Random thoughts, life lessons, hopes and dreams
No surprises today. I split 24 hours in Minneapolis between a somewhat-restored blown-up building and a hotel located in an old railroad terminal – you had to know this was coming. And you had to know that a reference from Wikipedia (be nice) and the National Registry of Historic Places (NRHP) was also likely to... Continue Reading →
During our recent visit to Ames, Iowa to visit my brother, Faith was on a mission to find a store that she remembered shopping in earlier this year. As we tried to figure out which cross street would give us the best coverage, my brother was quick to point out doors that I may or... Continue Reading →
We all arrived in Pittsburgh on Friday night, for a Sunday church service and my mom’s funeral on Monday. That left us with some free time on Saturday. Faith and I drove to Station Square, the old Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad terminal and freight warehouse turned shopping/dining experience, while my brother’s family was on... Continue Reading →
As I mentioned yesterday, a brief meeting in St. Augustine, bracketed by flights in and out of Daytona Beach, FL left me with little time for sightseeing. I did manage to collect a bunch of photos that I will share at some point, but the highlight of my travel was touring the lighthouse in St.... Continue Reading →
I mentioned this museum in an earlier blog post, but not an earlier Doors post. I’ll be the first to admit that the doors are unremarkable, as was the entire museum experience. Unlike a lot of Washington, D.C. museums, this one came with a $10 admission charge, and it wasn’t really worth it. This was... Continue Reading →
Remember Sesame Street? “♫One of these things is not like the others.” Well, that’s how my doors research went this week. Two buildings that I have long thought belonged together, are completely different things. Different, but interesting. Once again, I am returning to the giant quadrangle of my graduate school alma mater. Next to the... Continue Reading →
You’ll have to visit Dan’s (the other Dan) page to understand this:
Taking him with you is to pull the devil by the tail. The last time I took him along, he was so scammered, he queered the pitch. Up on the slang-tree when sober, he’s good-as-good. But, after a few pops from the flicker, he’s prone to lash and you might end up in the company of a cossack threatening to smash him in the head-rails and tie him up with the devil’s guts, at which point, he’ll be as close to you as a clinger on the lily-slang-tree.
Fun, albeit unintentional writing prompt.
clinger : a female dancing very close to her partner (1890)
cossack : a policeman (1850s)
pull the devil by the tail : to take a risk of ruin (ca. 1750)
the devil’s guts : a surveyor’s chain (1670s – 1700s)
flicker : a drinking glass (1700s)
good as good : extremely good ( 1850 )
head-rails : the teeth (nautical ; 1785)
lash : violence ( Australian ; 1916 )
queer the pitch : to spoil a deal (1901) 
scammered : tipsy ( 1840 )
slang-tree : a stage (1850-1950)
Lilly-slang-tree : ( I made this one up ; no meaning ; 2013 )
St Patrick’s Cathedral and I have not had a great history when it comes to photos. The one time I was actually inside, I didn’t have a camera. That was back when Faith was a low-number teenager and it was so cold in New York that we opted to add a fast-paced Stations of the... Continue Reading →
I spent a really long weekend in Ames, Iowa, visiting family. We aren’t from Iowa, but my brother and mother now live there. My brother graduated from Iowa State University (ISU) and never left. A few years ago, when my mother needed to be closer to family, we moved her from Pittsburgh to Iowa. So,... Continue Reading →
