Life in the fast lane--where's the on ramp?

By Pat_B - About Me - E-mail this page - Add to My Favorites - Add to Blog List - See other blogs in Journal

Monday, February 17, 2014

Galvin School - 1947-48 - the county-wide music festival

From August 1947 until June 1948 my kid sis, kid bro and I were in a foster home, a farm along Lincoln Creek a "few furlongs" past Galvin and north of Centralia. "Uncle Sam" and "Aunt Ethel" usually took only one kid at a time, usually those who'd been ripped out of a family by authorities because... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Pat_B at 5:55 AM | add or view comments (7) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Sunday, February 16, 2014

You could get a Hershey bar for a nickel...

1947: A nickel got you a full-sized bar, larger than the 'regular' candy bars on the shelf today that cost $1.49. In those days a waitress made $2 or $3 a shift plus tips - about the equivalent of the minimum wage at around 35 Cents an hour. A quarter-pound standard burger with a pickle and a... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Pat_B at 5:01 AM | add or view comments (6) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Saturday, February 15, 2014

Dream Theory - what's it mean, and do you want to know?

From time to time I have this dream where I'm in a big public place - a large train depot or a sports arena, at the university or a mall, and when I head for the ladies' room all the stalls are occupied and there's a line. Either that or there are no doors on the stalls and if I decide to go I have... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Pat_B at 5:48 AM | add or view comments (5) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Friday, February 14, 2014

Everything Old is New Again

Last week some time my son Joe stopped by, checkin' in to see if I needed anything from the store. I told him I was out of bird seed, so within the hour he was back with a 20# bag of it. The cardinals and doves and sparrows and squirrels are set for a six week stretch of free lunches... We talked... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Pat_B at 5:27 AM | add or view comments (9) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Thursday, February 13, 2014

The Privileged Class

We don't talk about it, but everybody knows there's a class system in the USA. As a kid I knew it the same way I knew you don't try to pet a skunk. The powers-that-be were the money men like Weyerhauser Lumber which employed most able-bodied men in the Cascade foothills. Somewhere up there were the... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Pat_B at 5:46 AM | add or view comments (7) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Tuesdays with ... well, not Morrie

Last Tuesday, the 3rd, Howard and Ellie came in to the Center as usual, he working his way with the cane, but able to sit down now without her assistance. The new knee he had installed the day after Thanksgiving is finally workable. Ellie said "Yesterday he even drove the car. No problems." Howard... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Pat_B at 5:09 AM | add or view comments (6) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Fuzzy Wuzzy was a bear.

Fuzzy Wuzzy had no hair. Fuzzy Wuzzy wasn't fuzzy, wuzzy? On Feb. 2, First Sunday, my turn at the Library Friends book shop. It was nasty, blowing, colder than hell, and I made an "executive decision" to stay home. I called myself a lily-livered chicken with a mile wide yellow streak down my back,... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Pat_B at 4:41 AM | add or view comments (7) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Monday, February 10, 2014

Center Gossip

Faye stopped at the front desk to whisper a little gossip behind her hand. She had on another one of those cute knit hats with a little bill, all her hair tucked in. She didn’t even wait till she’d hung up her coat to complain to me about her friend Mary. Faye gives Mary a ride to the Center every... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Pat_B at 6:28 AM | add or view comments (6) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Saturday, February 8, 2014

Picky, picky, picky!

Sometimes you (meaning me) write your little story and the scene is great and your characters do just what they should. They flirt or bicker or whatever, just like the muse intended. And you get decent feedback, it's all golden in the land of tales told. And then suddenly you get smacked up side the... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Pat_B at 4:08 AM | add or view comments (6) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Saturday, February 1, 2014

Wildlife and Mystery

He's been missing for awhile. I thought I saw his tracks in the snow out back a couple weeks ago, but sometimes the squirrels' signature hops look the same as Brown Bunny's. With the grass gone dry and no clover growing now, I'm wondering what he eats. I don't think rabbits hibernate, but don't feel... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Pat_B at 5:06 AM | add or view comments (5) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

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Sometimes you have to write it down in order to learn what you really think about life, what it means, how to do what's best. Sometimes you need feedback from someone else to put things in perspective.

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