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Michael McLeod

Although I should, I never stop to see the location of the store when I buy something on line, usually via Amazon. So I wondered why it was talking so long for the lawnmower filter I ordered a couple, three weeks ago to arrive. Which it did today -- all the way from Tipperary, Ireland. Yep, that's where I do my lawn and garden shopping these days, apparently.

James Hamilton, M. D.

Timothy Lavelle

Currently watching Tiger playing golf. 

Makes me wonder if I shouldn't have given my son a better first name. It strikes me that Doorbell LaVelle has a certain ring to it. "Hey, Dor, whashakin'?"

Alternatively, W.B. LaVelle - short for Whiffleball Bat - might have lead to something in the sports.

Or in my own life, think how far I might have gone in the military with Nukem Tohell as my christian monikers?

Vitamix Smoothie LaVelle, resteranteur. Or possibly my favorite, Corvette LaVelle with a future in small naval warfare or race car driver.

OK, I admit it...this is just me trying to keep my name in front of you! 

David Mitchell

Jim,

B&H is really good, but I have also used to Adorama another big NYC Camera and Electronics store. I am on boh of their sites consantly, dreaming about the day I can afford to get back into photography by way of the Fuji X-system of cameras and lenses. I hope to have some snapshots to post on this Forum by 2036.

I honestly try to avoid Amazon whenever I can. Too many stories of their mistreatment of employees - working pregnant women in warehosues at 100 degree temeperatures with supervisors threateneing them to get their production up, or else - armed guards inspecting them as they arrive and leave for work - etc. And I find Jeff Bezos to be a creepy kind of guy. And not paying sales taxes while your "mom and pop" friends on main street struggle to stay open. There was a class action suit agaisnt them in Pennsyvania for mistreatment of employees but not sure what happned to that. 

I have the same feelings about NIKE. The shoes are assembled in factories in Southeast Asia by young girls in fenced-in factory "camps" with armed guards. They get about 4 single holidays off per year and if they don't return they go after them with armed guards with dogs. But the working conditions are really hazardous. They work with a glue solution containing "toluene", a substance that is really dangerous and eventually causes brain damage, and the only protection they have is little guase masks, which are almost totoaly ineffective against the toluene fumes. And all this for a about $6.00 a day!

Odd to think Collin Kaepernick will get paid many millions of dollars by NIKE because he "stands" against injustice.

David Mitchell

Tim, 

My mother always told me I should go into either Plumbing or Professional Golf. "That's where the real money is" she often said.

Timothy Lavelle

Mashie Mitchell....or how about Plunger Mitchell?  

David Mitchell

Hmmm, I like 'em both. Probably better than "The Flusher Flash"

You know, honestly, I think if this Forum gets any more fascinating we may just put everyone to sleep. 

David Mitchell

Oh, what's that?

I guess we already have.

David Mitchell

Oh I promise I'll drop the mike after this one but "Niblick Nabob" just occurred to me. 

I actually still have a small round canvas bag with my Dad's first set of clubs from the 1920's. All Hickory shafts (which are back in vogue again - at a price). Spoon, Niblick, Mashie, Mashie-Niblik, Mid- Iron, etc.

Dad caddied at the old Elks Club (now the Deaf and Blind Schools) up on More Road as a kid (I think we talked about this before and Janie had a dad or somebody at that course too). Dad caddied with a guy named Sprinkler who went on to become a priest and Dad subsidized his mission in Formosa (Taiwan - Nationalist China) for over 40 years. 

Dad and  his older brother Dave caddied in the U.S. Open that a fella named Bobby Jones won - at Scioto C.C.  (I think we mentioned this before also)

Now back to something interesting - like plumbing

Lawrence Foster

Okay, it is late and I am guessing that my social filters and common sense screen is off because it seems like a good idea to post the following because it deals with nicknames.  Please excuse me while I embarrass myself but I hope you all get a chuckle out of it.  

I have been participating in a writer's group and the prompt for our meeting two weeks ago was to "come up with a nickname for yourself that is nifty."   For some reason what I came up with was in poetic form.

********************

The assignment that was given to me
Was to chose a nickname that is “nifty.”

Over the years I’ve been called many-a-thing,
But anymore they don’t have a real, true ring.

You see it would be quite silly as a goose 
To use my grade school name of “Little Moose.”

Way back in my army days I got quite a charge
For being the guy known as “Psycho Sarge.” 

When working in sales I felt like a bump on a log
But still, I was given the nickname “Mad Dog.”

No longer am I agile, limber, and quick as a roach
So that rules out calling me “Coach.”

You can plead, cajole, request and beg
But I’m not telling you the story behind “Pegleg.”

Hmm…to know who I am and to see myself clearer
It’s best that I take a serious look in the mirror.

Well Damn!  It’s as obvious as can be - 
The best nickname for me is “Handsome Larry!”

David Mitchell

Yo Dude !

Michael McLeod

Thanks for the smiles, Larry.

James Hamilton, M. D.

David Mitchell

Jim,

A bit too early to tell. My guess is she'll swing a bit to our north - as they almost alway do. But we will get wet.

We had those two last year but thery were Cat 3 offshore, and a Cat 2 on shore. But we almost nevr get them direct here. This part of the country is in a deep curve of teh East Coast line. They usually hit Florida and weaken, or they skip up to Charleston and beyond before hey hit land.  

Correction: Just now spoke with my next door neighbor an she was born and raised in nearby Savannha and has been through many more of these. She  thinks we may get hit and hit hard - stay tuned.

Mary Ann Nolan (Thomas)

Thanks Jim for asking about all of us in SC. This hurricane scenario is becoming a yearly event . 😓 The answer is that it appears to be coming our way but is moving slightly northwest as to hit North Carolina. We won’t know anything else until most likely tomorrow and you can imagine the frustration level. Our Governor said we need to be ready to evacuate quickly and have our hurricane plan ready. Either way, if it hits us or North Carolina it could be bad especially for our coast.ines and beaches. I don’t think they can take much more destruction.

James Hamilton, M. D.

David Mitchell

Florence udate:

Our governor just lifted the mandatory evacuation notice for just those of us 3 counties at the southern tip of the state. Frankly, I thought he could have waited one more day to declare in the first place. It has caused a great deal of consterntion here, especially for the elderly and the nursing homes - "okay folks, turn around and go back home already!"  (meanwhile the local section of I-95 southbound is a parking lot !)

We (Mary Anne and her husband Jeff & I) are all in Beaufort County - they are in the town of Beaufort just about 35 minutes north of me here in tiny (but growing like cazy) Bluffton, which is on the way out to Hilton Head Island. If you look at a map of the East coast we are right at the border of SC and Georgia, right on the ocean, in that southern most point of this "trianglular-shaped state.

Many of the "outer banks" islands have sizeable populations with only one road on and off. This causes some nasty traffic jams when they make these declarations. Hasn't been too bad here on and off Hilton Head because I think most of us could see this wasn't comming directly at us and we wren't really leaving anyway - except those who were required to when the Gov first said "mandatory". We will get some high winds and a good soaking, but not the brunt of Florence.

FYI, the town of Beaufort is a kind of cute little town where they shot Pat Conroy's "Great Santini" years ago with Robert Duvall and Blythe Danner, who I beleive, still sits on the board of the Beaufort Film Festival. I think Mary Ann and Jeff have hosted and met and entertained many of the stars and "almost stars" who come to that festival.

 Mary Ann could tell you a lot more about that........ 

It is also a very "military" town -  home to Paris Island, the huge Marine basic training center - Beaufort Marine Air Station, an important aviation base where they will train all of the new F-35 pilots - and the Beaufort Navall Hospital, where I go to use the local VA branch out-patient clinic (and the smallest military base I have ever been on in my life - lol).  

NOTE: my first visit there was with a young lady psychiatrist who has a big certificate on her office wall that says she is a graduate of some little school called "Ohio State University". They are eveywhere down here!

No, I was not in the Navy, the VA clinic serves all branchess. But if I had known back then how much better the food was in the Navy I would have joined it instead!   Word!

Have a nice day and thank God you don't live in Wilmington North Carolina. It's going to get nasty.

Mark Schweickart

Good Luck Dave and Mary Anne! We are all hoping for the best for you folks facing the storm.

I know you have far more pressing things to think about at the moment, but since you brought up the movie based on Pat Conroy's book The Great Santini, I have been meaning to ask you if you ever read his memoir, The Water is Wide or have seen the movie version with John Voight called Conrack which covers his year teaching in a one-rooom schoolhouse on Daufuskie Island? I just stumbled onto this recently and couldn't help but wonder what your take on this would be. Conroy is probably a local legend down there I would imagine.

Anyway, enough of that--stay safe, or I should say, "Go get yourself to somewhere safe." 

Janie Albright (Blank)

Larry Foster is in the process of scanning all of our high school Eagle Views from our era. I have created a new link and it’s at the top left now. So far I have posted just the first issue - Fall 1962. Take a look and give us your thoughts! I think it’s going to be a great trip down memory lane. At this moment I have not come up with a better way of doing this. I’d like to be able to index them so we could just click on a particular issue but not sure if that’s doable. They are as clear as we can make them but not the best. Hopefully you can read them ok. Meanwhile I’ll seek out some advice from the website gurus. 

Michael McLeod

Good luck Dave. Stock up. That includes having some books stashed away in case you're out of power for a while. 

Deborah Alexander (Rogers)

Mary Ann & Dave,

Praying for you with this monster storm coming your way.  Stay safe and let us know how it goes.  We'll all be watching the news as the story unfolds.  Hope Mother Nature goes easy on you!

Debbie

Frank Ganley

To all in the path of florence, be brave but be smart , ESCAPE stay safe. We want to talk again after the storm

David Mitchell

I am writing this a few minutes after the first rolls a light thunder and a few drops of rain.

Thanks for all your concerns - both Forum, as well as private email. With this morning's shift in Florence's path I am now sort of 50/50 about staying or leaving. I will decide tomorrow. Leaving later usually makes for more open highways, I am not a fan of sitting in traffic jams on I-95. I understand I-26 is restricted to all four lanes northbound out of Charlestom to Columbia and it appears to be jammed.

Still looks like we will be on the far outside edge, and most of my friends and neighbors are staying (as of right now at least). But she is a massive one and it will be interesting to see how far she reaches. We will be receiving her on the bottom of the "wheel", so we will get "off shore" winds, which means we will NOT get lashed with heavy wave action and we will also experience greatly reduced storm surge - the most destructive aspect of a big storm.

Storm surge is simply the rise of water level. It is less flashy than the newsreels of high winds blowing roofs off of buildings, but can do far more damage. I live right on the May River, an estuary that has a regular tidal swing of about 9 feet - every 6 hours and 12 or 13 minutes - up and down, so the Oyster beds get their proper cycles of air, then water, and so on day after day.

But I only have about 8 feet of altitude above that high tide level.  Irma brough the water about one third of the way up my very large front yard. The difference in damage was amazing. Stronger Matthew (Cat 3) was off shore and did little damage to our waterfront - while around the corner (litterally) the docks on a bend of the river facing against the wind were ripped out by the dozens. Irma (Cat 1) was much weaker but it was "on shore" winds and ripped out a couple of our waterfront docks - while leaving almost calm waters on that other bend in the river. Strange to watch the difference. That all depends on where the center of the "wheel" is as it reaches you.

My biggest local concern is the abundance of huge old Live Oaks with heavy sprawling branches. They get waterlogged and weighted down by the rain and branches break and fall - almost always on a nearby power line, and there you go - no power. This happens several times a year anyway with any hard rainfall. It usually only takes the power compnay a few hours to restore us, but this will be much more rain and I'm sure it will happend again - only for longer. When I left for Matthew and came back after three days, I still had three more days without power. Never realized the true value of ice and batteries before that week.

We will have soe flash flooding, but it will be the least of our local problems as we are very low and very close to the May River and the ocean. It runs off fast. Places with hills - and therefore valleys, like North Carolina - have far more problems with flooding.

p.s.

Speaking of my "May River". It was Johnny Mercer's inspiration for his Oscar winning song "Moon River". He lived in Savannah and had a summer house here in Bluffton on the river. I' think he only wrote about 1,600 songs.

David Mitchell

Hey Debbie,

Interesting timing for your post. HAPPY BIRTHDAY KIDDO !

And now that you're "middle-aged" you can really cut loose and have a blast.

Deborah Alexander (Rogers)

Thanks, Dave!  I say 70 is the new 50!  We're all still going strong, even though these birthdays ending with zero are a bit intimidating!  Hope we all have 2 more of them!!!