A former coworker of mine engages in what he calls “desktop cleaning” from time to time where he digs out stuff that has been held hostage by dust bunnies.
Just because I’ve been slacking off for a couple of years doesn’t mean that I’ve gone completely dormant. I’ve still been shooting stuff that catches my eye, I just haven’t gone to the extra step of publishing it. Unfortunately, some of that stuff is no longer timely, so it may never escape the dust bunnies.
An ageless tree
This guy, though, is ageless. I was getting ready to pull out of the parking lot at Wib’s BBQ in Jackson last year when I saw an old dead tree that had been invisible until then. I knocked off several frames before this bird was kind enough to fly over. (Click on the photo to make it larger.)
The tree may have blown down by now, for all I know. I’ve been back to Wib’s many times since, but I’ve never noticed it more than that once.
In case you doubt my Wib’s obsession
In case you doubt my addiction to Wib’s, here are a few posts I’ve done over the years.
Roy Thomas visited Jackson’s Cape Girardeau County History Center for a reception that also spotlighted Michael Archer’s exhibit, “When History and Comics Collide.”
Roy, who created or co-created more than 70 action comicbook characters and succeeded the legendary Stan Lee at Marvel Comics, attracted young folks, mostly fans of his work, and older folks, who remembered him from “back then.”
He described a woman as one of his first girlfriends. They were serious enough that they hatched up a plan to run away together. Their scheme was thwarted, however, when their tricycles got to the end of the block, and they realized they weren’t allowed to cross the street by themselves.
A stickler for detail
No detail escapes his eye. When asked to autograph a book, he said that it contained a typo. He turned to the page and corrected it before he signed his name.
Docent Bridget Bingham appears enthralled
Bridget Bingham, a docent at the History Center, and a teacher of graphic design, chatted at length with Roy.
He’ll be back in Jackson
Museum director Carla Jordan said that Roy will be back in Jackson February 23, from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. All of downtown Jackson will be celebrating his career as a writer, editor and creator with both Marvel and DC Comics.
He will probably be at the museum around 5 p.m., she said.
Roy and the fireworks stand
After almost everybody had left, Roy’s wife, Dann, prompted him to tell the story of his brief period as an operator of a fireworks stand located down by Wib’s BBQ. It’s best if you hear it in his own words in this video.
Gary Friedrich
When I heard that Roy was coming into town, I made a couple of prints of Gary Friedrich for her to give to him because I knew they ran around together. Gary was one of my editors at The Jackson Pioneer.
Much to my surprise, I found the photo displayed in the museum when I walked in. It turned out that Gary went on to become a well-known member of the “Marvel Bullpen” in the ’60s.
Roy laughed at the big stack of Pepsi crates in the background.
“I love this picture of Gary,” he said. “All those Pepsis stacked there in the back are probably Gary’s. They were probably all for him. He would drink a whole mess of Pepsis every day. By the time he was in his 30s or 40s, i think every tooth in his mouth was false. Like other people smoked cigarettes, he drank Pepsis. He looks so young here. I would have been about 23 at that time (1964ish), so he was only about 20 or 21.” [Note, I struggled to find how to spell the plural of Pepsi. This was the most common, even if it looks strange.]
“Whatever happened to Gary?” I asked.
“Sadly, he just died recently.”
A very nice obituary for Gary ran in The Missourian on September 4, 2018. My first thought was, gosh, he sure died young. That’s when I realized that he was four years older than me.
Gary’s Fair expose attempt
Gary had an idea that we should do a big expose on gambling at the Southeast Missouri District Fair. Here’s how it turned out. That’s Gary on the left, trying to win a piece of plush, by the way.
Roy Thomas gallery
Here’s a gallery of photos from the reception. Click on any photo to make it larger, then use your arrow keys to move around.
Five generations of Steinhoffs have eaten at this BBQ joint on the edge of Jackson, even though I joke that they’ve only used three hogs since the place opened in 1947.
I had let the dishes pile up in the sink for three days (four now), so I had to make the hard decision: clean up the kitchen or eat out.
Wib’s won. When I pulled into a corner parking space, I saw something that caused a quiver in the universe. They had changed their sign.
Grammarians would lose their appetite
Wib’s got away with their skimpy helpings of meat because serious grammarians would lose their appetite as soon as they saw a sign in front of the eatery that proclaimed:
CLOSED
SUNDAY’S
&
MONDAY’S
I could have sworn I had a picture of it, but we’ll have to make do with this one peeking around the corner. Click on it to make it larger.
The front has new blocks because a high school kid drove his car through the front of the building. I suspect that’ll be mentioned in his obit.
Now that the apostrophes have been put to rest and the place is safe for English teachers, I wonder if business will increase as much as the smoking ban helped the Pilot House?
I had two errands to run that took me past North County Park after dark: I wanted a Wib’s BBQ fix, and I needed to return a cap to Buchheit.
When I was in Cape in 2009, I bought a super cap with fold-down ear flaps that did a great job of keeping my Florida ears from falling off in the cold. Unfortunately, I forgot to pack it, so I went in search for a replacement. Of course, my old faithful wasn’t in stock, and I wasn’t crazy about this year’s model, but it was better than blue ears. When I called Wife Lila last night, she said it was still hanging on the hat rack in the living room, so she’d mail it to MO, letting me return the not-quite-right model..
I liked the original cap well enough to buy one for Brother Mark. Here he and Future Wife Robin posed with the caps when they were new (the caps, not Mark and Robin). I think the classy way he wore it was what tipped the scales to get her to say “yes.”
The park was all lit up
Anyway, to get to the point of the post: when I passed the park Tuesday night, it was all lit up. If some of the pictures are confusing (like this one), it’s because I couldn’t resist shooting the reflections on a lake that was a smooth as a newborn baby’s butt.
Click on any photo to make it larger, then use your arrow keys to move around. (If you are wondering what the sign that says “P ACE” means, it means that the “E” that would make it spell “PEACE” isn’t working.)
North County Park Christmas Lights 12-01-2015
North County Park Christmas Lights 12-01-2015
North County Park Christmas Lights 12-01-2015
North County Park Christmas Lights 12-01-2015
North County Park Christmas Lights 12-01-2015
North County Park Christmas Lights 12-01-2015
North County Park Christmas Lights 12-01-2015
North County Park Christmas Lights 12-01-2015
North County Park Christmas Lights 12-01-2015
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