I’m bored tell me something amusing

Here's another one...

One of my Mom's favorite memories was a trip she went on with one of her GF's when she was 16-17. (before WWII). She always called it her "10,000 Mile Bike Trip", and I guess that's how it was billed too. If anyone so much as uttered the word "bike", she'd start in about her '10,000 Mile Bike Trip'. She had this Raleigh 3-speed bike, and she hung onto that thing until she was about 75 years old. Whenever Dad would suggest they have a garage sale and sell her bike, she'd go off and start walking down memory lane about her '10,000 mile bike trip'.

They went all over the US and Canada, they went north, and they went south. They went west and came back east. It was quite the adventure. She had photo albums all chocked full of her on her bike in north western Canada (Banff, etc.), the Grand Canyon, just all over the place. I'd heard about the '10,000 mile bike trip' so many times in my life (way more than 10,000) I could practically recite every pebble along the arduous trek!

One day, I guess I was in HS, it occurred to me...how the heck long did this "10,000 Mile Bike Trip" take anyway? It must have taken YEARS! So I decided to ask her one day. "Oh, I guess it was about 3, maybe 4, weeks.", she said kind of matter-of-factly. WOT???? Ten THOUSAND miles on a Raleigh 3-speed bike, crisscrossing the Rocky Mountains like a mountain goat no less than a dozen times...in 3 to 4 weeks?????? Riding over the Continental Divide no less than 4 times...on a 3-speed bike???? ...in 3-4 weeks??? Lance Armstrong was a bad ass, but he was NOTHING compared to you, Mom!

Welllllll...it turned out that "10,000 miles" might have been a bit of an exaggeration, but that's what the trip was called. And, when we finally got down to the nitty-gritty, it turned out there was another photo album, but this one wasn't full of pictures of Mom on her bike, but rather Mom and her friends on trains...all sorts of different trains! Oh gosh, did we tease Mom about that for years. In fact, we never let her live it down. She'd start up telling a story about her "10,000 mile bike trip" and we'd tell her..."You mean, your 10,000 mile TRAIN trip...that you took your bike along on, right?" LOL!!

Now granted, I'm sure it was quite an experience for a 16 year old girl in 1939, and we always ackowledged this. She'd laugh and laugh when we'd tease her about it. But she was still tellin' that story to the old folks at the retirement community when she was 98 years old!

I just wish she was still around so I could tease her about her great adventure, and the "10,000 Mile Bike Trip".

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

Now granted, I'm sure it was quite an experience for a 16 year old girl in 1939

Imagine this, my best friend and I aged 14 (both girls) went on a weekend trip with our Art teacher (male) to go to a museum, AND not only did our parent OK it, they encouraged it! No he did not mess with us and actually was a lifelong friend to me.

Can you even imagine that these days?

originally posted by: Snarl

originally posted by: new_here
That book single-handedly turned me on to reading as a child. Also, my father went to a casting call as a child, for the part of the little boy that raises the fawn. He got a call back, but in the long run, he wasn't thin enough to look like a kid from a poor family, lol.

They shot the movie up north of a place called Astor if memory serves. Was your father from around there? The story itself takes place several towns further North, up by Crescent City. Simpler time. I can only imagine how hard/miserable life would have been for them. It was hard enough when I was there. Most people living in that general area trace their family back 5 or 6 generations ... and they mostly act like the folks in the movie behaved.

I think there was another related movie called Cross Creek that was filmed not so far away. They had some black folk portrayed in that film they called GeeChee (expletive). There was at least one family of 'em lived wild (we'd say off-grid these days) in the trees at the north end of our property. My old man would tie out a goat now and then, leave 'em clothes and canned goods, made sure they had tools and lumber and paint. Weird stuff, huh? And that was just fifty years ago.

Nope, my dad grew up in Atlanta. Just as well he didn't get the part, as his life would have taken a different direction, he wouldn't have met my mom, and I wouldn't be here to type this reply! Life is funny that way, eh? What seems like missed opportunities segue into other chance experiences that were clearly meant to be. Hence, I am!

a reply to: JAGStorm

As a PA on a movie in NY in the 90's I once picked up Tony Curtis from LaGuardia airport to bring him to the set.

He pointed out a bar around 53rd and 7th and proceeded to relay a story about how he used to pick up guys and do heroin there.

Needless to say I simply drove on in shocked silence.

On the same movie, I had to pick up another actor, no kidding he was called

"Rockets Red Glare".

I was told explicitly not to allow him to drink and of course about 5 minutes in to picking him up he demands we pull over at a liquor store.

Feebly I attempted to say something about being really late and holding up the set but I was a PA and this guy massive (size wise) and insane. He ended up slamming a bottle of Smirnov on the way to set. No one knew.

Finally, I had to drive what was called the "Unit truck" basically a 24 footlong box truck filled with everything you could think of, mostly craft services stuff.

When the shoot was over I was told to return the truck to a warehouse in Brooklyn. Cell phones and gps were not quite there yet so I had no idea where I was going.

Long story short, I took the car ramp on the Manhattan bridge instead of the truck ramp and proceeded to rip off both sideview mirrors as I desperately careened down the tiny lane I was trapped in.

Something amusing?

"Cleanliness is next to Loch Ness"

Something silly... I was on a job taking break with a few guys and the owners dog was...lets just say going to town cleaning his private area when one of the guys said "I wish I could do that" and one of the other guys told him "I bet if you go over there and talk real nice to him while you're petting him he'll let you".

a reply to: mtnshredder

LOL!!

I remember one time when our ACD got his first 'boner'. He was crying, acting like he was crippled, just YELPING! He was walking around, dragging one of his legs...we thought he had a stroke! Until we saw what was going on.

Poor guy, he just didn't understand! LOL! He was staggering around on the deck, falling down. It was like his whole body didn't work! We got him calmed down, and laid down, and got him to relax. All was good.

Too funny though! He completely freaked out on his first boner!!

We still tease the other dogs to this day about how Cisco's boner was bigger than anyone else's!!

Too funny! LOL!!!

Another I was recounting with hubby at dinner. This is one that occurred many a year ago (mid-ish '00s)


One day during our dating period, hubby and I decided to go browse around the local Goodwill to see if we could find a nice outfit or two for both of us for an upcoming dinner out at a fancier place (the GW bordered a wealthy/poverty neighborhood divide, so pickins were usually DAMN good thanks to the wealthy donors)

We didn't see anything that jumped out much, so we headed for the doors. Except, once out the door, I hear my name called out, several times.

I turned to see who it was, and didn't see anyone I recognized. A lady with a double stroller (twin babies) was waving wildly at me, so...I faked it.

Her: "Oh my god, oh my god, hi Nyiah!"

Me: "Wow, hi! How are you doing?"

Her: "Oh my, I'm doing great! The babies are here, obviously. It's been a while, hasn't it??"

Me: "Yeah, I see that! They're SO cute!"

Her: "Yeah, but you look a little...surprised."

Me, scrambling for something to say to that: "I thought they were going to be boys?"

Her: "I KNOW, RIGHT!!! Imagine my surprise when two identical girls came outta there. Damn ultrasound tech messed up their gender the entire damn pregnancy."

We chatted (or rather, I BSed my way through the conversation) for about 15 minutes before she went in the store. Hubby had been eyeballing me with an amused look, "Geez, so wrapped up in the catching up that nobody was interested in little ol me, huh?"

Me: "I have no f#ing idea who that was, I honest to god don't know her. Never seen her before in my life, don't know anyone who was expecting twins. I'm completely stumped here."


To this day, we still chuckle over the Mystery Twin Mom I didn't know, but knew me, apparently, lol.

Edit: I think I've told this one on here before, but I forgot a key part this go-around -- she supposedly knew me from work (part of the rest of the conversation we had) I still swear I never met her before, and certainly not at work back then.

a reply to: Nyiah

What if it was a stalker. I had a neighbor like that.
Dude was watching us with binoculars or something, came out and told me the exact number of days we were working on an outdoor project. Lots of other creepy stuff too.

a reply to: JAGStorm

When I was a kid I did actually have a stalker! I think it was another kid my age. This was long before "star-69" and caller ID, so I never knew for certain who it was. He would call, my parents would answer (kids weren't allowed to answer the phone), and one of them would say it was for me. I don't remember his name anymore, but he always told me his name. Then he'd start talking about stuff we allegedly did together. None of it I remembered, but he talked like we were bestest of friends. It was never anything creepy or anything like that, just kid stuff, BUT it was always stuff that COULD have happened, AND...took place in places that only someone who knew me would have known!

It gets weirder...

This went on for quite a while. It wasn't every day, but about once every 2-3 months for a couple years. I was raised to be a respectful kid, so I never wanted to hurt his feelings and tell him I had no idea who he was. Mom would ask who it was who called and I'd honestly tell her "Joe Smith" (or whatever his name was). One day this kid calls up and he asked if I still liked Tom Jones (the music artist). I actually couldn't stand Tom Jones, but I just answered something like 'yeah, kinda'. Then he asked if I remembered the one time we sat around his pool and listened to Tom Jones. That was it! Enough!! "WHO IS THIS??? WHO ARE YOU??? I don't know who you are; who are you and why do you keep calling me???", I said. Well, this got Mom's attention...big time!

He'd pegged the weird-o-meter with the question about Tom Jones around 'his' pool! Turns out, I DID remember listening to the dreaded Tom Jones around someone's pool one time...and it was a very unpleasant experience! So unpleasant that I wound up leaving post haste too! You see, once I was in Florida and this friend of my parents kept talking about this couple who had just moved in and their kid didn't have any friends, so why didn't I go over there and make friends with this kid. My parents friends lived on a golf course, and I would do anything to get to drive their golf cart. So, I begrudgingly agreed to go over to this kid's house...mainly because I got to drive my parents friend's golf cart. And boy, was this kid weird! He not only blasted Tom Jones over their built in stereo system, but he kept playing the same song over and over...and over. I got the hell out of there in short order! But wait...that kid lived in Florida, so he couldn't be the one calling me! Right? RIGHT???

And, it couldn't possibly get any weirder, but it does...

You see, we didn't live in Florida, but my parents had a small vacation condo there. They had some wealthy friends who did live there in Florida (the one's with the golf cart). I had spent a total of about 30 minutes at that kid's house before bolting. Must have been the only "friend" that kid ever had, in his entire life! The ONLY other person on planet Earth who would have known about Tom Jones music while sitting around a pool was THAT kid, and ONLY that kid! Plus, the fact this kid knew other things about me; times, places, events, all of which I'd done (but not with him around) was creepy off the creep-o-meter scale! All of those calls had been long distance from Florida to Michigan, back in the days when long-distance calls were pretty expensive. How this kid ever found out my phone number, 1,300 miles away, I'll never know, but he did. And even weirder was...the very first time he called was several YEARS after that day around the pool! By then it was a distant and forgotten memory to me!

He called once more after that, and when he told Mom who was calling she lit him up, told him not to call back.

Never heard from him again.

I was 11 at the time.

Maybe not 'amusing', or only 'amusing' in a weird sort of way.

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

If you said it was Trump I was going to fall out of my seat

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

a reply to: JAGStorm

Found out my dads side of the family has a coffee in Copenhagen that’s been around since 1905 I believe. It’s called Christgau. I tell everyone this tid but now. Lol I have coffee in my blood so I can’t give it up, ever!

I have nothing else amusing....

Was sitting in the bus, commuting home from school. The bus was not dedicated for pupils and a lot of kids were from different schools. Normally people left me alone as I was just minding my things. I was sitting there and listening to "Fighting man - dj prone", eyes closed but bright sun.

Suddenly it gets dark, I open my eyes and there is a hand directly in front of my face, waiving. I turn my head and see a guy about my age with wide eyes open, moving his mouth euphorically. Sitting in front of me and turned around, leaning on the seat. I do not know him. I slowly turn down the volume and his voice starts to fade in.

He speaks like ten words a second about the movie "only 60 seconds left". I want to say something that he is wrong, he goes on and on and on how great that movie and also the soundtrack is.

I want to say something again when a different strange guy from opposite the bus chimes in that this is from the movie Transporter. I nod towards him, the guy in front of me gets angry at that guy for injecting into the "conversation" more like monologue.

I close my eyes again as I felt my attention is not needed anymore. Count the stops until and I had to stand up. The two were still bickering about if it was from Transporter or 60 seconds.

Sometimes that guy, I think it is the one, still waives at me or nods or smiles when we see each other. I always nod back to not be rude but I have no clue who this guy is.









a reply to: Nyiah

Creepy and funny

I am not good at connecting faces with names that I just met once or twice. I know the face is similar but it happened a few times.

I then wait for some clues and hope I get to remember or not, see above.

a reply to: JAGStorm

A mystery for you:

I texted a number a few days ago. The text I sent said it didn't go through...but I got a response anyways. The number I texted was miss-typed. It was 1 digit too long. The prefix to it was 9. I looked it up and the only matching number was to a fax machine error code. This is what was said:

Me: Hello, this is blend (not sent)
Response: Good morning blend
Me: Morning, it said my text didn't go through (not sent)


Then nothing...how did I get a response from a number that doesn't exist in any country anywhere? Not amusing but definitely weird..

Thanks,
blend

Here's an interesting bit of trivia I just learned...

I think most people know Otters are pretty smart creatures, right? And, I think most people know that Otters will employ tools to accomplish a task, like cracking open a mollusk or a crab to eat. They will pick up a rock and use it to break open the shell.

But did you know that Otters will keep and use the same rock for their entire lives? And that they have a pocket under their arms where they store their 'utensile' rock? They fall in love with their rock at a very early age and will keep it for breaking things their whole lives.

I thought this was pretty amazing. They also frequently play with their rock by juggling it and doing all sorts of fancy tricks rolling it around on their body (over their head, around their chin, down their arms, etc), but they never drop it.