Monday Memories

January 17, 2022

Temperature 69

World’s Largest Toy Museum Complex – Final Post

Ready for some more toys?  This will be the last blog with pictures from the Toy Museum.  We’re almost finished with building one and and will be moving into building two tonight.  So let’s get going.

We begin with the Christmas Carol.  Someone put a lot of effort into this.  Take a look.  Scene one is where Bob wishes Scrooge a Merry Christmas and receives the expected Humbug in reply.

The visit from the ghost of Jacob Marley.

The first ghost takes Scrooge back to his boyhood and a ball he once attended.  Here he sees how everyone is so happy and his heart is very sad.

The second ghost takes Scrooge to the home of Bob Cratchit.  He discovers them preparing for a merry Christmas despite their poverty.

The third ghost takes Scrooge to the future where he overhears some business men discussing his death with apparent joy.

Scrooge awakens a changed man and orders the prized turkey to be sent to the Cratchit home.

Scrooge on the street on Christmas Day wishing everyone a Merry Christmas!

Time to go there is so much more to see.

Time now for the circus.  This is a real labor of love designed, planned and built over a 14 year time span by Mr. Charles Russel.

Time to move to Building Number Two and

Outside the entrance.

The Lobby

Here we have a Carnival.

Moving on, remember the song Happy Trails to You

Here are some more lyrics for you:  Born on a mountain top in Tennessee
Greenest state in the land of the free
Raised in the woods so he knew ev’ry tree
Kilt him a be ‘are when he was only three

Do you recognize the name Orvon Grover?  I’ll give you a hint.  He was nicknamed The Singing Cowboy.  He was an American singer, songwriter, actor, musician and rodeo performer who gained fame largely by singing in a crooning style on radio, in films, and on television for more than three decades beginning in the early 1930s.

How about this line A fiery horse with the speed of light, a cloud of dust and a hearty, ‘Hi Yo Silver!’

Then there was the guy with the magic ray gun.  First sold in 1934 the Buck Rogers rocket gun was the first ray gun ever produced.  Manufacturers went on to produce multiple versions during the decades long popularity of the show

Do you remember who lived in Doodyville?  Buffalo Bob Smith and Howdy Doody!

Here is an easy one The Force Be With You.

Does this sound familiar:  I’m Givin’ Her All She’s Got, Captain!  This is my all time favorite TV program.

We just have to include this young girl.

Then we have this adorable rag doll.  Raggedy Ann and her rag brother Andy are the world’s best known and adorable rag dolls.  More than just rag dolls they were characters possessing attributes and outlooks reflecting trustworthiness, kindness and spunk.

Time for the bears!

Boyd Bears to be exact.  I remember going to the Gettysburg factory store when it was still open.  What a fascinating place it was.

Boyd figurines.

More Bears.

A game of checkers anyone?

There were also airplanes of every shape and form.

What would a toy museum be without a model railroad.

One small section.

What a background.

So our visit to the Toy Museum has come to an end.  Oh no, this is not all that is there.  Trust me you owe it to yourself to someday visit it first hand.  Put it on your bucket list and make it a point to get there.  You’ll love it!

Our day on The Road of Retirement has come to an end.  Seams caulked.  Blog updated.  A drastic drop in temperature.  A full and interesting day all around.  I’ll take it.

Thanks for coming along again.  We always appreciate your company and your comments.  Catch you tomorrow.

These are the voyages of  Graybeard and it’s two human soul mates.  Our continuing mission: to explore as many new states as possible, to seek out new acquaintances and make new friends, to boldly go where we have not been before

See you on down the road!

January 14, 2022

Temperature 69 Degrees

Those Shoes Are Made For Walking

It all started with an innocent enough statement. Gee, I said, I wish I had a pair of simple slip on shoes for when I take Proton out for a walk.

Never say my wife doesn’t listen to me. That very day after my comment she went shopping. When she returned home she said with a smile I bought you a pair of slip on shoes that you were asking for.

Quite truthfully I didn’t know how to respond when she took them out of the bag. Why look at that Leopard slip on clogs! I didn’t want to appear ungrateful so I simply said with a big smile Gee, thanks for thinking of me. I mean, what was I supposed to say? .

Proton on the other hand put his paw over his eyes and I heard him mutter Really, please tell me you’ll only wear them after dark?

Suffice to say, I believe we’ve both finally become accustomed to them. Proton doesn’t even bat an eye now when I put them on. Me, I really like them. They’re easy to put on and they’re really comfortable. The Bonus? You can’t miss me coming down the street!

In terms of other projects. Isaac and I were talking and I happened to mention that I could never get the lights on the car working properly when I was towing it. In particular, the left stop and turn signal would and would not work. That was all it took.

He immediately went to work and soon discovered that the original electrical cable from the rig to the car had several broken wires in it. Well, it just so happened that he had two extra heavy duty cables with him. An hour later and I had a new heavy duty cable properly wired and ready to go. We tested it out and now everything is in proper order.

So life goes on as we journey down The Road of Retirement. Life is easy but it definitely isn’t boring! I’m still working on painting the front room which will probably become our office. I’m still working on resolving the issue with the slide locks on Elvira. Ms. Barbara is also finding things to do. Of course not wanting to do too much all at once we still adhere to our motto Never do today what you can put off until tomorrow.

Thanks again for stopping by today  We always appreciate your company, and your comments and suggestions. Keep safe, keep healthy, live to the fullest the days that God gives you.

Our continuing mission remains the same: to explore as many new states as possible, to seek out new acquaintances and make new friends, to boldly go where we have not been before.

January 12, 2022

Temperature 69 Degrees

Life at Base Camp

Life here at Base Camp is much the same from day to day. We have for a fact settled into a comfortable routine.

I continue with more five minute projects. The latest was the replacement of our porch light at the back door. It was the original and when I went to remove the set screw that held the broken globe on the plastic light just went to pieces. Ah yes, here we go again. Thankfully, I have a wonderful friend by the name of Issac who is staying at a site across the street who just loves to do projects like this. Indeed, anything as he says that will give him something to do he loves. Well, I’m giving him plenty to do to keep him busy.

In terms of a project for myself, I’m getting ready to repaint the front bedroom. The big headache right now are the windowsills inside. They were never properly primed in the beginning and so the paint is all peeling. Meaning, it all has to be scraped off and the sills properly primed before I can repaint them. I’m working at it. I’m almost finished with two of the three windows. Tomorrow, I should have all three scraped and ready to be primed. Since we’re having new windows installed next week I’m not going to put a finish coat of paint on until they are in.

I’m also attending to other odds and ends. Fixing a loose piece of siding on the house. I had to refasten a loose piece of decorative trim on our porch. They were back for warranty work today on our new shower. It seems they had a bad batch of caulking when it was first put in resulting in all the silicone caulking at the seams turning orange. All fixed now.

Ms Barbara has been busy as well. She’s been working on renewing car and RV insurance and taking care of endless doctor appointments. She also has been getting ready for her upcoming knee surgery in two weeks. The doctor who is doing the operation is fantastic as is his whole office. They are in constant contact with her making sure everything is in perfect order. And less I forget she continues to make meals that amaze. Believe me, I know I could never find another one to love like her.

I’ve begun to prep Elvira for her summer travels and of course I ran into a snag immediately. We have four slides each with two automatic locking arms. The arms are designed to deploy when the slide comes in to hold the top of the slide tight against the wall. However, the one small bedroom slide decided when I put it out to deploy the arms with the slide in the out position. In that position there would be absolutely no way to get the slide in again. Well, I took a deep breath, pushed the switch to bring the slide in, and thankfully the arms went back in and the slide came in. But, the issue has to be resolved before we leave. I’m doing some research as of now and if I can’t find an answer I’ll call in the Calvary.

Bottom line, life on The Road of Retirement is good. We’re enjoying life and enjoying the days we have been given by God. We hope you are also.

Thanks again for stopping by today  We always appreciate your company, and your comments and suggestions. Keep safe, keep healthy, live to the fullest the days that God gives you.

Our continuing mission remains the same: to explore as many new states as possible, to seek out new acquaintances and make new friends, to boldly go where we have not been before.

Monday Memories

First Published August 2019

World’s Largest Toy Museum Complex – Part 2

Time now to get ourselves back to the Toy Museum.  Yesterday we covered cars and trucks, and all things related to them.  Let’s look at some of the other toys that were there.

We’ll start with Beanie Babies.  Introduced in 1993 they rose to an obsessive level of popularity during the late 1990’s.  Though generally inexpensive several special editions were offered from time to time.  Some of the rate items can fetch up to $2,000 today.

Anyone remember Betty Boop?  She was a cultural icon in the 1930’s.  A symbol of the bygone roaring 20’s she was a hit first with adults and then later children.  She was outspoken about the old values asserted by her parents and the previous generation.  What real life woman inspired her.  No one knows for sure.

Here we have the Cabbage Patch Dolls.  In 1976 Xavier Roberts was paying his way through art school when he designed a doll with an unusual head.  They were first called Little People dolls.   After a 1980 TV appearance on the show Real People their popularity spiked sending kids into a Gimmie frenzy for the next several years.  It is said that parents fearful of disappointing their children on Christmas of 1983 camped outside of toy stores for hours.  By New Year’s Eve over 3 million had been sold.

Here we have the California Rasins.  The concept was originally created for a 1986 Sun-Maid commercial when one of the writers, Seth Werner came up with an idea for the new raisin commercial, saying, We have tried everything but dancing raisins singing I Heard It Through the Grapevine.  To his surprise, the commercial became wildly popular, paving the way for several future commercials and opportunities through other media.

Need a thirst quencher?  They say that Coke is the Real Thing.

From a bygone day we have Blushing Willie (left) and Down the Hatch (right).

As the sign said We all had them!   Fisher Price.

In 1998 the newest electronic toy craze hit the market – Furby.  Though it spoke Furbish it could be taught to speak English and to shower you with endearments.  They sold 1.8 million in 1998 and a staggering 14 million in 1999.  It’s signature phrase was I love you and it stole the hearts of kids and adults all over the U.S.  We had one for the longest time in the RV but some how, some time it disappeared.

Can you recall the blockbuster movie Gone With The Wind?  Here to help you remember are these dolls.

We had a stable of these Little Ponies throughout our house for years when the girls were growing up.  Introduced in 1982 by Hasbro they were extremely popular with girls of all ages.

I found this fact absolutely amazing.  But then again when you stop to think about it, I can definitely see how it can be true.

While here I learned something new about Mickey Mouse.  

The most recognized cartoon characters the world over – Snoopy, Charlie Brown and the whole gang.

My all time favorite and a guy I have on the top of my bedroom dresser even today.

This sweetheart by the name of Strawberry Shortcake was introduced by Kenner Products in 1979.  She was originally designed like a typical rag doll with freckles, a mop of red hair and a bonnet with strawberry prints.

How about a collection of outlandish but lovable dolls called the Trolls.

We can’t forget Warner Brothers Cartoons.  One of the most successful animation studios in America Media history.  They were primarily responsible for Loonie Tunes and Merry Melodies.  The characters featured in these series included Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Speedy Gonzales, Sylvester and Tweety,  Willy E. Coyote and the Road Runner.  The studio shut its doors for good in 1969.

Still popular today.  And why not!

Did you own one of these?  I did and really enjoyed it.

There was an exhibit on Ventriloquism.  Did you know that it began in the ancient temples of Delphi, Greece?  Jump forward to modern times and we find it was viewed as a way for performers to showcase their talents.  The most successful ventriloquist from 1903 to 1978 was Edgar Bergen and his side kick Charlie McCarthy.  Today my hands down favorite would be Jeff Dunham. (sorry I messed up the picture)

Remember when these rides were in front of just about every store in America?  I can remember pleading with my mom, Can I please have a quarter for just one ride?

We’ve almost made it through building number one.  But we’ll call it a night for now and pick up again tomorrow.  Wait until you see The Christmas Carol set from days long ago.  It’s a true work of art.  We also have Boyd Bears.  Star Wars and Star Trek.  And so much more,  Stay tuned.

Thanks for joining us again today.  We always appreciate your company and your comments.

These are the voyages of  Graybeard and it’s two human soul mates.  Our continuing mission: to explore as many new states as possible, to seek out new acquaintances and make new friends, to boldly go where we have not been before

See you on down the road!