Our pets, ourselves (responsorial)Reports That&#8217;sPrettyFancy: &quot;Grey Kitty appreciated seeing that he isn&#8217;t the only cat in the city who
Our pets, ourselves (responsorial)

Reports That'sPrettyFancy: "Grey Kitty appreciated seeing that he isn't the only cat in the city who enjoys BB every day!"

Writes Twitty of Como: "Subject: 'Little Egypt' and the Coasters.

"Raindancer of North Oaks' mention of the Coasters (BB, 7/16/2013) reminded me of something I'd temporarily forgotten.

"It was about 1965 or '66, I think. I was stationed on a little Navy base south of San Diego. My best Navy buddy and I heard that the Coasters were gonna be at a nightclub in Garden Grove, California, about two hours up the coast: no reserved seating; no advance ticket sales; first-come, first-served.

"We liked nightclubs. We liked the Coasters. What could be better?

"On the night of their performance, we drove up, arriving early in order to secure a table close to the stage. Like 15-feet-away close. We got there so early (5 p.m.?) that the place had barely opened, so it was easy. Then we learned the Coasters wouldn't go 'on' until 9 p.m. Hmmm. Lotsa time to kill. Oh, heck -- we were sailors, and it was a bar, right? We knew how to kill the time.

"Skipping over the next four hours: The Coasters started late, but by then we were in no condition to complain. As I recall, the first set went great. Lots of great music, and they were in good voice. The place was rocking, and we had great seats to enjoy the show.

"They took a break; we ordered more beer.

"When they came back out, the last man to climb onto the small stage was the lead vocalist. He'd come through the room, through the audience, from somewhere behind us, ambling his way around the fans and the tables on his way to the stage. He was having a good time, laughing and joking as he came through the crowd and then on stage, with his band and co-singers. When he finally turned around, his fly was open, but he launched right into a rollicking, familiar, funny tune, and the crowd, laughing, just went along. You could never tell about those guys: Maybe it was a part of the act; maybe no one told him. But, as I remember, it might've stayed open the rest of the evening.

"Fun times. I'm still grinnin', just thinkin' about it."

Live and learn!

Tim Torkildson: "I regret the friends I made when drunk, and the enemies I made when sober."

A thought for today

Al B of Hartland: "When it comes to half-truths, people usually remember the wrong half."

Unclear on the concept

Or: You can't get there from here! (responsorial)

The Old Hand of Oakdale: "The story about asking if the company was north or south of 494 [BB, 7/14/2013] reminded me of listening to two truck drivers who were about to drive up to Winnipeg.

"The first one asked how long was it going to take to get there.

" 'Well,' the second one answered, 'I looked at the map. Looks a little over 450 miles. Since the customs guy is giving us the OK before we leave here, it should take about eight, nine hours.'

" 'Yeah,' the first one said, 'but once we get into Canada, they don't have miles up there. They got kilometers. So don't that mean it's going to take us longer?' "

Everyone's a copy editor!

Wednesday email from John in Highland: "Shooter's column in today's PP contained the following information about golfer Fred Funk. It seems that at a previous skins game, Funk had told Annika Sorenstam that if she outdrove him, he would don a shirt. 'She outdrove me by a yard,' said Funk, who kept his word by putting on a pink skirt. Which begs the question [sic]: Through all of this, was he wearing any pants?

"By the way, a great trivia question is 'Who gave Charley Walters the nickname "The Big Shooter"?' Why, it was none other than former Twins manager Billy Martin. My dad, Ed, was so mad at Calvin Griffith for firing Billy that he vowed never to pay to see another Twins game. And he never did."

BULLETIN BOARD NOTES: It is apparent that John in Highland's dad, Ed, never had to (attempt to) supervise Mr. Martin!

Our times?

Late-Tuesday email from Lola: "I was watching the All-Star Game tonight, and Grant Balfour (former Twin) was pitching, Michael Cuddyer (former Twin) was batting, and Joe Mauer (current Twin) was catching. Is this an unusual occurrence -- or, in these days of salary caps, trades and free agency, just a normal occurrence? Whichever it was, it was pretty cool."

BULLETIN BOARD SAYS: Yes, it was pretty cool to see that all of those ex-Twins (Balfour, Cuddyer, Torii Hunter, Carlos Gomez, Joe Nathan, J.J. Hardy, David Ortiz ... are we missing anyone?) are doing so well for their new teams -- unless, of course, you're a Twins fan!

Our times

Hanky Division

OTD Norwegian By Marriage: "I've enjoyed the stories about ironing, as they brought back memories of my early ironing experiences. Like others have mentioned, hankies were my first practice pieces. I also ironed the roller towels. They were made of a rough fabric and had to be ironed so they would hang nicely on the roller bar. Later, Dad's boxer shorts were added to my assigned duties pile.

"I've been waiting for someone to write about 'sprinkling and starching' clothes before they were ironed.

"Clothes like shirts, dresses, blouses, and aprons that were made from woven cotton were dipped in a solution of starch and water before they were hung on the clothesline to dry.

"After they were dry, we sprinkled them with water. Many people used an empty glass pop bottle with a sprinkler top held in place with a cork. We sprinkled the clothes, rolled them, let them sit for a while, then ironed them.

"By the time I got married, plastic sprinkling bottles were available. I remember putting some sprinkled clothes in a plastic bag and putting it in the refrigerator or freezer if I didn't have time to get all the ironing done. If sprinkled clothes were left too long, they would mold, and then it was a challenge to get the mold washed out. I've heard women say that their kids outgrew the clothes in the freezer before they got around to ironing them.

"Pants stretchers were another washing-day tool that haven't been mentioned. When we were first married, my husband wore khaki-colored twill pants that I had to starch and put on pants stretchers to help make sharp creases and hopefully minimize the wrinkles as they dried.

"I was glad when wash-and-wear came along, and thrilled when permanent press became available."

Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?

The Retired Pedagogue of Arden Hills: "One of the funniest movies I've ever seen is 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail.' My favorite scene is the one in which the Black Knight blocks King Arthur's path and refuses to let him pass. In the ensuing battle, Arthur proceeds to dismember the Black Knight limb by limb, causing copious amounts of blood to flow. As his appendages are hacked from his body (in this order), the Black Knight delivers a running commentary:

"Left arm: ' 'Tis but a scratch.' 'I've had worse.'

"Right arm: 'Just a flesh wound.'

"Right leg: 'I'm invincible.'

"Left leg: 'All right. We'll call it a draw.'

"As Arthur continues on his journey, the remnant of the Black Knight calls out: 'Come back here and take what's coming to you. I'll bite your legs off.' "

Band Name of the Day: Fred Funk and His Skirts

Website of the Day: "Brooklyn Guy Makes Pizza Pies Fly," at http://tinyurl.com/flung-dough