The Front Page
Folks Flocking to Lime Springs ---
Written by Keith Friday, 09 July 2010 08:22
Sweet Corn Days Only One Month Away!
Among the first to arrive, if not the first, was Wayne Roberts of San Antonio, Texas. (You can tell he's a Texan by the hat. Texans always have a hat, and always have a gate at the end of their driveway.)
Wayne came via Illinois where he visited family and friends.
His arrival was delayed slightly, as he stopped in Cedar Rapids so we could enjoy breakfast together. After a couple of hours of eggs, waffles, stories of Lime Springs and her people, stories of the USAF, and stories of flying in general, he motored northward.
His visit was a welcome treat! Most recently, our dinings together have been once a year in Texas—which Pat and I always enjoy.
We have been blessed with company the last couple of months: Cousin Terry and Kathy, Sheryl and Lee, Harlene, and now Wayne! How lucky can we get!
Will you be next?
Knee High by the Fourth
Written by Keith Sunday, 04 July 2010 19:47
Today is the day for the annual corn-growth progress report. As you can see, the corn in our neighborhood has done quite well indeed!
In fact, I can never remember seeing it anywhere near this tall by the Fourth of July. I can remember many years when it was close to not making it to knee high on this date.
Earlier, we had plenty of rain, accompanied by hot weather. Corn likes that; I don't.
Remember When---
Written by Keith Tuesday, 29 June 2010 16:08
I spent a good part of the day out in the garage again, mining for treasures. I found a couple which prompted this article.
Years ago, all motor oil came in tin cans, like the one shown here. When AMSOIL switched to plastic bottles, I saved a few cans—recognizing that they would become valued antiques some day.
I should have saved an earlier can. Originally, the company name was AMZOIL, after its founder, Al Amatuzio. But early in the company's life, Pennzoil was concerned that there would be confusion in the marketplace so the name, but not the pronunciation, was changed to AMSOIL. This was probably after a round in the court system.
Amway made a similar claim. We won that one.
Now if I had a can with the "Z" in it, I'd really have something!
Our new place probably doesn't have room for a more-or-less useless oil can of essentially no value so this relic of the past will probably be sold as scrap steel.
Here's something young folks probably don't even recognize: a distributor cap. Newer cars don't have such a thing.
Used ones make wonderful pencil holders. There's probably not a "real" garage or service station around which doesn't have one, full of pencils.
I still have one, and it will make the move with me. It's an eight-cylinder version, so is much more impressive than the little four-banger cap shown here.
What additional nuggets of treasure lurk in my garage?
Mining in the Garage
Written by Keith Monday, 28 June 2010 20:10
Today I started cleaning out the garage. I turned out to be a lot like mining! One could never know what treasure would turn up next.
And with each special treasure there is a story.
First, this flashlight and its story. This was a required purchase when I first joined the USAF in February, 1958. That means this flashlight is over 52 years old.
Before I arrived on the Lackland scene, there had been a horrible accident. A person (I seem to remember that it was an intoxicated officer, but that might not be correct) ran into a flight of marching airmen when it was dark. Some, three as I recall, were killed. This special flashlight, with the red plastic lens for visibility from the side, was the response.
It seems like a logical idea. But then again, would a drunken driver even see the flashlights swinging to and fro as the airmen marched to chow early in the morning?
Anyway, the flashlight served me well all my four years of serving Uncle Sam. And it has been stored safely most of the 48 years since!
More nuggets from the mine will be published later.
The Magic of Craig's List
Written by Keith Monday, 28 June 2010 19:48
Do you know about Craig's List? If not, perhaps you should—because it is magical!
Craig's List is a site on the Internet on which you can post items for sale or items wanted. That also goes for jobs, relationships, services, whatever!
Posting is FREE! And it works; it really works!
If you're a regular reader of The Lime Springs Page, you're aware that we are moving, moving to a smaller place. That means that we have lots and lots of "stuff" (I'm being kind here) to get rid of.
Craig's List has proven to be a wonderful tool for that project! I sold a Surge milking machine vacuum pump. Actually, I sold two parts of it! A fellow in Muscatine wanted one part, and a lady near Galena wanted the other part. And I still have a 3/4 hp. motor to get rid of. Do you want that?
I also sold some cat supplies and two big bar-type video games which we had been harboring for all these 32 years.
Just today, I listed a few dozen fruit jars to give away. Pat was shocked when she got a call just a couple of hours after I posted them! Within 1/2 hour of the call, the fruit jars were on the way to their new home! Better yet, I had posted some ceramic tile scraps a bit earlier. The same couple took them, too!
Talk about being a fan of Craig's List!
It works well, it works almost instantly, and it is free! And it's global, actually. That isn't important to me, but it was important that the folks about 90 miles away learned of my vacuum pump!
Lime Springs isn't one of the places listed. Nor is Cresco. But I bet if you requested it, they'd list NE Iowa as a location. Waterloo and Rochester are both listed, so perhaps Lime Springers could piggy-back off those locations.
You can find Craig's List for Cedar Rapids here: http://cedarrapids.craigslist.org/ Look over the menu and find the Craig's List for your location.
Explore Craig's List a bit and you'll see the power that it provides.
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