Afternoon, everyone.
Rex, you certainly have reason to be a proud grandparent. It's guys like Barndon that allow me to sleep peacefully in my bed at night. I hope our political leaders do what the miltary leaders want and flood that place with troops so we can get the job done and get out of there. I'll keep him in my prayers.
You're right about the humidity. It feels like mid-July out there. My neighbor just mowed his lawn and lookd like you could get about four bales of hay from the clippings.
Things went from not growing at all to where you can't get them to stop. Indeed, it should cool off next week, at least down into the 70's and low 80's but the main thing is the air will be much drier and it will be a lot more comfortable.
Larry, you really started from ground zero with that deck. It's a real work of art and having storage underneath makes it even better.
Ken, the Canada Geese have started getting used to the heat and taking up year round residence. They are really aggressive, to the point of being dangerous. We were at a park near us a few weeks ago and a huge goose was chasing a two year old and biting her enough to draw blood. Her mom was screaming for someone to do something. Unfortunately, I didn't have a clear line of fire or he would have been a big pile of feathers. Pepper spray worked suprisingly well. The goose was still mad and running around but he couldn't see well enough to know what he was chasing. I think we should start a movement to have them all deported to Barry's lake.
Phillip, sometimes there's a big difference between having something and really being a part of what you have.
Jeffrey, I'm glad your flu is the mild variety. Somehow, chili dogs and flu just don't go together for me when I'm sick but I like pepper jack cheese. Go figure.
Barry, it's guys like you that make me happy not be working any longer. As far as your Route 66 question, it was the AT&SF from LA to Chicago with a few stretches of the SP GM&O, and Frisco. More railroads got mixed in after you left Oklahoma.
Sandy, I was up at Estes a few years ago about this time, when everyone was elk watching. One lady decided that stopping in the middle of the road was a pretty good way to get a picture. She caused five car pileup with some serious although non-critical injuries. Took about 10 minutes for the rangers to get on scene and about 20 miutes for an ambulance. It was worse that SF at rush hour. I had my paramedic kit with me so I treated the most seriously injured until they could get them transported. One of the rangers said they have crashes like this almost every day somewhere in Estes during elk season so watch out for that lady with the camera.
Bob, what the heck is an "elephant ear"? I assume somethng edible. Too bad about not having one your own cars in the show but I'll bet there's still be a few intersting ones to inspect. I hope the weather holds up for you. As to wives and grocery stores, I think it's genetic...or they just want someone to push the cart (or "buggy", as Mikey would point out as the correct term.) The first time we went shopping and I was told to get a buggy, I had no earthly idea what Dianna was talking about. The weird thing is the cart corrals say to return grocery carts here but buggy is the universal term down here.
Yesterday didn't go quite as planned. Went down to the basement to find my laptop sitting in a puddle of water
I thought maybe a pipe broke but it turns out my daughter took a shower with the curtain
outside the tub and the water dripped out onto the one spot in the floor which has a crack in the grout, and that crack happened to be directly over my laptop. There was nothing else even damp. She's practically blind without glasses and just didn't realize the shower curtain was outside the bathtub. I took it all apart, blew out the water, and am letting it air dry. If it doesn't power up by tomorrow, I'll declare it DOA. It's about seven years old and it was time for something to break anyway. I think I'll replace it with one of those small netbooks, since I only use it for internet access and programming decoders.
I got most of the work done on the layout that I have all tools and such out for so I can spend the day tomorrow cleaning the basement. I've even picked up some plastic boxes they had on sale at Wallywork for seven bucks that will each hold about 50 freight cars. Maybe I'll actually be able to find things when I'm done. I know I have a Southern observation car around here somewhere.
---many years ago a friend of mine and I went for a road trip through the midwest on route 66---there were a number of areas that came close to/crossed RR's when we drove through Ill., Missouri, Kansas--anyway that stretch---do you think that I would have some idea of who ran what through there?
---what I'm wondering is which RR's did go through there----and is anyone of them still doing?
