warning: long, non-related-to-extropianism post

From: Spike Jones (spike66@ibm.net)
Date: Mon Feb 21 2000 - 23:05:00 MST


john grigg wrote:

> I think I may have liked your grandfather!

Hell of a guy. Gone 22 yrs and I still miss him as if he died yesterday.

> Knowing auto repair can give a person a real advantage in life.

As Greg pointed out, auto repair develops reasoning ability.

> Self-defense is still a very vital skill to have!

I ended up getting into exactly one altercation in my life. At a
bowling alley. My league teammate got into it with a guy from
the other team, 8 guys ended up brawling for about 15 seconds,
in a bowling pit, which if youve seen one, you know is not large
enough to brawl in. 8 guys, quarter of a minute and not one
single decent punch was thrown, not a tooth knocked out, not
even a respectable black eye. I was so mortified with embarrassment,
I have never again set foot in an alley to this day. {8^D Looked
more like a football victory huddle than a fight. The 8 stooges.

Currently, I seldom go anywhere near the bad parts of town. No
business there. My chances of being involved in a crime in Santa
Clara county are slim indeed.

> My heart went out to you when you desribed the fearful environment that
> existed when you attended college.

Fearful? Nah, we had a ball. No money, lotsa fun. I worked
on campus as a tutor for physics, chemistry and calculus for $2.90
an hour, so I wasnt totally penniless. Married one of those students,
16 yrs ago. {8-]

> It is sad that you did not major in your academic first love.

Ill get over it. {8-]

> The ramen noodles and koolaid diet is not healthy!

Roger that. Dont recommend it. After I posted it, I called one of my
roommates and we laughed about it. He reminded me about the apples.
We went to college in eastern Washington, so in the fall we went and
bought u-pick-em apples for 8 cents a pound. Stored em in the cellar
where they kept thru-out the winter, altho they did tend to get a bit...
chewy, towards spring. {8^D House rules were you couldnt eat
*any* meal unless at least one apple was devoured along with it.
We were not actually *hungry* you understand, just full of top ramen
and apples. {8^D haaaaa. hahahahaaaa. haha. ha. I hate apples to
this day.

> ...professional engineer, working very hard but being financially outclassed
> by a child whose father invested
> wisely on her behalf in companies you did not have the insight then to invest
> in!

Ill get over it. {8-]

> Children/young adults like her will have their own challenges though.

Evidently countless others have already been down that road. I just
dont know any of them. Until now, when I know several. Actually,
*all* the kids I now know personally have buttloads of money. Strange
times we are living in.

> I wish good luck to any parents on the list.

Roger that. Looking back, I was too negative in my posts this weekend.
Ive been emotionally screwed up since Lucy Knight died Thursday night.
I cant *believe* they killed her! She was soooo nice, and smart too!
Isnt this absurd? Mourning a TV character. [[8-[ Wish they had taken
Carter instead, let Lucy live. Goodbye Lucy Knight. sigh.

One more, if you are still reading this far: the previously mentioned former
college roommate reminded me of the zoot suit. He hadnt one when he got to
to school so he and another of my roommates rode the bus downtown to
the Goodwill store, came back with a zoot suit. From like, the '30s. {8^D
What was funny is that it was actually a really nice suit, very expensive in
its day and flawless, no wear at all, and fit him perfectly. But it had
these...
shoulders. It was made right at the peak of that trend where the designers
thought ones shoulders should stick out either side about half a meter. He
was unsure about it but it was only 15 dollars, and it *was* a nice wool suit,
so, zoot suit it is. He had that suit the whole time we were at college. As
a little joke he wore it under his graduation gown, which looked very strange.

Had it thru graduate school, and now he is Dr. Rob, professor of engineering
at the same school we went to, and he still has the zoot suit. His wife
loves that crazy thing. hahahhahahaaaahahah. {8^D So you see, we
were poor, but we had a lotta fun. spike



This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Thu Jul 27 2000 - 14:04:00 MDT