If the word "Spring" doesn't bring a smile to your face, maybe you are not from around here?
Actually, in January we enjoyed some short spurts of mild weather, which kept me busy at my metal detector store. Frankly, now that much of the heavy work is behind me, I am enjoying my new digs!
The moving is done but the settling in will probably take years! People come into the store looking for a little part or perhaps a simple repair and in a flash my brain says "Simple" then, it strikes me, "Where on earth did I put that?"
The 'settling-in' is far and away beyond frustrating! The little voice inside reminds me that my old store may have been in 'total-disarray,' and it took 27 years to make that wonderful giant mess, at least I knew where most stuff was squirreled away . . . . . . well almost!
I was a little arrogant thinking I could run my business from the outer regions of a swamp, and people would still search-me- out and find me. Well, they did to some degree, but I was missing out on the drive-by traffic! I didn't have a clue.
My mother heard about the possible move plan unfolding (where I move up to the front roadside building) and all excited she said, "You will do much more business up front by the road!"
My reply was, "Mom, I am 65. I am not looking for more work!"
She just didn't understand. You have to know my mother to get this! I am the oldest of 8 children; she was 20 when I was born. If you do the simple math, that makes her 85. . . and most people cannot keep up with her!
My mom is the best in the world! If God had handed me a "Mother Order Sheet" before I was conceived, I couldn't have done as well as God did on His own.
Of course, as always, Mom was right! In the old store, I have had customers tell me, "Boy, you are hard to find back here!"
Now I hear, "I have been driving by here for 20 years and didn't know you were here!"
Well, so far, I have been much busier! The moral is "Listen to your mama!"
About the same time, actually just before I moved, my old AM Radio started to wimp out on me. I knew that it just needed a good cleaning of the old analog-tuning pots, but I was so busy fixing other peoples problems, I couldn't find time to fix my own problems! Besides, we are living with new technology, today . . . the Internet!
Today, we can listen to almost any radio station in the world on a computer, or even with a cell phone, without waiting for a good signal or one that fades with the passing hour. Between the hours of 12-noon and 3pm, I usually listen to Rush Limbaugh, who airs on WKMI out of Kalamazoo. When I was in high school in the 60's, WKMI was the local top-forty rock & roll station.
Before that, around 1958 - 1959, I had my first transistor radio! We had to tune into WLS out of Chicago back then.
When we lived in Plainwell, on Cedar Street, I remember lying in bed at night listening to Chuck Berry, Elvis, Bill Haley and his Comets, Jerry Lee Lewis!
At the time, when he wasn't driving a Michigan Cottage Cheese Truck, my dad was driving a 54 Ford Mainline V-8 with dual exhaust! I wanted him to add fender-skirts, mud- flaps and dual radio antennas complete with coon tails!
So, what I do now is go to WKMI's web site, and click on the tab "LISTEN NOW."
The program will "stream" onto your computer. It is on a slight delay from the actual radio, and because this is a developing media, the advertisers they use online are not the same as the ones on-air.
In fact they really didn't have many advertisers at all! When the network show took a commercial break, on the internet feed, they would play some sort of "Public Service" message . . . over and over!
I didn't have the patience for such garbage! When I worked for my father I was sales manager and advertising manager, so I know these guys are losing money on their Internet feed! I called the station and asked, "What would it cost for me to run an ad on your internet feed for the Rush Limbaugh show?"
Frankly I think that hit them out of the blue! They sent one of their advertising salesmen over to show me what they could offer. I picked up a 60 second spot with a banner with a link to my website for just a few bucks for each time it was run during the 3 hour show.
So far so good. But soon it moved into bigger and bigger stuff! Before I knew what was happening to me, I was invited to a "Branding Seminar." Before I knew it, I was on the internet and two radio stations! I have lasted this long with little or no advertising . . . maybe I was better off? Well, I guess I will find out!
Ron
Smith showed us an early
three-piece mold with the lady's leg
in a nice olive green with an applied
top. If this bottle had nearly any
company name embossed on it, we
would be starting at $100.00 and the
sky is the limit from there!
Cook. I thought at first the little bottle
may be the bottle I have been looking
for!
had
been working in a dairy
near Detroit, where they
learned he could produce a
special dry-curd creamed
cottage cheese. That dairy was
getting rich off
Grandpa's
work! Eventually he decided he
didn't really need them, so he
launched off on his own.
The
perceived medical benefits of
the spring water were that it was "good
for the liver, stomach, skin, and
'female complaints'." It continued
throughout the Civil War, when
Buffalo Springs continued to draw
people looking for the medical
benefits. It was believed that lithium
dissolved uric acid, which was
responsible for gout, dyspepsia,
rheumatism, eczema, diabetes, Bright's
disease, gallstones, fevers, and other
things. By 1895, the water, now
known as Buffalo Lithium Water was
being advertised and distributed in
thousands of magazines, pharmacies
and grocery stores. 
I
also see in my photos, a lovely
Washington / Eagle half-pint
historic flask from Tim Hayes'
collection! I really love those early
open-pontiled, sheared-lip pocket
flasks!
Many of our early presidents
were forever enshrined on the early
historic flasks, but no other to the
extent of President Washington. He
was a very loved leader!
Or
call 269-685-1776