Great Falls

Johnson

“There is nothing which has yet been contrived by man by which so much happiness is produced as by a good tavern or inn.”

~ Samuel Johnson

Height of Hilarity

by Diana Walker, Time Magazine

This is one of my favorite photos. Timing is everything.

An Old Story

Once upon a time, there was an noncomformist sparrow who decided not to fly south for the winter. However, the weather turned unbearably cold, and he reluctantly began his journey south.
During his flight ice formed on his wings, and he fell to earth half frozen into a barnyard. A cow came by and crapped on the sparrow. The sparrow thought this was the end, but the manure warmed him, defrosted his wings. Warm and happy, able to breathe, the bird began to sing. A cat nearby heard the chirping and came to investigate. He cleared the manure away, found the sparrow, and promptly ate him.

The moral of the story:
1. Everyone who shits on you is not your enemy.
2. Everyone who pulls you out of shit is not your friend.
3. And, if you’re in shit, and warm and happy, don’t open your mouth.

Most Popular Names

In 2004

Boys
1. Jacob
2. Michael
3. Joshua
4. Matthew
5. Ethan
6. Andrew
7. Daniel
8. William
9. Joseph
10. Christopher

Girls
1. Emily
2. Emma
3. Madison
4. Olivia
5. Hannah
6. Abigail
7. Isabella
8. Ashley
9. Samantha
10. Elizabeth


In 1904

Boys
1. John
2. William
3. James
4. George
5. Robert
6. Charles
7. Joseph
8. Frank
9. Edward
10. Henry

Girls
1. Mary
2. Helen
3. Anna
4. Margaret
5. Ruth
6. Elizabeth
7. Marie
8. Florence
9. Mildred
10. Dorothy

Source: Social Security Administration

Iraq, the 51st State

It’s time to make Iraq the 51st state. It would be a great way to fix the mess over there. We’re obviously in Iraq to guarantee access to oil and to please Israel. Democracy in Iraq is a nice notion, but it’s not there now and could be decades in getting there. So, let’s drop the pretense and make Iraq our 51st state and gather them into a democracy. We get exclusive access to vast oil fields; they get all the benefits of statehood including Federal Aid for all those nasty sand storms.

Issue shares of oil stock to each resident of the state of Iraq. That should make them very happy. The rest of us in the US will be happy because the war will be over, and we’ll have enough gas to fill our guzzling SUVs into the next century. Halliburton will be the only loser, but they’ve already made a zillion dollars so let’s not feel sorry for them.

Oh, you say, Iraq would never give up centuries of Muslim tradition to embrace the values of the western Infidels. Middle class American life with beer, shopping malls, and a nice pick-up truck up against Medieval morass, gloom, and terror. Hmmm.

Iraq will want an NFL franchise, of course. The Baghdad BOMBERS sounds good to me although OILERS is available again. Those suicide bombers would make great Special Teams players.

Sir Winnie and the Truth

“Men stumble over the truth from time to time, but most pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing happened.”

~Sir Winston Churchill

Creativity

"Creativity can solve almost any problem. The creative act, the defeat of habit by originality, overcomes everything."

~ George Lois

Wiliam Howard Taft

Taft, our most obese president, weighed in at 340 lbs. during his White House years.

Before he was President, he once sent a telegram to Secretary of War Elihu Root, "Took long horseback ride today; feeling fine." The Secretary immediately cabled back: "How's the horse?"

Neighborhood Model

OG

Wright

"The doctor can bury his mistakes, but an architect can only advise his client to plant vines."

~ Frank Lloyd Wright

Kodak Brownie

My sister's Brownie

Designed and marketed for children, the Brownie camera was named after popular characters created by Palmer Cox, a children’s author and illustrator.

The Brownie was introduced in February 1900 and, at that time, cost $1.00.

The Good Old Days

Hanover, PA, my hometown

This unusual picture, taken prior to World War I, captures the daredevil loopiness of the era. It's a little hard to make out, but at the top of the picture is a man standing on one leg on top of the water tower he has just painted (see enlarged shot below).

From a new book called Hanover Postcards available at Culp's Newsstand, Baltimore St., Hanover, PA.

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Tomorrow

“Tomorrow is the most important thing in life. Comes into us at midnight very clean. It’s perfect when it arrives and it puts itself in our hands. It hopes we’ve learned something from yesterday.”

~ John Wayne