WHEN BUYING A NEW CAR WAS EXCITING!

       After stopping in to the Chevrolet Dealer the other day in Marengo, to set up an appointment for a service check, I was reminded of a time when buying an automobile was exciting. Not like today, where you walk in to one of these mega auto dealers with 1000's to choose from and simply pick one out.

 No, I am talking about when auto dealers only had a few "Demo's" for you to test drive and go from there. I am talking about back in the 1950's & 60's when you ordered what you wanted and waited two or three weeks.

      At a time when I can remember, my folks would go to the Chevrolet Dealer in Newton, Iowa, Hawkeye Chevrolet, for purchasing and servicing of their cars. Back then you would decide what type, color, model, and etc. you wanted and then it would be ordered from the factory in, presumably, Detroit. Then you waited.

     When the dealer called and said your new car was in, you couldn't get there fast enough. It was almost as good as Christmas. Going to the dealership and seeing that brand new shiny auto sitting there was quite a thrill. All that chrome and metal. And that smell! Wow! They never have been able to bottle that fragrance. What a great experience!~   

I HAD TO GET THESE "OLD MAN SHOES!"

      Sometimes you just have to "bite the bullet" and do what is best for you and not because of looks. In this case my feet were at issue. Since working at the Burg Grocery, it has been getting harder and harder on my feet walking and standing 6-7 hours, three days a week, on concrete floors. 

      I have tried a little better type of tennis shoe that looked good and stylish, but, just wasn't getting the job done. At night. after work, my feet were really yelling at me. So, while in Marshalltown this week,  I decided it was time to take some real action. 

     I stopped into the Brown's Shoe Fit Company store on Main Street. I told the young guy, C. J., what I needed. After trying on three different brands and styles,if that is what you want to call them, and decided on a black pair of leather shoes-New Balance.

      They really feel good with better than average support, I guess. A little pricey by my standard-$80-90 range. The first day I wore them was yesterday and they passed the test. Hopefully they will work out in the long run. Whatever that means when you are 72! Just never thought I would get to that stage when comfort trumped style. Yep! There goes that old guy "old as dirt" with his "old as' dirt" looking shoes to match.

         I know a lot of you are saying that there is something out there for me! Maybe at Christmas, I'll step it up, no pun intended, and look for style and comfort and be ready to spend more. If a young teenager can find something cool for $150 then maybe there is something out there for an old guy with a little pazazz! 

JUST LIKE MY STEP-DAD SAID-"YOU NEVER KNOW!"

     In helping a lady out with her groceries Monday, I made note about her new plastic trash container laying in the back of her vehicle. She said that after 40 years of using the same one, she thought it time for a new one. Besides, the` old one was "that green color" from the 1970's. I commented that maybe she should clean it up and take it to the local antique store and maybe they would buy it. Ha!

       She indicated that she would probably hang on to it because "you never know!" It seemed like I used to hear that a lot from my step-dad, Maurice Korte. He was that frugal, German, Depression era, kind of guy. So that was just the way it was.

        I have told the story how that kind of thinking backfired one time. He was going to town to get a nut or bolt for something. It was funny in that he had what he wanted somewhere in the many coffee cans where he kept such things. None were marked! End of story!   

LONG'S SWEETCORN ONE OF BEST!

     I don't know how many times I have said in my life that sweetcorn is one food item I have never tired. Last night reminded me how true it still is today. I sat down to a couple of ears that I picked up while in Marshalltown this week from, to me. the best there is around-Long's  

     I know there are a few of you who are fans of Humphrey's "sugar" sweetcorn, but, I tried that one time and it was just too sweet. The corn I had last night were mature kernels and yet so soft to the bite it was heavenly. I have been buying Long's corn since I can't remember from their spot in the K Mart strip mall. Two more tonite with a Muscatine Melon! Life is good! 

NO ONE HAS ANSWERED THE BIG ISSUE!!

      I don't care who your candidate is or who your favorite news commentator or pundit is. The one big issue that is looming like an "elephant in the room" is the the national debt of around 20 TRILLION! Everyone has a way to spend, but, I still haven't heard a concrete way of bringing this debt down. And, what is really scary is that it has taken a long time to get it at that level and it will take time to bring it down!

THE STATE FAIR--ALMOST HERE!

       You may not be the Iowa State Fair lover like yours truly, but, it will be here next week. I am only planning to attend one day and that will probably be the Tuesday of  8/16/2016. I am like a little kid waiting for Christmas! 

HARDER TO REMEMBER THE CLOSER TO GOING OUT!

       The other night I was watching a show on FOX News. They were interviewing young people and showing them flash cards with pictures of past Presidents. Very few knew who Ronald Reagan or the likes of Jimmy Carter were by sight. Sad and pathetic.

      It reminded me that at one time I could start with at least FDR Roosevelt and rattle off every President with the year elected up until the present. So, after I watched that show, I tried to go through them after I had gone to bed. I laid there and realized that I couldn't go through the list like I used to. I actually had to stop and think about other things that were significant at the time to relate. A couple of Presidents I had to think hard if they were in for one or two terms. 

      Maybe it is good that I can still go through the list of Presidents even without my "when I was a younger man" speed! Maybe the important thing is to keep going over them from time` to time. A lot of these tests you see on Facebook are good ways to test your memory skills. One that did make me feel good was a geography quiz that was a blank map of the USA. I was able to identify the states by site. I guess it is true that "If you don't use it you will lose it!"