Tuesday, August 30, 2016

THE END IS NEAR !!!!

For many years, the price of this package of bologna sold for $2.00 at our local Wal-Mart.Image result for photo of a package of balonga
Today, the price at the same Wal-Mart has been raised to $2.24. This is a sign of the times when boloney (old school pronunciation) increases 12% without notice or warning !!!!!
Glenn <>< 
Just West of Yesterday

Friday, August 26, 2016

TRY EXPLAINING JIMMY DURANTE TO YOUR GRANDKIDS


JIMMY DURANTE

His singing was average at best. His jokes were corny and his appearance was comical. But you could watch him for hours. His energy was boundless and his timing was the envy of the entertainment industry. He was an old school piano player.

Try telling that to you grandkids. Better yet see the following URLs:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWqi9eWwXvk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSzmuWImK7Q

Glenn <><
Just West of Yesterday

Tuesday, August 23, 2016

ONLY IN OKLAHOMA !


Image result for OUTLINE MAPS OF OKLAHOMA
ON AUGUST 23, 2016 A FEW LOCATIONS IN OKLAHOMA HAD RUN OFF ELECTIONS TO NARROW DOWN THE CANDIDATES FOR THE NOVEMBER GENERAL ELECTION.
I HEARD THE FOLLOWING:

A voter called Pat Campbell's morning talk show (KFAQ) in Tulsa and reported the church that served as his polling location was not open when voting legally started at 7am.
 
The caller reported voters were voting in the parking lot on normal paper ballots and turning the ballot over after voting and placing them in a box.
 
Pat asked where the box was placed? The caller said in the back of a pick up truck. The veteran talk show host expressed surprise the box was in the back of a pick up truck.
 
The caller said, "It was a new pick up." Pat sarcastically remarked, "Well, if it was a new truck, that's OK!" 
 
ONLY IN OKLAHOMA !!!!!!!! IS THIS A GREAT STATE OR WHAT????
 
GLENN <><
JUST WEST OF YESTERDAY   

Saturday, August 20, 2016

THOUGHT YOU MIGHT LIKE TO KNOW

SINCE THIS BLOG STARTED IN MAY, 2011, OVER 14,000 PAGEVIEWS AND ALMOST 1000 POSTS HAVE BEEN MADE (DRAFTS & POSTED).

TOP 3 MOST VIEWED

1. Just in case you need to know: 1-3-13
2. Dad R.I.P: 9-30-15
3. 12 Things I know now that I wished I knew then: 6-17-11

TOP 5 MOST VISITED BY COUNTRY

1. USA
2.RUSSIA
3.GERMANY
4. PORTUGAL
5. MALAYSIA

TOP 3 BROWERS USED

1. Internet Explorer
2. Chrome
3. Firefox

KEEP COMING BACK AND TELL YOUR FRIENDS.

Glenn <><
Just West of Yesterday

Thursday, August 18, 2016

Things Were Cheap Back Then ?


Image result for photos of large dollar sign
WHAT IT COST THEN AND WHAT ITS WORTH NOW

 
In the U.S., parents and grandparents are fond of telling their beloved offspring what things cost back then.
 
  1959   
                       
A trip to a hospital Emergency Room---$62.33
In 2016 that same amount is worth------$511.29

A movie ticket cost --------------------------$.50
In 2016 that same amount is worth-------$4.10

Then, a dollar bought 7 cans of creamed corn !
                (Source: MSN Internet)

Talk about a Return On Investment---one boy at Lovett grade school (1953-54) in Lovett, Indiana, would buy a box of 24 taffy bars for $1.00 from Creech's Store and sell them for $0.05 a piece and make $.20! I sure would like that return today!!!

Glenn <><
Just West of Yesterday


Wednesday, August 17, 2016

When To Change Doctors


Image result for photo of a stethoscope


You might want to  change doctors if your doctor………….

1. Is named Frankenstein or Kevorkian.


2. Asks to borrow money from you.


3. Insists you return all unused pain meds to him/her.


4. Looks like Doogie Howser.


5. Has a diploma from a medical correspondence school.


6. Wants to do a blood test just before Halloween.


7. Takes a call from a funeral director.


8. Goes to rehab more than twice annually.


9. Suggests you do not buy any green bananas.


10. Likes Obamacare.


Glenn <><

Just West of Yesterday
 








Sunday, August 14, 2016

It Was In The Cards

Image result for bridge hand
A WINNING HAND


This story will be hard for contemporary readers to believe. I vow that is entirely true. The time and location of my undergraduate schooling must be understood. The time was 1959-63 and the location was Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. My dearest friend at Purdue was a Catholic fellow from Chicago. Ray Halbert remarked that there were more Catholics at Purdue than at Norte Dame. All of these factors help establish a framework and foundation for what follows.
Dress standards were very strict. Girls were not permitted to wear slacks to class. A shirt and tie, with clasp, were required to enter the Cary Hall dining room at supper. A suit coat or sports coat was an additional requirement for the Sunday noon meal.
The Four Cardinal Sins in Cary Hall, which would lead to immediate expulsion were:
1.   No females beyond the main lobby sitting area
2.   No fireworks in the dorm
3.   No alcohol in the dorm
4.   And No playing cards in the rooms---There was a single room adjacent to the TV room for cards. The room was to close at 11pm each night.
During my sophomore year I was elected representative of the Cary Hall East student council. Four students were caught by an RA playing Bridge after the 11pm closing time. This was a bending of the rules not a violation of the a Cardinal Sin. The “guilty” foursome was turned over to the dorm student council for adjudication. 
A student named Joe Post was a hardliner---“let’s kick ‘em out.” I thought the entire incident was a waste of time and a much lesser punishment was warranted. I jokingly called our deliberations the “Nuremburg Trails.” After a couple of weeks of testimony and discussion, a vote was taken and the guilty foursome was restricted from the card room for a month.
The rest of the story: Two of the guilty later flunked out.
My special friend Ray died about 10 years ago. Just recounting this event makes me very sad. Ray was a special man in many ways. His life mattered. One of his daughters was in the Air Force when Ray died.

Glenn <><
Just West of Yesterday

A PERFECT HARNESS RACE HORSE NAME

WIGGLE IT JIGGLE IT
While channel surfing the other night, I came across a harness race from Hoosier Park in Anderson, Indiana.

The race was named for the legendary Dan Patch. It must have been important because it was worth $325,000.

The above horse--Wiggle It Jiggle It won. What a great name!

Glenn <><Just West of Yesterday

  

Friday, August 12, 2016

LIFE IS LIKE A PHYSICS CLASS !

Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards. ----Soren Kierkegaard


Up front, on top, and out in the open; this Post may help you as Kierkegard's quote has helped me. I urge you to read and reflect upon its contents.


For many, many years, I have encouraged high school and college students to take at least one Physics class. Why? I am so glad you asked Why?


The basic elements of Physics (Heat, Light, Motion, Force, Magnetism, Electricity, etc. etc) help us to understand how and why things work as they do. In  a very real way, the elements of Physics are the Lego, Tinker Toy, and Erector sets of our Creator. The components of Physics, like all real science, must ultimately yield to our Triune God. His Omniscience, Omnipotence and Omnipresence will never be understood apart from His Creation. Physics, like all true science, permits us to peek behind the curtain and see what God is up to and to help us better understand His eternal purpose for this Universe. Physics permits us to read God's Lab Notebook! Yes indeed, this is Heavy Duty stuff; but so very true!  


Glenn <><
Just West of Yesterday

Monday, August 8, 2016

MEDS, MEDS, AND MORE MEDS


DID YOU TAKE YOUR MEDS TODAY ??




15 UNDENIABLE TRUTHS ABOUT YOUR MEDICATIONS 

1. You go to a doctor whose name you cannot pronounce; he/she writes a script you cannot read; you take it to a pharmacist you may not know; yet you take it with unquestioned faith.


2. If you drop a pill, it will immediately roll to the most inaccessible location.


3. There is an inverse relationship between pill/capsule size and costs. The small ones cost the most.


4. When you go on vacation your meds suitcase will weigh more than your clothes suitcase.

5. You discover the pill that’s most important to your health will run out when your pharmacist is closed and it’s a three day holiday.

6. Your list of meds is as long as a love letter.

7. The brand name meds will go generic the same day your doctor takes you off of it.

8. It takes you a half hour or more to fill your meds 7-Day planner.

9. You run out of sleep meds the night your daughter/granddaughter has a 5-girl sleepover.

10. A relative dies and you are in charge of flushing their meds down the toilet and every sewer rat in town gets high!!!


11. The possible side effects are worse than your ailment.


12. A friend discovers you are taking a med that her late sister took and she is convinced the med killed her!


13. Young people carry their meds in one hand. Old folks carry their meds in one Wal-Mart sack.


14. Why is it we never miss a meal but sometimes forget to take our meds?


15. Another mystery--You change doctors and the first thing they
do is question the wisdom of your former doctor in prescribing this or that med. (I have been there more than once)


Glenn <><
Just West of Yesterday




Wednesday, August 3, 2016

REPOST OF "LISA AND BARRY "LUCKY" DAY---MOST VIEWED FICTION

Comments: Riches & Romance; Duty & Divorce;   Heartaches & Heaven and Happiness & Hell 






                  Lisa and Barry “Lucky” Day


                                     by Glenn


                         (Contains very brief and mild sexual content)





Barry Day was not born on third base: But he was born somewhere between second and third. His father was the vice-president of the Felderburg National Bank and his mother was the daughter of the bank president.  


Young Barry lived an easy and comfortable life. New sports car at age 16; captain of his state champion football team; and steady boyfriend of Lisa Wilson, the most beautiful cheerleader in school and a great candidate for the most beautiful girl in town. She was an 11 on the ubiquitous 10 scale.  


 In spite of Barry’s much above average financial status, he never forgot he was very fortunate to enjoy the blessings of his birth.  Weather permitting; he would jog to and from school. He was the first to arrive for football practice and the last to leave. Teammates and coaches held his motivational leadership in high esteem. His six foot two inch frame reflected proper diet, lots of outdoor time, and abstinence from tobacco and alcohol. His light brown hair was cut in a close flat top style. Some of the girls privately said he looked like a modern day Tab Hunter. Everything about Barry seemed to reflect self-confidence, yet real humility.  


He knew he was very lucky in this Midwestern town of 18, 673 people. Many of the residents were of German ancestry. In fact, Barry was called “Lucky” Day in high school and he openly enjoyed the nickname. Lisa knew she was lucky to date the BMOC. Lisa could have competed in beauty contests with her All-American face and “head turning” figure; however, she had her sights set on a much more important prize. Interestingly, Lisa secretly wanted their relationship to go further and faster that Barry seemed prepared to go.  


After graduation, Barry and Lisa attended a small local liberal arts college. Lisa was planning on her MRS degree with Barry. Barry was studying banking and finance. He made a perfect 4.0 for four years. 

Between Barry’s sophomore and junior year he joined the Air Force ROTC. His motivation was to travel and prove his worth on his own. He wanted to someday travel to Germany and visit Europe. 


During his AFROTC basic training at Reece AFB in west Texas he was spotted as a natural leader and easily won the Commandant’s trophy for the most outstanding cadet at this demanding officer basic training. Barry once more lived up to his “Lucky” nickname.  



Following college graduation, Barry was commissioned a second lieutenant and the following week he and Lisa were married in the largest wedding in the modern history of Felderburg. The 800 plus attendees brought so many gifts two pickup trucks were required to transport them to his mother and father’s six bedroom home three miles east of Felderburg.








The newlyweds honeymooned in Hawaii for ten blissful and heavenly days. In addition to lying on the beach, body surfing, skin diving, flying to other islands, shopping (Lisa really enjoyed the shopping) and sleeping until 11am each morning, the happy pair enjoyed breakfast in the Honeymoon Suite heart-shaped bed. The colorful meals always included large spears of pineapple; served on trays containing fresh orchids. Lisa repeatedly thought how lucky she was and she would often refer to herself as Mrs. “Lucky” Day. 



Back on the reality of the mainland they had 20 days to prepare for their first duty assignment at the flat, super cold in the winter, Minot Air Force Base in Minot, North Dakota. Only Shemya Air Force Base in Alaska enjoyed a colder, more desolate reputation among service members.


As they entered Minot, they saw a large sign that probably had been erected by the Chamber of Commerce that asked, “Why Not Minot?” Some disgruntled citizen had spray painted below the business attracting question, “Freezin’ Is The Reason!” The Days would learn the temperatures would dip to 35 below zero during the winter.


Barry and Lisa lived in a two bedroom officer housing quarters on base. Barry was a brand new “Butter Bar” and was assigned as Chief of the Plans and Programs Division in the Base Accounting and Finance Office. He quickly earned the respect and confidence of his subordinates and the full bird colonel division chief. Lieutenant Day routinely briefed the base vice commander, and occasionally the base commander, on new upcoming programs and the projected cost of completion. It seemed fitting he was quickly elected the president of the junior officers advisory council. Barry accidently overheard the base commander tell the wing commander that, ”Lt. Day is bright, looks like he just walked off a recruiting poster, and he has the prettiest wife on Minot Air Force Base!” He went home that night and shared the double praise with the smiling Lisa. 


Lisa volunteered in the Special Services office two days a week and worked three days a week as a paid assistant in the base Day Care. She was happy to be busy, especially during the long cold winters. As the temperatures dropped, the snow piled up.  


She participated in a Tuesday unofficial lunch for junior officer wives. The conversation always included ultrasound results, due dates, progress of newborns and when was the new mother’s mother returning to her home. Lisa listened politely but was never able to contribute to the discussions. When honeymoons were brought up Lisa took center stage. Very few could top her and Barry’s. One proud mother-to-be, and new comer to Minot, said her due date was computed from her honeymoon. An all knowing smile adorned the faces of these junior officer’s wives. 


It was on a Thursday night at the mixed league bowling lanes when Barry “Lucky” Day’s luck started to go south. Barry was in the restroom as Lisa was bending over to retie her bowling shoes. From behind her came a deeply resonant, radio quality voice that asked, “May I help you?” Lisa turned to see the smiling face of Captain Steve McCory. She said, “Thanks, I got it.” 


Instant physical attraction is hard to define. Was it his voice? Was it her unintended bending position? Was it his dark blue eyes? Was it her model-like appearance even in her loose fitting bowling shirt? Maybe it was his all season tanning bed body that caught her eye. Maybe it was Lisa’s confident voice that echoed her “I know where I’m going and how to get there” overall demeanor. She quickly spotted his border line compliance with Air Force haircut standards. Simple answers to complex questions are seldom, if ever, correct. 


He extended his hand and firmly shook her soft, well-manicured hand and exchanged brief introductions. Barry returned from the restroom and put his left arm around her waist. Lisa introduced him to Captain McCory. Many lives were now destined to change.
 


Barry told Steve he worked in the Accounting and Finance Office and Steve said he was a Launch Control Officer for the Minuteman III ICBM and worked 24 hour rotating shifts. Days later, Steve would tell Lisa he saw her smile when he mentioned rotating shifts. Captain McCory was married; had a four year old daughter who was in the day care program and his wife worked off-base at Sears.


Steve and Lisa next met at the day care when Steve picked up his daughter on one of his days off. “Hello” and “Thanks” constituted the entire conversation. He came the next day to again pick up his daughter. On this second day she passed a sheet of paper with her phone number scribbled on it along with Steve’s daughter’s coloring for the day.  


Many, if not most, of the times when we make life-altering decisions we have reasons that at least seem rational to ourselves. However, Lisa’s hurried writing of her phone number and giving it to Steve was not thought out. It was on the spur of the moment. She started almost immediately to justify her decision to herself. Am I as beautiful and desirable as I once was? The giving Steve her number was a quick one person poll to discover the answer. After all, he probably would never call and if he did she could always say, ” I made a mistake, please forgive me.” Her rationalization seemed to make a lot of sense. Besides that, I am married to the greatest and the luckiest guy on the planet. 


A week passed and he called her about 15 minutes before the base U.S. Flag was taken down and the National Anthem played over the base PA system. This daily event marked the completion of another day of defending this great nation. Everything comes to a standstill on all military installations during this important ritual.  Each spoke rapidly and a secret rendezvous was agreed upon. Both of their spouses would be returning home soon. Lisa was surprised she felt no pangs of conscience. In fact, she could feel her heart racing. Yes, she thought to herself that she was at last going to be Lisa, not Lieutenant Day’s pretty wife. She had no trouble falling asleep that night. Her last conscious thought was the upcoming secret meeting with Steve. What would he be like when they were alone?  


When Barry came home from his office on the day Lisa and Steve had their first covert luncheon meeting, Barry immediately detected the unusual and delightful aroma of Lisa’s Dream Catcher fragrance. She received this perfume from an aunt in Santa Fe, NM. The aunt purchased it from a Native American sidewalk vendor who claimed magical and mystical results for the woman who wore this perfume. Lisa got a small bottle when she graduated from high school and another when she graduated from college.   


Barry inquired why she had chosen this day to wear his favorite perfume that had previously only been worn on special occasions. Lisa was now on the slippery downhill slope of changing half-truths into dangerous lies. She stated she chose this day because a group of Sioux Nation dancers performed at the day care. In fact, the dancers did perform at the day care; however, the real reason was she wanted to wow Steve on their inaugural long lunch hour hidden meeting. The perfume produced the desired effects. 


Fast forward four months later: Steve, in spite of his wife’s pleading for counseling with the base chaplain, divorced her. Ditto for Lisa and Barry. Six months later, Lisa and Steve were married. Lisa and Steve found an off base apartment. Steve’s ex-wife took her daughter and went home to Kansas. Barry moved into the Bachelor Officer's quarters. On two occasions, Barry was shopping at the Base Exchange when Lisa and Steve came in. On each occasion he put his items down on the nearest shelf and hastily walked out. How could Lisa look so happy and he felt so bad? Mercifully, Steve and his new bride were reassigned three months later.  


Some retrospective might be helpful at this time.  It is the very nature of humans to attempt to find the cause and effect for events, especially painful ones. Barry attempted many times to determine why Lisa was leaving him in favor of a man she had known for less than a year. Had he done or said something wrong? Was she unhappy in her work? Had she forgotten all of the good times they enjoyed in high school and college? Was Steve a better performer in the bedroom? Was the weather responsible for the divorce? Was she on drugs? Are you depressed? Have you grown tired of the Air Force? Did he promise you something I can’t provide? On and on the questions went. Each time she would generalize and say, “I can’t explain it.  I just know it is best for everyone.” 


Barry quickly advanced from the early stages of Shock, to Denial, to Anger in the Grieving process. He felt unbelievable anger toward Lisa and Steve. He thought briefly of confronting Steve and duking it out---winner take all. He even thought of taking his own life. Time, reason, the base chaplain, a very challenging job, and a supporting mother and father helped him survive the midnight of his soul. To quote Robert Service “It’s the Hell served for breakfast that’s hard.” He later would recall he felt like the gut shot cowboys in old western movies. He didn’t want to live and he didn’t know how to die. 


Had Barry’s long streak of luck been broken? Was he just another ordinary guy after all? Barry got a three week leave and went back to Felderburg to get himself together. He spent much of the time alone. On Friday night just before he went back to Minot, he attended the opening night at the annual German Wurst Fest.  Things would never be the same after that night.
 


It was a long accepted custom for tickets to be sold to determine who would have the first dance with the Wurst Fest queen---this year was Helda Wenderson. She was dressed in traditional German attire.  Her blond neatly braided pigtails and bright blue and white checkered dress with wide jumper straps highlighted her quiet outer and inner beauty.  Knee high white stockings amplified her shapely figure. Her genuine smile made a fellow want to wrap her up and take her home to mother. Her face reflected an innocent wholesomeness. Her smile was so captivating he felt as if he was beholding the original allurement of Eve in the unspoiled Garden of Eden. Barry would later learn she and her family moved from Milwaukee to Felderburg about the same time he and Lisa moved to Minot. Furthermore, her father was the pastor of the largest Lutheran church in Felderburg.  


Sometimes a person must cast his bread upon the waters and see what happens. Barry bought one ticket and silently waited for the drawing. Barry’s ticket was drawn to start the official opening of the three day celebration. Smiles and constant eye contact served as the main medium of conversation. 


Barry asked and was granted permission to escort Queen Helda home. For the next two days the two of them were nearly inseparable. Barry felt as if each good night kiss was the stairway to a timeless eternity and infinite space. He attempted twice to tell her the full details of his previous marriage. Each time she would softly say, “I know.”  Barry’s luck seemed to be back. 


Strangely, old westerns again popped into his recollection. This time he was the ragged, bearded prospector that was more dead than alive and barely able to crawl to a life-saving fresh spring of water. Barry Day felt alive again. He was alive! He was alive! Hey world, I am alive!  


 He returned to Minot a totally different person than when he left. He phoned Helda every day; sometimes two or three times a day on weekends. A year later they were married in a small military ceremony at the base chapel. Thrown rice never felt so good. The crossed sword exit from the chapel seemed to Barry to be the portal to genuine and long lasting love. While Barry never said it out loud, his feelings for Helda were deeper, more even than those felt for Lisa. He thought to himself, Lisa was a speed boat and Helda is a three-masted, majestic, silent, old world, sailing ship. The speed boat had raced over the horizon never to return. The tall sailing ship was safely and forever in his home port. To love and be loved is the greatest thing a person can experience. Yes sir, Barry Day was lucky once more.


Within a month he received orders to Ramstein Air Base, Germany. Helda spoke perfect German and helped launch a four year dream tour of all the major countries of Europe.  Captain Day was the number two man in the base Accounting and Finance Office. Barry’s father developed terminal cancer and he separated after 8 years of active duty to help his mother take care of him. 


Back in Felderburg, Barry became the director of the bank’s loan department and was widely recognized as the future bank president in waiting. He and Helda had twin boys, Joshua and Caleb, and lived in a house about four blocks from Helda’s parents. The Barry Day family became faithful members of her father’s Lutheran church. 


What happened next was straight out of a Dickens’s novel. A subordinate brought a loan application to Barry to sign the Disapproval statement. The subordinate briefed Barry on the applicant’s lackluster financial status. She is a single mother of four young kids; just moved into town; works as a truck stop waitress; has a credit score of 420; been married three times; and wants to purchase a 10 year-old double wide trailer for $4,800. 


Barry scanned the application and surprised his subordinate by approving the loan. He said, “Tell Lisa this is her Lucky Day!”


 

 GLENN <><
JUST WEST OF YESTERDAY



 


 


 


 


 


 

Monday, August 1, 2016

HOW FAR WILL A GUY GO TO COLLECT A BET?



















During one assignment, I served with an officer who had attended Norte Dame University. We had several "discussions" about ND and Purdue football games. The rhetoric got rather intense and out of the blue he bet me $5 ND would defeat Purdue in their next football game. While I do not consider myself a betting person, I had the "Honor of Old Purdue" to uphold--so I took the bet.




Somehow, Purdue did win the next game and our reassignments prevented me from collecting on the bet. A couple of years passed and I stopped in Hawaii, enroute to a temporary duty assignment in the Pacific. I knew my ND friend was stationed in Hawaii and after a little research, I located him. 




Before revealing the main reason I was in Hawaii, I pretended that I had finally tracked him down to collect my bet. He pulled out a Lincoln and I told him the rest of the story. Like most military friends, we lost track of each other. I heard through the grapevine, just before I retired, he and his wife had divorced. Maybe she bet against ND!!!!!


Glenn <><
Just West of Yesterday

"THAT SPEECH WAS FILED!"

Lincoln at Gettysburg



At Purdue University ('59-'63) there were two kinds of students: Greeks (Fraternity/Soriety) and Independents (GDI’s). There was not a lot of love lost between the two. It was widely reported that one of the benefits of living in a Greek “House” was the massive collection of test files left by members.

The rumor had it that Greeks did not have to study as hard as Independents because they had inside info on tests that was contained in the large “House”collection and therefore could party until dawn.
An interesting story concerned a Big Ten football star who pledged a fraternity and was in hopes of using their large file to finally pass the required Composition 101. Up until the last test he had a strong “B+” going and looked like a sure winner this time. All along, he merely copied his compositions directly from the Greek House files. He had an assured “C” no matter what he did on the final. On the last day there was an in-class theme required. The star halfback handed in a typed theme!  
Now back to Speech 112---The speech was to persuade. The urban legend machine had an often repeated story that a student started his speech by saying “Four score and seven years ago our forefathers brought….” The professor jumped to his feet and pointed an accusing finger at the student and shouted:”BY %$(#@ THAT SPEECH IS FILED!”  


Glenn <><
Just West of Yesterday