Hot Time!

A little excitement here tonight in the old burgh!

Just as we were getting ready to sit down at the table for supper, the phone rang. (Doesn't it always happen that way?) Anyway, it was Bill's Dad, calling to ask us where 1734 Cooper Avenue is - whose house that might be? Now, our house numbering system here is such that you can't anticipate what the next house number will be other than whether it will be an even or odd number, that is it. You could have a double house here and the number on the first might be 100 and the number on the adjoining home could be 130 - yes folks, the number is that scattered, that random and no one has a clue as to why either.

Well, Bill asked me but because of this lovely numbering system, I have no clue as to what my neighbors house numbers might be but I told him since our number is 1607, then we are on the "odd" side of the street so 1734 would be across the road and down the street someplace from here.

I asked him why he wanted to know and he said his dad had just heard on the scanner that there is a fire there and the building is "fully engulfed."

Wow! So, being the inquisitive and caring neighbors we are (translated - nosy), Bill and I went outside to look down the road and see if we could see anything. However, the fog was so thick you could barely see your hand before your face, so I - being ever vigilant and ambitious, energetic, etc (translated - really nosy) set forth to walk down the road to see what I could see - in my soft-soled, but fur-lined, bedroom slippers, of course. You wouldn't want to waste time looking for a pair of shoes or pulling a jacket on either even though it was warmer today it is still January, still cold, still raw.

I walked down past three houses, stopping at the driveway between house #3 and house #4, but was unable to see any flames. Didn't smell any smoke either for that matter. As I started walking back to the house, two fire trucks came whizzing down past me and turned up into the driveway of the last house on the right hand side of the road and I could hear the firemen getting down off the truck but still didn't see anything. Still didn't smell anything either. The residence involved though is an old house - belonged at the turn of the century to my Grandfather's sister - my Great-aunt Anna.

After supper, Bill's dad called back and gave us the details - don't know how accurate they are though but supposedly the family living there now has a garage or basement foundation for a home they've been erecting there for about two years or so now and someone, somewhere there, had a kerosene heater which got tipped over and caught something then on fire. Sorry that's all the details I can provide as that's all Pap's reporting system remembered. (And, please don't assume those to be actual facts as he has been known to get a detail or two -or three -a bit discombobulated from these scanner reports in the past.) But just thought I'd add to the gossip and rumor mill anyway though - on the off chance what news he told us might possibly be correct.

You heard about it here. Just remember that, ok?

A little Maya-ism for today here too. Tonight, after supper, Maya appeared in the living room carrying this little round blob that looked like a fancy bar of soap or something - but she was chewing on it. Guess that would rule out soap of some type then, wouldn' t it. We ascertained it was one of those little circlets of cheese that sometimes come in those Hickory Farms gift packages (we received one for Christmas) and Mandy asked Maya what it was that she was eating? THe response - "Radioli!" Radioli sans a tomato sauce of some type too. I told Mandy if she continues eating that little blob of cheese, the poor kid will be bound up tighter than a drum for the next two-three weeks.

Now - my cousin Skip's girlfriend, Randall, sent me an e-mail tonight. The e-mail had pictures to it for each of these items listed here below but I don't know how to copy stuff like that and get the pictures to show up here too so you're just gonna get the words to this little "look-back" in time.

Read through the list and tell me -truthfully now- - how many of the things listed here do you remember? I'm older than dirt and the Pope too so you know I remembered all of them! LOL

45 rpm spindles

Green Stamps

Metal ice cubes trays with levers

Beanie and Cecil

Roller-skate keys

Cork pop guns

Marlin Perkins

Drive in Movies

Drive in restaurants

Car Hops

Studebakers

Topo Gigio

Washtub wringers

The Fuller Brush Man

Sky King

Reel-To-Reel tape recorders

Tinkertoys

Erector Sets

Lincoln Logs

15 cent McDonald hamburgers

5 cent packs of baseball cards

Penny candy

25 cent a gallon gasoline

Jiffy Pop popcorn

5 cent stamps

Gum wrapper chains

Chatty Cathy dolls

5 cent Cokes

Speedy Alka-Seltzer

Cigarettes for Christmas

Falstaff Beer

Burma Shave signs

Brownie camera

Flash bulbs

TV Test patterns

Old Yeller

Chef Boy-AR-dee

Fire escape tubes

Timmy and Lassie

Ding Dong Avon calling

Brylcreem

Aluminum Christmas Trees

If you can remember most or all of these, then you have lived!!