For the past week I have been suffering from a cold. As I, and the people at the National Business Office, are in the final throes of preparation for next week's Board of Directors Meeting at the National Convention in Scottsdale, AZ, just staying home and treating it is not an option.
I have been struggling but am seeing progress as I have been leaving the office about an hour early to go home and get some sleep. This usually results in me waking up at some strange hour with little or nothing to do and little ambition to do anything in any event.
As I am going on 12 years without owning a TV, I do not have that to lull me back to sleep. I usually end up on line checking out news sites such as the Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, Fox News and CNN.
The last few days have seen some well known people pass from the scene and in a manner that appears to give credence to the belief that "things happen in threes."
First, Ed McMahon passed away at age 86. Most people remember him as the announcer and straight man to Johnny Carson on "The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson." Others might remember him working with Jerry Lewis on the annual Labor Day Muscular Dystrophy Telethon.
My recollection goes back much further as a friend of mine and I used to ditch school on occasion to watch Wee Willie Webber and his morning cartoon show in Philadelphia followed by Carson and McMahon on "Who Do You Trust?"
While it was supposed to be a game show, it was really a platform for Carson to do stand-up comedy with McMahon as his straight man. The contestants on the show were either willing foils or window dressing. It kept us in stitches and it came as no surprise to us when Carson moved to the Tonight Show after Jack Parr left in early to mid 1962.
Today, I learned that Farrah Fawcett died at age 62. While McMahon was almost as old as my mother this one hit closer to home as she and I are/were the same age. Of course, many of the stories mentioned, and showed, the famous poster of her that went on sale in 1976. At the time, it seemed like a photograph of the "ideal woman" and, as much as anything else, help build the expectations of the Baby Boomers beyond reality. It survives to his day as an icon of what used to be called "pin-up photography."
Less well-known are the photos of Fawcett that appeared after she had been beaten by her, now former, husband. Completely gone was look of the poster girl and for me it reinforced what I already knew, money, looks and fame are no safeguard from making bad decisions. As it is with many cases of that happening, there was nothing I could do but sympathize with her plight and express anger and distress that some groups used, what I consider an aberration, as proof that this is a trait common to all men.
Today's final shock came when I learned that Michael Jackson died, possibly of cardiac arrest, at age 50. It is unfortunate that most people today only remember him as a disgraced pop star who allegedly engaged in strange behavior, mostly with children. He was one of the most creative personalities to see the light of day in the music industry from the late 1960's to the early 1990's.
In the heyday of MTV, when it really was Music Television, Jackson was one of a small band of performers and directors that turned the music video into an art form. Watching those videos from the 1980's made one realize that the marriage of film and music had created something that was special and worth watching. My guess is that many film school careers were launched between 1981 and 1990 because of what played on MTV.
For some of that time I was working as a photo and film rep and potential clients always expressed a desire to have their commercials "look like MTV." Of course, once they discovered what it cost to achieve that look, their thoughts changed and that is also what turned MTV into the Junk TV it is today. Record companies did not see enough of a return on their investment and too many directors were trying to get the same type of money they got for directing full-length films. In the end it was, all about the money.
Still, I would hope that at some point someone would do a retrospective of Jackson's videos so people could get a sense of his real talent and creativity. They really were something to see.
All these folks, while famous and at one time, wealthy, are really not that much different from all of us. They suffered from bad decisions and physical conditions that, in the end, could not be overcome by a sudden change in the script.
I think the larger lesson here is that life is short and happiness fleeting. All of us should take a moment to stand back and look at ourselves and how we interact with those around us and probably consider changing some of what we do.
I can honestly say that over most of my 62 years I have been flabbergasted and amazed at how petty stuff can cause so much discontent, anger and distress, sometimes to the point of rage, and hatred. We human beings are strange creatures. Things of great import slide right by us and things of the most temporary nature and fleeting value inspire us to behavior that borders on animalistic.
As Byron once said, "Truth is strange, stranger than fiction."
25 June 2009
16 June 2009
Even More Breaking News
Around the middle of July, we will be posting all the reports submitted by officers, directors, committee chairs and employees for the Board of Directors meeting on www.tcamembers.org.
They will be posted as PDF files and you will need Adobe Reader to open and download them. This is a free software program that can be found on the Adobe website.
This is another way to keep the membership informed and up to date with what is happening in their Association. Watch for them!
They will be posted as PDF files and you will need Adobe Reader to open and download them. This is a free software program that can be found on the Adobe website.
This is another way to keep the membership informed and up to date with what is happening in their Association. Watch for them!
Breaking News
Well friends, Nicole Peace the TCA webmaster, has helped TCA take yet another step into the 21st century. She recently created Facebook Pages for TCA and the National Toy Train Museum. In less than 24 hours, the Museum had acquired 10 fans, one of whom lives in Serbia.
Not satisfied with this feat, she then created a Twitter Account for the Museum. She will be posting Tweets to help everyone keep up. As I do not currently have a Twitter account, I cannot tell you how many Tweets are posted nor how many people are following the NTTM on Twitter.
I do have a Facebook page but I admit that I only look at it once a week, and then only if I remember. Usually, someone send me a message through Facebook and that reminds me to look at my page. The real reason I set up a Facebook page was because the woman who is promotions director at the local swing dance club kept bugging me to do so.
My guess is that Facebook will make more people aware of TCA and our great museum. I am hoping that this will inspire them to visit.
Not satisfied with this feat, she then created a Twitter Account for the Museum. She will be posting Tweets to help everyone keep up. As I do not currently have a Twitter account, I cannot tell you how many Tweets are posted nor how many people are following the NTTM on Twitter.
I do have a Facebook page but I admit that I only look at it once a week, and then only if I remember. Usually, someone send me a message through Facebook and that reminds me to look at my page. The real reason I set up a Facebook page was because the woman who is promotions director at the local swing dance club kept bugging me to do so.
My guess is that Facebook will make more people aware of TCA and our great museum. I am hoping that this will inspire them to visit.
25 May 2009
Memorial Day
In 1868, General John A. Logan, Commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, declared 30 May as Memorial Day to honor the memory of those who died fighting in the Civil War. There is some evidence that widows and families of fallen Confederate States military personnel were remembering their fallen by decorating their graves with flowers while the war was still underway.
By 1890, all of the northern states recognized 30 May but the South did not do so until after World War I when it was used as a way to honor all who have fallen in the wars fought by the United States. The name change from Decoration Day to Memorial Day took some time and I still remember some of my relatives referring to it as Decoration Day.
My earliest recollection of Memorial Day was in Pottsville, Pa. The day prior, we were taken from school to a nearby cemetery. Each of us received a small American Flag and were posted at the grave of a departed veteran. At noon we were to push the flag into the ground in front of the stone. I was in second grade and this was big stuff. Our burning question was when it would be noontime. We need not have worried as someone in uniform told us to plant our flags. Following that we returned to our studies.
As I grew older, Memorial Day took on a larger scope. It was a day off from school and I remember my father and others listening to the Indianapolis 500 race on the radio. The parade and visit to the cemetery remained the real highlights of the day. In 1971, the US Government, led by Lyndon Johnson, passed an act that moved certain holidays from their usual day of celebration to the closest preceding Monday. Only Fourth of July and Veterans Day escaped this pandering to potential voters.
The purpose was to give government workers three day weekends. This led to retail establishments running sales (some of them continue for an entire month) in an effort to get all these nonworking workers out and spending money. Today we have President's Day Sales and Columbus Day Sales, to name a few. I noted that in some areas we are seeing sales tied to the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., a development I did not anticipate so soon after it being declared a National Holiday. Of course, it was immediately added to the Monday Holiday List (you can find the list on Google) so one must view its creation with a bit of a jaundiced eye.
Despite the efforts to completely destroy the real reason for these various holidays some places still cling to the "real reason for the season" to purloin a phrase used to describe yet another holiday that is so over commercialized as to be virtually unrecognizable. Just as some people "bitterly" cling to "God and guns" to quote the current occupant of the White House, so do many of these same people cling to the idea of remembering why these days are special in the first place.
In Strasburg, the Memorial Day holiday is marked by two things. A parade and a changing of the colors in the town square. The parade consists of the local high school bands (Junior and Senior Highs) the Lampeter-Strasburg Community band and various civic organizations such as Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, 4H and others.
Near the end of the parade you will see the men, women and apparatus of Strasburg Fire Company #1 (there is only one but at one time it was thought things would be different). In between all this you will find veterans groups, a few re-enactors and automobiles of various vintages carrying veterans of various wars from the mid twentieth century to the present.
The changing of the colors takes place before the parade proceeds to the cemetery for a memorial ceremony. The old flag is taken down and replaced by a new one.
The local VFW Post sponsored and organized the parade for a very long time. Today that group is down to a few aged members (there is no lack of veterans in the area but they have not joined- why I do not know). The local Sertoma Club (SERvice TO MAnkind) has taken over this event.
For a town of 2,900 the parade draws a fair size crowd. As the local newspaper publishes a list of municipalities staging parades, it is obvious that people are coming from outside the general area. As people begin to line the parade route on Main Street you can see timeless scenes such as children running after each other, adults engaged in conversation and a general sense of community that we older folks remember as being much more common than it is today.
This year I noticed more younger families and numerous couples (dating I imagine as they were walking and holding hands) so perhaps we are "going back to the future" of knowing our neighbors and taking an interest in the well-being of them, our communities and a recognition that we need to work together on a local level to address the ills that plague our cities and towns. I would find that to be reassuring. I personally think nothing fails on a massive scale as does government when it attempts to address issues that are more local than national. It would be somewhat ironic if the era of government bailouts sparked a resurgence of community interest and service.
Yes, watching the events in Strasburg this morning gave me a sense that what someone told me many years ago is still true. We have New York City and Los Angeles with their moaners, whiners and complainers. Once you get away from them there is a vast area in between. It is called the United States of America and the spirit that created it is alive and well. I am hoping that we can keep it that way. Time will tell.
By 1890, all of the northern states recognized 30 May but the South did not do so until after World War I when it was used as a way to honor all who have fallen in the wars fought by the United States. The name change from Decoration Day to Memorial Day took some time and I still remember some of my relatives referring to it as Decoration Day.
My earliest recollection of Memorial Day was in Pottsville, Pa. The day prior, we were taken from school to a nearby cemetery. Each of us received a small American Flag and were posted at the grave of a departed veteran. At noon we were to push the flag into the ground in front of the stone. I was in second grade and this was big stuff. Our burning question was when it would be noontime. We need not have worried as someone in uniform told us to plant our flags. Following that we returned to our studies.
As I grew older, Memorial Day took on a larger scope. It was a day off from school and I remember my father and others listening to the Indianapolis 500 race on the radio. The parade and visit to the cemetery remained the real highlights of the day. In 1971, the US Government, led by Lyndon Johnson, passed an act that moved certain holidays from their usual day of celebration to the closest preceding Monday. Only Fourth of July and Veterans Day escaped this pandering to potential voters.
The purpose was to give government workers three day weekends. This led to retail establishments running sales (some of them continue for an entire month) in an effort to get all these nonworking workers out and spending money. Today we have President's Day Sales and Columbus Day Sales, to name a few. I noted that in some areas we are seeing sales tied to the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., a development I did not anticipate so soon after it being declared a National Holiday. Of course, it was immediately added to the Monday Holiday List (you can find the list on Google) so one must view its creation with a bit of a jaundiced eye.
Despite the efforts to completely destroy the real reason for these various holidays some places still cling to the "real reason for the season" to purloin a phrase used to describe yet another holiday that is so over commercialized as to be virtually unrecognizable. Just as some people "bitterly" cling to "God and guns" to quote the current occupant of the White House, so do many of these same people cling to the idea of remembering why these days are special in the first place.
In Strasburg, the Memorial Day holiday is marked by two things. A parade and a changing of the colors in the town square. The parade consists of the local high school bands (Junior and Senior Highs) the Lampeter-Strasburg Community band and various civic organizations such as Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, 4H and others.
Near the end of the parade you will see the men, women and apparatus of Strasburg Fire Company #1 (there is only one but at one time it was thought things would be different). In between all this you will find veterans groups, a few re-enactors and automobiles of various vintages carrying veterans of various wars from the mid twentieth century to the present.
The changing of the colors takes place before the parade proceeds to the cemetery for a memorial ceremony. The old flag is taken down and replaced by a new one.
The local VFW Post sponsored and organized the parade for a very long time. Today that group is down to a few aged members (there is no lack of veterans in the area but they have not joined- why I do not know). The local Sertoma Club (SERvice TO MAnkind) has taken over this event.
For a town of 2,900 the parade draws a fair size crowd. As the local newspaper publishes a list of municipalities staging parades, it is obvious that people are coming from outside the general area. As people begin to line the parade route on Main Street you can see timeless scenes such as children running after each other, adults engaged in conversation and a general sense of community that we older folks remember as being much more common than it is today.
This year I noticed more younger families and numerous couples (dating I imagine as they were walking and holding hands) so perhaps we are "going back to the future" of knowing our neighbors and taking an interest in the well-being of them, our communities and a recognition that we need to work together on a local level to address the ills that plague our cities and towns. I would find that to be reassuring. I personally think nothing fails on a massive scale as does government when it attempts to address issues that are more local than national. It would be somewhat ironic if the era of government bailouts sparked a resurgence of community interest and service.
Yes, watching the events in Strasburg this morning gave me a sense that what someone told me many years ago is still true. We have New York City and Los Angeles with their moaners, whiners and complainers. Once you get away from them there is a vast area in between. It is called the United States of America and the spirit that created it is alive and well. I am hoping that we can keep it that way. Time will tell.
10 May 2009
Museum Store Improvements
Many people, including me, are doing more and more business on line. With only a few exceptions, I pay most of my bills on line and do some banking.
We are seeing evidence of this growth in the use of the Internet here at TCA. The number of ads on the TCA X-change is growing and numbers over 2,000. Traffic at the Museum store page is also growing. More members are using their TCA VISA cards to renew their membership on line. The use of E-mail to conduct Association business continues to grow and Snail Mail is dropping significantly. Sales through the Museum store page are doing quite well. This last improvement has required us to undertake changes to that part of the Museum website, www.nttmuseum.org.
To more efficiently handle this growing traffic we undertook a number of improvements to the Museum store page. Most of it is "behind the scenes" with an improved shopping cart system. the most obvious "up front" change is large photos of the merchandise.
As it is with everything related to websites, this was a more complex undertaking than we first thought, but the result is well worth the effort.
Take a look and I am sure you will agree.
We are seeing evidence of this growth in the use of the Internet here at TCA. The number of ads on the TCA X-change is growing and numbers over 2,000. Traffic at the Museum store page is also growing. More members are using their TCA VISA cards to renew their membership on line. The use of E-mail to conduct Association business continues to grow and Snail Mail is dropping significantly. Sales through the Museum store page are doing quite well. This last improvement has required us to undertake changes to that part of the Museum website, www.nttmuseum.org.
To more efficiently handle this growing traffic we undertook a number of improvements to the Museum store page. Most of it is "behind the scenes" with an improved shopping cart system. the most obvious "up front" change is large photos of the merchandise.
As it is with everything related to websites, this was a more complex undertaking than we first thought, but the result is well worth the effort.
Take a look and I am sure you will agree.
08 May 2009
Welcome Home
Jennies Diner on Route 30 East in Ronks, PA is one of those places that see a lot of truck drivers, tourists (do you have "AIMISH" food?) and a sizable group of "regulars." I know most of the help by name so I guess you know where I fit in.
A few days ago I was reading the obituary column in the local newspaper when I saw an entry that stopped me short. It read William "Rambo" "Wild Bill" Bruns, 78.
Bill was a regular at Jennies and a few other places in the area. The first time I saw him was in the now closed coffee shop at the Revere Tavern in Paradise. He was sitting at the end of the counter with long gray hair partially covered with a do-rag and wearing biker clothes most of them identifying him as a Harley Davidson man. He was talking to a young lady who was absolutely spellbound by his story. He stopped, lit a cigarette and said, "Yeah, I was in Coo Rea (Korea) and did my share." After that my attention was diverted to the others at my table.
I saw him there a few times. His conversations usually revolved around motorcycles and how "they" were trying to take away our basic freedoms such as gun ownership and being able to say and do as we pleased. It was soon obvious that motorcycles were a big part of his life and usually you saw him riding one. He also owned a pickup truck with the most interesting collection of bumper stickers I have ever seen.
Sometime later, probably a few months actually, I saw him at Jennies. It was a hot summer night and it was very late. When I walked in he was sitting at the counter smoking (it seemed to me that he did that a lot) and was staring into a cup of coffee. The waitress, Connie, said, "Bill why don’t you go home? You are falling asleep here." He grumbled something but he left. The unusual thing about that exchange was her calling him Bill. To everyone else in Jennies he was "Rambo."
Fast forward at least a year, probably more. The TCA Board of Directors had just finished the October Board Meeting which is a telephone conference call. It begins at 2100 hours to allow those on the West Coast to get home from work, where the call begins at 1800 hours. Originally, this call had two purposes.
One was to approve the budget for the upcoming fiscal year. The other was to approve committee appointments. Unfortunately, the June Board meetings were not dealing with all the motions that were appearing on the agenda. I could write on that for hundreds of pages but I will spare you that. I finally left the office around 0100 hours. It was cold and I had not had dinner. Jennies was the only logical place to stop.
Despite the cold that night, there were two Harleys parked out front. Once inside there was no doubt who owned them. There sat Bill in a much more lively state than the past time I saw him. He was talking to another biker and I only half listened to the conversation. They finished their coffee and got up to pay their checks and leave. The first guy paid up and left. The waitress was ringing up Bill’s check when he looked over at me. I said, “Bill, I understand that you were in Korea.” He just stopped and looked at me for a moment. Then he said, “Yeah.” I replied, “So were my ex-father-in-law and a friend of mine. I thought I might say, ‘Thank You and Welcome Home’ as you guys never got that when you came back.”
He just looked at me, said nothing and left. A short time later I was walking across the parking lot at Jennies. The weather was not the best. There sat this pick up truck I described earlier. As I approached the door opened and out came Bill. He saw me and said, “Hey man, you are OK.” I looked at him and said, “Thanks, and I think you are OK, too.” Over the next few years we would exchange greetings and small talk when we saw each other.
I think it was last fall when the place where he lived caught fire. It began in Bill’s second floor apartment. It was completely ruined and the first floor was heavily damaged. I had seen him a few days before that. That was the last time I saw him.
On my next trip to Jennies there was someone there who knew him and he was talking to one of the waitresses about the fire. I said it looked like good progress was being made on fixing up the place. The guy who was talking when I came in said that it would be a long time before Bill lived there again.
I drive by that place every day and at times I wondered whatever happened to him. In the Wednesday 6 May 2009 newspaper my question was answered. He was a unique part of the Ronks, Strasburg, Paradise part of Lancaster County.
I knew that, as a Korean War Vet, he had to be in his mid to late 70’s but his age surprised me nonetheless. He never behaved like a 78-year old man. That was good to see and made me think that I might be that lucky to be that active at 78. He was a unique individual and he will be missed.
The guys from WW II came home to flags flying, parades and a grateful nation. Lord knows, they deserved it. Much is made of the fact that we are losing World War II Vets at an alarming rate.
I think that is sad but, to me at least, even more sad is the fact that Korean War Vets are disappearing in ever increasing numbers and far too many of them never heard the words, “Thank you and Welcome Home.” After I read that obituary on Wednesday I was glad that I had the chance to say that to him. I hope I was not the only one to do that.
26 April 2009
Why I like York
For those of us in the National Business Office and the National Toy Train Museum, the Eastern Division meets at the York, Pa. Fairgrounds pose significant operational challenges. They also make for long weeks for some of us. As many members of various committees are in town for the Meet, the list of meetings gets to be quite extensive. The reality is they are held morning, afternoon and night. We do manage to get quite a bit accomplished at some of these meetings so it is time well spent for TCA.
"York" brings a lot of members to town, so I get an opportunity to see people I have not seen since the last Meet or possibly the Convention and now, the cruise. I get the latest news on layouts, collections, grandchildren, travels, you name it, I hear about it and to be honest, I enjoy it. The majority of the TCA members I know are nice people.
While not a collector, earlier in my career I identified myself as an HO "Shake the Box" model railroader, I do enjoy walking through the Halls and looking at some of the trains and related items that are for sale. After eleven years as your Operations Manager, I have learned a bit about trains and now, I can appreciate a Lionel State Set, a Carlisle & Finch mine train, or an Electoy locomotive. It does add a new scope to one's knowledge.
As the years, go by I am continually amazed at how "York" provides old friends an opportunity to reconnect with each other. In one of the many meetings I attended through the week, I heard someone refer to TCA as a "Social Network." When you think about it, that is true. TCA is a Facebook or MySpace without a computer.
Once you separate out those few people who are never happy with policy, or who are never happy with the prices asked or offered for trains, you have a large group of people who get together to look for something for their collections and see and talk to their friends.
Someone called it "Playing Trains" during this past week and there is nothing wrong with that. I enjoyed seeing, talking and listening to almost all of you and I am hoping that all of you returned home safely.
While, if, I have your attention I would urge you to register for the 2009 Convention in Scottsdale, AZ, right outside of Phoenix. I have seen photos of the resort where the Convention is to be held and I know the tours are fascinating, fun and, dare I say it, educational.
See you in Scottdale!
"York" brings a lot of members to town, so I get an opportunity to see people I have not seen since the last Meet or possibly the Convention and now, the cruise. I get the latest news on layouts, collections, grandchildren, travels, you name it, I hear about it and to be honest, I enjoy it. The majority of the TCA members I know are nice people.
While not a collector, earlier in my career I identified myself as an HO "Shake the Box" model railroader, I do enjoy walking through the Halls and looking at some of the trains and related items that are for sale. After eleven years as your Operations Manager, I have learned a bit about trains and now, I can appreciate a Lionel State Set, a Carlisle & Finch mine train, or an Electoy locomotive. It does add a new scope to one's knowledge.
As the years, go by I am continually amazed at how "York" provides old friends an opportunity to reconnect with each other. In one of the many meetings I attended through the week, I heard someone refer to TCA as a "Social Network." When you think about it, that is true. TCA is a Facebook or MySpace without a computer.
Once you separate out those few people who are never happy with policy, or who are never happy with the prices asked or offered for trains, you have a large group of people who get together to look for something for their collections and see and talk to their friends.
Someone called it "Playing Trains" during this past week and there is nothing wrong with that. I enjoyed seeing, talking and listening to almost all of you and I am hoping that all of you returned home safely.
While, if, I have your attention I would urge you to register for the 2009 Convention in Scottsdale, AZ, right outside of Phoenix. I have seen photos of the resort where the Convention is to be held and I know the tours are fascinating, fun and, dare I say it, educational.
See you in Scottdale!
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