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More Handcuffs, Different Magician

August 11, 2011 by Brian

 

For the second time in the history of this blog I have a guest poster.  My friend Penney from Vancouver read my handcuff blog and offered this handcuff story that involves her husband Tony.  The following is actually a response to my handcuff story.  Thanks Penney.

Way back, before 9/11 when air travelers were all considered fairly harmless and Tony’s entire magic collection could fit into a standard briefcase. We were flying to AB, and because he didn’t trust the airline with his precious collection he planned to bring the briefcase as a carry-on. Gotta really hand it to the security lady. She never cracked a smile (though her eyes were laughing hysterically) as she had asked this strange long-haired dude (Tony) to open the case. So he does, explaining to her how the case was filled with odd stuff because he was a magician, and really, she couldn’t possibly understand the workings of what he had in that case of mystery. And when she went straight for the corner of the case and pulled out his handcuffs, he didn’t miss a beat. He said, “That is for my escapism act.” They made him give it to the steward, who I think gave it to the pilot.

For some strange reason, none of the three steward(ess) on that flight could make it through the safety procedures, because they were all doubled over laughing by the time they boarded the plane.

Posted in Lifes Observations, Magic | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment »

Houdini? Maybe Not.

August 4, 2011 by Brian

Hello, my name is Brian and I’m addicted to Pawn Stars.

So the other day they had an episode where some guy was trying to pawn some antique and very rare handcuffs.  The episode got me thinking about my own handcuff incident in the magic shop.  My mother posted once such incident here.  Mine was slightly different.

One fine day I was sitting behind the counter in the magic shop all alone when some guy I’ve never met walks into the store.

“Howdy, May I help you?”

“No thanks, I’m just looking.”

“Just looking?  I don’t think so, you walked up all those stairs and just looking?  For walking up those stairs you get a reward.  I’m going to show you a card trick just for coming into the shop.”

“Okay” says the stranger, and I showed him something called ‘Mental Photo’

After he told me how wonderful and talented I am he points to the handcuffs in the display cabinet.  “Those real police issue?” he asks.

“Those are real  double lock handcuffs, and at one point they were police issue, but the police now use Smith and Wesson handcuffs.

“So, those are real?  You can’t escape from them?”

“Well that is two very different questions,  yes they are real double lock handcuffs.  They are not gimmicked in any way.  They do however come with instruction on how to escape from them, but it is probably not what you think.”

“Can you escape from them?”

“On a good day, yes I can.”

“Can you show me?”

“No, we do not give away secrets,  you can buy them and read the instructions and learn to do it on your own. “

“Oh I am not asking for the secret I’m asking for a demonstration.  Can you put them on and escape?’

“Uhm no, sorry I’m not comfortable with that.”

“Why, I’m not going to buy something unless I know it works.”

“Well I understand that, and I would be happy to show you the handcuffs themselves that they are real, and they come with instructions that just about guarantees they work. But am I going to handcuff myself with real double lock handcuffs? No.”

“Why not?”

“No offence but I have no idea who you are and I really think I am going to have a hard time explaining to the police, the insurance company, my family and friends that I was robbed because I voluntarily handcuffed myself  because a ‘customer’ asked me too.”

In the end I figured he really was interested in the escapes because he did buy something called a shackle escape because I was able to demonstrate that one without the fear of actually being locked in.

The video that follows is me performing Mental Photo.  First time recording myself, well my wife recorded me doing a magic trick.  We shot it in one take with no editing at all, so beware it is raw footage. Oh that scratching noise you hear in the background?  Thats a cat using the litter box. 

I should add, if you are interested in learning this effect it is available at www.perfectmagic.com.  Tell them you saw it here first and you will still get charged full price.

Posted in Lifes Observations | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments »

Keeping It Kosher, Kashrut Style

August 2, 2011 by Brian

We wandered the dessert for forty years!  We literally, with whips to our backs built the Pyramids.  We sacrificed our lives on Masada rather than being forced to live under a system that went against our covenant with God.  We cannot eat bacon.  Our homeland is surrounded by people who would just as soon drive us into the sea rather than acknowledge our right to exist.  Our male children are circumcised…Whaa, back the truck up!  We cannot eat bacon?  Why? Why can’t we eat bacon?

I’ll tell you why, because we are Jewish, because we follow kashrut the Jewish law that deals with what we can and cannot eat.  Kashrut comes from Kaf-Shin-Reish meaning fit, proper or correct.  Food that meets the criteria is considered Kosher.  Bacon my friends, is not kosher!

So what exactly is Kosher?  According to the Torah (first five books of the bible which in a broad sense covers the entire body of Jewish teachings) land animals that have cloven hooves and chew their cud may be eaten. If the animal does not have these two qualities it is forbidden.  Pigs, badgers, monkeys, camels, rats and rabbits are out.  Cows, deer, goats, bison are in.

If they live in the sea you can eat it if it has fins and scales. Fish and mermaids are in. Catfish and shellfish are out.  Do you know what catfish and shellfish eat?  They eat the kosher fish’s poop!  So you tell me, which would you rather?

If they are birds:  Birds of prey and scavengers are out. Chickens, ducks and Turkey are in.  However some Jews tend to avoid turkey because,( and I don’t understand this at all but) at the time of the giving of the Torah we didn’t know about turkeys.  I would have thought God would have had all this figured out.

Of the winged swarming things (winged insects) there are a few that are allowed, however the Sages are not sure which ones they are so just to be safe we’ve outlawed them all, thank God.  However there was that time on my bicycle…

Rodents, reptiles, amphibians and insects? We don’t eat them.

Just because the animal is part of the ‘in’ crowd does not automatically make it kosher.  That would be far too easy.  The food in question cannot have died of natural causes, or killed by another animal. which means we must murder the animal.  Further, the animal must be free of disease or flaws in the organs at the time of slaughter. I know this may surprise you, but it doesn’t end there either.

The slaughter must be done according to a Jewish ritual of shechitah and the one who performs the ritual is the schochet.  This is not be confused with a schlemiel and a schamozzel  (a schlemiel is the guy who spills the soup, the schamozzel is the guy who the soup is spilled on). According to the Torah the soul lies in the blood.  Therefore all the blood must be drained from the animal at the time of slaughter.

Just because an animal meets all the above criteria does not mean all of the animal is kosher, for example we do not eat the back end of animals, which means I don’t have ever worry about eating a cows ass.  Think about it.  Nor do we mix meat and dairy products.  Heck we don’t even mix the dishes, meat gets one set, dairy gets the other. I couldn’t possibly make this stuff up. Not only that, Really good Jews have seperate dishwashers!

The above is by no means a comprehensive lesson in the laws of Kashrut. If you are truly interested you can always ask Google! 

The question, when starting this post was why do we keep kosher?  There are many theories, but when push comes to shove there is only one reason why we keep kosher.  The most common theory is health.  There are health benefits, the fact that the animal must be clean and healthy at the time of slaughter or how about the idea that scientists are finding that eating meat and dairy together often interferes with digestion. But health is not the reason.  

There are economic and environmental theories, for example the amount of food a pig consumes is disproportional to its value as a food source.  The camel is/was much more useful as a beast of burden, (it can carry a lot of stuff) than it was as a food source.   Good reasons, but not the reason.

The reason is much simpler.  Jews keep kosher is because the Torah tells us too.  Except for the draining of the blood the reasons of Kashrut are not explained.  We keep kosher because that is our covenant with God and we don’t question God.

I am not a very religious person.  I can’t even tell you I believe in God. But I am Jewish and proud of being Jewish and I am trying to understand my heritage/history because I believe it to be important.  For me the number one reason to keep kosher, or at least to understand kosher is simple because a Jew who observes (or at least understands and recognizes) the laws of kashrut cannot eat a meal without being reminded of the fact that he or she is a Jew.

Posted in Being Jewish, Lifes Observations | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments »

162 Posts And What Have I Learned

July 24, 2011 by Brian

When I started this blog every 10 posts I wrote an ‘introspective’ for lack of another word.  It has been awhile so I figured I would try another.

What have I learned/observed?

1)      People like to read my lessons on Jewish holidays.   While my favorite such post, (there have only been two) was about Chanukkah, it gave me a new found respect for what it is to be Jewish.  You readers on the other hand seem to like the one about Passover.

2)      I’ve written one post at somebody else’s suggestion.  It was not a pleasant experience so while I am open to suggestions, I’m a little gun shy on the whole concept.

3)      If you are going to write a fictional piece, it may be best to create another page for that purpose. The post generated a lot of questions.  The bulk of the story is true.  The only part I made up was the very end.   Since writing that post I have learned that most of the locals do believe the Avondale is haunted, but I made the ghost part up.  When we drove up to the Avondale there were two grizzly men, but one got in a pickup truck, the other got on a motorcycle and they both drove away.  There was no picture of George on the wall.

4)      I learned how to post stuff on YouTube and since then I’ve learned how to embed them on my page.  Now I have to come up with more video.

5)      Foxes are really beautiful animals. Elephants are still my favorite.

6)      One of my most popular posts had to do with a conversation between my mother and myself.  It seems a lot of people identified with it, I’d like to say the conversation was unique, but really it was just normal for my family.

7)      I may suffer from a little road rage.

8)      With some of our pets getting older I am dreading the next few years and the decisions that are going to have to be made.  After the passing of Maya I am finding that ‘dreading’ is to light a word.

9)      Never take air-conditioning for granted, we would have never survived this last week without it.  At the moment I love my air-conditioning almost as much as I love my Garmin.

10)     I still stand by my previous lessons learned.

11)     I feel a little bad about punching Ant because he was just doing what wasps do.  Now I check the van before I start it up.

13)    The most common phrase that people type into a search engine and find my blog is ‘mouse poop’  I find it a little worriesome that people are typing ‘mouse poop’ into a search engine.

14)    I don’t care what people say, possums or o’possums are really cute.  

Posted in Lifes Observations | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments »

I’ll Pick You Up

July 23, 2011 by Brian

My wife and I are a one car family.  We both work the same hours which means one person gets to work early and leaves late.  After looking at all the facts it was decided that logically it made more sense for me to take the car.  By logically I mean that in the winter I would have to scrape the snow and ice off the car and by the time I arrive at her work the car would be toasty warm.  And in the summer I would get to deal with a car that feels like an easy bake oven, but by the time I get to my wife’s lab the car is nice and cool.

The other day my wife wasn’t feeling so well so she made an appointment with the doctor which means she had to take the car. She dropped me off at work and said she would call me after her doctor’s appointment.  A few hours later my phone rings.  The display on my phone says ‘car’ along with a picture of my dashboard.  We have OnStar so our car does have its own phone number so I list it that way in my phone.  The conversation went something like this, and please keep in mind my wife really wasn’t feeling well.

Me: “So what did the doctor say?”

Wife: “As I thought, I have an infection in my throat, but I’m going to work anyway seeing as I don’t have a fever and I am not contagious.”

Me: “Well at least you don’t have a fever, so did you get any good drugs?”

Wife: “Not really just some antibiotics which you will have to pick up before you pick me up.”

Beat

Me: “Before I pick you up?”

Wife: “Yes from the Walmart right by your work, the usual place,”

Me: pulling my phone from my ear so I could look at the display, yup she was calling from the car, “uhm, I don’t think I can pick you up today.

Beat…then chuckling on the other end of the line

Wife: “Well I told you I wasn’t feeling well”

Me: “Well at least you have provided me some material for my next blog!”

Posted in Lifes Observations | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment »

Is Technology Moving Too Fast?

July 19, 2011 by Brian

There is a term in the Air Force known as the bio-line.  Psychologists started looking hard at this bio-line back in the 80’s. Basically flying a plane uses the left half of the brain, all the additional (military in this case) information is processed through the right brain.  During certain situations pilots were passing out in the cockpit during simulations.  If a pilot of a fighter jet passes out or becomes unresponsive the jet levels out.  Which is a bad thing because then the enemy can lock onto its target.  They figured out that there was so much information that the right brain was starting to encroach on the duties of the left brain which over stimulated the pilot who would then black out.  Oddly this only happened in simulations.  Only when the pilots were able to answer question anonymously did the truth come out.  When in flight pilots instinctively knew that they were being overwhelmed and would turn off all ‘non essential’ equipment and would fly into battle using their wits more than anything.  I understand that thankfully for the most part this issue has been resolved. But it does go to show that sometimes technology can be too much.

There is a large cable company that deals with cutting edge equipment in the communications field.  There is a constant stream of new products hitting the market and ending up in our homes.  The problem is the future really is now.  This stuff is coming out so fast and furious it even leaves the installers confused at times.  Not all that long ago a TV had two ports, one for the plug so that it plugs into the wall and another for the cable that went from the wall to the back of the TV.  Then came the cable box which was still pretty simple, cable goes from the wall, to the cable box, and from the cable box to the TV.  Now there are a multitude of cable boxes, just for standard digital TV itself, not that pesky analogue stuff of 8 years ago.  We also have a multitude of HD boxes and let’s not forget about HDDVR’s. There are boxes that have HDMI cords, others have component cables.  There are host boxes where you can have one DVR and watch that DVR from the ‘slave’ boxes which can be in other rooms in the house.  Some cable boxes are the size of two decks of cards, others are as large as an old record player, (remember record players?).  Basically there is a lot of equipment that technicians have to deal with.

The following conversation took place between a technician which installs this type of equipment and a co-worker who works behind the scenes with the different types of equipment.  In no way is this conversation a reflection on either of the two parties, it is however, a reflection on how fast things are changing in the field.

Technician: “I’m bringing these cable boxes back to you because the DVR portion of the box is either shut off or broken”

Co-worker:  “The cable box in your hand?  That’s the one that you are having DVR problems with?”

Tech: “Yes, and I have three more that I tried and they are all having the same problem.”

Co-worker: “Well the problem is that this particular box is not a DVR it is a straight HD box.”

Tech: “No it is an HD DVR combo box”

Co-Worker: “No I’m telling you this is a straight HD box.  There is another box that looks just like this one which is an HD DVR, but this particular box is HD only.”

Technician flips over the back exposing the bottom of the box and points at the cooling fan. “See there is the fan so it is a DVR.”

Co-Worker: “Cooling fan or not this is an HD box. I can tell because this one says DCH3200 and I know that the DCH3200 is an HD box.  The DCH3416 which looks exactly like a DCH3200 except that it says DCH3416 is the DVR.  The other way I can tell you is if you look inside the box, between the air vents you can see there is no hard drive.  If there is no hard drive it cannot record and if you can’t record it is not a DVR”

At this point another technician enters the conversation.  “You can tell by weight” he says, “This box is light in comparison to a DVR and that is because the hard drive is heavy, no question this is an HD box.”

Original technician realizes his mistake and is starting to chuckle.  “Okay” he says, “It’s an HD box but I don’t like it anymore, can I still give it back and get some DVR’s?”

Co-Worker goes and gets the tech some DVR’s which are completely different, different colour, different dimensions, different look figuring it would be easier for the tech to spot the difference amongst all the other pieces of equipment on the truck.

Tech: “This is an HD DVR?”

Co-worker: “Yes”

Tech: “How do you know for sure?”

“Because it says right on the front DCX3400”

“Wouldn’t it be easier if it said DCX3400 DVR”

“Yes, yes it would.  But then we wouldn’t get to talk nearly as much.”

“Well there is that.”

“Plus this box is a little heavier, it does have a cooling fan, and if you hold it at an angle and look through the grating you can see the hard drive”

“I’m getting to old for this.”

“I hear you brother, but now we have the difficult task of finding the correct power cord that powers this puppy!”

Technician looks like he wants to cry as they wander over to the 5 shelves of power cords

Posted in humour, Lifes Observations | Tagged , , | 2 Comments »

Here There Be Foxes

July 16, 2011 by Brian

Emerging from carrier

The other day we got a call from Sparrow our local wildlife rehabilitator.  There were two foxes that needed to be released.  It wasn’t skunks so I was down with it.  Not that I have anything against skunks, but we have had too many close calls between the husky and skunks, and many a nights we have arisen from our slumber with tears in our eyes due the odor of Pepe Le Pew. 

This morning we picked up the foxes. I believe it was the first time I’ve seen foxes up close and they are incredibly beautiful animals. When the foxes left the safety of the carriers and started running around the woods, well lets just say it was one of those indescribable magical moments that will last a long time for both my wife and I. 

I have been unable to download video onto this blog, so I only brought my trusty little camera down to the release rather than my supercool video camera.  My little camera does take some decent movies and I did manage to capture some of the excitement.  I also managed to create a YouTube account and posted the video here.  So this is my first appearance on YouTube.  Before you click on the link see the photo’s below.  I’d also like to take a moment to thank Robyn (aka Sparrow) and the good folks at Centre Wildlife Care for giving us the opportunity.

Posted in Lifes Observations | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments »

Is Everything Okay?

July 6, 2011 by Brian

We went to the Cracker Barrel for dinner.  If you have been to one Cracker Barrel you have been to all the Cracker Barrels because they are all the same.  We went there for breakfast over the weekend and decided to go again for dinner.

Walking into the restaurant the greeter asked me how my day was going and thanked me for coming to the Cracker Barrel.  The person who arranges for your seating asked me how my day was going and thanked me for coming to the Cracker Barrel.  The person who then seated me thanked me for coming to the Cracker Barrel. 

Our waitress took our order.  I ordered a hamburger steak with two country veggie sides.  We had a big discussion at what constituted a veggie, because I didn’t think fried apples should be classified as a vegetable.  I learned that it was ‘country vegetables’ which it seems are different from city vegetables.  That aside, I ordered the fried apples and the steak fries for my sides, and the meal came with some kind of rolls.  My wife ordered the country fried steak and she choose green beans and the fried apples as a side, but then changed the green beans to corn.

A manager came by and asked us how everything was going.  Some other staff member came by and asked how things were going and would I like a refill on my soda.  Then another manager came out with our rolls and assured us that our meal was coming right out, and of course wanted to know if we were doing okay.

At this point I made the comment to my wife that I was really getting sick and tired of people asking me if everything was okay.  

Our food came, our waitress did not bring the food, they have separate people for that.  I’m not sure how there are so many people out of work!  Cracker Barrel must have hired half the town.  Anyway, my wife’s plate not only had the country fried steak but had both green beans and corn along with the fried apples.

My meal also arrived with the fried apples and corn, I didn’t order corn but it looked good so I was happy with the mistake.  Our Waitress brought the bill and of course asked if everything was to our liking.  Seeing as we both had a mouthful of food we nodded ‘yes’.  I like the fact that they bring the bill first, that way I don’t have to wait for it when I want to leave.  We briefly looked over the bill to make sure they didn’t charge us for the extra side dish.  They didn’t.  A moment later somebody else showed up with my steak fries, and of course wanted to know if everything was okay.  Grrr!

Another manager showed up at the table and asked us if we were enjoying the meal and if everything was to our satisfaction.  I wanted to tell him everything was wonderful except for the fact that we were being constantly interrupted by staff people asking us if everything was okay.  But I kept my mouth shut.   My wife explained about all the food we got and the extra sides.  We made sure he knew we were not upset.  He said he would look into it, (not that we cared if he did or didn’t). 

Our waitress came back to refill our drinks, and of course wanted to know if everything was okay.  My wife made mention about the extra sides.  The waitress apologized and said she probably put the order in wrong.  We assured her that she didn’t because she had read it back to us and that we did get everything we ordered plus some.  Even after we assured her that all was good she apologized again, and hoped that our meal was to our satisfaction. 

I went to pay the bill.  All three cashiers were busy at the moment, but there was another employee standing there who asked me how my meal was, and wanted to make sure everything was okay.  He also assured me that a cashier would be free in just a moment and he would direct me to the cashier when one became available.  This stumped me a little bit,  I wear glasses but I’m not blind, certainly even a moron like myself would be able to figure out when a cashier was free.  But this guy did stay with me and tried to make small talk, all I really wanted was for him to go away.  Then two, count ’em, two cashiers opened up at the same time.  I took it upon myself to choose which one to go too and was heading to the closest one but I was wrong.  The man ushered me to the furthest one, so I took the extra half step not a big deal.  As he led me to the cashier he thanked me for choosing Cracker Barrel.   The cashier then asked me how I liked the hamburger steak and hoped everything was okay!  I was honestly amazed that I rejected all the witty sarcastic remarks that I could have made.  Instead I just thanked her very much and paid the bill and headed for the door.

I was so close.  I had my hand on the door and was heading outside.  But I wasn’t fast enough.  From behind I heard a voice talking to me.  I turned my head, an employee was opening the door for me and once again he hopped I had a pleasant dining experience and thanked me for choosing Cracker Barrel.  

I’m thinking the next time we go back and they constantly ask me if everything is okay I’m going to reply that no, everything is not okay.  I have Crohn’s disease so in about half an hour my stomach is going to hurt.   Also I work very hard at my job and I don’t get paid nearly enough.  I’m going to tell them that we heat our house using oil and I’m really worried about oil prices. I might throw in the fact that we have six cats and a husky and they are all getting up there in age and it seems like we are taking somebody to the vet every other week. And… and, well you did ask!

Posted in Lifes Observations | Tagged , , , | Leave a Comment »

Drives Me Crazy

June 30, 2011 by Brian

Things that drive me crazy:

I was sitting at a stoplight in the right hand lane.  I have two possibilities, I can go straight, or I can turn right.  The van beside me was in the left hand lane which means they have the option of going straight or turning left.  I’m minding my own business when the driver honks her horn.  I casually look over, and using a form of sign language she communicates to me that when the light turns green she is going to pull in front of me and turn right.  I smile and shake my head ‘no’.  She looks at me with her big eyes and nods her head vigorously that she needs to turn right.  I shrug and point behind me indicating that if she needed to turn right then she should be in the right line behind me and not in the left.  She rolls down her window and starts to say something to me.  I smile and shake my head ‘no’.  She starts a new kind of sign language that involves an ugly face and one finger, and lots of words coming out of her lips that thankfully I cannot hear.  The light turns green and she starts to pull ahead of me.  But she isn’t fast enough, the car behind me doesn’t let her in either.  I grin and travel on down the road. 

I’m not the one who got into the wrong lane. I’m not the one who wants to break the law.  I’m not the one who wants to hold up morning rush hour traffic.  Yet it seems from her gestures that I am somehow the bad guy.

I’m getting off an exit ramp and merging into traffic that is not moving.  Everybody is doing the right thing.  One car goes, the other merges, next car goes, next car merges.  Yet three cars behind me the driver does not wish to wait his turn and merge.  No, he is special.  He thinks it is okay to fly past all the other cars and then merge as the road disapears into one lane.  Then he gets upset with me when I don’t let him merge in front of me. 

For the love of all things, do not speed past me, cut in front of me and then slow down.   

By all means turn on your turn signal after you have already changed lanes.

Better yet don’t turn on your turn signal, but by all means slow way the hell down to make a turn without any warning.

Even better, I know you see me trying to make a left hand turn out of the gas station.  I wait because you are moving pretty fast.  Can you tell me why you wait till the last possible minute to turn on your turn signal?  Seriously I could have gone had I known that.  Thanks moron.

Don’t get upset with me when I fly past you at 70 miles an hour and toot my horn and scare the crap out of you because you are too busy texting and driving to realize you are slowly crossing into the passing lane doing 50 miles an hour in a 65 mile an hour speed zone, and had no idea I was there.

In fact don’t get upset with me when I toot my horn to scare the crap out of you because I look over and you are trying to drive and text at the same time.  If you had been driving and paying attention I wouldn’t have to scare the crap out of you in the first place.

When I look in the rear view mirror and you are putting on your makeup while sucking on my exhaust pipe all I really want to do is slam on my breaks.

Go ahead and tailgate me while I’m doing the speed limit or faster.  Depending on my mood I’ll probably go even slower.

If nothing else I ask two things:

A) Learn to use your turn signals.

B) Learn to merge!  I’m talking to you Pennsylvanians.  The people on the highway have the right of way, we don’t have to move over for you to merge.  You are the one that has to do the merging.  And while I am at it.  Don’t stop on the highway to let people in.  You only think you are being nice.  But have you given a thought to the people who have to come to a stop behind you.  It is a highway for crying out loud!

Stepping of my soap box now.

Posted in Lifes Observations | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment »

Do You Believe?

June 27, 2011 by Brian

Me in front of the Avondale Hotel

I would love for you to convince me that ghosts exist. But you can’t. You can tell me stories, you can show me all of your evidence, but unless you show me a ghost I’m probably going to roll my eyes.  

I’ve changed my mind.

The other day my wife and I decided to get some burning bushes for the front of our house.  We ended up in Philipsburg. Philipsburg is the home of Philip of Philips head screwdrivers.  You can even see the original building were Phil made his first screwdriver, rumor has it that it took him three additional years to come up with the screw.   It was a difficult three years, so difficult Philip suffered from horrible chest pain so he came up with a type of milk that relieved heartburn.

Usually when we are entertaining guests and bring them to Philipsburg I start with the screwdriver story, I’ve actually had one or two people wondering. The problem is I never know when to shut up, by the time I get to either Philips Milk of Magnesia or sometimes Philip Magnavox people begin to realize I’m making things up as I go.  Seriously though, this post is not about Philip or his town.  In fact Philipsburg has nothing to do with this story, except that we could not find burning bushes in Philipsburg.

We ended up going to Black Bear Nursery which is in Winburn over by Kylertown. Let me tell you about Kylertown. Population 426, according to the census bureau four hundred and forty two of the people are white one person is Indian the other two are unaccounted for.  As strange as it may seem, one of those 426 people is a co-worker of mine. Winburn Pa, according to the PA demographic Information has an estimated population is 105 people. 

We found ourselves driving deep in the heart of Winburn and there was no sign of anything.  We traveled down the deserted roads marveling at the beauty of the lush green forest that surrounded us.  We turned a corner and came across a building badly in need of repair from the direction we were traveling we could only see the backside.  Some of the windows on the first floor were cracked many on the second floor were boarded up.  Just as we were passing the building my wife saw a sign, “Avondale Hotel, Open for business” “Turn in!” my wife said, “Let’s stop and check it out!” The front of the building was done up for Memorial Day complete with lit up neon beer signs in each of the windows. The first thing I said to my wife was “I hope it is haunted”. The door was wide open and there were two grizzly looking guys sitting out front talking, as we parked the car they got up and headed inside.  My wife jumped out of the car and headed for the door.  I thought it best to guard the car.

Except for the young girl tending bar the front of the hotel was empty.  The girl explained to us that her father purchased the place a year ago and has slowly been restoring it.  They just got their liquor license but the kitchen and upstairs were still closed.  The ‘girl’ showed us a display case that held some of the treasures her father had found.  The Avondale was built about 100 years ago and burned down in its early years, restored and closed in the early 80’s and only re-opened a few short months ago.  The actual wooden bar was beautiful and was part of the original building.  I had fun running my hand over the 100 year old wood and thought about what tales this piece of ‘furniture’ could tell.  The girl showed us a ledger book along with some pictures. This is coal country and I could imagine the workers hooking up their horses to the hitching posts and sitting at the bar after a hard day’s work. 

My wife asked the girl if the place was haunted.  She told us that the contractors have told her that sometimes at night the 100yr old cowbell that hangs above the door will ring even when the door is closed.

I asked if I could meet her father, I just wanted to meet the man who would take on such a wonderful challenge.  She told us he was working and wouldn’t be back until late that night.  I apologized as I thought that one of the men that came inside must have been her father.  She looked at me oddly and asked me, “What men?” I told her about the two grizzly guys sitting outside. I got a blank stare in return.  My wife told her that they came inside just as we were parking the car.  We got the same blank stare.  As we turned to leave I noticed a picture above the bar, it was one of those pictures that was done in Sepia and made to look old.  “That guy!” I said.  “He was one of the men that came in here just as we pulled up.”  She looked at me and said, “You guys are serious? You saw that man come into this building?” 

“Yes” My wife and I answered together. 

“That” the girl said is George Womer!  He built this hotel 100 yrs ago!

Our first view of AvondaleAvondale front, nowMe in front of Avondale HotelAvondale now

Avondale Hotel, 100 yrs ago

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