The story of stuff: Old is better than new
May 23, the sunrise was pink and red all over due to the smoke wafting down from the fires in Canada. On the trip to the Chuck Wagon Diner in Princetown, the OMOTM had the opportunity to enjoy this sunrise as harmful to the atmosphere as it is.
A little house keeping: The Old Men roster has a considerable number of names but, as it is an ad-hoc group with no rules and no membership, it is tough to put a finger on how many are really in the OMOTM. What we do have though is a preponderance of similar names and this scribe sometimes in making up the alibi list will miss one with like names.
We have three Johns, three Pauls, two Franks, and two Jakes, with the rest being one of a kind so far. The last meeting, I missed a Frank but there were two in the little notebook used for names and one-word notes of some of the goings-on at the breakfast. So, if the cops or bill collectors are looking for either one of them, they were both at the breakfast the week before this.
Two of the big local news stories — the limo, and the driveway incident — were discussed with many opinions offered. The upstart of the conversation was that the OFs would not want to be on either one of those juries.
Old stuff
The story of stuff. This column often mentions old stuff, and it is no wonder because this is the OMOTM.
By being in this classification, the OFs are a little leery of much of the new stuff. Some because the OFs don’t understand it, and at times to the OMOTM most of the new stuff has a predetermined obsolete date.
As one OF put it: No matter how well the OF takes care of it, when the new stuff reaches its fall-apart date, it falls apart. The GE monitor-top refrigerator was one product mentioned and some of those are still running.
The OFs doubt if one of these new refrigerators that cost as much as a car will last more than 12 years no matter how well taken care of. The OFs are finding out that the quit date on many appliances is about that — 10 to 12 years.
One OF who has multiple old vehicles (and they run) mentioned fixing his “T” (that is a Ford Model T) with some kind of rod that was bent or broken, and then took it for a spin. No wonder the OFs are suspicious of the newer stuff.
One OF said he wouldn’t trade his wife for a newer model anytime. The OF said she is still prettier than most of the younger models with all their Botox, silicon, and tattoos (that are going to be nothing more than black blobs in a few years).
Another OF said there are certain cases where all these processes are necessary, like accidents, birth defects, burns, etc.
Then it was another thought — think of all the people who would be out of work, and all the businesses shut down if this industry was put down.
Still the OF thought his wife was pretty, smart, and strong like a bull, without this augmentation.
Some OFs can attest to these black blobs; those who have them have no idea now of what they are or when the OF got them.
Some like it hot
Then another topic on individuality entered the discussions and it is a wonder how restaurants handle it.
One OF who has been mentioned before likes most of his food well done — well done to the point of bacon cooked so crisp it looks like charcoal, and toast burnt so it is possible to see through it.
Then another OF will like the same items the way most people like them. Then maybe some other OF will like the same items differently all together.
Most restaurant staffers take all this in stride and keep a smile on their faces, where, if it were the OFs waiting on the public, they would probably say, take it and eat it or go someplace else.
Again, maybe that is why there are so many restaurants with all different kinds of titles for the types of food they prepare; now the OFs have many choices.
The restaurant of Mom has a motto: I cook it, you eat it, clean your plate, and there will be no comments.
No matter the name of the restaurant, or how food is cooked, if it is reasonable, hot, and plenty, the Old Men of the Mountain are generally happy, and Tuesday the OGs were happy at the Chuck Wagon Diner in Princetown. All those OMOTM who jumped in their vehicles and headed to the Chuck Wagon were: Miner Stevens, Jake Lederman, John Muller, Robie Osterman, George Washburn, Bill Lichliter, Pete Whitbeck, Doug Marshal, Frank Fuss, Marty Herzog, Ted Feurer, Wayne Gaul, Wally Guest, Harold Guest, Russ Pokorny, Frank Dees, Dick Dexter, Herb Bahrmann, Joe Rack, Jake Herzog, Paul Guiton, Elwood Vanderbilt, Dave Hodgetts, Lou Schenck, Jack Norray, John Dab, and me.