Rain

Its been raining big-time here in the DC area for three days now and no end in sight. This morning part of the Metro subway was taken out of service due to flooding in the tunnels and portions of the Beltway have been closed due to mudslides.

And the new home construction site next door to me has turned into a sea of mud and is dumping silt into the neighborhood storm drains which were recently adorned with cute little “Save the Chesapeake Bay” plaques.

Aunt Marg

My Aunt Margaret passed away a few days ago.  She was 89 years old and was the last surviving  member of my Dad’s immediate family.  I’ll always remember Aunt Marg for the hot pot of fresh coffee that was present in her kitchen no matter what the time of day or night…and her ever-present good-natured smile and warm heart.

“33”

I grew up in the Southwestern corner of Pennsylvania. There was a local beer called Rolling Rock, which was brewed in a place called Latrobe, PA. For years, the beer was packaged in green glass 7-oz. pony bottles and was known locally as a “chaser.,” i.e., the beer part of the old “shot and a beer” combo. Or better yet, served ice-cold in a small pail filled with bottles packed in ice called a “Bucket of Rocks.”

Rolling Rock eventually went national and became well-known for the “33” printed on the its label due to a really clever advertising campaign. This resulted in a number of urban legends regarding the origin of the “33” printed at the bottom of the label. Some say it is the number of words on the label, others have different explanations.

The label says Rolling Rock is brewed from “Pure Mountain Spring Water.” Well, Rolling Rock was recently purchased by Anheiser-Busch, the brewery in Latrobe will be closed and the beer will be brewed in Newark, NJ…no “Pure Mountain Spring Water” there so it remains to be seen what Rolling Rock will be in the future.

But Latrobe will remain somewhat semi-famous as the home of Arnold Palmer, provided Arnie does not move to Newark to be closer to a fresh supply of Rolling Rock!

What’s Good for the USA?

Back when I was a kid, there was an oft-quoted phrase that went something like this…”What’s good for General Motors is good for the USA!”

Given the present state of GM, I suspect this is no longer even close to the truth (if it ever was!).

The Greatest Generation

In addition to the opening of the movie “The Omen,” today is also the anniversary of one of the defining events of the last century…62 years ago today, the 6th of June, 1944. 

Bedford, VA is the home of the National D-Day Memorial.  Why Bedford, VA you ask?  Here’s the answer!