The New Codgers

(This post inspired by Sarah Cooper’s post: “When Did I Grow Up?”)

Although some who know me may disagree, this is NOT a post about failing to mature—but rather—why, oh why, was I more blessed with short genes than with tall genes? At my tallest (we DO shrink a bit with age—a gravity-thing I suspect—I’ve lost a half inch somewhere along the way—and I’d like it back!), I reached a towering 5’6”.

It’s Dad’s fault! He comes from a very looong line of short people, reaching an astounding height of 5’4”! Mom, the shortest of her siblings, was 5’4” as well—not too bad for a woman born in 1911. Her siblings ranged from 5’8” to 6’3”, so there was some height there—but that ability to attain normal height was limited to the children of the sibling’s families—not to us.

There are some real disadvantages to being vertically challenged:

• Having to look up to see down.
• Having to look up to people you really don’t look up to.
• Being patted on the top of your head—as someone’s warped idea of humor.
• Hating Randy Newman.

BUT—there are some real advantages to being vertically challenged:

• Not having to duck nearly as often as normal people.
• Being able to swing my legs while sitting on a curb.
• Being able to comfortably drive almost any car—including really neat sports cars!
• Having less housework to do—if you don’t see it—it don’t matter!
• A six foot long bed is just fine.
• Not experiencing “acrophobia” merely from simply standing up.

Being short is not so bad-eh?

See you—ahem—shortly!

Boomer

This gray Saint Paul morning we find Pruett’s telling us the temperature is a cool 62ºF, and out lens-assisted eyes tell us it’s cloudy. The weather people tell us to expect it to be partly cloudy with a slight chance of thunderstorms. High 71ºF. winds ESE at 10 to 15 mph, chance of rain 30%.

We are here on my back porch, savoring our mugs of organically & shade-grown, fair-trade, French-Roast coffee. I am, at least, savoring the week to come, ‘though Boomer may be of a differing opinion.

From Boomer’s point of view, this week could have had a miserable start. Over the weekend, MnDOT (Minnesota Department of Transportation) closed down the intersection of MN 280 & I94 to expand the number of traffic lanes for this critical detour around the downed I35W river bridge.

Then came the drought-easing rains—all weekend! This could have prevented the planned reopening of the intersection at 5am this morning. If it didn’t open there would have been a traffic headache of epic proportions. At last word, our MnDOT folks worked through the night after the rain subsided, and the intersection should be open. Who says state workers just lean on their shovels?

Boomer is also, amazingly enough, of fast-tracking necessary improvements—he managed to complete ALL his yard work Friday evening! This allowed us both to work on “Danger Bay” graphics. Some of which (we managed to get ahead of the story a bit) you may see here. This includes the debut of Sarah Cooper, who joins fellow AR luminaries Maggic Dokic & Ines Hegedus-Garcia at Danger Bay.

Well, its back to the drawing board—er—drawing software for me, and off to work (LOL) for Boomer. Have great Monday, and we’ll stop back here from time-to-time today.

Jay & Boomer

This morning as Boomer & I savor the coming weekend, enjoying our mugs of organically & shade-grown, fair-trade, Guatemalan-Roast coffee on my, yes my back porch, the temperature in Saint Paul is a delightfully cool 61ºF and the sky is clear. Boomer has the weekend off (as always), and since I march to the beat of my own drummer, so do I.

So how exactly do those of us not involved in the weekend-intensive RE field spend those marvelous 48 hours? Well—excluding our necessary chores—whatever we want!

Boomer has a drought/rain ravaged yard—with the recent rains the weeds have recovered well ahead of the grass—his hedge picked this past week to exhibit a spurt of growth, requiring trimming—a lot of trimming!

So when we have completed the maintenance, we will turn our attention to graphics. I made a commitment to yet another AR luminary to make a caricature for “Danger Bay” (NOTE: no link here). We also have more townspeople to draw, as there is a pending town meeting to discuss the pending “Sparrow Lake Tours” (NOTE: again—no link) operation setting up there.

If you are fortunate enough to have time off this weekend—how will you spend it? Do you set time aside for “you-time,” when you take the time for you (or for family)?

Moving on, I’ll bet based on our last several posts—you are expecting a link. There is none. We HAVE, however, established a link—right there, just to the right of this post, that will bring you directly to the Danger Bay posts where you may see ‘em all (and if you didn’t stop yesterday—there is a new post there). It is at the top of our links, titled, oddly enough, Danger Bay Stories.

Jay & Boomer 

Again in spirit, Boomer & I are enjoying our mugs of  organically & shade-grown, fair-trade, French Roast coffee this morning on the boardwalk of Silverthorn’s Café.

Last Sunday, I decided it was time for Boomer to learn how to do graphics. He, with some reluctance agreed. I asked that he draw a car to add to the tow-truck and old time car I had drawn earlier.

So, he set out to draw his own car. After about four hours of attempting to “get it right,” and some language I dare not repeat, as it may offend the ears of our Gentle Readers, Boomer abruptly stood up from his desk, grabbed his camera went outside and photographed his car.

“You can’t use a jpeg—too much photo shopping involved,” I told him.

“Just watch, y’old coot, I have an idea.” He replied with a smile.

A relatively short two hours later, after cropping the jpeg, dumbing it down and copying it to the Word document, and then outlining the car—viola! A cyber-car was born!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jay

 

And the story continues at Danger Bay—Identity revealed!

 

…yet another “link-post” from Jay & Boomer—

It’s a comfortable 66ºF here on my back porch, after a string of very hot & dry days followed by a couple of severe thunderstorms causing damage around the city. Boomer & I are here in body only, but much as the former “Codger Lodge” would draw me away in spirit at least—so too does Danger Bay!

So, in spirit, Boomer & I are enjoying our mugs of  organically & shade-grown, fair-trade, French Roast coffee this morning on the boardwalk of Silverthorn’s Café. Medlar Farkleberry has just opened his “Star Service” station (full service only, thank you very much), and if you look closely, you’ll barely make out Hiram Silverthorn & sons inside the café.

I’ve resisted the urge to post all weekend, concentrating on my graphics instead and Boomer posted yet another genealogy post to Our Saint Paul. Now this is interesting—his genealogy posts are the only ones that have drawn hits through Google! I noted several hits on Saturday using search terms that identify (probably) gray-hairs looking for information—they (we) are very active doing on-line research (who says the internet is just for young folks?).

So this is yet another blatant attempt to draw you to “Our Saint Paul.” Today we re-introduce you to a “Codger” who has agreed to join the cast of Danger Bay and a brand new character based upon an Active Rainer of fine repute. Wanna know who they are?

There’s but one way to find out (I crack me up)!

 

“…by the ears, by the heels, or any other way you can manage it.” Mark Twain, as presented by my Blog-Granddaughter.

What has that to do with this post?

As some of you may have noticed, my imagination frequently gets the better of me—which is precisely why I so missed writing the old Codger’s “Cyber series” of posts from “our corner of Cyberspace!” I’ve heard myself described by well-meaning, but imagination-bereft individuals as a touch addle-brained.

What those folks don’t understand, and I only recently came to understand, is imagination-based flights of fantasy are very therapeutic in these times we’re living through. Engaging my imagination—and then writing about it is my way of dragging my thoughts away from my troubles, and when I return to reality, I am refreshed and ready to deal with it.

Earlier this morning, Boomer came to my home (he & Teresa have a house guest and we feared our repartee would awaken her), to work on this post—he had no idea what he was in for:

“Why don’t you go out on the porch,” I said to Boomer, “and get me the official St. Paul temperature for this morning’s post.”

“But ‘Pruett’s” is on my porch,” he protested.

“Doesn’t matter,” I replied, “I bought a thermometer from the hardware store yesterday and mounted it on the porch.”

“Okay,” he said as he went out the door, and then exclaimed “Jay! What have you done?”

Just then…Continued:

 

I’m here on Jay’s back porch—OK, really on my back porch, but Jay has not updated that drawing yet—enjoying my mug of organically & shade-grown, fair-trade, French-Roast coffee, while Jay is out of sight drawing—something.

According to MY replica “Pruett’s Pig Powders” thermometer (shown in the graphic as on HIS porch where really, there is nothin’ but pillar. Hey, the white tip of Daisy's tail doesn't show up! Jay needs to move her over just a tad so the itp shows!) it is currently 72ºF and humid. BTW: Jay told me I HAD to include all that crap about coffee & temperature because it is our trademark. I think he should butt-out and let me write my way—right?

All that typing just to get to the point of this post: that real estate professionals are creating valuable resources for future generations of amateur & professional house detectives & genealogists.

Every time a home or property is sold, the transaction becomes part of that home’s genealogy, for example from my family history: “The names and later residences of his (Timothy Bordman 1700-1753) children appear in a deed to Daniel Boardman, their brother, Jan. 17, 1769, from Charles and Seth Boardman of Wethersfield, Timothy Boardman and Jonathan Brigden, and Elizabeth his wife, all of Middletown…” [Boardman Genealogy p234] and (John Bordman) “…in a deed of Jan. 17, 1769, when he, with his brothers Charles and Seth of Wethersfield, and the other heirs, sell to their brother Daniel all right to the home lot of their father, Timothy Bordman…” [Boardman Genealogy p289]. As you can see, it also places various ancestors at specific locations at specific dates.

My own home was built in the fall of 1858.  We learned this by reviewing the abstract and discovering that a mortgage was taken out in the late summer/early fall of 1858 in the amount of $400. Imagine that—the house was built for less than the monthly PITI for this home!

So as you go about your professional duties, you are recording history. Some day in the future, a grey-headed descendant of mine, in the Ramsey County Registrar’s office will exclaim: “AHA! Jack & Teresa Boardman DID live in St. Paul as I suspected, Ethyl. It’s right here in the tax records!”

Thank you for your efforts on behalf of future genealogists! Oh, and before I forget—Jay will smack me upside the head with his big stick if I fail to link to “Our Saint Paul” so you might humor us and see what’s going on there!

Boomer

While I am enjoying my mug of organically & shade-grown, fair-trade, Guatemalan-Roast coffee, my thoughts are of Wednesday’s catastrophic collapse of the Interstate 35W Mississippi River Bridge.

I spent the entire day glued to the radio listening to the coverage of this tragedy, I couldn’t tear myself away. It was our own 9-11—‘though on a much smaller scale. We were horrified by the tragedy, buoyed by the stories of survival and the selfless actions of ordinary citizens in helping the victims, and by the extraordinary response of our emergency services personnel.

We still don’t know the extent of lives lost to this disaster, and it may be days before we do. Recovery efforts, suspended yesterday due to dangerous currents around the debris, making it too risky for divers to search. I suspect that by manipulating dams on the river they are attempting to lower the water level, and decrease the current in the search area.

When I finally stopped listening to the radio or watching TV news of the event last night, I came away with a number of things to reflect upon, ranging from very negative, to very positive: (more)

By “Boomer” Jack Boardman

At 6:05pm, the Interstate 35W bridge over the Mississippi suffered catastrophic failure and fell 64 feet carrying at least 50 vehicles into the river and the adjacent shores. As of this writing seven people are known to have perished and the toll is expected to rise. (More) (Video)

At the time my son Andrew and I were at the Saturn Store in White Bear Lake as I was helping him pick up his new car. The sales process takes about an hour and while Andrew was waiting for the paperwork to be processed, I went outside for a few moments, this was about 6pm. When I came back into the store, the show floor was virtually vacant. Our family’s sales consultant Steve told me that the I35W Bridge over the Mississippi had fallen and that everyone was watching the news in the break room, where I found my son.

On the twelve-mile drive home along I35E (I35 splits into I35 East & I35 West north of the Twin Cities, the east branch through St. Paul, and the west, Minneapolis), traffic was already at rush-hour levels, and I realized that earlier in the day I had crossed the river on that very span and shuddered. I couldn’t help but think of those who were on the bridge and the horror they must have felt as the bridge began to collapse.

Arriving home, I turned on the television for the latest news and while I watched, my thoughts turned, I now am ashamed to say, how this will affect my job. I deliver auto body and other parts for Saturn of St. Paul, and the loss of this major bridge will put stress on all the remaining highways in the cities, creating all sorts of problems for me.

As I continued watching the story unfold, I noted the remarkable response of ordinary people who quickly began helping the victims of the collapse, some of them victims themselves, who after riding the bridge down, got out of the cars and immediately began to help the injured! So many people came to help that officials had to send them away. This is a remarkable example of how we will overcome our differences and unite in a disaster!

The search & recovery efforts will continue after dawn this morning, and soon the investigation into the cause of this catastrophe will get into high gear, and I will never approach a bridge with the same nonchalance as in the past.

Boomer