Thursday Portrait.......

Hi everybody...I guess it's time for my semi-annual shearing.

Here's a before and after shot from today..

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Now don't forget about your Friday 55, you've been warned in plenty of time!!

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Peace..!!!

Retro Wednesday.......

Hi everybody...If you were as old as G-Man you would certainly remember The Sky Bar!! introduced by Necco in 1938, the Sky Bar was the very first American candy bar to have 4 distinct individual flavors..Caramel..Vanilla..Peanut..and Fudge. This used to be a very common candy bar of the 40's 50's and 60's. It was my favorite!! It is still being produced by Necco, but it is very very hard to find.

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The Heath Bar was introduced in the 20's..It's a delicious hunk of very thin English Toffee, covered with creamy milk chocolate, It's now owned by Hershey's..

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The Snickers Bar, is made by Mars. It was introduced in the 30's. And it's awesome mixture of peanuts, caramel, nougat, and milk chocolate, is the largest selling candy bar in the world.

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The Hershey Bar, has been virtually unchanged since 1894 when it was first introduced. I can always remember the old guy at the corner grocery store always bellowing outloud...

"Hershey Bar?...Male or Female?....( He meant, with nuts...or without nuts)

Of course all of these candy bars used to be a tad bigger, and they were only a nickel each!

Hmmm...I think I need to bust open my photo shoot now...Peace!!

SEALed With a Kiss.......

Hi everybody...I had to work late tonight, and I'm dog-tired!! Needless to say, I'm not feeling very creative. But my daughter Mandy sent me this pic from San Fransisco's largest tourist trap...Pier 39!

Regardless of it's shlock, you gotta admit, it's a Million Dollar View!!!!!!

Lets see...Them: California, Fisherman's Wharf, Mooching off relatives, Sunshine, Vacation!!

And....US: 32 degree's tonight, Work and School, (Them being Gone...) Hmmmm... Fair trade I'd say!!! Hehehehehe....

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Peace...!!!

I love Spring Sunday's........

Hi everybody...G-Man here.

This morning at 5:30 AM, my wife and daughter flew to California to visit our 82 year old Aunt Julia. This was also a graduation present for my daughter Amanda, who graduated this week from The University of Michigan, with a degree in Fine Arts!

Soooo....? When Mandy and Mrs. G are on vacation...Me and Reese are also on vacation!!

I wasted NO TIME in making a 9:00 AM Tee Time at the beautiful Willow Brooke Golf course!

18 holes AND a cart for 25 Bucks!!!

Such a Deal!!!

At around 2:00 PM, I received a text from Amanda and a beautiful pic shown above..

Well, it just so happened that I also was enjoying a beautiful sunny Spring day in Michigan!!

I think my Motorcycle may have gotten a bit jealous, but he'll get over it....

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Have a GREAT week.....Galen!

For Mona Flash Friday 55.....

There was a young man from Darjeeling,
Who got on a bus bound for Ealing;
It said at the door:
"Please don't spit on the floor",
So he carefully spat on the ceiling.
And another young man from Calcutta
Had a most terrible stutta,
He said: "Pass the h...ham,
And the j..j..j..jam,
And the b..b..b..b..b..b..butta"!!!
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Hey, no one ever said that your 55 couldn't be written
in any form that you like...hehehehe...G
If you or anyone you know has a written a Friday Flash 55,
Please let me know, I'll visit, read, enjoy, comment, then Book!!!
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Peace...!!!!

Thursday Portrait.........

Happiness is....My front yard in bloom!!

And.....Can anyone guess ?

Peace..!!

Please don't forget to do your Friday 55 Boys and Girls...

Retro Wednesday..........

Here's an interesting array of cordless radios

Upper left...An 8 transistor Panasonic from the late 50's

Upper Middle...A radio that mounts on your bicycle circa 1965..

Upper Right...The straw is the antennae..hehehehe

Lower Left...This radio works great, I don't know when it was made though!

Lower Middle..This radio is water proof, you can hang it in the shower!

Lower Right..This 'crank' radio also works on solar power...hehehehe

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This is just a drop in the bucket!!

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Peace....!!!

Did We Quit When the Germans Bombed Pearl Harbor?....

Hi everybody...Thank you one and all once again for the kind words and support that you all have shown be over the past couple of days. I'm very fortunate to have such great friends!

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Today, my son Reese has to go to orientation at the local community college for the Fall semester. Every town and city in America usually has either a founding father, or one special person that embraces the community, and gives back what they deem the reason for their success. Flint has that benefactor in Charles Stewart Mott.

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Mr Mott was from a wealthy family to begin with, have you ever eaten Mott's Apple Sauce?

"The finest apples, in apple land, make Mott's Apple Sauce taste grand"!

But during the early parts of the 20th century, he found himself in Flint. These were very exciting times indeed, and he became friends with such people as Billy Durant, and Louis Chevrolet, et al. These were the founding members of General Motors!!

Although Mott never ran an auto factory, he invested heavily in what he believed would be the future of America. He became a very wealthy man. But he never let his success go to his head, and he was a very frugal man. I can remember seeing him puttering around town in an old Chevy Corvair that he always drove himself. He wore the same double-breasted suit for years, and if he financed a project, he was right there pounding nails, and digging trenches.

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...Anyway, he helped establish Flint Junior College in 1922. In 1955, it became Flint Community Junior College and tuition for County Residents was subsidised. In 1970 it became Genessee Community College. And after Mott died in 1973, they honored him by renaming it what it is today, Mott Community College!!

For years, and even today, if you attended that college, you always referred to it as "JC"..

For the kids out of high school that had no real game plan for the future, instead of paying the long dollor to flunk out of Michigan State, you could flunk out of college at JC for one third the cost!!

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...Sometimes kids are NOT very proud to attend there. They look at it as some sort of punishment or Purgatory for not studying in high school. Thats very true in some cases, but they have an exceptional Pre-Dental program, a tech center that is phenominal, and it is a great stepping stone to any major university in the nation. Both me, Mrs. G, my friend Alex, and dozens of other close friends of mine attended JC, and went on to graduate from Flint-UofM!!

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When Reese told me that he was accepted there, I pulled him aside and shook his hand, and then proceeded to tell him how proud I was that he had planned to go there. I believe my parting words to my little pep-talk was..."They were the best 4 years of my life". (of course it's only a 2 year school, but my first year I majored in Eucre, and had to play catch up)..

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Good luck Son, Dad is very proud of you!!

Funeral For A Friend...........

Hi everybody...As you all know, I attended a memorial service out of town, for a great friend and Fraternity Brother Ned Kintner, this past Saturday. Ned died in December, but the small town that he lived in, was so snowbound this Winter that ole Nedly was kept on ice till just this Friday!!..I guess he didn't look too bad, but they kept the casket closed anyway...

Before I describe the fantastic send-off we gave him, I want to thank the Kintner Family for asking me to participate in one of THE greatest endings, any man could possibly have. The honor was all mine!!!

Ned belonged to the Local chapter of Rolling Thunder, mainly they are comprised of crippled old biker bastards and Veterans. At Saturday's service the room with Jammed with Black Leather Clad sniffling bikers, there to pay final homage to a dear friend...

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Sooo, here's the scenario... Ned's Bike, (middle picture) was taken by one of the Rolling Thunder members named Ray, to be washed, waxed, tuned up, and brought to the front door of the Funeral Home. This bike has an S&S kit on it (more power) Screaming Eagle Pipes (very loud), and I was chosen to ride HIS bike in the funeral procession!!!

But Wait....There's more!!!!

During the service each of Ned's surving siblings got up and choked through some very touching stories about Ned's life. When they were finished the preacher got up to say some final yada yada words...That was My cue to boogie on out of there!!!

I then got on Ned's bike, strapped on my helmut, and looked to the front door. And sure enough, as rehearsed, the Funeral Director propped open the front door just 10 feet from me and the impending Thunder. It was planned that Ned's final song was Reo Speedwagons "Back on the Road Again"..Just as That song started playing, I fired The Hog Up!!!!! Not only did I fire it up... I layed on the throttle like you would not believe. Absolutely everybody in the place knew the sound of Ned's Bike, and it was like the Ghost of Ned was outside beckoning his brothers for one Final Ride..The song kept playing over and over until everyone walked past the closed casket and the awesome picture of Ned that someone had blown up in picture 3....By the time that they made it to the front door, there was NOT a dry eye to be seen anywhere. They all nodded to me and smiled in approval that they had accepted me on HIS bike !!!

As they loaded the casket, and the bikes (numbering about 40) rolled out to form the final procession, I slowly followed the big black Suburban Hearse just like the Presidential Riderless Horse in a State Funeral, I stayed behind the fallen rider, seeing his owner for one last time!!

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Picture #1 is me standing in front of Ned's Magnificent (empty) cabin, looking at my pocket watch, and wondering.....How much time do I have left?

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"Please don't hate me Mama for what I'm about to do.

But the good times we had together, are just about now through.

Please don't misunderstand me, I hate to see you cry.

But I think that it might look better, if I told you now good-bye.

I'm back on the road again, it's time I leave you now

And maybe I'll see you next time that I come around

Until then I hope you are happy baby

And the good times come your way..

I'm back on the road again...

I'm on my way....!"

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Peace...Nedly...!!!!

Old Hippies Never Die, They Just... What Do They Do...?

I know it's a bit blurry, but thats how I plan on being today as well!

After today's very emotional service for my friend Ned, I need a little R and R..

I'll tell you all about it on Monday, but for today....

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"Pass it to me baby,

Pass it to me slow,

And put a little smile on your face,

Before you let it go....

We're gonna lay around the shanty...

And get a Good Buzz On"!!!

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Peace...!!!...4/20 Baby!!!!

Far Out Flash 55...........

"Sing a song of Six-Pence, a pocket full of rye..

Four and Twenty blackbirds, baked in a pie"!!

Four and Twenty?

Four Twenty!!!

(Never, Four Hundred and Twenty...Just Four Twenty!)

Hey...Thats this Sunday!!

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Well....On Thanksgiving you think turkey.

On Easter you think ham.

On 4/20 you think.........

I LOVE HOLIDAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Hi everybody. G-Man will be out of town overnight on Friday due to the memorial service for my friend Ned to be held on Saturday in Ludington Michigan. I'll be back on Saturday evening to Enjoy and comment on all of the 55's that I'm quite sure will accumilate.

If you or anyone that you know has done a 55, please come tell me....

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And please celebrate 4/20 in your own quiet way... Peace...!!!

Thursday's M.C. Portrait......(And we ain't talkin bout Bob Barker)

Sunny....70 degree's.....Off work at 6.....

What do you think I did today???

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Don't forget to do a 55 on Friday...Please??

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Peace...!!!

Retro Wednesday.......

Hi Everybody...As many of you know, I was raised by my grandparents. My Grandpa was a hard working man for General Motors. He couldn't do a lot of things that parents did with kids, but he taught me about hunting and fishing, and he took me to sporting events like the Detroit Tiger's baseball games. He also took me to wrestling matches, the Harlem Globetrotters, and in 1962 took me to Atwood Stadium to see...The King and His Court!

The King and His Court consisted of a fire-throwing phenom named Eddie Feigner, and 3 other guys that changed several times over the years. They would barnstorm into town with much publicity and ballyhoo, and then challenge that particular home-towns softball All-Star Team.

9 vs 4. And unlike the Harlem Globetrotters, they played for real, and to WIN!!!

They started playing in 1946, and played up until 2000..

Feigner was amazing, he could pitch blindfolded, between his legs, behind his back, and from SECOND BASE!! The King and his Court played over 10,000 games...And in that span, Feigner pitched over 238 PERFECT games, and threw over 900 NO-HITTERS!!

I remember Driving home from out West in 1998, I was in some small town in Iowa getting gas when in pulled a Chevy Passenger Van. On the side of the van was painted WORLD FAMOUS KING AND HIS COURT!!! And sure enough, behind the wheel of the van was the man himself, Eddie Feigner. One by one they piled out of the vehicle to do whatever, I was absolutely mesmerized by the scene unfolding before me. I finished pumping my gas and sat behind the wheel of my van, flooded with memories of a great and loving upbringing, by simple honest people.....Eventually tears started streaming down my cheeks and I stared off into nothingness remembering that moment in time when me and Gramps went to see a Legend!!

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I still have that program, signed by all 4 members of that travelling team..

Eddie Feigner died in 2007....RIP Eddie....YOU ROCKED!!!!

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Peace...!!!

Dominic Go Friscum.......

I heard Pope Benedict is coming to America. From what I hear he is OK!! One great thing about being Pope is that you don't have to be THAT good to be a Great Pope...

Check out some of these characters...

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Pic #2..Pope Boniface VIII (1294-1305)...First of all he got rid of his predecessor, Celestine V, by locking him up in a castle, and letting him die of starvation. Boniface was an atheist, who had numerous gay lovers, and was eventually tried for heresy, rape, sodomy, and eating meat during Lent...He never attended his trial, he went mad, then committed suicide...

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#3..Pope Leo X (1313-21)...The patron of Michaelangelo and Raphael, Leo was promiscously gay. When he was elected Pope, he was suffering so much from anal ulcerations, that he had to be carried to the conclave on a stretcher! It was Leo, that provoked Martin Luther to nail his 96 Theses to the Church door at Wittenburg, denouncing Church corruption!!!

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#4..Pope Sixtus IV (1471-84 ).. Builder of the Sistine Chapel, He was the father to 6 illegitimate sons. One of them was a result of an incestuous relationship with his sister!..He was also responsible for allowing the Spanish Inquisition and the subsequent torture of thousands of 'heretics'.

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#5..Pope Paul III ( 1534-49 )..Rome's biggest pimp, Paul kept some 45,000 prostitutes, who paid him a monthly tribute. He also poisoned several relatives, including his mother and niece to gain control of his family fortune. He also enjoyed an incestuous relationship with his daughter.

He once killed a Cardinal and a Bishop, to settle an argument over a theological point!!

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Yeah, I guess Pope Benedict is an all right guy....

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Peace...!!!

Circle-Jerky..........

Hi everybody...G-Man here! As promised, here is an easy step by step method of making your own Beek Jerky in the comfort of your own kitchen..

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1..Get any packet of beef-jerky mix, one packet usually makes enough for 5#'s of meat!

the meat that I used was boneless chuck roast!..Round Steak works better because there is less fat, but it was wayyyy to expensive. (venison works best, but alas, I had none)

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2..Trim off all visible fat, and cut into thin strips or pieces.

In a mixing bowl OR a zip-lock bag, put the meat and mix together. Now you can now add any other seasoning that you like. I used a Cajun Hot salty mix called Slap Yo Mama!! I also used some Terriyaki Sauce and garlic powder.. Mix well, and let marinate for 8-12 hours.

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3..Turn your oven on...Then turn down to warm...On a rack that has some sort of drip catch underneath, put it the oven at night, and by morning you have Jerky!!.

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4.. Folks, this is NOT hard. And at $14.99 a pound for store bought jerky that has been sitting on a shelf for weeks and/or months, this is healthy, affordable, and delicious, and fun!!!...Enjoy.

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Peace..!!

Stay at Home Sunday.........

Hi Everybody...

Remember last week when it was sunny and 64 outside?

This is what I woke up to this morning...Grrrrrrrrrrrrr!!

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I have this friend Peggy, who has a sister that is a severe Diabetic such as myself, and she has perfected many sugar-free recipe's. This Strawberry Pie was made with fresh strawberries, sugar-free strawberry Jello, and for liquid she used diet Red Pop..

WOW!!! Was it ever terrific!!

Right now I am marinating about 5#'s of boneless Chuck that I trimed and cut into strips. I am going to make...home made beef jerky..!

And of course, I am going to share this easy method with you all. Stay tuned if you dare!!!

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Peace...!!

Friday Flash 55.......

The cub reporter was very nervous during his first evaluation.

The editor loved his style, but his story column titles SUCKED!!

"Yellow Snow Cones"...

"Fecal Pottery"...

"Loogie Launching"...

Finally, his angst caused him to emit an SBD!!

Gasping, the editor screams....

"OLSON...Do you know your fart is gagging me?"

'Know it?.....I wrote it!!!!'

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Hi everybody...If you or anyone you know has written a Flash 55, please send them my way. I'll visit, read, comment, then leave!! Have a GREAT WEEK-END!!!

Peace..!!

I Swoon For Ice Wine.......

Oh Baby...Eiswein is a great dessert wine produced from grapes that have been frozen while still on the vine. The sugars and other dissolved solids do not freeze. But the water does, allowing for a more concentrated grape 'must' to be pressed from the frozen grapes, resulting in a powerfully sweet grape concentrate!! With Ice Wines the freezing takes place BEFORE the fermentation process, NOT afterward such as what happens with a fine Sauterne or Trockenbeerenauslese!

(Ahhh Beerenauslese, AND Trockenbeerenauslese are my favorite wines)

People might say That I'm a lilly because I like these sweet wines, but I say drink what you like!!

Only healthy grapes stay on the vine for this process, and harvest may not occur until the following calender year...

Due to the labor-intense and very risky production process, resulting in relatively small amounts of wine. Ice Wines are generally quite expensive..

My very thoughtful daughter Amanda, bought this bottle for her Daddy...

I hope you can see the joy in my face for this Thursday Portrait....

Peace..!!!

Retro-Wednesday Redux......(say That 3 times).....

Hi Everybody...remember last weeks post about the Slinky? Well I thought I'd share this weeks entry in Retro-Wednesday. I have The first 7 issues of the original ATOM comic book. But Only the first 4 issues would be worth selling. These were introduced in June of 1962. I have no idea what they may be worth, I couldn't seem to navigate correctly to any price guide. I guess I'll have to look it up at Border's...High-Tech ya know.

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Peace...!

You Dreamt What?......

Hi everybody...It's been awhile since I posted anything that resembled anything thought provoking, so lets have a go at it..

A couple of days ago, a fellow blogger (who shall remain nameless ) E-Mailed me with something quite disturbing to her. She had a very vivid dream, AND I WAS IN IT!!!

I asked her if I was mean to her, she said 'no, But you had Super Human Strength, and shopped at the Good-Will"!!..Wow...That is kinky!! And I certainly can understand her concern, but I tried to assure her that it was just the banana split she had just before bed-time...

We shall see....Anyway, here are a few very notable quotes from the Father of Dream Interpretation...Sigmund Freud, enjoy!!

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"America is a mistake, a giant mistake!"

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"When a man is freed of religion, he has a better chance of leading a normal and wholesome life."

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"WHat progress we are making, in the Middle-Ages they would have burned me at the stake, now they just burn my books!"

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Thought, is action in rehearsal."

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"The more the fruits of knowledge become accessible to men, the more widespread is the decline of religious belief."

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"Neurosis seems to be a human priviledge."

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"The goal of life is death."

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"The first human being who hurled an insult instead of a stone, was the founder of civilization!"

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"The great question...Which I have not been able to answer, despite my 30 years in research into the feminine soul, is.."What do women want?"

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"Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar!"

See you all tomorrow.....Peace!!!

Finally.........

Hi Everybody!!!

I hope you all had a great week-end!!!

Two sure signs of Spring..

Me and My "Hog"...

Flowers in Bloom!!!

What a glorious Day in Michigan....

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Peace!!!

Friday 55.....

Nikola Tesla, whose name ranks with Edison and Marconi as one of the greats in the history of electricity. Studied birds in the local woods, and then jumped from the roof of the family barn clutching an umbrella...convinced he could fly!

This line of research was abandoned after he spent six weeks in traction!!

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Hi everybody, It just goes to show that no matter how smart you are, you can still do stupid shit!

I hope you all have a wonderful and productive week-end!!

If you or someone you know has written a Flash 55, please let me know, I will read, enjoy, comment, and leave!!!

Peace...!!!

Guest Shot..........

Hi everybody...Among a small little circle of friends, HNT is now known as Thursday's Portrait. You may still get half naked and report to The OS if you wish, but this is meant to be much more wholesome and fun.

This weeks entry by me, is a special guest appearance from the Junior G-Man himself...Reese!

When my family was much younger, we always took GREAT Summer vacations. We have travelled by car to all contiguous 48 states, and on these long journey's Mandy always slept, read books, and bitched a lot. Reese played video games, and we also played a game called...

See the Reaction...

Reese would see if a driver or passenger in the next car over was watching us, if they were, he would imitate a certain emotion or mood..

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Pic # 1 is my 18 year old 'little boy'. (6 foot)

#2..His look of Deep Thought

#3..This used to be his "Eureka" look...But in this pic he looks like a Jesus Freak!

#4..This is his 'Happy Boy" look

#5..This is what he thought of his Dad making him do this look...

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OK...Remember this is THURSDAY!!!

So on Friday...Please remember to do a Friday 55!!!

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Peace..!!!!

Retro Wednesday.......

Hi everybody...Last night one of my very favorite shows, The Antiques Road Show was on..

On one of the blurbs towards the end of the show, they always present a few of the minor items of value. Last night someone brought in their childhood Slinky, IN THE ORIGINAL BOX!!! Because it did indeed have the box, it had a value of around 150.00!!

I got to thinkin...Hmmmmm, Maybe I should check my treasure trove of childhood toys and see if I saved mine....And did I?? Hahahaha...Of course I did!!!

"What walks down the stairs

Alone or in pairs, and makes a slinkity sound?

A spring, a spring, a marvelous thing,

everyone knows it's Slinky...

It's Slinky, It's Slinky, It's fun it's a wonderful toy

It's Slinky, It's Slinky, It's fun for a girl or a boy.

Everyone knows it's Slinky, Everyone wants a Slinky!!!!"

I think that this might be a regular feature on Mr. Knowitall's Blog Spot. I have a myriad of useless, forgotten, and very interesting items...Stay Tuned!!!

Do any of you have anything from your Childhood that may be of interest to the G-Man? Please share with me if you do...

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Peace..!!