LAUGHTER IS HEALTHY, DONCHA KNOW

 

As some of you may know, I get a little goofy about signs I see along the way. Being on the road so much tends to make you notice things others just speed by, and we actually obey the speed limit. So, it came as a surprise to me to learn about Doug Lanksky’s website,  http://www.signspotting.com.
He categorizes them into subjects such as: Accidentally R rated, Lost in Translation, Warnings and so on. Well meant, but funny as in BABY ON ROAD?  The sign was photographed in China. Probably Lost In Translation for Baby On Board. Or a church sign by Pastor John Needham. BEHOLD, I COME QUICKLY.  Or how about these intellectual cows from Laytonville, CA.  COWS! PLEASE KEEP GATE CLOSED. Well, it does validate my own obsession. Doug accepts sign photos from people around the world. I may send him some. 

I took this photo on Marthas Vineyard. It was on a T-shirt. The guy wearing it told me he works for the company. I didn’t ask him where the company was located.

This shirt was in the bait and tackle shop window.

Humorous quips are always fun, but since we aren’t television watchers, we don’t hear many. Readers Digest printed some funnies. I’ll pass on this Jay Leno quip that I liked: “The United States has developed a weapon that destroys people but leaves buildings standing. It’s called the stock market.” Too Apt.

And this just before Mother’s Day from Barack Obama about his rather rough talking Chief of Staff: “This is a tough holiday for Rahm Emanuel. He’s not used to saying the word day after mother.”

And how about these fly-ins gleaned from the travel site skyscanner.net by Sam Baldwin:
Batman Airport (Turkey)
Useless Loop (Australia)
Moron Airport (Spain)
Eek Airport (Alaska)
Tsili Tsili Airport (Papua New Guinea)

They are all pretty understandable, but Batman Airport???  Hmmm!
I discovered a few other funny websites while looking around.   http://www.fark.com/
On this site, Drew Curtis picks out amusing, dumbass, stupid, etc. items from newspapers.

Another is Michael Bender’s http://awkwardfamilyphotos.com

One of my favorites found in an antique shop in Revere, MA.
And this one:

I’ve forgotten the name of this very small town we passed through somewhere in New England. But, it you need coffee, and there is no other place in site, you are gonna stop

BEST FRIENDS, BEST PIZZA, BEST MEMORIES

Jim has been talking about his best friends from Revere, MA where he attended grammar and high school. Great people, wonderful memories, that nothing can compare to, of course.  And, he has teased me with statements like, “Wait ’til you get to Revere, you’ll taste the best Pizza in the world.”  Well, I know what that’s like. You have your comfort foods from childhood that stay with you forever, and your best friends are golden. I’ve been there.
The day was set, Bill and Loretta Gallagher stopped by the motor home to pick us up. The plan was to drive the old neighborhood haunts and see what’s new and changed…we’ve all done it.

The first stop was this beautiful old St. Anthony’s Catholic Church where Loretta and Bill got married 48 years and one day earlier. Yes, it was the day after their anniversary. Bill pointed out a small, back stairs flat where they first set up housekeeping across from the church.

The next stop was Lee’s Trailer Park, to the very spot where Jim lived as a kid. Hadn’t changed, the trailer sitting at his old address, was just a bit newer. The weeds looked the same. The neighborhood was strongly Jewish, then. Bill quipped that on Jewish Religious Days, He, Jim and Al Penta were the only ones in class. The park was a couple blocks away from Suffolk Downs, the race track where Jim worked. The Greyhound races were next to the Downs, and the beach, with the boardwalk and carnival all within walking distance. They all had paper routes.

Revere Beach was the first designated public beach, about 4 miles long. Clear now of all the carnival rides, dance halls and pavilions. Only their memories of great fun were left.

This crumbling old building Jim moved to during his high school years. He and his friends all had jobs. They shoveled snow, they mowed lawns, Jim washed dishes and worked at a department store receiving dock. Bill, had the good job at a gas station. He also had “the car”. If you had a car, you could attract the girls. They had to endure a DMV official who would stand on a street corner and routinely stop kids and check for their registration or any fix-it violations. At one such check he stood in awe as 15 kids piled out of Bill’s Henry J.

This used to be Schwartz’s Deli where Jim washed dishes. The Jr. High School was torn down and rebuilt, the High School was torn down and moved to another location, but the down hill streets, where they rode their sleds were narrower then they remembered and all one-way, now. Grabbing onto the back of the trolley cars and “stealing” a ride to get downtown produced more stories of derring do, but the trolleys are now gone, replaced by buses.

The bar where they all managed their first illegal drink. Bill, Jim and friends formed their own  Hot Rod Club called the Sharks. They dressed in studded leather jackets and rode around town like the masters of the universe that they were. Ahh, high school. Loretta said it was just like Grease, the movie.
Then we stopped at Dolly’s house. Her husband Arthur, was not from the neighborhood. Dolly was one of the gang and Loretta’s best friend from first grade. She lives in her parents (now deceased) house. Everyone gathered at Dolly’s. They all watched Elvis together on Ed Sullivan and again the memories flowed around the table. Where is so-in-so? Who died? They got a divorce? What happened to….?

I quickly adopted them all as my friends because it was such an enjoyable reminiscence, the high school girlfriends, the ice rink, roller derby, the uptown girls from Boston, the rumble that never happened because of a burned out clutch. All fun. And then, the famous Pizza…

A plate was turned upside down at the end of the table for the missing Al Penta who will return to Revere in October. (I met Al in Monroe, WA. last year.)
Now, the pizza at Companions Restaurant. I hate to admit it but the margherita pizza was the best stuff called pizza I ever tasted. Their shrimp scampi pizza and the sausage and onion, good, but the margherita will make you swoon. Its all thin crust, slightly sweet and quite crisp. The cheese is different, somehow.  The tomatoes fresh with fresh basil and just a touch of sauce. Wonderful stuff. Different than what we get in California. Whatta day!

THE RAMBLIN’ LIFESTYLE

We moved to Revere, MA yesterday, where my partner, Jim lived from age 10 to 18. As a kid he exercised horses at Suffolk Downs, shoveled manure, delivered newspapers, did odd jobs for neighbors, and in general, helped out at home like most kids did in our generation.  He and his brother lived in a single parent family. He has two lifelong friends from grammar school, Al Penta, I met last year in Monroe, WA, and we will meet two more today.

I’m always impressed by his diverse and  lasting friendships. As a full time RV-er, he has scads of RV friends about the country many from the WINS. WIN stands for Wandering Individuals Network. They share holidays, excursions, all types of gatherings. Many belong to more than one group, such as LOWs, Loners On Wheels, ESCAPEEs, self explanatory. It amazes me how many people love the RV lifestyle. Since it is a new lifestyle for me, I am often asked about it. We constantly meet people who claim that RV-ing  is what they want to do…but somehow, they never do it. So, if you are single, try one of the clubs listed above. If you are a couple, there are also travel clubs. Its a good way to get started.

One particular friend, Randy Vining, an intelligent fellow, poet, philosopher and road warrior, a guy with a sense of fun, always gives me food for thought. We have similar philosophies and I like keeping up with him on-line. I’m beginning to see that on-line friendships are not necessarily fleeting. (Of course, we do meet in the flesh now and again.)

If you’d like to meet Randy, his blog is: http://mobilecodgers.blogspot.com

Being a newbie, I can only relate that so far, its been an exciting adventure to live on the road, passing through places, hooking up with people and events, and charting the differences in the way each state runs its systems; I like tasting different regional specialties.  Right now we are parked in the Little Italy part of Revere and I’m looking forward to some great Italian Food.
Stay tuned.