Subj : Re: Happy Fourth! To : Mike Powell From : Daryl Stout Date : Mon Jul 05 2021 13:58:00 Mike, MP> As a kid I remember the big deal of her turning 200. That is the first MP> 4th of July I actually remember. At the time, I was too young to MP> consider that I would not likely be alive to see her turn 300, but I MP> feel like I have a good shot at 250. :) I remember the American Freedom Train concluding its nationwide journey in Miami...my family was living in the satellite community of Hialeah at the time. Back then, the original Seaboard Coast Line depot was at Northwest 22nd Street and Northwest 7th Avenue. It was razed in the mid to late 70's, and Amtrak's depot is now in the CSX Hialeah Yard, at Northwest 83rd Street and Northwest 37th Avenue (Douglas Road). The way the world is going now (the Middle East is a powder keg), I'd be very surprised if we made it to 250. The average age of most countries and empires is between 200 and 250 years...I'm afraid America is on borrowed time. I have to agree with the song "The Fightin' Side Of Me" by the late Merle Haggard (who died on his birthday), and the 3 by Toby Keith: 1) American Soldier 2) Courtesy Of The Red, White, And Blue 3) Happy Birthday, America...Whatever's Left Of You (his latest). While I wished Toby Keith hadn't used an expletive after he said "never apologize for being patriotic", what he said was basically what Merle Haggard said in his song about America -- "if you don't love it, leave it!!". Whenever I see a veteran, I make it a point to profusely thank them for their service. My late father served in the US Submarine Service during World War II, and he retired as an E-9 Master Chief Quartermaster from the Naval Reserve in 1987, 20 years before pancreatic cancer took his life. I never would've passed the physical...I was born with no arches in my feet, and had poor eyesight for the first 50 years of my life. MP> I celebrated by taking a trip through mostly-rural SW Indiana. Good to MP> see so many flags flying, and to see all the monuments in all the MP> little city squares were still intact and unpainted. :) I long for life years ago...or like with a small town where everyone knew everyone else...and folks cared about each other...never mind that "you did not have to lock your doors at night". I saw a YouTube video from First Baptist Church of Jacksonville, Florida, last night...with the late Dr. W.A. Criswell, long time pastor of First Baptist Church, Dallas, Texas as guest pastor (Dr. Robert Jeffress is pastor at FBC Dallas now)...preaching on "The Old Time Religion". But, before he got to that point, Dr. Criswell (who was nearly 90 at the time the video was made 2 years ago), noted that he could remember prices of various items growing up. Several things cost less than 50 cents!! The cheapest I remember gasoline for was 24.9 cents a gallon at a DX gas station at Red Road (West 4th Avenue) and West 29th Street in Hialeah. A few years later, there were "gas wars", with prices between 30 and 40 cents a gallon. My Dad lamented "I don't know what we'll do if it gets to 40 cents a gallon!!". What we wouldn't give for that!! Twice over the years, I've had 80 cents a gallon discount toward Kroger built up...and one time, I got gas in Little Rock for 86 cents a gallon!! :) I remember the prices of cars on "The Price Is Right" less than $2500. Now, they're over 10 times that!! Locally, since there was a rumor of Kroger employees going on strike a few weeks ago, I've since switched to Valero. On Monday, if you are one of their loyalty card customers, you can get mid-grade gas at the price of regular... and high test gas for the price of mid-grade...and that can save nearly 30 cents a gallon!! The worst part, though, was the seemingly unending barrage of fireworks, firecrackers, etc. -- for all I know, folks were firing off guns, etc. It may be illegal to sell or set off those items in town, but folks buy them in the county (outside the city limits), or order them online. They have absolutely no consideration for folks who may have PTSD, or pets who are sensitive to sudden noises. You're afraid to call or email the police, because if these idiots find out you turned them in, they'll come after you to injure or kill you...or they'll ransack/vandalize/burn down your property in revenge. It sounded like a war zone here, and it went on from 6pm to well after midnight. I was a nervous wreck, thinking my car, lawn, or house, would be set ablaze by errant sparks, etc. -- and got very little sleep overnight as a result. You can't ban the sale, possession, or use of them. Like illegal drugs, folks will find some way to get them...by hook or crook. Even if you put exhorbitant taxes on the items (and to the vendors who sell them), they would find some way to get the money to pay for them. I personally have far better things to spend my money on. I'd rather watch the YouTube Videos of the veterans coming back home to surprise their families or their boyfriends/girlfriends...and especially if a marriage proposal is involved...or if they finish the "video" with the words "Turn around"...and everyone starts crying with joy, as their loved ones are there, in person (I was starting to cry as I typed that). Daryl .... Happy Hallowthanksmasnewyearvalentinepatrickeaster. === MultiMail/Win v0.52 --- SBBSecho 3.14-Win32 * Origin: The Thunderbolt BBS - Little Rock, Arkansas (618:250/33) .