after making a killing selling her 5 child care centers about 4 years ago to a national chain. Also does consultant work in corporate Child Care. Her hubby is anti political anything but finally voted for the 1st time in the past presidential election. He will not talk or listen to politics. He is a business consultant with a MBA that specializes in what we used to call HR. I can’t think of the corrected PC title as I type this.

The son. Liberal but is starting to lean towards the middle. I believe as his business empire grows he will start leaning more right but hope he remembers how he was raised. He has issues with both sides of the political aisle in Texas

My sister’s daughter, my niece. Graduated from NYU as an actor. Has taught acting classes since graduation in 2005. Makes good money finally, writing for Hollywood! She watched the planes hit the towers from her dorm room 1 week after she got to NY as a freshman. Believes wealth is a curse but had no issue when she was given free rent in a brownstone a many years ago by her aunt and uncle (us). Now lives in that great liberal enclave on the western coast of the USA. Believes both her uncles and her mom should leave 75% of their wealth to charity after the family is taken care of. She was not born with a silver spoon but sometimes sure acts like it. She cannot believe either of her uncles are not total liberals. Grandma was what happened to her sons?

Why mention all this? Well we love each other and respect each other’s views and we also know how to bite our tongues, barely though at times. Only at Christmas gathering are politics and religion not allowed in the conversations. That has been the rule since the 1970’s when dad “said not at Christmas”.

I know a few families that split because of politics since 2008. I know 2 families that split because of religion. I believe love is what binds families together but jealousy and pettiness are the big family breaker. But, politics have become so radical I can see the breakups from that!

SteveJ., as a man of the cloth not communicating with the 2 sons must be really painful. Best to you on resolving that.

As to blood being thicker then water. Tell that to Cain and Abel.

Peace to all
TomO
 
After much internal debate with myself, I copied and am pasting the text I wrote on that social media place that many of you don't belong to:

Life is a journey. If you are fortunate, you will meet someone special to share your journey, or at least a significant portion of it. I was very fortunate to have found someone to share over a quarter century with. Over mountains, through valleys, and quite a few unpaved roads, I wouldn't want to have shared the journey with anyone else. You were truly special, always putting others before you. I know in recent years, you'd been experiencing the trials of old age and poor health, but you still managed to keep a good attitude and positive outlook.
Marie Weston, I will miss you more than words can express.
I read this before anything else this morning. I must have opened fb before my gmail for some reason. Anyhow I sat stunned and in awe of the words. It was so sad yet beautifully worded, there should have been no debate over posting it here.
 
I am invited over here by "troyphoto". As I said in my introduction, I am a busdriver. And this is one of my favourites. Pitty, that there are so few N-scale busses.

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Welcome, you have not
Those pregnant ladies might be large, but don't call them names!
oi. I resembled that remark…smiles
I had to diet after both pregnancies,the first one I was addicted……to sausage and bacon French bread rolls, and work sold them cheaply, i ballooned, With extra brown sauce or tomato sauce and fried onions…shame it made me fat at the time I loved it. Can’t say if one was shoved under my nose nowadays I wouldn’t be tempted, Sagan put that bap away.
 
Hello, again!

Yeah! I'm afraid my wife is a fish head eating wonder-women. Some of the fish she buys at the Asian grocery look like tropical aquarium fish to me. But, she grew up in an Asian country grass shack by the ocean. I don't suppose her family wasted much, because they didn't have much.
All negatives aside, this is the only women I've known that I could ever trust, no matter what. That quality is most important to me, and a main reason why I love her so much. It's not my place to be rude over what a person likes to eat.
I would not be caught dead eating a fish head…..oh yeah but I would sardines, my mum cooked them whole in batter. I suppose it is just the scale. There is a whole lot worst stuff to do than eat a fish head. now finding a chicken foot or head in a stew creeps me out, and I once ate the most gorgeous paprika homemade sausage to be to;d they were made of pig brain, until that moment they were absolutely fantastic tasting, but could I bring myself to eat another, no,nope,no way. but I bet a lot of the sausages I do eat have stuff in them I do not want to know about…..and I don’t eat raw or bloody meat either, ok well I break that rule too raw fish Japanese style is totally yummy.
I bet most people here consume sonething sone one else would gag at.
 
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