Leave it to me to screw up the BB end times. Grrrrrr

Others said it would happen when the Mayan calendar ran itself out.

The gospel of John says its once all time, which we aren't in control of.... expires.

A couple of local stoners I know, adamantly claim it'll happen when every last word has been spoken.

All I know is I miss you folks, ......genuinely....just, ...miss you folks. :o(

Goodnight

Was cleaning out the garage.....found a 25+ year old HP tower from a long long dead computer, covered in dust. Hmmmm....I wonder. Oh yeah, ...YES!! Loaded. Weeks of decades old ,continuous, EBay BB chat messages from circa late 90's still in the queue. LOL. SteamBoatBill stirring the pot.....Ebozo's.....well, twisted opinions on everything. But nothing.....nothing was quite as disturbing as bb-boo's missives on how to attract the weirdo shoe sniffer guys to bid on your auctions. I'm not kidding. Mrs Briguy and I spent good 1/2 hour roaring with laughter. "Make sure you put into your description they're NOT washed, very well worn.....they'll get into bidding wars with each other!"

Mrs Briguy was like...."Wait, wasn't she the totally normal lady with the big dog (she had a great dane) we met at those Chicago BB cookouts? (yes). She was into that sort of twisted kink??.....No honey, she was into watching her PayPal account swell ever larger, .....aaaand implying to the disturbed you could SNIFF used women's shoes was a method she stumbled on (and perfected). Ahhhhhh, those early days........ What great fun. :o)

You realize what this means, don't you?

Centuries from now, archeologists will dig up your old computer towers. Read such stuff......then send your great great grandkids updates on exactly how twisted you actually were.

Just a pleasant thought for you all to drift off to sleep with tonight.... :o) :o)

On the bright side, next time I get drunk and do something stooopid in Indiana......looks like I've got a relative I can call in the statehouse!

The future looks bright. :o)

Also -- a frozen solid 1/4 carcass of a deer her brother shot, including 10 lbs of ground venison. LOL!! (that,...I actually KNOW what to do with that -- much more then the bleached root ball of a dead tree). I'm simply HAPPY, she, as well as my sister in law, managed to not come back with lost kittens, puppies, racoons, etc. Things NOT alive and needy, ....are much easier to deal with. Whew. (close one).

Give me some time. Soon I'll restart and publish a new Fox Fire series of books. You know, 21st century inputs on what to do when a 60 lb frozen partial carcass of a dead critter is delivered, unexpectedly, into your kitchen. Yes, they'll be a chapter in there about bleached driftwood too. :o)

Now if you'll excuse me, she reports she's "dead tired". I'm going to hold her and run my fingers though her hair until she falls asleep. It's dawning on me that this 10+ days she was gone has been the longest we've ever been apart. Did I mention her eyes sparkle?....they do...they SPARKLE. :o)

May you all find simple joy in this world.
Have a blessed night.

Me?....I'm left here, along with my brother in law, equally dissed, both wondering "what just happened to our wives??" Its OK. We're adults, and eating cheap hot dogs as we wonder what our completely intense wives are up to..... pretty much the daily fare anyways. :o)

She called this morning, breathless. Guess what?....."We went to a tiny one room 1860's brick diner and ordered a pizza sammich!!!!"...from a place right along the Ohio river. They used to ride their bikes there to do this as kids in the 70's. It's still there!!....the SAME woman who ran it is still alive, now in her 90's!! They walked in and she said, unsolicited - "haven't seen you two in awhile". lol. She reports they both gasped, stunned, ...but made sure they did order that sammich! Then they walked down to the beach on the edge of the Ohio, munching down their food, as they waded knee deep into the river, collecting shells..... juuuuust like they did as kids.

Next stop was to visit "Cousin Earl" on the Indiana side of the river. His family looked at them like they were lost hippies. "He's at work" So they asked, well....when does he get off? (another blank stare)....He's up in Indianapolis girls,.....you know, at the state capitol. He's a two term elected state rep. Ah, ha ha ha!!!...its funny because her family and mine were sort of similar, dirt poor, barefoot, questionable education,...the we make our own liquor (it's cheaper) sort of folks. Both sisters are now horrified. They report cousin Earl was a likable enough sort of fellow,... but....uuuhm,well....pretty "dense". Now he's a two term congressman....BAWAHAHAHA! (hey - beats ending up in Super Max).

All I could add was....well girls, ....welcome to America! :o)

She comes home tomorrow. I've already mowed the grass, picked pretty flowers & put them into a vase, cleaned the kitchen......and made dang sure I've picked up every bit of soiled underwear and put it properly into the hamper.

I sure do miss her. :o)

I ended up bulldozing it all, saving only one kennel for our last remaining dog. That in itself, is reserved for our last dog who still doesn't quite grasp he screwed up -- you sleep outside tonight!!. I guess I'm not my father, for I can't even be mean to even one last goofed up idiot dog. Last time I tossed him out there...., Mrs Briguy immediately led him back inside, scowling at me with her evil eye...."WHY is our dog locked in that outside pen?!?!"...... (oh crap).

Of course, my fathers world of dogs that existed to hunt pheasants, is long gone. Our current Springer Spaniel exists only as a pet, knowing simply that he gets treats for barking at the mailman. Sigh. :o(

The Briguy family (and our hapless dog).....will likely NOT survive the apocalypse.

And......what a place! Built in 1925 at the zenith of the public theater craze, it was (still is) an edifice of shimmering Italian marble, gold leaf, and art deco statues, all of it staring down with us throughout the show. Absolute opulence. I don't think I was the only Dead Head who wandered in with our $5 tickets that night and literally gasped out loud......"Oh wow.....uuuhm...golly gee.....are we in the right place??"

Little did we know, that was the last night in 46 years our local Sistine Chapel of the arts would hold a public event. :o(

What inspired this post?.....a brief blurb on the local news. 46 years later and 40+ million repair dollars -- the Uptown theater has been refurbished! It survived. Opening soon to performances again.

I feel the urge to just wander in there, sit again in the first row of the upper deck, close my eyes and ponder deeply......what the heck happen to all my glorious hair!! Its been a rough 1/2 century folks . :o(

Interesting aside. The Uptown Theater had its final demolition orders signed three times. Then a pair of plucky little birds, Peregrine falcons, decided to nest on the upper reaches of the treacherous fire escape to raise their babies (much to the horror of Chicago's pigeon population). At the time, there were only something like 10-12 mated pairs of those left in the entire world, so the EPA nixed the demo plans. God...... might just be a bird watcher....or quite possibly a Dead Head. :o)

Betcha didn't see this post coming. File it with the eclectic nature of the old BB.

Nite all!

It's been awhile. Let's see, updates. I'm still outrageously good looking (and modest). Mrs Briguy and I are still together (34 years in Sept)......AAAAAND, as of yesterday, she is now officially retired as a teacher. Let's all hope the decrepit state of Illinois doesn't fold up shop before her first pension check arrives.

I'm also sitting at home cooking (very hot temps here), as my 22 year old Saturn SUV is currently in the shop (dead alternator). Mrs Briguy keeps initiating arguments about it saying its "time" to move on.....but hey, i still like the thing and I'm also convinced I look "cool" in it (plus its long ago paid for).

Still metal detecting as a hobby. These are the glory days, when all the local schools are off for the summer. I spent last night overlaying 1870 plot maps on top of current athletic fields, looking for a hint of where to go. Seems its working, as before it got hyper hot today I went out this morning and dug up a 1926 wheat penny (Yea - for me! I broke the century mark - "100 years old or older")...Actual value?.....about 5 cents....but let's not harsh my joy. :o) So I'm currently staring at two 5 gallon glass jars filled with loose modern coins that I've dug up over the last several years. Nasty discolored orange and black quarters, etc. Sigh.......time to start rolling them up, Daddy needs a new alternator. :o( .....So far I've come up with 32 reasons to procrastinate starting this.....

Took a relaxing/fishing vacation last week in Wisconsin w/ Mrs Briguy. Eating out, visiting a winery, hiking in nature, getting screwed by the Amish for over priced fudge -- that sort of stuff. Literally caught only two fish for dinner and that was it (they were yummy). Still fun though. Of course SOMEHOW, i was also talked into visiting the Goodwill outlet site in Appleton. Holy Molly, what an eye opener. I always assumed such places were quiet areas, you know, old ladies milling around pondering do I buy this used salt shaker or not.....Nuh Uhh!!....Each time they rolled out a new bin it was like replaying the fall of Atlanta. KA-BOOM!!....people running, screaming, clothes literally flying up into the air, complete utter madness. Safe to say I will NEVER join you ladies for a day of "thrifting". Mrs Briguy bought three books and believe it or not, found a genuine piece of rose glass depression ware (cost her all of 25 cents) How it managed survived the madness I saw intact - is anyone's guess. I have a new respect now for you EBAY listing mavens. In comparison, the stamp sellers actually ARE old boring fuddy duddies.

OK, just heard a "ding". We're having homemade lasagna tonight. Time to pull it out of the oven.

Hope everyone I remember is still healthy, happy, and doing well.

Brian (TheBriGuy)

5-6 years ago I got shipped four tiny sticks from the Burpee catalog of 100% pure strain Concord grapes (a bonus given free because I bought other seeds). Sort of like those "approvals" they used to send young stamp collectors in the mail circa 1950's. So I planted them, forgot about it....aaaaand there are now beautiful purple bunch filled tendrils, stretching across the low branches of the swamp maples up to THREE yards over. Four plants are now 642+. My direct next door neighbor commented over brats and beers, that he's worried because his young kids keep munching them like candy. I told him to relax. "I can attest that those are a 100% catalog certified pure strain of Concord grapes. He paused for a moment looking at me.... and burst out laughing.

I suspect a similar scenario is responsible for all that kudzu across the deep south.........

As for the tomatoes, I'm stunned too. We ended up with 15 plants as wide as your outstretched arms....and equal in height to me (i'm 6'1"). Roughly 50 tomatoes on each. We don't even possess enough Ball jars for all this! Even Mrs Briguy has run out of tomato based casseroles to try.

The year before I harvested six tomatoes....as in exactly SIX individual tomatoes....LOL!! Everything else in our garden seemed to curl up and died off meekly. Except for the beets and the Zucchini....i ended up with like 150 zucchini. Don't ask me how many times I've eaten tomato stuffed zucchini surprise this summer.

Functional question How is it you're able to post from a cruise ship? Some sort of magical ocean wi-fi? Elon Musk Star Link? Just wondering.

Lynne Oh, such attitude is common around here. Apparently something in our water leads to great tomatoes as well as deep personal entitlement. Earlier this year a flood took out a bridge everyone uses to commute over. The replacement cost was estimated at over eight million dollars. The local paper was soon filled with dozens of letters to the editor demanding that WE shouldn't have to pay for that, because that's why we have a GOVERNMENT. I wanted to hunt down those writers, grab them by the neck, and chant "E Pluribus Unum" three times.

I just read back my own post and realize I've literally plagiarized the Sherwood Anderson short story "The Egg" !

Well, guess what?...I didn't get paid for that missive. Hopefully, I added enough tomato flavoring to it to keep his estate from suing the crap out of me.

Again, have a blessed day.

Brian

The end result is a bumper crop. Case after case of gorgeous heirloom tomatoes. REAL tomatoes mind you, plump red, juicy, and full of FLAVOR. Nearly unrecognizable compared to their grocery store cousins, who are sickly pink, hard as rocks, and contain less flavor then the corrugated boxes they were shipped in.

I was there standing over them, whispering sweet nothings again, as I picked perfect ready ones. "Remember the kitchen 'lil feller?....you're going back there....its BLT night!" It was then I was hailed by a long low whistle. The new neighbor of sorts....his own back yard touches mine kitty corner. He called out "Man.....did you get lucky" My mind raced. Lucky?....did he just say lucky? He kept going. "Those look beautiful! ..."each one of those is like....two bucks plus at the store.....you could buy a new car now!" I walked over to him, three of the best beauties in hand as a gift, to make our first introduction. I'm not going to lie. I was beaming. I had the same sort of contented smile I imagine a father has, as he watches his daughter up on the podium, receiving her new Olympic medal.

Dude ...just....wouldn't....shut ...up. Nice enough fellow, but he kept on with "being lucky". Even suggested I pass out a basket of them to every house up and down the block. ....because, you know, that would be the "right" thing to do. I finally unclenched my teeth and said "I think the 'right thing" word you're looking for is "compulsory". They used to use that word a lot in situations like this....back in 1958 Soviet Russia!!" He was a bit....uuuuhm... taken aback. However, I completed the rest of the conversation politely and headed back in. Silently fuming.

[Enter Mrs Briguy] "I see you've met the new guy back there.....what's he like?" Grrrrrrr, I responded. "He's sadly typical". Then I opined "I bet that entitled dork will be paving over his entire yard soon with asphalt, then breaking some glass over it....so he feels at home like the Chicago he escaped from."

Last I saw of Mrs Briguy she had her head elevated towards the heavens whispering something. I suspect it was that same Lord help me I've married Archie Bunker plea again. I get it. I've blown it. Now the onus is on her yet again. She'll have to bake a pie or cookies or something....in order meet the wife over there and explain I'm actually a nice guy......who simply spent 500 hours of effort under the hot Sun....all for a tomato.

Go ahead. Say what you will. Just bite into one of these tomatoes first...and you'll be on my side :o) BTW --(we're going to can the overflow, NOT pass them out to strangers)

-------------------------

Anyhoo, I just felt the need to express myself via the written post on the internet. (buying a journal and ball point pens costs money) Plus, I know the BB chat has always enjoyed my musings on stamps, gardening, woefully failed fishing trips, whatever. So enjoy.

I hope everyone is turning this wonderfully warm clear summer day into a blessed one. I love you all.

Brian (Briguy)

It used to be all you had to do was say something negative about cats....and BOOM....tons of angry vitriol.

Where is Ebozo when you need him? (I know -dead). Steamboat Bill is in heaven too, laughing.....nice try ya hapless fool...get up here, and I'll show you how to rile up the ladies.....grrrr.

Part of a chat room....is....well ..chatting!

Life is......interaction. Don't lose what made it special. Go ahead, rip me a new one for complaining. I'd welcome it.

I miss the give and take :o(

Rant stated....hope all are having a blessed day....................

Any one of you might wake up tomorrow and find me sleeping in my car, parked in your drive!

I spent almost three hours sniffing around today. Got all of $1.08 in filthy modern clad and a rusty Matchbox car. Grrrrr.

Still....its WAY cheaper then getting hooked on golf, so I've got that going for me. :o)

Nice to see some old s/n's from the past again. I'm serious.....when my buddy and I return to that leech infested swamp, I'll post about our results. Finding an 1855 coin around here is quite unusual. So yeah.....we'll be going back!.....we'll be wearing hand me down pantyhose too!....we'll find exactly what those leeches are guarding!

May you and your loved ones all have a blessed Memorial day. Enjoy your families, eat too much, lose a few coins in the grass while you're at it. :o)

I figure that I have to make a post about once per year, because you are all wonderful people whom I still to this day think about. So how about a Mrs Briguy story?

Many remember me as the weirdo stamp collector, but I have other hobbies too. I hunt, metal detect, fish, etc (you know -- guy stuff). In my 15+ years of serious metal detecting I've learned a few tricks that have led me to hundreds and hundreds of old silver coins. Pretty much impossible today to head to the city park and find one of those anymore, because....well.....people like me have been there already. Old silver coins aren't like mushrooms -- they don't grow back next year. So serious "detectorists" have had to adapt. One way is to spend the cold unhospitable winter months researching. That involves pulling up online the old 1870 plot maps of your county and transposing them over a current one. AH HA!!!......in the back of this old field there was once two homesteads and a barn! Given that sort of heads up its usually not very hard....utter silence as you wander the area, then suddenly buzzes, grumbles, and static pops. Human created metallic debris, usually rusting iron bits left from long ago forgotten lives, perhaps a foot down in what is now a cut flat soybean field. Time to make bigger and bigger circles slowly, adjusting your gain way up to hear any specific squeak of what you're looking for.

What we're after is that silver thimble a little girl lost under a long gone apple tree, trying to repair a hole in her sock (sometimes engraved with her name!). Perhaps it'll be an old Indian head penny that bounced out of a workers pocket back in 1862, ....you get it. This works in water too, as modern (well, the expensive ones) detectors are water proofed. Late last year, I found a small creek, surrounded by expensive modern homes. The homes are worthless to detect.....they've been there only 10 years. However the old creek....oh my goodness that creek, has been flowing through the area since before white men arrived.

My first efforts of dabbling there resulted in a 1915 silver dime! Second target turned out to be a 1855 large cent, one of the original copper pennies the size of a modern quarter. Oh yeah, I'm hooked now. I also don't do this alone. My detecting buddy is a fellow church member and the two of us being kind honorable Christians (ssshhh, don't mention to him what you know of me) we have a pact. We share together the secret spots we find. So back we came together, to shuffle slowly through that fetid swampy water waist deep. Both of us old grey men, with $1000+ in electronics strapped to us, looking like crazy 2024 versions of Robo Cop.

It......uuuuhm....well...it didn't end well. Ever see the movie "Stand By Me"? Oh yeah, two old guys screaming in terror, stripping off our clothes, as we yanked dozens of hungry leeches off each other. Must have been quite the sight for anyone passing by.

[Act 2]
Fast forward to the first week of May 2025. The two leech victims are now sitting next to the Fox river in Wisconsin, trying to catch walleyes. Enter a third character to the story, a local we fish with who is very much an interesting fellow. By that I mean SCARY....but interesting. He's 78 years old now, but remains one of those no nonsense type guys that people just look at quickly and say -- lets not mess with him. He did THREE combat tours in Viet Nam as a door gunner in a chopper, and still to this day he has utterly no problem with being right in the middle of a bar fight. As we sipped our chilled brandy (never did get a walleye) he got drunk enough to start telling us war stories. One doozy was about his buddy, only two days in country, being beaten unconscious in the bathroom of a Saigon bar. Why you ask? He laughed at the guy next to him at the urinal, a hard azz special forces soldier who dropped his pants and revealed he was wearing........pantyhose.

Why pantyhose you ask? Apparently ALL the tough as nails special forces guys wore them over there. The reason is simple. As you slowly creeped through swamps and flooded rice paddies, the pantyhose prevented leeches from being able to latch onto you. I looked at my detecting buddy. He was looking at me. in unison we both blurted out -- "Does your wife still have any pantyhose?!?"

Act 3, back in Illinois.
[Briguy] Honey, do you still have any old pantyhose?
[MrsBriguy] Are you saying its time for me to shave my legs?
[Briguy] Oh, of course not.....I want them for me.
[Mrs B] Whaa..uuuh....whatever for??
[Briguy] To wear, of course.
[Mrs B] *long pause* Did you not see the result of the last election?.....the woke transgender stuff isn't in vouge anymore.
[Briguy] I'm not going to a gay bar to dance.....I'm going to wade into a swamp wearing them.
[Mrs B] WHAT?!!.....(looks at me, puzzled)
[Briguy] In fact....Ken is going with me...so I need two pairs :o).
[Mrs B] Dare I ask?
[Briguy] Probably best if you don't....(but I filled her in)

End result is I now have FIVE pairs of crumpled old "Leggs" pantyhose, from way back in the day, when they used to sell them in plastic eggs at the grocery store. At one point she even commented "Oh wait,... this one has a big run in them, ...still want it?". I laughed and said, I doubt the leeches care.

Her final comment was that if we get picked up by the cops.....don't call me for bail.

I'd love to post to the BB chat what the results of Act 4 is/will be, but the two of us are still waiting for the water to get warm enough again. Final result will have to wait until my next unexpected appearance here. I'm only certain that NOBODY here saw this one coming. :o)

-- Brian

Almost forgot. Jane, you own me $5! (just kidding). I know utterly nothing about horses, but you got me fired up. So I bought a $5 OTB ticket for Seize The Grey. The night of the Belmont I quickly quipped to Mrs Briguy "Wait, don't log out yet....go to the sporting news and tell me who won the Belmont stakes". She was like ....long pause...."Whaaaaaa?-- Don't you have enough vices already? Now your betting on horses??" No honey, I'm betting on one particular horse, partly owned by one of the BB ladies I used to chat with. [suspicious glare]. So I waggle the $5 ticket in the air and tell he that if this puppy has won -- I'll treat you to.......McDonald's.

Not sure the sigh was over my clueless $5 gamble, or the less then stellar reward being offered....or perhaps the less then stellar display of spousal logic.

Still, he won the Preakness! I bet the ladies will be lining up for him at the stud farm over that alone.

Hope all are having a blessed day.....and tell the others to get posting. This three posts in 10 days stuff isn't cutting it.

Secretly, it was kinda fun. What guy doesn't want to fire up a rented chain saw and prance around flexing his manhood? I even wore an old lumberjack flannel shirt (intentionally)... like on the paper towel package, to perform the task. (she missed the symbolism).

Jim, et al -- I have no issues with those who want an electric car. I support fully anyone who wants to play around with that technology, especially as it logically "should" make the gasoline I crave cheaper. What I object to is the term itself. There are no electric cars. There are only BATTERY powered cars, which need to be periodically recharged via fossil fuel energy plants, belching out smoke in someone else's backyard. I've learned to laugh at those people so deeply invested in virtue signaling before a mirror, that they've convinced themselves they are the solution to all the planets ills. Try it on me. Point out proudly how your sweet ride doesn't have any exhaust pipe. Mrs Briguy says that when I genuinely laugh out loud, I sound a lot like that old sitcom character Archie Bunker. :o)

That ugly reality now typed and posted....its also true that a Tesla, any Tesla, can easily embarrass the best of 60's muscle cars at the track. Even a Shelby Cobra.

So I suspect the day is coming. When I finally see the Bubba gear head NASCAR types drag racing electrics......I will meekly apologize.

My neighbor that recently lost his heating/AC unit to lightening , now reports he can't mow his lawn either. Its reason #122 as to why you DO NOT want to buy an electric lawn mower. The second he turns in on -- the "zzzzzzzzzt" whirling noise it makes, ... mimics the mating call of the cicadas! Ah ha ha ha!! Instantly at the sound, TENS OF THOUSANDS of them leap eagerly out of the trees and descend on you in a swarm that blocks out the Sun.

He reports his two teen daughters are now hiding in the basement crying and traumatized. Welcome to the suburbs, buddy.

Jim -- fast food burgers? WGN TV currently has a page on their website for -- get ready -- cicada recipes! Yep, they've got a couple for cicada burgers too. My guess is the McD's clown isn't that worried yet........

I sat there stunned with my mouth open and eyes wide at that news. I was at a total loss for all words. This sort of crap simply doesn't happen in the business to business sales world (NEVER for me in 35+ years). My contacted started to laugh ....and handed me a P.O. for $65,000. He then informed me that particular company is now banned from ever quoting any future business with them again (nationwide no less) over it. A letter was also sent to the offending corporate HQ, to why they will never again be welcome to even offer a bid.

Wow. .....geeesh....Just wow! There are still honest people in the world! Don't think I'm suddenly rich though. My slice of that 65K pie is only about $700. I suspect though, I'll be getting much more stuff to provide in the future. Sometimes, not often enough,...it pays off to be honest and honorable.

All in all...a very, very, weird day. Now folks pray for me. I have to fire up a rented chain saw, and Mrs Briguy is terrified....as I've got a rather long history of really dumb accidents This time she'll be there to supervise (bark orders). LOL!

Again, hope all are well. :o)

Buy gold. Or I'll teach you how to sniff out old silver coins with a detector. :o)

Perhaps it my age, but I'm changing. I used to be quite political, always eager to debate out points in chat rooms. No more. I'm done. The goal now is to find a nice quiet cave in central Wisconsin where I can hide from people (must be walking distance from good fishing). Screw the use of money entirely. I'll barter fresh fish with the Amish for baked goods.

As for the immediate issues here, MASSIVE tree down straight across my yard from the storm two days ago. (this doesn't happen to people who live in caves) Yet, I feel lucky. My neighbors house took a lightening hit that fried out their AC/HEAT unit. Total loss and they said their deductible is 2K. Ouch.

Geeesh. As I read my post back I see its a collection of grumpy moans and whines. I told you, I'm getting old...

Mystery Horse -- way cool!! I've heard about the existence of people others call "Gentlemen" or "Ladies". I always figured it was a reference those who owned horses. So from now on....you are the honorable "Dame Lady Jane"! So, ...how much of the purse do you get?....pennies?....or I'm buying only first editions from now on sort of windfall?

Anyhoo, here i am posting mid day. Lunch is now over, gotta run to go visit a customer.

Best wishes for all.

Don't get me wrong, she supports this! She's often said that unlike other men, I don't harbor dreams of red convertibles and blonde bimbos. My midlife issue is pestering her constantly for more batteries. Serves her right, as she has a Cost-Co card WITHOUT my name on it. I can't even go get a cheap hot dog!

BTW -- I've officially retired now. Mrs Briguy has put in her papers too....she's out in 2 more years. As of last year we paid off the house. It's utterly ours now. Shockingly, this makes me want to sell it, and drunkenly travel the country in a Winnebago. Thank God I have her to stop these urges.

She has allowed me and a guy from our church I've befriended to buy an old trailer.....in Wisconsin....next to the Fox river. Yep, we've been fishing and PLOTTING. Next up is an old 16" boat and a small outboard.....but, shhhhh....you didn't read that here. So yeah, I'm becoming like Earnest Hemingway, chasing the wild walleyes....although I still can't spell and have no grasp of syntax. WORSE YET...I puttered around the farm field across from our trailer ...and found a 1848 large cent! My friend has zero concept of me not wanting to head to the dam for the whitefish run.....because I want to go dig precise holes in the cut bean field across the street.

Each man is allowed only so much time in his life.

I hope everyone here has has a wonderful happy life themselves. I know it's been,........geeze....eight years?- since I plopped in a post. I'll try to keep it less extended next time.

Love you all -- the Briguy

....and now for something completely different.

GOOD NEWS! The tuna are back! By "tuna" I mean the 1000+ lb monster blue fins you see being caught on cable reality shows. The critters that super high quality sushi and sashimi come from. For years such treats have been essentially banned in the USA at any price, because the population crashed from over fishing (like 90% decline), leading to it being listed as an endangered/threatened species. What few were taken ended up on cargo jets exported straight to Japan.

Not any more! The NOAA and US fishery people have reported such incredible restoration success, the Atlantic Blue Fin was just delisted from the endangered species act! You can sell them in the US again, have REAL sushi again....and most importantly for average Joe recreational fishermen (AKA - me) soon LEGALLY attempt a Hemingway style old man and the sea type adventure. No more fears of ending up in Leavenworth making little rocks from big ones! (gonna need a bigger boat tho). :o)

If you've never had a bit of genuine maguro, specifically a thin slice of the belly portion on nothing more then vinegared rice, you have missed out. Yeah, yeah i know, some of you are going "Ewww, raw fish". If that's you, reconsider just this once. Lets face it, eventually all pandemics end, you'll be popping your head out of the basement to see that bright orb in the sky again, perhaps even fully venturing out to sit down and have an actual HUMAN hand you food. You still remember restaurants, don't you? Reward yourself for surviving. As a plus, a couple of small pieces of hyper expensive blue fin will still only set you back around $5-6 bucks.

If they do it right it will come out glistening, literally shimmering from its natural oils. (Yes - the good for you Omega3 stuff). It will literally, and yep I do mean literally, MELT in your mouth. A sweet ocean like completely non fishy flavor, exploding with a soft bouquet that will remind you of aromatic flowers. Hey, fifty million Japanese can't all be wrong.

So there is your happy bunny and sunshine story for the day. We very nearly ate the giant blue fin into extinction, but thankfully people also possessed the necessary restraint to bring them back. So go try some without guilt.

Betcha didn't see a fish story coming. Now if you'll excuse me, that paragraph with gourmet flavor descriptions sort of got to me. I think I still have half a bag of stale chips around here somewhere......

Then as I'm typing this, for the second time today an official goob-r-mint PSA warning has played on my computers background radio. I'm sternly warned to NOT book any tickets on a cruise ship. Defy what they advise and I'll for certain die horribly of covid along with my loved ones and my pets! Say whaaaa?!? Have these bureaucratic numb nuts ever heard of an airplane? In case they haven't, and one of them stumbles into this chat, let me enlighten you. An "airplane" is a long steel tube where passengers are jammed in closer together then sardines in a tin. For that matter, pull the wings off and add wheels underneath, and its called "Amtrak". Are they serious? I'm being advised that planes and trains are perfectly OK, but get on a cruise ship and its a dangerous X sport? Perhaps frequent poster here Jim, who likes to cruise, can detail for us what makes cruise ships so different?

My guesses?

1) Cruise ships being basically large floating 24/7 buffets, its those communal buffets that worry our overlords.

2) The cruise industry has told Fauci to go pound sand we're gonna sail anyway, and thus the PSA are a form of punishment.

3) The cruise industry has been caught contributing to Republican candidates, thus they must be smitten.

Honestly, what gives? If I owned a cruise ship...I'd be seriously cheesed off.

I'm sooo sick of this....we're both vaxxed and boosted. This ain't fair! I'm ready to join Arron Rogers an protest this stupidity. You saw my post last night.....I've spent YEARS digging in fetid ditches while detecting. I'll bet my natural resistance at this point would let me drink live Ebola and be fine. Enough is Enough!

Sigh.

Yeah, its really me. Well, older, fatter, balder, and way more cynical....but me. :o)

Zillions o' things to update but I'll just hit a few of them. Mrs Briguy is still around. Soon we'll be celebrating the big 30. Sadly, most of the old stamp crowd many of you remember from the EBay days have gone to time, like poor Ebozo or Steamboat Bill from your own chat. I prefer to think of it like the way the Sioux do....if they still dance through your memories, then they aren't really gone. WOW. Just read back and its sounding depressing and dark already. Wasn't the intent! I simply found the old BB link and wistfully remembered some good old chat times and people.

My stamp collecting has definitely taken a back seat. Only added two new items this whole year. My other love (metal detecting) has instead gone full bore OCD. Last 10 years I've dredged up about 400+ old silver coins (+ 13 gold rings). Like the stamp collection I've kept them all hoarder style, instructing Mrs Briguy if anything tragic ever happens to dispose of them with me...on the burning raft....Viking style. I suppose its not all that different then the stamps, which was always my attempt to touch history (sort of like old books), I just took it from 2D to 3D ...and outdoors!. Its been great for my health too. Wandering through nature at old farm sites and forests has Arnold Schwarzenegger jealous of my calves and thighs (above the waist I still look like Mickey Rooney). So I guess you can say I've stayed happy healthy and active.

Of course its snowing heavy in Chicago right now, hence marking the end of my wandering the woods season. Now starts the shovel snow season. Oh yeah!, I forgot to mention, we bought a house! and damn it....it has a paved drive, so with that comes cruel expectations. ;o(

Well I'm off to munch leftover Christmas cookies as I read back- back- back down the BB chat.....vicariously reliving all your fun times and adventures.

I hope for each and every one of you your 2022 turns out to be filled with joy.

Hmmm. Here's a good one. I remember going out trick or treating....and getting candy cigarettes as the treat.

These days that is a visit by a SWAT team.

I know its been awhile, but I'm happy to report all is well here with no members of the Briguy troop having/or had the big one (covid). Wheeee. :o)

I thought of the BB tonight! I was watching the local access news (college kids) report on the days events, and I couldn't help it. Tonight's "local interest" story was a 103 year old lady, currently in nearby rest home. Why is she of interest? Well it turns out she caught and survived the infamous 1918 flu....only to catch and survive covid-19 some 100+ years later. Obviously, she sailed through both those horrors easily, or we wouldn't have a story here. I was interested., seeing I gleefully wallow through fetid swamps with my metal detector, certain one more Indian head penny really does remain deep in the goop. If she's found the secret to magical immunity from Earth's biology.......I'm in!

So this teenage girl, clearly eager in her first day as a live mobile TV journalist, leaned in towards her. Softly she asked the question we all want and expect to hear . "So what is your secret to having survived both pandemics, a depression, two world wars, and 103 years?"

The old lady exploded, yelling out like a klaxon, clearly not at all hard of hearing. "You damn kids, fifteen times today you asked me that same thing.. ."Its CIGARETTES!! Ya stay active, Ya read everything you can.....aaaan ya smoke lots of cigarettes!!"

Mrs Briguy literally tumbled off the couch giggling. "Oooooh Brian, you've finally found the example you need to justify your stupidity" ( I still smoke) . I (also laughing), choked out - "that reminds me of several of the crusty book sellers from the old EBay BB chat.....heck, she might be one of them". I miss those ladies.

Which explains why I posted......

I hope each and every one of you is doing well.
Love, the Briguy.

Sausages baby.

Only way to get through this. :o)

Then we exchanged batches of cookies our respective wives made (a big deal for them), wished each other well, and went back to sheltering in place (with cookies!).

We'll all get though this.
You KNOW we'll all get through this.
Your Grandma got through this in 1918. (without Netflix)
You will too.

Everyone keep your spirits up.

I DO NOT deal with "shelter in place" well. I've always been an active, albeit semi hermit sort of a guy. Don't get me wrong, I don't tend to run up to folks and cough on them. I care enough to stay apart the proper distance and then some. In fact, wandering open fields alone with my metal detector has always been a hobby of mine, long before we were instructed to never interact with any other humans in any way.

Tonight I did just that. Wandered behind the local junior high school alone, in their 50+ acre open grass field where the kids used to play soccer before the world ended. Now its just.....big...open...expansive green grass. So tonight I found seven quarters, two dimes, and too many crusty pennies to count. :o)

Now I love $2 in dirty change like anyone else would (that was the goal).....but then I got "ziiiiiip"......ziiiiip"......reading 50 on my scale.....each way...every time....."ziiiiip". Bent down, and flicked out less then 1" deep, a 2.5 gram 18K pendent of Joseph holding baby Jesus. Wheeeee!! According to the internet, that's a melt value today of $101.

If not for corona driving the kiddos away from their field,.....I'd be $100 poorer! This apocalypse thingie has its OK side effects too. :o)

Maybe I'll buy some used jigsaw puzzles off EBay for Mrs Briguy.......

aaaaand now, a cute smile for the guys of the BB chat (basically Jim & me).

Did the milk & bread run yesterday and drove past the areas only "gentlemen's club". The marquee read "Due to corona -- Sorry....we're clothed". Ah ha ha ha!

Everyone here is still safe and healthy. Sanity increasingly questionable though.....have now watched the entire span of "Mr Bean" reruns from the BBC. Likely didn't help with the sanity issues......

Everyone stay safe!

Also, kudos to whoever incorporated a spell checker into this chat post box. Suddenly I appear more intelligent.

-- e.e. cummings briguy

Considering its Easter Sunday, maybe its time to reflect on my own musings above. Sure, we went to church this morning and took communion (via chrome book), and right now Ms Briguy is jamming cloves into a small ham that will be our dinner tonight. So somethings remain the same even as the world is on fire around us. If a rural drive in with a decked out in chrome diner can still persist well into the 21st century.... there WILL someday be another BB picnic. I'll make smoked fish again, we'll toss all the unsold jigsaw puzzles into the pyre, as we toast Steamboat Bill, Ebozo, and all the other fallen we remember.

Keep positive and carry on, for he has risen indeed!

A happy Easter to all.

I once spend 3 hours in handcuffs in no. central MN, after being caught at the drive in the back of a station wagon.....nakkie under a blanket. I was 19....and the girl (also nakkie) was 18. Problem was, she was also the daughter of one of the grand total of three police officers in that town. Whoops.

She left the station sulking with Dad yelling at her. I left the station (no charges -- what can you do to 18-19 yo's anyway?) also sulking with Dad yelling at me. I was further banned from using the family car the rest of the vacation, AND Mom made me vacuum/shampoo the back. Reflecting on this today....i would change nothing. :o)

Aren't ya'all glad you accepted me back to comment on current themes? ;o)

Whats the alternative? Stay sedentary on the couch eating chips until I become diabetic and a ripe corona target anyway?

A week before I went to the Chicago lake front alone with my fishing pole, trying to catch a salmon (failed). Then the mayor noticed groups of dimwits were gathering in the parks to play soccer and stuff. BAM! -- close the lakefront parks. Now I can't even sit quietly alone by the lake and ruminate about the end of times, or my version of the apocalypse will include a $500 ticket!

I like what Sweden has done. Advise people on the best practices and then trust that their citizens aren't eager to kill themselves. Of course, that's Sweden, and this is the US where rank stupidity runs rampant. grrrrr.

You can't win them all or it wouldn't be fun.

At least I got out and was able to wander under the Sun in a farm field. Sitting at home under "social isolation"....eating chips and watching Gilligan Island reruns....just ain't healthy, mentally or physically.

I apologize for not keeping in touch and promise to stay connected more. Yes, I'm aware I've reared my head on April fools day (lol!)....a true Ebozo sort of move. Anyone seen /heard from him??

Again.....nice to see you all!

Yep, I still exist. Quite the challenge trying to reset my password here, felt like I was trying to hack NORAD or something. No matter, here now!

I'll be back this evening to chat. Right now I'm going to pick up a gallon of milk, then practice "social distancing".....or as i call it....wandering alone in a forest with a metal detector hoping for goodies. Yeah, THAT is the hobby to pick up if you want to perfect a socially distant, hermit like lifestyle.....become the adult version of a skate border (hey you.....git on outta here!)

BTW -- We're fine here...and yes, Mrs Briguy and I are both doing fine and corona free. :o)

Miss you all.....chat with you soon

Mrs Briguy just got back from shopping, with a big grin on her face. She produced TWO more Perdue fresh turkeys -- "I got these for 75% off.....isn't that great!?! ....75% off!!"

I nodded silently, allowing her to savor her victory, then went into the bathroom and scremed into a towel.

Whatever your personal situation is, your love/hate for left over turkey bits.......

I'm about to get it in triplicate. :o(

For veterans day I'd like everyone to know that yesterday they held the 71st and now the final reunion of the Raiders. By Raiders I mean as in Jimmy Doolittle's boys who bombed Tokyo in 1942. They started off 80 strong, and are now sadly down to only four....three of whom could attend their final reunion.

They sat silently as 77 other names were called out without response, only three times in the roll did an aged man (average age now 95) call back -- "HERE!". Then they had one last prayer together, one last group toast to their friends of Jimmy Doolittle's personal stash of 1896 cognac....then together.....they closed the rolls.

May this country see another generation like theirs again.

May we never have to need one like theirs again.

I ended up with three wheat pennies.
No. No shimmering silver pieces today. :o(
Thats why they call it "hunting" instead of gathering and collecting.

Oh well, as Scalett said: "Tomorrow is another day"

I figure I've got 30-40 years more (50 if I quit smoking) to find that long lost Viking silver hoard.

........or Jimmy Hoffa

Mrs Briguy has it in her head today to make homemade chicken & dumplings (mmmmm). When she gets these urges it means starting with whole chickens and raw flour. Hours and hours doing it the traditional Mennonite farm girl way. Then I scarf it all up like a hungry animal, leaving no leftovers.

I, of course, am banned from the kitchen during the whole process.

I'm cool with that. There is a old 1950's drive in movie theater nearby. Well, what remains of one. Now its a spooky overgrown tangle, complete still only with semi circular posts in concrete (where the speakers used to be). A perfect sort place to film Friday the 13th part #18. Even scarier rumors have been whispered, implying I was actually conceived at this very site long ago,... in the back seat of a 1960 Chevy. Yipes.

It's also the ideal spot to find Mercury dimes. :o) I even found a silver quarter the last trip! he he he.

What better Saturday is there? A crisp fall day of dirt fishing for gems.....then a warm meal from scratch, served by a hot wife, is waiting for me.

I'm starting to worrry I'm being "prepped" for some terrible news.........

Briguy is gonna need some donated insulin soon.

..............and the BB crowd is a great place to ask.

Large denomination stamps (especially 19th century ones) are another clue you might have one heck of an old album that came in with the boxes of RDCB books! When you flip to the page for the 1850's (standard letter cost 3c back then)....and the collector has nice examples of 30c or 90c stamps of that series......you've got a winner.

As hypothesized, most mega denomination stamps had a purpose. Like 24 cents to cover exactly the Trans-Atlantic treaty rate for letters, etc. The 90c stamp was also designed for, as guessed, boxes and crates as well as oversized registered mailings. That 90c stamp still stands alone today as the only USPS issue to be worth factors more USED, then unused. Released to the public in Dec 1860, surviving postal records indicate as few as 20,000 were ever sold (a minscule number for a stamp). That figure is the grand total for ALL post offices nationwide. Shortly after its issuance, southern states started leaving the union. In a panic, the Post Office declared all currently existing stamp issues invalid (so stocks in southern PO's couldn't be traded for things like -- guns) . Today an example of a nice unused #39 (Scott # for the 90c Washington) will go for about $1000-$1500. If you have a genuine USED one....most like $20,000+ . Still on an original envelope or box panel? -- NAME YOUR PRICE. (I read once that only ONE still intact item has survived the ages with that stamp on it) So a six figure value...perhaps soon, seven.

OK. I'm babbling now....off to sell some stuff....so i can....uhhhm.......buy more stamps.

Dupo -- "Kiloware" ,stamps sold on torn of corners by the tonnage. They ended up in random .99c "Stamps of the world" sacks at Woolworth's, yet another place like the Zenith dumpsters i got booted out of (I was caught opening them all up and cherry picking the good ones).

My poor mother got quite a few of the "YOUR KID did this" stamp related calls when i was young........

I got all these by age ten. Riding my bike down to their dumpsters, and hurling myself inside to root around. Finally a manager snagged me by the ear, called my parents....and poof....there went that honey hole. :o(

Folks, I know my job here. I'm the BB's hot looking 19th century mountain man, decked out in full flannel. Here I detail how to catch and clean fish, find old coins with a detector, or decypher the value nuances of 150 year old classic postage stamps. You'd think that would be more then enough to coast through life hapilly as treasured gadfly, but no. The 21st century got in my way.

I can barely log onto computers, struggle mastering email, refuse to have a Facebook page, and yes peeps......I'm a cyber virgin, NEVER ONCE, have I ever "tweeted" (but it sounds fun). Texting? No thank you, sounds suspiciously like witchcraft to me. You're lucky I carry a cell phone......

That said, I apologize for responding to the email i did get, right here publically, a week later. LOL! (have no fear, a guy like me will win your next auction, never fails).

Mercy -- Quick Stamp Primer -- Most stamps are worthless. They provide hours of enjoyment and relaxation, and yes, even education for the kids, but most are worth mear pennies, if that.

"OLD" to a philatelist, usually means pre 1900. Rare to philatelists MEANS rare. -- as in less then 10 known, that sort of thing.

I said that because 98% of the time anything worth hooting about in an old collection will be found in the pre 1900 pages.

Mercy......why not do full scans of the first few pages of the album, let Stamphick, Bob, and I chime in on any gems we see. Lots of lurkers here too (free advertising!) Maybe.....as a couple of links....so as not to colorfully wallpaper the whole chat.

I look forward to seeing them. (please please please -- have some old Confererate stampless covers....i need the stimulation)

........I'm calling Jim on the cell phone.

She says she's got 50-60 more ready to go....but only after she's off in a few more months.

Faced with such lemons, this displaced redneck.....opts to go ice fishing.

Ground always thaw eventually....and any 1897 quarter out there......can just wait a few more months. :o)

Such is the curse of the metal detectorist 50 years later (we can suppose...but never really KNOW). I mean, you might be righ! My mind took me to a guy who wandered 500 yards from a parking lot....downed a couple of bottles of the hard stuff....then burried his now broken pledge on top of the empties in a clear act of rebellion/defiance.

You got me which. I'm still the "young whipper-snapper" here. I was born in the 1960's. The gin bottles i found both had lead seal cap rings on them....dating them to about the 1940's. I tossed the empty glass into the proper trash containers, and gave my wife the sad little sobriety token. She promised to pray over it with her prayer group, for the troubled soul who felt the need to perform such a secret burrial ceremony so long ago.

We'll never know exactly what....but someone was wrestling with some pretty scary demons under that very tree ....20 odd years before I was born. :o(

A WARNING to all you prospective metal detectorists....might not just be pop tabs and pennies you unearth....but a few deep thought prevoking insights into humanity as well........