Memories of a Lifetime: 1986-1990

For some reason my memory of the 1986-1990 period in my life is drawing a blank for the most part. Anyone with memories of what happened in Pineville-Alexandria during these years are welcome to comment.

1986 – Halley’s comet appeared in 1986 and won’t reappear till the year 2061. It had last appeared before 1986 in 1911. IBM launches the first laptop computer 27 years ago. Smoking was banned on all public transportation, in the United States which had to be tough for smokers on coast to coast airplane flights. The nicotine patch was invented in 1986. A Plymouth Colt could be purchased for $4,999. A gallon of gas only cost 89 cents. Average rent was $385 a month. Top Gun, Platoon and Crocodile Dundee were popular movies in 1986.

1987 – A Private First Class in the Army was earning $9,385.20 a year. When I joined the Army in 1962 a recruit earned $936 a year as a E-1. A gallon of gas was 89 cents, the same price as in 1986. The U.S. stock market crashed on October 19 with a 508 point drop. Fox Broadcasting made its debut 26 years ago. A seven-day Caribbean cruise cost $1195.

1988 – The price of a gallon of gasoline remained relatively stable, rising to only 91 cents, after being 89 cents the previous two years. Movie tickets were $3.50 and average rent was now $420. Yellowstone National Park had 250 separate fires in 1988 that destroyed 793,880 acres of the park, which was a third of the total acreage of the park. A Logitech mouse cost $89.99, while a Amiga 500 with a color monitor cost $849.

1989 – I had surgery in July of 1989 at Rapides Hospital. I would be off work for six weeks. I would then work from 1989-2004 at the Town Talk , while missing a total of one day of work and was in the hospital that day, after being admitted from emergency room, due to emergency room physician thinking I may had a blood clot, but it turned out to be a muscle tear. I think I got my work ethic from my dad who didn’t miss a day of work over a 40 year period.

That same month before the surgery I had gone to grocery store to get snacks to watch the 1989 All Star game. By the time I got back an earthquake had hit the San Francisco area and film was being shown of the players leaving the stadium with their families. Then we saw hours of coverage of the devastation in the area. Hard to believe 24 years have passed since that date.

Other big news in 1989 is that the Yugo cars went bankrupt. The Yugo is 39th on the list of worst cars in history. One feature was the rear window defroster, which kept your hands warm, while you pushed it. The car looked like it had been assembled at gunpoint. The article also has this to say about the Yugo:

The engines went ka-blooey, the electrical system — such as it was — would  sizzle, and things would just fall off.

1990 – I think this is the year my son Steve played football for the Pineville High School Rebels. He played end and endured practices from summer till the end of the season, but only played in the last game of the season, for only one play and the worst thing is that his mom had left the stadium, by the time he played in the game and I was at work, so no family member was there to see him in that one play. I still respect his work ethic to stick with it all season, even if he didn’t get to play but in that one play.

Gasoline had skyrocketed to $1.34 by 1990. Today gasoline is in the $3.25 range in our area. A Super Nintendo cost $159. Cabbage Patch Kids were $29.99. A six volt Batman car could be purchased for $199 and had a top speed of 3 MPH. A Smith Corona Daisy Wheel Typewriter could be purchased for $179, while a cellular car phone could be bought for $325.

Memories of a Lifetime: 1981-1985

1981 – The Town Talk started printing a morning paper in 1981, which meant that most of us in the composing room worked the night shift. I would work nights the last 24 years of my time with the Town Talk. The page makeup department would work from 4:30 PM till 1:00 AM.

1982 – Another year in which I am drawing a blank, as to what happened during that year. Nationally, the Gannett Corporation published the first copy of USA Today, which makes it 31 years old today.

Gasoline cost 91 cents in 1982. The first CD player was sold this year. A Sony 19 inch color TV was being sold for $499. You can buy a RCA 19 inch color TV at Wal-Mart today for only $124, a savings of $375 thirty-one years later.

One of the major events for me was that the Vietnam Veterans Memorial was opened this year in Washington, D.C. The memorial is of particular interest to me, since the soldier that replaced me in Vietnam died two months after I left and his name and the name of my cousin from Maine are both on the wall. My cousin was a warrant officer flying a helicopter when shot down and killed.

1983 – This was the year we went to Disney World in Orlando, Florida and tickets only cost $18 back then. Epcot Center had opened the year before, so we also went to Epcot Center while at Disney World.

Later that summer we went to Greeneville, Tennessee to see my dad and his wife. You could walk out their back door and see the Smoky Mountains.

The Town Talk celebrated their 100th anniversary by giving each employee a coin, which can be cashed in during the year 2033. The paper will be 130 years old on March 17 of this year.

You could buy a Dodge RAM 50 truck for $5,665. You could buy a toy General Lee car from Dukes of Hazzard for $5.99.

1984 – By this time the years were running together with no particular memory of this year. By 1984 the price of a gallon of gas had skyrocketed to $1.10 a gallon, compared to 91 cents only two years earlier. The same Dodge RAM 50 truck that cost $5,665 in 1983 was selling for $8,995 in 1984. Movie tickets cost only $2.50.

1985 – Another year with no personal memories of it. Looks like when I hit my 40′s my memory bank had deposits less often.

Gasoline was a cent cheaper, than in 1984 with the price now $1.09. A Tandy computer and monitor system was $999. Bacon was a $1.65 a pound in 1985.

A Rolls Royce car for kids were being sold for $500. The vehicle was motorized with a top speed of 5 MPH and featured working headlights and brakes.

Memories of a Lifetime: 1976-1980

1976 – We started the year of 1976 still working at Monroe Morning World. My wife was unhappy with her job and I found out there were two openings for my old job at Town Talk. So we moved back to Pineville, Louisiana at the Quail Creek Apartments off of Stilley Road in Pineville. It was good to be working in cold type again, after working with hot metal the previous two years in Monroe. My salary was $159 a week, when I left the Town Talk in 1974 and my salary had increased to $190 a week during the two years in Monroe. There were some negotiations with Town Talk personnel manager, who didn’t really want to pay the $190 salary, but I knew there was no way, that I would accept a cut in pay. He eventually agreed on the $190 salary, which totaled $9,880 for a year.

Can remember watching television that July 4, as the United States observed the 200th birthday since the Declaration of Independence.

1977 – We saw Elvis Presley at the Rapides Parish Coliseum in March. The seats were in the nosebleed section and we could barely even see Elvis, unlike our seats in Monroe, when we were on the floor, in about the 20th row from the stage. Elvis got sick that night and had to rest, while one of the backup singers sang a solo. We could tell that Elvis had gained a lot of weight, even sitting near the top of the coliseum, in seats that were the worst seats in the coliseum. Elvis didn’t even appear, at a scheduled Baton Rouge concert a couple of days later and was taken back to Memphis to Baptist Hospital.

We were watching the news on television in August of 1977, when we heard the news that Elvis had passed away. It came as a complete shock and it would be revealed later, that Elvis had a serious drug habit, that resulted in his death. This August marks the 36th anniversary of his death. Elvis would be 78 if still alive today.

1978 – My daughter Debbie was born on June 13 at 11:31 AM on a Tuesday at Rapides Hospital. We finally had cable television installed at the Quail Creek Apartments in 1978 and can remember being able to watch the Atlanta Braves on the WTCG Channel 17 superstation in Atlanta. We also were able to watch mostly Chicago Cubs games on WGN superstation out of Chicago.

1979 – We moved to our new home at 310 Burns Street in Pineville. I had remembered that house being built in 1958. The Louisiana College head football coach Les Patrick moved into the home. We lived across the street at 313 Burns Street, where we had lived since 1952. So it was like going home to live across the street from the house I had grown up in. So we moved into the house that had been built 21 years earlier.

1980 – Can’t remember much in the way of local news in 1980, but it was the year that John Lennon was shot outside his hotel. Other news that year included the election of President Ronald Reagan as he defeated President Jimmy Carter in the general election. Jessica Simpson was born in 1980 and will be 33, on the 10th of July.

A new Ford Pinto Pony automobile cost $3,910, while gasoline cost $1.19 a gallon.

United States boycotted the 1980 Olympics, because of Russia had invaded Afghanistan. Ironically, Russia left Afghanistan, while U.S. is presently in Afghanistan 33 years, after the Olympic boycott.

 

Memories of a Lifetime: 1944-1960

When the surgeon that performed my cancer surgery told me in November, that my duodenal cancer has a history of returning it reminded me of my immortality. It may have been negative news, but it also reminded me of many events of my 68 years of living, that were either positive and negative.

1944 – Was born on October 14, just four months after the D-Day landing and World War II would be over in Europe, about six and-a-half months later in April of 1945.

1950 – My first memory is of walking to school with my brother on the first day of school to Pineville Elementary. I remember Mrs. Price was my first grade teacher. School lunches were only 10 cents at the time.

1951 – This is the year I rode my last school bus in the second grade, when I accidentally got off the bus in Libuse, instead of five blocks from Louisiana College, so walked home that day from Libuse to Pineville. I never rode another school bus after that day.

1952 – We moved from Holloway Drive to Burns Street in February of 1952, moving from a small house to a very large house. The house payment was $55 a month, which was a bargain at the time.

1954- Think this is the year when my dad purchased our first television, when I was nine years old. He didn’t buy it for entertainment reasons, but because my sister had a lazy eye and a special screen was placed over the TV screen, that made her use her lazy eye. We bought it at L.B. Henry’s store on Main Street, when they were selling televisions. Our first TV was an Admiral.

This is also the year I really became interested in baseball and remember listening to the 1954 World Series between the New York Giants and the Cleveland Indians. Willie Mays made his famous catch in one of those games on a ball hit by Vic Wertz of the Indians.

1955 – Ray Kroc opened his first McDonalds fast food restaurant (the McDonald brothers opened the first eight, before selling out to Kroc.) Once after he bought the San Diego Padres they were playing so badly, that Kroc said over the public address system that his short order cooks at McDonalds could play better the Padres.

This was the first year I played Little League baseball. I went to a local hardware store to buy a baseball glove and wanted to buy a $6.50 glove. Only problem was that I only had $6, but the owner Mr. Brister let me have it for $6. It was a Nokona brand glove.

1956- My main memory of 1956 was when Don Larsen pitched the only perfect game in a World Series. He recently sold his uniform from that game for $756,000 and is using part of the money to pay college education expenses for his grandchildren.

1957 – Elvis Presley buys Graceland for $100,000, since their last Memphis home had attracted too many fans, with no way of keeping them off the grounds. This was the year my baby sister was born on March 23. Three months later the worst hurricane to hit Alexandria-Pineville area in my memory hit the area, with full force when Hurricane Audrey hit. Audrey had earlier killed 500 people in Cameron, Louisiana.  I remember Jim Gaines of KALB Radio telling, about the progress of the hurricane and the damage being done. We had a very tall pine tree fall in our yard, but was not close to the house.

August of 1957 would bring many memories when my dad, older brother and me took a road trip in our 1949 Packard, from Louisiana to Maine. We made the usual tourist stops like Rock City, Lookout Mountain, Mount Vernon and other tourist attractions. We visited the most tourist attractions in Washington, D.C. We visited the National Archives Building, Capitol building, White House (just saw it from the fence), Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, Smithsonian Institution, Bureau of Mint and Engraving and watched the workers print sheets of currency.

We visited the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia and saw a show at the planetarium, plus visited the site of the Liberty Bell. However, the main thing I remember from the Philadelphia visit was seeing my first major league game. The hometown Phillies were playing the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates in Connie Mack Stadium. I remember fans bringing paper bags with bottles in them to the game. I can only imagine what was in those bottles. I also remember the Phillies fans booing their own players. The highlight of the game was when Bill Mazeroski hit a home run that hit the tin roof over our heads, in the left field bleachers. Three years later Mazeroski would hit a walkoff homer that defeated the New York Yankees in the 1960 World Series Game 7.

Saw my grandpa for the only time in my life in the hospital. Not sure where the hospital was located. It was either New Jersey or Pennsylvania. My dad’s folks were living in Millville, New Jersey.

Will never forget my dad driving through the Bowery district in New York City and seeing men laying on the sidewalk. That would be the only time for me to visit New York. Then we went on to Beverly, Massachusetts and ate at a Howard Johnson’s restaurant, with the classic orange roof. My dad was in town for an American Chemical Society convention, then after the convention ended we went to Maine, to see my uncle and aunt and their family. It was the only time I saw my cousin alive, since he was piloting a helicopter in Vietnam, when he was shot down and killed.

Then we raced back to Louisiana, stopping only one night at Warsaw, Kentucky, then my dad drove almost non-stop since school started the next day at Pineville Elementary. The next month the Milwaukee Braves would win the 1957 World Series.

1958 – Played Pony League baseball in 1958, which would be my fourth and last year of playing baseball. One night when we were playing a game, someone hollered “That plane is going to crash” and we saw a plane plummeting to the ground, about two miles from the park. It crashed about a block or two off of Main Street near a National Cemetery, but not positive about the exact crash site.

This was also the year I entered Pineville High School. It is difficult to believe that this was 55 years ago. Finding classes was not easy that first day, since I wasn’t used to attending such a big school.

The Milwaukee Braves took a three games to one lead in the 1958 World Series, but would let the Yankee,s that they had defeated in 1957 come back to win the World Series.

1959 – I remember this being the year my older brother graduated from high school. February of 1959 would see Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper go down in an airplane crash in Iowa. The Big Bopper had appeared in Alexandria, Louisiana about 1958, at a KALB Radio record hop. 1959 was also the year the White Sox won the AL pennant but lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series.

The highlight of 1959 was our trip in a Volkwagen Micro-bus, which took us to Missouri, Canada and back to Louisiana. My dad was taking classes at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, so we stayed mostly in Missouri at the 80 acre farm of my grandpa and grandma. They had only recently installed indoor plumbing in their home. I will never forget the huge console radio on the living room floor. The sound was great and I could hear the Kansas City Athletics baseball games on the radio. Saw Leave it to Beaver for the first time on their television. Don’t think it was on KALB TV in Alexandria, La., since it was on another network.

We spent part of the summer at the Chateau Cottages near Devils Lake in Wisconsin. We were on a tourist boat, when the captain asked me to pilot the ship. He sold souvenirs, while piloted the boat up the Wisconsin River. It was a relief when he took over the helm, since there were a lot of duckboats on the water.

Then after my dad finished the summer classes we drove to Chicago. It was amazing to look up at the tall buildings on the Loop and we went to a church in Berwyn, Illinois. Then we drove to Detroit and visited the Ford headquarters and also toured Post Cereals factory and can’t remember if we also toured the Kelloggs plant. We crossed into Canada at Windsor and journeyed to Brantford, Ontario where my mom had relatives. We then went to Niagara Falls and crossed back into the United States.

My dad was stopped by the Canadian Mounties, because our Volkswagen micro-bus resembled a vehicle they were looking for. At one point during our trip while driving in the United States a driver hollered “Governor Long” at us, when he saw the Louisiana license plate. This was the same year he managed to escape from a mental health institution, so Louisiana was in the news a lot that summer.

1960 – Nothing stands out about this year for me, except for the Pittsburgh Pirates defeating the New York Yankees in Game 7 of the 1960 World Series. Bill Mazeroski, who I had seen hit the home run, in Philadelphia three years earlier hit a walkoff home run over the left field wall, that made Pirates the world champions of baseball.

James Dean: Still Remembered 57 Years After His Death

James Dean
1931- 1955

James Byron Dean was born on February 8, 1931 in Marion Indiana. His father moved the family to California, but he sent James to live with an aunt and uncle in Indiana, when his mother died.

Dean appeared in five movies from 1951-1952, but they were all uncredited appearances. Meanwhile, he was appearing in many television series and in live theater television productions.

He also appeared in live drama productions on television, including I’m A Fool which was shown on GE Theater. The production also starred Natalie Wood, when it was shown on November 14, 1954.

ImAFoolgeTheater

East of Eden

Dean’s next movie East of Eden would be released in April of 1955.  Dean who appearing in his first starring role as Cal Trask would be nominated, for Best Actor Award for his role. He was nominated posthumously, becoming the first actor ever nominated after his death.

James Dean and Julie Harris in a scene from East of Eden:

James Dean refused to attend the premiere of East of Eden, which almost caused him, to lose his lead role in Rebel Without a Cause. Dean beat out Paul Newman for the role of Cal Trask, when they both were in the same scene, during the screen test.

East of Eden was the only one of Dean’s best known movies to be released before his death.

Rebel Without a Cause

Later in 1955, Dean and Wood would be paired again in the movie Rebel Without a Cause. This movie made a huge impression on me, when I saw it on television. I can still remember the planetarium scene in the movie.

This first clip from Rebel Without a Cause shows James Dean and Natalie Wood:

Romantic scene with James and Natalie:

Natalie Wood is the starter for a chicken race between James Dean and the villain:

James Dean is remembered for his role in Rebel Without a Cause, but Natalie Wood would be nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role as Judy, while Sal Mineo would be nominated as Best Supporting Actor for his role as Plato.

Some interesting trivia about the movie: Dr. Seuss (Theodore Geisel) had submitted a script considered for the movie, but was rejected. Jayne Mansfield and Debbie Reynolds were both considered for the Natalie Wood role of Judy.

The three stars of the movie all met tragic deaths, with James Dean dying in a car accident, Natalie Wood dying in a drowning accident, which is still being investigated by the Los Angeles police and Sal Mineo who was stabbed to death. The policeman (Edward Platt) who knocks down Dean in the police station scene, would take his own life in later years. Platt is best remembered for his role as Control Chief on Get Smart television series.

Giant

James Dean would be nominated for Best Leading Actor Oscar posthumously, for his role as Jett Rink in Giant, while Rock Hudson also was nominated for Best Leading Actor. The film was nominated for ten Oscars, but only director George Stevens won an Oscar for Best Director.

James Dean and Elizabeth Taylor seen in a scene from Giant.

James telling Rock Hudson’s character and the others that he just struck oil:

Nick Adams provided the voice for Dean in some lines, due to Dean dying before production ended. Hudson had been given a choice, between Grace Kelly and Elizabeth Taylor and chose Taylor.

Giant was the highest grossing movie for Warner Bros.  until Superman was released. Sal Mineo who had appeared in Rebel Without a Cause was also cast in Giant.

Death

Dean was forbidden to race during the filming of Giant. He had been a successful car racer at the Palm Springs Road Races and had won some races and had placed in the top two in some other races.

He was eager to impress actor Alex Guinness with his new car, a 1955 Porsche 550 Spyder and showed the famous actor his car. Guinness was not impressed and made this prophetic statement and told Dean  ”If you get in that car, you will be found dead in it by this time next week.” Dean was dead seven days later after having been hit in a head-on collision.

This is all that remained of James Dean’s Porsche after the September 30, 1955 accident that ended his life at the age of 24.

September 30, 1955 started off as a normal day for Dean, as he planned to put his Porsche on a trailer on way to racetrack, but his mechanic Walter Wutherich thought it would be better for Dean to drive it to Salinas, California, so he could get used to being in the driver’s seat. Dean was stopped at 3:30 PM PDT for speeding, since he had been driving 65 MPH in a 55 MPH zone.

It was at approximately 5:45 PDT that Dean noticed a 1950 Ford Custom coupe coming toward him at a high rate of speed. He tried to maneuver his Porsche to avoid a direct hit, when the driver Donald Turnupseed crossed the middle line, causing him to hit Dean’s car head-on.

Dean was pronounced dead on arrival at Pablo Robles Memorial Hospital, which was 28 miles from the crash scene. Surprisingly Turnupseed only suffered facial bruises and a bloodied nose from the accident. He was well enough to walk and hitch-hike on his way to Tulare, California.

Legacy

James Dean’s death at the age of 24 raised a lot of questions. Would he have went on to become one of the greatest actors in Hollywood history? We will never know the answer to that question.

What we do know is that is that from 1951-1955 he left behind memories of him being on Broadway, on television and in the movies. His most memorable movies were released in 1955 and 1956, when Rebel Without a Cause, East of Eden and Giant were released.

Many actors never are nominated for an Academy Award in their entire career, yet Dean was nominated twice for two of the three movies he appeared in over a two-year span.

Rebel Without a Cause best exemplified for me the James Dean I remember, as a troubled youth in that movie, that couldn’t find happiness in a troubled world.

Lizard Lick Towing Returns On June 11

Ron Shirley, Amy Shirley and Bobby Brantley of Lizard Lick Towing.

Lizard Lick Towing will return to TLC on June 11. The show will be broadcast at 10PM EDT on Mondays.

Some critics of the show say it not a reality show, but instead is a fake reality show. They may be right, but it still shows a humorous side of repossessing vehicles and the lengths owners will go to so they can keep their vehicles from being repossessed. Former pro basketball star Charles Barkley is a fan of the show.

Ron Shirley and his wife Amy are the owners of Lizard Lick Towing and Recovery with Bobby Brantley assisting Ron in the repossessions. Ron and Bobby rarely can hook a vehicle up, without the owners knowing what is going on. Instead there is almost always a confrontation, with the owners before the vehicle is towed away.

Even Bobby Brantley has admitted some scenes are staged. If that is correct, then the show stops being realistic and instead is being manipulated by the producers, to make the viewers believe, that whatever is being shown really happened.

It is amazing how many times the lobby of the Lizard Lick Towing has been damaged by irate owners, returning to the office to pick up their vehicle. You would think that they wouldn’t bother to redecorate after the lobby has been trashed several times.

The show is a mixture of laughter and serious situations, where gunshots have been directed at Ronny before.

First show of the new season will be airing in only 11 days. Tune in June 11 to see the first show of the new season.

Changes in My Lifetime: Things That Are Out of Style Now

Drive-in Movie theatre located next to a railroad track.

My home state of Louisiana has no drive-in theatres, left in existence the last time I checked. I can remember when we had the Fox Drive-in , Joy Twin Drive-in, Showtown Drive-in and Kings Drive-in located in Alexandria and Kingsville.

There are probably some others that were thriving at one time in the Cenla area.

I will never forget the speakers by the side of the car that let us listen to what the actors were saying on the screen. I remember stories of kids hiding in the trunks of cars to avoid paying to see the movies. 

Five years ago we went to a drive-in theatre in Mt. Airy, North Carolina. We saw a cartoon that night, so wasn’t too memorable, except for turning back the clock that one night, going back in time, even though the new technology let us hear the movie over the radio, if turned to a certain frequency. 

Eight track players came and left before I ever owned one.

Think most of us owned a record player before we owned a television since it

was only form of home entertainment before the radio and television in most homes.

I can still remember my dad wearing hats like these in the 50′s and

it used to be common for men to wear hats like these to baseball games.

A typical soda fountain back in the day.

There was something special about a trip to a soda fountain. Whether you bought an ice cream cone, a banana split, a root beer float, a milk shake or a sundae, it just tasted better coming from a soda fountain. I still have not found a cherry coke with the taste of a soda fountain cherry Coke.

Who can ever forget those 15 cent hamburgers at McDonalds when you could get a combo for less than a dollar. Those days are gone forever, but the memories of those days lingers on about 50 years later.

The Paramount Theater in downtown Alexandria where I watched No Time For Sergeants three times in a row without having to pay for the second and third showings.

 I can still remember kids delivering newspapers on their bikes. I also remember them selling papers on the street corners downtown. The demise of the afternoon newspaper ended for the most part the delivery of newspapers by kids as the grown-ups began to deliver papers in their cars and trucks, very early in the morning. The Alexandria Town Talk carriers would start their deliveries about 1 AM in the morning, but the last papers might not be delivered to 6 or 7 in the morning.

I know next to nothing about cigars, but am almost certain that there are no five cent cigars being sold in 2011.

The five cent cigars in the photo were apparently being sold during the 1968 presidential campaign by Senator Hubert H. Humphrey.

That campaign was 43 years ago, but it still may have been near the end of a time when cigars were being sold for five cents.

When was the last time you told a gas station attendant to “filler up”? There may be some full service gas stations still around, but they are getting harder to find all the time. The full service gasoline stations would fill your tank, wipe your windshield, check your tires and give or sell you a map, so you would know how to get to your destination. You used to get glasses or some other item when you bought gas. All you get now is high prices for gas we used to pay about 50 cents for.

I can remember selling books of 20 five cent stamps  for a dollar in the Army post office in Hawaii and Vietnam. The five cent price went into effect in January of 1963 and didn’t increase to six cents until 1968. So the five cent price stayed the same during my entire time working in the Army post office.

The penny postcard had risen to four cents by 1963. 

Today the five cent stamp of 1963 has risen to 44 cents and the $1 book of stamps is now $8.80. The penny postcard has risen to 29 cents. 

Lizard Lick Towing Returns Monday, August 22 at 9:30 PM

Bobby Brantley, Amy Shirley and Ron Shirley return for another season starting August 22, 2011 at 9:30 PM on TruTV.

 

The gang from Lizard Lick Towing will start their second season next Monday at 9:30 PM on TruTV. We can expect more of the drama we saw last season, when Ron and Bobby pulled into yards to repossess vehicles, boats or whatever they were trying to repossess at the time.

There are a lot of repossession shows on television today, but to me the best is still Lizard Lick Towing, We have been seeing Ron and Bobby in action on All Worked Up, since Lizard Lick Towing completed their last season.

Now they return with their own 30 minute show. We can expect to see Big Juicy in the office to protect Bobby when he is outnumbered or even if he isn’t outnumbered. I thought she was actually part of the staff, but she isn’t shown as a member of the staff at the Lizard Lick Towing website. However, the website does show there are a lot more members of the staff than are shown on television.

http://lizardlicktowing.com/

 

Ron seems to find the humor in any situation. He will even throw out some of his humorous sayings in the middle of a fight. One thing about Ron and Bobby, they almost always get their vehicle or whatever they are picking up and if they don’t it is because they are dodging bullets and even the best repo men are no match for bullets headed in their direction.

Even former basketball player Charles Barkley is a fan of Lizard Lick Towing, since he has mentioned the show before.

Welcome back Ron, Bobby and Amy for another exciting season !!!

 

Predictions Made in 1950

 

The February 1950 edition of Popular Mechanics featured predictions of what products we would be using in the future.

 

Popular Mechanics magazine looked into the future and made some predictions on what life would be like in the year 2000. The writer of the article was Waldemar Kaempffert, science editor of the New York Times.

 

He predicts that the highways would be double-decked with the top deck for fast non-stop traffic, while the lower deck would be for shops alongside the highway.

 

One prediction that never materialized was the rockets that were to have flown from New York to San Francisco in two hours. A eight room house would only cost $5,000. We all know that never materialized either. Houses would not be built with wood, brick or stone in 2000, since the cost would be prohibitive, but instead built with metals and plastic.

 

Razors will be a thing of the past according to the writer, since a chemical solution will remove beards. Gillette, Schick and other razor companies are glad that prediction never came to fruition.

 

There will be no dishwashers in 2000, because dishes will be thrown away after being used. Two dozen plastic plates will cost a dollar, which isn’t too far off from the prices of 2011.

 

Soup and milk will be sold as bricks, but that never happened. Fast cooking electronic stoves will thaw a frozen steak in eight seconds and will be ready to eat in two more minutes.

 

Turning sawdust and wood pulp into foods is another prediction that went wrong. One prediction that did come true is that shopping by television, which is evident by the many products for sale on QVC and the Home Shopping Network.

 

The writer goes on to say that the housewife of 2000, will wash anything in the house with a water hose since the houses and everything inside will be waterproof. A calculator-weather forecaster machine will predict the weather.

 

Hurricanes will be stopped by igniting the water with oil. Wish it was that easy to stop a hurricane. Supersonic airplanes will travel 1,000 miles an hour. I can personally attest that this never happened since it took about two hours to fly from Houston, Texas to Knoxville, Tennessee which is about 200 miles less than 1,000 miles.

 

One prediction that has come true is the prediction that flying will be very expensive because of the high cost of fuel. The writer says a trip from Chicago to Paris would cost $5,000.

 

Families in 2000 will use helicopters, parked on their rooftop to get around fast, while the family car would be used for shorter trips of less than 20 miles.

 

Tuberculosis will have been cured by 2000. As far as I know there is no cure for tuberculosis 60 years after this article was written. Cancer will not have been cured by 2000, which is sadly the case today.

 

The prices shown in the magazine are as interesting as the predictions. The magazine shows a table saw for $15.95. Doubt if you could find one today for anywhere close to that price. Another item for sale in the magazine include a 65 pound boat for $35.

 

To read the complete article:

 

http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2006/10/05/miracles-youll-see-in-the-next-fifty-years/?Qwd=./PopularMechanics/2-1950/next_fifty_years&Qif=next_fifty_years_00.jpg&Qiv=thumbs&Qis=XL#qdig

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gasoline Price Wars: Now Ancient History

With the price at 24 cents, a driver could purchase 10 gallons of gas for a total of $2.40, which is about a dollar less than it costs today for one gallon. 15 gallons at 24 cents a gallon cost $3.60, which is close to the price of gas today for one gallon in some locations.

Using  $3.50 a gallon as a benchmark price today, 10 gallons would cost $35 today  instead of the $2.40 during that gasoline price war in 1969. 15 gallons would cost $52.50 today compared to the $3.60 price during the 1969 price war.

Drivers today are paying about $49 more per 15 gallons than the $3.60 price of 1969.

The American people are being held hostage by high gasoline prices. Drivers who drive 25-30 miles to work one way today are seeing a lot of their income eaten up, by high gasoline prices. For instance a driver who drives 60 miles a day to and from work, who uses 20 gallons a week, would spend close to $65 a week for gasoline, while driving 300 miles.

That is a total of  $260 a month spent on gasoline. The politicians in Washington don’t seem to care about gasoline prices, since senators and congressmen earn $174,000 a year in 2011.

So while our lawmakers more or less ignore the high gasoline prices, the middle class is paying more at the pump each year as gasoline prices continue to rise, with no relief in sight.

Bank Robber Pretty Boy Floyd: Wasn’t Pretty or a Boy, But Cold Blooded Killer

Pretty Boy Floyd 1904-1934

Despite his nickname Pretty Boy Floyd was neither pretty or a boy. He was a hard-boiled criminal who was first arrested at the age of 18 for stealing roll of coins from a post office.

Floyd had been born in Adairsville, Georgia on February 3, 1904 but grew up in Oklahoma.

When he robbed a paymaster the victim told police that one of the robbers was a “pretty boy with apple cheeks” and he was Pretty Boy Floyd the rest of his life though his friends called him “Chock”. Floyd hated the Pretty Boy nickname, not exactly the way he wanted to be portrayed.

Attempted To Find Work

Floyd married 16-year-old Ruby Hargrove in 1921 and when times got tough for the young couple Floyd started his life of crime. He had tried to find work, but became discouraged after not finding work.

With no work in sight, Floyd took a train to St. Louis where he would rob a Kroger store of $16,000. but was arrested when he was seen with new clothes and a new car. Officers found what was left of the money from the robbery.

He served five years in prison. While he was in prison his wife gave birth to a son, Jack Dempsey Floyd and divorced him. There were no reports of her being arrested, since she had to have known the money came from the robbery.

Used Bank Officials To Shield Him

He sometimes made bank officials stand on running boards of his vehicle as he made his getaway to avoid being shot at by law enforcement. He was known as the “Robin Hood of Cookson Hills” a name which he liked and he said that he only robbed moneyed men. He never wore a mask to conceal his identity, sometimes even introducing himself to his victims.

Although he had sworn he would never return to prison, he was sentenced on November 24, 1930  to a 12-15 year sentence for robbing a Ohio bank. However, he escaped and in March of 1931 was a suspect in the murders of two bootlegging brothers, Wally and Boll Ash of Kansas City.

Car used by Pretty Boy Floyd while getting away from FBI.

Killed Three Law Enforcement Officials

Members of his gang or Floyd himself would kill three more law enforcement officials starting with the murder of patrolman R.H. Cashner on April 23, 1931, then went on to kill ATF agent C. Burke in Kansas City on July 22, 1931. Then on April 7, 1932 an attempted ambush on Floyd, resulted in the death of former sheriff Irv Kelley of McIntosh County, Oklahoma.

Targeted By FBI After Kansas City Massacre

It wasn’t clear that Floyd had been involved in the “Kansas City Massacre” of June 17, 1933 but he was suspected as being one of the killers who killed four police officers at the Union Railway Station in Kansas City. The FBI made an even stronger effort to arrest Floyd, although it is questionable if he was involved even though he was in Kansas City at the time.

Bank robber Alvin Karpis claimed that Floyd admitted he was involved in the massacre, but there has been so much conflicting testimony that it is unlikely we will never know what really happened.

Floyd And Accomplice Encounter Police In Ohio

Four days prior to his death, Floyd and Adam Richetti left Buffalo, New York on October 18, 1934. They were driving through heavy fog and ran into a telephone pole. They asked their female companions to get a tow truck, since they didn’t want to be recognized. The tow truck driver would then bring the females and the car back when it was repaired.

However, someone calls the police when they see the two men on the side of the road, thinking they were looking suspicious at dawn on October 19. Wellsville, Ohio Police Chief John H. Fultz and two officers arrive at the scene to investigate. Floyd’s accomplice Richetti runs into the woods with two of the officers running after him.

Floyd fires at Fultz, wounding him in the foot and then runs into the woods. Meanwhile, Richetti is eventually captured, but Floyd is still in the woods hiding from police.

Floyd Gunned Down In Cornfield

Pretty Boy Floyd’s death was as controversial as the Kansas City Massacre. The only thing known for sure is that Floyd  was killed in a cornfield on October 22, 1934 in East Liverpool, Ohio.

FBI agent Melvin Purvis regarded as the man who got John Dillinger, another notorious criminal in the era, was there when Petty Boy Floyd met his death.

To sort out the different accounts of his death, it would be easier to read the accounts at Wikipedia than for me to confuse readers, even further by my interpretation of the events:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pretty_Boy_Floyd

This website has an excellent timeline of what transpired starting with the Kansas City Massacre to the death of Pretty Boy Floyd.

http://www.gangstersandoutlaws.com/sitebuilder/images/Floyd_Lit_Digest011-409×482.jpg

Illegal To Take Lion to a Movie in Baltimore

It is illegal to take lion to a movie in Baltimore, Maryland.

It is illegal to throw a ball at someone’s head just for the fun of it in New York.

You can’t eat peanuts and walk backwards on sidewalks during a concert in Greene, New York.

Anyone that runs out of gas in Youngstown, Ohio is subject to arrest.

No sleeping donkeys are allowed in bathtubs in Oklahoma after 7PM.

Next time you see a moose from an airplane in Alaska, you could be in a heap of trouble.

A baseball team hitting  a baseball out of the park or stadium in Oklahoma has to think twice before hitting a home run since it is against the law.

A Kentuckian has to take a bath once a year, whether they need it or not.

Buying bologna on a Sunday is against the law in Tennessee.

Any school bus drivers in Florida trying to transport livestock on a school bus is subject to arrest.

Chickens in Virginia can only lay eggs between 8AM and 4PM.

Anyone carrying a concealed weapon that is six feet or longer in the state of Washington, will have to suffer the consequences for breaking the law.

If you are herding sheep down Hollywood Boulevard, remember to count them first, since no more than 3,000 sheep are allowed on the boulevard at the same time. (Another website says the limit is 2,000 so may be best to herd no more than 2,000 sheep down Hollywood Boulevard.)

 

 

Texas Considers 85MPH Speed Limit

Photos like this remind us of the hazards of driving on interstate highways at high rates of speed.

The Texas House of Representatives has already approved changing the maximum speed limit in the state to 85MPH. The bill will now go to the Senate.

If a car maintains the 85MPH pace for two hours they will have driven 170 miles. I am not sure that cars can withstand being driven at that speed for two hours without overheating. It is pushing a car to its limit.

It would also take longer to stop if a car traveling at that rate of speed were to hit another car. For instance a car traveling 85MPH which came up behind a car traveling at 55MPH might not be able to stop in time to avoid a collision.

The higher rate of speed, more importantly would be more likely to result in more fatalities, plus there would be more cars totaled, which would result in higher insurance premiums. The car insurance companies would have to raise the premiums to pay for the damage inflicted by cars going 85MPH.

Another scary thought is the mentality of many drivers, who think they can go five or ten miles over the speed limit. That could mean cars could be driven 90-95MPH on the interstates.

The thought of getting to your destination faster is nice but it is even nicer to drive 70MPH and arrive safely at your destination, with no damage to your vehicle.

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/driveon/post/2011/04/texas-considers-highest-speed-limit-in-nation/1

 

What Year Did McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s, Etc. Start?

It is interesting to look up when a certain fast food company first started, plus how many years they have been in business. This list will make it easier to find out when each of these companies started:

A&W Root Beer Stands………………………..1921 – 90 years

Arby’s…………………………………………………1964 – 47 years

Blimpie’s…………………………………………….1964 – 47 years

Bojangle’s……………………………………………1977 – 34 years

Burger King………………………………………..1953 – 58 years

Captain D’s………………………………………….1969 – 42 years

Checkers…………………………………………….1986 – 25 years

Chick – Fil – A………………………………………1946 – 65 years

Church’s Chicken……………………………….1952 – 59 years

Dairy Queen………………………………………..1940 – 71 years

Dunkin’ Donuts…………………………………..1950 – 61 years

Hardee’s………………………………………………1960 – 51 years

Kentucky Fried Chicken……………………..1952 – 59 years

Krispy Kreme………………………………………1937 – 74 years

McDonald”s…………………………………………1940 – 71 years

Popeye’s………………………………………………1972 – 39 years

Quizno’s………………………………………………1975 – 36 years

Sonic Drive In……………………………………..1953 – 58 years

Subway………………………………………………..1965 – 46 years

Taco Bell……………………………………………..1962 – 49 years

Wendy’s……………………………………………….1969 – 42 years

Whataburger……………………………………….1950 – 61 years

It is surprising that no company on the list was founded less than 25 years ago. The oldest company on the list is A&W Root Beer which started 90 years ago in 1921.

I was very surprised that Sonic Drive In had been in business for 58 years, since I had never heard of Sonic till they moved into central Louisiana.

The newest company on the list is Checkers which was founded in 1986 and celebrating their 25th anniversary this year.

 

 

 

Jimmy Hoffa: Still Missing 36 Years Later

These videos tell the story of the rise and fall of Jimmy Hoffa.

 

Jimmy Hoffa was born February 14, 1913 and disappeared on July 30, 1975 at the age of 62. Hoffa would be 98 years old today if he is still alive.

 

Hoffa was seen outside the Machus Red Fox restaurant in Deerfield, Michigan before his disappearance. His wife, Josephine, had thought her husband was unusually nervous when leaving the house, for what Hoffa thought would be a meeting to discuss his return to the presidency of the Teamsters union.

 

A 1975 Mercury Marquis Brougham almost hit a truck. Then the truck driver, could see Jimmy Hoffa in the back seat, of the vehicle. He also noticed something covered up with a gray blanket, that probably was a rifle.

 

The police found out the car belonged to Joe Giacalone, the son of Anthony Giacalone, who was a known mobster. Chuckie O’Brien a Teamster was the driver of the car that day, since Joe Giacalone had loaned it to him.

 

Hoffa knew O’Brien well enough to feel comfortable getting into a car with him. We can only assume that Anthony “Tony Jack” Giacalone and Anthony Tony Pro” Provenzano, who allegedly were to meet Hoffa at the Red Fox restaurant, sent O’Brien to pick Hoffa up, then Hoffa was killed of and the body disposed of in a place where it would never be found.

 

We will never know if Giacalone and Provenzano participated in the death of Hoffa. They could have had O’Brien drive Hoffa to a location where a hitman would finish the job.

 

One thing for certain is that there is no way Hoffa would disappear of his own volition. He was in the midst of his quest to regain the presidency of the Teamster’s union.

 

Where he was buried remains a mystery today. These are just some of the places he may have been buried:

 

According to Ralph Picardo, the convict who fingered the conspirators, Hoffa’s body was put in a 55-gallon steel drum and carted away in a Gateway Transportation truck. Picardo said he didn’t know where it was taken.

 

According to another jail bird, Hoffa’s body was taken to New Jersey where it was mixed into the concrete that was used to construct the New York Giant’s football stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

Hoffa was said to have been buried in a 100-acre gravel pit in Highland, Michigan, which was owned by his brother William.

His widow Josephine died only five years after his disappearance.

 

Trutv.com has a six page article about the disappearance of Hoffa and the events which may have led to his death.

 

http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/famous/jimmy_hoffa/1.html

 

 

Gas Prices Soaring

Most drivers feel like the prices of gasoline today are asking for an arm, leg and firstborn like this sign says.

It Happened One Night: Clark Gable, Claudette Colbert

This trailer from It Happened One Night shows Clark Gable giving Claudette Colbert tips on how to get drivers to pick up a hitchhiker.

The 1934 movie was released 77 years ago yet the trailer is a high quality clip considering how old it is.

Both Gable and Colbert would win best actor Oscars for the movie while director Frank Capra would win the Best Director award and the film received best picture award in 1935.

They would later appear on radio in the same roles for a radio version of It Happened One Night on Lux Radio Theater.

Ward Bond who later would star in the television series Wagon Train portrayed a bus driver in the movie.

Claudette Colbert said after completing the movie that she had just made the worst movie ever but it turned out to be a huge hit showing she knew more about acting than the business side of making movies.

Know the Face, Not the Name: Burt Mustin

1884-1977

Burt Mustin was born February 8, 1884 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Pennsylvania Military College in 1903 with a degree in civil engineering. He was an auto salesman at one point in his life.

It would be 28 years after graduating  before Mustin made his entry into show business working for KDKA radio station in Pittsburgh.

1951 would be the year he first appeared in a film which was named The Last Outpost at the age of 67.

Mustin would make his television debut the same year in an episode of the Adventures of Kit Carson.

According to radiogoldindex.com he only was in only one episode of Lone Ranger in 1955  before the death of old time radio in 1962.

One of his best known roles was as Gus the Fireman in Leave it to Beaver from 1957-1962. He was 78 when he made his last appearance on the show.

He also was seen in 14 episodes of the Andy Griffith show portraying several different characters including Jud, Old Geezer, Mr. Crowley, Sam Benson, Judd with 2 d’s, Jubal, Jud Fletcher and a townsman. He was in the first six years of the series from 1960-1966 and was 82 when he left the show.

For the next 10 years he appeared in a variety of television programs ranging from the Monkees to All in the Family to Laugh-In to Dragnet to Gunsmoke and ended his acting career in 1976 in three episodes of Phyliss with his last episode being the December 6, 1976 episode. He died about two months later on January 28, 1977 in Glendale, California at the age of 92 just short of his 93rd birthday which would have been on February 8.

Burt Mustin appearing on the Tonight show with Johnny Carson on March 5, 1976 less than a year before his death.

His acting career was relatively short spanning from 1951-1976 but he probably appeared in more different television shows than most actors did in a much longer span.

My favorite memory of Burt Mustin was when he portrayed Gus the Fireman on Leave it to Beaver.

1956 Thunderbird: Dream car

The 1956 Thunderbird was my ultimate dream car but that dream never materialized and surely won't now that it is a classic automobile.

This same 1956 Thunderbird is being sold on Ebay for $65,000 which doesn’t include shipping if it has to be shipped. It is the highest price 1956 Thunderbird but it only has 300 miles since the engine has been rebuilt.

The second most expensive 1956 Thunderbird has 82,510 miles but still is selling for $63,000. There are no bids on either Thunderbird.

One 1956 Thunderbird has had five bids but none of the bids have  met the reserve price. The current high bid is at $8,988.

Another of the 1956 Thunderbirds has a buy it now price of $35,000 but the high bid is $11,100 with two days left in the auction.

Sadly unless Ford changes its mind there will never be another Thunderbird built since Ford hasn’t built a new one since the 2005 model year.