Random Flashback for Friday 6/30/17

To complete the trip-tych of pics from White Rock, as visited by Jakey W and I back in the summer/fall of 1997 (what with me wearing that favorite flannel jacket of mine, I'm guessing it was cooler than not -- but since I didn't have my campfire flannel on, it clearly wasn't too too cold [what can I say -- there was a lot of flannel worn in the 90's!]), here's my 25 year old face caught unexpectedly in a pic when Jakey apparently picked up the camera and turned it on me.

Since the other pics were in sunlight, I'm guessing we must have gone up to visit this place at dusk, since all of a sudden it's dark -- unless that's just some old fashioned disc camera trickery.  So much has happened in both of our lives in two decades ... but if only for a fleeting moment, I can look into those eyes of mine staring back at me and I can fondly recall a much simpler time.

2 0 8 4:M i s s i v e 17

Hello again from 2084!  It's Ilion taking advantage of the monthly Vitalnet update to continue letting you all know back in your era about my ongoing adventures since I slipped through the portal into the future through that app in my cellphone.

With my forged identity papers in hand that were designed to fool the Population Control Board's Covfefe Crew (the private company that was outsourced to be immigration enforcers) ... and my trip from the Florida Isles to Old Orleans coordinated by my contact in the IntransiGents (rebels and resisters planning the Fourth Uprising), I have to admit that I was somewhat surprised to learn that my travel was to be by boat.  I mean sure, it was a nice boat and all having been a luxury yacht back in its day salvaged after the sea rise crisis -- but having slipped through a portal in my cellphone to get here, I was expecting something more like beam-me-up technology to get me from point A to point B.

I came to discover that transportation had gone mostly retro, with a heavy emphasis on trains back on the remaining mainland and boats everywhere else.  The terrorists had struck again on the 50th anniversary of 9/11, with a coordinated tech attack that jammed planes in mid-flight and caused them to fall to the ground in a worldwide calamity that killed tens of thousands.  After that incident, the skies were only used by the various militaries -- and the Middle East became the world's largest nuclear exclusion zone after the global response to that horrific day.

So a boat it was -- and I boarded with a cover story that I was looking to reunite with my long lost family who had sold me as a baby via child-traders to a European couple visiting Canada back when we all lived in the now abandoned city of Chitown.  Apparently, so many people had horrible stories from having lived in that particular location through the decades that I would be sure to sail through any immigration checkpoints just by mentioning that I was from Chicago.

My fellow passengers were people looking for work, and although there would be others connected to the IntransiGents on the ride with me, I was not to know who they were so as not to compromise the mission.  With one exception -- and that was that I could trust Captain Sandy.  It was from her that I learned so much about the state of world affairs, what with all her knowledge she had gained from her extensive travels.

I can't wait to share some of them with you ... but I will have to as the small window of time I have to slip these updates into your social media feed on the last day of every month has already come to a close.  Until that next time, I remain Troy in 2084 now known as Ilion as brought to the future by t1a7n72.lif (my SQ, IQ and EQ files uploaded to the Vitalnet) communicating with you through the use of Troy in 2017's social media accounts.

Random Memorial for Monday 6/26/17

Gone but not forgotten:  this early early Garth Brooks release -- now replaced by the same in the personal collection BUT in a CD format (hence the fact that you're seeing it in the trash can, 'cause that's the way this thing works).

As for which tune to select to feature for 'Ropin' the Wind' (the missing g is intentional) ... it has to be the classic song about not quite lettin' go of grudges (again, the missing g is intentional).

Now when it comes to the youtube, it can be hard to find Mr. Yearwood's songs ('cause he apparently hires the same lawyer as Don Henley), but the link below/to follow will have somethin' (intentional missing g) close to it.

And let me just close by sayin' (intentional missing g) that this one goes out to all those long term relationships with people in them who like to be "diggin' up things [they] should forget about ..." (and yes, the missing g is once again extremely intentional).

JUST MAKE SURE YOU CAN GRAB THAT HANDLE:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9UP65SKCcY

Random Flashback for Friday 6/23/17

Tonight's theme for the 39th batch of photos of my father's that I inherited when he passed is "Esther and her best friend".  In case you missed all of the other photos (including the big big batch of pet pics that I am almost finished featuring), Esther, the lady showing up in all of this set but one, is my paternal grandmother (my dad Ralph's mother) ... and "her best friend" is Fluffy, the puppy I associated with her when visiting their house when I was a little kid.

#191:  fuzzy photo of Fluffy and Grandma Esther in the driveway in front of the flag

#192:  clearer photo of Fluffy and Grandma Esther in the driveway in front of the flag

#193:  a bigger Fluffy and Grandma Esther in front of the family car with my dad's writing on the bottom of the Polaroid that says: "mom - pup"

#194:  Fluffy and Grandma Esther in front of the Christmas tree

#195:  Fluffy on a pedestal in front of flowers

Random Memorial for Monday 6/19/17

Gone but not forgotten:  Helmut Michael Kohl.

For you youngsters out there -- this is NOT the founder of Kohl's department store (that was some Kohl named Maxwell) ... but, as the link below says, the world is mourning the loss of the "unifier of Germany and the integrator of Europe".

For a very important semester abroad in the fall of 1990, Kohl was *my* chancellor -- although I shared him with all of Germany -- and I do mean *all*.  While I was overseas, West Germany and East Germany unified and Helmut was instrumental in guiding that process as head of the government (and head of its ruling party, the CDU).  Truth be told, the day I skipped class in Koln and snuck away to Bonn to wait outside the gates of the governmental buildings was because Helmut was meeting with a certain character called Gorbachev and I was hoping to glimpse a bit of history as the two worked together on creating the future (although the closest I came that day was to see a cavalcade of cars as it arrived).

And now he's gone.  He was the leader during my lifetime of one of the greatest countries in the world, and Helmut will be missed.

UNIFIER OF GERMANY, INTEGRATOR OF EUROPE:
http://www.sify.com/news/unifier-of-germany-integrator-of-europe-helmut-kohl-dead-news-international-rgqxagggjidgh.html

JUST THE FACTS, FRAULEIN:
http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/21/world/europe/helmut-kohl-fast-facts/index.html

LOOKS LIKE WE ALMOST LOST HIM IN THE TSUNAMI:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/2004/12/29/celebrities-among-victims-tsunami.html

Random Flashback for Friday 6/16/17

Remember the last time I posted a pic from twenty years ago in 1997 when I said "White Rock" (north of my birth town of Bethel) included a cliff?  Well there it is.

Remember the last time I posted a pic from twenty years ago in 1997 when I said I was there during the day time (sober ... 'cause it wasn't a night time visit) showing Jakey W the special place?  Well there he is.

Remember the last time I posted a pic from twenty years ago in 1997 when I had to explain that my disc camera (kids will need to google that) was slowly dying and there were orange stripes in just about every photo as if it was some kind of exposure issue?  Well there they are.

Random Memorial for Monday 6/12/17

Gone but not forgotten:  the last Reba cassette that's been discarded since it is a duplicate of something that also exists in the CD section of the music collection.

Mind you -- it's not the *last* cassette you'll see in my trash can 'cause there are other artists who are getting this treatment.  It's just that Reba's been the one that has been featured since the beginning of this year, so it's definitely reason to pause to mark a shift in the concept to say it's the last *Reba* one.

Although I should probably say "last Reba one for now", seeing as how I do still have some cassette-only Rebas to which I am holding on until their CD replacement is some day acquired.

Regardless ... the tune I choose to feature from side B of this particular homemade mixtape selection ('Reba Live') is one that is designed to lift you up -- seeing as how that's what music is supposed to do.  Also -- bonus points for the tune being pinned to historical times with its references to music being an antidote to Cold War living ("we don't need no curtain made of iron or stone ... and we are not divided by a wall").  Although, come to think of it, that wall thing sure has crept back into modern history ...

WHEN YOU'RE FEELING LOW ... *HIT* THAT RADIO:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrtRqsdQ-z0

Random Flashback for Friday 6/9/17

Tonight's theme for the 38th batch of photos of my father's that I inherited when he passed is "family reunion 1980 (part one)".  And I have to say that, nearly 200 pictures into this project, this upcoming set (in three parts), include some of my favorite photos I've posted to date.  Selfishly, it may because in 1980 I was eight years old, which means I can still very distinctly remember when dozens and dozens of Neidermyers AND Peiffers (my paternal grandma's side of the family) would take over Brownstown Park in Lancaster County near the original family property.  If there's a sad aspect it's that a good many of the people seen in these shots from nearly four decades ago are no longer with us ... but since we have these photos, we can remember them forever.  And, for fun, in three of the photos you can see half-naked wet cousin Donnie -- which means that these pictures were taken AFTER he engaged all the young kids in a water balloon battle that likely got out of hand. 

#186:  Grandpa Paul is seated in white shirt near middle of photo with my Aunt Margaret seated next to him and my Uncle Fred with a big mustache standing next to him in the blue shirt ... my dad is framed in the middle of the back opening, which is where you can see half-naked wet cousin Donnie

#187:  a closer shot of Aunt Margaret (who looks like she's praying to the crockpots) with half-naked wet cousin Donnie (her son) directly across from her

#188:  half-naked wet cousin Donnie in the foreground with two of the Peiffer sisters (my great-aunts as they were siblings of my paternal grandmother)

#189:  lots of family gathered around the picnic tables (although I'm not sure I can identify a single one)

#190:  from right to left, my Uncle Fred, my father Ralph and Ralph's 4th of 5 wives (not that he had any of them at the same time or anything like that -- collecting wives was just his second favorite hobby after playing with toy trains)

Random Wordplay for Wednesday 6/7/17

Gray Death

Used in a sentence:  "At the risk of tempting the fates of those in Chicago and Lebanon PA (respectively, my former hometowns), I'm going to introduce you to the latest street drug -- known affectionately (?) as the Gray Death."

Let me explain ... once upon a time, *after* the big move to southern Florida, I posted on the old blog about how flakka was taking over the streets here in the FTL.  Shortly thereafter, I saw that the counties in which I lived (and used to live) were all in the top 10 list for the flakka scourge ... and I started to take it personally.

With the opiod epidemic claiming lives everywhere across the country, I think it's key that those of us not (yet?) directly affected stay informed about what's out there on the streets ... and in our neighbor's homes ... and at our schools ...because knowledge is power, and with a lack of national leadership on the issue, we all need to be "in the know".

AS THE SLOGAN SAYS ... KNOW MORE.  BE SURE.:
https://www.drugs.com/illicit/graydeath.html

STAY INFORMED:
https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/americas-heroin-epidemic/what-gray-death-killer-drug-cocktail-latest-battle-war-against-n755546

THAT TIME THE FLAKKA TOP 10 LIST GAVE ME PERSONAL CAUSE FOR PAUSE:
https://capcognition.blogspot.com/2015/08/random-scandal-sheet-for-sunday-82315.html

Random Memorial for Monday 6/5/17

Gone but not forgotten:  the tampon tax here in my new home state of Florida.

Let's start with the obvious.  I do not bleed out my privates on a monthly basis.  As such, I don't pretend in any way to have any moral authority when it comes to whether tampons should be a "luxury" item -- and therefore taxed as such.  Instead, I just like to present the facts as they are.  And the facts here in Florida are that we are maybe on the cutting edge in joining those states that do NOT make a profit on the appearance of the monthly visitor (starting in Jan 2018 anyway).

The so called "luxury" of stopping your flow in a sanitary manner (which heretofore triggered a state sales tax), I'm guessing you will NOT be missed.

LOOK AT US IN FLA DOIN' RIGHT BY WOMEN:
http://miami.cbslocal.com/2017/05/25/florida-joins-13-states-ending-tampon-tax/

SNOPES SAYS ... TAMPON TAXES ARE REAL YO:
https://www.snopes.com/tampon-tax/

THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN OLD WHITE MEN ARE IN CHARGE:
http://www.newsweek.com/let-girls-learn-michelle-obama-tampons-pads-education-450244

Random Flashback for Friday 6/2/17

There's a place back home (where home equals central PA where I grew up and not home in Chicago where I spent a good decade plus) where you can pull off the side of the road right where the Appalachian Trail crosses, and you can follow a path over to a central PA version of a cliff to look out over a scenic view of the countryside.

Depending on your condition at any given moment, it might have been a place to go when you were inebriated (and then a campfire was usually involved) ... but if it was daytime, then you were probably there just for the view (which occasionally included hang gliders who would run off a clearing just a little bit away).

In this scenario, it was the summer/fall of 1997 (I'm wearing my favorite flannel jacket, so I'm guessing there was a chill in the air) and I was there to show little Jakey (who took this picture) all about what was known as "White Rock" (and what with everybody being "woke" nowadays, I sure hope it wasn't so named for racist reasons).

Random Taste for Thursday 6/1/17

And so it continues ... a brand new set of tastes for 2017 ...

 here's the TWENTY-FIRST of FIFTY tastes of FLORIDA 

(coming to you on sequential Thursdays.  All.  Year.  Long.)!

Establishment:  Shake Shack
Location:  Boca Raton
Website:  https://www.shakeshack.com/
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/shakeshack/

TroyScore:  46.5 out of 50 -- aka 93, an A

THE FULL REVIEW (AND ALL THE PHOTOS) CAN BE FOUND HERE:

https://50tastesofflorida.blogspot.com/2017/06/random-taste-for-thursday-6117.html

JUST ONE MORE ... candy (June 2017)

JUST ONE MORE ... candy.

Hey look -- it's June -- which means it's time for a a new challenge!  While it's true that the mission statement for this concept is to embrace incremental change in order to empower folks (or just me) to stay positive and solution-focused in a day and age where problems often seem insurmountable, control often seems out of reach and apathy often seems to be running rampant, it's ALSO true that sometimes you just need to ignore all that's wrong with the world and indulge yourself with a bonus unexpected sweet treat.

Some of you may be thinking that I should save this particular "just one more" challenge for October what with Halloween ... or December seeing as how holiday treats are usually quite special ... or even that I might be a month or two late and that this should have been the challenge during April 'cause Easter baskets.

However, in all of your hypothetical judging of me for the timing of my selection, you'd be missing the fact that June just so happens to be National Candy Month, as per the National Confectioners Association who also had this to say last year with regards to this celebration:  "National Candy Month is a time to celebrate the authentic, fun treats that candy companies have been producing for more than 100 years. For those who love chocolate, candy, gum and mints, those who appreciate the strong economic impact of a responsible and fun industry, and for many others, this is a month made for celebration. It is a moment to celebrate a classic American manufacturing success story."

As always, exactly how you celebrate -- and how frequently (weekly?  daily?  hourly?) -- will be completely up to you.  And it should go without saying that we encourage you to schedule a dentist appointment for July, and a visit to your gym to burn off the extra calories you ingest during this month long party as you go along.  But really, what harm can come from just one more ...  candy.