To Be, or not to be, a ROLEX!

 

My Father had a penchant for jewelry; especially watches--well rings also; yes definitely rings with "fake bling".

I guess you could say I have at thing for drawing watches based on my projects for my NYU "Fun 2 Draw and Paint" class.  I think that began in high school when Dr. Braley created an assignment to draw an object then do a pen and ink drawing of it followed by a cartoon type drawing of it.  One of my favorite assignments and I have used the format it in my classroom.  Well I drew an old wrist watch that had the been broken and you could see the inner workings.  That drawing was done so well it was realistic and photographic; and it disappeared after I handed it in.   I am sure Dr. Braley kept it for his private collection.  It was one of the best things I have ever drawn and I still grieve its loss.  

Enough about me, my Father, yes he liked his jewelry and whatever it meant to him in life whether it be showing off his wealth of "big man on the block" status.

Would like to say My Father was never gonna be that in his earthly life--I respected his humility and encouragement of me and others.  Maybe he was making up for the being a child of the Depression and living in very meager settings. Or he had a low self-esteem due to some event in his childhood or early adult life.  His wealth was not in money and personal possessions, but in his love and encouragement of those in need of sustenance or confidence.  I am not a psychologist, but that is how I saw it from my point of view.

Back to the Watch.  So my Parents both came to New York City to see The Green Bird, the my first big Broadway show as an Associate Scenic Designer.  Christine Jones was the Scenic Designer and it was her first Broadway Design and I was chosen by her to shepherd her through the process of redesign and the construction of the Set.  I knew what was at stake for her and I did my best to provide my talent and knowledge of the "process" from sketch to full-on Broadway Production.  By the way, Christine is a very lovely person and I wished we would have done a few more projects.

To Entertain my Parents I took them to Canal Street to see the vendors booths in hopes of scoring a nice fake bag for my Mother and of course my Father saw the Jewelry vendors and went NUTS!  He soon was out of sight on his own Safari of, find a new watch and maybe some rings; like he needed any more in his life.

Well he emerged from one of the booths and we decided it was time to go back uptown to their Hotel.  We got all the way to the N,R, Q Subway Platform to to uptown; waiting for a train.  That is when Dad noticed his prize "Rolex" had stopped ticking.  I told him to check the other watches he bought.  They were fine.  Then I said, "you need to go back to that booth and either get your money back or a replacement watch. Do not leave until you know it is working!"  I guess I became the parent here, HAH!  Anyway, he did that and arrived back at the Train Platform just in time to catch a train.  Back then the N, R Line was called "Never and Rarely" at that time of night.  

He loved that watch and sported it all the time.  Well when he passed, I was going through his stuff to box it up for storage or a Garage Sale, and I found the watch.  It was not running.  So I asked my Brother and Sister if they wanted it and they said no.  I took it back to NYC to get it running again and the years passed and I had forgotten about  the watch.  Well, I was going through some of my things and found it and the watch my wife gave me when we first started dating.  Both were not running, so I took them to a watch repair store here in Naples and they cleaned both and replaced the batteries.  I was "tickled" [old saying that my grandparents used for happiness plus amazement] and I thought, hmmmm--who might want to have Dad's prized time telling possession.  My Brother just retired and I thought I would send it to him for his great achievement of maintaining 41 years of college professor appointment.  So now he is in possession of the "knock-off Rolex" from Canal Street.

Do I Really need a Website? Hmmmm....

Do I REALLY need a website!?! I keep thinking somebody may be looking for a 68 year old Scenic Designer with Broadway, Off Broadway and Regional expertise; bucket loads of dealing with shops, artisans and wayward “process” examinations. Do I REALLY!?! I still have more to share and I have loads of creative energy.

Well I decided to refresh my look and hired a new Design Team to create a very simple site to show off my talent and some of the body of my work. I have been doing this professionally, if you count the year I joined the United Scenic Artists Union in 1984, 41 years. Actually designed my first award winning set, albeit a Hometown Rotary Club Award at age 17, Teahouse of the August Moon (1975).

It is so hard to choose photos and with these “smart phones” I have so many images—YIKES! As I look at the images and those that I actually used, they AWL have a story because I can remember the production circumstance, the climate of the collaboration and sometimes the day I created them. It’s like memory recall for acting but the dialogue is extemporaneous. For example, the image on/in the “Process Work” section/page of the Scrim for A Christmas Carol produced at the Self Family Arts Center in Hilton Head SC (that is a mouthful); I painted that myself from an image I found while doing research at the NY Public Library Picture Collection and said, “that is perfect!” Sometimes those images and details found fortuitously leap off your image boards and right on stage. As Scenic Designers we create images and environments that frame and support the telling of the story.

Back to the story: the resident scenic artist said she would not paint it because I did not draw it. I replied, “well if we did that on Broadway there would not be any scenery built or painted, some of the images on stage are ripped out of books and enlarged to fill the stage proportionally.” She should have known better, her own Grad School professor made quite a career of doing the very same thing. There is no shame here as long as you have the rights to a image that is licensed. 

Well I painted it in16 hours, AWL 40 feet by 20 feet on the rehearsal hall floor tacked down. When finished, it looked like the image but in my style and line. Thanks to painting a set in my past designed by Heidi Ettinger using cross hatching and learning from journey scenic artists who used rollers with the pads taped and rubber banded so you can increase the coverage and speed up the process. I used smaller brushes on a bamboo stick to do the fine detailed work. One color and much water with strategically positioned fans assisted in the realization of this tone setting scenic element.

One of many stories I could tell you about each of those images, a lifetime of memories that I invested my talent and time into years before now. Fun, yes hard work at times, but creative. You know Tony Walton the famous Scenic and Film Production Designer once told me, “the theater is 97% hard work and the 3% remaining is fun. Be sure to enjoy that 3%.” Good advice from a lovely person, a real Prince, God bless him in the afterlife, probably still working because he was a creative Energizer Bunny, utmost respect a true mentor.

Well I guess a new website won’t break the bank. Maybe someone will see it and make inquiries into my availability. And to end this I will post a image not on my website just in case you or they want to see one more of my creative adventures. 

Scenic Piece for "Peter and the Starcatcher" I painted.

He speaketh in ACRONYM....

Can anyone tell me what NASA means as an Acronym?  I grew up with this logo and never remember what it represents, means.  ACRONYMS!  Not my thing.  I can't even remember what CRCA represents as a name and I have been associated with that cycling club since 2010. CENTURY ROAD CLUB ASSOCIATION not "of America".

Why does everything need to be shortened?  Is it to save our precious time to scroll through Instagram posts and videos as we are transfixed by the video screen?  Are we, as a race, trying to numb our minds with this mental "junk-food" content that somehow provides information or entertainment!?!  Are you not entertained by the news of how our world is crumbling around us and our society as we knew it is going to hell in a hand bag and it's not Gucci!  Probably a Canal Street knock off which is very convincing but not the real thing people, like Coca Cola!

Let's stick to telling the whole story, using AWL the words so our conversation and those who listen can understand without asking what a VPN, GIDP, PR, WOKE, DOGE, LGBTQIA PAT DM etc. etc.  If a person asks what a CPU is then you are speaking another language there is no Rosetta Stone program to support in our pursuit of being bilingual.  You as a communicator have not done a good job of imparting your knowledge, no matter how qualified or relevant it is.  Communicate and educate, hopefully. 
 
No ACRONYMS please.  I need straight talk, I am in no rush, load it AWL on me and then I can process.

And by the way there are many ACRONYMS I could not tell you what they stand for in a name or organization.  I still cannot remember the NATIONAL AERONAUTICAL SPACE ADMINISTRATION.

Cairo in space

What Crazy Dreams….

"one of my very favorite illustrations"

What crazy dreams I have been having!  Odd and at times bizarre they are but maybe a window into my mind.  I am sure AWL of you have a reoccurring dream, right?  I have a standard of maybe 6 ranging from not knowing my locker combination 5 minutes before football practice and I got to suit up or be late and suffer some ghastly punishment at the end of the practice.  Plus the usual chastisement by some coaches—known today as verbal abuse, back then "discipline and being made an example".  They were selling, team  collegiality and support your brother as a block builder for future practice in your adult life.  Oh yes football will prepare me for the future….  “What about us Chemistry Majors!” 

Another dream is about assisting, getting Beyond Friendship revived at Drury Theater for their season next academic year.  Not sure it will work with the wave of popular trends on relationships and morals.  It might be like trying to revive the classic sitcom “All in the Family”.  I always have these dreams about assisting someone and they are not clear on what they want I am wasting my time, but making coin, but feeling bad.

The most "scenic and memorable" reoccurring dream I am going to talk about is simply about getting a good French pastry.  But it is at a place that is truly a nightmare of French stereotypical circumstances.  It is somewhere in a neighborhood like Brookside in KCMO--older established neighborhood of the middle to upper class.  It is near a Museum/Art Gallery "WE" have visited (the person who is with me but not recognizable). WE park on the street, I am not driving.  WE enter up the stairs and turn left into a shop which has a display case of fine French Pastries.  WE go to order and everything chosen, there is a problem.  They either don't have it today, sold out, they don't make that anymore and then they choose for you. "Oh you don't want that do you?" Spoken in  very broken English mixed with French, of which I do je ne parle pas français.  I am still learning the English language.  It is frustrating and you are offered things as substitutes which are very American; like donuts and frozen waffles cooked in a toaster.  WE always leave empty-handed and frustrated, only to find that the car is not parked in the spot WE left it.  The car has been moved and WE have to find it in a neighborhood of tree lined streets with old stone walls.  Oh yes, no mobile phones, you have to use their pay phone which is either broken or does not accept your coins even though they are American.  Maybe Francs would work better--no Euros Please!!!

The last time I had this dream my Father was in it and he ordered more food than he could eat.  He got Spaghetti with meat balls, French Fries and a Bologna Sandwich with butter on Wonder Bread.  I just knew that when he got home Mom would read him "The Riot Act", whatever that may be in reality.  He could hardly carry AWL the stuff he ordered.  No bags or "sacks" as we call them in the middle of the country.

I am sure I had some anxiety about something that night, but why?  I am retired.  We have a great financial plan; bills are paid--life is good.  I ride my bike and I try to run a "tight ship" at home.  You see, I am the "homemaker" now and I make many decisions that otherwise in years past, Melissa and I, would collaborate on.  I always think that 2 heads thinking about decisions is better than one.  You start to doubt your logic and then out think yourself.  You should have been in my "head" when I was trying to figure out how to split up the final, so called inheritance, our parents left us.  It was not "life changing money". But enough to have a good vacation or save for a rainy day, maybe put in a retirement fund.  Boy oh boy, did I ponder that answer.  In the end it AWL worked out, but I never got a French Pastry for my efforts.

Thanksgiving Opus 1975....

I found myself reminiscing about Thanksgivings past when I ate Tacos in Dallas while working as the Scenic Designer on A Christmas Carol at the Dallas Theater Center, or the year in Dallas we had one of those crazy sleet storms where the roads turn into a sheet of ice.  I drafted a many of Nutcrackers for Zack Brown on 7th Avenue in Park Slope Brooklyn.  Oh and how can I forget the HUGE production at Madison Square Garden, A Christmas Carol, the Musical where I worked with the top talent of Associates and Assistants in New York at the time.  Tony Walton sat next to me on the right and on my left was a surround for an I-Beam inside that moaned and groaned as the wind moved the building during storms or windy days.  YIKES! It seems that these shows kept us oh so busy when the Broadway Assisting jobs ended and we needed to make it through to the next season when Broadway awakened for the Spring Season.

But the one Thanksgiving I kept thinking of was my freshman year of college, 1975.  The weekend before the Tuesday night when the heavens dumped tons of snow when we were sleeping, created a bit of a travel challenge for Joe (my Brother), Mike Mallory and Jackie.  If you live in Missouri you got to understand that if you have this really unprecedented unseasonal weather you are gonna pay for it very soon.  That weekend was like Early Fall late Spring Temperatures in Springfield, Missouri.  It was crazy!  I was wearing T-Shirts most of the day.  If I had shorts I would have put them on.

But little did we know that around the corner was this huge storm building in the southwest and it was about to unload.  Now I did not watch the weather or really pay attention; too busy studying, trying to catch up after being in our first Fall Production, The Skin of Our Teeth. I believe that I had a big test in Music Appreciation that Ken Kallmeyer, my roommate at the time (pre Dave), and I focused on studying for the exam.  I am sure I was trying to make up ground in my "Freshman Cruddies" Classes (we studied Western Civilization through Literature and History, throw in a bit of Philosophy Voila!). I had about 15 credit hours that semester along with a big dose of working in the Scenic Shop.  Needless to say I was very not aware of any harsh weather coming and nor was Joe or Mike.  WE planned to leave for Independence Missouri after the last class on Thursday and drive the 3 hours home up Missouri Highway 13 to 50 West, to 291 North, then Highway 40 to our neighborhood turnoff next to Funhouse Pizza.  EASY PEAZY!  NOT!!!

The Funny thing is the campus started to get less and less populated with the usual weekenders going home.  BUT, they never came back on Monday for classes.  Then on Monday we noticed that the Dining Hall was lacking students for dinner and the parking lots had emptied again.  WE never thought anything about it.  WE had a full schedule of classes and by gosh WE were students and WE were going to be in attendance.  I think really to make up for AWL the time we missed while working on the production.  Normally the 8 and 9 o'clock classes were going to take a hit--time to catch some Z's professor.  Dave and I used to joke about meeting at Breakfast AWL the time, but hardly ever made it.  When we did make it maybe a dozen times in AWL those years, we would sit there and talk about the Girls who came in and discuss if she would go out with us.  In most chances, as they say in Brooklyn, Fuhgeddaboudit!

Tuesday Morning the campus was a ghost town and we still had no idea what was going on--DUH, rocket scientists in the making.  WE go to bed that night only to wake up to about 18--21" of snow on the ground and a good base of ice under that snow blanket.  Classes were either cancelled or it was just not an option and it was still snowing.  Panic set in and Joe who was the mastermind of this Holiday Vacation getaway was getting nervous.  There was no way his car was going to make it to Independence with the U.S. Baldie Tires he had on his 1962 Chevy Impala.  So I believe we drove in Mike's car, and of course we would chip in for gas, if a station was open on the way.  I think that was what we did, I cannot imagine driving Joe's car, but we have done dumber things.  "Sir what would you like to drive today? '62 Impala on Ice or a vehicle with tread?  I will take the tread any day and it is a Michigan licensed car born to drive on snow, so that makes it better--oh with Bicentennial Plates--HuzzaH!

What was a 3 hour drive turned into a 5-6 hour Batan March to get home.  The roads were so not plowed in spots and if they were they exposed the ice.  WE were lucky to go faster than 40 miles an hour if you were feeling lucky and had experience driving Sprint Cars on Dirt in the turns.  Just sliding AWL over the place.  PLUS, you had to watch out for the other knuckleheads on the road who thought they were Road Warriors.  I believe who ever drove, it was like Mad Max, hell bent on getting from point A to point B.  WE called my Parents to let them know where WE were; BTW NO mobile phones Bro, it was a phone booth at a gas station and it cost I think 25¢ plus your reversed the charges so you didn't get charged on your end.  If your Parents did not accept the call then, well you are out of luck.  Of course Joe and I had code words to say to the operator to let my parents know to call us back if they knew the number of the phone booth, like BreechTheater and our residence hall floor phone booth.  Many a time I have worked in Breech Theater as a Student and later Instructor and the phone rang and rang in the lobby and I would go answer it and it was my DAD.  That is if I could hear it ringing over the very loud music I would play in the Theater while working.

The snow stopped falling and the sun came out partially when we got to Warrensburg.  it was a welcome sight, so we knew we were about 50-60 minutes (normal minutes) from home.  The roads were a bit better, but you still had to be cautious. We finally pulled up to the house on Pleasant Avenue South,  got out and why I knocked on the door or rang the bell I don't know.  maybe I thought I did not live there anymore, but that is what I did.  Mom and Dad greeted us and Mom said to me first thing--"Are you glad to be home?"  And I said, "I am God Damn glad to be home!"  She looked at Dad and then me and I thought, oh no I am in BIG trouble.  She said, "Well I can see that you are learning something in college."  Very shaded with her "typical tough love" and full of sarcasm.  But I was GLAD TO BE Home.  It was a fun weekend and by the time Saturday rolled around the snow and roads had almost cleared and on Sunday WE would make the Trek back down to Southwest Missouri to the Queen City of the Ozarks.

Thank you Mom and Dad for AWL those GREAT Holidays with Family and Tradition.

Oh, and sorry we AWL ate you out of house and home that weekend--starving students.

 

"Long and Hard...."

 

"Navy Building circa Fall 1975"

I often wondered why most people came to the all-night work sessions in the Shop or Breech Little Theater; sorry Theater--I spelled it wrong on the sign I painted Fall '75. That sign hung outside the building for years. I also spelled Dave's last name wrong the year I made poster/banner for either his birthday or when he starred in Wild Oats. Remember it had his shoes stuck to it and said something like "what man could fill this shoes". I was in a hurry to get it on the wall because Rich, who ran the food service was so kind to let me do it at the last minute. We also had quite a tradition of hanging in the shop. Not people but items of interest- scenery and actual shoes. Mike Mallory's boots were screwed to the wall above the door; honoring our elders is a good tradition. But I digress already....

"All-nighters" were the norm at times when you needed to cram for a test or catch up after a production opened. We also participated in work sessions in the shop and the theater to get the scenic elements done in time for our tech rehearsals. After working in "the real" theater, tech and "10 out of 12's" were not much fun. Imagine sitting in a dark theater waiting for the Lighting Designer to create one sequence of cues for a big musical number. For me, it was tedious and really a torcher, but we had to be supportive and collaborate in any way. I once heard (name dropping) Julie Taymor during tech of The Green Bird ask Don Holder to speed it up a bit. Don Holder is a very kind and patient "everyman" type, sorta looks like William Bender the actor. He came back with a retort that was fiery and punctuated. He was working as fast as he can to achieve a good visual product.

But why did we need to do "All-nighters" for college productions? Was it scheduling, a tradition, a rite of passage or for bragging rights. I at times think it was for the latter. I also blame myself for being the "Cecil B. DeMille" visionary Scenic Designer. Thinking back on it, maybe AWL that realism wasn't such a great thing. But, that is what I had to bring to the table of collaboration. Bit my ass again later designing a show for DRURY, the musical Violet. The set was never finished and me, the guest artist, had to go to the shop and first clean it up and organize, then build the scenery that the TD had failed to create. I couldn't disappoint my director, but I had under estimated the commitment of the students and TD. I was so embarrassed, it was a quality design that never came to full fruition. I worked wee into the morning hours in Breech/Wilhoit thinking experiences for me have not changed in the building. I learned from that to never design a show for your alma mater. And from another experience, never recreate a design for a previous theater production. It will never be the same atmosphere or energy; totally new group of artists, craftsman and commitment to the project.

I can remember an "All-nighter" during The Dark of the Moon that was so misrepresented the next day during Breakfast in the Commons. It was a big push to get things done. I thought I had delegated authority and jobs to the right people. As usual I went about my business doing something that needed my attention. Hours later I see people sleeping on the floor or administering back rubs. I was like, "what the hell!" Maybe I said something cynical an snarky, I wouldn't put it past me at that age. I was working like crazy and then I turn around and WHAT!?! Well with many years of hindsight on it, I know the level of scenic carpentry and painting skill and knowledge was varied in our group. I always prided myself on the fact I could find the right person to do the job and finish. Then I would continue to challenge them to do something out of their zone of comfort and skill/knowledge in order for them to learn and grow. I learned this from a supervisor at an early age, and it has worked for me in the past and today with assistants. We AWL learn from each other, it is a loop of communication.

So back to breakfast after the tired and weary workers were staring down the barrel of attending classed at 8 am or 9 am, we convened in the commons. We AWL sat at "the Theater table" and  someone who was smart and slept that night came to breakfast and asked us how it went. I will always remember this and I won't mention the person who said it (insignificant), but that person who spent most of the time goofing off and distracting others that night, said with a very dramatic way, "It was long and hard". WHAT!?! give me a break!!! I looked at Dave Quinn and we both laughed and laughed. It became our traditional statement for ridiculous times studying and working in the shop or theater. "Long and hard" oh my Goodness it makes me laugh even more when I know who uttered those words.

Finally on an ending note, one "All-nighter", Jerry Pettus, Dave and I went to get breakfast. I was TOAST, TIRED from working many nights in a row; 3 was my limit; we sat down with our trays and began to eat. Jerry and Dave were telling me a story we had laughed and laughed about during our work session. They waited till I was about to drink a glass of chocolate milk and they started up again with the story. I began to laugh and then the milk came spewing out of my nose like a geyser at Yellowstone. THEY Laughed and Laughed about that even though I had sprayed milk on their trays. It was a fun time for sure. And then I had to run off to attend my Eastern Religion Class to get my sleep. I wonder if Buddha or Dali Lama can spew goat milk through their nostrils?

Tomorrow is like today, just happens tomorrow. 

And in Retirement, next week is like this week, just happens next week.

$FUNNY MONEY$

"Fox in the Henhouse"

My senior year of college at DRURY after arriving and unpacking to the old haunts of the Turner Hall Third Floor Room, I decided to go to Financial Aid in Burnham Hall. I asked Dave if he wanted to come and he said yes. We decided to change our clothes after sweating going up and down stairs with “stuff” to off load in the room. I said, “hey, let’s put on some really ragged clothes, like the ones we wear in the shop and working in the theater. The ones that have holes and tears in them.” My thought was if I was going to talk about money owed or needed, I want to look like I was a real hardship case. 

Now at that time, we got so much aid that is wasn’t even funny. There was so much government money ear marked at the time it was awesome. The Theater Department had “grants” where you would receive 4 to 600 dollars a year. You had to of course have a good academic standing for AWL these funds, but also your Parent’s Financial situation had to be in certain income bracket. Luckily or unluckily my parent’s paychecks were stretched thin always. And I think Dave was in the same situation. WE grew up with AWL that we needed, WE never missed a meal and WE had a very good childhood. Public Schools were fine; no private school for me with uniforms and such—I always wanted to go to such a school. My Parents said the only schools I would go to that had uniforms were military schools of reform schools.

So Dave and I “tricky-trotted” (to borrow a phrase from Grace Fisher Talk, a student colleague) to the Financial Aid office dressed in our “holiest” outfits.  When we arrived we asked the person working the counter at the Bursar’s portion of the office. “Is HE in?” I have no idea what the guy’s name was at the time. "HE" replaced the other dude who left to work at another school. The new guy we met the previous Spring Semester. "HE" seemed to be a bit timid, not the money guy who controlled our future in adult debt.

And speaking of student loan debt, I have 3 loans. The first 2 were for $1200 each; one my Freshman year and one for my Sophomore year. I paid those off with the money I made in the Summer at Starlight Theater as a Union over-hire carpenter and other odd jobs I found. The last loan was at The University of Missouri at Kansas City my first semester of my “second tour of Gradual School”.  It was for, I am vague on it but I think $4000. I did not need it, but my classmates convinced me to take it and buy a computer (which I did not) or use it for books and supplies. You see I was really blessed then, I had a fellowship given to me by the Hall Foundation; you know Hallmark Cards. They paid for everything except books and supplies. And boy did we need supplies to create AWL those wonderful projects. I paid that off within a couple of years of graduation while living in NYC. If you had a job in the Theater business it was very lucrative financially. I learned to Save, Save, Save much as possible. Granny Potter always said, “it’s not what you make, it’s what you save.”

Okay back to the story; where were we, let me see…. Ah yes waiting for the “timid financial aid dude”. Not The Dude in “The Big Lebowski”, more like the guy who was the sidekick played by Steve Buscemi. (BTW, I saw him in Park Slope Brooklyn on 7th Avenue and 9th Street getting Ice cream for his son at Uncle Louies Ice Cream; I was headed to the Pizza place next door for lunch while working at Zack Brown’s Studios on 4th Street). So much for keeping on track with the story. If you know me, my train can cross any tracks if need be to get the story told. Character flaw or just "Todd being Todd".

FINALLY Dave and I were ushered into “HIS” office and we sat down to talk about our financial aid packages. Why "HE" would discuss both Dave and mine at the same time in the same room was interesting. I was told to tell nobody what my aid package was by certain college employees, which I will not name here. The fact of the matter is that I was receiving a handsome sum of money to design, build and paint the sets for the Theater productions. Not to mention the lighting design; more like “master electrician with ideas” and Technical Direction which was problem solving. The reason for this is that my Junior year I had a work study grant and I had to work the morning shift and noon shift in the school cafeteria. I was having a hard time keeping up with class, studies, sleep and let alone the theatrical productions. There are only 24 hours in the day—okay am I building a cross? Seriously, my Parents were going to pull me out of college. I was stretched mentally, physically and emotionally.

So “HE” discussed Dave’s package and I don’t know if Dave had to pay a small sum, but you know we had to contribute something to the mix either in green backs, animal pelts or blood. “HE” then turned to me and explained everything and it sounded really great for me. There was one catch; I owed TWENTY-FIVE CENTS!!! And I had to pay it in order to make the books look good. Don’t mess with an accountant’s ledger, it could be scary for you in retribution either financially or you will be reported to the High Council of CPAs.

So I reached into my very ragged overalls and pulled out a Quarter and put in on “HIS” desk. “HE” said, "Thank you, but you will need to do that at the Bursar’s counter." So I said, “okay and thank you for your time.” Dave and I left the office and went right to the counter outside “HIS” office.  I said I wanted to settle up and I am here to pay.  Pulled out my quarter as they placed my file on the counter with the invoice paper clipped to the folder. I plopped the Quarter on the counter and they wrote me a receipt for it.  I wish I still had that receipt. Dave and I laughed and laughed about the Twenty-five Cent transaction that I made to get a GREAT college edu-mah-kay-shen! The Lady at the counter also mentioned our wardrobes as we were ready to leave. She said, “I see you both are wearing your most impoverished outfits to discuss money.” She chuckled about it.

So for that year, I paid Twenty-five cents for a $3,200 education. Now to make that even more interesting, in today’s money with inflation that is $18,182.36. A quarter inflated to today's money is $1.42.  Still a pretty good deal if you ask me.

Oh did I mention that Medical insurance was $30 ($170.46 in today's money) for the School year and it covered EVERYTHING!!! Amazing, NO? What a deal and it included DENTAL.

The Image above has nothing to do with the story or does it?....