Things to Think About

 It always seemed like a good idea to try to see things from the other person's point of view. They may be wrong, they may be right but something is surely lost when we dismiss what they are saying without consideration. It is, unfortunately, the basis of our political discourse at the moment.

If your are thinking of shoplifting and are considering a foray into the world of sex for money you might want to find this store. 

 This is extremely sexist but also funny.

 I wonder if there is a similar competition here in the south. The winner looks a bit older than I would have expected. Must have won based on experience and guile.

 I thought the Dali Lama said this one. It is close to the line from the Bible attributed to Jesus. I may not have gotten it exactly right but it was something along the lines of "Don't be a DICK!"

 I don't think I could handle that kind of power.

 Ronald McDonald should look into offering McVodka. It would have to make their food more tolerable.

 I haven't published anything too political in a while. It seems recently that stuff like this has been a problem with our political debate. You don't like something so you claim it is socialism. It works pretty well because most of the people have no idea what socialism means, or if something is in fact socialist. So when they hear that claim they decide whatever it is applied to is unamerican and they don't like it.

It is a sad but true depiction of what meth does to a user. 

TCT Part 2

Today we return to the land of camping. Maybe it is better to use the new name for it. Glamorous Camping or as the folks who practice it refer to it Glamping.

Lost in the 60's goes to show that in some ways hippies never grow up. They had a groovy display and a great laid back attitude. Some of the folks who came of age in the 60's were, are and always will be hippies. Some, much to my dismay, became asshole banker, stock broker, self centered, greedy yuppies. How could a generation who began with "All you need is love" morph into a group who proclaim "whoever dies with the most toys wins"? I think this couple got it right. Just go out and have a good time.

This car and camper were parked together to give the illusion that the car had, could or would tow the camper. I assure you that has never and will never happen. A quick look behind shows the blue beauty has no trailer hitch. While I don't care if you have multiple hobbies like TCT and car shows please don't try to deceive me. Having said that, this is a beautiful car. There is something about the sweeping line of the fenders and the long pointed hood that really draws me in. I am a little saddened by the modern wheels. Personally I would have preferred a vintage wheel and hubcap setup. While not perfect it does rate very high on my cool car scale.

I close with these three models for your viewing enjoyment. My final word on this is a bit of caution. Saturday morning we attended what I may refer to as America's worst flea market. I did talk to a local on Sunday who stated many of the vendors there go to yard sales in the morning, haul their purchases to the flea market and try to resell them for a profit. No wonder it was a shit hole. Anyway, we could have let that sour us on new experiences and we would have missed this amazing walk through camping history. We would have missed meeting so kind and friendly folks. We would have sat around complaining about there being nothing to do worth going to. So take a look at the weekend activities where you live. Take a chance and maybe you'll end up at the world's best flea market or the America's nastiest campground. Keep trying and somewhere along the way you will find a gem and meet some great folks.

TCT Part One

TCT stands for Tin Can Tourists. This past weekend Tin Can Tourists held a get together on Tybee Island at the Rivers End Campground. The group was formed in 1919 in Florida. Its objective was and is to unite fraternally all auto campers whose principles included clean camps, friendliness among campers, decent behavior and to secure plenty of clean wholesome entertainment for those in camp. The name of the group comes from their history of soldering a tin can to the radiator cap of their cars. The group now holds get togethers with vintage campers from the past. The campers on Tybee Island ranged from the late 1930's to the 1980's.

Now to be honest Carol and I have no interest in camping. I haven't camped since sometime in my early college years when we used to go out to O'Connor's pasture over on East Fremont Road and play capture the flag and drink beer. The best thing about this rally was the fact that it was about a quarter mile walk from our house. The weather was beautiful Saturday and we thought it would be a good day for a walk and to look at some really cool old campers.

The first trailer I want to show you is "Bertha". This beauty is a 1952 Royal Spartanette who makes her home in Athens, Georgia. There is something wonderful to me in the polished aluminum and curved lines of this lovely lady. 

This was probably my favorite for the show. The reason for me was simple. It is a late 1960' or early 1970's pickup truck pulling a camper of the same era. You can look at the pair and let your mind carry you back 40+ years to a simpler time in life. When the world was filled with hope and promise as seen through the eyes of your youth. Passing this setup on the  Interstate and thinking what a great life that must be. 

It is tough to miss the beautiful graceful curves of an Airstream. This model featured curved doors and gave the feeling of being a space station on wheels. 

This Airstream was not as polished as the previous one and lacked the curved doors. The owners had however made an interesting addition to the front and rear windows. 

This beauty is a 1960 Airstream Overlander. The stained glass windows seem like a great addition to this classic. I wish I had looked this good at age 54. 

This camper is a 1960's Ace Little King proudly owned by Wes, Kate and Zoey. If you look real close Zoey is the little dog sitting on Kate's lap. Zoey did not think much of old men with beards and tattoos. We stood around and talked to Wes and Kate for a few minutes. They are from Athens,Georgia and this was their first experience at Tin Can Tourists. They seem to be having a really good time relaxing and chatting with anyone who would stop. Since we live close we could hear the music later in the evening. They had a band over that way and I hope Wes and Kate had a good time. They seemed to be good salt of the earth southern folk. 

That is all for today. There will be more of the TCT rally tomorrow. 

T

Flea Market Flop

Carol and I watch HGTV and Good Morning America. Both those shows from time to time do pieces about finds at flea markets and turning them into something different and useful. The stuff they find is often interesting and unique. We decided today to head to the local flea market for the Savannah area. The ads said that Keller's Flea Market had over 400 vendors. You could get lunch there and wander among the booths of unique and varied items. Well folks it sure wasn't the flea market you see on television. If you could picture for the most part hundreds of booths of stuff from yard sales. Not your normal yard sales but the ones in a rundown trailer park. At a trailer with a cur dog restrained by a log chain. The dog as one and one half ears, three legs, one nut and a bad attitude. You look around to see table after table of crap you would have willingly and anxiously hauled to a dumpster on the other side of town so no one knew that shit belonged to you. On those rare occasions that you saw something worth buying it was priced as if it was made of gold and had been property of the Queen of England. No paperwork to verify prior ownership by her of course. I determined based on these photographs that the only person making money at this train wreck of a sale was Mr. Keller. I will give credit to his ability to take junk he found at this place and decorate various vehicles he displayed.

My buddy Mike may cringe a bit seeing classic cars altered like this. I think there is something to be said for taking an old ride and redoing with a bit of artistic license and having some fun with it. Making it yours. It appears the owner is into guns and perhaps preparing for the future seen in the Road Warrior series.

What the H- Bomb?

On the night of February 4-5, 1958 there was an interesting occurance in the Tybee Island area. A B-47 bomber left Homestead Air Force Base in Florida with a Mark 15 Mod 0 thermonuclear bomb on board. The Mark 15 Mod 0 was one of our earliest thermonuclear bombs and weighing in at 7,600 pounds. It was designed with a plutonium triggier to set off the uranium and hydrogen cores. The plutonium trigger was removable. At about 3:30 a.m. the bomber collided with an F86 fighter jet in midair. The fighter jet pilot was able to bail out and the fighter crashed. The bomber crew diverted to Hunter Army Airbase near Savannah and made three attempts to land. The military states the bomber was damaged and unable to reduce airspeed enough to ensure a safe landing. Permission was given to jettison the weapon to prevent a conventional explosion on landing at Hunter Army Airbase. The bomber flew back out to Wassaw Sound off Tybee beach and at an altitude of 7,200 feet released the bomb. The bomber then returned and landed safely at Hunter. The military spent the next two months searching a three square mile area off Tybee beach looking for the bomb. After that two month period the search was terminated and the bomb declared irretrievably lost.

The Pentagon states that the bomb that was lost did not contain the plutonium trigger and was never in any danger of exploding. The locals at the time tended to discount the allegation that it was a training exercise with an inoperative bomb. If that was the case why did the military spend two months and enormous manpower looking for a training device. Howard Nixon who was a crew chief in charge of loading nuclear weapons on planes at Hunter Army Airbase says he never loaded a nuclear bomb during that time period without installing the nuclear detonating device. Personally what happened at Hunter doesn't address any issue in this case since the flight originated at Homestead in Florida. It does give conspiracy people something to ponder.

One thing is clear, The military dropped a device in the water off Tybee beach that was either a nuclear bomb or a training device for nuclear bomb practice. What is the truth? It is out there in the muck most likely buried 20 feet or more down. The only thing that makes me wonder is the 2 months spent looking for it. If it wasn't important and likely dangerous why bother? So if you are bored come on down to Tybee. Rent a boat and bring a long metal rod to poke in the muck. Maybe you will find the long lost bomb. On a side note doesn't it make the likelihood of finding the lost Malasian Air flight even more unlikely to happen. The water here is in the humdreds of feet deep, where they are looking in the thousands. There was a general idea where this bomb went. We really only have guesses where that plane went down. Some things are forever a mystery.

William "Brooks" Porter

It has been too long since I have shared any information regarding the family of my biologic grandmother Dora Louise Porter Galloway. Today will be the brief story of her eldest brother William B. Porter who the family referred to as Brooks. Most of what I know about Brooks came from my interview with his sister Harriet. She indicated that Brooks was very intelligent, mouthy, a smart alec and jokester who she felt was slightly bipolar. It seems when you look at my biological family that is something that often comes up. Intelligence and mental illness. It has long been my position that genius and insanity are closely related. Perhaps the intelligence is driven crazy by all the idiots encountered in every day life. That is a subject for another day. Back to Brooks. He was born March 8, 1911 in Fulton County the first child and eldest son of Nicholas Albert Porter and Grace Mae Freeman Porter. As you have been advised in prior posts the family broke up in the mid 1930's due to Nicholas' alcoholism and Grace's unfaithfulness. Brooks escaped some of the effects of this family breakup due to his age. By the time that occurred hewas an adult. The closest record we have to that breakup is the 1930 United States Census which shows Brooks living with his parents in Putnam Township, Fulton County, Illinois. The children listed are William 19, Hilda 14, Harry 12, Margret 9, Geraldine 7, Harriet 5, David 3, and Kermit 9 months.

Brooks was a veteran of World War 2 serving in the Atlantic Theater. Military records indicate he enlisted on September 29, 1943 and was released from military service on May 12, 1944. Brooks returned to Fulton County and gained employment at Internation Harvester Plow Works in Canton. Where he worked until he retired in 1972. He married Genevieve Webster on July 17, 1945 in Macomb, Illinois. Harriet indicated that Brooks had contracted the mumps as a teenager and as a result was rendered sterile. He and Genevieve did not allow that to stop them from having children in their home. Over the course of their marriage they were foster parents to over 50 children. The announcement of their 50th wedding anniversary in 1995 indicates they had children which must have been through adoption. It is interesting given what happened with his parents that he chose to be a foster parent to children in need. Perhaps it was a result of seeing the devastating effects of family breakup on his younger siblings.

I miss this

There aren't many things I miss about "Ella noise". Well maybe I miss people being able to pronounce the name of the state correctly. Typical conversation goes like this.

"Where ya'all from?"
"Illinois."
"Where abouts in 'Ella noise'? "Chicago?"

Really folks, for fucks sake you just heard the name of the state correctly pronounced by a former resident. A mentally challenged parrot could get it right. We aren't all from Chicago. You explain where you are from and then have to play let me name a city nearby you might know. The good news is that Peoria usually works.

I miss the wildlife. Notice one word not two. I haven't seen a deer here. One raccoon. No howling coyotes. No groundhogs. There aren't thousands of crows shitting all over downtown Savannah. Lots of trees down there, seems like a natural match.

Really good thin crust pizza made by Chase, or Erin or one of the other great pizza artists at Budde's. Good, on tap craft beer. A bar where everyone knows your name.

Do I miss those things enough to get in the car and head north? Nope. This is where I live now. I go out in the morning to walk the dogs and hear the ocean waves rolling up on the shore. The warm nights and pleasant days. Haven't worn a coat since we moved here. It hangs lonely and neglected in our closet. I'll be back this summer to hear the howling coyotes, drink some great beers and enjoy the best pizza in Galesburg. When I've had my fill and my work there is done it will be back to the island life.

500

I am a lifelong St. Louis Cardinal fan. It's in my blood. It's true, when I cut myself I bleed red. At the same time I am a baseball fan. There are accomplishments by players that you just must acknowledge and appreciate. It is even more satisfying when the player is just a good human being. There were many in St. Louis who were hurt when Albert Pujols left to go play for the Angels. I was disappointed but understood. It wasn't for a little bit of money. It was 10's of millions of dollars. Albert Pujols also has a charitable foundation and his work outside of baseball is to be commended. He can only play for a certain number of years and the opportunity to play for more money was one he did and should have taken. I am and probably always will be a fan of Albert Pujols. It has as much to do with his abilities on the field as it does off. Last night he became the 26th player in major league history to hit 500 or more home runs. I could not be happier for him. It is a great accomplishment. IF, and that is a BIG IF, the fates allow he may well go on to be one of the top two or three home run hitters of all time. He may join the ranks of Ruth and Aaron. I refuse to acknowledge the steriod user in that group. Do I wish Albert Pujols was still wearing Cardinal red?  Of course. I will not allow the fact he plays for a different team to taint my joy at his accomplishments. He may well be one of the best players of his generation. So Albert, congratulations on this accomplishment. I hope in the future I see you have much more success and someday when you enter the Baseball Hall of Fame maybe you could wear a Cardinal cap with your Angels uniform.

Take Time to Smell the ??? Flower

We got a good amount of rain over the weekend on Tybee Island. Along with the rain came some strong winds. So I have spent a fair amount of time today outside picking up all the fallen sticks. It is one of those times I miss being back in BFE. There I could drive around the yard with the tractor stopping here and there to gather sticks and throw them in the loader bucket. Here it is just walking around the yard bending over picking up sticks and trying to fit them in a yard waste bag. No burn pile here. Send it to be turned into mulch or compost. Old, fat and bending over a bunch of times is not my idea of a good time. So you have to look for benefits where you can. The flowers pictured below are on the west side of the house. I'm not sure what they are but they appear to me to be in the lilly family. So when you get busy and are working hard take a minute to smell the flowers and admire their beauty.

Good Idea? IDK

When I first saw this I thought it was bullshit. You know, one of those internet hoaxes to mess with your head. It seems it is a real product.

Palcohol, powdered alcohol. I didn't think it was possible but them again we have koolaid and tang and all kinds of powdered drinks. It makes sense the technology makes it possible. Then the question becomes legal. Alcohol is highly regulated and taxed. It would have to be approved by some government agency. You would assume somewhere in the Treasury Department in the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms. It just seems so unlikely that this could or  would ever gain approval. It was approved by the federal government on April 8, 2104. The company that developed it raises some issues in how they predicted it will be used. "What's worse than going to a concert, sporting event, etc., and having to pay $10, $14, or $20 for a mixed drink with tax and tip. Are you kidding me? Take Palcohol into the venue and enjoy a mixed drink for a fraction of the cost.," It would seem relatively easy to do since there would be no bulky bottle or flask to be discovered by security. The liquid would be provided by the venue and bingo, instant drink/ There had been some online speculation about the possibility of snorting the product and the instant drunk from direct bloodstream intake through the nose. The company states that fillers have been added which would require you to inhale about one half cup of powder to get the equivalent of one mixed drink. Personally I have doubts that is true and I'm sure attempts will be made to test their claim. Palcohol when mixed as directed with 5 ounces of liquid is equal to one standard mixed drink. I'm sure folks will also be reducing the liquid to see how things go. There will be six flavors. V which is a powder made from vodka. R which is made from rum. Then the four cocktail versions: Cosmopolitan, Mojito, Powderita which tastes like a Margarita and Lemon Drop. They expect it to be on sale sometime in the fall in stores that allow alcohol sales. Who approved this product? The articles kept referring to the TTB. I haven't kept up on my alphabet soup of government agencies so I did some reading. It is the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau.

The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau is a part of the U.S. Department of the Treasury. Their mission is to collect Federal excise taxes on alcohol, tobacco, firearms and ammunition and to assure compliance with Federal tobacco permitting and alcohol permitting, labeling and marketing requirements to protect consumers. Never heard of this agency? I hadn't. It is part of one of my least favorite laws and a law I think has done more damage to individual freedom than any other in our history. It was established under the Homeland Security Act of 2002. It employs about 470 people nationwide with Headquarters in Washington, D.C. and a national revenue center in Cincinnati, Ohio.

So there you have it. Coming soon to store shelves powdered alcohol. Somehow I see a dark cloud of misuse and abuse on the horizon. I know there are those who may think it is a case of Chicken Little and the sky is not falling. For those who think that I present Murphy's Law. Whatever can go wrong will go wrong. My personal belief is that at times Murphy is too optimistic. Time will tell.

The Great Locomotive Chase

Georgia is full of Civil War history. It seems every time I take a look at some location in Georgia there is some interesting Civil War story associated with that place. The Great Locomotive Chase or Andrews' Raid took place on April 12, 1862. Union Army volunteers were led by civilian scout James J. Andrews. The plan developed by Andrews was to sneak south to Marietta, Georgia and commandeer a train, head north toward Chattanooga doing as much damage as possible to the Western and Atlantic Railway. The hope was to cut off Confederate supplies to Chattanooga so it could be encircled, bombarded and captured by Union Army forces. Andrews recruited 23 volunteers and dressed in civilian clothing they headed south in small parties to avoid suspicion. They were instructed to arrive in Marietta by April 10th. Heavy rain in the area caused a one day delay and all but two of the men arrived.

As a bit of history here at the time railway dining cars were not in common use. Trains had to stop on a regular basis for water and fuel so passenger meals were combined with those stops. The raid began on April 12th when the regular northbound passenger train pulled by the locomotive The General made its regular stop at Big Shanty (now Kennesaw) Georgia on the Atlanta to Chattanooga run. While the passengers and crew ate breakfast at the Lacy Hotel, Andrews and his raiders hijacked The General and the train's first car. They planned to take the train north destroying track, bridges and telegraph wires along the way. The train was taken at Big Shanty station because it had no telegraph office. William Allen Fuller the train's conductor and two other men chased the train on foot and later by handcar. It might seem silly to do so now but trains at the time averaged 15 miles per hour with brief bursts to 20 mph. The terrain north of Atlanta is hilly and the grades steep which reduced speed. The raiders also stopped to perform acts of sabotage which slowed their progress north. In the race north Fuller spotted the locomotive Yonah at Etowah and took it chasing the raiders north to Kingston. There Fuller took the locomotive Willian R. Smith and continued north to Adairsville. About two miles south of Adairsville the raiders had destroyed the tracks so Fuller resumed the chase on foot. Beyond the damaged section he commandeered the southbound locomotive Texas and running it backwards, tender first, he resumed the chase. The raiders were never able to get very far ahead of Fuller because they were poorly equipped to damage the tracks and the railroad was well constructed. They were only able, for all their efforts to do temporary and superficial damage. In addition they had stolen a regularly scheduled train on its route. They needed to keep its timetable. If they reached a siding ahead of schedule they had to wait for the southbound train to pass before they could continue north. The other problem confronting his movement north was the special movement of trains by the Confederate Army south. They had priority and Andrews had to wait for them to pass. The chase ended at Ringgold, Georgia about 18 miles south of Chattanooga when The General ran out of fuel. Andrews and his men abandoned the train and scattered. Andrews and all of his men were captured within two weeks.

Confederate forces charged the raiders with "acts of unlawful belligerency" and the civilians were charged as unlawful combatants and spies. All were tried in military courts. Andrews was found guilty and hanged in Atlanta on June 7th. On June 18th seven others who had been found guilty were also hanged in Atlanta. The remaining attempted escape and 8 were successful and managed to return to Union Army lines. The remaining 6 were held as prisoners of war and exchanged for Confederate prisoners on March 17, 1863. Secretary of War Edwin Stanton awarded some of the raiders the Medal of Honor with the first going to Private Jacob Wilson Parrott.

There is a monument in the Chattanooga National Cemetery dedicated to Andrews' Raiders. The top of it is a scale model of The General locomotive. The General is now located in the Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History in Kennesaw, Georgia and the Texas is on display at the Atlanta Cyclorama. As a final note the Walt Disney film The Great Locomotive Chase (1956) staring Fess Parker as Andrews is also based on this story.

One wonders what might have happened had it not been for the determined chase put on by Fuller. Would the Raiders have had enough time to do significant damage to the tracks, bridges and tunnels on their way north? It just shows you that the determined efforts of one individual can change the plans and efforts of many.

The Future

Yesterday was a look at the amazing technology of the past. A past that was in some ways dependant on the giant size of some things to get the job done. Today is a look at some very small things that have the potential to change our lives in ways we cannot understand at this time. If you wonder if that is true look back 50 years and think about how we listened to music. It was on 45 or 33 1/3 rpm vinyl discs. On a handheld Japanese made AM radio listening to Uncle Tommie on WLS. Then came eight track tapes, cassette tapes, walkmen, satellite radio, iPods, and I'm sure some things this 60 year old has never used or heard about. Times changed and we didn't see how something like music would be a part of our lives in the ways it is today.

We live in an increasingly wireless world yet if you looked under the desk I'm sitting at you would find that statement hard to believe. Wires running everywhere. In the 1980's cellular signals were 1G. It didn't matter to me then because I didn't have a cell phone. It seemed nice in my world at the time to leave work or the house and have some time away from the phone. Now I have no landline. We haven't had one for about 10 years. It strikes me as odd now when someone asks for my home phone number. I stopped correcting them some time ago and just give my cell phone number. In the 1990's we went to 2G and it was another 10 years to get to 3G. It took less time to get to 4G and most of us hear about 4G LTE without thinking about what LTE means. It is Long Term Evolution. The change to 5G is starting and it has taken less time than the change from 3G to 4G. If you look at it the change becomes exponential. 1 becomes 2, 2 becomes 4, 4 becomes 8. When graphed it looks like a hockey stick. A long gradual line that suddenly turns up. I wonder what all this speed means. The tech folks say 5G will be 1,000 times faster than 4G. If you want to look at that in terms that mean something in the real world this should be your eye opener. It takes 40 seconds to download a full length feature film onto a 4G device. It will take one second on a 5G device. Tech people wonder what we will do with 5G. It seems simple to me. We will become an increasingly impatient society. I can have a movie downloaded to my iPad in 1 second but I have to sit at this traffic light for 4 minutes. I have to wait at McDonald's for 3 minutes for my crappy hamburger. Come on folks lets get moving. We won't take time to slow down and smell the roses because life will move at the speed of light. The devices that bring that speed to us are going to be wonders as well.

Graphene. Have you ever heard of it? Chances are that you have made some. Probably as far back as grade school. When graphene is layered it forms graphite which is found in pencil lead. Graphene is a single layer of carbon atoms and when that happens things get wonderous. Graphene is purported to be 100 times stronger than steel. It can stretch by 20% which makes it pliable like rubber. It is resistant to water. This would allow the construction of flexible displays that do not have to be sealed against water. Graphene can be made thin enough to stretch over 28 football fields so devices could be as thin as a piece of paper. They could be folded and put in your pocket when not in use. Graphene and silicon have been combined to make a battery which lasted for a week on a single charge and took only 15 minutes to recharge. Graphene transistors are on the near horizon. The other big plus for graphene is that it is one of the cheapest materials around.

So there is our future. High speed wireless devices made with graphene. Fast, flexible, and light. If we could just go George Jetson and avoid that 3 minute wait at the traffic light. Where the hell is my flying car?

Big Boy

In the past I've commented about Big Boy on Facebook and most likely somewhere along the line in this blog. When I did I was talking about this Big Boy.

Making the usual jokes about making Big Boy my personal bitch. Today's blog is not about that Big Boy it is about this one.

The American Locomotive Company in Schenectady, New York built 25 of these monsterous locomotives for the Union Pacific Railroad between 1941 and 1944. They were the largest steam locomotives to work the mountains of the American West and most likely by almost any standard the largest in the world. How big are they? The Big Boys are 132 feet long including the tender which carried coal and water. Fully loaded they weigh 1.2 million pounds. They are 2 engines under one boiler. They have two sets of eight drive wheels which are powered by cylinders nearly two feet across. They are so large the two sets of drive wheels must pivot separately for the Big Boy to go around a curve. They were engineered to travel up to 80 miles per hour. The railroad never ran them that fast but the intent was to balance the locomotives so that at any speed the forces generated would not tear them apart. The Big Boys are classified as a 4-8-8-4 locomotive. It means they have a 4 wheel leading truck, two sets of 8 driving wheels and a 4 wheel trailing truck.

Why write about the Big Boy now?

Seventeen of the Big Boys were scrapped when they were taken out of service. The remaining eight survived and are on static display across the country. Union Pacific has reached an agreement to trade some other equipment to RailGiants Train Museum at the Los Angeles County Fairgounds for Big Boy 4014. That Big Boy was chosen because it has spent the last 50 years in the friendly climate of Southern California. It has been moved to a Union Pacific shop in Colton, California and a crew is preparing to tow it to Cheyenne, Wyoming where it is scheduled to arrive on May 8, 2014. Union Pacific maintains two other steam locomotives there and is going to restore Big Boy 4014 to working order. The intent is to have the work completed by 2019 for the 150th anniversary of the driving of the golden spike at the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad in Utah. At this time they cannot predict where the locomotive will travel because of the Big Boys weight and size they have to be sure bridges and tunnels can accomodate it.

I am quick to jump on my soap box and raise hell when companies ignore their workers, pay inadequate wages or just in general fail to do the right thing. Union Pacific could have easily just left things alone and allowed Big Boys to fade from our memories. They would be a curious giant relic of our past. History means more when you can see it come alive. It will be an amazing sight when the Big Boy fires up its boiler, produces steam and moves under its own power. It is a huge thumbs up from me to Union Pacific. My hope is to someday see this giant in person and in action.

Happy Birthday Mom

Today is my Mom's birthday. Yesterday I said that I didn't understand women. That is still true today but I do know this, you never reveal a woman's age. So you don't get to know how old Mom is. She has been kind enough to share old pictures with me and I have been working on scanning them into the computer to preserve them. So today I will share some pictures of the greatest lady I know.

This is Mom at between one and two years of age.

Again at age 7.

At age 16.

High school graduation.

Mom and Dad before they were married.



Mom and Dad's wedding day.

Mom with her three loving sons.

Mom with her brother Johnny and her father and mother.

Mom with her oldest granddaughter Tamara and her oldest great granddaughter Shekinah.

 Mom with one of the quilts she has made on the right.

Happy birthday Mom. I hope this one wasn't as embarassing as some of the others ones I've written that you have read.