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The End of an Era
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Miscellany
- Hits: 2318
After a dozen or so missed calls, telephone tag, the Nephew and I finally connect.
There's news, but it waits until after he's told me about the big night out with Troy, Troy, one of the restaurant's more pleasant demon's, partier extraordinaire, after we split up on our last night out he and his buddies made their way there...and, no explanations beyond "Worse Night Ever...", which could mean all sorts of things but in this I suspect it's just a sigh of "Too Much Partying". And - other news, he's found himself a girlfriend, a 35 year old hooker, he sounds excited, think of all the money he's saving...
Peculiar.
And then there's the news, finally, yes, the restaurant sold. Last week. Chinese owner for the Property, a Lebanese owner for the business. It will change hands the end of February. And that will be the end of the institution - the customers, they're all part of the cult of the owner, without him, most will no longer come. It will not be the same, for better or worse, but the nephew, he's met the new owners, he's relieved, looks forward to reclaiming his life, 7 years there is a long time...
He's confident he'll get another job, regular hours, less hours, I don't know, he's had it pretty good - I wonder if remembers how to work, I don't know any restaurants that would hire him, but we'll see...
The restaurant, it will need to reinvent itself, what this means for the staff, the imported foreign workers, well, I'm curious. The final Valentines trip, work a few days, see what's in store...doubtless the final parade of regulars, the ones we like, the demons of hospitality, the End of an Era.
The Staffordshire Hoard
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Found
- Hits: 1963
The greatest hoard of Anglo-Saxon Treasures ever found, discovered in 2009 by a metal detectorist near the village of Hammerwich in Staffordshire, England.
Links:
Bezoars, Toadstones & Madstones
- Details
- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Ideas & Questions
- Hits: 2281
In which precious stones, usually of animal origins, are used to treat and cure a wide variety of ailments. Bezoars, stony concretions formed in the bellies of animals, were long considered antidotes against poison, and in fact were found to work against certain Arsenic based poisons. Toadstones were similar but derived from fossils (not the head of toads as erroneously believed), and Madstones would prevent rabies if stuck into the wound or bite of a mad dog.
Links on Wikipedia:
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bezoar
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toadstone
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madstone_(folklore)
And one on the History of Geology:
A Grand Piano on Ice
- Details
- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Dreams
- Hits: 2018
...a pleasant winters evening, there's a park with a frozen lake, an amphitheater descending to it, just a few meters from the shore there stands a grand piano with bench.
I park the jeep and go down the stepped seats to the shore, wonder, the weather is so unseasonably nice, if the ice will hold me, but it's holding the grand piano, isn't it?
Stepping onto the ice, it breaks beneath me, I go into the water, there's a powerful undertow and I feel myself being dragged around the lake, under the water, but manage to grab onto something and pull myself out...
...a couple of girls, standing near, are watching, one tall and thin, the other shorter and curvy, the tall and thin one jumps in after me, going to attempt a rescue but I've freed myself, only now she's all wet...
We walk together out of the amphitheater, to the street above, both soaking wet, I'm grateful for her attempt at saving me, I'll give them both a ride home so she can change their clothes...
...beside the lake, on a steep stepped slope, there's a young skinhead truck driver, he's got a tuk-tuk parked behind him and is seated beneath on a step, only the tuk-tuk is at a steep angle, the wheel overhangs the step, and I go to warn him, yell watch out, but he's engrossed in talking to someone, ignores me, and the tuk-tuk falls forward onto his back, he's pushed forward but keeps talking....
The girls, I want to give them a ride home, feel bad she got soaked, but now I can't find my jeep, it must have been towed, and the parking lot to the amphitheater is filling up with cars, there must be a concert later, there's people on the street, mobs, fighting, it's busy all of a sudden, I'm upset about my jeep being towed, the girls assure me they're fine, I go into my wallet, to offer them money for a cab, I've got an American $20 and $50, offer the wet girl $50 for her inconvenience, I can't afford this, can't afford to find my jeep and pay the towing and storage, she takes it, is debating, her friend is telling her no, she's thinking it over...
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