Terry (Max) Maxwell

I just checked and there is a town named Maxwell in 17 states plus Barbados and New Zealand.  Guess I can add those to my bucket list.  Not!

James (Jim) Rookus

Sandy & Mel ... my youngest son is the "builder" and visionary who has the guts to spec such a huge project ..... scares the pants off this old guy!!!  Son and I co-designed it but did have a licensed architect do the actual specs and blue prints, engineering etc.  

Mel .... I totally forgot about my namesake street in Wayland, about 30 miles SE from me.  A cousin of mine developed that 2 street development and when I saw it I thought such a dumb name for a street and was embarrassed hoping my real estate peers would not give me credit for it.  I would never name something after myself... don't possess that type of ego.... won't even put my pic on business cards!
 

Max ... do you have your own custom brew of Maxwell House Best?
 

Melvin (Mel) Theobald

Jim, Max, Sandy and others who shall go unnamed...YOU ARE WAY TOO MODEST. Ego is one thing, but you have all done amazing things with your lives. And I for one am enormously grateful for what you are posting. I'm thinking about an old Confucianism, "It's your own latern, don't poke holes in it." Another adage is, "It's your nickel, spend it wisely." Your stories need to be told and you have no greater audience than those you spent your childhood with. I only hope all the rest of our amazing classmates get that message. We have so much to celebrate and less time than we used to have to do so. Every one of your stories is a gift to the rest of us.

Terry (Max) Maxwell

Jim...  I do not have my own brew for a reason.  I have never had a cup of coffee or tea.  I love the smell of brewing coffee but took one sip about 50 years ago and didn't care for the taste.  Told myself I could probably get used to it but never tried it again.  It's why I didn't post a pic of my favorite mug, because I don't have one.  If beer mugs count, I have some of those from when I used to drink.  

James (Jim) Rookus

After all the discussion about lverwurst .... I had to pick up some today at the store and have a half sandwich tonight for a "snack"

Mmmm so good ......  also bought a jar of pickled herring .... love it too!  Any outher herring lovers out there?

James (Jim) Rookus

Another strange occurrence .... the picture was in the last post when I typed the response and when submitted .... it disappeared 

Jack Keefe

Jim -- ego or not, if you're selling real estate, you need your picture on your business card. Remember the old country song: "If you're gonna play in Texas, you gotta have a fiddle in the band." 

On the subject of places bearing our names -- this is Keefeton, Oklahoma, named for someone in a Keefe family somewhere, but i don't think it's ours. I told the millenial in the coffee shop at the gas station that I was Mr. Keefe and she didnt bat an eye. I might as well have said Gorbachev.

Julie Hart

  marv - you were in tyler in 2018 45 minutes from me and didn't even visit???   i've never been to the caldwell zoo in tyler but everyone says it's great.  seeing flamingos in the wild is on my bucket list.

Julie Hart

for free for all friday (a day late) i chose some kinda funny animal pics.

billy, a tame hippo raised from 3 weeks at a chimp orphanage in zambia i've been to many times.  caught her at an odd angle.  

same place.  a young chimp and a friend i often travel with sound asleep. taken in 1999 so it's a pic of a pic.

back end of a camel in mongolia

Julie Hart

an awkward looking baby camel in wadi rum, jordan

king penguins shedding.  i was told it's actually painful for the penguin.

Sandra Jeakins (Singletary Sizemore)

Mel, you are right-you can find almost anything out with Google and the internet.

Max, I don't like coffee, either.  I don't even like the smell of it brewing.  We used to have coffee in the back lobby of Gailey's.  I had to help make it and the pot was right outside my office.  I hated that smell and was so happy when the electrical shorted out and they stopped having the coffee. I don't care for tea, either.  When I go for breakfast, I usually order chocolate milk.and I feel like a little girl.  Unless, it's cold enough to have hot chocolate, then I feel all grown up, drinking from a cup.   

Julie, on TV,  I actually just watched a baby hippo getting in the water for the first time.   That's probably the only time they are cute.  They sure lose that cuteness as they grow older.

When it comes to names, I've never had anything named after me, but Timothy Court and Michael Court in Normal are named after my cousins, Timothy and Michael Jeakins.  The builder of the subdivision was a friend of my Uncle's so he named those 2 streets after 2 of my Uncle's children.  

For today's theme:  Collections  I have a collection of teddy bear figureines and raccoon figureines.  I also have a collection of stuffed teddy bears and stuffed raccoons.  But I have put a number of them away and only have out the ones that have special meaning to them.   Like with the figureines, the stuffed animals collect dust.  For this reason, I haven't added to my collection of anything.  

On my dining room walls I have a collection of fish that Ron caught and had mounted. I also have a fish and a pheasant that Jim got and mounted that are on my living room walls. I've had women tell me there is no way they would have fish or a bird on their walls. But I know who much they meant to each of them so I'm happy to keep them.

Ray Bledsoe

With all of this social unrest I'm concerned they will change the name of our family's namesake.  My great-great-grandpa Anthony Bledsoe was a favored son of the South.  The family owned a tobacco plantation where the  park is located.  After the war Tennessee created Bledsoe County, Tennessee from four surounding counties to honor him and the park was created in 1973 to further honor him.

Wendy Stephens (Cullen)

I am thinking about "collections" but am not sure I have anything will qualify.  I have an idea for a discussion topic.  HOW DID YOU END UP WHERE YOU NOW ARE LIVING.  Some classmates are still in the Bloomington area, and it would even be interesting to hear about that.

Melvin (Mel) Theobald

As kids, Marv and I were into coin collecting. Throughout my life, my collections have been like a revolving door going from postcards to animal skulls to buttons and none greater than the art that covers my walls. Add to that shells, coral, Fiestaware and Coca-Cola memorabilia. Somehow I always return to nature. This is one my oddest collections: Rocks With Holes in them. They were all found on the beach at South Haven, Michigan. The holes are the result of crinoid fossil stems from prehistoric organisms that have eroded away, leaving the stones with see-through openings. To find one with two holes makes the search even more rewarding.

This is a small representation of that SPECIAL COLLECTION.

Wendy Stephens (Cullen)

About how big are those rocks, Mel?

David Long

Ray,

I don't know why, as a country, we are trying to erase history instead of learn from it.  If we don't learn from history, we're bound to repeat it.  I hope the park remains.

Dave

Melvin (Mel) Theobald

Wendy, they are almost uniformly 1.5 to 2" with only one under an inch and one over 3". There are 15 altogether. With the exception of the fifth photo which is granite, they are all formed from sediment rock. For some reason I never collected crinoid stems which are also found on the lakeshore, but much less interesting to me.

Terry (Max) Maxwell

Being an old industrial arts teacher, I have a collection of assorted antique tools.  Block planes, spoke shaves, a couple screw drivers, and some drills and brace & bits, etc.  Don't have them displayed anymore.  They reside in a box, collecting dust most likely. 

David Long

Max,

I have the same things from Shorty, in a tool box he made.  In the basement getting dusty, too.

Melvin (Mel) Theobald

So Dave...is that where you got the nickname Dusty?

Don't know if anyone is interested, but Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is playing the Beatles movie "A Hard Day's Night" right now. NO SCREAMING PLEASE!!!

James (Jim) Rookus

DAVE... agree with your comments... sorry our history is being erased little by little... this statue removal is getting out of hand !

JULIE..... wow what amazing photos .... were those on vacations or were trips work/career related?  

Julie, Wendy, Mel, Marve, Dave and others have posted so many beautiful and interesting photos over the months from their world travels... SO BLESSED to have had that opportunity!  Keep the travelogue photos coming... really enjoy seeing all the sites from abroad!

The only collection Ive had in recent years is over 50 Hawaiian shirts.  For a while it was like an addiction and I just kept buying any different color and design I saw!  I finally got over it by attending "shirt buying anonymous" meetings and kicked the habit!  Still enjoy the shirts from time to time.  I wear them according to my mood!

Julie Hart

jm - i love the idea of a hawaiian shirt collection  would love to see some photos.  and all my travel is leisure.

David Long

Thinking of teachers.    

David Long

Wendy's idea for MONDAY sounds great - HOW DID YOU END UP LIVING WHERE YOU ARE TODAY?

My suggestiong for TUESDAY is - TRAVEL STORIES: WHAT HAPPENED, HOW DID IT HAPPEN, INTERESTING CONSEQUENCES   (FLYING, DRIVING, WALKING, CRUSING, TOURS)

Any Takers?

David Long

Jim,

WOW, 50 Aloha Shirts!  I have friends living in HI that don't have that many.  I think I only managed about a dozen Reyn Spooner shirts when working out there.  I'm envious.

Dave