Looking at this old A&J from 1998, I think of my 5th grade teacher, Mrs. Graham. Mrs. Graham sported pinkish hair, way ahead of its time, and drove a 1958 Oldsmobile whose color matched her hair. I kid you not. Mrs. Graham was kind enough, but she had a calm professional manner that did not instantly endear her to children of an age when favorite teachers all had a sweet side. But we 5th graders were growing up, and Mrs. Graham was the perfect teacher. She was the first teacher I remember who began to instruct us in the craft of writing. She introduced us to “themes,” which is what she called short essays. She encouraged us to reach, to think of verbs more descriptive than “went” or “said.” Mrs. Graham’s class was the first place it was noticed that I have a talent for this sort of thing, and Mrs. Graham did the noticing. I even worked dialog into some of my themes, complete with quote marks, and that had to be something she didn’t encounter every day. She even told me I had an ear for dialog. If she could see me now! I probably have not given her enough credit for her influence upon me.
92 responses to “The Lady in the Pink Olds”
Mark, yeah I recognize what you mean. It is hard to explain, and I don’t mean to be glamorizing the habit, but somehow the smelly tobacco may have better flavor. Or may not. In pipes they discuss room-note and aftertaste, for what others enjoy while you smoke against what you like. Striving for balance, of course.
Long ago, when Camel was something I liked, it was also specific to the original unfiltered package. When tried with a filter it would taste as bad as it smelled. But it is just a memory of the flavor, I don’t miss the habit or the associated social hazards.
There is an unexpected irony in connection I made. I went to see if there was a list of the graphic details included in the artwork at Wikipedia. There was not one there, but I did learn that the successful artist turned his work into a wartime contribution by designing, that’s right, camouflage patterns.
I was also surprised to read that Pall Mall had overtaken Camel in popularity. That was a brand I would not accept when offered, and would instead reciprocate with an offer from my pack. But taste around the world varies, as well as the composition of a given brand in different locals.
My grandmother worked the Camel lines in Winston Salem rising from a minimum wage line worker to her retirement as supervisor. The stuff swept up off floors was indeed used but in a lesser no name brand.
When she retired she was given an impressive silver tray with RJR initials that I inherited. People would exclaim at my family heirloom and I’d explain my descent from tobacco royalty.
Debbe:
1. You ramble very well.
2. Thank you much for the Hypatia stone item. 23 M, of course, is little time at all in a 13+ BYA universe, the age, vastness, and other properties of which are not only fascinating scientifically but also theologically. I’ve wandered into that occasionally in print, lectures, and sermons.
Went from the stone site into Juno’s photos of Jupiter [inferred that Jupiter’s wife has a smartphone], which are lovely. Will have to visit the NASA website therein.
Tobacco: I hope my older son, and all others who’ve quit, quit in time. I likely did: 20 1/2 yr. [’56-’76] of irregular, occasional, non-inhaling pipe and cigar smoking. Mostly succeeded in roiling my gut enough to finally stop, no withdrawal symptoms. Looking back, I also befouled the atmosphere of others, and subjected them to 2nd hand smoke and maybe enticing nicotine. Guilt trip.
Peace,
Would you believe the Juno mission almost didn’t have a visible-light camera?
https://www.pasadenastarnews.com/2016/07/05/nasa-almost-didnt-send-juno-to-jupiter-with-a-camera-but-thank-the-stars-they-did/
The early thinking was that we already knew what Jupiter looks like; the designers were more interested in devices that could penetrate the clouds. Because Juno was the first craft to use polar orbits of Jupiter, we found out…
… how little we knew about Jupiter!
https://petapixel.com/2017/03/31/nasas-1-billion-probe-transmits-stunning-photos-jupiters-poles/
Debbe
We hibernate a lot.
The story of the making of Casablanca is interesting in its own right.
Maybe most of it is true.
After I dropped my Corncob Pipe in the chicken manure twice in one day I quit.
Never smoked indoors. Never in car after we were married.
Today’s Dustin comic is a hoot. It’s on Gocomics.
Good morning. Good one today, Jimmy. And I like the quotation.
Funny to see this after the discussion of our favorite (or not) teachers and classes: http://www.gocomics.com/closetohome/2018/01/16
TruckerRon, any thoughts o. How the lack of snow pack is going to affect secondary water? I was stationed at Hill AFB back in the mid-nineties. Loved the area, not so much the assignment. Volunteered to deploy to Middle East to get away from it.
This is supposed to be “on”. ????
I am Southern but apparently never went to enough funerals. Are any of you familiar with this casserole called cheesy pineapple casserole?
Never heard of this nor ate it nor saw in a church or ladies club cookbook.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/pineapple-casserole-recipe_us_5a562ef6e4b0d614e48b9b98
Never heard of it, and I attended lots of church dinners as a kid.
Chris, we are concerned about the snowpack… or more specifically the lack thereof. Unless we get some serious snow things will be tough in Utah before long. My area gets most of its water from some springs up the canyon, and we have set up some pumps in town to reach an aquifer about 600 feet below the valley floor so we’ll be okay. Other areas depend more on the water trapped each spring by local dams and would be affected sooner by an extended drought.
I am troubled by the lack of concern by Utah officials regarding the number of people moving in because of our good economy. They talk it up, but I’m always the nag in the corner talking about water, especially since Nevada and California have long been trying to negotiate away water from us.
Mark, I hadn’t heard of that one either. Here it’s just funeral potatoes.
And lime jello with stuff dropped in it.
Most of casseroles I encountered in Episcopal suppers had a can of cream soup, pasta, a green or red something, a protein, cheese and crackers.
In varied combinations depending on what was in the pantry when lady threw together.
Then they submitted it to the cookbook committee for the church cookbook.
Apparently Southern Baptists did not have church dinners, not even dinners on the grounds, in 1950s or else my grandmother did not participate.
Granny was a little weird like that. She was sensitive about her cooking skills or lack of.