quote:

Originally posted by Robot Lincoln:
blackdog, its a historical novel written by Cornelia Shields a.k.a. Dandelion, fine moderator of this great site. Its about a family in the 1840s moving from Missouri to Oregon and the perils and triumphs encountered both on the way and when they arrive at their final destination. A wealth of info on emigrants and the Native Americans of the time period. Its an incredible tale. A well needed break for me in between sci-fi novels.

That's cool. I, too, enjoy a good historical novel between the sci-fi. Or Dickens.

My favorite line in David Copperfield is when Aunt Betsey says, "There's nothing more ridiculous than a Quaker flying a kite!"

I'm a Quaker and a flew a kite just last weekend.

Someone once said, “The trouble with Quakers is that there aren’t enough of them.”

Good porridge, though.

Here is a very rare moment, indeed, in view of our current age of uncertainty. (A bit of the "Fire Balloons" - maybe!?)

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.tudo....-15,RNWE:en%26sa%3DN

Above, open link to "Fierce Feathers: A story of the Quakers in America"

Root beer and graham crackers were also invented by Quakers. Graham crackers were invented because they were a cheap, but nutritious food to give poor English schoolchildren who were being sent to school without breakfast.

I learned that from something I read recently.

Braling II,
Can’t find “Mister Dog” on Old Board but found this reference located earlier on this same thread:
https://raybradburyboard.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/6891...171083502#4171083502

Please check out the following attachment of Melvyn Douglas, then I’ll continue my thought in the next frame.

douglas.jpeg (43 Kb, 5 downloads)

Braling II,
Below is an attachment showing “Mister Dog”. I don’t know if anyone else sees it but I think there’s a real resemblance between him and Melvyn Douglas (when he’s smoking his pipe) in “Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House.”

I can imagine what that Barber Shop that you mention was like. There was one nearby that had a barber in his nineties who only retired when health forced him into it. This guy could tell you about trolleys!

Mister_Dog.jpeg (15 Kb, 4 downloads)

So is your mom... lol

I love you!!

You’re cute too. Let’s pick out curtains.

Say, somebody put that bug in the jug!

What's going on here?

Good question but I never laid a glove on’m.

Biplane, your question (the answer to which, I believe, is "the students are back!") inspired this passing thought:
Greetings for all cultures and for most of human history have entailed inquiries into the other's health, e.g. "How are you?" "Wie gehts?" "¿Cómo está usted?", etc. This changed in our culture in the '60s (for obvious reasons) from an inquiry about the other to a request for help, i.e. "What's happening?" Since this is still all too common, my usual response to "What's happening?" is "Entropy!"

Chap, your "curtains" comment nearly caused me to lose MY coffee!
You're right about "Mister Dog" being on this (not the old) board. I loved that book as a kid (I got it while hospitalized for a time around age 5 or 6, I think) and my kids, and now my grand kids love it. And I do see the resemblance between Melvyn and the Garth Williams drawings! By the way, it's hard to find the original book - the reprints are missing 4 pages.

Braling II--interesting to hear your comments on how people may start a conversation like "what's happening," etc. Our GM told a sotry yesterday about he was reported (written up) for asking a fellow worker "what's the story?" The fellow worker took offense thinking that he was asking "what's the true situation" and innsinuating the fellow was a liar.

Yes, communicating's a problem these days, especially since we're losing the cultural memory of things like aphorisms, Aesop's fables, etc. Had your friend said "What's your story, morning glory?" maybe he wouldn't have got in trouble. But how many of the newest generation would be familiar with sayings that have been familiar to us in previous generations? Just a few examples:

Ther's no use crying over spilled milk.
He's just being the dog in the manger.
Haste makes waste.
Pride goeth before a fall.
Look before you leap.
A stitch in time saves nine.
etc.

Someone recently wrote about this. M. Scott Peck maybe?