The Lugzsonian - A Virtual Tour

[Outlawmws]

And if you're thinking sawset , trust me, you're not alone, but it would be way out of place on this board, and I think our minds have been conditioned by too many whatzits!

Roger's the one that is conditioned to a one tool response...

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Ha. Yeah, yeah, that old joke notwithstanding, WTH is that tool, though? (It really does look like The Tool That Shall Not Be Mentioned , as if the universe is taunting me, and once that's in your mind, it can't be un-seen!)

 

[RTM]

Just as an outline, I would agree with a hammered version of Voldemort.

 

[LesserSon]

I had as much fun guessing the type of tree. Walnut? Locust? Acacia?
The outlines (or rather, their fill) got me, too, At first, I saw the strokes as shallow gouges or router passes into the fiberboard, but now I think black marker that has faded to brown. They don’t look like brush strokes to me.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

^ I'll take a few photos of the leaves, bark, and root entries next time I'm there. Also the board. Could be marker, it was definitely done in strokes though, the way a child would fill in an outline, and those strokes are what gave it depth at first glance for me.

 

[LesserSon]

The problem with this shape is MOST every tool you squeeze looks a bit like it. Air or water hose gun, grease gun, staple gun, brad gun, paint gun, timing gun, phaser, laser, blaster, sonic disrupter…not a *** pistol, obviously.
Wait, here it is:

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Well, if you flip that picture around, you're close to giving the Cub Scout salute, a gesture of Serbian nationalism, the Uttarabodhi Mudra sign for supreme enlightenment, or shooting a finger gun. Which do you prefer?

 

[gpw_42]

Well, if you flip that picture around, you're close to giving the Cub Scout salute, a gesture of Serbian nationalism, the Uttarabodhi Mudra sign for supreme enlightenment, or shooting a finger gun. Which do you prefer?

Of that list, I'd go for the last. But my default thought was for the shocker....I'll skip an explanation, as that would definitely not be family-friendly...

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Locust?

Ding ding ding! Honey, methinks.

 

[Old Radar]

Of that list, I'd go for the last. But my default thought was for the shocker....I'll skip an explanation, as that would definitely not be family-friendly...

Ha! We had a flight surgeon whose nickname was The Shocker and whom we constantly accused of wearing his class ring during physical exams.

Getting back to the Auto Hobby Shop--for those unfamiliar with this kind of military "benefit", it, along with all other MWR (Morale, Welfare & Recreation) facilities like the Wood Shop, Ceramics, Recreational Equipment Rental, etc., are Non-Appropriated Fund (NAF) activities. This means no Congressionally authorized funds go toward their operation and upkeep. They rely solely on receipts from their users.
Back in the old days, when military bases and posts were out in the boonies and well away from civilization, military members and their families relied heavily on these establishments.
Now that civilization has spread to encompass these once-lonely outposts, and members and their families have an abundance of options vying for their disposable income, many of the NAF activities are seldom used.
Under utilization equates to under funding which leads to closure.

So, when Lugz says it's usually empty, I'm only surprised it's still operating. I can't remember seeing a viable Auto Hobby or Wood Shop on any base I've been on in the last 25 years. This leads me to believe this particular Auto Shop must be on one of the rare posts that civilization has yet to encroach upon. I'm guessing somewhere a couple of hours southeast of Tucson.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

This leads me to believe this particular Auto Shop must be on one of the rare posts that civilization has yet to encroach upon. I'm guessing somewhere a couple of hours southeast of Tucson.

Close - if you ignore a little geography!

Same size, temperament, and isolated, place-that-time-forgot feel, but substitute "high mountain desert" with "pine barrens" and "hacienda style buildings" with "humongous, historic airship hangars". People who have never been here, who have never been out of the airport, or south of the Raritan, or who have just passed through on 95 would never know it, but South Central NJ can out-hick the hickest parts of the hickest states. (Which is why I like it so much!)

Here's a map for the unwitting...

 

[RTM]

Close - if you ignore a little geography!


Here's a map for the unwitting...

View attachment 2549883

Link not working for me, but guessing Lakehurst based on google maps pix

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Link not working for me,

Not sure what happened there. Fixed.

 

[LesserSon]

I had the precise location figured on May22, but it seemed a little intrusive to post it until this last convo.
Also, my hickpride is a little stung at the assertion that NJ “can outhick the hickest.” It’s hick enough, I’m sure, but though I have spent the majority of my adulthood among the Shoobies and a few Bennies, I was raised in Ridgerunner northcentral PA, where everyone else is looked down upon as a Flatlander.
With retirement has come an anadromous urge to repatriate, and I’ve been giving special consideration to Renovo PA, as my own childhood turf has become built up, by comparison.

 

[Old Radar]

Close - if you ignore a little geography!

Ahh! You caught me in a preconceived notion--focusing on the clear blue sky and sand colored building and ignoring the green grass and the multitude of trees in the background. You've mentioned traveling to Fort Huachuca in the past and it does have the occasional tree.

 

[gpw_42]

Renovo, PA! Great memories of being in the area in the fall of 2002, with a HS friend. We went to HS in NJ (both of us transplants in the Land of Lugz' Bennies); he and his dad hunted grouse near Renovo, so we met there for some of our own hunting, without a dog. The hunting was interesting, but I'll never forget stopping at a little bar in the late afternoon which was RIGHT out of The Deer Hunter. $5 got two beers and two shots, IIRC...the details are a little fuzzy now, and I'm going to claim time is the cause of the fuzziness!

 

[four.cycle]

The Deer Hunter

errr... not sure about the bar, but the hunting scenes were filmed up near Mt. Shuksan in the Cascades.
It's that mountain that shows up anywhere.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I had the precise location figured on May22

Boy, you really wanted to know the identity of that tree going into Google Earth surveillance mode!

Also, my hickpride is a little stung at the assertion that NJ “can outhick the hickest.” It’s hick enough, I’m sure, but though I have spent the majority of my adulthood among the Shoobies and a few Bennies, I was raised in Ridgerunner northcentral PA, where everyone else is looked down upon as a Flatlander.

Snerk. Lest you forgot, I was born and raised in what I have zero shame in calling Pennsyltucky, so I know hick when I see it. Most people think the colorful antiquated nicknames are just fun until it hits summer and you start to see the "Shoobies Go Home!" and "Bennies Go Home!" signs going up in the yards of disgruntled Clamdiggers' houses.

With retirement has come an anadromous urge to repatriate, and I’ve been giving special consideration to Renovo PA, as my own childhood turf has become built up, by comparison.

I was just home for the funeral of a childhood friend and the urge is very strong. Thomas Wolfe was wrong!

...he and his dad hunted grouse...[ ]...The hunting was interesting,

Oh, ruffed grouse get lots of trees shot, for sure, and you and your dog if you're not careful. They're dang hard to find to begin with, dang hard to see if you find them, and they have a tendency to flush fast, turn hard, swoop right at you, turn again, climb, and be gone. State Bird, if you didn't know it.

Speaking of...

The Deer Hunter.

...the church below, where I tended altar until I was 16 years old, is the same denomination.

Interesting part of the country in an interesting time in our history. Small factory towns surrounded by mountains, woods, fields, and streams, where all the townies were Eastern European, and all the farm boys were Pennsylvania Dutch (German).

 

[Private Lugnutz]

You've mentioned traveling to Fort Huachuca in the past

Still go TDY there almost every month. It was a good guess. Seriously. And much greener than the rest of the state, especially after monsoon season. Gotta love the small old posts that survive BRAC.

 

[LesserSon]

errr... not sure about the bar, but the hunting scenes were filmed up near Mt. Shuksan in the Cascades.
It's that mountain that shows up anywhere.

Yeah, the first time I watched it, that location suspended my suspension of disbelief. There are craggy ridges here and there where trees have a hard time concealing the underlying geology, but I had never seen such a mountain in PA. Now, nearly a half-century later, I still haven’t.
I’ve driven over Mt Davis (at 3213ft, the highest peak in PA is just over a third the height of Mt Shuksan) in a blizzard, and it’s not as impressive, even in those conditions. Since MrsLS & I drove to WA and OR see the Pacific, (through CO on the way back), we just laugh at elevation signs posted along Eastern highways.

 

[RTM]

we just laugh at elevation signs posted along Eastern highways.

When my kids were in school in Ohio, I used to joke that I drove over a higher elevation ridge (every day to work) than the highest point in Ohio, which is a bump on a high plain.