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Does this look like the face of a young woman set for an adventure? I think so.
That was on the 15th deck of the Celebrity Eclipse, our home for the next several days. Not the 15th deck, necessarily, but the vessel.
We set sail today. Here’s a little video I put together as we left port. I think you might enjoy it.
I’m especially proud of the tracking shot at the end.
More tomorrow.
I’m fine.
At the end of the night, our hotel concierge asks how things are. “Well, I’ve been hit by a van and almost ran over by a teenager on a bicycle.”
This, and a few other interesting non-traffic things happened within a five-block walk.
The concierge points out this is Miami, and they are all notoriously bad drivers here. Turns out he knew of an insurance survey ranking them at the bottom of the list, and everything. There’s a lesson there. If you cite your source, even if it was one of those publicity surveys, you’ll always come off as an expert.
The van incident was a mutual fault kind of thing. We’re on the sidewalk and the van is trying to join the road to which we’re walking. He’s looking to his left and we’re approaching him from his right. The Yankee walks quickly in front of the van, which might not have been smart. I walked behind her, which definitely was not smart. The van driver started his acceleration as I’m in the middle of his path. I hop back and smacked the hood of the van twice. Hard. Scared him to death, aggravated me, terrified The Yankee.
But I’m fine. I hurt my hand hitting the hood, purely a defensive measure. I tweaked my left ankle in trying to hop back in an effort to create some distance between flesh and bone and bumper and grill. I was happily able to walk off the ankle as the night wore on. I’ve grown very protective of my feet of late, as I have recently noticed I use them to walk and run and ride my bike pretty much everywhere.
So that was a big highlight. A van! Hitting me!
Other highlights include this little story: Last week in Connecticut the woman who runs the little Italian place we visit there told us she was cruising out of Miami today. Her two children had booked a trip for their parents. Knowing we were also going to be in Miami we said “Maybe we’ll see you on your ship, haha.”
We checked into our hotel, got up to the room, took in the view, looked out the window to the left and:
That was their ship pulling out for a week-long party.
Dinner tonight was at Havana 1957. I’d recommend it. I had the Fricase de Pollo:
Here’s their placemat, and how often do you take a placemat from a restaurant?
I’m going to shoot a lot of video in the next few days. Here is one from today, just some shots of the city:
Tomorrow, we’re leaving Miami … but to where?
The weekly post of extra pictures, brought to you by Extra Photos Almagamated!
Doing up the northern experience in the proper fashion:
They make their own chocolate here. I’ve never tried it, because it costs $3, but I’m curious about what a seagull tastes like:
Never put on someone else’s glasses. This happens:
The traditional shrimp cocktail, of which you may never have enough:
It is a pretty special thing when Sammi lounges on you:
My wife’s godfather’s train world is quite impressive. The next several shots are from an industrialized city that is always in progress:
We saw this locomotive in Denali, Alaska. He’s ridden it. And when you’re a train guy, and you ride a train, you go buy the train:
And now a bit about model details. You can’t even see most of the ice factory unless you’re leaning directly over it, but check this out:
He’s even got distressed tracks, and earth erosion on the berms. The man is masterful:
The Seaboard was running when we visited yesterday. From 1967 until 1983 the Seaboard system ran from Florida to Virginia:
If these are the last Christmas lights we’ll see this year, let’s be happy their huge:
Part of my run today:
My godfather-in-law knows a lot about trains. He’s been doing this for years. It has taken over most of the family basement.
He says he’s torn it down and rebuilt it twice. There’s a general idea in mind, but sometimes new models change your plans. The ice factory had to go up front because it was such a fine display. And there’s one bend of mountains that are simply too good to move from where they are.
He had a neighbor out back who also collected trains and there was talk, for a time, of burying a PVC pipe, a tunnel, where they could run through both houses. He was apparently a high roller, a “forget the house, get the trains,” kind of guy. He moved away and sold all of his train material to someone else.
That guy came up because I mentioned you could put some tunnels in this wall here or that wall there and run track into other rooms. But that’s probably not in the cards. His latest expansion has come out from one corner of the basement and into about half of the room, a negotiation. He built a cedar closet for his wife.
Just keep that in mind, he said, “You can go a long way on a cedar closet.”
For Christmas his granddaughter got a watch that has a video camera in it. (Kids these days.) He’s now ready to put that watch on a train car and shoot the town from the miniaturized view.
The fashion isn’t that different. Our shoes haven’t really changed at all. But as soon as my grandfather dropped the 1992-1993 Sears catalog in my lap today, we all knew we were going to make fun of it.
(I like that I have this reputation in the family now.)
So I sat down with the book and we looked through 1,600+ pages and laughed and remembered things we’d seen or similar things we owned. We got about two hours of fun out of this. And then I took about three dozen pictures and put them on Twitter. Here are some of them now.
Feel free to raise your hand and shout out when you see something you know. We all lived this together.
“We ruffled this white cotton broadcloth shirt to make it softer, more feminine.”
That’s a direct quote by the way. There was nothing in there about the broad hips look, which informed much of the Clinton era, I’m sure.
This is also a quote. Please note the punctuation “Cotton denim shorts updated with a relaxed fit…and longer legs you can roll up!”
Previously, I had thought that this length would be suitable to avoid the on-rushing tides of bad 90s sitcoms. But, I’ve now learned I need to roll up my jean shorts a few inches more. Thanks, Sears!
This garment-washed skirt is “an integral day-off piece!”
The belt, the catalog tells us, is sold separately.
Scientists have searched for decades now, but this is the incontrovertible proof of the moment when the ’80s ended:
Now, the original photo doesn’t cut off those nice ladies at the knees, but those outfits are made of Dacron polyester. As you know, in this, the more enlightened 21st century, fire marshals have rules against that much hazardous material on one page.
Sears, where flight attendants shop. Or were they still stewardesses then?
This style is coming back. These styles always come back.
Somehow, this is still on sale in Alabama. (A friend noted that her mother had it.)
No. No, it does not. “This on-the-go jumpsuit works from 9 to 5 and beyond.”
The same might have been said about that idea even then.
Models are asked to give a sense of confident, self-assuredness. She could not pull it off. See why.
The 1970s lingered a long time, like two made-up ladies lingering over coffee in flannel gowns.
They are liable to reappear at any moment you relax your guard, as well. We must remain ever-vigilant.
I promise I’m not just picking on the ladies, I’m also criticizing the children. This adorable kid is probably about 23 now. You know this picture came out a lot in The Teen Years.
Proof that, in the 1990s, toddlers could read.
Of course you might get a visit from the state for that sleeping setup today.
“Hey ladies … ” Somebody made this kid do it, but when you pop the collar on your denim tuxedo …
Speaking of someone made him do it … Gentlemen! Time to argue you never liked any of this stuff.
Before Good Will Hunting there was this. And these shirts. Jason Bourne has amnesia and is mortified.
Maybe it isn’t Matt Damon, but if this guy is interested in stunt work, and a different wardrobe …
“I enjoy starting fires by hand and wearing purple turtlenecks. No, I don’t coach LSU basketball.”
Not a good look for you, pal.
“Make yourself at home while I slip into something more comfortable…with contrasting piping…”
The ’90s, when working men looked like catalog models. Simpler times.
“I will never regret this workout.”
Every 1970 fear monger’s vision: people walking out of showers without having gotten wet.
“Six of the bridesmaids canceled. What am I going to do with all of this material?”
…
“I know!”
“Wicker. For when you need to burn your home. For insurance purposes.”
“So you just want us to sit here and be monochromatically awkward? Can do.”
“A drummer in a metal band you’ve never heard of, Sears catalog reader, says these drums rock.” These will run you $900.
And while I wish I could “Where are they now all of these people, Craig Kasin here is the only one with a name in the book.
He pops up in two or three bands that have some devoted followers, but not what you’d think of as mainstream “This is our pitchman!” success. The last reference I see is to a 2003 project Kasin was tied into with the old Nitro bandmates in a new group. But I can’t even determine if it got off the ground.
Perhaps if he was banging Royce pro drums …
In the ’90s, magazine visual editors thought, people are going to microwave their turkey!
Before we wrap this up, let’s at least be fair one time. They did get a lot of things right. The cover, for example:
Finally, while I flipped through more than 1,600 pages — this catalog was Amazon — I did not find this one at the end.
If it was placed on the inside back cover, though, it would have been worth it.
It would have been completely worth it.
And as soon as the model took that off, the “Inspired by Healthco” line was never worn by anyone, ever again.
Want more? Check out #92SearsCatalog.
