Goodbye Old Friend

Waldo-Hancock Bridge - click to enlarge
Photo: www.wikipedia.org

  The Waldo-Hancock Bridge is being demolished, replaced in 2008 by the Penobscot Narrows Bridge and Observatory.
  Opened in 1934 the Waldo-Hancock Bridge was the first suspension bridge in Maine and the only bridge over the Penobscot River downstream from Bangor.  It connected Prospect in Waldo County to Verona Island in Hancock County.
  The job of taking down the old bridge was delayed by the removal and replacement of Osprey nests on the towers, nesting poles have done the trick.  The demolition company first sent tugs and a barge to Brewer to load a huge crane which will do the lifting during the tear-down.  The granite piers will remain in place and interpretive information will be posted on the roadside (that's a sign).

Old and New
Photo: Kevin Bennett, Bangor Daily News
 

First deck section removed
Photo: Kevin Bennett, Bangor Daily News

People counting people, what is this?

First up is one of those things from people who think they're old, they are not in my book old yet.

Do you see what I mean?  Those people had TV and seat belts!  These guys are just babies.  I'm old.
We didn't have TV until I was 14 and we didn't have indoor plumbing until I was 12 - - - and this guy is worried about Atari and VCR.  Makes me wonder if he ever saw a telephone with a rotary dial.

Next up, is funny.

 

And last but no least:
Hat's off the the North Dakota State Bison!  They have won the NCAA Division 1 FCB Championship for the second year in a row.  Right there in Frisco Texas. 

Homogenize

Foley Brothers store in Houston in 1929
Photo: www.chron.com Houston Chronicle

  Do you remember when there were local department stores, un-branded family restaurants or different words for things we all used by some other local name?
  I know all of us didn't grown up in cities or places large enough to have places like I've just described, but some did.  I grew up on a small town with one store - Colbaths General Store, the post office was there too and one Mobil gas pump.
  Now it seems that any place with, let's say 20,000 people, almost all look alike, stores have the same name, there are chain restaurants and certainly stores are national chains.
  We've been homogenized, blended all together.  There is almost no local anymore.  That's what happened to the store at the top.  Foley's was founded by two brothers in 1900 with $2000.00 capital, by the 1950's Foley's had stores throughout the Texas area, things were booming.  Then came homogenization and Macy's just sucked up Foley's.  It was a big money deal.
  Most of the photos are larger if you click on one.
CORRECTION:  The girl in yesterday's story did not set a record, there are two instances of girls scoring 60 points in a game.  Most notably for this area Laura Hoit scored 60 points for Hamden in 1929, she went on the teach and coach at Hamden.  Miss Hoit left one million dollars to the Town of Hamden for a swimming pool.  The pool was built and is named the Laura Hoit Pool.  My wife goes there to exercise.  Close to home, huh?

1956 new headquarters in Houston.
Photo: www.chron.com

1970's people shop at a sale in Foley's
Photo www.chron.com

Number 1311

  Well,  I have some surprising news for you today, I didn't wake up until 3:00AM!  That may be a record for me since the onset of my sleep disorder, unless I was sick.  I'm not sick, feel fine and I must be well rested.
  While I was asleep, or maybe not, Parise Rossignol of Van Buren, Maine (that's way up there) may have set a record of high school girls by scoring 49 points in a basketball game.  Van Buren is a small community in Aroostook County, and the only town in Maine that has a church that sells hot dogs in a store front "restaurant".  Miss Rossignol is the daughter of Matt Rossignol who set some records himself in high school and at the University of Maine, he is a teacher and coach.  Parise will attend the U of Maine in 2014.  Hats off to Miss Rossignol.  I love high school basketball.
  So, there you have it.  All the news from this corner of the world.
Levant, Maine - January 4, 2013.  The geezer.

Just a little discomfort

Portland Maine
Photo: Tim Greenway www.pressherald.com
 

  New Years day each year is the day people go to the beach.  They just don't go to the beach, they go in the water!  Brrrrr!
  In Portland, Maine it's done to support Special Olympics as a fund raiser.  In other citys and towns it may be done for the same purpose or a different one.  It really is a "fun" way to raise money for a cause.  If I were younger................

Minneapolis, Minnesota
Photo: www.startribune.com

Seattle, Washington
Photo: www.seattlepi.com

Should have appeared yesterday!
Photo: Facebook

Out of touch? OUT OF TOUCH??

  Well, they got it done.  Both houses of Congress got off their collective asses and voted to pass one piece of emergency legislation.  Bless their little hearts.  Poor babies must be plumb tuckered out!
  Here are some numbers for us little people to think about:
                                       126  -  days Congress will be in session in 2013
                                       239  -  day of vacation for those hardworking dumb asses.
                                       174,000 - amount in US dollars, it's the least one of them can earn.
                                       193,400 - dollars paid the Senate/House majority/minority leaders
                                       223.500 - dollars paid to the Weeper of the House, err Speaker

  Are we starting to see why these people are out of touch with the rest of us?  Have you just lost your breakfast?  Now, now don't feel bad they're going to get a raise of between 1/2 to 1 percent of their pay; and let's not forget the free travel on "junkets" around the world to "study" problems (NOTE problems in other countries, not ours).
  I'm pretty ticked off, can you tell?  A bunch of nitwits that can't agree on ANYTHING, don't understand why families are having a hard time to pay the bills - but wait!  They'll help us little people, here's a sample:
                                   Millions of dollars cut from LIHEAP funds for elderly and poor people.
                                   They will vote to increase the amount of interest on student loans.
                                   They will cut the amount of COLA on government programs like social
                                     security and retirement benefit checks.  Those are OUR EARNED benefits
                                     not a "welfare payment" that your/my congress person thinks.
  I think it's time for a clean sweep, throw them out - nah!  Whoever is elected will be corrupted by the money (corporate) and power, and the sweetest benefits/perks that you and I can only dream about.  Maybe I'll win the lottery.

                                      

Twelve, thirteen, whatever

I must have missed the deadline

Monday's gone and the whole year too,
now it's Tuesday, oh, what to do?
Celebrate the New Year? That's not my thing;
the year will bring, what it will bring.

I don't celebrate on New Years Eve,
there's no reason the old one to grieve.
Besides I was sleeping, all snug in my bed,
dreaming of going downhill on my sled.

So?  It's the New Year? That's no big deal.
No reason for us, passing the old one to seal;
the last one was okay, no sadness here.
Oh, while I have time.  Happy New Year!

The United States Congress in action