1.6 Bits and Pieces


“Carpe Mañana.” Local saying in ABQ

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“I was taught to work half a day.  And a half a day is 12 hours.”  So I am told by a retired bookseller in Albuquerque.

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“There are two kinds of people in the world:  Those who divide the world into two kinds of people and those who don’t.”  Robert Benchley

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I was talking with my sister the other night.  She is the mother of four boys so different they could not pass themselves off as cousins.  She said in her next life she’d like more money and a daughter.

Although this past year has been a frugal one, it has been one of the best years ever–I don’t think more cash could improve it.  But, a daughter, that is something I won’t fail to have if I get another chance.

My sisters are twins and today is their birthday.  Happy birthday, my treasures.                  #                #                #

Albuquerque’s nickname is Duke City.  It did not get that name because of the Duke of Albuquerque, a town in Spain.  Well, it did, but not directly.

In 1915 Albuquerque gave birth to a professional baseball team who chose the name, The Albuquerque Dukes.  This gave rise to the nickname for the town, and Don Francisco Fernández de la Cueva, finally got his due.

N.B. The 18th Duke of Albuquerque in Spain was a jockey.

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When I read of the death of James Arness,  (May 26, 1923 – June 3, 2011) Aka Marshall Dillon of Gunsmoke, I was reminded of a story I once heard:  that he was the first man ashore at the invasion of Normandy, chosen because of his 6’6” height so that the commander of the amphibious assault boat could know if he navigated close enough to shore.

Thanks to Google, I have learned the first man ashore was Capt Leonard T. Shroeder Jr. and he waded ashore in waist-deep water.

OK, so it was urban legend.  May it rest in peace, and you, too, Marshall Dillon.

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The brakes are fixed and I know a lot more about driving 7-ton vehicles in the mountains.

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‎”Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass, it’s about learning to dance in the rain.”

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4 Responses to 1.6 Bits and Pieces

  1. Colleen Rae says:

    Life, a wise man once said, is a dance on the edge of time. It ought to be done lighty and with grace, head thrown back, armss outstetched, spinning to a cosmic tempo.

  2. karen wittgraf says:

    I like that dancing in the rain one. We are so programmed, aren’t we? With age, a little of that awful conformity of the ’50’s disappears, but not entirely. So, yeah- dance in the rain, sell books while you’re naked, walk cross country for a cause, drive 7 ton vehicles in the mountains! And, hold on to love with everything inside of you.

  3. MaryAnne says:

    so glad U escaped harm in the brakes incident…..
    safe travels, keep the wonderful accounts in words and fabulous photos coming

    MaryAnne

  4. Colleen Rae says:

    I like Karen’s comment – Sell books while you’re naked…maybe that’s what I should do to attract attention to my latest release. In my little MI town, the locals would be scandalized!

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