Golden Oldie

I been going through a lot of old stuff lately and I thought this was funny. At least I thought it was 17 years ago.

Way back when fred still had hair.

Eye Don't Get It

Just trying to play catch up for the few weeks I've missed posting anything cartoonish.

Bathroom Humor

Vacation Time

Best Worst Day Ever

June started with a trip to NY to see my friend Norm. We'd been planning it for a while because it gave us another chance to see The Ed Palermo Big Band play the music of Frank Zappa at great supper club called The Falcon in Marlboro, NY. I'd seen them once before at the same place a couple of years ago and the show on Saturday, June first was as good as or better. Norm has seen them a half dozen times and he admits that every show is a treat.

My trip up on Friday after work was uneventful if you don't count a couple minor traffic jams in Pa that added over an hour to my travel time. I had a good book on CD and although I wanted to get to my destination I was in no hurry. I rolled into Norms about 7:00 and we shared some beer (natch) and went to dinner with his family. We made it an early night because we had garage sale-ing to do in the morning.

Norm lives a little better than an hour north on NYC but the town of Montgomery is actually quite rural. We started out Saturday morning with breakfast on the road, Norm's list of sales and his GPS. We hit a fair number and did some nice countryside driving but neither one of us had completely satisfied our bargain hunting itch. The solution was to visit some local thrift stores which added some more treasure but the best haul of the day came when we went to this local FYE store where we both scored some CDs we couldn't live without.

After all that running around we took it easy in the afternoon, sharing some more beers and listening to some of our purchases. At around 5:00 we got ready for our trip to dinner and the big show. The Falcon is a first rate music venue and provides free live music almost every night, attracting some big name artists form NYC.      Norm has seen lots of different shows there over the past few years and is lucky to have such a hip place so close to home. The food before the show was great and they also have a nice selection of beer. Norm's wife Jane was our designated driver so we could comfortably enjoy a few more brews together.

The show turned out to be one long set, mixing Zappa's music with the Beatles as well as other artists, The band was as tight as I remembered. They are a big band made up of 14 or more players at any one time and I think Frank would have been proud of the skill and respect they gave to his tunes. Like the last time, the young violin player was a standout not only for her playing, but also for the
good looks she adds to the band.


As always, the camera work is a little shaky but it's hard for me to stay still while shaking my booty.

Sunday came way too soon as it often does on these weekend trips. I woke up early because that's what my body is getting used to. I didn't want to wake anyone else up so I drove to the gas station to gas my car up for my return trip. Also, I noticed when I got to Norm's on Friday that the tire pressure light had come on, so I needed air as well. I was on Main Street, about 2 blocks from Norm's house when I passed a cop car. He pulled out right behind me and hit his lights to pull me over, he asked if I knew what the speed limit in town was and I told him I'd just passed a sign that said 50 MPH. He said that the 50 MPH zone started after the sign and I was going 40-42 MPH by the time I got to the sign, The town speed limit is 30 MPH so I was clearly in violation. He asked for my licence and registration and asked if I was just visiting (out of state plates), I told him I was and that I was leaving town that day. He said since it was Sunday morning he'd give me a pass this time, but reminded me what the speed limit was and sent me on my way. Whew!

At the gas station I went to put air in my tires and found that the front passenger tire was almost flat. I filled it with air and it seemed to hold it but since I was driving a couple hundred miles that day, much of it through rural PA (redundant, I know),  I wanted to have someone local look at it before I headed home. I was feeling pretty good about avoiding the ticket that morning so I picked up some cinnamon rolls doe Norm and family. When I went to pay for them and the gas I realized I didn't have my credit card. The last time I remembered using it was to pay for dinner Saturday night. Had I left it at the Falcon? They weren't opened Sunday mornings so I'd have to call them after I'd left for home. Not the end of the world since I had another card, but perplexing none the less.

When I got back to Norms house (driving very slowly) I asked him where I could get my tire looked at and he had a few suggestions. He even volunteered to go with me in case I had some unexpected down time. I told him about the missing credit card and since we had taken his wife's car that night we look in it to see if it had fallen out in there. No such luck. He said that if I had left it at The Falcon he could pick it up and send it to me. Nice guy.

Before getting on the road I cleaned out my car and had a look between my front seats and there I found my missing card. It must have come out of my wallet when I pulled my licence for Officer Friendly. That makes two near disasters averted. I said my goodbyes to Norm's family and he and I headed out in separate cars to find someone to look at my tire. The first place we tried wasn't opened yet so we went to Sears in the mall and they had been opened since 8:00 am and had nothing to do so they could look at my car ASAP. They found a nail in the tire but it was too close to the sidewall so it couldn't be plugged, it would have to be replaced, The tech found that they had the tire I needed in stock and they had it on the rim and out the door in a half hour. From there I bid Norm a final farewell and I was on my way home.

The trip home took me just over 4.5 hours and was clear sailing all the way. I'd had a fine weekend and had avoided at least three things on Sunday morning that could have made it memorable for all the wrong reasons. It's always nice to get away but it's great to be home with my credit card, my new tire and no ticket.

Snore

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