Sunday, April 28, 2019

Goodbye Mr. T...

 ...it was a good ride...that's the picture Karen took of my last ride as I was driving back from having him serviced at Eclectic Motors a few days ago...was only in the 40's and very windy so I froze all 9 of my fingers on that little journey.
Here he is loaded onto the trailer and just about to pull out of the driveway for the trip east to the showroom.

Yes, it's possible it's a little bit early to bid Mr. T farewell, but my 1923 Model T truck is currently for sale at Grand Rapids Auto Gallery out by the airport...my contact there assures me he'll sell him in less than 60 days...says if nothing else there's a hot overseas market for them.

Guess we'll see...in the meantime here's a pic of us arriving at the new homestead back on July 2nd, 2017...

...and here are a few from the two years prior to that when I drove him around a bit closer to the Grand Rapids area...
he goes in the snow...
...but needed repair now and then...
...looked great just sitting there...
...or primed and ready for a jaunt around town...
Inspired me to write 7 "Papa's Model T" books...
...definitely gonna miss him.
While we're on the subject of last things...
...this may very well have been the last fire of the season...
...because I hope - by all things decent and proper, for the love of chicken gravy, I hope - this is the LAST snow of the season...
...ENOUGH ALREADY!!

Ol' Man Winter has to be one of the rudest individuals I've ever had the displeasure to meet...he comes 'round every year but some years he lends new meaning to the unpleasantry of "overstaying your welcome"...
While Karen and I were out and about yesterday we stopped by the bookstore and grabbed a coffee...while we were there we saw a bargain bin of low priced movies so glanced at a few of the titles.

I was surprised to see 1996's megahit The English Patient there, a testament I suppose to the fleeting nature of praise and acclaim.
It was the biggest hit of 1996, though not in box office receipts.

Jerry Maguire starring Mr. Bizarro himself, Tom Cruise, takes that honor.

But TEP dominated the Oscars that year, getting nominations in 12 different categories and taking home the grand prize in 9 of them

(Of course, in keeping with the long standing tradition of incompetence at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, neither Ralph Fiennes nor Kristin Scott Thomas won the Oscar for Best Actor / Actress.)

This is an epic film in every way...running time (2:42), subject matter, the number of years it covers, the historical backdrop against which it unfolds, the method in which the story is told...
...but spoiler alert...it's a relationship flick - not a chick flick, a relationship flick - and it does not have a happily ever after, feel good ending.

I know some of  you just tuned out and I totally understand, but by so doing you're depriving yourself of experiencing some breathtaking scenery and fabulous acting...
This one is well worth your time.

But don't take my word for it...

No, wait...scratch that...do take my word for it.


On the diet front...
...I'm thrilled to report I've been stuck at 207 lbs for 5 days in a row now...perhaps that's my ideal weight?

Mr. Mirror is screaming otherwise...and to be honest, Mr. Mirror has become almost as much of a pain in the ass as Ol' Man Winter is...

...so it's been a tough few days, but planning to dust myself off, climb back in the saddle and keep plugging away at it this week...
later, mcm fans...

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Saturday, April 6, 2019

'Twas A Cold And Foggy Morn'...

...when I took up the tools of my ignorance...and headed out on dawn patrol to wage the first battle of 2019 against the cruel and merciless rulers of the golf underworld...and honesty compels me to admit round 1 goes to them, but at least I went down swinging...and swinging...and swinging...

Which I suppose was the crux of the problem.
It wasn't all bad, however...my hickories and I held our own now and then...hit about 160 off the tees with my cleek, 120 in the fairways with my mashie, 75 or 80 with my niblick...and Calamity Jane and I got reacquainted...
...well enough that after a couple of holes we were on speaking terms again...2 putted most of the time, so not all bad.  (I said most of the time - managed to 4 jack the 8th green for a snowman in a spasm of putting incompetence.)

Even strung 4 halfway decent holes together in the middle of my round with a bogey, bogey, par, bogey at which point I very nearly expired in a burst of shocked and surprised glory.

Of course a couple of the other holes were an exercise in higher math, but even so I'm happy to report I did not lose any golf balls.

That's not to say I was always in the fairway; more like nothing is growing yet so it was easy to find my errant shots that landed in the rough.

Just remember, it's called "golf" because all the other four letter words were already taken.

It's certain I'll have worse rounds this year but I'm hopeful I'll have better, too...so once again it was some solitude, some exercise and a very pleasant stroll through the country.
Gotta give a Happy Birthday Shout Out to #5 son today...
...o man, why do parents always do that?  Dig up some picture from 25 years ago as if somehow they just can't admit their kids have grown up!  But he was a cute kid, ya gotta admit...

...and he grew into a handsome man...here's one of Benjamin when he was in the service...
Superman does not always wear a cape, you know...

And here's one of him with his beautiful wife, Brooke...
My youngest is now 33 years old, a miracle that simply does not seem possible.  Happy Birthday Benjamin!
Saw this Dilbert comic the other day...
Speaking of buying my book(s)...ran an ad in "The Vintage Ford" magazine...that's the official publication of the Model T Ford Club of America...nice looking ad designed by the Executive Director, Susan Yaeger, who has been very supportive of my Papa's Model T books.

But sadly, no sales at all from the half page ad...always said if I couldn't sell a book about a Model T to a group of people who pay membership fees to belong to a club devoted to Model T's, it might be time to move on to something else...

And so Mr. T is officially up on the block for sale now...have gotten a few inquiries and as the weather improves I'm hopeful he'll find a new owner.
Watched an interesting flick the other day...
...Love & Mercy, a film about Brian Wilson, musical genius behind the Beach Boys.

It stars Paul Dano as the young Wilson in the early to mid 60's, and then John Cusack as the older Wilson in the 1980's and beyond...and the filmmakers switch back and forth between the two pretty regularly, so it made for some jarring transitions bc those two guys really look nothing alike.  You just have to remind yourself, "ok same guy, 20 years later".

The story is about Wilson's struggle with mental illness and drug abuse, which ultimately led to him being treated by Dr. Eugene Landy, played frighteningly well by my favorite character actor, Paul Giamatti.
Landy was a shady character, a control freak and appears to have been every bit as mentally unbalanced as any patient he may have treated.

He certainly was unethical and sunk his claws into the needy, self-destructive and at times helpless Brian Wilson.

In the happy endings department, the movie does show how Wilson broke free of him, partly because of his relationship with Melinda Ledbetter, portrayed in the movie by Elizabeth Banks...
...Melinda witnessed the Svengali like control Landy had over Wilson and alerted Brian's extended family to the problems there.

A lawsuit filed by Carl Wilson resulted in Landy being stripped of his license to practice psychology in the state of California, and he was prohibited from having any personal contact with Brian Wilson.

Unfortunately, like a parasite burrowed deep into the skin of its victim, for a time Landy continued to maintain control over Brian through surrogates.

By the early 90's however, the pestilence was finally rooted out of Brian's life completely, and Landy ended up in Hawaii - guess what? - practicing psychology again.  Those lucky Hawaiians.

Brian was then able to escape the drug overdoses Landy was giving him...
...and get the treatment he actually needed.

It's been a long, hard road but gradually Brian has improved.  He and Melinda Ledbetter married and remain together today.

This one is a bit of an ordeal to watch, but worth your time to see the harrowing back story of what appeared at the time to be the carefree, summer fun Beach Boys.

Brian Wilson composed the soundtrack to which an entire generation danced and grooved; see this film to learn the heavy price he paid for that impressive accomplishment.
The cold and foggy morning has segued into a gorgeous, sunny afternoon, so...


later, mcm fans...

* Crass Commercialism Corner *

In the "so convenient you can't stand it" department, you can purchase my books here and on Amazon.com!

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