Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

abacomike

houdini1 said:

Speaking of newspapers, how much do people pay for daily delivery around the country? Here, the paper has gotten smaller and smaller each year and we pay about $250. a year. They ask for $350. and settle for $250. We just keep taking it for the daily puzzles, comics, etc, and out of habit, certainly not for news.

I pay $165 a year for 7 days a week.  At Christmas, the delivery person (sometimes a guy, sometimes a gal) puts a self addressed envelope with a stamp on it in the plastic wrapping around the newspaper for his/her “gift”!  I usually send them a check for $25.00 as a token of my appreciation.  This Christmas, I am placing a piece of coal in the envelope!  

driver100

jmonroe said:

suydam said:

Newspapers: I have digital subscriptions. They are cheaper and I enjoy reading on my iPad.
Falls: Is something causing you to feel lightheaded and fall, @abacomike ? That’s rrally scary. When my Dad fell and broke his hip at the age of 86, that was it for independent living. And @jmonroe, “using your hands to break your fall” is the primary reason for broken wrists. I’ve done that twice now.

I am the one that said Mrs. j "had to break her fall" but she says she doesn't remember doing that. Everyone tells her it could have been so much worse and that she is very lucky that all she suffered was a top lip that needed a few stitches..

As for you braking your wrist twice, you are one ahead of me. If anyone remembers last August, one day before we were going on vacation, I fell off a four foot wall along the driveway that I have navigated umteen times over the years but that day I missed a step and over I went.
jmonroe

All a likely story. I think you resemble Dean Martin in more ways than just looks.

Actually, glad you survived, or I wouldn't have those long posts that put me to sleep by 10 p.m.

abacomike

suydam said:

Newspapers: I have digital subscriptions. They are cheaper and I enjoy reading on my iPad. Falls: Is something causing you to feel lightheaded and fall, @abacomike ? That’s rrally scary. When my Dad fell and broke his hip at the age of 86, that was it for independent living. And @jmonroe, “using your hands to break your fall” is the primary reason for broken wrists. I’ve done that twice.

The problem with digital newspapers, which I get with my “real paper” subscription, is that I play the Bridge column as if I was actually playing, the Suduku puzzle, the Word Jumble and the Crossword Puzzle while sitting on the toilet every morning.  It tends to “move” things along, if you get my drift.  I don’t get the same satisfaction with digital! 

jmonroe

driver100 said:

jmonroe said:

suydam said:

Newspapers: I have digital subscriptions. They are cheaper and I enjoy reading on my iPad.
Falls: Is something causing you to feel lightheaded and fall, @abacomike ? That’s rrally scary. When my Dad fell and broke his hip at the age of 86, that was it for independent living. And @jmonroe, “using your hands to break your fall” is the primary reason for broken wrists. I’ve done that twice now.

I am the one that said Mrs. j "had to break her fall" but she says she doesn't remember doing that. Everyone tells her it could have been so much worse and that she is very lucky that all she suffered was a top lip that needed a few stitches..

As for you braking your wrist twice, you are one ahead of me. If anyone remembers last August, one day before we were going on vacation, I fell off a four foot wall along the driveway that I have navigated umteen times over the years but that day I missed a step and over I went.
jmonroe

All a likely story. I think you resemble Dean Martin in more ways than just looks.

Actually, glad you survived, or I wouldn't have those long posts that put me to sleep by 10 p.m.

If you are referring to the drinking escapades of my late look-alike, as I have said before..."you ain't drunk if you can lay on the floor without holding on".

jmonroe

abacomike

 jmonroe said:

Good news on the newspaper front: I heard the newspaper hit the front door at 4:30 AM this morning. I guess my phone call directly to the Sun Sentinel newsroom paid off. I wonder how long this will last - I am certainly not calling their subscription and delivery office again - no need to talk to someone 10,000+ miles away who can only email "upper management". On another front, I took a nasty fall yesterday. My glasses fell off and I hit my left upper cheek just to the left of my left eye on a railing and the blood was everywhere. Bruised on both arms, my left side and my whole body aches. I was reading somewhere that senior citizens fall frequently with broken hips the most common fall injury. In my case, I am swollen all over my arms and face. No broken bones, at least to the best of my knowledge.

Hope you'll be over the pain soon. Also hope you know how it happened so that it doesn't happen again. FWIW, last Thursday while leaving her water aerobics class, Mrs. j tripped over a mat out in front of the place and landed on the right side of her jaw and bit into the top inside of her upper lip. The girls called for an ambulance and she had to have 3 stiches. Her lip swelled up pretty good and she looked like I got in a good left hook. She had to break her fall with her hands or it would have been much worse. Looks pretty much like her old self now. Keep us up do date on your progress. jmonroe

Ouch! Poor Mrs. jmonroe - good thing she only bit into the top inside of her upper lip - could have been so much worse. As for the "how it happened" learning lesson, I know exactly what caused it. Back when I was in graduate school, a bunch of the guys decided to play softball. I hit a grounder to the third baseman and as I was crossing over first base, I landed in such a way that my left knee dislocated. They took me to the hospital and they did an emergency procedure in the operating room to put my knee back into its natural state. Unfortunately for me, my left common peroneal nerve was severed at the knee joint causing me to lose motion and feeling on parts of my lower left leg and several toes as well as ankle movement. There was a ton of damage done to my ligaments, tendons and my patella. After 6 hours of surgery the following week and two more surgeries to repair the nerve, I went into rehab for a month. I wore a lower leg brace conneted to my shoe with a spring-loaded mechanism so I would have a more natural walking gate. After many months of physical therapy, they decided that due to the severed nerve, I would develop a "drop foot" on my left leg. So, sometimes I trip on things like sidewalk cracks that are uneven or carpeting - come to think about it - just about everything. I just have to be careful with this limitation I have. So that's the long and the short of it (mostly long). I am paralyzed on my left foot - cannot raise the foot at all.

Gee @Mike, do you have any other ailments you want to tell us about now or are you going to put us through the agony of hearing about them one by one. Keep in mind that there is only so much poster length that @driver100 can take in one day from one person. jmonroe

You’re going to hear about them (ailments) one-by-one just like I experienced them in real life (as opposed to writing an autobiography for you guys). 

berri

Those wounds just make you look like the tough NYC kid you were

suydam

abacomike said:

suydam said:

Newspapers: I have digital subscriptions. They are cheaper and I enjoy reading on my iPad.
Falls: Is something causing you to feel lightheaded and fall, @abacomike ? That’s rrally scary. When my Dad fell and broke his hip at the age of 86, that was it for independent living. And @jmonroe, “using your hands to break your fall” is the primary reason for broken wrists. I’ve done that twice.

The problem with digital newspapers, which I get with my “real paper” subscription, is that I play the Bridge column as if I was actually playing, the Suduku puzzle, the Word Jumble and the Crossword Puzzle while sitting on the toilet every morning.  It tends to “move” things along, if you get my drift.  I don’t get the same satisfaction with digital! 

TMI!

imidazol97

Please don't tell us you're wearing a striped shirt at the same time...

cdnpinhead

jmonroe said:

Keep in mind that there is only so much poster length that @driver100 can take in one day from one person.

You're talking about someone who has posted over 21K times in this board alone. There is no limit to anything that Mr. 100 can post, nearly as I can tell.

driver100

You are catching up pinhead.......keep em coming, one day you will get to 21000 too!

btw....this is the only board i post on. I also have a life you know

jmonroe

ab348 said:

fintail said:

Watching Dr Phil is about as appealing as watching a 24 hour loop of Fox and Friends.

A few years ago I was in a checkout line at the supermarket when I noticed the lady behind me in the line staring at me. This is always a concern because my first thought is that something is wrong - is my fly open, is there soup on my shirt, has a large stinging insect landed on me? She noticed that I noticed and finally said with a look of hope on her face, "Are you... uh, are you Dr. Phil?"

I should have thought more quickly and responded in the affirmative with his accented voice but was startled so I said no. She was very disappointed.

Not to steal your thunder but I had a young girl at a local department store think I was the character that played the part of a spy in a movie series. This was not long before we were married. This girl was beautiful but not much between the ears. It happened as I took a shirt to the register:

Girl: OH,OH,OH, your him. I can't believe it. Are you really him, really?

Remembering that people had told me that I looked like Dean Martin I said.

Me: Oh, you mean Dean Martin. No, I'm not him.

Girl: NO, NO, not him. Who is that?

Now I don't know what to say.

Girl: The guy that plays a spy in the movies.

Then it clicked because the Matt Helm movie series was popular back them. So I asked.

Me: Do you mean Matt Helm?

Girl: Yeah, yeah, that's who I mean. Can I have your autograph?

No matter what I said she still thought I was Matt Helm and wanted my autograph.

Girl: Here, write it here on this piece of paper.

Finally she asks a coworker.

Coworker: No that isn't Matt Helm but he does look a little like Dean Martin.

Girl: That's what he said too. What does he do?

Like I said, beautiful girl but she should have gone into modeling or even acting. She was wasting her time as a department store clerk.

jmonroe

jmonroe

driver100 said:

You are catching up pinhead.......keep em coming, one day you will get to 21000 too!

btw....this is the only board i post on. I also have a life you know

Prove it.

jmonroe

laurasdada

Shortly after moving to LA, my father was at a grocery store. While in the check out line, a woman pushed her cart into him. A bit annoyed he turned to see an attractive woman, he told her she looked much like Jamie Lee Curtis. Of course, it was Jamie Lee Curtis.
I have to remind my dad, he's in LA. He keeps seeing people who look like people. They are who they look like, dad!

qbrozen

What's a "newspaper"??

tbirdmarco

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=QDv0nBVGk3Q

snakeweasel

laurasdada said:

Shortly after moving to LA, my father was at a grocery store. While in the check out line, a woman pushed her cart into him. A bit annoyed he turned to see an attractive woman, he told her she looked much like Jamie Lee Curtis. Of course, it was Jamie Lee Curtis. I have to remind my dad, he's in LA. He keeps seeing people who look like people. They are who they look like, dad!

Back in the 70's when I lived in Nashville my father and I took a tour of country music stars homes. We got to someone's house, IIRC it was Roy Acuffs house, and there was some guy out front working on the yard. The people on the tour asked the guy to move so they could get a picture of the house. The guy politely moved from view, that guy was Roy Acuff.

driver100

Like I said, beautiful girl but she should have gone into modeling or even acting. She was wasting her time as a department store clerk.
jmonroe

You should have sung her a few bars of; Everybody lovz zomebody zumtime.

Prove what? I don't post on other boards or that I have a life? Tennis is my life...no time left for pickleball these days.

28firefighter

To our helpful New Jersey residents, (@stickguy, @tjc78 , @qbrozen) I could use some help guiding my Dad the best way to get to the dealer tomorrow to pick up his Stelvio. He is flying solo, so was planning to do a combination of train + uber.

The dealer is in Oakhurst and he is coming from Philly. Thought was to have him take Amtrak to Metropark and then Uber from Metropark down to Oakhurst. The dealer is reimbursing the cost of the Uber.

Is there a better way to get there?

andres3

oldfarmer50 said:

andres3 said:

graphicguy said:

tbirdmarco said:

 The person job placement man from the state is new and thinks it’s good for me to do cold calling I don’t like the idea what do you all think just go there and show up and talk with them maybe to potentially hire me for something I don’t like it one bit 

@tbirdmarco ....When I first got out of college, my first "real" job was with Xerox. I was a tech representative at the time, the guy who fixed their "Star" system. That was essentially a typewriter(s) that was wired directly into their print shop. It was all hooked together via ethernet and the first real "network" I was really aware of.

So, what's this have to do with your cold calling interview?

Well, after about a year of being the tech rep, the Star sales rep was let go as she had a hard time hitting her quota on a consistent basis. Since I was providing her a lot of leads, the viewed me as a potential and successful sales person. Most of the offices I visited had temp workers manning the typewriters and print shop. They would spend a month or so with one company and then would be moved to the next. They knew exactly which companies needed such a system as Xerox's Star System. They would let me know who they were....mainly large legal and financial firms.

I resisted going into sales. I did not want to be a sales person and didn't have any experience in sales.

My boss at the time said the Sales Manager would send me for sales training. If after 6 months in the field as a sales person I was not successful, or still did not like it, I could have my old job back as a Tech.

Not sure about today, but back in the late '80s when I first started working for them, Xerox sales training was considered the best in the world.

In 6 months, I was the 2nd revenue producer of Star Systems in all of Xerox. I made more money that I ever thought possible. I was hooked.

But, the least favorite part of my job was cold calling, which I did for 8-9 hours every Tuesday to set up demos and appointments for the rest of the week and into the next week. Lots and lots of phone work was involved. Sometimes once I finished one meeting, I'd look in the same office building for firms that may be able to use one of our Star Systems and would cold call in person. Again, hated doing that.

Over time, I didn't have any time for cold calling, however. I was just asking my customers for their introductions to other companies they thought might be a potential customer. Funny how lawyers and legal personnel all seem to know each other, regardless of the firms they worked for.

Parlayed that into a 10 year career with Xerox. Went onto become a Sales Manager, a Sales Training Manager (based in Leesburg, VA), a District Manager and finally the Director of Marketing for their (then new) color printers and copiers.

Since then I seem to have been in demand and have worked for companies small and large, with several startups during the (then) exploding tech arena in the '90s.

It all starts with cold calling, though.

If Craig @isellhondas is still around, he'll probably concur. So will @driver100.

The key is to have a clear upward path from the cold calling position. If successful, it can be very lucrative.

Good luck!

BTW....what will you be selling?

I'm the personality type where sales is a bit voodoo cult-like for me. It's hard to separate my own view point on sales when trying to sell something myself. My personality type is that "if I needed your product, I'd have found it myself already."

I think a lot of sales is reinforcing a person's already made decision to buy. Cold calling is much tougher because the decision hasn't been made yet. The difference between someone walking into the showroom vs. a salesman walking up to people on the street and asking "who wants to buy a car TODAY?"

something like being able to sell ice to an Eskimo?

andres3

Mr_Shiftright said:

Now THIS is disturbing:

Apparently, the USA has the highest road death fatality rate in the industrialized world. On any given summer's day, about 100 Americans die in a car. You name it---texting, drunk drivers, or being a pedestrian hit by any of the above. Saturday is the most lethal day.

Interestingly, the death rate has been going down in some categories, but motorcyclists have not benefited at all from any safety regulations.

With some exceptions within the following age group, road crashes are the leading cause of death for Americans between the ages of 3 and 34 (as of 2014).

Unfortunately the people in charge tend to think doubling down on all the wrong things we do (like extra low speed limits) will turn things around. Pretty insane. You know, the trying the same thing over and over again and expecting different results routine?

I've found it''s much easier to just mirror and copy a system that already works well. Say..... Germany.

Instead you have the IIHS and NHTSA making purely speculative alternate reality propaganda that still insists we'd have a much bigger population boom right now if we hadn't of repealed the 55 MPH speed limit in the 90's.

abacomike

Just found out that my son’s x-wife’s parents lost their home in the Redding CA fire.  They were forced to evacuate hours before the flames engulfed their house.  Nothing but ashes now.

Redding is just south of Mt. Shasta, CA.  My son was married up their - beautiful area - too bad. 

isellhondas

I used to work in and around Redding CA. I don't know that I would agree with the "beautiful" part but I will say that it gets HOT there and there is little relief. I feel for those who have lost their homes and for the firefighters who are risking their lives. So sad to watch the news!

explorerx4

@28firefighter,
Can the dealer just pick him up instead of him taking an uber?
Reminds me of picking up my repaired Expedition in MD after it was hit by a wrong way driver on I-95.
My nephew and I drove the rental from CT to just northwest of DC, the got on the Metro to DC, took the MART to the BWI stop to get on a bus so the body shop could pick us up at the terminal.
Got that?

sda

ab348 said:

The screen cap below is from the brother of a friend of mine. Story is that dad was away on vacation, son invites 2 friends over then leaves them behind alone in the house when he goes out for a while. Hilarity ensures. Really sad.

How old were these idiots? Drunk, high?

abacomike

isellhondas said:

I used to work in and around Redding CA. I don't know that I would agree with the "beautiful" part but I will say that it gets HOT there and there is little relief. I feel for those who have lost their homes and for the firefighters who are risking their lives. So sad to watch the news!

I should have emphasized Mt. Shasta because her parents had their home on Lake Shasta below the mountain - that’s beautiful up there.  Hot in summer and cold in winter - they get all the seasons there - even snows at times.

28firefighter

Dealer is reimbursing the Uber. Said if it wasn’t a Saturday they absolutely would have picked him up. 

tbirdmarco

 Not sure if I mentioned this morning in here had an interview today at a dealer called auto nation in Rockville Center, New York think it’s going to potential he work out the guy has an awesome sense of humor just like me we clicked right away and use asking me questions about my visual impairment which where majority of people don’t count on one hand people of asked me in my lifetime ha ha so he thinks he’ll be able to use me can I have a second phone interview next week Monday believe so hoping for the best ever all these years of fighting I hope this works out we were   When I was going outside and help me go to my Uber that was waiting for me he said you know in between two nice muscle cars 

jmonroe

tbirdmarco said:

 Not sure if I mentioned this morning in here had an interview today at a dealer called auto nation in Rockville Center, New York think it’s going to potential he work out the guy has an awesome sense of humor just like me we clicked right away and use asking me questions about my visual impairment which where majority of people don’t count on one hand people of asked me in my lifetime ha ha so he thinks he’ll be able to use me can I have a second phone interview next week Monday believe so hoping for the best ever all these years of fighting I hope this works out we were   When I was gohoing outside and help me go to my Uber that was waiting for me he said you know in between two nice muscle cars 

That sounds very good. Hope it works out. If you need any references, tell that guy to sign up here at Edmunds. He'll get more than he needs.

Good luck.

jmonroe

benjaminh

ab348 said:

The screen cap below is from the brother of a friend of mine. Story is that dad was away on vacation, son invites 2 friends over then leaves them behind alone in the house when he goes out for a while. Hilarity ensures. Really sad.

What an unbelievable nightmare....Yikes.

driver100

jmonroe said:

tbirdmarco said:

 Not sure if I mentioned this morning in here had an interview today at a dealer called auto nation in Rockville Center, New York think it’s going to potential he work out the guy has an awesome sense of humor just like me we clicked right away and use asking me questions about my visual impairment which where majority of people don’t count on one hand people of asked me in my lifetime ha ha so he thinks he’ll be able to use me can I have a second phone interview next week Monday believe so hoping for the best ever all these years of fighting I hope this works out we were   When I was gohoing outside and help me go to my Uber that was waiting for me he said you know in between two nice muscle cars 

That sounds very good. Hope it works out. If you need any references, tell that guy to sign up here at Edmunds. He'll get more than he needs.
Good luck.
jmonroe

+1. Yeh, I'll vouch for you Marco. And we got the C250 at AutoNation.

driver100

ab348 said:
The screen cap below is from the brother of a friend of mine. Story is that dad was away on vacation, son invites 2 friends over then leaves them behind alone in the house when he goes out for a while. Hilarity ensures. Really sad

.

I wonder if those guys know my son-in-law. At least he takes the car but he returned it in OK condition.

snakeweasel

Well spending the last few days here in Orlando with the grandkids. Almost pulled the trigger and bought a house. It was at one of the larger 55+ communities which had several villa homes which they used for putting up visitors who would come in for a couple of days to try out the community. These were fully finished 2 bedrooms with a study for $190k sitting on a lake. These were great boys (5 of the 8 were sold in less than a week). We were thinking of using it as a rental until we were ready to retire then move into it when we retire in 8 to 10 years.

For various reasons we pulled the plug on it right after we were approved for the loan. But the search goes on. 

snakeweasel

jmonroe

snakeweasel said:

Well spending the last few days here in Orlando with the grandkids. Almost pulled the trigger and bought a house. It was at one of the larger 55+ communities which had several villa homes which they used for putting up visitors who would come in for a couple of days to try out the community. These were fully finished 2 bedrooms with a study for $190k sitting on a lake. These were great boys (5 of the 8 were sold in less than a week). We were thinking of using it as a rental until we were ready to retire then move into it when we retire in 8 to 10 years.

For various reasons we pulled the plug on it right after we were approved for the loan. But the search goes on. 

HUH? I think you should consider pulling this post before @isellhondas see's it and calls you a "stroke".

jmonroe

abacomike

laurasdada said:

Shortly after moving to LA, my father was at a grocery store. While in the check out line, a woman pushed her cart into him. A bit annoyed he turned to see an attractive woman, he told her she looked much like Jamie Lee Curtis. Of course, it was Jamie Lee Curtis. I have to remind my dad, he's in LA. He keeps seeing people who look like people. They are who they look like, dad!

You guys know I used to live in Palm Desert, CA from 1991-1998 and then northern Los Angeles from 1998-2000.

Palm Desert is one of several cities in the Coachella Valley which include Palm Springs, Cathedral City, Rancho Mirage, Bermuda Dunes, Indian Wells, La Quinta and Indio.  Many Movie and TV stars and professional athletes own winter homes in Rancho Mirage, Palm Desert, Indian Wells and La Quinta and a few in Palm Springs.  So during the winter, it is quite common to be seated in a restaurant and have a star or sports legend seated at the next table.

I also had a number of kids at the school I ran whose parents were pro athletes or TV/Movie stars.  I remember sitting next to Tim Conway and his wife at a restaurant in Rancho Mirage.  A few weeks later I was at a concert in Rancho Mirage and Tommy LaSorta was sitting right next to me.  It was quite common in the Coachella Valley to see stars walking on the street or at the movies or at restaurants.

I was very close with Don Drysdale and his wife (Annie Meyers Drysdale) and their kids.  I remember being at his funeral at Forest Lawn near Chavez Ravine.  At the memorial service, I was seated right next to Sandy Koufax.  My son sat next to Roosevelt Greer who took up 2 seats due to his size.  All the current and retired Dodgers were in attendance and the Emcee was Vin Scully. Very moving experience.

What I miss most about my years in Palm Desert is being with my son and my grandchildren.  But I also miss the laid back embiance of the Desert Cities and the non-challant pace of daily life among the stars intermingling in the lives of every-day people.

tjc78

28firefighter said:

To our helpful New Jersey residents, (@stickguy, @tjc78 , @qbrozen) I could use some help guiding my Dad the best way to get to the dealer tomorrow to pick up his Stelvio. He is flying solo, so was planning to do a combination of train + uber. The dealer is in Oakhurst and he is coming from Philly. Thought was to have him take Amtrak to Metropark and then Uber from Metropark down to Oakhurst. The dealer is reimbursing the cost of the Uber. Is there a better way to get there?

That would work.   The Uber would be about thirty miles. The only thing is Metropark goes north of where you are going. Only other station would be Cherry hill, but that would be closer to 70 Miles but I bet might be faster.   

qbrozen

Ah, Ray Catena, huh? I have 2 sets of in-laws in Oakhurst.

Get on the Northeast Corridor line from Metro down to Long Branch first. Then uber or even have someone from dealership pick him up since it is so close at that point.

driver100

snakeweasel said:

Well spending the last few days here in Orlando with the grandkids. Almost pulled the trigger and bought a house. These were fully finished 2 bedrooms with a study for $190k sitting on a lake. These were great boys  

I was reading your post and I thought you were offering your two grandchildren up for the $190000 house.

Then I realized you typoed boys instead of buys.

houdini1

abacomike said:

laurasdada said:

Shortly after moving to LA, my father was at a grocery store. While in the check out line, a woman pushed her cart into him. A bit annoyed he turned to see an attractive woman, he told her she looked much like Jamie Lee Curtis. Of course, it was Jamie Lee Curtis.
I have to remind my dad, he's in LA. He keeps seeing people who look like people. They are who they look like, dad!

You guys know I used to live in Palm Desert, CA from 1991-1998 and then northern Los Angeles from 1998-2000.

Palm Desert is one of several cities in the Coachella Valley which include Palm Springs, Cathedral City, Rancho Mirage, Bermuda Dunes, Indian Wells, La Quinta and Indio.  Many Movie and TV stars and professional athletes own winter homes in Rancho Mirage, Palm Desert, Indian Wells and La Quinta and a few in Palm Springs.  So during the winter, it is quite common to be seated in a restaurant and have a star or sports legend seated at the next table.

I also had a number of kids at the school I ran whose parents were pro athletes or TV/Movie stars.  I remember sitting next to Tim Conway and his wife at a restaurant in Rancho Mirage.  A few weeks later I was at a concert in Rancho Mirage and Tommy LaSorta was sitting right next to me.  It was quite common in the Coachella Valley to see stars walking on the street or at the movies or at restaurants.

I was very close with Don Drysdale and his wife (Annie Meyers Drysdale) and their kids.  I remember being at his funeral at Forest Lawn near Chavez Ravine.  At the memorial service, I was seated right next to Sandy Koufax.  My son sat next to Roosevelt Greer who took up 2 seats due to his size.  All the current and retired Dodgers were in attendance and the Emcee was Vin Scully. Very moving experience.

What I miss most about my years in Palm Desert is being with my son and my grandchildren.  But I also miss the laid back embiance of the Desert Cities and the non-challant pace of daily life among the stars intermingling in the lives of every-day people.

Thinking about making a move ? I think I would prefer that area to Florida. I would also check out the Las Vegas area if you are looking for a bargain.

suydam

I was in Palm Desert in June. As long as you’re a night owl or like the indoors it’s fine. From 8 in the morning till at least 9 at night the heat is unbearable. I grew up in a different California desert and I would never go back! I need WATER!

ab348

abacomike said:

I was very close with Don Drysdale and his wife (Annie Meyers Drysdale) and their kids.  I remember being at his funeral at Forest Lawn near Chavez Ravine.  At the memorial service, I was seated right next to Sandy Koufax.  My son sat next to Roosevelt Greer who took up 2 seats due to his size.  All the current and retired Dodgers were in attendance and the Emcee was Vin Scully. Very moving experience.

Earlier this week I read a piece in the L.A. Times about a new book by ex-Dodger Ron Fairly. It contained a story about Drysdale that made me laugh:

"Once in Chicago, Drysdale was drinking all night with Cubs infielder Don Zimmer, a former teammate. Before the next day’s game, Zimmer told his teammates that Drysdale, who was the Dodgers’ starting pitcher, was surely still drunk.

Drysdale, a 6-foot-6 bear of a man who was feeling fine, heard about what Zimmer was saying and decided to milk it. When the Cubs came to bat in the bottom of the first, Drysdale acted like he couldn’t see catcher John Roseboro, who was in on the joke.

Roseboro stood and shouted, “Over here!’’ to Drysdale, who promptly threw his first pitch over the batter’s head and to the backstop.

From the Cubs’ dugout, Drysdale heard frightened players muttering that he was, indeed, drunk. Nobody wanted to bat. Ron Santo came to the plate and shouted, “Hey Don, can you see me?’’

Drysdale knocked a few guys down before throwing a complete-game victory and striking out 10. After, he invited Zimmer to dinner again. Zimmer refused."

In the early '70s Drysdale worked Montreal Expos games in his first job as a color commentator on their national CBC-TV broadcasts. He was very good at it and later moved to a similar role with ABC in the US.

berri

Koufax and Drysdale take me back to being a kid. Aba, if your kids live in the Palm Dessert area and you liked it, maybe you should sell your condo and move into a rental unit near them. You are on the inevitable downhill slope we all will face at some point and it might be nice to be near family now. Weather, heck homes are climate controlled and most everywhere has its 4 months of crap weather. Moving is always a hassle, but then the hassle is over with and life goes on.

abacomike

snakeweasel said:

Well spending the last few days here in Orlando with the grandkids. Almost pulled the trigger and bought a house. It was at one of the larger 55+ communities which had several villa homes which they used for putting up visitors who would come in for a couple of days to try out the community. These were fully finished 2 bedrooms with a study for $190k sitting on a lake. These were great boys (5 of the 8 were sold in less than a week). We were thinking of using it as a rental until we were ready to retire then move into it when we retire in 8 to 10 years.

For various reasons we pulled the plug on it right after we were approved for the loan. But the search goes on. 

You don’t really want a home on a lakefront property here in Florida - alligators, iguanas, snakes, flooding, to name a few reasons.  Orlando is nice, but the traffic on I-4 and feeder roads and streets can be miserable due to all the attractions.

You might want to consider the Jacksonville area.  You get cooler temps in winter (40-50 at night) and daytime temps are comfy (65-75).  Lots of new development south and west of Jacksonville.

abacomike

suydam said:

I was in Palm Desert in June. As long as you’re a night owl or like the indoors it’s fine. From 8 in the morning till at least 9 at night the heat is unbearable. I grew up in a different California desert and I would never go back! I need WATER!

You are 100% right, suydam.  June through October is brutal in the Coachella Valley.  This past week my son called to tell me it hit 120 degrees in the shade.  This is a departure from average daytime temps of 104-108 F.  Yes, it’s dry like an oven, but 108-120 F is murder.

The Low Desert is great to live in from November through May.  The High Desert (Las Vegas) is brutal in summer and cold in winter.

Northern Florida has a great climate - but still hot and humid in summer.  Many Palm Desert area residents have summer homes in the San Diego area or Laguna Beach where it’s cooler because of the cold Pacific Ocean.

Many Florida residents have summer homes in the mountains of N Carolina or New York etc.

abacomike

berri said:

Koufax and Drysdale take me back to being a kid. Aba, if your kids live in the Palm Dessert area and you liked it, maybe you should sell your condo and move into a rental unit near them. You are on the inevitable downhill slope we all will face at some point and it might be nice to be near family now. Weather, heck homes are climate controlled and most everywhere has its 4 months of crap weather. Moving is always a hassle, but then the hassle is over with and life goes on.

Actually, I could not afford to live out there.  Average monthly rentals are $1200-$2000 a month.  Sales taxes are 8%-8.5% on everything.  Gasoline is 1 dollar more a gallon than here.  State income taxes are brutal.  Summers are brutal.  I would need to have spendable income at $100,000 a year or more, which is way more than my monthly income now.  Even annual car registration is over $1000 for my car.  Utilities are high.

I agree I should be nearer to my family but I just can’t right now.  My son earns over $90,000 a year and barely makes it each month.

graphicguy

My brush with a celebrity.....

I fly a lot, mostly with Delta, which I have 2 million miles logged.

Anyway, they used to upgrade me fairly regularly to first class given my “status”. That doesn’t happen much any more as they’d rather leave a first class seat empty rather than have to spend an extra $20 for a couple of beers and crappy food that I would cost them.

Anyway, I flew quite often to CA from Cincinnati. Delta had a hub here at the time. So, it was a connecting point from flights coming from the East or the South.

Going to CA I got to my seat. Already sitting there was a guy who looked kind of familiar but I couldn’t put my finger on who he was. Normally I do work on those long flights (4 hours) and leave my seat mate alone. This guy started a conversation and asked about what I did, where I actually lived (Cincinnati), etc.

Finally, wheels up and the tiny screens dropped down to play the inflight movie. Movie had Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman in it, so I was mildly interested in seeing it. The movie’s name was “Practical Magic”. The male lead comes on screen and looks a whole lot like the guy sitting next to me. I look at the screen, and then back at him a couple of times. He looks at me and says “yeah......I still can’t get used to seeing myself on any sort of screen”. It was Aiden Quinn. Cool guy. We talked the rest of the flight.

Not sure what ever happened to him. Haven’t seen him in anything for a long time.

abacomike

graphicguy said:

My brush with a celebrity..... I fly a lot, mostly with Delta, which I have 2 million miles logged. Anyway, they used to upgrade me fairly regularly to first class given my “status”. That doesn’t happen much any more as they’d rather leave a first class seat empty rather than have to spend an extra $20 for a couple of beers and crappy food that I would cost them. Anyway, I flew quite often to CA from Cincinnati. Delta had a hub here at the time. So, it was a connecting point from flights coming from the East or the South. Going to CA I got to my seat. Already sitting there was a guy who looked kind of familiar but I couldn’t put my finger on who he was. Normally I do work on those long flights (4 hours) and leave my seat mate alone. This guy started a conversation and asked about what I did, where I actually lived (Cincinnati), etc. Finally, wheels up and the tiny screens dropped down to play the inflight movie. Movie had Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman in it, so I was mildly interested in seeing it. The movie’s name was “Practical Magic”. The male lead comes on screen and looks a whole lot like the guy sitting next to me. I look at the screen, and then back at him a couple of times. He looks at me and says “yeah......I still can’t get used to seeing myself on any sort of screen”. It was Aiden Quinn. Cool guy. We talked the rest of the flight. Not sure what ever happened to him. Haven’t seen him in anything for a long time.

I had a similar experience on a non-stop flight from Ft. Lauderdale to Los Angeles on an American Airlines flight a few years back.  It was a Boeing 757 so the main entry to the plane was just behind first class.  I was upgraded to first class and my seat was just behind the bulkhead next to the window.  But when I got there after boarding, I saw the head of a man who was sitting in my seat.  I thought I should seek out the flight attendant so as not to create an uncomfortable discussion why he should move to his assigned seat.  So I went to the flight attendant and told her my problem.  She said to me, “...you must be Mr. Si....r.  Welcome aboard.  The gentleman in your seat asked me to give you this envelope.”  So I opened the envelope and there were 5 crisp new $100 bills in it with a note asking if I would mind sitting in the aisle seat.  It was signed “Marc Anthony”, the recording star.  I walked up to him, returned his $500 and said to him, “...can I buy a few hours of conversation from you?”  He smiled and said “sure”!

thebean

I once took a leak next to Troy Aikman's nephew's appliance repairperson. He wasn't very friendly.

jmonroe

abacomike said:

laurasdada said:

Shortly after moving to LA, my father was at a grocery store. While in the check out line, a woman pushed her cart into him. A bit annoyed he turned to see an attractive woman, he told her she looked much like Jamie Lee Curtis. Of course, it was Jamie Lee Curtis.
I have to remind my dad, he's in LA. He keeps seeing people who look like people. They are who they look like, dad!

You guys know I used to live in Palm Desert, CA from 1991-1998 and then northern Los Angeles from 1998-2000.

Palm Desert is one of several cities in the Coachella Valley which include Palm Springs, Cathedral City, Rancho Mirage, Bermuda Dunes, Indian Wells, La Quinta and Indio.  Many Movie and TV stars and professional athletes own winter homes in Rancho Mirage, Palm Desert, Indian Wells and La Quinta and a few in Palm Springs.  So during the winter, it is quite common to be seated in a restaurant and have a star or sports legend seated at the next table.

I also had a number of kids at the school I ran whose parents were pro athletes or TV/Movie stars.  I remember sitting next to Tim Conway and his wife at a restaurant in Rancho Mirage.  A few weeks later I was at a concert in Rancho Mirage and Tommy LaSorta was sitting right next to me.  It was quite common in the Coachella Valley to see stars walking on the street or at the movies or at restaurants.

I was very close with Don Drysdale and his wife (Annie Meyers Drysdale) and their kids.  I remember being at his funeral at Forest Lawn near Chavez Ravine.  At the memorial service, I was seated right next to Sandy Koufax.  My son sat next to Roosevelt Greer who took up 2 seats due to his size.  All the current and retired Dodgers were in attendance and the Emcee was Vin Scully. Very moving experience.

What I miss most about my years in Palm Desert is being with my son and my grandchildren.  But I also miss the laid back embiance of the Desert Cities and the non-challant pace of daily life among the stars intermingling in the lives of every-day people.

That's an interesting life you had @Mike, but did you ever have a very beautiful girl at a dept. store ask for your autograph because she thought you played the part of a spy in movies, even though she couldn't remember your stage name?

jmonroe

thebean

@jmonroe, your story definitely tops Mike's story. A fake Dean Martin is sexier than a real Don Drysdale.