The "Please Don't Take My Kodachrome Away - Part I" Story

It was an ordinary day. All except for the yellow and red! They happen to be the colors that identify Kodak. On January 19, 2012, Kodak filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and thus ended its reign as the giant in the photography industry; another casualty of the digital age. Kodak is synonymous with photography and has been since it was founded in 1889 by George Eastman. The name Kodak came about because the letter "K" was a favorite of Eastman's; he is quoted as saying, "it seems a strong, incisive sort of letter." He and his mother devised the name Kodak with an Anagrams set. Eastman said that there were three principal concepts he used in creating the name: it should be short; one cannot mispronounce it, and it could not resemble anything or be associated with anything but Kodak. And boy was he successful! For years and years, the brightest color in photography was yellow; the bright yellow color of a box of Kodak film.Just 20 years ago they had more than 80% of the American film market. Then came the competitors from overseas. Fuji, Sony, Illford, and so on made their impact on the film market and Kodak has never recovered its storied spot in the industry. In 1888 the first model of the Kodak camera appeared. It took round photos about 2.5" in diameter. This camera carried enough black and white film for 100 exposures. After taking your photos you would return the camera, they would make your prints, and return the prints and your camera to you. In 1892 coined the phrase, "You press the button, we do the rest." It caught on! In 1900 The Brownie camera was introduced, creating a new mass market for photography and the following year Eastman Kodak Company moved Rochester, NY where it has been ever since. And finally, in 1935, Kodak introduced Kodachrome, and color photography took off. Since that time, many "Kodak Moments" have been shared with the world through the art of Photography. Now, Kodak's is fading back to black with it's bankruptcy announcement. For me, Kodak means so much more. In 1969 I started the first photography program at Manheim Township High School in Neffsville, PA. I had only graduated from the school seven years before. The first year we had 6 students and the class was held class in the Graphic Arts room. To reach the darkroom we had to walk through the architectural drawing room. The darkroom had been a storage closet with a sink in it. The first year we had two black and white enlargers with enough space on a counter to place our developing trays. I hung a large safelight above the trays and we were in business. The students would have to buy their own black and white Kodak Plus-X or Tri-X, expose it, and develop it in the darkroom. The difference in the films was the ASA or ISO numbers (speed of the film). Darker situations required the faster Tri-X film. We had such a good time! The only problem we ever had was when a few of the teachers would open the door to our darkroom and ruin our negatives or photos with the light. The room had been used for teacher's who smoked and it took that first year for all to realize it was no longer the smoking room. As years passed, the course grew and grew. A new building was built to enlarge the high school and I got a new Graphic Arts room which had two very large darkrooms attached to it. I actually held class in the larger of the two and I had assembly tables and enough seating for a dozen students. 12 enlargers covered three walls and the final wall had a sink large enough for working stations at either end. 4 very large safelights made it seem almost like daytime. I was in heaven in that room. The class grew more and half my day was spent teaching photography. I had my classes in the darkroom while another teacher taught Graphic Arts in the attached room. And, Kodak supplies were used in my classes. By now we loaded our own canisters with bulk film. I would buy 100' rolls of Tri-X and Plus-X and hundreds of small film canisters for the students to load their own film. They still would base their choice of film on the type of project I had assigned to them. My students won many awards for their work ranging from certificates to college scholarships. Then came the advent of the digital camera. Kodak made them, but other companies grabbed the majority of the business. My black and white photography course still was popular and to this day is still being taught in the high school. At one time I had maybe 75 students a year and now there are maybe 50. The lure or the darkroom and black and whitefilm still draws the students. Kodak played a role in pretty much everyone's life in the 20th century because it was the company we entrusted our most treasured possession to -- our memories. Its yellow boxes of film, point-and-shoot Brownies and Instamatic cameras and the hand sized prints made it possible for millions to freeze-frame their world. So you see, I am saddened by the bankruptcy story coming from Kodak. To me it seems like Kodak is losing its color and is fading back to black. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. PS - the round print at the bottom is the front and back of one from my collection. It is from the late 1800's when the prints were made round. The rear of the print says "Hackensack River from opposite the Field Club grounds 14 Jany 1890 No.40. The next couple of days will show you some of the collection of Kodak items that I have accumulated over the years.

The "Trip of a Lifetime" Story

It was an ordinary day. And ..... getting very interesting. Just got an email from VRBO (Vacation Rentals By Owners is a very large website that helps property owners rent their places without a middle man) telling me I don't need a reason to go on vacation. Hey, I already knew that, but I thought I would read more. And so here is what they told me .....

Hi Larry,

You don't need a reason to go on a vacation! Treat yourself and take a break from the every day. Stay in a vacation rental home from VRBO and choose from over 165,000 properties around the world. It doesn't matter where you decide to take your time off, you'll find the perfect place to stay with VRBO. To help you get started, we've provided some vacation ideas we think you'll enjoy.

And then they gave me 3 choices from their featured weekly listings. Maybe if I showed you where they think I should go you'd be interested also.

Cozy Design Apartment in the City Center Close to St. Mark's

Venice Vacation Rental by Owner Listing 365026

Location: Venice, Veneto, Italy, Europe (Close to waterbus station to/from the airport + railway stat) Welcome to beautiful Venice! Open up your eyes and be enchanted! Our flat is located in the historical center of Venice, only seven minutes walk from "Salon of Europe" Mark's Square and from Rialto Bridge. The area offers a number of shops, restaurants and opportunities to explore Venice by gondola: The apartment is located behind Calle della Mandola, one of the most famous streets for shopping in Venice. Arts, culture, museums, Biennale, history, romance ... Venice has so much to offer! 700 Euros/week.

Perfect Location at a Great Price! January Dates Available!Punta del Este Vacation Rental by Owner Listing 364687

Location: Punta del Este, Uruguay, South America (On the Punta del Este Peninsula). This apartment is located on the Punta del Este Peninsula. The Peninsula is the hub of Punta del Este with the most year-round activity. $420 US/week.

Charming XVII Century ApartmentAix en Provence Vacation Rental by Owner Listing 363559

Location: Aix en Provence, Aix en Provence Area, Provence, France, Europe. The apartment is located in a historic 17th century building in the heart of the city center of Aix. This part of town is a picturesque area found between the Cours Mirabeau (the main street of Aix) and the "Hotel de Ville" plaza. The charm continues with the daily (yes- 7 days a week) fruit and vegetable market located just a few foot-steps away. 490 Euros/week.

OK, now I need to decide where I will go! Kinda neat that I get emails like this all the time from VRBO, but it does get depressing, since there is absolutely no way that I can go. I could tell them that I want to unsubscribe from the emails, but I won't. I can still dream. If you're wondering what my choice would be, it definitely would be the place in Venice. After visiting there a few years ago with a group from our church, I would love to head back. And, to be able to live on the island for a week would be fantastic. One of the neatest places I have ever traveled. Oh, well! Gives me something to dream about tonight. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "Sounds of the Vienna Boys' Choir" Story

It was an ordinary day. Just stopped at the Parish Resource Center to hang a poster that I had framed for my wife who works there. I entered the PRC, walked into Carol's office to find her using our iPad2 to charge things. Bad news, right? Not in this case. Seems that the PRC is bringing The Vienna Boys' Choir to Lancaster, PA for a night of music at Hempfield High School's Performing Arts Center which is located in Landisville, PA. The Vienna Boys' Choir (also The Vienna Choir Boys, German: Wiener Sängerknaben) is a choir of trebles and altos based in Vienna. It is one of the best known boys' choirs in the world. The boys are selected mainly from Austria, but also from many other countries. The choir is a private, not-for-profit organization. There are approximately 100 choristers between the ages of ten and fourteen. The boys are divided into four touring choirs, named for Bruckner, Haydn, Mozart and Schubert, which perform about 300 concerts each year before almost 500,000 people. Each group tours for about nine to eleven weeks. The choir is the modern-day descendant of the boys' choirs from the Viennese Court, dating back to the late Middle Ages. The choir was, for practical purposes, established by a letter written by Maximilian I of Habsburg on July 7, 1498. In the letter, the Emperor instructed court officials to employ a singing master, two basses and six boys. The role of the choir (now numbering between fourteen and twenty) was to provide musical accompaniment to the church mass. Carol is not sure which one of the four touring groups will arrive in Lancaster in March for the concert. The concert is to help raise money for the PRC which is a non-profit that was founded to help congregations train, coach and equip members for service and leadership. Years ago I sang in the St. James Church choir as first, a soprano or treble, and then an alto. I started when I was about 8 years old and able to read and remained in the choir until my voice became too deep to reach the alto notes which was about 13 or 14 years old. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and got to sing in quite a few large venues as well as church on Sundays and for special services such as weddings and funerals. The boys and mens' choirs were paid choirs, so I was able to earn spending money for myself, provided I behaved and didn't get fined too much by Mr. Mac, the choirmaster, by the end of each month. I also was asked to usher for organ recitals and putting the hymn numbers on the church boards, which also was a paid job. I gained many friends during these years and am sure the boys of the Vienna Choir are going through the same situations as I did. Watching this concert will bring back many pleasant memories, I'm sure. Date of the show is March 10 at 7:30 PM. If you are interested in purchasing tickets for the concert, go to www.parishresourcecenter.com or call Carol or Debbie at the center at 717-299-9932. They can help you pick out your seats as well as place the order for you. Pretty neat watching Carol slide the card through this small card reader and the info appearing on the screen. Technology at its finest! See you there. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. PS - Below is the PRC advertisement for the concert.

The "Who's Up First?" Story

It was an ordinary day. Just got back from a trip in town and on the way home saw the really neat statue depicting two boys with gloves, bat and ball trying to see who would be up first. Called "playing thumbs" or "getting the upper hand." Naturally had to take a few photos of it. Made me think back to when I did the same thing almost every day after school as well as all summer long. The story goes .......just got home from school, have to change my clothes, grab my bat and rubber ball and head out back to play ball with Dave G. Weather is starting to get nice and all the snow has melted off of the parking lot out back on the paved lot where we play. Ought to be able to get at least an hour or more of ball in before the sun casts dark shadows across the home plate we have painted on the parking lot. We live in the last house on North Queen Street in the north end of the city. Actually, the city's northern boundary is right up the street from us and that puts our semi-detatched home in Manheim Township. Right next to our house is Science Press. Big printing company that takes up about half of the block. Directly behind us is another press building that I have no idea who runs that. Between the two is a small alleyway that we walk through to get to the parking lot that belongs to the plant behind us. Room for maybe 30 cars, so it is big enough for our homeplate and a painted rectangle where the pitcher stands. Workers leave work at 3:00 PM, so our games can start when they have cleared the lot. On the wall, directly behind homeplate, we have white tape to mark the strike zone; same size zone for everyone. Our infield and outfield are paved, but have a narrow street called North Christian Street running between them. Have to be careful when pitching and trying to run after a pop-up that you slow for the cars that travel on the street. As you stand at home and look out over the field, to the left is Armstrong Distributors which is a beer and beverage dealership. At times the Armstrong sisters, girls about our age who live in the city and at times visit their dad's store, will lean against their wall and watch us play ball. Pretty neat! If we try hard enough, we can sometimes hit the ball into their garage and they will run in to retrieve it for us. Sometimes they even offer us something to drink, if the weather is really hot. Today's game features only two players, Dave and me. "Who's up first?" I yell when Dave shows up. Sometimes we thumb wrestle to see who gets to bat first, but never when Dave is there. He is older than the rest of us in the neighborhood and could whoop us easily in thumb wrestling. I grab the bat and toss it to him. He catches it near the fat end and I put my hand on top of his, towards the small end of the bat. He places his hand next to mine and this goes on, hand over hand, until the knob at the small end of the bat is reached. The last hand on the bat that can place his thumb on the tip of the knob wins the contest and gets to bat first, unless ........ the loser can then grasp the knob of the bat, and holding it with only a thumb and one finger, twist it over his head three times before it goes flying. Usually we don't do this, since the many windows in the buildings at times get broken and we usually get blamed and a swinging bat may cause that to happen. OK, Dave's hands are larger and he wins and I start pitching. In our game you only get 1 out. Ball hit in fair territory that doesn't make it across the street is a single. In the lot across the street we have sight lines for a double and a triple. A ball that goes in the girl's garage is foul. And ...... any ball that hits a moving car (remember we use a rubber ball about the size of a tennis ball) is a homer. At times when this happens and the car slams on the brakes, our game quickly ends and we take off for home. Three strikes is an out. No walks allowed. Back and forth we go until dark and then head our separate ways back home. Tomorrow is supposed to be sunny and Kenny and my younger brother said they can play tomorrow, so we'll have 2 on each side and have to do the "playing thumbs" again to see who bats first. Oh the memories!! It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary day.

The "LDub's Cooking Show!" Story

It was an ordinary day. Paula Deen is cooking something really fattening with her son, Bobby, on the Food Channel. Not sure what it is, but it has 3 sticks of butter in it! Her son is with her just so she has another pretty face for the TV camera. I guess you have heard about Paula and her health problems. All that butter has taken it's toll and she has Type 2 Diabetes. Well, Bobby has cooked on his own for a few shows (Not My Mother's Cooking), but I'm not sure what qualifies him to be a cook except that maybe he loves butter. I told my wife after watching one of his shows one time that I think I should have my own cooking show. "Heck, I love butter as much as them," I said. "And, just what would you cook if you had your own show," she responded. "Well I could make something that my mom used to make like her famous potato salad of her fabulous chicken pot pie and call it "Cooking Just Like My Mom," was my comeback. I've already told you about the cookbook that we printed one time that was filled with all the family recipes. Any one of those would be just as good as what Paula's sons would cook. I could do my Aunt Lillian's cherry cake, which isn't really a cake but a really delicious dessert, or I could do her great macaroni salad which has to be just as unhealthy as any of Paula's meals could be. Maybe Aunt Bea's (yep, my wife really has an Aunt Bea just like on the Andy Griffith Show) Coconut cake or Uncle Albert's ice cream recipe would work. Then there's my cousin Judy's strawberry pie or my grandpap's oyster stuffing. Boy is that good with bread squares, a few eggs, onions, garlic, celery, fresh oysters and naturally a stick of butter. Never at a loss for a great recipe. "Wonder who I have to talk to about my cooking show I want to start," I asked her. Then she said, "Maybe you should just practice some of those recipes at home until you really get good. Try making YOUR world famous dinette cake a few times with granulated sugar instead of the 10X sugar that you used the last time!" Yeah I must admit that didn't turn out too good. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "A Grandfather's Granddaughter" Story

It was an ordinary day. Upset that I missed the talk that was given at the Ware Center, Millersville University's Art Center in downtown Lancaster, by Andrew Wyeth's granddaughter. Many of you probably already know that Andrew Wyeth was born July 12, 1917 in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania. That's just a hop, skip and jump from my house in Lancaster. Andrew's parents home-schooled him since he was a very sickly child. N.C. Wyeth, Andrew's father was a well known illustrator and his son seemed to follow after him. His raw talent showed in his early work that depicted his family's summer home in Maine. At age 22, he married a local girl and had two boys. Nicholas became an art dealer and James became the third generation artist in the family. Andrew Wyeth died on January 16, 2009 at his home in Chadds Ford, PA. He was 91 years old. Andrew achieved international fame from his landscapes and portraits of the Brandywine Valley, notably with "Christina's World", painted in 1949, and "Master Bedroom", painted in 1965. Well, the talk that was given at the Ware Center was by Nicholas Wyeth's daughter and Andrew Wyeth's granddaughter, Victoria (Vic) Browning Wyeth. Vic is in her early 30s and for years worked in the Wyeth Galleries at the Brandywine Museum in Chadds Ford giving talks and tours of the gallery. Last year she decided to take her show on the road and tell her stories titled "Lessons I Learned at My Grandfather's Knee" to a larger audience. I am so sorry I missed it. Hope I get to see her at another location. Her stories are featured in the Lancaster newspaper and I will give you a small sampling of what she told the paper. "When you Google 'Andrew Wyeth', the person you see is very different from the person that's in my heart. You see Andrew Wyeth. I see 'Andy'. I think of him as just this adorable kind of wrinkly grandpa who's also wearing black L.L. Bean turtlenecks and always saying, 'Vic, get me some applesauce.'" Wow, could be one of my grandkids talking. She talked about "Master Bedroom", which depicts the family Labrador, Rattler, tranquilly asleep on Andy's bed. Her granddad had come home tired, wanting to take a nap, only to find Rattler got there first. Vic's grandmother said the painting didn't impress her and told Andrew to put it in the "giveaway pile." How many copies of that famous print have I framed in the last 12 years for sale to customers at Grebinger Gallery in Neffsville? Can't count them all. "Christina's World", another big seller at the Gallery shows the back view of a woman crouched in a field gazing at her farmhouse in Maine. Victoria said they told Andy it was not quite the thing, and that's his most famous painting. "When he died it just changed things for me," she says. "It's hard to put into words, but it changed the way that I look at the world. I never had lost someone that was that close to me. It was like someone took off my sunglasses. I just saw ... on a deeper level. When I give my lectures I can hear him in my head. It's not like he's telling me what to say; I can remember where I was with him when we spoke about it." And .... I feel so bad that I MISSED IT!! Have been down to Chadds Ford before, but would love to have heard the personal stories in person behind the many paintings that I am now framing. Someday. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. PS - photos from the top are Andrew Wyeth, Victoria Wyeth, LDub with a framed print of "Master Bedroom", and photo of painting titled "Christina's World."

The "True Nittany Lion" Story

It was an ordinary day. Made a trip out to the end of the drive for the paper. Sat down in my recliner and turned on "Meet The Press" on NBC at 10:00 AM. A few minutes later they had an urgent announcement flash on the screen. Joe Paterno had died minutes before of lung cancer. Holy Cow! It was only in mid-November that his family announced that JoePa was being treated for a curable type of lung cancer. To tell you the truth, I didn't know there was such a thing. The next day saw hundreds, maybe thousands, flock to the stadium, the stadium that JoePa built, to honor him with remembrances at the foot of the sculpture that seemed to symbolize the immovable force he had become. A candle-light vigil was also held the evening of his death. The death of the greatest football coach that ever lived! His records and achievements are documented everywhere you look and his former players heap praise and accolades on him. But, in the end, I'm sure he didn't feel like a hero. I now believe that the Board of Trustees really blew it with the way they fired him and tried to make him the scapegoat for all the bad that was happening at Penn State. I still think of JoePa as the guy who time left at the 1 yard line. The guy with the horn-rimmed glasses, khakis that he rolled up and those black cleats. He was said to hate computers and cellphones and one time said, "I couldn't download a jar of peanut butter." As the times changed, he stayed proudly behind. Too far behind, maybe. I only hope that years from now people will remember the good deeds and services that JoePa gave to Penn State and not the turmoil that was created by the one bad egg on his coaching staff. Time will heal I'm sure, but for me, I believe JoePa may have died from a broken heart. Rest in Peace, JoePa! It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. PS - The classic photo of JoePa in the runway was taken by an Associated Photographer, while the photo of the sculpture at the stadium is one of my altered Polaroid prints.

The "Rising to New Heights" Story

It was another ordinary day. I was searching for good airfare prices for our next trip when I came across a very unusual story about elevators in some of the largest and neatest buildings in the world. I was amazed with the stories connected with the elevators and thought I would at least show you what 12 of the neatest elevators in the world look like. Just a brief summary about each one accompanies the photo. Google anyone of them to get a better idea of how they work. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The fish-eye mirror at the back of this elevator at the Long Island City Business Center, makes the ride even more disorienting

The Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart, Germany, contains info on 125 years of automotive history—and some really cool elevators.

Elevator's at the Luxor hotel in Las Vegas travel at a sharp 39-degree angle.

Take in views of the city's parks, temples, and skyscrapers from the 89th-floor observatory atTaipei 101 in Taiwan.

The Lloyd's building in London was designed inside out, and the 12 glass elevators travel along the exterior.

There is no better way to take in the sights of Stockholm, Sweden, than a ride on theSkyView at the Ericsson Globe.

Take in the views of Lake Lucerne and the Alps as you ride up Switzerland's Hammetschwand Lift.

The 50-minute gondola tours at Scotland's Falkirk Wheel traverse two canals and include two rides on the elevator.

The four-minute elevator ride up the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Missouri, brings you to the top of the 630-foot-tall wonder.

The incredible Bailong Elevator in China's Zhangjiaijie National Forest Park rises 1,070 fee up a sheer cliff.

The elevator at the AquaDom in Berlin travels up the middle of the 82-foot tall aquarium.

The elevator at the Sky Tower in Auckland, New Zealand, takes just 40 seconds to reach the observation level, 610 feet in the air.

The "Nautical Accomplishment" Story

It was an ordinary day. Just saw the news that Laura Dekker, the 16 year old Dutch teenager, broke the record that Jessica Watson held for youngest solo world tour. In a sailboat!! She left from Sint Maarten, my favorite vacation destination, on January 20, 2011 on here world tour in her 38-foot-ketch nicknamed "Guppy" and returned home Saturday, January 21, 2012. Quite an accomplishment for any sailor, especially one as young as Laura. Dutch authorities tried to stop her from starting her trek last year, saying that she was too young to risk her life. Her school officials said that she should be in the classroom and not sailing. Unlike others who have crossed the world, Laura stopped at ports along the way to sleep, study and make needed repairs to her sailboat. She was never at sea more than three weeks at at a time. Laura traveled more than 27,000 nautical miles on the trip with stops in places I wish I could see. She made stops at places like the Canary Islands, the Galapagos Islands, Tonga, Fiji, Bora Bora, Australia, South Africa and then back to Sint Maarten. The only place she made a stop where I have been was in Panama. I had heard she was going to land in Sint Maarten soon by reading TravelTalkOnline (TTOL), a travel online board that I follow regularly. This morning I checked and there were comments that she was expected to arrive
today. It has been 41 days in high seas and heavy winds since she had left Cape Town, South Africa. When she arrived she came through the Simpson Bay bridge at 3:00 PM to a waiting crowd of about 500. There were boats to greet her, horns blowing and cheers from the crowd. The Sint Maarten Yacht Club was there to help in the celebration. Many members of the crowd were children and young adults the same age as Laura. I'm sure she must be quite an inspiration to all of them.Dekker's achievement will not be entered in the Guinness Book of World Records, however, as it has refused to recognize records by minors which are considered "unsuitable." Laura's blog can be found at http://lauradekker.nl/English/News.html. I'm positive I could never had completed the journey, since I get motion sick at times. Great job Laura! Only wish I could have been in Sint Maarten to greet you. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. PS - photos were taken by TTOL member boucharda after Laura had passed through the bridge and when she had docked.

The "How often do you change the sheets on your bed?" Story

It was an ordinary day. Listening to the radio while working at the Gallery in Neffsville, putting some frames together for a few jobs that I am working on. The "Question of the Day" on the squak box is How often do you change the sheets on your bed? I grabbed the phone to try and be the first caller with the right answer. Usually win something when you know the answer first. I had just read in the newspaper the other day what the answer was so I dialed and dialed. Busy signal as usual, and just when I dialed again, someone gave the correct answer. Any guesses? Well, I was looking at other blogs last week and saw one called "On The Edge" which had taken a poll dealing with the frequencies of the things that are necessities in our life. Things from brushing your teeth to washing your hair. The jocks on the radio station had taken one category from the blog to use as their question for today. You know by now that I just have to list a few on my blog. So here goes (answers or percentages from the survey will be at the end):

1. How often do you brush your teeth?
A. Once a day
B. Twice a day
C. Every time I eat

2. How often do you change the sheets on your bed?
A. Once a week
B. Every two weeks
C. Around the time it seems they could get off the bed on their own

3. How often do you exercise
A. If I don't hit the gym, my day is not compete
B. I don't even own sneakers
C. When I have nothing better to do

4. How often do you text
A. Never, I call or talk with people in person
B. Somewhere in the triple digits for the month
C. More than 1,000 texts each month

5. How often do you check your email
A. Once a day
B. I log on when I think of it
C. Constantly

6. How often do you grocery shop
A. I hit up the store once a week
B. Pretty much every day
C. Forget the grocery store, that's what restaurants are for

7. How often do you wash your hair
A. Once a week when I go to the salon
B. Every other day
C. Every morning

8. How often do you wash your car
A. My car is always showroom clean
B. Only when I can no longer recognize my car in the parking lot
C. Never, the rain does it for me for free

And the response, which was taken online .....
1. Twice a day 66%
Once a day 27%
Every time I eat 7%
2. Once every two weeks 41%
Once a week 32%
Around the time .......27%
3. When I have nothing better to do 56%
If I don't hit the gym, my day is not complete 24%
I don't even own sneakers 20%
4. Somewhere in the triple digits for the month 63%
More than 1000 texts each month 20%
Never 17%
5. Constantly 69%
Once a day 22%
I log on when I think of it 9%
6. I hit up the store once a week 70%
Pretty much every day 22%
Forget the grocery store 8%
7. Every morning 60%
Every other day 37%
Once a week when I go to the salon 3%
8. Only when I can no longer ...... 62%
Never ..... 25%
My car is always showroom clean 13%

Interesting survey and you can see that it was taken online with some of the responses. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "I Wouldn't Touch That If I Were You!" Story

It was an ordinary day. Heading to the Doctor's office for another check-up. Not sure what they are checking-up today, but it must be something important. I can remember years ago, after my parents had both retired, thinking that all they did was go to the grocery store one day and the doctors the next. Well, welcome to THEIR life, LDub. When I do go to the doctor's office now, I try to remember a few things about what not to do in the waiting room. Don't touch the magazines and books. The person in front of you who just put it down is here for a reason. Maybe something that is life-threatening, so don't touch anything they have touched. Always use my own tissues when I sit in the waiting room and try to leave as much space between me and the next person sitting there waiting to be examined. Did you know that if they sneeze or cough that the germs can travel about three feet before they fall to the floor. Oh, and never go to the doctors without shoes on. Wouldn't even want to have sandals or flip-flops on. I pity the nurses and doctors who have to see all these sick people. I guess it wasn't that much different years ago when I taught school and all the students were coughing and sneezing on me in the classroom. Also, read about a few other places where you should be careful so you don't pick up germs from someone else. Such as touching a menu in a restaurant. Germs can survive for 18 hours on hard surfaces and if the restaurant is busy ...... oh my! Make sure you don't let the menu touch your plate or eating utensils andalways use sanitizer after you touch the menu. And then when you order, make sure you don't order a drink that has a lemon wedge on it. Nearly 70% of those contain disease-causing microbes such as E-coli and fecal bacteria. How they get there I don't think I want to know. And then when your burger and fries appear, don't dare touch that ketchup dispenser unless you wrap a napkin around it first, since the guy that just left after eating his burger and fries may have had some type of disease. And after eating, if you have to use the restroom, make sure that after you use it, don't touch the soap dispenser because most of those have been touched by maybe hundreds of dirty hands after just using the facilities. Instead wash your hands with just hot water for 15-20 seconds. And when leaving, try to back out of the restroom or if you have to touch a handle, take a spare paper towel with you to grab hold of the handle. A few months ago I also wrote a story about going to the grocery store and grabbing the handle of the shopping cart. The person that used it before you may have just used the store's restroom and maybe didn't wash their hands. Get the idea. That's why most stores have those wipes at the entrance of the store to wipe the handle of the cart. Now, I am not as paranoid about germs as you may think. I still will sit down at school when I visit to do some of the in-house printing and touch the keyboard of the computer or the controls of the printing press that who knows how many others used that day. And I still will ride on amusement park rides and hold onto the handles on the rides that thousands have touched that day. And I will ride on public transportation and hold on to the handrails that others have just held. And I will play sports and will touch the same equipment that everyone else uses. But, I will be extra careful in the doctor's office today, since I know that everyone else in the waiting room is there because they are SICK, probably from eating a lemon wedge or touching the salt shaker at the restaurant they ate at a few nights ago. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "What to do with your Stink Bugs?" Story

It was an ordinary day. Catching a few stinkbugs from around the skylight on the second-floor landing. For some reason they always seem to find their way to that area in the house. Sometimes in the evening, while watching TV in the family room, one will fly by Carol or me and land on one of the floor lamps. Up off the sofa, grab them and out the door. I have no idea where they come from, but they are a nuisance, even in the winter. Last year I started noticing signs along the road advertising stink bug removal. Seems everybody else has them and they need to be removed. They are much like the mice in our basement; you know they will always come back, but can't figure a way to totally eliminate them. I recently read an article in a magazine about stink bugs and how, in Mexico, they are ground up with chiles for taco filling. Gross! Another reason not to go to Mexico. Remember when eating chocolate covered ants was the craze? I checked online and found that you can buy quit a few insects that are covered with chocolate. Insects such as crickets, grasshoppers, cicadas and worms are all offered along with the ants. There are a few other insects that your neighbors may eat daily such as palm weevil larva that is cooked and tastes like coconut, termites which can be fried in oil and will taste like carrots, and grubs that can be found in your yard taste like peanut butter when eaten raw. Think maybe you kids have found that out already? Then I read another article about some of the most gross things that are eaten in other countries. In Cambodia, tarantulas are eaten whole-gooey center and all-as street food. In Japan, wasp larvae are cooked in soy sauce and sugar, and eaten as a crunchy snack. And, in Indonesia, they eat dragonflies and claim they taste similar to soft-shell crabs. Now that sounds like something I may have to at least try, but for the stinkbugs, they still will get thrown out the back door. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. PS - the bugs in the photos are from top to bottom, stink bugs from Mexico, the palm weevil, termites, grubs, Cambodian tarantulas, wasp larvae from Japan and the Indonesian dragonflies.

The "Will the End Ever Come?" Story

It was an ordinary day. And again, another story in the newspaper about the Penn State Scandal. I have been reading all of them, even a few from out of state newspapers. And, I'm ready to make peace with JoePa. Still feel like he has to share some of the blame for what happened, but I do believe that he is so far out of touch with the real world, or should I say current world, that he really didn't know how to handle the situation. He is just too old to be in the position that he was in the first place. If only he had known when to quit. I know I'm getting old and can't do some of the things that I used to do, but at least I realize it. Joe didn't!! He shouldn't have been coaching. Should have quit years ago. I know he couldn't have broken the record for most wins, but this all might not have happened if he had retired years ago. I know that he loved what he did, but he still could have enjoyed Penn State football without being the coach. I do not believe that Joe called most of the plays for his team, both on offense and defense. He is from the "Old School" of smash-em' football and all the new offenses and defenses have left him in the dust. The team still excels, not because of Joe, but because of the cast of assistants that run the show. After reading Joe's interview with Sally Jenkins for the Washington Post, I can see that he has no clue how to handle the problems of today's world. As he sat in his wheelchair, around the kitchen table with most of his family, he talked about the ordeal that has left him disgraced in the eyes of many. His lung cancer has robbed him of the breath to say all that he wants to say. As if he doesn't have enough problems with his health, he now has the weight of the world on his shoulders, also. I do feel sorry for him. The day that assistant Mike McQueary visited him with the shocking news about what had happened in the shower room at Penn State, Joe had no clue what to do. I know he went to the athletic director and chief of police of the college to tell them what he had heard, but did he really know what had happened. I DON'T THINK SO! He states that he had never heard of rape and a man. And I believe that. He passed the info on to others that he thought would know what to do. And they sat on it. That's why they are now being prosecuted. But, Joe realizes he isn't the victim either. He told the reporter, "You know, I'm not concerned about me. What's happened to me has been great. I got five great kids. Seventeen great grand-children. I've had a wonderful experience here at Penn State. I don't want to walk away from this thing bitter. I want to be helpful." His wife Sue said, "It's a bad scene for this happy valley." Joe's name has been removed from trophies. The Maxwell Club of Philadelphia has discontinued its Joseph V. Paterno Award which was given to the coach who made a positive impact on the lives of those they came in contact with. A nomination for the Presidential Medal of Freedom has been withdrawn. And the list goes on and on. Will his statute next to the stadium in State College be the next thing to go. He was told he was terminated as football coach over the phone. Come on Penn State, that's a disgrace! You're better than that. His wife Sue called the messenger right back after Joe hung up and said, "After 61 years he deserved better!" And I agree. Even though Joe isn't the victim in this tragedy, he is sinking with ship anyway. He stated, "I wanted to build up, not break down." If only he had known with to quit! Can't imagine what he must be going through. Certainly isn't enjoying his retirement! It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. PS- photo was from the Washington Post.

The "Beers of the Caribbean" Story

It was an ordinary day. Drinking a Ting, eating some cashews and typing away. For those of you who don't already know, a Ting is a carbonated beverage made from real Jamacian Grapefruit. Used to be bottled in Barbados, but is now a product of Pepsi and I managed to get a few bottles at my local Giant grocery store last week. The version I am drinking is made with pink grapefruit and thus is pink! A soda is about as strong a beverage I enjoy except for a glass of wine. Never did and never probably will like beer. So, my story about the beer of the Caribbean needed some help and I got that from my wife, Carol, who does enjoy a bottle or two of beer at times. I will admit that the times she downs a few cold ones are few and far between, primarily when we are on vacation and she likes to sample the beer of the island we may be on. I got an email from Caribbean Travel and Life Magazine which I subscribe to and am also a fan on Facebook telling me about the contest they recently had to determine the best beers of the Caribbean. Clicked on the link and saw a list of the top 10 beers, as picked by the readers of their magazine. Most of them Carol and I recognized as soon as we saw the bottle. The #1 beer was Virgin Islands Beer from the US Virgin Islands. This was one of the few we didn't recognize and couldn't believe it since we have been to the USVI several times. #2 was Wadadli from Antigua. Supposed to be good with grilled red snapper, fries and fresh local veggies. Carol remembered drinking it, but it wasn't a favorite. Maybe because we never had the red snapper while we were there. #3 was Turk's Head from the Turks and Caicos Islands. We have traveled there before and would like to make another trip in October. It's been so long since we were there the last time and Carol doesn't remember the beer. We do have a great photo of her after drinking a few, but I promised not to include it in my story. #4 was called Tona from Nicaragua and another one that she never tried. Maybe because we only stopped here while on a cruise and didn't have a chance to eat a meal on the island. #5 is called Sol. Holy crap! She never tried this one either! It allegedly is the beer of Mexico and is good with Tequila fish tacos. Now we did pass through Tulum when we went on a Western Caribbean Cruise, but never even saw this beer. #6 is Sands and is the beer of the Bahamas. She is now looking at me and saying, "How can you write a story about beer if I never drank any of it or we were never on the islands?" Good point since we have never traveled to the Bahamas. I said, "Just stick with me. It has to get better, since you are always drinking beer on the islands." #7 is Red Stripe from Jamaica and the beer that they served every day at the Sandals where we were staying. It is supposed to be good with jerk chicken and roasted breadfruit and I do believe that is what we had when Carol downed a few. #8 is Presidente and the beer of the Dominican Republic. Never been there either but this beer can be found on other islands and is a mild beer that tastes good with seafood. I guess almost any beer will taste good with seafood, though. #9 is Carib and her favorite. It is the beer of Trinidad and Taboga, but we never hit either of those islands. We find it in almost every Caribbean location we travel. I even had a few of these. Very mild and good with anything. #10 is Banks Beer from Barbados. The entire island is covered with advertising and I do mean the entire island. They sponsor everything on the island and not only make beer, but sports drinks and at one time produced the Ting I am drinking today. Supposed to be good with fried flying-fish and that's exactly what Carol had it with when we visited Oistens Fish Fry on a Friday evening. For all of you who drink beer, and I know I am in the extreme minority, if you ever travel to the Caribbean, give one of the island beers a try. I'm sure they will appreciate it. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "Lure of the Type and Smell of the Ink" Story

It was an ordinary day. Smelling a magazine that Carol brought home from work yesterday. I always do that. I guess printers never get over the sweet smell of printers' ink from a newly printed magazine or brochure. As soon as I pick up anything printed, I have to small it. I'm smelling and reading about a local printing club having to find another place for their equipment so they can continue to give demonstrations of letterpress printing to the public. Club is called .918. Yep, just .918. Probably doesn't mean anything to you if you were never a printer. Have you ever heard of the Handbrake Club which is for car enthusiasts or the Harriers Club which is for runners or the Silent Skull Club which is for motorcyclists? My guess is you have never heard of those either. Well, the .918 club is much the same for the old time printers, like me! .918 is what is referred to as 'type high' and is said to be the height of a shilling on it's edge. 'Type high' means the height of a piece of movable type that can be used to set type for a letterpress. The .918 refers to the distance from the base of the type to the top of the letter that will touch the paper and register an impression. I found some info I will share with you and if you get bored, skip a line or two until you pass the explanation of 'type high.' The .918 was agreed upon by the United States Type Founders' Association in 1886. The system stated that eighty-three picas (measurement in printing) became equal to thirty-five centimeters, then dividing the pica into twelve equal parts, (points). Thirty-five centimeters then also became a standard for type-high (height-to-paper). By this plan fifteen type-heights (.918) were made to equal thirty-five centimeters. The old standard was eleven-twelfths or .9166 of an inch. The difference of 20/10,000 or 1/500 part of an inch may seem trivial but it was enough to drive many pressmen of the day to consume large quantities of booze! The preceding was in part from Theodore Low De Vinne’s (c) 1899, “Plain Printing Types,” Oswald Publishing Co., New York, 1914. Are you totally confused? Well there's more ....... Moore’s Universal Assistant, a book printed for those headed to the American Wild West in 1880, lists “type high” to be “15/16ths of an English Inch, less a small amount”. Of coursehe fails to say what the difference in an English inch and an American Inch might be…. or how small the “small amount” is supposed to be….. or why you’d need to know that in a Wild West Town anyway…. but hey, it’s a cool book! So, there are as many explanations as there were probably printer's in the old days. A little more about the field of printing in Lancaster County. Ben Franklin is considered the Philadelphia godfather of American printing. Ben was a founding father of Franklin and Marshall College and founded Lancaster city's first print shop in 1751. They could never duplicate the success they had in Philadelphia because of the nearby Ephrata Cloisters printing shop which was founded by Germans and a German by the name of Johann Gutenberg was the inventor of movable type in 1455. In 1753 Ben sold the print shop and eventually John Dunlap, an apprentice in this shop, is said to be the first to print the Declaration of Independence. All with movable type that has a height of .918. The type was placed in a wooden case called the "California Job Case" (I'm sure you don't want to hear why it is called that) and pulled one letter at a time from the case and placed in a job stick which you would hold in your hand. From there it would be locked in a metal frame called a 'chase' and placed in the letterpress for printing. When the .918 club started a few years ago in downtown Lancaster, I donated a few chases, job sticks and racks of 'furniture' which are wooden blocks in varying sizes that are used to hold the metal type in the chase. These were 'left-overs' from my shop at Manheim Township High School where I taught printing and graphic arts for 33 years; the first 10-12 of those years was printing using movable type and the letterpress. Seems like so long ago! That's when .918 meant a lot more to me. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. PS - photos from the top are: LDub holding a piece of metal type, the flag is the part that would hold the ink and press against the paper while the groove at the bottom right would help in the alignment of the type; A 'California Job Case' that holds all the letters, punctuation and spacing materials; a case of 'cuts' which I have, such as the flag I was holding, that can be used when setting type; a person's hand holding a metal job stick that holds the type as it is being set; a floor model letterpress that can be powered with a motor, but originally was keep running by pushing the flywheel on the left of the machine.

The "Naming " Story

It was another ordinary day. Paying bills! Always make sure I have everything perfect before I put my signature on the bottom line. Then I write my name with flair on the bottom line. A few months back I was framing a job at the Gallery in Neffsville, where I work part-time, when I looked at the signature on the original watercolor I was working on. Looked exactly like mine. You can't really read either. I asked Keith, my boss, if he liked the print I was framing and he said he did. I then asked if he saw who had painted it and he looked. "Did you really paint that?" he asked. Never thought anyone would ever sign their name as I do, that's why I use all the flairs. Getting back to my story. After I finished writing the checks I started working on the Manheim Township Middle School yearbook, typing names to identify some of the photos I had taken. I typed a few and thought, doesn't anyone have common names anymore like when I was growing up? What ever happened to names like David, John, Paul, Jim, Bob and even Larry. And how about girls names like Dottie, Carol, Alice, Janet, Sally, Sue and Sarah. As I typed, I even had a hard time pronouncing them, and I thought I was good at that after teaching for over 30 years. I guess in the time I have been retired from teaching, people have invented new names. As I typed the name Holland I said to Carol, "I wonder why they chose that name? Do you think that is a boy or a girl?" "Doesn't really matter, does it?" she said. "Remember, we chose Derek, Brynn and a nickname of Tad for our last son. To some people they may sound strange." I responded, "Yea, I guess so." Well, I thought I would give you a few that I typed so you can see what people called their children back in the early 2000s. I should mention that I am typing these names not to make fun of them, but to show you some of the unusual names that I found. Names like: Royel, Balsam, Breeze, Dynasty, Solstice, Adnela, Unique, Serenity, Precious and religious names such as Savior, Genesis, and Faith. I must admit I typed a few really neat names that if I was going to have anymore children, I would think of using them. Such as: Quinn, Cheyenne, and Yogi. One of the names that was used the most was Skylar which I typed 7 times. Oh yeah, I do remember watching Sky King as a young boy. And wouldn't you know it, not a single Larry. What were you thinking, Mom? It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.