Little Short Things

The following are just short little items which I don't feel deserve a whole post.  I will be adding to this post as these "Little Short Things" come to mind.

I once drove a train.  Uncle Tom worked for the Boston & Maine Railroad.  One night when I was about 10 Dad & I visited him at work and he had to move a self-powered passeinger car across the switching yard.  I got to set in the Engineer's seat and control the throttle.  Uncle Tom had his foot on the "Dead Man's Pedal."

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Julius Boros was the oldest golfer, 48, ever to win a Major.  The next oldest was Jerry Barber at 45.  

Tiger Woods will be the same age Boros was when he won his last Major when he plays the Masters in 2024.  So as of June 2013, if he can win a Major when he is as old as Boros was, he has 43 Majors left to win the four that he needs to match Jack Nicklaus's total of 18.  To do this he has to win about 9% of the next 43 Majors.  Is it possible?

When Woods plays in the PGA Championship in 2020 he will be the same age Barber was when he won his Major title.  So as of June 2013, if he can win a Major when he is as old as Barber was, he has 34 Majors left to win the four that he needs to match Jack Nicklaus's total of 18.  To do this he has to win about 12% of the next 34 Majors.  Is it possible?

As of June 2013, in his career, Tiger has played in 68 majors and won 14.  21% of the ones he has entered.

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Things my Grandmother (Dad's Mom) used to say:

When you were starting to get on her nerves a bit. "I'm going to cloud up and rain all over you!"

When there was lightning or you'd pretend to be a monster:  "Oh!  That scares me and I ain't afraid of nothing!"

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I had a friend who played football at Notre Dame for Knute Rockne and who was in the locker room for the "Win one for the Gipper" speech.

Manny in 1929

Manny Vezie was the owner of Gold Arrow Camp, a children's summer camp, at Huntington Lake.

We used to go there pretty often to give fire prevention and nature talks and I got to know him pretty well.  He was an entertaining storyteller and loved to talk about his adventures in football and things that had happened at the camp in the past.

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When you work outdoors as a Ranger and Ski Instructor, as I did for most of my life, you are very aware of the weather and the change of seasons.

Rangers have a very precise way of determining when the various seasons begin.  Summer begins the first day that you decide to eat your lunch in the shade instead of sitting in the sun.  Fall begins the day you decide to sit in the sun while eating your lunch, instead of the shade.

Winter’s first day is when you decide to sit inside your vehicle to eat lunch.  And Spring begins when you think sitting outside in the sun feels better than staying the vehicle.

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Ted



Jimmy



I saw Ted Williams hit a home run at Fenway Park.  It was in 1960 - his last season.  I was with my Dad and my Uncle, John Cranford.  We were sitting in the right field stands and the ball was hit right at us.  My memory is that it hit the top of the low wall separting the stands from the filed.  It was about 50 feet in front of us.  The game was against the Cleveland Indians and Jimmy Piersall hit two home runs that game - one of which cleared the fence atop the "Green Monster".



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Guided by Voices



Bob

 Guided by Voices is a well-known & well-regarded American indie rock band led by Bob Pollard, who is my second cousin. 

Bob is more than seven years younger than me, so I really don't know him well.  They lived just a few miles south of us, off of Dixie Drive (as of 2013, his Mom & Dad still live in the same house) and our families visited one another often, but Bob and I rarely interacted.  I've listened to some of his music, not much -- so I can't say I'm an expert -- but I haven't heard anything that makes me want to listen to more of his tunes.

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Overheard in London - 1994 -

Blonde, "Oh, hi, it's good to see you.  How was the vacation?"

Brunette, "It was great.  We had a wonderful time.  It's a really beautiful place."

Blonde, "Where did you go again?"

Brunette, "Majorca."

Blonde, "Where's that?"

Brunette, "I don't know, we flew."

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We were sitting near the field at about the
right edge of this picture.

One time when Dad and I went to a game at Riverfront Stadium.  Not sure what year it was.  We were sitting pretty near the fence in the left field corner by the visitor bullpen. Dennis Martinez, a fine pitcher who made the All-Star Team four times, was hanging out near us.  There was an attractive young women sitting near us. She was about 30 and had her about 10-year-old son with her. She and Martinez were flirting with each other in a very slimy way. They were using her son as a go-between in a way that was really creepy. I can't remember the specifics of what was said, but it made both of us very uncomfortable and neither of us are prudes.

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