Trying to Reason With an Ice Storm-- Part 5: Quite the Mess

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23

Sadly, when I got home (about half a mile away), the garage door didn't open so I knew the electricity was still off.  

Since I couldn't really do anything, I decided the time was good to do some shopping (in stores with electricity.)

So, drove over to Illinois Highway 31 in McHenry, a major shopping area.

This is the second winter event we've had in the last week.  Last Thursday we had about five inches of snow, now ths ice storm last night.  Both times, we got really hit along the Wisconsin-Illinois border.  The farther south you go, the less snow last week and less ice last night.  I am all in favor of sharing our good fortune with those folks.

The trees in the subdivision are still covered with thick ice and a while lot of limbs are down.  Same held true during my drive to McHenry.  Saw quite a few piles of limbs right up by the road and in several spots there were guys out clearing up the mess.  I could see a few spots where the remnants of limbs were actually on the road.

This was by far the worst ice storm I can ever remember.

--RoadIce

Living In Today's World: "Don't Pull It Out!!"

From the September 6, 2016, Dustin comic strip.

Dustin's dad is standing in the checkout line at the grocery store.  The man at the front of the line has put his credit card (a new one with the chip) in the machine.

1.  Dad, thinking to himself:  "Ugh.  These chip readers are the worst.  The man at the front of the line is having problems and the cashier says to him: "Wait, don't pull it out."

2.  The Dad is still thinking:  "Makes me nostalgic for people holding up the line to balance their checkbooks.  The cashier is now yelling at the man with the card: "DON'T PULL IT OUT.!!"


I myself don't have a problem with pulling it out, but do have a real big problem remembering to insert the chip instead of swiping it.  I am so proud of myself when I remember to insert the chip instead of swipe, but that is sure a rare happening.

"Insert Chip."  --RoadDog

SIGNS AND NOTICES:  At an Applebee's restaurant:  NOTICE: AFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY!  A new 6% tax will be charged for the cost of collecting taxes!"

Annual Trip Out for Cheap Halloween Candy and Decs

Yesterday, I drove around the area, looking for cheap Halloween stuff, something I always like to do the day-after as most places drop  prices on decorations and candy 50%, some even more.

I hit Walgreen's first, but they hadn't dropped anything, so, out-of-there.  Jewel had dropped their decorations already, well over 50% so I got some stuff there.  They hadn't dropped the candy yet.

Later, i went to Wal-Mart and bought two decorations and then Meijer where I bought some 50% off candy and some employees told me to feel free to take any candy in their carts as they were running out of places to put it.  (I also bought my usual 5-cassette brick of Maxell tapes for $4.67, one of only two places I know of that sell cassettes.)

Foot-long hot dog at Steak 'N Shake and home.

Little Old Cheapo Me.  --RoadDog

Summer North Carolina 2016-- Part 3: The Problem With Croakers and Mom's TVs

JULY 21ST, THURSDAY:  Bob's shredder gave out, so I went out and bought one.  Spent the day sorting through mostly medical records and destapling, tearing and sorting them out.

Bob and I went to a buffet place called Murray's in Goldsboro.  Good food, other than their fish-of-the-day, croaker.  I didn't think I would ever find a fish I didn't like. but this was one!!  Besides more bones than I could count, was that ever a fishy taste.

Later I had the '11 Malibu's oil changed and did some shopping at places we don't have around us at home like Big Lots, Books-A-Million and Target.

JULY 22ND, FRIDAY

One thing about Mom's TVs and that is that I have always had a problem turning them on.  Anywhere else, I just hit power and I have it.  But not Mom's TVs.  There are several steps you have to go through and me being technologically challenged, this is not an easy thing to do.

A whole lot more "paper" work.  Dollar Tree (for Mom's church donation Thank You notes), gas ($1.97), Ollie's (kind of a junky Big Lots, but you never know what you are going to find), K-Mart (none within 40 miles of us at home) and a visit out to Mom and Dad's graves at Willow Dale Cemetery.

--RoadDog

About Last Weekend-- Part 1: Lots of Civil War, Cheerwine and Loss of My Cassettes?

MARCH 26, SATURDAY--  Drove to Panera Bread Co. in Crystal Lake and met up with the rest of the McHenry County Civil War Round Table Discussion group to talk about Mobile Bay.  I'll be writing about this in my Running the Blockade Blog.

Afterwards, I went to Best Buy and Fresh Market, a very upscale store which I had found out sold that North Carolina treat, Cheerwine.  They do, but I still have two 2-liter bottles left from my last trip to North Carolina.  Went to Target for my usual bag of popcorn (some of the best in the world) and then went to Barnes & Noble and bought a CD and a Naval History magazine.

Then, drove to McHenry and went to Meijer and found out I should never go to Meijer the day before Easter.  The place was a madhouse with huge lines at every checkout counter.  I tried to buy my stuff at the outside nursery checkout, but they were having problems with it and I ended up back inside and managed to pick the slowest line.

I would have just left my stuff, but I had bought the last three 5-cassette bricks they had.  This could bring to an end my cassette recording once I run out of my stockpile.  I sure will miss my cassettes if that is the last of  them at Meijer.

Must Treasure My Last Cassettes.--  RoadDog

N.C. Summer 2015 Trip-- Part 3: 'Possums, Shopping, 'Cue and Shrimp

July 22, Wednesday

After breakfast, Bob and I took the two opossums he had caught in his basement out to a wooded area and let them go.  He has an indoor/outdoor cats and a cat door which the opossums most likely used to enter his basement.

He caught one in a city-supplied trap and a short time later caught one in a garbage can.  Both initially did not want to come out of their cages and had to be coaxed out.  No doubt they will be missing their free  lunch.

We then went to an IGA grocery store called Charlie C's and I got some eastern Carolina BBQ sauce and Texas Pete Hot Sauce.  Texas Pete is a North Carolina company.  Then to a place called Ollie's which is like a Big Lots and Target (the one near me at home closed).  Last was Sam's Club and Trade It where I bought a dubbing cassette deck.

We had a huge buffet at McCall's on the US-70 bypass.  AUCE BBQ, cole slaw and, just as good, Calabash shrimp.

Shrimp and 'Cue.  Life is Good.  --RoadDog


REDNECK COMPUTER TERMS:  BUG--  The reason you is givin' for calling in sick.

Back to Ace

Friday, while waiting for Liz while she was at the hairdressers in Round Lake, I drove over to the Ace Hardware on Il-134 (Railroad Avenue as it runs alongside the old Milwaukee Line, now Metra).

I don't know how long it has been there, but it was already at site when we moved into Round Lake Beach in 1975.  At one time the place was billed as the World's Largest Ace Hardware. It may still be as it is the same size.   And in the 70s and 80s it was quite the bustling place.  Just about everybody went  there, even to pay utilities.

And, then, it really got crowded come spring when the plants would arrive.  I spent a lot of time and money there (even though a flat of annuals cost $4.99-$5.99).

Of course, with the coming of Wal-Mart and especially Home Depot and Menard's (down Il-134 at US-12), customers have fallen off tremendously.  Even me.  I rarely go unless waiting for Liz at the hairdresser.

I looked at the flowers outside and walked through the well-stocked store before breaking down and buying a flat of annuals for $12.99 and geranium for 99 cents.

It Was Like Going Back to Old Times.  --RoadDog


YOGI-ISMS:  "It's  deja vu over again."

This Past Weekend-- Part 1: Round Lake Beach

NOVEMBER 15TH, FRIDAY: Drove over to Round Lake Beach, Illinois, for dental appointments, then drove around the town, where we lived for 17 years while teaching. The lakefront park at Round Lake Beach is as beautiful as ever. After Liz's hair appointment in Round Lake by Magee Middle School (where I taught for 31 years), we had the Chinese buffet at Chiang Jiang in Mallard Creek Shopping Center by Il-83 and Rollins Road.

The poor place is hanging in there in the nearly vacant shopping center now that only about four stores remain. Things are even worse as Rollins Road between Hainesville Road and 83 is undergoing a major renovation because of the railroad crossing there.

Then, we went to the Super-K on Rollins Road a little west of Mallard Creek. Sadly, it is being closed because of a lack of business. We don't have any K-Marts anywhere near us anymore as the K-Mart in McHenry also closed.

Later, had a few drinks at the Dirty Rooster on Grasslake (they moved to a new place on Il-173 at the end of this month). Enjoyed that great view of Grasslake on one of the few decent days we have left now. Ran into someone who knew me from my deejay days. He said he liked me because I interacted with the crowd, something deejays rarely do these days.

Can't Complain About the Weather. --RoadDog

Cruising McHenry

Earlier today, I went to McHenry, hitting the various stores looking for flowers and perennials.  I figure that now that I will be here awhile, I can go ahead and start planting.

I bought dianthus, hostas, wave petunias, caladiums, an Asiatic lily, blanket flowers, sedum and two blue flower perennials (delphinums?) I can't remember the name of right now.

***  Don't parents with kids look before crossing streets by the stores any more?  I saw two different adults walk in front of me without ever looking.  That is very trusting of them, but mighty stupid.  One was even carrying a baby.  Thank goodness I was watching out for them.

***  Wandering around Meijer's, I found cassette tapes for sale!!!  I thought they had dropped them as have most every other store except Walgreen's.  And, their five-pack bricks are just $4.67 (Walgreen's charges $7.99).  Well, I just had to buy two packs.

***  Going through the Wal-Mart $5 CD bin (that's right, I still buy CDs), I found two Doors albums: The Soft Parade and Morrison Hotel and bought them.  The Soft Parade especially reminds me of Lincoln Hall at NIU back freshman year, 1969-70.

**   I was shocked at checkout at Meijer's in the nursery section when the clerk, a guy I'd guess to be in his mid-twenties, said he was glad to see someone still buying cassette tapes and that he prefers to record on them to downloading like all the young folk do (and a lot of old folk as well).  You might say that made my day as it gets mighty lonely being the only one I know of still using cassttes.

***  While looking at some plants at Meijer's, I felt something whoosh by my head and then a plop.  I looked down at the concrete floor to see a baby bird which must have fallen out of its nest about twenty feet above me.  It was barely breathing.  I told the cassette clerk about it and by the time I got back, that little bird had righted itself and was moving around.  It had just gotten some of its feathers so its life prognosis isn't very good, but I'm pulling for it.

A Day Out Shopping.  --RoadDog

Things to Worry About at the Check-Out Line

From the July 17th Diamond Lil comic strip by Brett Koth.

I couldn't help but chuckle at this strip as it sums up my experiences waiting to pay for my purchases at stores.

Two guys are waiting in line with their carts.

FRAME 1 Man 2: Looking disgusted "Who is taking so long up there?

FRAME 2 Man 1: "Lillian Bilious. She can't find her discount card."

FRAME 3 Man 1: "...and she's pulling out coupons. A whole wad of them."

FRAME 4 Man 1: Every frame, man 2 looks madder and madder. Man 1: "She's handing them to the cashier one at a time..."

FRAME 5 Man 1: "Uh-oh." Man 2: "What?"

FRAME 6 Man 1: "She's going to write a check." Man 2: "AAAGGH!"

When I get up to the check out lines, its a gamble as to which line you get into. The longest is not always the fastest. You never know. And I especially hate it when someone, quite often me, has something with no price on it.

AAAGGH!! --RoadDog


UNIVERSAL TRUTHS: I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when i was younger.

My Feeling Exactly. --RoadDog

The Day-After the Day-After Shopping Expedition-- Part 2: A Wal-Mart Experience

Then, it was on to the world's biggest outdoor used car lot at the neighboring Wal-Mart. Other than the one in Goldsboro, NC, this has to be the most-crowded parking lots in the whole Wal-Mart kingdom. I was heading out to the back-forty when I almost ran into someone backing out of a parking space just two spots away from the store. What luck!!

Looking at some of the folks a-shopping, I couldn't help but be reminded of some of those hilarious Wal-Mart shoppers e-mails being sent around so much. I'm sure they were looking at me and thinking the same.

Checked out their steadily decreasing stock of CDs which are now lumped together with rap, country, rock and pop along one aisle side. Forget anything remotely resembling alphabetizing. It won't be long now until there are none. I'll sure miss it. Just something else I didn't think they could take away from me.

Then, on to Christmas decorations which were picked over pretty well. I was hoping to find some 100 light straight strands of clear lights, but they were all gone. I did find two boxes of 300 light twinkling icicles and two boxes of 300 light two-cycle (blue and clear) icicle lights.

Everything was 50% off, of course, and the price read $5.99. Hey, $3 for 300 lights is a great deal. But wait. Was the $5.99 the regular price or did that already reflect half price? You have to be really careful at stores during the cheap after-Christmas shopping.

Do those prices reflect 50% off or are they the regular price. I couldn't find one of those machines where you can get the price you'll pay, so had to take my chances at the check-out line.

Next, the Checkout Line from Hell. --RoadDog


YOU'RE FROM FLORIDA IF...You can tell the difference between fire ant bites and mosquito bites.

A Day-After the Day-After Shopping Expedition-- Part 1

Into the wilds of McHenry, Fox Lake and Spring Grove, Illinois.

Sunday was pretty-well tied up with football, so yesterday, I ventured out into the cold (at least no new white stuff) for my annual bargain-hunting trek. This is the best time to buy Christmas stuff for next year.

I am now fairly sure everyone in the area is on vacation but the poor souls working in the stores. This was just as crowded as Black Friday. (And, we don't even want to talk about the Wal-Mart parking lot.)

The list of stores visited: Home Depot, Borders, Meijer's, Wal-Mart, Target, Vinyl Frontier, Culvers, Menard's, Home Depot, Aldi, Walgreen's, Walgreen's and Jewel. I guess you can call that multi-tasking a trip.

I put on 26 miles.

First I drove to the McHenry Il-31 SHS (Standard Homogenized Stuff) strip north of town.

First stop was at Home Depot where I bought a small hanging flag with winter cardinals. At Borders, I got two daily calendars for half price. For me, I got one of propeller war planes and for Liz I purchased a Wizard of Oz one. Maybe this will get her to look at them. If it's not on a computer screen she normally won't look at anything. Meijer's yielded a 5-pound box of clementines, a real favorite of mine.

Next, Wal-Mart, the parking lot, the bait-and switch, and check-out line from hell.

Oh, Glorious Fun. --RoadDog


YOU'RE A FLORIDIAN IF...You're under 30, but you have lots of friends over 65.

Well, It's 10:40 AM on Black Friday

It's 10:40 AM, and I have not yet been out to any store. Perhaps I will live up to my promise to myself not to go to the stores today.

But, there's still a lot of time.

As They Say, Time Will Tell. --RoadDog

Black Friday

An article in the Nov. 21st Chicago Tribune "Black Friday turning pale" by Sandra M. Jones

Black Friday is typically the busiest shopping day of the year. This year, foot traffic is expected to be 2.5% less than last year. Plus, retail sales for the past two months are disappointing.

Economic pressures like surging gas prices, higher prices in the grocery stores, the fall of home equity will be keeping a lot of people out of the stores.

Stores themselves are not doing themselves a favor as far as Black Friday is concerned. Many have been offering Black Friday promotions for weeks. You can also go online, order, and pick up your purchases. Two stores around here, northeast Illinois, K-Mart and Meijer's were open yesterday. Plus, Value City opened at midnight. Kohl's and JC Penney's had 4 AM openings this morning.

The first time I heard the term Black Friday, I thought it was a term connoting something bad, you know, the stock market fall, or something like that. I didn't know that it marks the day when retailers go from losing money to making a profit.

Let's Hope It's a Good Day for Retailers. --RoadDog

Perhaps the retailers are overdoing it a bit.

Think I'll Sit Out Black Friday Tomorrow

For the past six years, I have gotten up early, by 5:30 AM and headed out for the annual battle with the hordes of bargain-hunters like me.

Each year, I swore that I wouldn't do it again, and then, the next day after Thanksgiving, there I'd be, right where I said I wouldn't be. Two things I really hate are crowds and above all else, lines.

Well, this year I'm planning on sleeping in. That is, UNLESS I see any REALLY good deals in today's paper, which I have yet to look at.

Then, there's dumb old me standing in a line and wondering why I did it again.

No Black Friday for Me. --RoadDog

This Past Weekend-- September 7th to 9th

Friday I met my old buddy Kip at the Triangle Restaurant in Grayslake, Illinois. We talked about what we were doing back on September 11, 2001. He was at a negotiations meeting trying to settle our contract and he suggested that they adjourn to go back to school to be with the kids. They did.

I then went over to Gurnee Mills and walked around it. I saw the big fake snake outside the Rainforest Cafe that really gave me a jump a few months back. I was walking along looking in store windows when I looked up, and saw a huge snake about two feet above my head, looking at me with mouth wide open and tongue flicking. I guess I must have a strong heart as I didn't have an attack right then and there.

Saw an excellent Western movie called "3:10 to Yuma" which was just released. I highly suggest it. You don't see many westerns anymore.

Drove to Richmond-Burton High School and watched the game with Stillman Valley. They led most of the game, but evidently we had a comeback at the end to pull withing two points before we losing 33-31. I had already left after losing my battle with the mosquitoes. Once back at the truck, I saw a really big praying mantis on the top of the cab and it just wouldn't get off. After some work (I didn't want to kill it) I finally got it off.

Saturday, I went to Des Plaines for a meeting of the SCV, Sons of Confederate Veterans. Our camp's name is the Camp Douglas Memorial Camp, named after the infamous Union prison in Chicago where over 6000 Confederates died.

I then went to a memorial service in Fox Lake for the 21 year-old son of friends of ours from the American Legion. He died from massive injuries suffered two weeks ago when a car wash collapsed from a wind shear in the storms that passed through Chicago. He was near Wrigley Field at the time. This was a very sad thing.

We then went up to Twin Lakes, Wisconsin, where Donovan's Reef was celebrating their first anniversary with the new owners. They've done a great job with the place, keeping the things we liked from before and improving everything else. They had an excellent pig and beef roast, and we were able to get five national rankings in NTN.

Sunday I went to the German Club meeting in Lake Villa and then met up with the usual Bears crew at Baja Benny's on Fox Lake to watch the game. That would be Jim, Paul, Sue, Pam, Laura, and Ed. Too bad the Bears lost.

Going, Going, Going. --RoadDog