No Snow!

           FRIDAY, MARCH 7TH  

   Well the AutoTrain finally got us to
Florida.
    It took a little longer than expected.
    Four hours to the station.
    Four hours waiting for the train to
show up.
    Three to four hours to clean the train.
     Seventeen or so hours to get to the
"Sunshine State."
     Do the math. That adds up to.....well
lots!
     And what did we find when we got
here?
     No snow!
     Yep. Not a sign of the white stuff
 anywhere we looked! Not that we miss
 it or anything.
      But........about this "sunshine thing."
      As we arrived we noticed it was as
 "missing" as the snow!
      There was plenty of rain! Even a
Tornado warning! Of course is was
also 60 some degrees which seems to
have everyone here worried about frost
bite!
       All the relatives are quoting
 Orphan Annie. "The sun will come
 out tomorrow."
      Hope they're right and that all of
 your NEWS is good!  

   

The Mayor & the Tasty Turkey!

       FOR THURSDAY MARCH 6TH

       The alarm went off at 6am Wednesday.
 I didn't think they started mornings that
 early any more. I know they shouldn't!
   But we wanted to get an early start
 to Lorton, Virginia to catch the Auto-
 Train to Florida.
   The drive turned out to be smooth and
 easy and we showed up at the station
 before Noon! "
    What a great start! We were there, our
 car was there, our baggage was there.
 Everything was there! EXCEPT the Train!
    Seems the storm that missed northeastern
Pennsylvania on Monday left frozen switch
tracks somewhere between sunny Florida
and us! Of course it probably didn't help
that the train rammed a car somewhere along
the way!
    Our train would be over 4 hours late!
    A 7 or so hour wait at the Railroad
 station did not seem very appealing.
    But the MAYOR saved us!
    Now in this case I'm writing about the
 Mayor of Occoquan, Virginia, a small and
very classy community just 5 miles from our
 crowded station!
    His honor brought a mini bus to the railway
 and suggested that anyone who didn't want to
 spend the day sitting around could get a round
 trip ride  to the shops and restaurants in his town
 for just five bucks.
    This guy is a walking Chamber of Commerce
 for this neat community!
    We enjoyed some shopping and a stop at a
 great little restaurant where we found a
 piece of pecan cake capable of raising your
 sugar levels without actually eating any. But
 we did anyway!
     Back at the station AutoTrain was replacing
 the fine dining usually offered on board with a
 packaged sandwich identified on the label as
 "Tasty Turkey."
     While it probably satisfied the 200 or so
 people waiting in what looked like a depression era
 Bread Line, my wife and I were content with the
 pleasant memories of a wonderful chicken salad
 and Rubin followed by that chunk of Pecan
 Cake!
     If you're ever stranded in Virginia, hope that it's
 somewhere near Occoquan! I think there's still
 some cake left!
     Hope you're running on Time and that all your
 NEWS is good!

Survivor Man

   My wife and I are headed to Florida
today. Yes....we probably should have
left town way before this. By the way
a big thank you to our buddy Sebastian
for taking over the house while we're
away!
   Now we face an interesting situation.
   The last storm that was suppose to
hit our area turned out to be a dud...at
least around here.
    But it did dump snow and some ice
between me and my first destination
in Virginia!
    Since we could be facing some
weather I am going prepared.
   I suppose if the police stop us for
any reason I'll have to explain the
survival gear I've loaded for my trip
to the "sunny south."
   I have a container originally sold
with birdseed that now is filled with
rock salt.
   There is a box containing a
disassembled snow shovel that you
put together if and when it's needed.
    There is a warm blanket, folded
and ready.
    There's a set of Jumper Cables.
    I also have an Emergency Kit. But
it's so well sealed in shrink wrap  I
suppose we could be dealing more in
terms of "last rites" rather than "first aid"
by the time we get it open.
    If all else fails however we carry with
us the "Ultimate weapons" for dealing
with weather emergencies.
    We are equipped with several rings of
prize smoked kielbasa from the Plains
Meat Market and a few bottles of wine!
Talk about being prepared!!!!!
     Hope you'll follow my Blogs from
"on the road" and that all your NEWS is
good!

Rest Stop Wonders!

      I'm sure that many wonders await us on our
upcoming trip to Florida. And we're bound to
spot a few in the Rest Stops on the way to and
from the Sunshine State.
     These days those facilities include things
like forced hot air blowers so powerful your skin
will wrinkle like it's in a NASA centrifuge!
        Where paper towels are still available they're
probably dispensed from a machine with an
electric eye that detects your hand as it passes
in front or under the unit. Of course it never
dispenses quite enough to complete the drying
process so you'll have to trigger it twice or more.
         Many faucets work the same way. There's
no Hot or Cold valve. Just put your hands near
the faucet and the water comes out...for a couple
seconds anyway. (It's usually cold,)
          There are automatic deodorant units that
freshen the room air every so often..whether it
needs it or not.
           And most every restroom, Men's as well
as Women's, now includes a "Baby Changing
Station." I never had a baby to swap when I
went in.
           With all these modern conveniences
in place I'm wondering who forgot to put
thermostats in so many restrooms! Why are so
many so cold?
           Maybe they just don't want you to "camp
out." Or maybe it's a ploy to get travelers to use
those overpriced coffee machines.
          Whatever the reason I find myself
spending extra time triggering the forced air
hand dryer in an attempt to warm the room a
little! At least till we hit South Carolina!
            Hope you're keeping warm whether
you're coming or "going" and that all your
NEWS is good!

        
          

   
   

Oh Say Can You See?

   It was there! I saw it! With my own eyes!
   To be honest, it was just before the dawn's
early light. About 6:20AM.
   The red sent a beam into the blackness of
night.
    What? Oh you thought I was writing about
the Star Spangled Banner!
     That would be a logical thought considering
the fact this is National Anthem Day!
     The Star Spangled Banner officially became
our National Anthem on March 3rd., 1913!
      It was written as a poem by Francis Scott
Key in 1814. We always did take a while to
get things done.
      But, while I'm proud to say Old Glory is, in
fact, still waving ore the land of the free and the
home of the brave, the glow I spotted in the
dawn's early light yesterday came from a solar
light I bought at the Christmas Shop right around
well.....Christmas.
     I put two of them in our yard as a sort of guide
into our parking area.
     As I understand it the sun's rays are suppose
to charge the unit's battery and allow it to turn on
automatically when it gets dark,
     The problem is.....we haven't had many sun
rays over the past month!
     I'd see the units light up when night fell. But
they'd be off within three hours or so! Not so
yesterday morning! We had apparently had
enough sunlight to keep that tiny Energizer
working right through the night!
     Now I know how Mr.Key must have felt
watching Fort McHenry that day!
     And who knows? Maybe it's even a sign of
Spring!
     Hope you're all aglow and that all your
News IS Good!

Storm Preps!

   One again we find ourselves facing a
snowstorm here in northeastern
Pennsylvania.
   How much will be get? Well, that
depends on what time you're listening
to or reading a report.
   See, when I was a kid my mother would
notice clouds she could somehow positively
identify as "snow clouds."
   At that point we'd make sure the heavy
coats, gloves (or mittens), hats, and boots
were ready. We'd put the snow shovel by
the front door and bring a tub of ashes up
from the basement. We never know how
much was coming. But we'd be ready
whatever the depth.
    Back then the only "European Model" we
knew about was Sophia Loren.
    These days the forecasters can check
their radar and computer models and tell
us exactly how much snow we can expect.
Usually anywhere between "a trace" and
two feet!
    The closer the storm the more accurate
their prediction. Sort of like my Mom
spotting those clouds!
     And whatever the amount of snow, as
soon as the first warnings show up we flock
to the market to buy bread and milk.
      Rock Salt is very popular these days too.
Although I'm not sure how it mixes with the
bread or the milk.
     After a record February snowfall and
temperatures that would freeze both the bread
and the milk we have decided to prepare for
March's storms a little differently.
     It has been said that "Everybody talks
about the weather. But nobody does anything
about the weather." NOT SO!
     We've simply packed our bags for a trip
to Florida! Now we're just got to hope we can
dig out of the first storm to begin the trip!
     Hope we're not "snowed in" and that all
your NEWS is good!


     

The Show Must Go On!

    "The Show Must Go On" is a well known
phrase in the entertainment industry.
     It means that regardless of what happens,
whatever show has been planned still has to
be staged for the waiting patrons.
    Of course it's actually an abbreviation of
the true saying which is "The show must go
on, otherwise we'll have to give them their
money back!"
    But abbreviated or not it is a principal
that people on stage, in radio, and television
acknowledge and live by.
    So it was that, faced with a possible huge
snowstorm next week, I set out to try to
arrange to have my weekly TV program on
Electric City Television taped in advance.
    The recipe called for me reaching the
cameraman, my co-host, and the guest to
see if we could all get together at an
agreeable time yesterday to do the show.
    After calls to 2 or the 3 parties went
unanswered on Thursday evening I gave up
and figured we'd just have to deal with the
expected snow as best we could.
    Yesterday morning, however, the guest
reached me to say that she could be available
to tape the show. So, while dressed for a
morning walk in the frigid temperatures, I
placed another all to our cameraman in the
hope I might reach him. And I did!
   He was OK too! And, he was ready for
a Noon taping!
   That was great. Except...it was already 11
o'clock.
   I'd need to get home, change into a suit,
and drive to the Scranton studio...all in 60
minutes. The show must go on!
   It would be tight. But I figured I could
make it. That's when I remembered I had to
stop at the bank to cash a check.
    But, hey, that's why they have a drive up
window! Except there were two cars waiting
at that window. They would be, wouldn't
they!
    The financial transaction finally completed
I started, again, towards my home my clothes
closet!  Nothing would stop me now, except
that's when I heard the "ding" from my
dashboard and saw the little warning light
that alerts you to an empty gas tank!
     Fortunately a gas station was on my route
so I pulled in and inserted my "Rewards Card"
that allows me to cut my fuel costs by a
whopping 3 cents per gallon. A screen on the
pump gives you additional instructions.
    Except, with the sun shinning on the screen
you can't read it!
    Since the show must go on I went through
the procedure by memory and was lucky
enough to fill the tank and get a receipt.
    A quick change at home, Houdini, would
have been proud, then a NASCAR like
effort on Interstate 81 and I arrived just in
time to begin our taping!
    I know it was a success because none of the
viewers, except those who read this blog, have
any idea of what happened behind the scenes
to allow the show to go on!
    And that's show biz folks!
    Hope you enjoy the show and that all your
NEWS is good!