gilr
Well-known member
Your last flight must have been in the previous century....
Between 485 & 705 SQ/FT Bob Heine's Auto Emporium
- Thread starter Bob Heine
- Start date
Workspaces between 485 and 705 squarefeet.
kaymccampbell
Well-known member
Oh, yeah. Like 40-50 years ago. A different world.
For our 10th wedding anniversary (1991), we decided to go to Hawaii and really do it up. Flew first-class and stayed in 4/5 star accommodations in Oahu & Kauai. It was fantastic.
On Kauai, we stayed at a resort on a lagoon. Just gorgeous - the plants were amazing, it had a ton of wildlife, etc. Sadly, hurricane Iniki pretty well destroyed it. The resort had a mixer every evening for guests. One evening, my wife mentioned she'd like to go to the Louis Vuitton store nearby (in a shopping district on the lagoon). The host said "We'll bring a car around to drive you - how soon do you want to leave?". WOW! We went shopping and then took a water-taxi from the shops back to the hotel.
We really did not want to leave Hawaii. Rescheduled our departure by a few hours a couple of times - back when that was easy & free to do. Learned a valuable lesson... First-Class on a red-eye is kind of a bummer. All the awesome food and service we experienced on the flight *to* Hawaii was pretty well muted.
On Kauai, we stayed at a resort on a lagoon. Just gorgeous - the plants were amazing, it had a ton of wildlife, etc. Sadly, hurricane Iniki pretty well destroyed it. The resort had a mixer every evening for guests. One evening, my wife mentioned she'd like to go to the Louis Vuitton store nearby (in a shopping district on the lagoon). The host said "We'll bring a car around to drive you - how soon do you want to leave?". WOW! We went shopping and then took a water-taxi from the shops back to the hotel.
We really did not want to leave Hawaii. Rescheduled our departure by a few hours a couple of times - back when that was easy & free to do. Learned a valuable lesson... First-Class on a red-eye is kind of a bummer. All the awesome food and service we experienced on the flight *to* Hawaii was pretty well muted.
kaymccampbell
Well-known member
Red-eye service pretty much *****, unless you've got an awake, alert celebrity, that has no intention sleeping through it, on board. Then everybody gets a little bleed off from it.
gilr
Well-known member
Made the mistake of taking my wife to Maui in the early 90s in first class, had more pineapple and macadamia nuts and mimosas than you could consume. Thereafter, she thought that was the only way to travel. Costly mistake!
Our trip was in September. In December, we got our first dog. We've never taken a similar trip since! Glad we got to experience the luxury once, at least.
Adaylate
Well-known member
Daughter and family are flying to Doha today. Her appetizer was lobster, caviar gold flake......kids!
@gman007, thank you for the kind words. Part of my motivation is to document our family history for our children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. Our second oldest grandson celebrates his first wedding anniversary tomorrow so I printed a photo of us taken right around our first anniversary when we had our daughter christened. I write a little story to go with it.Bob
Thank you for the great photos and memories! Honestly those were the truly wonder years and I am not saying this because I am getting old and have started sounding like my dad, reminiscing about the good old days!
I was a handier guy back then.
Gil, you worked for a pretty generous company. I think IBM's policy back then was based on time zones. More than four and you could upgrade to Business or First (if Business class wasn't available). When I was Platinum on Delta they upgraded me to First Class many times but the food was something on a plate with a glass (small bottle) of wine and free booze.
Kay, I think you're right but I'm pretty sure the slop is pureed pretzels.
Dan, Kay and I are going by second hand information. Hopefully the slop isn't second hand.
Scott, for a price you can have a surprise paper bag of slop.
Gil, I always paid cash for my drinks when flying coach. When AOL offered to pay me $20 an hour more if I paid for my own flights, rental cars, accommodations and meals, I jumped at the chance but from that point on I found ways to save money. I flew Delta Express (no First Class), rented the cheapest cars Hertz offered and ate the free breakfast and manager's happy hour meals at the Comfort Inn (Taco Tuesdays were the best).
Kay, my last flight was in 2008 and they had brown bag meals you could purchase in the gangway. I had given up alcohol so I had an airline size can of Diet Coke to wash down my bag of pretzels.
When we flew to or from Australia it was Business Class but we were moved to First Class on one Continental flight. Like your experience it was for the flight attendants' benefit because we were the only people in Business Class. By the time our assignment ended in 1991, IBM was cutting back and we were scheduled to make the 36-hour journey in Coach. When we checked in, the woman at the Continental check-in desk bumped us to Business.
On our first trip to Australia to find a place to live in 1989, we had a long layover in Honolulu. We were very tired and ended up resting on some hard benches in a passageway at the terminal. I paid $100 to join Continental's Presidents Club before we made the return flight so we could spend our layover times in their lounge. On the return flight we found the lounge completely empty. Liane curled up on one of the couches and went to sleep. When she woke up two hours later the lounge had 60 or 70 people milling around (some company convention group). Turned out to be a well-spent $100 based on the number of free cocktails I consumed.
Gil, you make that sound like way-back time but you're right. I think Kay and I both retired in the previous century.
Kay, it wasn't perfect but "the good old days" seems to be an apt description.
Roger, it's amazing to live, even for a short time, in that heady environment.
In 1998 we took a two week cruise through Scandinavia and Russia. We booked an outside cabin on Royal Caribbean's one year old Splendour of the Seas almost a year in advance. I cashed in 100,000 Delta frequent flyer points for two First Class round-trip tickets to London's Heathrow airport. When we got our itinerary from Royal Caribbean there was a nasty surprise. I had booked our Delta return flight for early afternoon on the last day of the cruise and Royal Caribbean advised against an afternoon flight connection.
Took a deep breath and called Delta. They had no First Class [frequent flyer] seats on any flight for the rest of that week. They offered to book us in coach but I suggested they refund our miles. They then asked if I was willing to fly with one of their partner airlines so I asked "which one?" When the operator said "Scandinavia Air or Swissair" I said, sounding as sad as I could: "Swissair." Oh yeah, you can throw me in that briar patch. Swissair and Singapore Air were always the best or second best airline in the world back then.
A three hour flight from Palm Beach to Boston on Delta was First Class but nothing special (cloth napkins and drinks in real glasses). The Swissair flight left Boston at 7:00 PM and arrived in Zurich at 8:00 AM. That sounds bad but Zurich is 6 hours ahead of Boston so we arrived at 2:00 AM Boston time (7 hour flight). First thing the flight attendant did was apologize for our seats. Our 747 was the last one in Swissair's fleet with seats that only reclined 120° (the new seats went 180° to make a twin bed sleeping surface and had a much larger peronal entertainment screen). Before we took off they delivered the bar menu and I had a Johhny Walker Black on the rocks. I was expecting an airline bottle but it came in a real glass. The other side of the Bar Menu was a 3-page wine menu. The wine list was shorter than the ones in very fancy restaurants we've been to but still took a long time to read. In the end I asked Swissair's solelier to pick out the wines to match our dinner choices.
We drank the champagne and d'amuse-bouche before the caviar, scallops, smoked Norwegian salmon and cold roast veal (we tried almost everything) and even enjoyed the salad. For the main course I think Liane chose the Grilled Tenderloin but I know I chose the Rabbit ragout. I figured I could get beef almost anywhere but outside a Club Med, where was I going to find rabbit on the menu. Of course there were the sides and a way too big platter of cheese and fruit. The finale was a Santa Fe cream tart and a pile of Swiss chocolates.
After dinner we each watched a different movie on our own screen. The screen had controls to let you pause the movie while you walkeed off the meal or used the facilities. We had time for one movie and a pretty short nap before they brought us a continental breakfast.
For the flight from Zurich to Heathrow I think we just drank coffee and water (it's easy to get dehydrated on long flights).
Kay, we were so keyed up to be going back to England we forgot we were on a red-eye. Most of the rest of my red-eye flights did ****. I rarely noticed the celebrities on my flights with one exception. Ted Kennedy was on a number of my early Monday morning Delta flights from Palm Beach International to Dulles. I rarely saw him but I sure could hear him.
Gil, when I mentioned the actual cost of the first class ticket, Liane was very happy to fly Business for the long ones and coach for the shorter ones. There were also some charter [cattle] flights to get us to Greece, Spain, Martinique and Guadaloupe. All of those flights had a common arrangement: the first ten rows were non-smoking and the other 40 were smoking. On Air France I am pretty sure the flight attendants smoked while delivering drinks and meals.
Roger, it makes for some (as you can tell) really unforgettable memories. If it was the only way we traveled I doubt we would have remembered anything.
When our children were young and we lived in Wappingers Falls, NY we took them to New York City on a number of weekends. In the late '60s, the Plaza Hotel had special weekend rates for families. The four of us could stay for $50 a night so we would drive 35 miles to the Croton Harmon railroad station after work on Friday. Weekend parking was free and weekend train fares were dirt cheap. We would visit the museums, the Bronx Zoo or just ride the subwaysd or take in a [relatively] cheap theater play on Saturday and then just sightsee on Sunday until it was time to take the train back home.
Back then there were no laptops, tablets or phones so the big diversion for our kids was TV. We instituted a "Rebirth of Culture" night with the kids' help. The two of them had to pick one night a week when they didn't watch any TV. They could read, draw, make things or learn to play a musical instrument. The first few weeks they sat in their rooms and sulked but eventually we caught our son reading books and our daughter teaching herself guitar. They will probably get even by putting us in a really cheap nursing home.
Adaylate
Well-known member
Bob,
I've flown first and business a few times but usually I'm bathroom monitor!
I enjoy flying but it's sure not the way it was back in the day.
I've flown first and business a few times but usually I'm bathroom monitor!
I enjoy flying but it's sure not the way it was back in the day.
I have a couple of tablets in my hoard. In 2013 I bought a Maylong M270 tablet with Android's Ice Cream Sandwich operating system. It isn't useless but pretty close. Not surprising for a $90 tablet. Fast forward four years and I bought an $85 Amazon Fire HD 8 tablet. It's better but has a lot of limitations. It's useful for answering questions when watching something on TV. I don't have to leave the room and fire up a PC or laptop.
Last week Liane asked about it and thought she'd like to try it. I've been down this path before and anything that doesn't have magnetic tape cartridges or a rotary dial frustrates her. Never wanting to say NO, I went online and looked up the price of the Amazon Fire HD 8 tablet. Turns out it's $37 but it's latest version sells for $146 - $176.
Daddy Warbucks likes that stupid low price so he hit the Place Order button. I was expecting the same little tablet but the box contained a significantly larger tablet. Turns out it's an Amazon Fire HD 10 (model SLO56ZE).
The old model sells for $64 but of course there's a newer version, which sells for $95.
I'm not recommending any of these tablets but for quick answers to questions and the ability to download and watch Amazon Prime movies downloaded when riding along on the same boring drive to the kids' houses, it's a pretty good deal. The one they sent supports Alexa if that ***** appeals to you. Here's a comparison photo of the three tablets (paid the least for the biggest one):
Last week Liane asked about it and thought she'd like to try it. I've been down this path before and anything that doesn't have magnetic tape cartridges or a rotary dial frustrates her. Never wanting to say NO, I went online and looked up the price of the Amazon Fire HD 8 tablet. Turns out it's $37 but it's latest version sells for $146 - $176.
Daddy Warbucks likes that stupid low price so he hit the Place Order button. I was expecting the same little tablet but the box contained a significantly larger tablet. Turns out it's an Amazon Fire HD 10 (model SLO56ZE).
The old model sells for $64 but of course there's a newer version, which sells for $95.
I'm not recommending any of these tablets but for quick answers to questions and the ability to download and watch Amazon Prime movies downloaded when riding along on the same boring drive to the kids' houses, it's a pretty good deal. The one they sent supports Alexa if that ***** appeals to you. Here's a comparison photo of the three tablets (paid the least for the biggest one):
sawduststeve
Well-known member
ASK BOB !, the new internet comparison and recommendation site.
Google and wiki can both **** off and get in the sea.
Dear Bob, my female family members both wish to visit Guadeloupe, because of the tv programme Death in Paradise, is it a recommended place to visit ?
TIA, for your detailed answer and for all of the answers previously and especially the photos.
Best
Steve
Google and wiki can both **** off and get in the sea.
Dear Bob, my female family members both wish to visit Guadeloupe, because of the tv programme Death in Paradise, is it a recommended place to visit ?
TIA, for your detailed answer and for all of the answers previously and especially the photos.
Best
Steve
Miss the Pontiacs
Well-known member
Great story about your first experiences flying. The one that caught my attention was the trip to your college interview. Age 16 are you kind of like an older Young Sheldon? Skip a couple grades?
This kind of reminds me of my first day of enrolling in high school. No Chevies in this story, we were a Pontiac family. We moved into the city from the farm so my Mom could take some classes she was interested in. We still farmed but my Dad travelled back and forth when time and work allowed.
Anyway we move in on a Saturday and I had to be enrolled on Monday. My Mom says the high school was just the other side of a large park. No problem I thought.
My younger siblings elementary school was on the edge of the park probably less than 2 blocks away. I could see this large building well back in the park and thought no brainer.
Headed out and went in a side door thinking this was quite a high school. Well it wasn’t it was a hospital. Found the front of building and the information booth. Asked where the high school was. They said oh that’s easy it is straight up the street about 4 blocks. Found this less grand building and thought it should have been larger. Well I was right it was another elementary school. They finally directed me another 4 blocks east and yes it was there. Big building I was impressed.
Sorry this is taking so long.
Went to the gym found a chair and I was a little late, but hoped I hadn’t missed too much. So they are calling out which students were heading to their respective home rooms. After at least 5 home rooms were called there was about 5 of us left! I finally got sorted out they didn’t even have notice I was coming.
I don’t remember my Mom‘s excuse for not enrolling her 13 year old son. I did have a couple of pretty good years in 9 and 10 and was a little more worldly going back to the rural setting for my final 2 years.
This kind of reminds me of my first day of enrolling in high school. No Chevies in this story, we were a Pontiac family. We moved into the city from the farm so my Mom could take some classes she was interested in. We still farmed but my Dad travelled back and forth when time and work allowed.
Anyway we move in on a Saturday and I had to be enrolled on Monday. My Mom says the high school was just the other side of a large park. No problem I thought.
My younger siblings elementary school was on the edge of the park probably less than 2 blocks away. I could see this large building well back in the park and thought no brainer.
Headed out and went in a side door thinking this was quite a high school. Well it wasn’t it was a hospital. Found the front of building and the information booth. Asked where the high school was. They said oh that’s easy it is straight up the street about 4 blocks. Found this less grand building and thought it should have been larger. Well I was right it was another elementary school. They finally directed me another 4 blocks east and yes it was there. Big building I was impressed.
Sorry this is taking so long.
Went to the gym found a chair and I was a little late, but hoped I hadn’t missed too much. So they are calling out which students were heading to their respective home rooms. After at least 5 home rooms were called there was about 5 of us left! I finally got sorted out they didn’t even have notice I was coming.
I don’t remember my Mom‘s excuse for not enrolling her 13 year old son. I did have a couple of pretty good years in 9 and 10 and was a little more worldly going back to the rural setting for my final 2 years.madison069
Well-known member
With all of the talk about flying, it just seems very coincidental since I was flying for a trip to Yellowstone this last 2 weeks.
As for services on the plane, the attendant had a cart they pushed down the aisle and would hand us drinks and little snacks for free. Anything more will cost. But, I usually get a coke zero on flights and they will hand me the whole can to have. Snacks are usually pretzels or something sweet like cookies. Due to delays on the Delta airline, the flight attendants gave me and the youngest hands full of snacks. So, we got name brand cookies, Sun Chips, and some seasoned pretzels. We didn't eat at the airport due to our backpacks were loaded with the free snacks from the flight.
No complaint from me with what we were provided on the flight.
As for services on the plane, the attendant had a cart they pushed down the aisle and would hand us drinks and little snacks for free. Anything more will cost. But, I usually get a coke zero on flights and they will hand me the whole can to have. Snacks are usually pretzels or something sweet like cookies. Due to delays on the Delta airline, the flight attendants gave me and the youngest hands full of snacks. So, we got name brand cookies, Sun Chips, and some seasoned pretzels. We didn't eat at the airport due to our backpacks were loaded with the free snacks from the flight.
No complaint from me with what we were provided on the flight.
gilr
Well-known member
Bob, I used to pay cash too for drinks, etc., but the past couple flights I was on the airline only accepted a credit card, no cash. I guess cash is no longer king?! If anyone on here had ever flown in the 60s or 70s, they would certainly long for those days too. Service was usually exemplary and the travelers usually wore suits or dressy outfits to travel in, certainly not anymore! Our company also had a Saberliner jet for the business that I got to use occasionally and that is the ultimate way to travel, just walk into the hangar, get in and set down. We taxied to the runway and the pilots that I became friends with would just nail the throttles and we just about leapt off the runway, a real blast. I really miss those days.
@Adaylate, I loved flying, even when it was over a hundred times a year. The experience changed after 9/11 and the few flights we took were stressful. I was OK with international flight check-in two hours before the flight's scheduled departure but when domestic flights require two hours, even short hops become a full day extravaganza. If you leave your car in airport parking, add another hour and pay close to the price of a rental car to get it back if it's more than a day.
Steve, although I might be as reliable as those two sources, that's a pretty low bar.ASK BOB !, the new internet comparison and recommendation site.
Google and wiki can both **** off and get in the sea.
Dear Bob, my female family members both wish to visit Guadeloupe, because of the tv programme Death in Paradise, is it a recommended place to visit ?
TIA, for your detailed answer and for all of the answers previously and especially the photos.
Best
Steve
Your female family members picked a good place to visit. We were there in 1983 so it may have changed. It was very French, very beautiful and plenty to see and do. Back then we were Club Med devotees so most of our time was spent at the resort acting like children. We did take the island tour that included a bit of the history of the island. In addition to consuming vast quantities of box wine, our Sand Shark sculpture came in first. The rest of the photos from that week are of drunk adults playing games in the sand.
It's possible I arrived at dinner with an inflatable shark stuck to my stump but fortunately I have no photographic evidence.
I did a little Googling and it appears they offer Death in Paradise tours.
Emil, I was the black sheep of the family. My brother was straight-A student who studied hard, did his homework and turned in extra credit assignments. The only homework I ever did was the stuff that required proof in the form of a piece of paper with words on it. My third year of high school I fell in love and avoided schoolwork even more, resulting in a summer repeating French and Algebra.Great story about your first experiences flying. The one that caught my attention was the trip to your college interview. Age 16 are you kind of like an older Young Sheldon? Skip a couple grades?
This kind of reminds me of my first day of enrolling in high school. No Chevies in this story, we were a Pontiac family. We moved into the city from the farm so my Mom could take some classes she was interested in. We still farmed but my Dad travelled back and forth when time and work allowed.
Anyway we move in on a Saturday and I had to be enrolled on Monday. My Mom says the high school was just the other side of a large park. No problem I thought.
My younger siblings elementary school was on the edge of the park probably less than 2 blocks away. I could see this large building well back in the park and thought no brainer.
Headed out and went in a side door thinking this was quite a high school. Well it wasn’t it was a hospital. Found the front of building and the information booth. Asked where the high school was. They said oh that’s easy it is straight up the street about 4 blocks. Found this less grand building and thought it should have been larger. Well I was right it was another elementary school. They finally directed me another 4 blocks east and yes it was there. Big building I was impressed.
Sorry this is taking so long.
Went to the gym found a chair and I was a little late, but hoped I hadn’t missed too much. So they are calling out which students were heading to their respective home rooms. After at least 5 home rooms were called there was about 5 of us left! I finally got sorted out they didn’t even have notice I was coming.
My parents rented an apartment in Manhattan next to Columbia University so they could take advanced classes related to their teaching careers. They enrolled me in the private Rhodes School on 54th Street (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhodes_Preparatory_School). I had to take the subway from the 125th street station in Harlem to the Columbus Circle 59th Street station and walk from there. Several times I failed to purchase tokens and had to walk back to Harlem from Midtown.
Senior year I managed to earn a Regents scholarship that paid my tuition to any SUNY (State University of New York) institution. I chose SUNY Stony Brook so I didn't have to live on campus. A friend who went there had a car and I paid $5 a week to cover gas. I quit after one year but went back to college part time four years later. IBM reimbursed my tuition so I had no student debt but it took 10 years of night classes after work. Still didn't dedicate myself completely (wife, two kids, home and vehicles to take care of) but I did graduate *** Laude.
Cody, I took the snacks and drinks in stride when I switched to Delta Express and paid for my own travel. I paid $119 to fly one-way from Palm Beach to Dulles and another $119 from Dulles to Ft. Lauderdale. Round trip for either one was $350 and regular Delta flights were almost $500. I stopped driving myself to the airport and used a limo service so it didn't matter that I took off from one airport and returned to another. The Delta Express flight attendants knew I was Platinum so every other flight they gave me a complementary Scotch & Soda. At the end of 1998 I was one flight short of Platinum so I booked a $19 flight to Orlando and a $19 return to Palm Beach. Just being at the head of the line boarding flights was worth $40.
Gil, cash is tough. If the registers at Dollar stores and fast food restaurants didn't calculate change for the cashiers, I'd never get the right change. I think the suits and dresses are history. I've been on cruises where a dozen people wore them to the Captain's dinner. Same thing with funerals. Couple of dress shirts and ties but that's about it.
IBM had company jets but the one time I was invited to fly on one, they cancelled the meeting at the last minute. I did get a nice treat when IBM sent me (and Liane) to the 1992 Indianapolis 500 to host a group of OS/2 beta testers. They didn't send us to the actual race, it was time trials the weekend before the race but still. It was pretty neat to be there without the race day crowd. Spent time in IBM's Sky Box looking down on the pits and time in the IBM Entry Systems track side hospitality room, spitting distance from the pits.
We got married in 1981. Got on the plane for Lake Tahoe (it was a prop job) for our honeymoon, my wife in a dress, me in a suit. Flight attendant gives us a glance and "Newlyweds, right?". With the the baby faces (we were both 25), I guess our attire just screamed out to her.
gilr
Well-known member
About 30 years ago, we stopped at a Friendly's for breakfast here in the Richmond, VA area and while we were eating the cash register system crashed and the waitress, the store manager and a couple others spent 20 minutes trying to add up the bill for me to pay. It seems none of them could figure out how to add up the items, even with a calculator. I added it up in my head (there were 4 meals, for me, my wife, and two kids) and added the 5% sales tax without writing it down. I walked up to the register and asked what the problem was and they told me the register was down and they were having trouble figuring it out. I gave them the number (I looked at the menu) and walked back to the table. She came to the table a bit later and gave me a hand written bill, which finally added up to the number i came up with in my head, she was shocked anyone could do that! I said that growing up without calculators or computers taught me to use my head, not rely on devices that can fail is why and how I could do it. She just couldn't believe it.
Rambling further, I fear that kids that learn to drive in cars with all the safety devices will make them assume that they don't have to worry about crashes. Then, one day they will drive an older car without the safety "nannies" and rear end a car and then complain the car didn't stop like it was supposed to while they were texting away...... (and yes, I have a fairly new Volvo V90 with all the nannies including a "Pilot Assist" steering feature, so I know it is easy to come complacent).
Rambling further, I fear that kids that learn to drive in cars with all the safety devices will make them assume that they don't have to worry about crashes. Then, one day they will drive an older car without the safety "nannies" and rear end a car and then complain the car didn't stop like it was supposed to while they were texting away...... (and yes, I have a fairly new Volvo V90 with all the nannies including a "Pilot Assist" steering feature, so I know it is easy to come complacent).
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Some airline topics:
Bob, your description of the Swissair first class experience sounds like science fiction!
My dad, generally a reliable source, except that that star-shaped scar on his stomach wasn't "where the bull got me", it was likely the Germans, told me that he flew on a DC-3 civilian flight before the war, in Utah, and that the bathroom was basically an outhouse in the sky, you could look into the hole and see Bryce Canyon below.
Only great airline moment I can remember now from my yute (when I did most of the flying, very rarely now), we were on an Air France flight across the Atlantic, my mom really liked the blanket she had been issued. It was wool, with the Air France logo on it. At the end of the flight, she asked the stewardess if there was some way she could buy such an Air France blanket. The stewardess said, oh, you can have it. Imagine that nowadays! My mom used it as a throw on her living room couch for years.
I am tempted to spring for first class tickets any year now, just based on my skeletal dimensions.
And now, this, from the dawn of encrappification:
Bob, your description of the Swissair first class experience sounds like science fiction!
My dad, generally a reliable source, except that that star-shaped scar on his stomach wasn't "where the bull got me", it was likely the Germans, told me that he flew on a DC-3 civilian flight before the war, in Utah, and that the bathroom was basically an outhouse in the sky, you could look into the hole and see Bryce Canyon below.
Only great airline moment I can remember now from my yute (when I did most of the flying, very rarely now), we were on an Air France flight across the Atlantic, my mom really liked the blanket she had been issued. It was wool, with the Air France logo on it. At the end of the flight, she asked the stewardess if there was some way she could buy such an Air France blanket. The stewardess said, oh, you can have it. Imagine that nowadays! My mom used it as a throw on her living room couch for years.
I am tempted to spring for first class tickets any year now, just based on my skeletal dimensions.
And now, this, from the dawn of encrappification:
Adaylate
Well-known member
Bob,
Before Alaska was a state, my Uncle was flying from the Seattle area to Alaska and back often enough he knew several of the flight crew. One day he asked me if I'd like to go to the airport with him, of course I said yes with mom's permission.
We drove to Seattle International airport, parked out front, walked through the terminal and to the tarmac. One of the "stewardess" was there early (arranged) and told us to climb the boarding stairs and she would show us the plane. She showed us around and I was able to sit in the captain's seat. After the tour she gave me my wings! Big stuff for a little guy!I
Times have sure changed!
Before Alaska was a state, my Uncle was flying from the Seattle area to Alaska and back often enough he knew several of the flight crew. One day he asked me if I'd like to go to the airport with him, of course I said yes with mom's permission.
We drove to Seattle International airport, parked out front, walked through the terminal and to the tarmac. One of the "stewardess" was there early (arranged) and told us to climb the boarding stairs and she would show us the plane. She showed us around and I was able to sit in the captain's seat. After the tour she gave me my wings! Big stuff for a little guy!I
Times have sure changed!
Similarly, that same Air France flight I mentioned above, a 747 from France to NYC, I was a teen, and a big aviation buff in those years. While I was asleep, my dad had gone up to the cockpit and talked to the pilot and arranged for me to get a chance to visit the cockpit, then came and woke me up. I went up there and from where I stood, I could look out the windshield and see the eastern tip of Long Island approaching, New England to the right, from way up. The world even looked a little curved from up there, it seemed.
This was the 80's. Also, my dad was never afraid to think big, give it a try/ask, and could be persuasive. In a friendly way. (With us, other ways.)
For a quick, fun (mostly) book about the Golden Age of Hijacking, check out:
The Skies Belong to Us
As you described, security used to be just about nil, and in this book the author describes how it took nearly a solid decade of goofballs hijacking commercial airlines for thrills before much meaner and fanatical types turned into a political weapon in the early 70's and finally something was done (i.e., $$$) about security.
PugetDude
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Good friend used to tell how he once flew STL to Jackson Hole, handed a soft-cased hunting rifle to the flight attendant to stow in the coat closet. Only question was where and what was he hunting for.
(Elk in the Thoroughfare)
Better times.
(Elk in the Thoroughfare)
Better times.
Read a book by a recently retired field biologist in the state of Maine. As a teen in the 70's, he and some others would hunt deer as they walked through the woods on the way to school. When they got to school, they handed their rifles to a teacher who would keep them in a closet for the day.
Roger, I always wore a suit when I flew on business for IBM. In the beginning it was because I checked my luggage and you didn't want to show up to a business meeting in a Corvette T-shirt and jeans when the airline sent your bag to parts unknown (OK, that may have happened once). In later years I wore the suit so I only needed a carry-on and attache or laptop bag even for two-week trips. I had hotels launder the clothes and if needed, dry clean the suit. In all the years of flying I never lost my carry-on. When I worked for AOL I worked from home every other week so the day I left for Florida the clothes I wasn't wearing for the trip home got dropped off at the dry cleaners with a no-rush schedule.We got married in 1981. Got on the plane for Lake Tahoe (it was a prop job) for our honeymoon, my wife in a dress, me in a suit. Flight attendant gives us a glance and "Newlyweds, right?". With the the baby faces (we were both 25), I guess our attire just screamed out to her.
Gil, on a number of occasions, when the register shows the total I have given the cashier some change. The bill is $8.36 and I give them a ten dollar bill and thirty-six cents change. I have gotten both too much and too little in return.
Imagine those kids' first trip overseas and renting a car. Their first challenge will be to translate the road signs and symbols. The second and more challenging thing will be the rental car. In many countries the default rentals have a standard transmission.
@Squankum, I'm afraid to ask.
I had forgotten that movie. Thanks for the reminder.
I'm kinda glad I didn't need to use the bathroom on either the Mohawk Airlines flight or any of the Greyhound buses. We did take a ferry from Gibraltar to Morocco and discovered the extra cost of first class would have been worth every penny. Thank goodness it was only an hour each way.
We no longer have them but there were quite a few monogrammed airline blankets floating around our house. Not to mention pillows but I'm not sure why we had those tiny things.
You had some neat experiences on airplanes. I got to see the cockpit many times but it was always a 727 or 737 on my way onto the plane.
It did take a long time.
Scott, I packed my mother-in-law's 1944 Beretta 7.65 pistol in my checked bag back in the late '70s and thought nothing of it. The clip was removed but sitting in the same bag.
@Squankum, we didn't have guns in our house growing up but I certainly asked for them. I posted about the 1960 Sears Fall Winter catalog in your thread (https://christmas.musetechnical.com/ShowCatalog/1960-Sears-Fall-Winter-Catalog). Of the many many things you could order from the catalog were guns. Lots and lots of guns. Page 815 is both the .22 caliber pistol page...
...and the Firearm Certificate page. Looks like all you need is a police officer's signature.
The preceding 11 pages of rifles and shotguns don't seem to require a certificate.
kaymccampbell
Well-known member
I used to wear two blouses and two pairs of knickers, have soap, toothbrush, comb, toothpaste in my inside jacket pocket, because I only had one piece of luggage, and it was Uncle Sam's, and sometimes my trip would last more than a day. Nobody wants be marinating for 7 days in the same clothes they stepped on to the jetway in.
kaymccampbell
Well-known member
It was simple to deal with if you filled out the first part with a blue pen and the right hand, then filled out the second part in with a black pen with the left hand. They'd give it a cursory glance and ship your gun..musetechnical.com/ShowCatalog/1960-Sears-Fall-Winter-Catalog). Of the many many things you could order from the catalog were guns. Lots and lots of guns. Page 815 is both the .22 caliber pistol page...
...and the Firearm Certificate page. Looks like all you need is a police officer's signature.
The preceding 11 pages of rifles and shotguns don't seem to require a certificate
kaymccampbell
Well-known member
I carried a loaded 1911 on every flight I took. It was a job requirement.
Dan in Pasadena
Well-known member
Ha! I'm just now coming back to this old discussion after our lake trip. Then I got caught up reading with interest all the info on Bob's artificial arm(s). I had NO IDEA there was that much to them. What a courageous guy you have had to be, Bob. To me you are easily the Garage Journal Official "Toughest & Most Tenacious Member".
As for the screw idea to fix my cabinet problem with gutter shelves for spray paint cans - I've been kicking around Kay's suggestion that I should just go ahead and use them because "it's only a garage". But the "GJ'er" in me kept thinking about it so I've come up with an idea: I can countersink the heads w/fender washers. My first thought - now abandoned - was to get more of the stick-on stainless tiles I used for my garage sink backsplash to reface the cabinet. But I immediately knew that would be WAAY too ghetto fabulous. Instead, I can glue some 1/8" luan sheet or maybe some kind of thin (cheap) paintable plastic, then paint to match.
Dan in Pasadena
Well-known member
Ok, ok Squankum.....go ahead and say what you started to say, ha ha. I can take it. And frankly, I deserve it.
It was DUMB DUMB DUMB to take this trip without adequate tools. All future trip with have the road box plus bolt cutters, gloves, floor jack and multiple 2x lumber blocks to create a flat surface, hand cleaner, etc. I'm sure others will suggest more stuff. Oh, and a big *** Crescent wrench to move bent fenders!
You start thinking that way, you're driving a van workshop everywhere!
My previous comment was somethinfg about "wasn't there a wooden cabinet somewhere in this story?" but then I realized, the pic you posted was about showing us the stainless tile you had used. The steel cabinet above the sink was not something that has since replaced the cabinet in question, right?
Dan in Pasadena
Well-known member
Nah. That Craftsman cabinet is the 3rd of 3 I bought years ago and had never used. When I installed the sink in the garage I used it.
I was talking about a cheap particle board cabinet where I installed rain gutter "shelves" on the door interiors to hold spray cans. They have overloaded the hinges because the weight of the door itself and the minor weight of the spray cans is too much with a conventional screw.
The true fix would be stronger cabinets but that would be expensive. And it would be 4 or 5 ea. wide cabinets. I've considered buying the matching Craftsman floor cabinets but they're not really very robust. And I think would have a less interior space. These:
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Kay, only one job required me to carry a gun. Working for the US Post Office I was given every job there was and the size of my title was inversely proportional to the importance of those jobs. I was a Temporary Indefinite Substitute Clerk/Carrier. Not sure about today but back then the Post Office was exempt from most work rules. I never got time and a half, no matter how many hours I worked in a week and I wasn't given paid (or unpaid) days off, no matter how many consecutive days I worked. Sundays I had to collect mail from the mailboxes and many times I had to get the Registered mail pouches from the branches in the evening and bring them to the main office. I had to wear a pistol when transporting those pouches. Pretty sure it would have killed me if I ever had to fire it. I think the only time it was cleaned was at the factory when it was manufactured.
I worked from the day I was hired -- August 31, 1963 -- until November 22, 1963. That day I took Liane shopping after dropping the kids off with her mother. I forget which store but that's where we heard President John F. Kennedy was assassinated.
Dan, I like the stainless tile but I understand a little goes a long way. You could hide/disguise the screw holes by mounting something on the outside of the cabinet door. Or put a chrome racing stripe across the cabinet door over the screw heads. By chrome I mean aluminum duct tape.Ha! I'm just now coming back to this old discussion after our lake trip. Then I got caught up reading with interest all the info on Bob's artificial arm(s). I had NO IDEA there was that much to them. What a courageous guy you have had to be, Bob. To me you are easily the Garage Journal Official "Toughest & Most Tenacious Member".
As for the screw idea to fix my cabinet problem with gutter shelves for spray paint cans - I've been kicking around Kay's suggestion that I should just go ahead and use them because "it's only a garage". But the "GJ'er" in me kept thinking about it so I've come up with an idea: I can countersink the heads w/fender washers. My first thought - now abandoned - was to get more of the stick-on stainless tiles I used for my garage sink backsplash to reface the cabinet. But I immediately knew that would be WAAY too ghetto fabulous. Instead, I can glue some 1/8" luan sheet or maybe some kind of thin (cheap) paintable plastic, then paint to match.
Dan, I used to have a toolkit in every car but we do so little driving now that it seems a waste of space. I figure AAA will come and solve the problem or put the car on a flatbed or hook. If we were driving to Alaska it would be a different story.
Dan, I already have too much stuff and a big cabinet would hide some of the stuff. As my memory fades, the best cabinets for me are the really shallow ones.Nah. That Craftsman cabinet is the 3rd of 3 I bought years ago and had never used. When I installed the sink in the garage I used it.
I was talking about a cheap particle board cabinet where I installed rain gutter "shelves" on the door interiors to hold spray cans. They have overloaded the hinges because the weight of the door itself and the minor weight of the spray cans is too much with a conventional screw.
The true fix would be stronger cabinets but that would be expensive. And it would be 4 or 5 ea. wide cabinets. I've considered buying the matching Craftsman floor cabinets but they're not really very robust. And I think would have a less interior space. These:
I don't have an alibi!
About four years ago I built two storage drawers for the workshop. They were practice for making dovetail joints. I mounted one with 22-inch full extension slides.
I put the second drawer in a cubby hole between one of the benches and a tool chest. Yesterday I decided it was time to install the second drawer next to the first. I just happened to have some really well seasoned pine 1x4s so I mounted a 22-inch full extension slide on the opposite side of the one-by holding the first drawer's slide. Mounted the second scrap one-by to the side of the second drawer and drilled some Kreg screw holes.
This is going to take more than one hand so I clamped a scrap piece of fence board and another scrap piece of 1x4 to the bench top.
It was a little sketchy but I managed to drive the Kreg screws into the workbench top without breaking anything or hurting myself.
All the wood in these drawers is scraps that have been laying around for years. Fells good to use some of it up. Now I have two decent size (but shallow) drawers on the movable section of the workbench.
I designed the second drawer to fit Schaller bins but managed to add rather than subtract one dimension (two pieces of scrap wood kinda wedge them in place. It's amazing how fast the drawer fills up. I decided the Schaller bins would solve a problem with my pocket screws. I bought both the Kreg plastic pocket screw jig and the Harbor Freight metal pocket screw jig (I prefer it over the Kreg). I kept the screws in the cases for the jigs but that meant opening a blow mold case and cardboard box to see if I have the right size screws for a project. With the screws in the drawer I can see what I have (of both Kreg and HF screws). I can also keep the drill bits and hex drivers in one place.
Before I quit today, I narrowed the face of the first drawer so it doesn't interfere with the second drawer. I'll start the search for a scrap piece of fir but if I can't find one, I may have to pick up a fresh piece of one-by.
I put the second drawer in a cubby hole between one of the benches and a tool chest. Yesterday I decided it was time to install the second drawer next to the first. I just happened to have some really well seasoned pine 1x4s so I mounted a 22-inch full extension slide on the opposite side of the one-by holding the first drawer's slide. Mounted the second scrap one-by to the side of the second drawer and drilled some Kreg screw holes.
This is going to take more than one hand so I clamped a scrap piece of fence board and another scrap piece of 1x4 to the bench top.
It was a little sketchy but I managed to drive the Kreg screws into the workbench top without breaking anything or hurting myself.
All the wood in these drawers is scraps that have been laying around for years. Fells good to use some of it up. Now I have two decent size (but shallow) drawers on the movable section of the workbench.
I designed the second drawer to fit Schaller bins but managed to add rather than subtract one dimension (two pieces of scrap wood kinda wedge them in place. It's amazing how fast the drawer fills up. I decided the Schaller bins would solve a problem with my pocket screws. I bought both the Kreg plastic pocket screw jig and the Harbor Freight metal pocket screw jig (I prefer it over the Kreg). I kept the screws in the cases for the jigs but that meant opening a blow mold case and cardboard box to see if I have the right size screws for a project. With the screws in the drawer I can see what I have (of both Kreg and HF screws). I can also keep the drill bits and hex drivers in one place.
Before I quit today, I narrowed the face of the first drawer so it doesn't interfere with the second drawer. I'll start the search for a scrap piece of fir but if I can't find one, I may have to pick up a fresh piece of one-by.
y'sguy
Well-known member
Hey Bob, nice work on those slimline drawers. You might also be interested in scrounging up some old Smith-Victor slide storage boxes. Here's a link to a post I did on here during ancient times.
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The repurposing thread
I moved my battery location to the trunk several years ago but never got around to making a cover for it I liked OR more importantly could manage with my skills and materials on hand that would suit me. I wanted the whole thing pretty neutral. I was replacing old red carpet with new burtex trunk...
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