Thursday, 3 September 2026

I weakened at the words "last one" on eBay, and bought a package of the postcards that used to be sold at the now-defunct Sambo's Restaurant chain (note the lineup of packaged cards behind this one). Nostalgia can hit hard sometimes. Sunday mornings meant church at St. Theodore's in Westland, followed by breakfast at Sambo's (on the days when the church didn't have a Coffee and Donuts Social across the parking lot, in the activity hall--which used to be the original church building). I still have the small plush tiger that my father bought me, which has a beanbag belly. It cost a little over $18, but so what? I do worse with scratch-off lotteries.

Pulled up some old photos from 2011, when I joined a tour group from my Post and we went on the USS Abraham Lincoln. The media is covering its arrival in Thailand now, and remarking on all the rust... well, yea, it's in salt water and it's steel. The dry dock time is going to be substantial, that's for sure. What's really a shame is that it should've never been out to see for 286 days, because we're in a war-that-isn't-a-war right now. Families who have lost loved ones are having to fight for benefits, and those injured are having to fight to have their injuries recognized; this administration is hiding the true casualty/injury numbers.

I hadn't thought about Marc Maron for a while now, and decided to look up what he's doing on IMDB ("Stick" seems to be this year's major project, which I can't watch because we don't subscribe to Apple TV or Hulu or Netflix or any of the other channels). His live shows are too far out of reach for me now, financially and distance-wise. Used to be, when I lived in L.A., I got spoiled because I got to see a lot of great comedians for free every week--and have the occasional spectacular encounter, like when I met Robin Williams. As a Potluck and sort-of showcase comic, the Comedy Store would give aspiring comedians free run of the place (if, like me, you could stay out of the way, not fanboy/fangirl over people, and didn't do anything wrong). I wonder if "Maron" is available on DVD somewhere for a reasonable price; I never saw the series for the same reason of not having access to the IFC network.

I got up around 9 a.m. and drove into town, then dropped off the random items at the VFW in Manistique, which is where the rummage sale for Eva Burrell Animal Shelter will be held tomorrow. I don't anticipate going, but I might get bored enough. On the way back, I stopped at a yard sale and came across a box of 40+-year-old comics, but the guy selling them wanted $3 per copy; I don't even want to look them up to see if they actually have some value to them, because I'm really not big on the comic book scene (cardboard, bagging, grading etc.). Otherwise the house just had the usual clutter. The woman running the thing said something about having "a ton of books" and that interested me, but she didn't feel like pulling them out today.

I've left the tent up, and I'm using it as a secondary storage location so that I can put transfer station items into it for Saturday. For now, it's also storing the Mongoose mountain bike, which I haven't done anything with yet, but which is in need of several minor repairs... if I intend to use it. It's good to know that it's actually got some value to it so resale is an option.