Jupiter Jones Band

Friday afternoon in MHC.  IT'S FREE!  Lots of folks enjoying a pleasant afternoon. 

The concerts are held every Friday afternoon on Arendell (main) street in Morehead City during the summer months. 

Jupiter Jones is a band from Greenville, NC. They play a variety of music from bluegrass to rock and roll. They were really quite good. 

From the "East Carolinian" campus news:

The intergalactic assemblage of multidimensional musicians known as Jupiter Jones continues to produce some of Greenville’s most desired and sought after music.

Winners of the 2009, 2010 and 2011 award for Best Band by Greenville’s Mixer Magazine, Jupiter Jones is quickly becoming the most coveted cover band in Pitt County and throughout eastern North Carolina.

Labor Day

It has been a slow week with little to write. With the long Labor Day weekend coming up, hopefully I will find something interesting to post. Heading to Morehead City today. Maybe I will do a little fishing, lay by the pool, or just chill out. Anyway, hope everyone has a safe and happy weekend. 

     

"Labor Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the first Monday in September, that celebrates the economic and social contributions of workers. It was first nationally recognized in 1894 to placate unionists following the Pullman Strike. With the decline in union membership, the holiday is generally viewed as a time for barbeques and the end of summer vacations." Wikipedia. 

Robert Lawrence's Grandchildren

Robert sent these pictures of his grandchildren making some memories this summer. Robert's description follows:

"Will 8, and Jonathan 10, and I spent a week fishing and enjoying the beautiful summer. We caught several Rock, Drum, Flounder and lots of Blue Crabs. We visited The Aurora fossil museum and found a number of sharks teeth. The ferry ride from Aurora to Bayview was exciting as we prepared to tour Bath and talk about Blackbeard. We finished the week by going to Wake County Speedway Friday night to see the races. Weeks like this makes me reflect on summers past, spent with my Grandfather, and brings realization to the shortness of life."

Thank you Robert for sharing these photos with your classmates. I love to see items of interest from other people. I encourage others to send me information on their lives, children, grandchildren, etc. I know that people are following the blog because we have over 9,634 page views. My life is not that interesting but most times the blog includes information about me or my family. Please send me something about you. It will be much better than my boring dribble. Your classmates really are interested in YOU. 

E-mail me at mangumf@aol.com

Lego Generation

If any of my classmates have grandchildren in the  6 to 12 yearold group, you have certainly heard of Legos. If you haven't heard of them, your grandchildren have.

My grandchildren are no exception. Both love building things with Legos. The 8 year old is very good at it. Following is a house that he put together that had nearly 1000 parts. 

He has put together kits that were much more complicated than this one. The 11 yearold put together the following Royal Fighter while his brother put the house together. 

We should have bought lots of Lego stock. We would be rich. 

Shackleford Banks

Shackleford Banks near Morehead City, Beaufort and Atlantic Beach has long been a favorite for beach lovers. If you have a boat, you can anchor it in the shallow waters on the soundside and wade ashore. There are also several water taxis that will take you to the island for a fee. On the weekends there will sometimes be hundreds of boats anchored off the island. During the week there are few boats and you can have the island almost all to yourself. We usually try to take the grandchildren there a couple of times each summer.

We went on Thursday this week and there was only a few people on the island. The weather was overcast and there was a nice breeze to keep us cool. 

This is 5/6's of the group. The sixth person, me, is taking the picture. 

The US Navy

The US Navy has changed from the ships that we remember. This one was docked at the MHC docks this week. I was not sure what type of ship it is or from which branch of the services so I tried to find it on the Internet.  There was no name on the vessel just the number "21". 

Not shown is the small boat with armed sailors patrolling around the ship to keep smaller boats, like me, from getting too close. 

I found the following article by the NY Daily News about the ship. Please read it. You will find it very interesting. 

USS New York: Navy's new ship, made with World Trade Center steel, to dock in city on Monday

BY STEPHANIE GASKELL / DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2009, 7:43 PM

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JOHN P. CURTIS/NAVY

The Navy assault ship USS New York sails through the Mississippi River after departing Northrop Grumman Ship Systems in Avondale, La.

RELATED STORIES

• City, feds, advocates work to warn WTC workers nationwide of looming signup deadline for aid  
• World Trade Center owners’ bid to sue airlines for 9/11 attacks blocked 
• Deadline for federal 9/11 Victims Compensation Fund nears
• Bone marrow drive to benefit 9/11 hero cop battling blood cancer possibly tied to Ground Zero work

HO

The USS New York has 7.5 tons of steel from the World Trade Center in its bow.

AP

In this photo provided by the U.S. Navy, members of the Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base New Orleans honor guard render honors USS New York.

TAKE OUR POLL

USS New York

Will you go to see the USSNY when it is in town?

	Yes. Absolutely. It's a symbol of Ground Zero rebuilt.
	No, it will be around for a long time. What's the rush?

Norfolk, Va. - It's the pride of the Navy - and it's finally heading our way.

The New York, made with 7.5 tons of steel from the wrecked World Trade Center, is leaving its home port of Norfolk Naval Station on Thursday for its maiden voyage toNew York City.

"The excitement is huge," said Navy spokesman Chief Scott Boyle. "The ship and the crew have been building up to this point for a couple years."

The ship, a San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock, has a crew of 360 - including dozens of New Yorkers. The ship's captain, Cmdr. Curtis Jones, is fromBinghamton.

"The New York ties and the emotions that come with this ship, it's almost like a homecoming for the crew," Boyle said.

The bow of the $1 billion ship was forged with steel recovered from the rubble at Ground Zero.

One of its main missions is to transport Marines - it can carry an entire battalion and their equipment, including a 38-ton amphibious assault vehicle, landing craft and an MV-22 Osprey aircraft.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/uss-new-york-navy-new-ship-made-world-trade-center-steel-dock-city-monday-article-1.380498#ixzz2chwyhQwE

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/uss-new-york-navy-new-ship-made-world-trade-center-steel-dock-city-monday-article-1.380498

More Shrimp and Grits

I have been informed that the best shrimp and grits are made with large Gulf Coast shrimp. Sondra Chance says that they get the large 12 count shrimp for $2.50 to 3.00 a pound off the boat in Biloxi.

Her recipe: "You need the big Gulf of Mexico shrimp, a good thick bacon chopped and a can of rotel tomatoes and some cajun seasoning and then you will  have the best shrimp & grits you have ever tasted."  She also uses stoned ground grits not quick grits. 

Well I would love to try her shrimp and grits. In the meantime I will have to settle for my recipe with the Carteret County shrimp. What I cooked tonight wasn't half bad. 

I know that most people prefer white wine with seafood, but the Pinot noir was very nice. 

Happy Birthday!

I can't believe that my oldest daughter turned 39 Sunday.  I know some of our classmates have children that are older, but it is still a hard for me to comprehend. It seems like only yesterday that she was just a toddler. Well she is not a toddler now. She has two children of her own (11 and 9). 

This is Kristen and her husband Sean at Finz Resturant in Beaufort where we had lunch on Sunday. The weather was good for a change so we ate outside on the deck.  That's Taylor's creek in the background. 

Etta James

Etta was best known for her hit "At Last", but she was a prolific blues singer that recorded lots of great songs. Click on the Youtube link below to hear one of my favorites. 

           http://youtu.be/u9sq3ME0JHQ

If you are a real blues fan like me, you might like Freddie Kings rendition of the same song. 

"Freddie King (September 3, 1934 – December 28, 1976), thought to have been born as Frederick Christian, originally recording as Freddy King, and nicknamed "The Texas Cannonball", was an influential American blues guitarist and singer. He is often mentioned as one of "the Three Kings" of electric blues guitar, along with Albert King and B.B. King, as well as being the youngest of the three."

      http://youtu.be/EkwHi3ZUfNs

Some Old Cars that You will Remember

These images were taken from Pinterest. They should bring back memories of the fifties and sixties. 

I'm sure some of you have owned cars like these at some time and wish that you had not sold them.  All we have now are memories. Sometimes the memories are better than the real thing. 

1960 Chevy

Metropolitan, not sure of the year. You didn't see many of these. 

1960 Chevrolet convertible. 

1955 Ford four door sedan. 

1950 Ford. 

1962 Pontiac. 

1960 Corvair. Ralph Nader said it was unsafe at any speed. 

1960 Chevy 2 door hardtop was a beauty. 

1959 Plymouth convertible. Bought one used for $250 in 1963 and drove it to college. 

Loved the fins. 

1963 Austin Healey 3000 Mk II. I had one of these too. Bought it used from my landlady in 1969 or 70. 

Her daughters had driven it to college. A real cool looking car, but a piece of British junk. 

1953 dodge pickup. This one has been repainted. The green is correct but the bed is suppose to be black. How do I know?  I have owned one since the mid seventies(40 years). Probably the ugliest truck ever made but can't  bring myself to part with it. It just sits there taking up space and getting older. A lot like me. 

Apple Jacks

This is a followup on the "ugly apple tree" posting. 

Becky finally got busy and made some apple jacks with some of the ugly apples. I must admit that they were pretty good. We try to eat healthy so she fried them in canola oil. I'm sure that lard would have been better. None the less, I was able to choke down two of them after dinner. 

Now if I only had some Wickles Pickles.