Good Old Days
Remember the Berma Shave signs that were along the highways "back in the day"? Enjoy these.
DON'T STICK YOUR ELBOW OUT SO FAR
IT MAY GO HOME IN ANOTHER CAR.
BURMA SHAVE
TRAINS DON'T WANDER ALL OVER THE MAP
'CAUSE NOBODY SITS IN THE ENGINEER'S LAP
Burma Shave
SHE KISSED THE HAIRBRUSH BY MISTAKE
SHE THOUGHT IT WAS HER HUSBAND JAKE
Burma Shave
DON'T LOSE YOUR HEAD TO GAIN A MINUTE
YOU NEED YOUR HEAD YOUR BRAINS ARE IN IT
Burma Shave
DROVE TOO LONG DRIVER SNOOZING
WHAT HAPPENED NEXT IS NOT AMUSING
Burma Shave
BROTHER SPEEDER LET'S REHEARSE
ALL TOGETHER GOOD MORNING, NURSE
Burma Shave
CAUTIOUS RIDER TO HER RECKLESS DEAR
LET'S HAVE LESS BULL AND A LITTLE MORE STEER
Burma Shave
SPEED WAS HIGH WEATHER WAS NOT
TIRES WERE THIN X MARKS THE SPOT
Burma Shave
THE MIDNIGHT RIDE OF PAUL FOR BEER
LED TO A WARMER HEMISPHERE
Burma Shave
AROUND THE CURVE LICKETY-SPLIT
BEAUTIFUL CAR WASN'T IT?
Burma Shave
NO MATTER THE PRICE NO MATTER HOW NEW
THE BEST SAFETY DEVICE IN THE CAR IS YOU
Burma Shave
A GUY WHO DRIVES A CAR WIDE OPEN
IS NOT THINKIN' HE'S JUST HOPIN'
Burma Shave
AT INTERSECTIONS LOOK EACH WAY
A HARP SOUNDS NICE BUT IT'S HARD TO PLAY
Burma Shave
BOTH HANDS ON THE WHEEL EYES ON THE ROAD
THAT'S THE SKILLFUL DRIVER'S CODE
Burma Shave
THE ONE WHO DRIVES WHEN HE'S BEEN DRINKING
DEPENDS ON YOU TO DO HIS THINKING
Burma Shave
CAR IN DITCH DRIVER IN TREE
THE MOON WAS FULL AND SO WAS HE.
Burma Shave
PASSING SCHOOL ZONE TAKE IT SLOW
LET OUR LITTLE SHAVERS GROW
Burma Shave
Do these bring back any old memories? If not, you're merely a child.
Our historic double bridges are finally being repaired for the next 50-75 years. Thought maybe some of you who haven't been back for a few years might be interested in seeing these.
Pillars on east end being rebuilt ... no wonder there was always such a bump there!
Underside of bridges pre construction
Tarps installed underneath to keep catch falling debris from going into the river
New crossbeams added for aditional support/stabilization
Final beam on west end of bridges. Completion December 2010.
AMERICA NEEDS TO WAKE UP!
That's what we think we heard on the 11th of September 2001 (When more than 3,000 Americans were killed) and maybe it was, but I think it should have been 'Get Out of Bed!' In fact, the alarm clock has been buzzing since 1979 and we have continued to hit the snooze button and roll over for a few more minutes of peaceful sleep since then.
It was a cool fall day in November 1979 in a country going through a religious and political upheaval when a group of Iranian students attacked and seized the American Embassy in Tehran . This seizure was an outright attack on American soil; it was an attack that held the world's most powerful country hostage and paralyzed a Presidency The attack on this sovereign U. S. Embassy set the stage for events to follow for the next 25 years.
America was still reeling from the aftermath of the Vietnam experience and had a serious threat from the Soviet Union when then, President Carter, had to do something. He chose to conduct a clandestine raid in the desert. The ill-fated mission ended in ruin, but stood as a symbol of America's inability to deal with terrorism.
America 's military had been decimated and down sized since the end of the Vietnam War. A poorly trained, poorly equipped and poorly organized military was called on to execute a complex mission that was doomed from the start.
Shortly after the Tehran experience, Americans began to be kidnapped and killed throughout the Middle East . America could do little to protect her citizens living and working abroad. The attacks against US soil continued.
In April of 1983 a large vehicle packed with high explosives was driven into the US Embassy compound in Beirut When it explodes, it kills 63 people. The alarm went off again and America hit the Snooze Button once more.
Then just six short months later in 1983 a large truck heavily laden down with over 25 00 pounds of TNT smashed through the main gate of the US Marine Corps headquarters in Beirut and 241 US servicemen are killed. America mourns her dead and hit the Snooze Button once more.
Two months later in December 1983, another truck loaded with explosives is driven into the US Embassy in Kuwait , and America continues her slumber.
The following year, in September 1984, another van was driven into the gate of the US Embassy in Beirut and America slept.
Soon the terrorism spreads to Europe . In April 1985 a bomb explodes in a restaurant frequented by US soldiers in Madrid
Then in August 1985 a Volkswagen loaded with explosives is driven into the main gate of the US Air Force Base at Rheine-Main, 22 are killed and the snooze alarm is buzzing louder and louder as US interests are continually attacked.
Fifty-nine days later in 1985 a cruise ship, the Achille Lauro is hijacked and we watched as an American in a wheelchair is singled out of the passenger list and executed.
The terrorists then shift their tactics to bombing civilian airliners when they bomb TWA Flight 840 in April of 1986that killed 4 and the most tragic bombing, Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie , Scotland in 1988, killing 259.
The wake up alarm is getting louder and louder.
The terrorists decide to bring the fight to America . In January 1993, two CIA agents are shot and killed as they enter CIA headquarters in Langley , Virginia
The following month, February 1993 , a group of terrorists are arrested after a rented van packed with explosives is driven into the underground parking garage of the World Trade Center in New York City . Six people are killed and over 1000 are injured. Still this is a crime and not an act of war? The Snooze alarm is depressed again.
Then in November 1995 a car bomb explodes at a US military complex in Riyadh Saudi Arabia killing seven service men and women.
A few months later in June of 1996, another truck bomb explodes only 35 yards from the US military compound in Dhahran , Saudi Arabia . It destroys the Khobar Towers , a US Air Force barracks, killing 19 and injuring over 500. The terrorists are getting braver and smarter as they see that America does not respond decisively.
They move to coordinate their attacks in a simultaneous attack on two US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania . These attacks were planned with precision. They kill 224. America responds with cruise missile attacks and goes back to sleep.
The USS Cole was docked in the port of Aden, Yemen for refueling on 12 October 2000 , when a small craft pulled along side the ship and exploded killing 17 US Navy Sailors. Attacking a US War Ship is an act of war, but we sent the FBI to investigate the crime and went back to sleep.
And of course you know the events of 11 September 2001. Most Americans think this was the first attack against US soil or in America . How wrong they are. America has been under a constant attack since 1979 and we chose to hit the snooze alarm and roll over and go back to sleep.
In the news lately we have seen lots of finger pointing from every high official in government over what they knew and what they didn't know. But if you've read the papers and paid a little attention I think you can see exactly what they knew. You don't have to be in the FBI or CIA or on the National Security Council to see the pattern that has been developing since 1979.
I think we have been in a war for the past 25 years and it will continue until we as a people decide enough is enough. America needs to 'Get out of Bed' and act decisively now. America has been changed forever. We have to be ready to pay the price and make the sacrifice to ensure our way of life continues. We cannot afford to keep hitting the snooze button again and again and roll over and go back to sleep.
After the attack on Pearl Harbor , Admiral Yamamoto said '... it seems all we have done is awakened a sleeping giant.' This is the message we need to disseminate to terrorists around the world.
This is not a political thing to be hashed over in an election year, this is an AMERICAN thing. This is about our Freedom and the Freedom of our children in years to come.
WAKE UP AMERICA!
*************
Many of us will remember reading these articles many times but
as for myself, I always enjoy reading them if for no other reason
than to remind to myself of the GOOD OLD DAYS. Let your grand-
children and/or great-grandchildren read these. They can't even
imagine such a time! barbara
A little house with three bedrooms and one car on the street. A mower that you had to push to make the grass look neat.
In the kitchen on the wall we only had one phone, And no need for recording things, someone was always home. We only had a living room where we would congregate, Unless it was at mealtime in the kitchen where we ate. We had no need for family rooms or extra rooms to dine, When meeting as a family those two rooms would work out fine.
We only had one TV set, and channels ... maybe two, But always there was one of them with something good to view.
For snacks we had potato chips that tasted like a chip, And if you wanted flavor there was Lipton's onion dip. Store-bought snacks were rare because my mother liked to cook, And nothing can compare to snacks in Betty Crocker's book.
Weekends were for family trips or staying home to play, We all did things together -- even go to church to pray. When we did our weekend trips depending on the weather, No one stayed at home because we liked to be together.
Sometimes we would separate to do things on our own, But we knew where the others were without our own cell phone. Then there were the movies with your favorite movie star, And nothing can compare to watching movies in your car.
Of course there were the picnics at the peak of summer season, Pack a lunch and find some trees and never need a reason.
Remember when the doctor used to be the family friend, And didn't need insurance or a lawyer to defend? The way that he took care of you or what he had to do, Because he took an oath and strived to do the best for you.
Remember going to the store and shopping casually, And when you went to pay for it you used your own money? Nothing that you had to swipe or punch in some amount, Remember when the cashier person had to really count?
The milkman used to go from door to door, And it was just a few cents more than going to the store.
There was a time when mailed letters came right to your door, Without a lot of junk mail ads sent out by every store. The mailman knew each house by name and knew where it was sent; There were not loads of mail addressed to "present occupant."
There was a time when just one glance was all that it would take, And you would know the kind of car, the model and the make. They didn't look like turtles trying to squeeze out every mile; They were streamlined, white walls, fins, and really had some style. 
One time the music that you played whenever you would jive, Was from a vinyl, big-holed record called a forty-five. The record player had a post to keep them all in line, And then the records would drop down and play one at a time.
Oh sure, we had our problems then, just like we do today, And always we were striving, trying for a better way.
Oh, the simple life we lived still seems like so much fun, How can you explain a game, just kick the can and run? And why would boys put baseball cards between bicycle spokes, And for a nickel red machines had little bottled Cokes?
This life seemed so much easier and slower in some ways,
I love the new technology but I sure miss those days. So time
moves on and so do we, and nothing stays the same,
But I sure love to reminisce and walk down memory
Dec. 14, 2009
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,