Random Thoughts on Friday

 I have been watching the great youtube channel, "FatalBreakdown" lately.  Check it out when you have a moment.  They do very well-done video reconstructions of situations where people get trapped in caves.

The stories involve a lot of getting trapped in tight spaces, water, not being prepared for an adventure in a wild cave, etc.

I do love caves.  You know, mostly the well-developed, tourist type stops with a ticket office and gift shop.

Being trapped in a tight squeeze passage is a legitimate fear.  

I watched a video of four young people swimming through a wild underwater cave.  It involved swimming through a small passage to get to a cave.  All four ended up drowning.

I mentioned Floyd Collins in my book, and if you are not aware of the strange story of Floyd, look it up.  He was searching for a cave to develop and hopefully make money on- opening it up for tourists.  Different sources have different measurements, but he was at least 60 feet underground, and probably 150 feet plus from the opening.

Floyd got trapped and died a slow death underground.  When I tell people about Floyd I stress that, he wasn't in a nice, spacious cave that most of us think of (again, ticket booth and gift shop).  He was pretty much crawling and wiggling through a hole underground.

Getting trapped like that, to me, is the ultimate stuff of nightmares.

James Merle Wilson

 

My father passed away several years ago now.  He was a Vietnam veteran and made it out alive. We enjoyed a lot of time together, and I am grateful for that.   

When I go back to the area where I grew up, I always visit the grave of his friend, James Merle Wilson who was killed in action in 1967.  His lifetime and mine did not intersect directly.

I did know his mom who passed away many years ago.

He is buried in Mt. Zion Cemetery in Owensboro Kentucky (the Windy Hollow area).

I would love to hear from anyone with a connection to him.

Old West Point New York Postcards

I found these postcards recently, showing cadets at West Point.  They are blank, and undated on the back.

 

Random Thoughts on Friday

 I was on a road trip recently....  It was a nice one, in a very rural area.

I stopped at a business.  It was a small shop, mostly catering to tourists, selling souvenirs.  

Two very kind young ladies were working there.  

There was a local (I assume) older fellow that was there too.  He wasn't shopping.  He really wasn't doing anything.  

He wouldn't stop talking though.  I had a bit of a hard time asking about items for sale, and even when I paid for my purchases, the guy was going on and on.

He was dropping names left and right.  Apparently, he knew some local celebrities at some point and claimed to have some notoriety himself.  

I felt bad for the two young girls.  They really couldn't do much.  They were the old guys captive, reluctant audience.  Also, I think most of us have had friends with some claim to fame.  Most people I know in that position don't go around telling everyone about it.

I usually enjoy chatting with locals here and there when we travel, but you get the occasional person eager to impress anyone who will listen with their inflated stories.  

We tried to politely remove ourselves from the man's monologue.

1970s Matchbook Cover, New York City

 Here is a nice matchbook cover showing NYC from the 1970s!

Mayville Village Park, Mayville, NY Old Postcard

 This old linen postcard shows Mayville New York.  It is unused and undated.  I am guessing it is from the 50s.

Random Thoughts on Friday: Bank Robbery in Berea

 Yesterday, there was a bank robbery in Berea Kentucky.  I have had a lot to say about the great small town, and the college, half an hour south of Lexington.  I spent several years of my life there.  I still go there frequently- in fact, I was there just a couple of weeks ago having a beverage at Just Love Coffee which is a few steps from the bank that was robbed.

AND, two people were murdered during the robbery.

I was glad to hear that a man is in custody, but what an absolute tragedy for Berea and those two families.