Running Bear's July 2025 Coffee Shop

[Bruette]

Louis, it dawned on me who you remind me of. This guy:

One of my heroes, and a fellow Baltimorean!

I recently went to visit my longtime friend Willy in the nursing home. Life has delt hm some difficult circumstances, but for me he is the same old Willy, brutally honest.

Willy took one look at me and said, "You look like a bag bones" Willy has known me from my athletic peak when I weighed 325lbs. Back then I could run the 40-yard dash in under 5 seconds. To be honest, my ghetto high school's track was slightly downhill. But I was faster than the rest of the players on my football team.

In that photo I posted I weighed about 300lbs. At that time, I had already survived two catastrophic health problems. One health problem followed by another; I now weigh 234lbs. As usual, Willy was right, I look like a bag of bones.

Willy's brutal honesty is one of the many reasons he has always been one of my most trusted friends. He has been a brother to me.

Which reminds me of the time Willy, and I went to see Motorhead at the old Coast to Coast nightclub on the west side of Baltimore. I had gotten some "snow". We played pool and partied with Lemmy, Fast Eddie, and Phil the Filthy Animal.

The next day Willy said to me "If you ever get that shit again, don't call me! It's bad enough that you think you are superman. When you are snow-blind you are unbearable!"

I always took Willy's words seriously. I never used it again. He may have saved me from a fate that took many of our generation. Some were found dead, others simply disappeared. I only know of one who came through that addiction.

Thank God for brother from another mother, Willy.

I could share many stories from that night and others, but this is a family friendly forum. I may have already pushed the envelope.

 

[traiNscale]

good morning.
so Walthers did release a new thing!?! Collectible Cards... I dont really know what to think about.
i think they did it because atm its a pretty big hype on cards, and card openings. but iam not really shure if railroads will also connect to this hype of sports card openings.

well who knows.

 

[Kusojiji]

Geez, I thought the trading card craze had died off already.

 

[NorthBrit]

I could share many stories from that night and others, but this is a family friendly forum. I may have already pushed the envelope.

Louis. Write the stories down. Don't let them disappear in the mist of time.
They will then be read by future generations and not forgotten.

 

[NorthBrit]

Good morning all. A warm, cloudy day.
Dawn is having physiotherapy treatment now, then her nails done this afternoon by her beautician.

Flo. A large coffee please. I'll sit by the window and watch the world go by.

 

[troyphoto]

Well, howdy there internet peeps and those suddenly taking a six week vacation!

It's Troy again.

had one of those nights where the urge for bed hit at 8p instead of 9:30 as normal... I tried to make it to the normal bed time but was half-dozing listening to polytics talk on youtube. Even that didn't work to get me agitated enough to stay up. I was in bed at 9, and zonked by 9:30

So, of course my brain kicked in at 3:30 with the pee run. I've tried to doze in the recliner, but that didn't work. So I made coffee at 4:45 and had my cup of yogurt, and 1.5 slices of bacon.

Next Wednesday I go in for the annual insurance wellness exam. Part of that is taking my height, weight, and waist line. I already know that I'm "fluffy" - they don't need to figure the BMI to tell me that.

And part of the testing is I get a free poop test! Scrape the sample, dunk the prod into the saline solution, and mail it in. Last year's came back negative. I shook my head. Is that not poop? It's a poop test. Should be positive! It's poop! Not cheesecake.

Fortunately, my wife is a medical lab tech, and rolled her eyes at my joke. Negative is good. That means no colonoscopy, and no butt surgery.

So my next poop test is on the way here.

 

[Bill Tidler Jr.]

Good morning! It's 75°F and hazy.

Have a great Thursday!

 

[migalyto]

Good morning all!

Another hot day in store. Currently 77 hazy humid degrees out, heading up to 93F. I felt it instantly when I took the garbage/recycle
bins to the curb. According to my indoor weather station, the humidity level is at 97%. Might get some rain later tonight. All outdoor
activities will be postponed. I will hit the pool later.

My daughter has Freshman orientation today. The reality that the summer is running out is slowly sinking in.

No layout work yesterday, other than run a few trains. Hope to be able to get back down there tonight.

Not much else going on in my world, guess that's a plus!

Have a safe day everyone!

 

[TLOC]

Good morning. I took the cushions out for one of my chairs on the south deck at 6:05. Pulled up the weather app and it said thundershowers in my area at 6:15. What they didn’t say is about 2 minutes into reading the forecast and looking at the sky and me saying there no thunder storm there but that it couldn’t rain. It rained quick and heavy but I got the IPadPro and foot rest pillow in 1st. Then back out to get the seat cushions which are now in the garage drying out. A bit of towel drying of myself, the hair, a changed T-shirt, changed the shorts and all is good in the world and 15 minutes later, no more rain! I’m still inside though

Not a good night of sleep. The midnight to around 4 was good, not so afterwards. Out of bed for good around 5:50. Somewhere this afternoon I know there will be a nap.

Vancouver in the end of August maybe an issue. Seems with the passport renewals we missed a crucial thing on Terry’s. Her birthdate is a year off. We are heading to the Post Office for a passport fix at 11:15 but it’s doubtful she physically will have the corrected one in 3 weeks. The plane fare is not an issue but the AirBnB is 100% return if cancelled before 30 days, after that it’s 50% return. We are under 30 days for our 4 night stay there, so a loss of around $700. Or as I figure 2.25 diesel sound locomotives that Terry doesn’t appreciate.

The weather forecast for today is basically leave the car out on the driveway for the next few hours to get the car washed. After that hot and muggy which means another stay inside day

Enjoy the day

 

[kbkchooch]

Good morning gang!

66° and sunny, heading for a high of 88°.

Dinner with the wife, daughter, and son #4 at a place called Cava last night. The company was better than the meal. Think of it as a Mediterranean Chipotle. Daughter is enthralled with the place, I thought it was ok (I mean how bad can you mess up chicken, rice, and veggies) but I'd give it a C+ grade.

Pacemaker Doctor appointment this afternoon in B-more after lunch. Speaking of Doctors, we received the bill from the hospital for my surgeries, the bill was just over $69,000.00. Our insurance is paying all but $100.00 of it. Yeah!!!! The brass engines are safe!!

Time to put in a little time at work this morning,

BBL

 

[kbkchooch]

good morning.
so Walthers did release a new thing!?! Collectible Cards... I dont really know what to think about.
i think they did it because atm its a pretty big hype on cards, and card openings. but iam not really shure if railroads will also connect to this hype of sports card openings.

View attachment 233227

well who knows.

I think I'll pass on them.

 

[KriegslokBR52]

I just want to know why those windshields are so clean. Someone's been busy.

Maybe the earlier rain that day...or the owner is just teasing passing drivers.

 

[KriegslokBR52]

As motivated by Larry...

Finished it finally. Took a lot of breaks to keep from blowing a fuse. Now, need to document what I did as I have four more to go. I did socket the decoder so that it can be removed. Including the blue wire to power the lights and the stay alive caps.

Have it behind my J70. Imagine the red tail lamps flashing at 1/sec.
View attachment 233223
View attachment 233224

That passenger car doesn't look British, is that Japanese?

 

[santafewillie]

Good Morning All. Clear and 76° this morning. A warm start to another day where the NWS is forecasting 100°+; still haven't made it yet. Right or not, it will still be hot.

Yesterday was primarily household task day, with the dishwasher and laundry starting things up. Had to review with my wife for the third time, how to get the sound bar to work with her new TV! I don't even use either of them, but I know how to make them work together. Not sure how she manages to screw it up?
The evening get together with my two sisters and two remaining brothers (spouses included) last night was a blast. Sister from Ohio doesn't get down here too often, and although I see the other three siblings several times a year at family gatherings, we don't often get together without all of the second and third generations being around. A lot of reminiscing about the Catholic High School that we all five went to, as did my two SIL's; as well as many stories from our times growing up in the old neighborhood. My wife and my sister #1's husband took a lot of chiding because they grew up in households that DID NOT have a daily cocktail hour before dinner. I didn't get home until 10:00, rather late for me!

Wife and I didn't have time to discuss the weekly grocery trek, and whether we're going today or waiting until tomorrow, so there is no concrete plan for today. I also did not visit the train shed yesterday, so I don't know how the little plastic people have fared.

Dave - Burger Chef was one of our go to places during college. The dorm cafeterias only served 20 meals a week, so we were on our own on Sunday nights. They did have the best fish sandwiches of all of the fast food places in town. Plus, if you ordered the fish, it was cooled fresh and not taken out of the burger bin where it may have been for 30 or 40 minutes.

Also do not know what BBW is ...

Big Beautiful Woman
Todd - That's how we used our bread machine. Stop when done kneading and then shape the loaves how we wanted and move them to the oven. Didn't even know what an air fryer was back then.
Marlin/David - We get the heat, but our humidity usually disappears in early June.
Steve - Belated Happy Birthday.
Tom O - As I posted above, the humidity in the North Central Texas area goes away in early June. In the Austin area, it lasts until early August. In Hughie's area near Houston, it never goes away. It's just what you get used to.

Everyone have a great Thursday.

 

[Kusojiji]

That passenger car doesn't look British, is that Japanese?

Yes it is. I run whatever.

 

[Patrick]

Morning all,

Had Burger Chef in Michigan when I was a kid. Had a sidekick named Jeff if I recall correctly. I don't recall seeing one still open after we moved to Kansas in 1975.

Rain moving in for quick shower, and then, we get to 93° heat index over 100° expected.

So far so good on the knee. Kicked the narcotics, never took the oxy, and reducing the ibuprofen and acetaminophen.Brain starting to work again, just need to get the knee going. I have range from fully straight (0°) to 92°. Mostly ugly bruising from foot to thigh, but I'm told the other guy looks worse.

 

[Marlin39]

good morning.
so Walthers did release a new thing!?! Collectible Cards... I dont really know what to think about.
i think they did it because atm its a pretty big hype on cards, and card openings. but iam not really shure if railroads will also connect to this hype of sports card openings.

View attachment 233227

well who knows.

I kind of think they're trying to bring a younger generation in to the hobby. I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall in that marketing meeting.

 

[logandsawman]

A cool 62 and sunny, headed for 82.

Half inch of rain yesterday, felt like more. Girl from church gave us 80 gallons of hastas yesterday evening way too much, but wife would not say no. My reluctance is I will have to help with working up the ground and then hauling off the sod, then listen to the dismay as deer chew off the flowers.

I do love our moss roses, however, they grow in our gravel walkway, come up every year automatically, and the critters do not eat them. That's my kind of gardening...

Lots of time for the train room today, plus lawn mowing this afternoon.

Later, Dave LASM

 

[logandsawman]

Morning all,

Had Burger Chef in Michigan when I was a kid. Had a sidekick named Jeff if I recall correctly. I don't recall seeing one still open after we moved to Kansas in 1975.

Rain moving in for quick shower, and then, we get to 93° heat index over 100° expected.

So far so good on the knee. Kicked the narcotics, never took the oxy, and reducing the ibuprofen and acetaminophen.Brain starting to work again, just need to get the knee going. I have range from fully straight (0°) to 92°. Mostly ugly bruising from foot to thigh, but I'm told the other guy looks worse.

I believe Burger Chef got swallowed by Hardee's around 1980

 

[TLOC]

I’ve had Burger Chef in college era but haven’t noticed any in years

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

​

Subsidiary

Restaurant

1954

1996; 29 years ago

Sold to Hardee's

Hardee's

Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.

Hamburgers, fast food

General Foods (1968–1982) Imasco (1982–1996)

Burger Chef was an American fast-food restaurant chain. It began operating in 1954 in Indianapolis, Indiana, expanded throughout the United States, and at its peak in 1973 had 1,050 locations, including some in Canada.[1] The chain featured several signature items, such as the Big Shef and Super Shef hamburgers.
In 1982, the General Foods Corporation, owners of the Burger Chef trademark and name, divested itself of the restaurant chain, gradually selling to the owners of Hardee's.
The final restaurant to use Burger Chef's branding and signage closed in 1996.[2] Three former locations (in Cleveland, Tennessee, South Charleston, West Virginia, and Reidsville, North Carolina) continue to sell Burger Chef menu items, but no longer operate under that name


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I managed to zonk out in the cave after I posted this morning. I was playing a game on my IPadPro and it was on the floor when Terry checked to see if I was alright. I feel good now.
Terry got a text overnight from the AirBnB management company. They said they’d be willing to change the reservation to November, January or February for us with no loss of $$$ to us. I looked and the BlackHawks play 11/5 there so she will text back in a few minutes. I worry about weather going north in November but this might work. While the last week of October is usually our trip to see the son for 10 days or so he’s ok if we change. I will text him in a few…

Not my picture but I missed these overhead as they were passing bye heading to AirVenture in Oshkosh