ANTHONY'S FIRST AUCTION!

    SATURDAY, MARCH 7TH., 2020
     ANTHONY'S FIRST AUCTION

    Our 4-year-old grandson had a couple
sleepover nights at our place this week.
    He's been hearing Grannie and Grandpa
talk about going to auctions throughout
the year and always asked when he might
go to one with us.
     The opportunity presented itself
Friday evening and he was thrilled when
we told him he was going with us.
      The sight of a plethora of items
stretched out on tables and in cabinets
was very impressive to the young man,
especially the toys!
        He definitely let us know he
was interested in a toy Paw Patrol
tractor trailer semi hidden away among
other merchandise.
         After about 20 minutes of bidding
I saw one of the runners pick up the toy
and put it on the side of the bidding
table.
          I told Anthony to get ready to
stand on his chair when the item came
up. I figured the sight of a little kid
showing interest might dissuade any
other bidders.
           The plan nearly backfired, however,
when he rose prematurely as a set of
kitchen ware was being offered! We
came close to bringing home some bowls!
Fortunately someone immediately bid
higher!
          In the end, however, our plan
worked and we came home with the
Paw Patrol truck in our hands for just
a couple bucks!
            Anthony tells us he likes
auctions! Hope his Mom & Dad
are ready for his new hobby and that
all your NEWS is good!

IMPROVISE, OVERCOME, ADAPT!

          FRIDAY, MARCH 6TH., 2020
   IMPROVISE, OVERCOME, ADAPT!

    The phrase used as the title of today's
essay is most associated with the United
States Marine Corps.
     The implementation of these affirmative
actions is, apparently, a necessity for other
as well. In this case, grandpas!
      My 4-year-old grandson and I were on
our way to one of our regular visits to
Steamtown when I spotted a playground
we had never visited before. I suggested
we give it a try and my grandson eagerly
agreed.
       The play area featured a couple of
attractions we had never seen before and
a huge tree-house like fortification all
kids love to climb and explore.
         One of its features was a twisty
slide covering about two stories in height.
          I walked to the end waiting to
catch the young man at the end of his
descent. As I stepped to the lower end
I spotted the large puddle of water that
had gathered there over the past couple
days.
         Before I could hold him back my
grandson came out! Right through the
puddle. He was soaked.
         We were about to turn back home
when I realized he had brought a bag
with him with supplies for his sleep
over, I checked inside and found a
set of clothes for the next day.
         The back of my Suburban was
quickly converted from hauling space
to a changing room and the wet
apparel was laid out over the
defrosting vents and in the sunlight
streaming through the front windshield.
            At Steamtown I used the roof
rack as a clothes line and within 90
minutes all the laundry was dry.
             We even made a return visit
to the playground although I thought
I might be confined to the car!
               Somewhere between
Steamtown and our stop for hoagies
at Catalino's my belt  broke and one hand
had to be used to keep my trousers up.
               Again I took to the back up
the Suburban where I found my supply
of  bungee straps. One proved long
enough to do the trick and, with pants
secured, we once again enjoyed the
sunny afternoon!  Even the large
slide had dried by then!
                 Felt like I had just stormed
the enemy stronghold and declared
victory!
                Hope the bungee hold for
another day and that all your NEWS
is good!

A GOOD DAY FOR FISHING!

    THURSDAY, MARCH 5TH., 2020
      A GOOD DAY FOR FISHING!

    My wife and I took two of the grandkids
fishing Wednesday. Sort of.
     After the recent passing of two of her
aquarium residents my wife was left with
one lone fish.
      I gave her a gift certificate to a pet
store for Christmas and the grandkids
decided it was time to repopulate the
tank.
       Catching fish in the pet store is
nearly as hard as catching them on a line
in a lake.
        The kids scanned all the available
species and picked their favorites, mainly
by color. But fish, unlike man, are not all
created equal.
         Some of the kid's favorites turned out
to be salt water fish, We like the ocean but
never bring any of it back from vacation
with us. My wife's aquarium is strictly
fresh water.
          The store actually had a couple of
its tanks marked to inform customers that
the fish in them don't fit well in a
"community setting." That is to say they
don't get along with other fish.
            We could save a lot of trouble if
people were marked like that!
             Anyhow we finally settled on
two new fish and a snail  to help keep the
tank clean. The kids each got a chance
to carry the bag and get them into our
aquarium so they seemed good with the
deal.
             Hope the old fish is happy
with his new room mates and that
all your NEWS is good.

LIVING IN THE LABORATORY!

      WEDNESDAY, MARCH 4TH., 2020
         LIVING IN THE LABORATORY!

     If you're living in or hail from the
Keystone State this is an important date!
    This is the day we observe "The Holy
Experiment."
     There's a lot of history here so I'll
try to make this as simple as I can.
      It seems that King Charles II owed
a lot of money to William Penn Sr.
Instead of coming up with the cash he
granted a big chunk of land here in
North America to Penn's son, also
named William.
      Now young Penn was a member of
the Society of Friends, better known
to most of us as the Quakers.
      His idea was to take a big part of
that land-grant, specifically that section
we now call Pennsylvania, to conduct
"the Holly Experiment." He proposed
to establish a community for the
Quakers and other persecuted minorities
to show the world how it could function
on its own without persecution or
dissension.
      It worked for about 80 years. But
then Penn died and folks who did not
subscribe to the Quaker beliefs kind of
took over.
      In that sense the experiment
failed. But since Pennsylvania is still
here I suppose you could say the
effort wasn't a total loss.
      A lot of Quakers survived as well.
Just take a drive around the Lancaster
area where at least part of the
experiment is still being tested.
      Personally I like living here in
the laboratory, Hope many of you
do as well and that all your NEWS
is good!

 

LET'S MAKE RESERVATIONS!

  TUESDAY, MARCH 3RD., 2020
  LET'S MAKE RESERVATIONS!
 of
      I suppose I should begin by
explaining this essay has nothing to do
with making a trip and finding a good
hotel.
       After the battle of Wyoming in
1776 General George Washington
commissioned an expedition which
lead to the destruction of some 40
Iroquois villages between the valley
and upstate New York.
       The tribe never recovered.
       Had they survived it could
have eventually lead to the
establishment of a Native American
Reservation in our area,
        And that could have lead to
the establishment of gas stations
operated by the Iroquois on their
reservation.
         This all came to my mind
after reading my friend's Facebook
post reveling that a gas station
run by Native Americans in upstate
New York was selling gas at $1,89
for a gallon of regular.
         Currently here in Pennsylvania
we are being scalped by gas taxes!
         I'd have no reservation about
giving up some public property to
set up a reservation around here!
          Wish our big chiefs would
either invite a tribe in or tomahawk
those taxes!
            Hope all your NEWS is
good!
         

 

MOVING MUSEUMS!

  MONDAY, MARCH 2ND., 2020
       MOVING MUSEUMS!

    I like art. Most art anyway.
    I saw a lot of it when my wife and
I hosted a Travelworld tour to Italy a
couple years back.
    One of the stops was at Accademia
Gallery in Florence. There were
beautiful paintings and sculptures
including Michelangelo's David.
     While not quite as impressive
as the art in Italy I was surprised to
to see a huge moving galley right
before my eyes in Yatesville, just
off Route  315 in Luzerne County.
      The canvas, or should I say
canvasses, were boldly displayed
on a long line of railroad boxcars
and gondolas rushing by on the
tracks just ahead of my car.
       One has to be impressed with
the mere size of these paintings
alone! How does one find enough
time to paint the huge multicolored
"murals" that adorn these rail cars.
        And given the fact I noticed
only two cars that did not show
the work of these unknown artists
one must wonder if there is no
security at rail yards throughout
the country. Unless it's the security
guards doing the painting.
          Understand I'm not complaining!
          It's nice to have something to
review or read while waiting for a
hundred car freight train!
           And some of the art work is
pretty good. Nothing like David.
But not so bad.
           Of course there are a few
of poorer quality. I suspect those
artists were run out of town on a
rail!
           Unless you're in a hurry to
get somewhere I hope you'll get a
chance to see one of these moving
museums.....and that all your NEWS
is good.
 

LET'S GET IT DONE....LATER!

        SUNDAY, MARCH 1ST., 2020
      LET'S GET IT DONE.....LATER!

  Well we're a day later than usual. But
welcome to March!
   I was going to wait until Wednesday to
tell you, but decided to let the cat out of
the bag.
   This is "National Procrastination Week!"
   It's not a time to abandon things that
have to be done. It's a time to devote
some mental relaxation to yourself and
get to those necessary tasks a little
later.
     Personally, I practice for this week 
throughout the year! My motto is never
put off till tomorrow what you can do
the day after tomorrow. Or next weekend!
      Eventually all those "must do jobs"
get done. Usually.
      So relax for the day and make up
a "To Do List"......sometime this week
(or next) and then get the things done.
Later!
        Hope ll your NEWS is good
right now!