Settle in, grab a cup of coffee and enjoy your stay here at Shelly's. The pie is great, the coffee pot is always on and soon you will find this to be the best place in town. SOON TO BE AMERICA'S MOST READ BLOG

Sunday, December 21, 2008

A SHORT BUT POIGNANT HOLIDAY APOLOGY--AND A RATHER BIT LATE AT THAT


If you, as a regular reader notice the last two posts missing--fear not, it was not a work of the CIA.

Now that elections are over, an inner circle of sneaky corporate board members decided to resume a politically friendly blog. My desire is to offend only those on the highest end of the touchy feely scale therefore friends on both sides of the political spectrum can enjoy visiting the cafe, and of course, partaking of my delicious pie and mouth watering coffee.

Mouth watering coffee, hmm that sounds absolutely odd.

I promise not to be so slack with my labors here at the cafe in this upcoming year. More stories, more art, more pie. Heck, we can all live with that.


Meanwhile, here are a couple of good old humorous Scandinavian Christmas songs by Yogi Yorgesson, offensive only to those whose family legacy may have been beaten to a pulp by the Vikings. Sadly my father's family tree did this horrific act of violence to my mother's Celtic tree. So this may be the answer to my inner turmoil, which of course only brings out the artist in me. Is not that the way it is suppose to work, you know the tortured artist mental thingy.


I Yust go Nuts at Christmas

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8SqY9crHA8

The Christmas Party

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RAvKocmJk4Q

Stan Freeberg's Christmas Dragnet (You may have to search U-Tube for that one because the address hasn't been working for me.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ELMjwQJzI0



Live large and have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

Micheala--owner and dishwasher of Shelly's Cafe (and the only sneaky
corporate board member)

Thursday, October 23, 2008

DIGITAL PICTURES ON THE CAFE WALL

Hold on folks, I know we got some good photos in the bag

My new Canon XSi Digital camera has been getting quite a workout. I reluctantly retired my Nikon 8008 SLR after the rewind motor started to die and good quality film became hard to find. I really didn't want to buy a Canon but now I am glad I did. So today I will change the pictures hanging on the cafe's wall.


So what do you think?

Don't forget to click on the photo for an enlargement.
Mums a'plenty. Shot at our local Mum Fest. Tons of mums and lots of color
Okay, I got to get Mr Rags in here somewhere
Cheap Ride. It's the economy ya know.
That's right--just a plain old tree rat.

A nest of late fall color
Coming home to roost. The blackbirds were squawking so loud as the perched on the high lines and the substation next to it. Why do they like power lines so much?
Ha, we may never know.

Small note-- all blackbirds, starlings, grackles, red wings, etc gather to migrate together, but once they arrive at their destination they have nothing to do with each other.



A guy at our local cruise in showed me his new car. This was the first time he had it out in the public. The engine is an old "Jimmy," that has been hopped-up. It is really well detailed and built much like a 50's jalopy. Love the paint job.
The swan speaks for himself.

Even a sea gull can look majestic in the right light.
My friends like the semi tanker picture. Me? Eh, sort of neat.


I love shooting trains but we don't have much to chose from around here. The CSX line runs through our downtown area so I sat behind the strip mall until I heard the whistle.

This comes from Mohican State Park, a bit south of here. We were down by the river when I saw this bobber sitting near the shore--lost and alone. I tinted the water a bit on the computer, but I thought it made an interesting picture. My eye catches different things most folks pass on by.

I had to stalk this little creature for quite a long time. He kept following me because of the strobe flash. Hard to focus when they keep moving. The little fella usually came by everynight to see what was happening. Likely he froze to death by now. How sad.

Sunday, July 06, 2008

LOVE, FIREWORKS AND THUNDEROUS SKIES

In the distant sky over Northern Iowa, bolts of sharp lighting could be seen thrusting downward like silver swords tossed from Thor's callused hands into the lush distant green cornfields. Most of the locals paid little attention to the dark blue horizon since no thunder could be heard, a sign the distant storm posed no threat at the moment.

The annual 4th of July Corn-Fest events were in full swing here-abouts and the clanging, noisy Tilt-A-Whirl did as much to fill the senses as did the smell of cotton candy, french fries and fresh pies at the Auxiliary Brothers of the Corn concession tent. This was the day everybody left the fields and barns for the one event that everyone would keep in their heart until the next year's event.

In rural Iowa, romances were often cultivated around affairs such as this, so parents kept a close eye peeled for underage hanky-panky. If my memory serves me right, the summer of ‘63 sparked a romance not soon to be forgotten by the local fire chief and others who were attendance that evening.

Perhaps there is nothing more strange of the oxygen breathing species throughout the God's whole universe than a seventeen year-old Iowa farm boy in love. John Troybridge fit that description

As often is the case when you are so horribly confined to your own awkwardness it sometimes takes a non-verbal action to get your point across. In other words, you must physically demonstrate you love somebody, since the very means of human speech are of no use.

John could hardly stand up straight without falling over himself. His huge belt buckle seemed to be a centering pivot between his Levis and new cowboy shirt bought just for the festival. He had radiant blue eyes that stood out on his farm boy tan and blond hair that was so light often one could see the sun-burned head right through his scalp. But it was Mary Flanigan, a red haired, freckled faced, Junior Varsity cheerleader that was no taller than a July stalk of corn that caused him to become delirious every time she came near him. Intended words scrambled about his brain at the very thought of asking her out for a date.

Late in the afternoon as the Corn-Festivities started to wind down for the day, folks would pack the car with kids, potato salad, Broasted Chicken and lemonade and head over to Cleghorn Lake to watch the fireworks display. Blankets were neatly and precisely laid out as to get the full effect of both, food and fire.

Marvin Green, the newly elected fire chief of Cleghorn's Volunteer Fire Department, spent the afternoon carefully inventorying and loading the cases of fireworks for the evening's pyrotechnics show. Probably the most dangerous task he ever performed. Marvin felt honored knowing the town trusted him with the troublesome job. Truth be known, nobody else wanted the job.

About two thirds of the way through the job of setting up the explosives, Marvin sat down. He looked out across the still black western sky. It did not look as if the storm had moved but the humidity started to climb as the hazy afternoon skies gave chorus to the noisy cicadas lodging in the trees about the lake. He swept the sweat from his forehead and pulled out the list and checked off the remaining inventory..

"Rats," Marvin mumbled to himself as he sat down on the tailgate of his dusty red pickup, "I must have forgotten to check off a case of Roman Candles."

John tried to call Mary three times that morning to invite her to the fireworks. He even rehearsed saying the simple word–hello. Every time he got to the last number on the rotary dial, panic overtook him and he hung up. Later that afternoon he intentionally walked by the cheerleader's fund-raising booth where she volunteered.

After walking past the booth at least a dozen times, Mary smiled at his shyness and that was enough of an invitation for him to go over and make small talk, which actually turned into a stumbling act as he tripped over his own feet as he crossed one of many power cords that zig zaged about the carnival.

She tried hard not to laugh at him as he dusted himself off, instead she handed him a handful of bamboo rings to toss over the quart bottles of Dad's Root Beer set around miniature goldfish bowls.

As farm boys went, John had everything, good looks, brilliant smile and he was the star quarterback on the high school football team. He had everything, everything but courage and coordination around that little red haired, freckled faced Mary. She drove him insane, but he could do little to pull himself together while she stood there with those little bamboo rings in her hands.

"Hot lightning we're having, looks like we may get some weather bad tonight," John said as he nervously fumbled with the rings and tossed them, ringing one bottle of root beer. Mary laughed as she handed him his prize bottle. John grabbed three more rings, tossed them and told her, "That's meant not what I said."

Mary reached for his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze and told him to calm down. John gave a sigh then took a deep breath. "Mary will you go with me to the fireworks at the lake tonight."

"I thought you would never ask," Mary replied calmly. "Pick me up at 7:30 and I'll pack some sandwiches and soda."

John fainted.

Marvin double checked the inventory and still came up one small case short of the Roman Candle skyrocket with the loud reports. Evening rapidly approached and he had to finish seting up the rocket tubes and position the fire truck. He knew if he said anything about the missing fireworks the other firemen may loose trust in his ability to guard and keep valuable equipment, so he locked the door of the storage shed and headed over to the lake.


The sky to the west darkened to a blackish green color as the sheet lightning produced its own twilight performances in the distant prairie heaven. A little rumble of thunder could now be heard along with the rhythm of the buzzing cicadas and the chirping of the crickets as they performed for the nervous crowd.

John started feeling guilty about taking Uncle Marvin's set of keys to the storage shed and removing the small case of Roman Candles. He had no idea his uncle counted the fireworks. His plans to take the skyrockets over to the Flanigan farm to impress Mary with fireworks now seemed rather stupid. Her maturity was much higher than his, and he knew it was wrong to steal something to make her notice him.

The rumbling in the west increased as the evening wore on so the fire department decided to start the fireworks a half hour earlier since the locals were getting a bit edgy.

As always the firework show dazzled children and grownups alike. The grand finale ended with a sudden downpour that started with a sprinkle bit finished in a torrent of rain only equaled by the thunder and light of the explosive pyrotechnics. In seemed as if the last hurrah cut open the rain clouds only to drench the applauding onlookers.

I am not sure what is about a grand finale that even a rainstorm can't douse the patriotic rush that runs through the very core of a person's soul. Mary grabbed John's hand and gave it a squeeze as if she needed a big guy to protect her from the ear splitting percussion of thunder. John figured this was the big chance to steal his first kiss from the girl that drove him mad. He knew better than to ask. He thought just shut up and kiss her.

The air had a feeling of electricity. John turned around and looked int her blue eyes. Mary smiled and let her lips touch his. Just as their lips met his a bolt of lightning crashed down behind them and struck his ‘53 Ford pickup. The missing skyrockets, with loud reports detonated, blowing the back of his truck to smithereens.

After that, John knew he was in love.

Wednesday, April 30, 2008

HOT DOG SPRING HAS SPRUNG

Finally, we here in the upper/lower part of America have tasted of the glorious delights of spring. We dipped down into the 30's earlier in the week but avoided the snow that so viciously attacked my old home town in Minnesota.

So the long wait for warmth has finally came to fruition here in the Dirty Old Factory Town. It is glorious to know even the most obnoxious and firmly seated liberal outposts, where little or no progress has been made to strengthen the human race in the last 50 years, a speck of hope emerges from the soil of despair.

Such as it is in my rusted out little suburb of an even more wretched big city which in turn hides under another blighted larger city known for little more than a river that caught fire all those many years ago. (And Dennis Kucinich, who I believe was mayor at the time.)

Amongst the urban decay is a little lake nearby for those who desire to seek refuge from the daily grind. Here one can come, if only for a moment, and gaze upon the promise of a new spring. Last week with Nikon in hand I visited this wonderful little spot.

Yes, spring truly has arrived. Be sure to click on the photos for a larger view.






Is the picture upside down? Turn your computer over and find out.




















Saturday, March 29, 2008

NATIONAL MS WALK--CAN YOU HELP?


Welcome friends. It has been a while since I last worked on the story page. Although I am about ready to post a new story, I want to take time to try a new idea. Most, if not all of my readers know I have Multiple Sclerosis, a disease that certainly changed my life.

Many of you may also know because I decided to tame the beast within a new plan for my body was needed. In January I started to work out and swim at our new YMCA in order to lose weight and gain mobility. It has been amazing to see and feel the change in my body.

The National MS Society helps us in numerous ways by donating equipment and aiding in research to find a cure for this wretched disease. In my case, because of my age and the progression of the MS there is little doctors can do, but for those who are younger, much has been achieved by slowing down the disease. For me, it is exercise. For younger individuals a wide and varied amount of help is available.

I can not walk the two (or four ) miles yet, but I am volunteering to help those who can in Massilon, Ohio on April 26th. I am going to use the Internet to raise money. This is a first. Can you help with a donation? Can you pass this website onto a friend? Whatever you feel in your heart is a good donation is welcome. This is not for myself as an individual, but for all who are fighting for a better tomorrow.

Make the check out to the National MS Society. If you want a receipt other than your check, let me know.






I am asking you to join the movement by making a contribution to support our efforts!!!

Thank you and sincerely. God bless you for helping.



Sorry the epledge does not work on my site. I will try and fix it but until that time the checks will have to be sent to the above address.

P.S. The photo is our 2007 team

Friday, January 11, 2008

PICTURES FROM A CAFE'S WALL

As I slowly work my way through the editing process of my next story, I thought I would return to the Cafe and brighten things up a bit with photos from my All Aboard Amtrac trip taken nearly 10 years ago.

When you start your trip from Chicago's Union Station on the Empire Builder or head out west on Rt 66, most folks like to stop at Lou Mitchell's for a hearty breakfast (and ladies, we get free Milk Duds). The photos stop at Union Station--though I stopped in LA, from whence I started.

What we see is a hodge-podge of the great plains, Glacier National Park and the Pacific Ocean. I should have placed them in order, but, eh, who cares. I hope you enjoy the pictures and as always, they look much better full size. You can see the reflection of the Vista Dome windows in some. I worked hard to remove most of that particular problem, though one is a dramatic reflection of person and train. I left that one alone

P.S. I discovered if you click on the photo it will become full size. At least on my computer. I did not know that. Hope it works on your computer also.

More photos to be released soon.