Saturday morning, my friend Dave (not the one that e-mailed the list) came over and helped me set the new door in the gaping hole.

Maybe I should mention that we used to have a sliding glass door (sometimes called an Arcadia door) that lead to the backyard. It was a low quality, off-brand, cheap piece of crap that the builder saved money on. After nearly six years of use, it was worn out to the point that it was difficult for me (being the young, strapping former Marine that I am) to open and close – never mind my gorgeous wife. And, for some reason, the dogs keep insisting on being let in and out. Before you say “doggie door,” let me remind you that Sara, at 105 pounds of lap dog, and Logan, with his polynueropathy, would need a doggie door big enough for a cow, never mind any would-be burglars foolish enough to attempt entry.

Anyway, bright and early in the AM, I started to remove the old brokenness slider, and prep the opening for the new coolness double French Door. Dave showed up at 8, as promised, and by 9 he was on his way home and I was putting the finishing touches on the hardware. Now all it needs is trim moulding on the inside and stucco on the outside. That, and painting. (I’m going to have a painting weekend soon, in order to catch up some of these projects. Any volunteers?)

TMBWitW is happy that she can open and close the door without the help of the jaws of life, the dogs are relearning many years of habit (the old brokenness opened on the left, the new coolness opens on the right), and there is much less air loss around the new door. My finish skills are going to be put to the test, since the door is square true and plumb and the walls are not.

Pictures to follow, maybe. Depends on how hard Blogger has made it to upload them.

In the mean time, I hope you all had an enjoyable Father’s Day weekend. God bless you all! Yes, even you, the one hiding behind your keyboard!

My friend, Dave, sent this to me via e-mail:

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I came across this phrase in a book yesterday: “FENDER SKIRTS”. A term I haven’t heard in a long time, and thinking about “fender skirts” started me thinking about other words that quietly disappeared from our language with hardly a notice.

Like “curb feelers” and “steering knobs.” Since I’d been thinking of cars, my mind naturally went that direction first. Any kids will probably have to find some elderly person over 50 to explain some of these terms to you.

Remember “Continental kits?” They were rear bumper extenders and spare tire covers that were supposed to make any car as cool as a Lincoln Continental.

When did we quit calling them “emergency brakes?” At some point “parking brake” became the proper term. But I miss the hint of drama that went with “emergency brake.”

I’m sad, too, that almost all the old folks are gone who would call the accelerator the “foot feed.”

Didn’t you ever wait at the street for your daddy to come home, so you could ride the “running board” up to the house? Full disclosure: Dad’s car didn’t have running boards while I was growing up, but there were plenty of relatives with them. On their cars, I mean.

Here’s a phrase I heard all the time in my youth but never anymore – “store-bought.” Of course, just about everything is store-bought these days. But once it was bragging material to have a store-bought dress or a store-bought bag of candy.

“Coast to coast” is a phrase that once held all sorts of excitement and now means almost nothing. Now we take the term “world wide” for granted. This floors me.

On a smaller scale, “wall-to-wall” was once a magical term in our homes. In the ’50s, everyone covered his or her hardwood floors with, wow, wall-to-wall carpeting! Today, everyone replaces their wall-to-wall carpeting with hardwood floors. Go figure.

When’s the last time you heard the quaint phrase “in a family way?” It’s hard to imagine that the word “pregnant” was once considered a little too graphic, a little too clinical for use in polite company. So we had all that talk about stork visits and “being in a family way” or simply “expecting.”

I always loved going to the “picture show,” but I considered “movie” an affectation. More disclosure: I’ve always called them “movies”, plural. ‘Cause all the pictures (plural, again) moved.

Most of these words go back to the ’50s, but here’s a pure-’60s word I came across the other day – “rat fink.” Ooh, what a nasty put-down!

Here’s a word I miss – “percolator.” That was just a fun word to say. And what was it replaced with? “Coffee maker.” How dull. Mr. Coffee, I blame you for this.

I miss those made-up marketing words that were meant to sound so modern and now sound so retro. Words like “DynaFlow” and “Electrolux.” Introducing the 1963 Admiral TV, now with “SpectraVision!”

Food for thought – Was there a telethon that wiped out lumbago? Nobody complains of that anymore. Maybe that’s what castor oil cured, because I never hear mothers threatening kids with castor oil anymore!

Some words aren’t gone, but are definitely on the endangered list. The one that grieves me most is “supper.” Now everybody says “dinner.” Save a great word. Invite someone to supper. Discuss fender skirts.

Someone forwarded this to me. I thought some of us of a “certain age” would remember most of these.

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OK, fess up – how many do you miss? Which ones of these have you never heard? I was born in the early ’60s – and I was the fifth of an eventual seven. My older siblings helped me appreciate the Golden Age of television as it was setting, although we didn’t have a color TV until the mid ’70s. Not that we missed it, we were too busy playing outside all the time to worry about the TV.

God Bless you all! Whether you want to be blessed or not! It’s not your choice!

I hijacked this from Fred.

It seems to me that there is something special about today, besides it being Flag Day (is yours up? I meant your flag, ya weirdo!). Seems to me a branch of the service was founded today…

Oh, yeah! Happy 231st, Army!

Note: I am a Marine. Cut me, I bleed Gold and Scarlet. My older brother served in the Army, as did his wife (where they met, oddly enough) and I have no ill will towards them. Heck, they’re the only ones I talk to in the family, on a regular basis. I am only posting this because without all the members of the military family doing their jobs, the military of the United States would not be as formidable as they are. This is merely an acknowledgement of another branch of the service; I am not going all mushy and rooting for the Army, so don’t think that.

Carry on, and God Bless.

Please see previous disclaimer(s) for blessings. My legalese department is shut down for maintenance.

More information is coming out about the Haditha incident – less like My Lai, and more like “followed procedures, with collateral damage” – and, as I have said before, let’s wait until all the facts are in and the investigation is complete before putting these members of our military on trial.

The Most Beautiful Woman in the World (TMBWitW), to whom I am blessed to be married, is pregnant. The child will be referred to as The Most Beautiful Child in the World (TMBCitW) until it is born, or until we see the ultrasound with identifying characteristics. The first ultrasound revealed that it is not a liberal, as the backbone was clearly visible and developing.

Sunday morning, during a fit of domestication, I tried to take the alarm box (located in the master closet, behind the door) off the wall. With the side of my head. For whatever reason, this caused TMBWitW to panic and call her Momma, who promptly tried to convince her to either call 911 or get me to an emergency facility. At least, that’s what I think happened, as I don’t remember anything between turning to vacuum behind the door with the crevice tool and opening my eyes to hear my poor wife sobbing because I haven’t been responding to her for the last several minutes. It’s all good, the doctor gave me a clean bill of health, and told us to watch for several warning signs, blah blah blah, nausea, stiff neck, worsening headache, blah blah blah. Why, yes, yes I am very stubborn. Thank you for noticing.

How was your weekend?

God bless you all, and Paul, please feel free to use this disclaimer:

Legal Disclaimer: The aforementioned “blessing,” while given freely, is in no manner warrented, guaranteed, or contracted to actually deliver a blessing, real or imagined, unless the blessee wishes to receive said blessing in the manner in which it was given; i.e., with the love and grace of God, in the Chrisitan belief system, with no expection of reciprocation.