Oh Yeah* And The Sign Got Moved

*Photo was NOT taken in the Greene County Circuit Clerk's Office.

In other news, the speed limit sign has been moved to a spot north of the fence. I went out to the talk to the guys who were moving the sign. They must have been pretty busy sitting in their truck filling out paperwork because they didn't acknowledge me. I told them thanks for moving the sign, I couldn't get my mower between the fence and the sign. The driver of the truck said he saw that I hadn't moved my bus. I told him why move the bus when you are going to move the sign and where I usually park the bus is where the new sign is going. I didn't want to park the bus where it would be in the way of the new sign He said I told him that I was going to move the bus. I told the driver I had talked to someone with "The City" about the sign placement. He replied, "Yeah, we know.":
I came back in the house and my private nurse said the driver never looked up from his paperwork when he was talking to you. Well, I thought the driver could have been a little more friendly. But, the sign is moved, I can mow the right of way unobstructed and most of the Public Works employees are polite. Thank you.
Old Sign location:From the originial post on the sign:

But I do need to make this comment: Public Works put up new speed limit signs on the three streets in our neighborhood. In the past I have blogged about sidewalks, public works and neighborhood meetings. (It is my experience that Public Works is a city department that works to accommodate the citizens of this city) The new speed limit sign was positioned close enough to the fence that I could not get my lawn mower between the fence and the sign post without removing the grass catcher. I called Public Works, got a hold of Dan Jesson, and he explained the reasoning for the sign placement (Public Works tries to put signs between property lines, as this one is). When I told him I couldn't mow between the sign and the fence, he said how about if the sign is moved 10' north of the fence. He must have been looking at an aerial photo of the property because I would mention a tree or a fence post and he knew exactly where it was and what I was talking about. So thanks to Springfield Public Works for listening to our neighborhood and working to accommodate us and for not once referring to "Vision 20/20" or "Long Range Plans".

Russell Lee Follows The Wheat Harvest 1949

Ansel Adams Wasn't Just A Landscape Photographer

Notice the sign? Los Angeles,

Driver Benji Iguchi, Mechanic Henry Hanawa, at the Manzanar Relocation Center, California 1943

The complete Ansel Adams material at the Los Angeles Public Library Photo Collection is seen by going to the Los Angeles Public Library Web Site, selecting "browse the collectionon the main page and entering "Ansel Adams" in the "Author" search field. Entering "Ansel Adams" in the keyword field will bring up a slightly different selection.]

Jambalaya!

Shrimp Jambalaya Recipe

6 bacon slices, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 green bell pepper, cored, seeded, and chopped
2 sprigs of fresh thyme leaves or 1/3 teaspoon dried thyme
2 teaspoons salt
6 drops Tabasco Sauce or to taste*
1 teaspoon red (cayenne) pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 bay leaf
1 (15-ounce) can whole tomatoes, undrained and cup up**
1 (8-ounce) bottle clam juice
2 cups water
1 1/2 cups uncooked long-grain rice
1 1/2 to 2 pounds raw extra-large shrimp, peeled and deveined (can also use frozen shrimp) ***
2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley leaves

* Can substitute your favorite hot sauce.

** To easily prepare the tomatoes, use a sharp knife and cut the tomatoes while still in the can.

*** to add flavor, place the shells of the shrimp in a saucepan and cover with water. Simmer over low heat approximately 7 to 10 minutes. remove from heat and strain the broth; discarding shells. Substitute shrimp broth for the water in the recipe.

In a large heavy pot over medium heat, fry the bacon until it begins to turn brown. Add onion, garlic, celery, and bell pepper; saute 8 to 10 minutes or until vegetable are soft. Stir in thyme, salt, Tabasco Sauce, cayenne pepper, cloves, bay leaf, and tomatoes.

Stir in clam juice and water; bring mixture to a boil. Add rice, cover, and turn heat to low; cook 30 minutes or until the rice has absorbed almost all of the liquid and is cooked through. Gently turn the jambalaya, then add shrimp and parsley, tossing lightly to distribute them evenly; cook 6 to 7 minutes until shrimp is opaque in center (cut to test). Remove from heat and serve immediately.

Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Oh yeah! With an ice cold beverage in a stryrofoam cup and a bowl of Jambalaya....let's watch some videos!

Betty Boop does Jambalaya

Hunter Hays and Hank Williams, Jr do Jambalaya

Creedence Clearwater Revival Does Jambalaya

The Carpenters do Jambalaya

Elvis does Jambalaya

YOung Brenda Lee does Jambalaya

Not so young Brenda Lee does Jambalaya

Brenda Lee and Dean Martin do Jambalaya

Old Brenda Lee does Jambalaya

Jerry Lee Lewis does Jambalaya

Polka Jambalaya!

Emmy Lou Harris does Jambalaya

Finnish Jambalaya

Leon Russell does Jambalaya with Glen Campbell on guitar

Jo Stafford does Jambalaya

Andy Kaufmann does Jambalaya

Audrey Williams does Jambalaya

Allen Jackson does Jambalaya

Bruce Springsteen does Born To Run

In Search Of Yard Art --- Tulsa, OK

Find The Corvette

Life Is Good: Celebrate Life! And A Big Thank You To Springfield Public Works Department

Back in the late 1960's, my Dad had a bunch of flower stickers printed with the slogan "Celebrate Life" on them. I think it was the theme of the DDF --the Diocesan Development Fund. Anyhow, those stickers ended up in a whole bunch of places, not just on the back of automobiles.

A friend had a 1964 VW Convertible and we put stickers all over that bug. She sold the convertible to another friend who cut it up for a dune buggy. What was he thinking? Another sticker ended up the rear window of a red Ford Galaxie convertible that was owned by the old lady who ran the Brown Derby at Cherokee and Glenstone. Remember that store, it was a small store and was also the closest liquor store to our house on National and Sunshine.

When I first got the bus Plunge in 1992 or 1993 (I will blog soon on the origins of Plunge), we started putting bumper stickers from places the bus had been on the inside roof of the bus. It is pretty well full now. My Dad gave me the "last Celebrate Life sticker" to put inside the bus. He brought it over to the bus and we selected a spot on the ceiling for it, where it remains to this day. The photo above is of that sticker.

When I sold the bus to Lowell Davis (what was I thinking?) and he subsequently sold it to Sam of Precious Moments, neither of them did anything to the interior. One of those two did paint the outside and put a new gas tank on that makes it hard to put gas into it, but I am working on that. I bought the bus back in December, 2003 for what I sold it for and I will never sell it again.

"Celebrate Life". Grandson Austin wore a shirt today that had "Life Is Good" on it. Celebrate life, life is good. Be happy with what you got. The boys were skateboarding in the backyard last night as neighbor Jack and I visited with Mr. Cook and Mr. Miller.

We got to talking about the movie, "The Princess Bride" and memorable quotes from that show. (My favorite: "Never get in a land war in Southeast Asia.) Austin tells us his two favorite quotes, except they weren't from the movie.

Austin's favorite quotes:

"You will never win an argument with your wife or mother so don't even try."

"Everything tastes better in a styrofoam cup, except orange juice."

Last week we buried our Mother with our Father. John and I both took a lot of pictures. John's account, Mom's Last Bus Ride (Mom loved to ride the bus with the kids), is here. My account is here.

I haven't felt too much like blogging lately, although there is a plethora of subjects out there upon which we have an opinion: the square, county officeholders, R-12 school, "The City".

But I do need to make this comment: Public Works put up new speed limit signs on the three streets in our neighborhood. In the past I have blogged about sidewalks, public works and neighborhood meetings. (It is my experience that Public Works is a city department that works to accommodate the citizens of this city) The new speed limit sign was positioned close enough to the fence that I could not get my lawn mower between the fence and the sign post without removing the grass catcher. I called Public Works, got a hold of Dan Jesson, and he explained the reasoning for the sign placement (Public Works tries to put signs between property lines, as this one is). When I told him I couldn't mow between the sign and the fence, he said how about if the sign is moved 10' north of the fence. He must have been looking at an aerial photo of the property because I would mention a tree or a fence post and he knew exactly where it was and what I was talking about. So thanks to Springfield Public Works for listening to our neighborhood and working to accommodate us and for not once referring to "Vision 20/20" or "Long Range Plans".

I sorta like those speed limit signs that say "Kid Friendly" on them.

To Tell The Truth

From Wikipedia:
To Tell The Truth is an American television game show created by Bob Stewart and produced by Goodson-Todman Productions that has been aired intermittently in various formats since 1956, hosted by various television personalities.
The basic premise of the show consisted of a panel of four celebrities correctly identifyng a contestant (a "central character") from a choice of three possibilities, members of a "team of challengers." One of the contestants normally held an unusual occupation (a premise similar to the show's sister, What's My Line?) or had done something noteworthy, and it is this person whom the panel had to attempt to identify. Two of the people will tell lies, while the real person has sworn "to tell the truth.

To start the game, the host, along with the stars, read a sworn testimony signed by the real person on special documents called affidavits. Each of the three contestants claimed to be this person, and was interrogated in turn by the panel, who then voted for the challenger they believed to be the central character. However, any celebrity on the panel who actually knew or could recognize the central character would then disqualify himself or herself and abstain from voting, which would automatically be counted as a wrong vote for the panel.

Once the votes were in, the host would ask, "Will the real [person's name] please stand up?" The central character would stand, often after some brief playful feinting and false starts among all three challengers, and the two impostors would then reveal their real names and what they actually did. Prize money was awarded to the contestants based on how many wrong votes the impostors drew; the more successfully the challengers bluffed, the larger their final cash award would be.

1964 Red Corvair Monza Convertible

I've posted about this car before. John mentions this photo in his comments on that post: "There is a photo of Alphonse standing next too it with Mom in the drivers seat somewhere."

Yesterday, after Mom's services, as John, Ed and Tom were going through the box of pictures Jane dropped off at the attorney's office, they found the photo, still in the its frame. I had thought it was lost. It is a photo of my Mom and her Dad, Alphonse Carl Bansbach, with Mom's red corvair. The photo was taken in the driveway of our house at 1822 South National. The house was on the SE corner of National and Sunshine, now it is a parking garage. Anyhow, this photo has pleasant memories for me. Thanks, Jane, for sharing these photos with your family. I will see that you get a copy of this one too.

Great Jeep Rides, Part 2