Night Out

Saturday night, somewhere amidst the corn and soybeans which, by the way, are turning golden and brown.  In fact we saw one corn field where the combine was making passes.  Ah, autumn in Indiana!

But this night was a night on the town.  We had dinner at Erica's which is one of our favorite places to spend money to let someone else cook and wash up.  Then to the Atlanta Music Hall.  The band was in fine form.

 The gentleman in the boater and linen jacket was the evening's dance partner to BBBH whom you may see on the far right.  I mean they cut a rug, sashayed across the floor and brought down the house.  Bob is 94 years of age, and BBBH is a spring chicken, relatively speaking..

The band director asked the couple to do another number in the second set, but they declined, claiming the energy level was insufficient to support another go-round.

We actually rolled up the streets in Atlanta; we shut the place down.  That is our car in the distance and we were literally the last to leave main street.  It was 9:30 p.m.

Fair Time, '16

 

Hey, Ma, wanna go to the fair?

 

Sure, but we'll have to put on shoes.

 Plev-nee, Ma, Plev-nee

 Judgin' the livestock, Pa.

 BBBH always heads to the goats.

 JoLynn thinks this fella got gypped out of his ears.

 Er-a-er-er! These guys were loud!

Tipton's new approach to waste disposal.

I may have more to say about this later.

And that is our visit to the fair, 2016.

Ten-word Wednesday

Beloved Beautiful got coloring books for Christmas.  She is thrickled.

Saturday Night and I Just Got Paid

We went out Saturday night.  Not unprecedented, but unusual.

 I took my lady to a class place.  See, it says so right there.

The Six Old Guys whomped up over two hours of darn good music, too.

Mood Rings and Pet Rocks

Yesterday's post ended with a reference to the "mood ring."  That rather popped into my head unbidden, a thing about which I had not thought in many a moon.  This in turn provided me with something to think about during the sleepless time of the wee hours.

What I was thinking about led to today's topic.  What fads or mania were you caught up in back in the day?

First, the mood ring.  The fad swept the nation in the early to mid-seventies.  I never had one, but I had two teenage daughters during that time frame.  The rage not only entertained the young people, it worked its way into the culture.  I think I recall that Charles Schulz portrayed an incident in which Peppermint Patty's mood ring exploded because she was so angry with Charlie Brown.  The following, though, is my favorite mood ring story.

A woman  reported that her husband was unhappy with her mood swings. So he bought her a mood ring. He hoped that he would be able to monitor her moods and prepare himself accordingly. It worked. He discovered that when she was in a good mood, the ring turned green. And when she was in a bad mood. the ring left a big red mark on his forehead. "Maybe next time," she said, "he'll buy me a diamond."

Some other mania that come to mind are these: pet rocks, Cabbage Patch Kids, pogs, Beanie Babies, Tickle Me Elmo.

Me? Beanie Babies.  I have a large basketful of them to this day.  (Please follow the link.)  Pet rocks.  I still carry a rock or two in my pocket at all times.  They are not official "pet rocks," though.  Just rocks.

What fads were you into? Others you remember?

How Old People Have Fun

Saturday BBBH and I made our annual trek six miles down the road to visit the Atlanta New Earth Festival.  I believe I attended the first edition forty years ago.  We have done several in the past few years.  Temperature in the eighties, the spouse grumbled about being in jeans rather than shorts.  Just a few years ago as we left the festival we walked from town to the car in a raging snowstorm.  You just never know.

Saturday we

1)  Planned to ride the scooter.  The valve stem blew out while I was attempting to elevate the air pressure in the rear tire.  We drove the car.

2)  Paid an old guy four bucks to park on his grass, and yet we were three blocks from the beginning of the festivities.

3) Wandered through blocks of street venders, I often leaning against a tree or a post while BBBH "shopped."

4)  Ate festival-priced barbeque sandwiches.

5)  Then walked four blocks to the necessary. This village of 740 souls sells all the premium space, and all the rest of it, too, to vendors, plan for eighty thousand visitors, then put the toities way out in the back forty. Near which the train was parked.

6) Talked with the conductor, reminiscing about the good old days of rail transportation.  Walked to other end of train where I snapped picture of this old residence.

7)  Talked to engineer at other end of train, then took this picture.

8)  Turned around and found a very expensive smart phone lying smack dab in the middle of the street.

9) Were searching for someone who seemed to have some semblance of authority when a young lady, twenty something, threw her arms around me, gave me a big old hug and told me how wonderful it was to see me again.  She did not pick my pocket, and I have no clue.   BBBH said maybe it was one of my grandchildren.  I don't think so.

10)  Limped/staggered the remaining six blocks to the car, drove home, and crashed.  In bed, I mean, not the car.

Oh, by the way, the earth is not only not "newer" than it was forty years ago, seems to me it is in worse shape than ever; but what do I know?

The last of the Uncle Jeptha Tales

appeared here on September 25.    

Should you wish to read or reread 

any of them, They can be accessed 

via the “Short Stories” and “More 

Stories” tabs at the top of the   

page.