Victoria M
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What on earth do you do for a living? When are you gonna retire? I thought you said you were so old nurses had to use butterfly IVs?
Tank birthday, 47+ years
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I think he worked on an oil rig but like me, he is a relic and a Geezer.
To me, retiring was my biggest goal and I always felt that if you died before you retired, you lost. If you managed to retire, you won. I won and all of my time is totally mine now. I can go out on my boat with friends, build Steam Punk, go out to breakfast, lunch and dinner or make a grilled cheese sandwich seven days a week. I can wake up at 4:00 am or 4:00pm. I have so many hobbies that there isn't enough hours in the day and I wish I didn't have to sleep because that is a waste of time and not fun. It cuts into my day as work did.
I can spent time in a quiet lagoon
Or go to Bora Bora with my main squeeze and best friend of 45 years.
I can go out to a seaside raw bar and slurp oysters.
Or take Greta for a bike ride.
If I keep living, I keep winning.
To me, retiring was my biggest goal and I always felt that if you died before you retired, you lost. If you managed to retire, you won. I won and all of my time is totally mine now. I can go out on my boat with friends, build Steam Punk, go out to breakfast, lunch and dinner or make a grilled cheese sandwich seven days a week. I can wake up at 4:00 am or 4:00pm. I have so many hobbies that there isn't enough hours in the day and I wish I didn't have to sleep because that is a waste of time and not fun. It cuts into my day as work did.
I can spent time in a quiet lagoon
Or go to Bora Bora with my main squeeze and best friend of 45 years.
I can go out to a seaside raw bar and slurp oysters.
Or take Greta for a bike ride.
If I keep living, I keep winning.
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Paul B
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This reminds me of a story. Everything reminds me of a story and 10 years ago I may have posted this on here. When I was about 14 or so I lived in Queens New York. At that time it was mostly empty lots and I used to walk through them to go to school. (Now Queens is more crowded than midtown Manhattan) There was even a horse stable next to my school. Now to find a horse, you have to drive 80 miles out on Long Island to where I live now or look at the ingredients on a dog food can.
Anyway, in those days I had a load of friends and none of us was Sissy Snowflakes and we spent all of our time outside. In one of those lots there was a defunct greenhouse that must have went out of business many years before and all the windows were broken. Of course we helped break the windows.
Next to that thing we decided to build an underground fort. That's what kids did then as there was only 7 channels on TV, all in black and white and TVs had tubes so the picture wasn't very good and there was nothing on for kids.
So we got shovels. Shovels are something your Grand Father can tell you about. They had a wooden handle and a metal blade. There was no USB port, they had no batteries, and they didn't do anything on there own. You actually had to pick it up to use it. (they are heavy so you may have to get an old person to help you)
You put the metal part in the dirt (dirt is stuff outside your front door. You may see some if you have to travel to your mail box to get your new I Phone 15. It's the brown stuff that trees are stuck in. )
You put your foot on the metal part of the shovel and push down, then you pick up the dirt. If you do this long enough you make a hole and you may even get some muscles, (Those are bumps on your arms, girls used to like boys with muscles and didn't much like Girly men)
After a couple of weeks we had our hole dug big enough to put on the roof. That was made from logs, which come from trees. Then we put on plywood (made from flat trees) Then you cover that with dirt.
When it was done we went inside. This was very cool.
In the fort we
made these rubber band guns in there that shot pieces of Linoleum (Google it)
Then it rained. So we had a swimming hole, a very muddy swimming hole. Eventually we got tired of that and we grew up a little and got cars, girlfriends and forgot about that underground fort. When we didn't have girlfriends we spent virtually all of our time looking for girls. That's what men did then. When we found a girl that we wanted to go out with, we had to speak to her with our mouth and actually look at her, face to face. I know this is a hard concept to understand but our thumbs were big and muscular so even if we had a phone we wouldn't go on "So many Fish", "E Harmony", "Match . Com" or "Who wants to Date a Nerdy looking guy . com" like so many people have to do today.
If you told a girl she looked nice, she didn't get mad and think you were a Perv. She blushed and said Thank You. And didn't think you were a sexist. WE didn't even have the term sexist.
When you took the girl out, you opened the door for her and you paid for the meal. The entire meal, tip and all. If you were not a Girly Man you knew how to talk to the girl and compliment her and not talk about yourself and show her your muscles or your I Phone.
Back to the fort. Eventually
trees grew on top of it and it looked like the rest of the lot. I was working at a Gulf Gas station across the street from there and they were going to build a shopping center there with an A&P. We had no Supermarkets then (or Supermodels that I can remember). All we had was a deli so our Moms were thrilled.
Anyway, one day I was watching the bulldozer. (real Men love to watch bulldozers because they are big heavy machines that make a lot of noise and break things)
The bulldozer was leveling the land and knocking all the trees down.
As the driver backed up, I noticed that the blade of the thing went straight up in the air and the machine disappeared.
It was then that I remembered the underground fort.
I ran over there to see if the driver was OK as he was climbing out of the hole. Not in a real good mood and bulldozer drivers were Real Men with Tattoos and all. He was fine but he had to come to the gas station I was working in to make a phone call. Cell phones were not invented and if they were, they would have been made out of wood like our TVs were.
They had to bring in a big crane to get that bulldozer out. That was real cool to watch.
Anyway, in those days I had a load of friends and none of us was Sissy Snowflakes and we spent all of our time outside. In one of those lots there was a defunct greenhouse that must have went out of business many years before and all the windows were broken. Of course we helped break the windows.
Next to that thing we decided to build an underground fort. That's what kids did then as there was only 7 channels on TV, all in black and white and TVs had tubes so the picture wasn't very good and there was nothing on for kids.
So we got shovels. Shovels are something your Grand Father can tell you about. They had a wooden handle and a metal blade. There was no USB port, they had no batteries, and they didn't do anything on there own. You actually had to pick it up to use it. (they are heavy so you may have to get an old person to help you)
You put the metal part in the dirt (dirt is stuff outside your front door. You may see some if you have to travel to your mail box to get your new I Phone 15. It's the brown stuff that trees are stuck in. )
You put your foot on the metal part of the shovel and push down, then you pick up the dirt. If you do this long enough you make a hole and you may even get some muscles, (Those are bumps on your arms, girls used to like boys with muscles and didn't much like Girly men)
After a couple of weeks we had our hole dug big enough to put on the roof. That was made from logs, which come from trees. Then we put on plywood (made from flat trees
) Then you cover that with dirt.When it was done we went inside. This was very cool.
In the fort we
made these rubber band guns in there that shot pieces of Linoleum (Google it)
Then it rained. So we had a swimming hole, a very muddy swimming hole. Eventually we got tired of that and we grew up a little and got cars, girlfriends and forgot about that underground fort. When we didn't have girlfriends we spent virtually all of our time looking for girls. That's what men did then. When we found a girl that we wanted to go out with, we had to speak to her with our mouth and actually look at her, face to face. I know this is a hard concept to understand but our thumbs were big and muscular so even if we had a phone we wouldn't go on "So many Fish", "E Harmony", "Match . Com" or "Who wants to Date a Nerdy looking guy . com" like so many people have to do today.
If you told a girl she looked nice, she didn't get mad and think you were a Perv. She blushed and said Thank You. And didn't think you were a sexist. WE didn't even have the term sexist.
When you took the girl out, you opened the door for her and you paid for the meal. The entire meal, tip and all. If you were not a Girly Man you knew how to talk to the girl and compliment her and not talk about yourself and show her your muscles or your I Phone.
Back to the fort. Eventually
trees grew on top of it and it looked like the rest of the lot. I was working at a Gulf Gas station across the street from there and they were going to build a shopping center there with an A&P. We had no Supermarkets then (or Supermodels that I can remember). All we had was a deli so our Moms were thrilled.
Anyway, one day I was watching the bulldozer. (real Men love to watch bulldozers because they are big heavy machines that make a lot of noise and break things)
The bulldozer was leveling the land and knocking all the trees down.
As the driver backed up, I noticed that the blade of the thing went straight up in the air and the machine disappeared.
It was then that I remembered the underground fort.
I ran over there to see if the driver was OK as he was climbing out of the hole. Not in a real good mood and bulldozer drivers were Real Men with Tattoos and all. He was fine but he had to come to the gas station I was working in to make a phone call. Cell phones were not invented and if they were, they would have been made out of wood like our TVs were.
They had to bring in a big crane to get that bulldozer out. That was real cool to watch.
Venzzla
Active Member
Loved the story and so true. Kids these days don't understand what real work was or get out in the great outdoors like we did. I remember going miles away from home playing in the woods and skating on an ice pond (that I shoudln't have). I used to have to be called in for dinner when it was already dark outside. Point is there is things that are truly lost with kids these days because of the media and other things. It's a real shame.
Lol, loved the story.
@Victoria I work as a commercial diver.
When you see those big dummies breaking ice to get in the water, that's me. [emoji849]
Retirement is 10 years away.
Lol, hoping to 'win'. [emoji6]
@Victoria I work as a commercial diver.
When you see those big dummies breaking ice to get in the water, that's me. [emoji849]
Retirement is 10 years away.
Lol, hoping to 'win'. [emoji6]
That looks like something to aspire to.I think he worked on an oil rig but like me, he is a relic and a Geezer.
To me, retiring was my biggest goal and I always felt that if you died before you retired, you lost. If you managed to retire, you won. I won and all of my time is totally mine now. I can go out on my boat with friends, build Steam Punk, go out to breakfast, lunch and dinner or make a grilled cheese sandwich seven days a week. I can wake up at 4:00 am or 4:00pm. I have so many hobbies that there isn't enough hours in the day and I wish I didn't have to sleep because that is a waste of time and not fun. It cuts into my day as work did.
I can spent time in a quiet lagoon
Or go to Bora Bora with my main squeeze and best friend of 45 years.
I can go out to a seaside raw bar and slurp oysters.
Or take Greta for a bike ride.
If I keep living, I keep winning.
Glad you are enjoying family and friends!
Keep winning!
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Paul B
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I remember that too. Did it all winter. In the summer we used to go fishing. My friend was kind of smaller than me and he would sit on the handlebars of my bike. We would have 2 fishing poles, tackle and a big bucket and I would ride about 10 miles like that to fish.
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We always had money and didn't know that we were poor. (My dad died when I was 10)
Money was all over the place if you were not a Jiboni. After a softball game there were empty bottles scattered on the ground. You got 2 cents for a small bottle and a nickel for a big one. You made a buck or two with a bunch of bottles. Remember it was only 75 cents to go to a movie and you saw 2 movies for that.
Then if you needed more money we went to Main Street, where busses and trains were. Subways always have grates over them for air to get down there and a bus ride was 15 cents. People dropped change and it would roll down into the subway grates that were about 10' deep. We would have a fishing sinker and bubble gum. Put the gum on the sinker and lower it down to pick up the coins. Lots of them.
Then I used to rummage through empty lots for used tires. All tires were American and they had a warranty on them. When I found a fairly good tire with a big hole in it, I would take it back to a gas station and get a new tire for it for maybe half the price of a new tire. Then I would sell it.
As I got older I would buy junk cars for 10 bucks. (That's what the junk yard gave you for a car.) I would take that car, get it running, clean it and sel it for a few hundred bucks. I remember buying a 61 Chevy Impala for 10 bucks and I had to re build the carburetor to get it running. The carburetor rebuilding kit was 8 bucks. I got it running and sold it for like 400% profit.
I remember getting this "Simca" (Yeah, I know) for $75.00 and getting over $200.00 for it.
This doesn't sound like a lot of money, but remember a few years later I got a job as an electrician apprentice and I brought home about $69.00 for the week.
I am the one on the roof with the hair
Money was all over the place if you were not a Jiboni. After a softball game there were empty bottles scattered on the ground. You got 2 cents for a small bottle and a nickel for a big one. You made a buck or two with a bunch of bottles. Remember it was only 75 cents to go to a movie and you saw 2 movies for that.
Then if you needed more money we went to Main Street, where busses and trains were. Subways always have grates over them for air to get down there and a bus ride was 15 cents. People dropped change and it would roll down into the subway grates that were about 10' deep. We would have a fishing sinker and bubble gum. Put the gum on the sinker and lower it down to pick up the coins. Lots of them.
Then I used to rummage through empty lots for used tires. All tires were American and they had a warranty on them. When I found a fairly good tire with a big hole in it, I would take it back to a gas station and get a new tire for it for maybe half the price of a new tire. Then I would sell it.
As I got older I would buy junk cars for 10 bucks. (That's what the junk yard gave you for a car.) I would take that car, get it running, clean it and sel it for a few hundred bucks. I remember buying a 61 Chevy Impala for 10 bucks and I had to re build the carburetor to get it running. The carburetor rebuilding kit was 8 bucks. I got it running and sold it for like 400% profit.
I remember getting this "Simca" (Yeah, I know) for $75.00 and getting over $200.00 for it.
This doesn't sound like a lot of money, but remember a few years later I got a job as an electrician apprentice and I brought home about $69.00 for the week.
I am the one on the roof with the hair
Awesome memories!
There is always money to be made if you have initiative.
Remember in the 70's when a neighbor 3 blocks down was the first person we knew to get a Cadillac.
Expensive luxury car (land yacht) at the time.
For the unheard of sum of 3,000.
Mom and dad bought their 3 bedroom house for 27,000.
Still living in it. Current value is around 370,000. Crazy.
There is always money to be made if you have initiative.
Remember in the 70's when a neighbor 3 blocks down was the first person we knew to get a Cadillac.
Expensive luxury car (land yacht) at the time.
For the unheard of sum of 3,000.
Mom and dad bought their 3 bedroom house for 27,000.
Still living in it. Current value is around 370,000. Crazy.
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In 1969 you could still buy a Chevy for $999.00.
I just came back from bicycling and I am definitely too old for this. But this time i did find a couple of ponds that in the summer will be perfect for collecting Daphne and tadpoles. I love keeping them until they turn into toads, then letting them loose in my wife's underwear drawer.
I just came back from bicycling and I am definitely too old for this. But this time i did find a couple of ponds that in the summer will be perfect for collecting Daphne and tadpoles. I love keeping them until they turn into toads, then letting them loose in my wife's underwear drawer.
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I remember when I got Conformation. I guess you are about 10 then. My friend and me were rowing a rented boat on a small lake in the park. The boat was like a buck to rent and probably two bucks deposit. We were all dressed up in out Conformation suits, new shoes and all.
My friends, about 6 of them came over and called us over near the side of the lake. They said they wanted to tell us something.
When we got real close, they started throwing Cherry bombs at us.
I started to row away as fast as a 10 year old can row but one of the Cherries blew up under the boat and busted a big hole in the thing.
We sunk real fast and luckily the lake was only a few feet deep so we were able to walk to the cement edge and get out.
My friends had by now all run away. I was afraid to go and tell the boat rental guy what happened, probably figuring he wouldn't believe us and maybe thought we hit a mine.
So I didn't get my deposit back.
I walked home where my Mom beat the you know what out of me for ruining my clothes and especially my shoes.
My friends, about 6 of them came over and called us over near the side of the lake. They said they wanted to tell us something.
When we got real close, they started throwing Cherry bombs at us.
I started to row away as fast as a 10 year old can row but one of the Cherries blew up under the boat and busted a big hole in the thing.
We sunk real fast and luckily the lake was only a few feet deep so we were able to walk to the cement edge and get out.
My friends had by now all run away. I was afraid to go and tell the boat rental guy what happened, probably figuring he wouldn't believe us and maybe thought we hit a mine.
So I didn't get my deposit back.
I walked home where my Mom beat the you know what out of me for ruining my clothes and especially my shoes.
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Last night, or actually this morning at 3:00am I hear: "YOU HAVE A REMINDER, THE COMPUTER GEEK IS COMING OVER TO FIX THE COMPUTER"
It was the Alexa on the other side of my house. When I set the reminder I neglected to tell it PM and not AM and usually the thing asks me but I was probably sipping a glass of Grand Marnier and didn't pay attention to it and said something like : "Whatever".
10 Seconds later the Alexa in our bedroom says the same thing. (This is a condo and not real big but my 2 Alexa's seem to be in different time zones because they tell me the same thing 10 seconds apart.)
I quickly get out of bed so as not to wake my wife and I put my mouth right near it's "ear" and whisper. "Alexa, Shut Up"
The thing lights up and says: "SORRY, I DIDN'T GET THAT. YOU CAN ASK ME THINGS LIKE, HOW DO YOU SHUT THE DOOR, OR WHATS UP OR ASK THE TIME IN COOS BAY OREGON OR, WHAT WAS GEORGE WASHINGTON'S SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER" WAS THAT HELPFUL?"
I looked around and my wife just stirred a little. I again whispered to Alexa, "Alexa, thank you, go to sleep, stop talking.
Alexa again lit up and said:
I DIDN'T GET THAT, I CAN PLAY AMBIENT SOUNDS TO PUT YOU TO SLEEP OR LOUD SOUNDS TO WAKE YOU UP. I CAN PLAY ROY ORBISON MUSIC OR TELL YOU FACTS ABOUT NANCY PELOSI. DID THAT ANSWER YOUR QUESTION? "
Alexa, No and thank you.
"SORRY, I COULDN'T HELP YOU, BUT THANKS FOR THE FEEDBACK:
So I finally got it to shut up.
Then I hear the other Alexa in the dining room but it is far away so I run there to see what it wants. It is still reminding me of the computer Geek.
I close the bedroom door and hope we can't hear it. But these doors were probably from Home Depot and made out of three or four layers of Scott toilet tissue. The good three ply ones but it didn't matter, I can still hear her.
Then I hear: BEEP. Aparently if Alexa thinks you didn't hear her, she just Beeps all night about every 2 minutes. BEEP,,,,,,,,,BEEP,,,,,,BEEP ETC.
Try to sleep with that. So I go to the thing and say :Alexa, Thank you, now be quiet. She says "THANK ME FOR WHAT? YOU HAVE NO MORE REMINDERS, WOULD YOU LIKE TO HEAR YOUR REMINDERS.
Nooooooooooo. Alexa, just go to sleep.
"WOULD YOU LIKE ME TO PLAY AMBIENT SOUNDS BLAH, BLAH,BLAH "
I unplugged her and go back to bed
"BEEP,,,,,BEEP,,,,,,BEEP"
Every 2 minutes "BEEP,,,BEEP,,,,BEEP.
I put the pillow over my head. I thought maybe I just dreamt that I unplugged her so I go to check. Yep, the plug is on the floor so I head back to my bed.
"BEEP"
Oh no. Now what do I do? It's 3:05 am and I don't want to get up. I figure maybe I am getting abducted by Aliens or worse "Liberals".
I go back into the kitchen and again check Alexa. She is dead. Then I look around and on the stove, the timer is saying, "Dinner is done" and beeping.
My wife shutoff the oven yesterday but apparently the timer was still on.
So now I am not sure if I am awake typing this, or in an Alien Space Ship in a galaxy far far away.
It was the Alexa on the other side of my house. When I set the reminder I neglected to tell it PM and not AM and usually the thing asks me but I was probably sipping a glass of Grand Marnier and didn't pay attention to it and said something like : "Whatever".
10 Seconds later the Alexa in our bedroom says the same thing. (This is a condo and not real big but my 2 Alexa's seem to be in different time zones because they tell me the same thing 10 seconds apart.)
I quickly get out of bed so as not to wake my wife and I put my mouth right near it's "ear" and whisper. "Alexa, Shut Up"
The thing lights up and says: "SORRY, I DIDN'T GET THAT. YOU CAN ASK ME THINGS LIKE, HOW DO YOU SHUT THE DOOR, OR WHATS UP OR ASK THE TIME IN COOS BAY OREGON OR, WHAT WAS GEORGE WASHINGTON'S SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER" WAS THAT HELPFUL?"
I looked around and my wife just stirred a little. I again whispered to Alexa, "Alexa, thank you, go to sleep, stop talking.
Alexa again lit up and said:
I DIDN'T GET THAT, I CAN PLAY AMBIENT SOUNDS TO PUT YOU TO SLEEP OR LOUD SOUNDS TO WAKE YOU UP. I CAN PLAY ROY ORBISON MUSIC OR TELL YOU FACTS ABOUT NANCY PELOSI. DID THAT ANSWER YOUR QUESTION? "
Alexa, No and thank you.
"SORRY, I COULDN'T HELP YOU, BUT THANKS FOR THE FEEDBACK:
So I finally got it to shut up.
Then I hear the other Alexa in the dining room but it is far away so I run there to see what it wants. It is still reminding me of the computer Geek.
I close the bedroom door and hope we can't hear it. But these doors were probably from Home Depot and made out of three or four layers of Scott toilet tissue. The good three ply ones but it didn't matter, I can still hear her.
Then I hear: BEEP. Aparently if Alexa thinks you didn't hear her, she just Beeps all night about every 2 minutes. BEEP,,,,,,,,,BEEP,,,,,,BEEP ETC.
Try to sleep with that. So I go to the thing and say :Alexa, Thank you, now be quiet. She says "THANK ME FOR WHAT? YOU HAVE NO MORE REMINDERS, WOULD YOU LIKE TO HEAR YOUR REMINDERS.
Nooooooooooo. Alexa, just go to sleep.
"WOULD YOU LIKE ME TO PLAY AMBIENT SOUNDS BLAH, BLAH,BLAH "
I unplugged her and go back to bed
"BEEP,,,,,BEEP,,,,,,BEEP"
Every 2 minutes "BEEP,,,BEEP,,,,BEEP.
I put the pillow over my head. I thought maybe I just dreamt that I unplugged her so I go to check. Yep, the plug is on the floor so I head back to my bed.
"BEEP"
Oh no. Now what do I do? It's 3:05 am and I don't want to get up. I figure maybe I am getting abducted by Aliens or worse "Liberals".
I go back into the kitchen and again check Alexa. She is dead. Then I look around and on the stove, the timer is saying, "Dinner is done" and beeping.
My wife shutoff the oven yesterday but apparently the timer was still on.
So now I am not sure if I am awake typing this, or in an Alien Space Ship in a galaxy far far away.
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Paul B
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Working on my new Steam Punk floor lamp. The base is a turn of the century Auto Clave that dentists used to sterilize equipment. It needs a lot more work but it is getting there.
O
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"O and N" what?
Did you guys run out of ink? Lose power, get caught in a flood, eaten by a turtle, got rabies?
Did you guys run out of ink? Lose power, get caught in a flood, eaten by a turtle, got rabies?
Hmmm something not working here. Lets try again.Thought you might be interested in my 7 TFH from 1972/3 Paul.
next was supposed to be "P", you broke the chain Paul!
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