Nancy wrote --

He was not happy and peeled rubber when he left. No idea whatever happened after that.

Did you at least notice if he turned left at the corner....? ;)

Nope, my attention was another violator.
The Circle is for pick up and drop off only, (with driver in car and 15 minute max) no parking, no stopping, etc. People seemed to think the "no parking" signs didn't mean them since they were dropping off a book in
the library, doing something in the admin building or the student centre.
Some thought it was parking for a nearby classroom building.
There would be 10-12 or more cars all lined up there and like shooting
fish in a barrel.
That is a very narrow passageway and two small cars could go around
each other but a van for example, would be stuck being unable to go
around a parked car.

Rarely have had to use it, though one year I needed two tows to get my

car home when a hose fell off the radiator

While not a mechanic I carried screwdrivers, pliers, and other small
tools in case I needed to change a belt or hose. (Back in the day when
one could actually do that).

I got it home, my own mechanic put it on the lift, and a wheel fell off
into his hands

Yipes!

I avoid toll roads as much as possible

You and me both.
WV opened an ultra modern, up-to-date, safe three lane turnpike in
1958. Hasn't changed much over the years, through a fourth lane was
eventually added when folks found all the others had four lanes. :)
The toll was to pay for the road, but its still there.

I just left that morning and got behind a state road truck, on the
only hill in MS

Is that Mississippi (MS) or Missouri (MO)?

Mississippi.

a complete new exhaust system

That was suspect from the start

My error. I meant clutch assembly. No idea where exhaust system came from...
Joe
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Quoting Joe Mackey to Nancy Backus on 03-05-19 07:36 <=-

He was not happy and peeled rubber when he left. No idea whatever happened after that.

Did you at least notice if he turned left at the corner....? ;)

Nope, my attention was another violator.

Ah.

The Circle is for pick up and drop off only, (with driver in car and
15 minute max) no parking, no stopping, etc. People seemed to think
the "no parking" signs didn't mean them since they were dropping off a book in the library, doing something in the admin building or the
student centre. Some thought it was parking for a nearby classroom building. There would be 10-12 or more cars all lined up there and
like shooting fish in a barrel.

You probably got so you recognized repeat offenders, too... Did you time
the drivers sitting there legitimately to make sure they didn't exceed
the max...?

That is a very narrow passageway and two small cars could go around
each other but a van for example, would be stuck being unable to go
around a parked car.

That would make a bottleneck to be sure...

Rarely have had to use it, though one year I needed two tows to get my
car home when a hose fell off the radiator

While not a mechanic I carried screwdrivers, pliers, and other
small tools in case I needed to change a belt or hose. (Back in the
day when one could actually do that).

Not sure if I'd've been able to do it with the car in question, it was
already getting out of the range of driveway mechanic's ability...

I got it home, my own mechanic put it on the lift, and a wheel fell off
into his hands

Yipes!

Yup... that was a shocker... :) At that point, I was quite glad that my
car had rode so much of the trip on the flatbed... :) Cretainly a providence... ;)

I avoid toll roads as much as possible

You and me both.
WV opened an ultra modern, up-to-date, safe three lane turnpike in
1958. Hasn't changed much over the years, through a fourth lane was eventually added when folks found all the others had four lanes. :)

Is that three (and then 4) lanes each direction....?

The toll was to pay for the road, but its still there.

Yeah, the NYS thruway toll was billed the same way... and not only is it
still there, it keep s getting higher... But I'm told that the tolls are
now going towards the road's repair...

I just left that morning and got behind a state road truck, on the
only hill in MS

Is that Mississippi (MS) or Missouri (MO)?

Mississippi.

Ah, ok... I could visualize it either way and wanted to be sure... some
people seem to always confuse the two abbreviations...

a complete new exhaust system

That was suspect from the start

My error. I meant clutch assembly. No idea where exhaust system
came from...

You were perhaps exhausted....? <G> Clutch assembly makes more
sense... though, as it turned out, still not a necessary repair... :)

ttyl neb

... Ancient Civilization Accurately Predicts When Their Calendar Will End.

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Nancy wrote --

You probably got so you recognized repeat offenders, too...

Oh, absolutely.
I had a list of regulars in my head and knew everything important
about the vehicle.
One time I was on a smallish, dead end lot that had a lot of regulars.
It was raining that morning and I sat in the cart writing tickets. I
knew the plate numbers and all that.
While sitting there I noticed this student looking out a window
watching. He waved over a couple of of friends and watched as I wrote
about 15-20 tickets, then tore them off, put them in the envelopes and
walked along putting those under the wipers.
There were times people would ask what car was in violation and I
would point out a few and tell them the information on each. They would
go and check and I was right. They couldn't believe it. I told them
after a while I had the cars memorised.
We in parking used to joke violators seemed to have look outs.
We would land in a no parking area and start to write tickets and
people could come out of nowhere, jump in their cars and take off and in
a matter a minute or two they were all gone. I just stood there watching
them.

Did you time the drivers sitting there legitimately to make sure they

didn't exceed the max...?

There were a few I had move along since they exceeded the 15 minutes.
One time I noted a car there at one time and later I was back in that
area. The woman at first swore up and down she had only been there a
couple of minutes. I pointed out it was more like a couple of hours.
She admitted that then said she was waiting for her daughter who was in
class. I told she had to wait somewhere else and had her move.
The next day she was back. She saw me and drove off.
This happened a couple more times until she finally disappeared
altogether. :)

That is a very narrow passageway and two small cars could go

around each other but a van for example, would be stuck being unable to
go around a parked car.

That would make a bottleneck to be sure...

I used to joke I would love to see a fire truck or ambulance push those
cars out of the way and they would find out why they couldn't park there.

eventually added when folks found all the others had four lanes. :)

Is that three (and then 4) lanes each direction....?

Nope, it was simply a third lane added to a two lane road.

The toll was to pay for the road, but its still there.

Yeah, the NYS thruway toll was billed the same way... and not only is

it still there, it keep s getting higher... But I'm told that the tolls
are now going towards the road's repair...

WV recently raised the toll, again, by several dollars.
I drove it once, and seemed like every other mile was a toll booth.
One paid not only paid to use the road when they got on, but again
every so often along the way.

Mississippi.

Ah, ok... I could visualize it either way and wanted to be sure... some people seem to always confuse the two abbreviations...

Its easy to get some confused, like AK and AR.

My error. I meant clutch assembly. No idea where exhaust system
came from...

You were perhaps exhausted....? <G>

I was. :)

... Ancient Civilization Accurately Predicts When Their Calendar Will End.

I remember when there was all that talk about the world to end in 2012
due to the Mayan calendar. I joked the calendar I had ended on 31
December 2012 as well, but had another that started on 1 January 2013.
Joe
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Joe,

The next day she was back. She saw me and drove off.
This happened a couple more times until she finally disappeared
altogether. :)

LOL!!

WV recently raised the toll, again, by several dollars.
I drove it once, and seemed like every other mile was a toll booth.
One paid not only paid to use the road when they got on, but again
every so often along the way.

They did that on several toll roads in Florida.

Its easy to get some confused, like AK and AR.

I resemble the latter. <G>

Daryl

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Daryl wrote --

Its easy to get some confused, like AK and AR.

I resemble the latter. <G>

When I first started working in parking in January of '02, the
supervisor I had was fussy. If you were to work till 4 p.m. you stayed
right there till 4, not leaving at 3.59 although the last minutes were
spent just standing around.
Anyway, one time she jumped me about having the wrong state plate on a
car, saying it was, oh say, AK instead of AR. After she ranted several
minutes I pointed out the wrong plate was one of the tickets she had
written, had her number not mine. She gave me "the look" then said to be
more careful and nothing more was said about it. :)
She also did this a couple of more times about a vanity plate being misspelled and I pointed out those were also her tickets. Nothing more
was said about that either. :)
She left a couple of years later and I took over in February, '05.
Joe
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Joe,

She left a couple of years later and I took over in February, '05.

No doubt you were glad to see her go. <G>

Daryl

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Daryl wrote --

She left a couple of years later and I took over in February, '05.

No doubt you were glad to see her go. <G>

Along with everyone else in parking and the police department.
She wasn't a bad person, she just had a moody personality and
dominating in some regards. I liked her as a person, but as a super, not
so much.
Joe


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Joe,

She left a couple of years later and I took over in February, '05. JM>>

No doubt you were glad to see her go. <G>

Along with everyone else in parking and the police department.

They probably threw a party after her departure. <LOL>

She wasn't a bad person, she just had a moody personality and
dominating in some regards. I liked her as a person, but as a super, not JM>so much.

Personality wise...not super duper, but super pooper. :P

Daryl
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Daryl wrote --

They probably threw a party after her departure. <LOL>

Well, lets just said there was no weeping, wailing and gnashing of
teeth when she left. :)
If there was any that person as very stoic about it.
Joe
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Joe,

They probably threw a party after her departure. <LOL>

Well, lets just said there was no weeping, wailing and gnashing of
teeth when she left. :)

Sort of like the pantomime that the late Red Skelton did. It was on
that huge oil derrick in Paris that never came in (the Eiffel Tower
<G>). The old man wanted to take the elevator to the top, but his wife
wanted to take the stairs instead...so, you can imagine what ensued. :P

Well, toward the end of the pantomime, he's looking for his wife, and
doesn't see her. Then he discovers that she "fell over the railing to
her death". At first, the old man is "weeping"....then he starts
laughing uncontrollably. <G>

If there was any that person as very stoic about it.

Wow.

Daryl

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Daryl wrote --

Sort of like the pantomime that the late Red Skelton did. It was on
that huge oil derrick in Paris that never came in (the Eiffel Tower
<G>). The old man wanted to take the elevator to the top, but his wife
wanted to take the stairs instead...so, you can imagine what ensued. :P

When I first visited DC, a USO bus tour while I was in the Navy, a
friend and I visited the Washington Memorial and I ran up the stairs. My friend was a couple of flights behind me huffing and puffing, and
muttering things. :)
I did stop for him several times and read the graffiti on the walls,
things like "I was here 1901" etc.
Those stairs are now closed off and everyone has to take the elevator.
It was a day trip and tried to see as much as possible in those few
hours before the bus ride back to Norfolk.
Been there several times again over the last nearly 50 years.
Joe

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Joe,

When I first visited DC, a USO bus tour while I was in the Navy, a
friend and I visited the Washington Memorial and I ran up the stairs. My JM>friend was a couple of flights behind me huffing and puffing, and JM>muttering things. :)

Both under his breath and otherwise. <G>

I did stop for him several times and read the graffiti on the walls,
things like "I was here 1901" etc.

Kilroy lives!! <G>

Those stairs are now closed off and everyone has to take the elevator.

If the elevator is broken, I guess they close the monument for the
day.

It was a day trip and tried to see as much as possible in those few
hours before the bus ride back to Norfolk.
Been there several times again over the last nearly 50 years.

It was the trip on the way back for the "second funeral" for my late wife...there was one in Little Rock for local friends, but the second
one was where her parents lived, in Apopka, Florida, outside of Orlando.
I had traveled via Amtrak, and I had a long layover while I was there.
So, I took a bus tour of the city, including Arlington National Cemetery
(I had never been there).

As it turned out, they were doing a wreath laying ceremony at The Tomb
Of The Unknown Soldier that morning...now, that will tug at your heart strings...I was nearly bawling. My late father served in the U.S.
Submarine Service during World War II, and was in the U.S. Navy (and the
Naval Reserve) for many years until he retired as an E-9 Master Chief Quartermaster in 1985. He's buried in a local veterans cemetery, and
when my Mom dies (it may not be too much longer, sad to say...as she's
not eating, and losing weight fast), she'll be buried "on top of him".

Also on that train trip, in the Dining Car for one of the meals, there
was a young couple (the loneliness bug really stung and bit hard), but
she had a funny T-shirt on. It showed a very fat dachshund, with his
belly down to the ground, and the caption "Dachshund Is On Diet. Please
Do Not Feed". My thought was one of my late wife's favorite
sayings..."What Was Your First Clue??!!" :P

Daryl

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Quoting Joe Mackey to Nancy Backus on 03-11-19 08:04 <=-

You probably got so you recognized repeat offenders, too...

Oh, absolutely.
I had a list of regulars in my head and knew everything important
about the vehicle.
One time I was on a smallish, dead end lot that had a lot of
regulars. It was raining that morning and I sat in the cart writing tickets. I knew the plate numbers and all that.
While sitting there I noticed this student looking out a window
watching. He waved over a couple of friends and watched as I wrote
about 15-20 tickets, then tore them off, put them in the envelopes and walked along putting those under the wipers.

Must have been a fairly impressive sight... ;) Hopefully none of the
observers were also violators... :) But a good deterrent lesson, all
the same.... And much more pleasant for you to not have to stand in the
rain getting all the info off the cars.... ;)

There were times people would ask what car was in violation and I
would point out a few and tell them the information on each. They
would go and check and I was right. They couldn't believe it. I told them after a while I had the cars memorised.

You write it enough times, and you would memorise it... that being one
of the key tricks to memorising things... ;)

We in parking used to joke violators seemed to have look outs.
We would land in a no parking area and start to write tickets and
people could come out of nowhere, jump in their cars and take off and
in a matter a minute or two they were all gone. I just stood there watching them.

Quite likely they did... ;) The next best thing to writing tickets is
to not have to write them because the car isn't there.... of course, the
real hope is that they wouldn't park there in the first place... <G>

Did you time the drivers sitting there legitimately to make sure they
didn't exceed the max...?

There were a few I had move along since they exceeded the 15
minutes. One time I noted a car there at one time and later I was
back in that area. The woman at first swore up and down she had only
been there a couple of minutes. I pointed out it was more like a
couple of hours. She admitted that then said she was waiting for her daughter who was in class. I told she had to wait somewhere else and
had her move. The next day she was back. She saw me and drove off.
This happened a couple more times until she finally disappeared altogether. :)

Nothing like knowing the law will be enforced to encourage compliance
with it... :) I guess she finally found a more legal place to sit and
wait for her daughter to get out of class.... :)

That is a very narrow passageway and two small cars could go
around each other but a van for example, would be stuck being
unable to go around a parked car.

That would make a bottleneck to be sure...

I used to joke I would love to see a fire truck or ambulance push
those cars out of the way and they would find out why they couldn't
park there.

As a friend of mine used to say, you were only half kidding... ;)

eventually added when folks found all the others had four lanes. :)

Is that three (and then 4) lanes each direction....?

Nope, it was simply a third lane added to a two lane road.

I should have known... after all it was WV.... <G>

The toll was to pay for the road, but its still there.

Yeah, the NYS thruway toll was billed the same way... and not only is
it still there, it keeps getting higher... But I'm told that the
tolls are now going towards the road's repair...

WV recently raised the toll, again, by several dollars.
I drove it once, and seemed like every other mile was a toll booth.
One paid not only paid to use the road when they got on, but again
every so often along the way.

The New Jersey Turnpike is that way, along with some others... those I
avoid whenever possible.... The NYS Thruway just has a ticket booth
when you get on, and a toll station at each exit when you get off....

Mississippi.

Ah, ok... I could visualize it either way and wanted to be sure...
some people seem to always confuse the two abbreviations...

Its easy to get some confused, like AK and AR.

Yup that's another one... Alaska and Arkansas, respectively... I got
them straight when I started to have to send mail regularly to a couple
of Alaska addresses... :)

... Ancient Civilization Accurately Predicts When Their Calendar Will End.

I remember when there was all that talk about the world to end in
2012 due to the Mayan calendar. I joked the calendar I had ended on 31 December 2012 as well, but had another that started on 1 January 2013.

I think the tagline dates from about that time... :) Had the Mayan civilization continued to the date their calendar ended, I'm sure they
would have extended their calculations out farther, too.... ;)

ttyl neb

... Dry Ice: A Carbon Dioxymoron

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Daryl wrote --

Those stairs are now closed off and everyone has to take the elevator.

If the elevator is broken, I guess they close the monument for the
day.

I imagine so.

I had traveled via Amtrak, and I had a long layover while I was there.

In the '70s I criss-crossed the country several times (train, bus and
car) and when I had a layover in Chicago I always went on a walking tour
after everything was transferred from one station to the other.
(Generally one suitcase I carried and put in a locker). I've never been
one to just sit and wait if I have the time.

So, I took a bus tour of the city, including Arlington National Cemetery

That first trip was via bus and all I remember is the guide saying "On
your left is something, on your right is something else" as we rode past.
We did get an hour (a whole hour!) to visit the Smithsonian!

As it turned out, they were doing a wreath laying ceremony at The

Tomb Of The Unknown Soldier

Arlington was another "long" stop, about a half hour, we saw the Tomb
as well as JFK's grave.
My brother (from my fathers first marriage) has a memorial there as
well. He was in the Coast Guard on a supply ship that was loaded with
ammo in the harbour at Guadalcanal (Jan., '45) when it blew up. Only
three or four people who were ashore at the time survived. The memorial
has everyone's name engraved on it.
The memorial that got me was the Vietnam Memorial.
I was doing ok at first but looking around at the items others had left
such as personal items, a lighter, a pack of cigarette, a medal... I
started losing it and had to leave.
And I wasn't the only one...
Joe
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Hi, Joe...

Always a pleasure to chat with the moderator (yeah, I'm sucking up again...but one has to learn to crawl before they can grovel <LOL)>.

If the elevator is broken, I guess they close the monument for the
day.

I imagine so.

If they charge an admittance fee, they lose all that money...but
Washington has the art of losing money down to a science. :P

In the '70s I criss-crossed the country several times (train, bus and
car) and when I had a layover in Chicago I always went on a walking tour JM>after everything was transferred from one station to the other. JM>(Generally one suitcase I carried and put in a locker). I've never been JM>one to just sit and wait if I have the time.

Nowadays, if I travel, I prefer the train...and with the Sleeping Car
on Amtrak, I can stay in the private lounge for Sleeping Car passengers.
The bus trip from Little Rock to Huntsville (Alabama) about killed me. I
nearly couldn't stand up to get off the bus (never mind my pants wanted
to fall in protest <G>), and my legs were killing me from being cramped.
To me, a bus is a sardine can on wheels.

But, unless a major financial miracle occurs, my travel days are over.

I thought I was being summoned for jury service this morning, but it
was just an applicant qualification questionnaire...reminded me of
bubbling in those SAT and ACT tests years ago.

I did serve on a jury over 20 years ago in Pulaski County, and enjoyed it...especially considering I got the day off from work <G>. However, I
only got $20 by comparison, so I ended up on the short end of the stick, financially.

This one, if I had to serve, would receive both mileage and service compensation. However, driving long distances is hard for me...and I
noted on the form that besides being fully disabled (having to use a
walker wherever I go), I'm caregiver and Power Of Attorney for my
elderly Mom, who's in a nursing home.

I will also note I had a criminal justice course in college nearly 40
years ago...although I didn't think to mention that the last time I
served. Yet, they basically want you to be a dumb @$$...because if
you're in law enforcement, or an attorney, you know too much.

I did get out of one trial during voir dire, with the concept of
"accomplice liability". The scenario involved a bank robbery, and when
they asked if the guy who was at home (he had planned the robbery, but
didn't have the gun or drive the getaway car), the attorney protested "OBJECTION!! MAY WE APPROACH THE BENCH??!!". Moments later, "We'd like
to have Mr. Stout excused". I got up, thanked them, and walked out...and
soon as I got outside, I was chuckling...but I knew I was right. <G>

They also told me when I last served to "Park at a parking meter, but
do NOT put any money in it. You may have a dozen tickets on your
windshield when you get back...but no worries. Just sign the ticket (not
the envelope), and bring them to us the next time you serve (we served
one day a week, required to serve 8 times in 6 months...I was one of the
first to call when the jury line opened the day before, as I wanted to
get it out of the way). We will validate them, and send them to the
Police Department". They added that "If you get arrested and jailed for non-payment of parking fines, we will take care of all the expense, etc.
to clear your name. You're getting $20 a DAY...the lawyers are getting
$1000 an HOUR". :P

And, being on Wednesday, it was tornado siren test day. So, if the
trial was still ongoing at noon, when the siren test started, everything STOPPED until the test was over.

That first trip was via bus and all I remember is the guide saying "On
your left is something, on your right is something else" as we rode past. JM>We did get an hour (a whole hour!) to visit the Smithsonian!

Never got a chance to see that...except in a TV program or online. :P

Arlington was another "long" stop, about a half hour, we saw the Tomb
as well as JFK's grave.

I don't remember seeing JFK's grave...isn't it the one with "The
Eternal Flame" at it??

My brother (from my fathers first marriage) has a memorial there as
well. He was in the Coast Guard on a supply ship that was loaded with JM>ammo in the harbour at Guadalcanal (Jan., '45) when it blew up. Only JM>three or four people who were ashore at the time survived. The memorial JM>has everyone's name engraved on it.

Wow.

The memorial that got me was the Vietnam Memorial.

I've only seen pictures of it.

I was doing ok at first but looking around at the items others had left
such as personal items, a lighter, a pack of cigarette, a medal... I JM>started losing it and had to leave.

And I wasn't the only one...

I imagine not.

A fellow ham radio operator is a Vietnam Veteran...many of his buddies
"never came home". :(

Daryl

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Daryl wrote --

Always a pleasure to chat with the moderator (yeah, I'm sucking up

Never hurts. :)

If they charge an admittance fee, they lose all that money

I don't recall.
If there were any admission charges it was included in the tour. I
know we had those "hello, my name is..." stickers on our shirts. I don't
think it read that but something about the tour. Hard to remember little details like that nearly 50 years on.

Nowadays, if I travel, I prefer the train...and with the Sleeping Car
on Amtrak,

I had a sleeper only once. I was coming back from Colorado and
splurged. I was tired of trying to sleep in a day coach.

The bus trip from Little Rock to Huntsville (Alabama) about killed me.

I hated that bus trip. The people were nice enough, but racing along, bouncing around. We would pull into some roadside diner with 50+ people rushing the place. By the time we placed our order and served the driver
was calling us back out. I always thought it was like a tourist trap
where the same food was served several times over. People would grab
whatever they could carry, stuff things in their pockets, running back to
the bus.
I was to be on an express from Cincinnati but didn't hear the bus being called (so many voices and noises in that place that echoed all over) and
got stuck on a local that stopped at every wide spot in the road. And sometimes along side the road for a fare.
I had a connecting bus in Walsenburg, CO (a wide spot on the road) but
had five house layover and tried sleeping in the empty depot on a wooden bench.
I think it was that trip I had a sleeper from Trinidad, CO (where my
mother was living and visiting) to Chicago on the Santa Fe.
Also on that trip there was was brake problem and we were sidelined in
Kansas at night for hours, which I slept through, which got us late into Chicago. The Santa Fe was all apologetic and put us in a hotel with free
meals since the NY Central left without I forget how many of us.
This was while I was on Christmas break in college when I did most of
my cross country travel.

To me, a bus is a sardine can on wheels.

People complain about planes now, not like the old days, etc.
At one time a plane trip was an experience few could afford, now they
are like buses with wings as I call them.
I have no desire to fly anyway. Not just the inconvenience of having
to do a strip tease to be checked, long waits stuck in the airport far
from anything, but I was taught from an early age to keep my feet on the ground.
Besides, if a train leaves the tracks it doesn't have as far to fall to
the ground as an airplane has. :)

But, unless a major financial miracle occurs, my travel days are over.

This will be my last major trip as well I imagine.

I did serve on a jury over 20 years ago

I was on a jury about 15 years ago.
When we were being interviewed (do we know the people involved, etc) we
were asked different questions by both attorny's. I wanted to serve.
I would raise my hand from time to time in response to something or
other. It got to the point where the judge, whom I knew socially, asked
with a sigh, "Yes Mr Mackey,what is it this time?"
It was only a one day "he said/she said" case and we found for the
defendant.

only got $20 by comparison

I forget how much we were paid, but it was more than I was making in
parking by a couple of dollars. :)
I served on a mock jury one time about a year before the real one.
It was held by a sleazy defence attorney, who later became an equally
sleazy state delegate. And is still around.
In gist this fella was suing a coal company when he got on a bulldozer
type machine which was covered in mud, fell off and hurt himself. I was
of the opinion it was his own fault. I was not popular with that attorney.
I saw him several times after that at football games when working
security for the sky boxes.

This one, if I had to serve, would receive both mileage and service compensation.

I didn't have that since the court house is walking distance to my
apartment.
The jurors here are to park in a nearby garage with a notice on their dashboards and get a ticketing pass.

I don't remember seeing JFK's grave...isn't it the one with "The
Eternal Flame" at it??

Yep.

The memorial that got me was the Vietnam Memorial.

I've only seen pictures of it.

I got really lucky on that trip.
I was in DC for some meetings and drove in from Alexandria. (I was
coming back afterward, my last stop). It was a Sunday and I found a
parking space right at the foot of the Capitol! Couldn't have asked for
a better spot. And it was free!
I wandered around the mall trying to find the place and asked people
who had no idea. Finally I asked a group of Asians who were speaking in
some Asian tongue, and one member pointed out where it was. Its sort of
hidden behind a knoll.

A fellow ham radio operator is a Vietnam Veteran...many of his

buddies "never came home". :(

I was never "in country" but knew guys who were and never came back.
Joe
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Joe,

Always a pleasure to chat with the moderator (yeah, I'm sucking up

Never hurts. :)

A little insurance is best. :P

If there were any admission charges it was included in the tour. I
know we had those "hello, my name is..." stickers on our shirts. I don't JM>think it read that but something about the tour. Hard to remember little JM>details like that nearly 50 years on.

Hard for us now to remember our own names without badges. :P

I had a sleeper only once. I was coming back from Colorado and
splurged. I was tired of trying to sleep in a day coach.

Those are so noisy. With the Sleeper, you have your privacy...and with
the exception of The Silver Star, all your dining car meals are included
in the price. On The SIlver Star, you can get the privacy, but without
all the extras.

I hated that bus trip. The people were nice enough, but racing along,
bouncing around. We would pull into some roadside diner with 50+ people JM>rushing the place. By the time we placed our order and served the driver JM>was calling us back out. I always thought it was like a tourist trap JM>where the same food was served several times over. People would grab JM>whatever they could carry, stuff things in their pockets, running back to JM>the bus.

It was that way when Amtrak had to "bus-titute" (substitute buses) for
where the trains would normally run, but things like derailments,
washouts, etc. had shut down the line.

I was to be on an express from Cincinnati but didn't hear the bus being
called (so many voices and noises in that place that echoed all over) and JM>got stuck on a local that stopped at every wide spot in the road. And JM>sometimes along side the road for a fare.

Didn't know there were so many Podunk USA locales. :P

I had a connecting bus in Walsenburg, CO (a wide spot on the road) but
had five house layover and tried sleeping in the empty depot on a wooden JM>bench.

Those are so uncomfortable...even if just sitting in them.

Also on that trip there was was brake problem and we were sidelined in
Kansas at night for hours, which I slept through, which got us late into JM>Chicago. The Santa Fe was all apologetic and put us in a hotel with free JM>meals since the NY Central left without I forget how many of us.

One year, when I missed the connection from The Texas Eagle to The
Empire Builder (the schedule doesn't allow for such a connection now),
Amtrak put me up in a nice hotel that night, and I headed out for Los
Angeles the next day on The Southwest Chief. I ended up getting into Los Angeles 12 hours earlier than originally scheduled.

At one time a plane trip was an experience few could afford, now they
are like buses with wings as I call them.

Exactly. Or as a cartoon character dog (I don't think it was Muttley) lamented "If we were meant to fly, we would've been born with airline
tickets". :P

I have no desire to fly anyway. Not just the inconvenience of having
to do a strip tease to be checked, long waits stuck in the airport far JM>from anything, but I was taught from an early age to keep my feet on the JM>ground.

My mother-in-law got subjected to one of those searches, and she was
making all these orgiastic noises. I about fell out laughing talking to
her. When I told my wife (her daughter) about it, she was stunned. The
next day, she told her Mom "I hear you've been getting kinky with
airport security!!". She asked "Who told you?? Daryl??"...and she
replied "Who else??!!". I was over in the corner laughing...and she spit
at me like a mad cat...the same reaction I got when I forgot to put the
toilet seat back down. :P

Besides, if a train leaves the tracks it doesn't have as far to fall to
the ground as an airplane has. :)

It's not the fall that kills you...it's the sudden stop at the end
<G>. Plus, at 30,000 feet, you may be closer to Heaven...but if
something happens, you don't have a prayer. :P

This will be my last major trip as well I imagine.

When you come down to visit (I let the cat out of the bag now),
that west Little Rock Pizza Hut lunch buffet is Monday through Friday
only. Golden Corral in North Little Rock has a buffet all day, with
breakfast also on weekends. Yet, with the buffet, I feel I get my
money's worth...and if you leave there hungry, it's your own fault. My
brother and a friend got banned from one restaurant for devouring much
of the buffet food. :P

I was on a jury about 15 years ago.

Both my brother and I got an application information questionnaire for
the U.S. District Court yesterday. I filled both out, and mailed them
back in...as they had to have them back within 10 days, or we'd be
summoned to appear before the judge. But, both of us have numerous
health issues (in that regard, he's in worse shape than I am), and he
was obstinate about NOT serving. Yet, he doesn't want to be bothered
with the responsibility of so many things...but you can't "party all the
time".

When we were being interviewed (do we know the people involved, etc) we
were asked different questions by both attorny's. I wanted to serve.

I enjoyed it. My late father would've loved to serve, but he was never summoned. I could just see him as a jury foreman. <G> If they had known
I had taken an "Introduction To Criminal Justice" course in college,
they might have had me excused.

They get you on the rolls from voter registration and drivers license
data. But, if you don't vote on issues, you don't have the right to
complain on the outcomes.

I would raise my hand from time to time in response to something or
other. It got to the point where the judge, whom I knew socially, asked JM>with a sigh, "Yes Mr Mackey,what is it this time?"

At least he didn't ask "What are you in for??". <G>

It was only a one day "he said/she said" case and we found for the
defendant.

One word against another. But, if one side doesn't do their homework,
as it were, the other side is going to win. It's just like a sports team preparing for a game against someone else.

I forget how much we were paid, but it was more than I was making in
parking by a couple of dollars. :)

I wasn't that lucky.

I served on a mock jury one time about a year before the real one.
It was held by a sleazy defence attorney, who later became an equally
sleazy state delegate. And is still around.

Lawyers are the larval form of politicians. <G>

In gist this fella was suing a coal company when he got on a bulldozer
type machine which was covered in mud, fell off and hurt himself. I was JM>of the opinion it was his own fault. I was not popular with that attorney.

I guess not. People refuse to accept responsibility for their
actions...even if they're "as guilty as sin".

I saw him several times after that at football games when working
security for the sky boxes.

I'll bet you both stayed clear of each other.

I didn't have that since the court house is walking distance to my
apartment.

I don't have that luxury. Plus, if I have to serve outside of Little
Rock, that'd be a hardship, as it's hard for me to drive or ride long distances. The exception is in the Sleeping Car compartment, where I can stretch my legs out, so they don't cramp up on me.

The jurors here are to park in a nearby garage with a notice on their
dashboards and get a ticketing pass.

We might have had a deal that we put up that noted JUROR, but I don't remember.

I was in DC for some meetings and drove in from Alexandria. (I was
coming back afterward, my last stop). It was a Sunday and I found a JM>parking space right at the foot of the Capitol! Couldn't have asked for JM>a better spot. And it was free!

Sweet!!

I was never "in country" but knew guys who were and never came back.

As the tagline notes, "War is a series of catastrophes that results
in a victory". As my late barber noted "That makes as much sense as tits
on a boar hog". :P

Daryl

===
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Quoting Joe Mackey to Daryl Stout on 03-19-19 07:39 <=-

In the '70s I criss-crossed the country several times (train, bus
and car) and when I had a layover in Chicago I always went on a walking tour after everything was transferred from one station to the other. (Generally one suitcase I carried and put in a locker). I've never
been one to just sit and wait if I have the time.

Besides, why miss the opportunity to see more of what's there, when
there's built-in time to do it.... :)

So, I took a bus tour of the city, including Arlington National Cemetery

That first trip was via bus and all I remember is the guide saying
"On your left is something, on your right is something else" as we rode past. We did get an hour (a whole hour!) to visit the Smithsonian!

Oh, wow!! Of course, the Smithsonian could easily take days.... ;)

As it turned out, they were doing a wreath laying ceremony at The
Tomb Of The Unknown Soldier

Arlington was another "long" stop, about a half hour, we saw the
Tomb as well as JFK's grave.
My brother (from my fathers first marriage) has a memorial there as
well. He was in the Coast Guard on a supply ship that was loaded with ammo in the harbour at Guadalcanal (Jan., '45) when it blew up. Only three or four people who were ashore at the time survived. The
memorial has everyone's name engraved on it.

Good that you were able to see that... :)

The memorial that got me was the Vietnam Memorial.
I was doing ok at first but looking around at the items others had
left such as personal items, a lighter, a pack of cigarette, a medal...
I started losing it and had to leave.
And I wasn't the only one...

Yeah... the personal items make it hit home harder.... Some day, I'd
like to see that one, or the traveling replica, and look for some names
of friends/classmates that I know served there... and don't know what
might have happened to them...... whether they survived, or not....

ttyl neb

... This message has more secret ingredients than balogna.

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Nancy wrote --

We did get an hour (a whole hour!) to visit the Smithsonian!

Oh, wow!! Of course, the Smithsonian could easily take days.... ;)

The only thing I remember seeing was Lindberg's plane, the Hope
Diamond, and some moon rocks (which had just been put on display).

Yeah... the personal items make it hit home harder.... Some day, I'd
like to see that one, or the traveling replica,

I understand people leave things at the traveling one as well.
I read once where all the items are collected on a daily basis and
stored somewhere.

look for some names of friends/classmates that I know served there

The names are not in alpha order. I believe they are listed in chronological as the person was killed.
Joe
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Quoting Joe Mackey to Nancy Backus on 03-23-19 05:58 <=-

We did get an hour (a whole hour!) to visit the Smithsonian!

Oh, wow!! Of course, the Smithsonian could easily take days.... ;)

The only thing I remember seeing was Lindberg's plane, the Hope
Diamond, and some moon rocks (which had just been put on display).

About all you would be able to view in only an hour... ;) But those are impressive enough... :)

Yeah... the personal items make it hit home harder.... Some day, I'd
like to see that one, or the traveling replica,

I understand people leave things at the traveling one as well.
I read once where all the items are collected on a daily basis and
stored somewhere.

Is there a museum in the works, maybe....?

look for some names of friends/classmates that I know served there

The names are not in alpha order. I believe they are listed in chronological as the person was killed.

I guess that would make sense... That would make it harder to find a
particular person, though....

ttyl neb

... A geological specimen in motion accumulates no deposits of lichen.

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Nancy wrote --

I understand people leave things at the traveling one as well.
I read once where all the items are collected on a daily basis and stored somewhere.

Is there a museum in the works, maybe....?

Possibly.
I think, don't quote me, they are merely catalogued and stored somewhere.

The names are not in alpha order. I believe they are listed in chronological as the person was killed.

I guess that would make sense... That would make it harder to find a particular person, though....

I am sure the parks service has some sort of listing such as the name,
etc then something like "on panel X, mid way down" or the like.
That could be online now.
When I was last there c. mid '90s, the internet was more of a curiosity
than anything else.
Joe
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Quoting Joe Mackey to Nancy Backus on 03-29-19 06:49 <=-

I understand people leave things at the traveling one as well.
I read once where all the items are collected on a daily basis and stored somewhere.

Is there a museum in the works, maybe....?

Possibly.
I think, don't quote me, they are merely catalogued and stored
somewhere.

Either would have some sense to it... Still a bit of trouble to
maintain... but a mark of respect... :)

The names are not in alpha order. I believe they are listed in chronological as the person was killed.

I guess that would make sense... That would make it harder to find a particular person, though....

I am sure the parks service has some sort of listing such as the
name, etc then something like "on panel X, mid way down" or the like.
That could be online now.

That could be helpful.... :)

When I was last there c. mid '90s, the internet was more of a
curiosity than anything else.

And now look at it... <G>

ttyl neb

... 128000 bytes found in 32 lost chains. Convert to taglines (Y/N)?

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Nancy wrote --

When I was last there c. mid '90s, the internet was more of a
curiosity than anything else.

And now look at it... <G>

I think of the development of the Net and radio are similar in some ways.
In the early days where you had a few users and people would send
messages asking "I live in such-a-such distant country, is anyone getting this?" and the feeling of connectedness when one got a message from a
distant country, to the early days of wireless and people using large
sets with lots of dials and switches, headsets, scanning the waves
searching for a signal. Then exclaiming they had gotten a distant signal
and listen to some amateur speaking or playing an instrument and being
amazed at being able to do that.
Then the '90s, and still in DOS, things got a bit better just as radio
went from a rich man hobby to a huge box on a table, still with headphones.
Then Win 95 and suddenly the headphones were gone and a horn speakers arrived.
Then one improvement over another and winding up with what we have now
and everyone having one, just as everyone depended on radio by the 1940s
for news, entertainment, etc.
Radio, and computers, have gone in a short time from a novelty to a necessity.
Joe
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Joe,

Radio, and computers, have gone in a short time from a novelty to a
necessity.

You could say that also about things like washers, dryers, microwave
ovens, and especially toilets...the latter sure beats the outhouses and
slop jars. :P

Daryl

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Quoting Joe Mackey to Nancy Backus on 04-03-19 05:28 <=-

When I was last there c. mid '90s, the internet was more of a
curiosity than anything else.

And now look at it... <G>

I think of the development of the Net and radio are similar in some
ways. In the early days where you had a few users and people would
send messages asking "I live in such-a-such distant country, is anyone getting this?" and the feeling of connectedness when one got a message from a distant country, to the early days of wireless and people using large sets with lots of dials and switches, headsets, scanning the
waves searching for a signal. Then exclaiming they had gotten a distant signal and listen to some amateur speaking or playing an instrument and being amazed at being able to do that.

I suppose there are some similarities there... ;) There was a certain
aspect of that just with the connection of message nets, like Fidonet,
with the echoes that went all around the world... :)

Then the '90s, and still in DOS, things got a bit better just as
radio went from a rich man hobby to a huge box on a table, still with headphones. Then Win 95 and suddenly the headphones were gone and a
horn speakers arrived.

Dunno.... I'm still in DOS, and it certainly seems to me that the
"radio" doesn't need headphones anymore.... :)

Then one improvement over another and winding up with what we have
now and everyone having one, just as everyone depended on radio by the 1940s for news, entertainment, etc.
Radio, and computers, have gone in a short time from a novelty to a necessity.

And many people would drop the radio image and use a TV instead... but,
I, for one, still am using a radio instead of TV as well... ;) And
somewhere along the line, you shifted your analogy from the Internet to computers themselves... ;)

ttyl neb

... The easiest job in the world is to introduce complications-Lincs sayng

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