Yes, I know.
I think it’d be better to wait until tomorrow for the James Earl Jones obits, to allow the dust to settle and the corrections to be made. I know I’m sacrificing timeliness, but I’d rather be right.
Yes, I know.
I think it’d be better to wait until tomorrow for the James Earl Jones obits, to allow the dust to settle and the corrections to be made. I know I’m sacrificing timeliness, but I’d rather be right.
My dad worked for over 35 year with James Earl Jones uncle, in a foundry. His uncle’s name was Tom Cunningham, and he was a fantastic man. He would drive 60 miles to work on Sunday night, then spend the week working, staying in an apartment until Friday after work, when he would then drive back home to his wife and son.
His trip home took him by our house and he often stopped in to visit my dad and mom. He was not an educated man, but was like so many who worked in labor jobs, fairly intelligent and well read.
My dad met Mr. Jones a couple of times, and my oldest brother and sister also met him, when James Earl visited the Cunningham’s home in a town called Dublin, MI. My dad said that the man was down to earth, but his wealth at that time was obvious, with the way that he spoke of some of the restaurants he ate at in New York, etc.
The meetings with James Earl Jones had to have been in the early 1960’s, if my thinking is right. I myself have never met anyone super famous, and my life is still complete.
Today was my wife and my 32nd wedding anniversary. We went on a riverboat trip last week for 4 days and 3 nights, taking a bus from our home to Le Claire, Iowa. Then we went up river 83 miles on a riverboat to Dubuque. We stayed overnight and then returned the next day. We did a quick tour of Antique Archaeology, the store of the American Pickers television show.
The trip was relaxing, with 3 meals on the boat daily that were fantastic. The hotel we stayed at in Dubuque was the Hotel Julien, a hotel that has been there long enough to host Abraham Lincoln in the late 1850’s. It was by far the nicest hotel that I myself have ever stayed in. The rooms were very nice, of course, but the actual architecture was just gorgeous. Woodwork that was not only ornate, but also made with period woods that showed just how much attention to such things was paid back then.
I know that I have lived a sort of sheltered life, trying to stay in cost efficient hotels while at the same time making certain that we never stayed in a shall we say, not nice part of town. But for me to find that a hotel stay, which was only a quick 12 hour overnight, was one of the highlights of our trip is saying something.
I made it a point to not be on the internet except for the times that I did use my phone for a quick minute. It was a refreshing period, and I plan on making more of my time other than to spend it online.
I also saw over a dozen Bald Eagles, a bunch of barges loaded with agricultural products, and many trains. I never realized that they moved so much crude oil via rail cars, and we say a couple of those as well. And the trains were very long, not like those here in West Michigan, which usually only have 40-50 cars. Those things must have had over a half mile of cars each. It makes you wonder how the liberals plan on moving the huge amounts of freight without using diesel fuel.
As usual, I am sorry for the rambling, but I missed out on your blog for the past week or so, and am catching up now. Wishing you and yours a great week, and as we are seeing here in Michigan, warm weather, with little rain. But the smell of Autumn is in the air, which is always a favorite time of year to me. Be well.