Weird and Unusual things in your state

Discussion in 'ten-forward' started by beetlejuice, Dec 11, 2005.

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  1. RobZee

    RobZee Registered Member

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    Houston, TX

    http://www.agilitynut.com/h/beercanhouse.html


    [IJohn Milkovisch was an upholsterer for the Southern Pacific Railroad. When he retired in the late 1960s, he began decorating his patio with pieces of brass, marbles, rocks and buttons. He then paved over his lawn, pressing marbles and other glittery debris into the wet concrete. ("I got sick of cutting the grass.")
    Milkovisch loved beer (had a six-pack a day habit) and believed it was a cure-all for everything. He had saved the cans for years and finally come up with a use for them. He sliced off the tops and bottoms and used the sides to cover the exterior of the house. His wife protested, but he kept at it. She just didn’t allow him to touch the interior.

    Once he was done with the house, he started using the pull tabs and tops and bottoms of the cans to make curtains, mobiles, fences, sculptures, windmills and wind chimes. ("I hate to throw anything away.") Beer can garlands dangle from the eaves and form a canopy over the driveway. He believed the pull tab curtains helped reduce air conditioning costs. When a hurricane damaged the fence, he simply used the cans to repair it.

    After covering the house, he moved onto the fence, trees and rest of the yard. Marbles are embedded in the sidewalk and backyard fence and spell out “CCXXII Malone” (222 Malone is the house’s street address) in a driveway sign. The backyard has statuary and his wife’s tiny tree covered with plastic lemons from the grocery. He built "The Ladder to Success" – a ladder crowned with moon and starts with one rung painted black to show that some people don’t make it. A small medallion in the middle of his back yard commemorates the year his project began (196:cool:. A wheelbarrow filled with his final load of concrete sits in front yard with a sign that reads "Culprit." However, despite the hip Houston community’s interest, he scoffed at the notion that his place was art.

    Milkovisch died in 1988, after 18 years of building and 39,000 beer cans later. His wife continued living in the house and she and the sons maintained it. They even did a TV commercial in support of recycling. His son Ronnie carried on the tradition and built a solid beer can fence and gate in front of the house. In 2001, John's wife passed away and the house was bought by the Orange Show Foundation. They are restoring the house and converting the interior into a mini-museum about the place.
     
  2. Capp

    Capp Registered Member

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    I think Ron covered Texas well enough.

    No additional comments needed.


    Unless you consider the Texas Weather to be weird. Nowhere else have I ever been can it be snowing and below freezing at 6am and above 70 degrees after lunch.
     
  3. Blackspear

    Blackspear Global Moderator

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  4. Blackspear

    Blackspear Global Moderator

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    Oh I'm not so certain about that, we had snow in Brisbane, quite a few people had to pay up on bets that day :eek: ;) :D
     
  5. RobZee

    RobZee Registered Member

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    My apologies to Ron - I didn't notice that the first item cited in his post was my favorite beerhouse

    Then why proceed to post a stale comment (hardly unique to Texas)about the weather?


     
  6. Capp

    Capp Registered Member

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    I don't think it is stale personally and I don't really appreciate it being called so. Texas weather is famous for being highly unpredictable. I am not saying we are the only state with weird weather so I am not looking for a comparison of states weather. I was just stating a fact. If you don't agree, sorry to hear that.
     
  7. ErikAlbert

    ErikAlbert Registered Member

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  8. RobZee

    RobZee Registered Member

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    Sorry. My choice of adjective was not the best. I actually meant something closer to "often-repeated." As a native Texan of more than a few decades, I am quite familiar with my proud state's volatile weather conditions.

    Actually, I was irritated by that comment when you proceeded to then add another yourself.

    In the interests of civility and keeping in mind that our great state's motto is "Friendship", I would like to bury the hatchet, as it were.
     
  9. Capp

    Capp Registered Member

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    Sounds good to me! I meant no hard feelings. :D;):p
     
  10. Cochise

    Cochise A missed friend

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    OK!.....Robzee and Capp........Handbags at 50 paces......WEATHER....you like it or not....:D :D :D



    Cochise,:cool: Texassing weather in Talahassie....
     
  11. ronjor

    ronjor Global Moderator

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    It must be a Dallas/Houston thing. :D
     
  12. RobZee

    RobZee Registered Member

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    That's a good one....:D :D

    Rob
     
  13. big ed

    big ed Registered Member

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    Right on Cocheese,

    We may not be Texans but ours is bigger than theirs!!

    An growin by the minute in Manitoba, Huge ed
     
  14. Longboard

    Longboard Registered Member

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    LOL

    Blackspear..nnnnnnoooooo.......mercy :eek:

    If the 'moon is soon, when do we see the wedding 'phots?

    Toes on the nose downunder.

    Longboard.
     
  15. Primrose

    Primrose Registered Member

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    Lest we forget the Land Of Robin... :ninja: Mostly uneventful these days..except when Big Ed drove his Winnebago into a house on the road to Thoresby trying to reach all the pubs after bingo before nightfall . The road was closed for days.
    :'(

    http://newswww.bbc.net.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/humber/4706157.stm

    The Granby Inn was just his first stop...

    New Inn, Station Road, (0.52 Miles)
    Livesey Arms, Livesey Road, (1.83 Miles)
    The Jug & Bottle, Louth Road, (2.23 Miles)
    Plough Inn, Market Place, (2.27 Miles)
    Etherington Arms, Pinfold Lane, (2.60 Miles)
    The Cross Keys Inn & Restaurant, Main Street, (2.65 Miles)
    The Cross Keys, Main Street, (2.65 Miles)
    The Royal Oak Inn, Louth Road, (2.68 Miles)
    Tilted Barrel, Kirkgate, (3.78 Miles)
    Plough Inn, Main Road, (3.80 Miles)



    North Thoresby is eight miles from Grimsby. The village hosts an annual show by the North Thoresby Horticultural Society each May Day and was the winner of the 1998 Best Kept Village Competition in the medium-sized village class. Visitors will find a number of clubs and activities taking place both weekly and monthly, from indoor bowls in the winter months to whist drives and bingo evenings. There are also village football and cricket teams and when warmer weather arrives, the bowling club moves outdoors. North Thoresby has two village pubs, the Granby Inn and the New Inn, both of which are reputed to sell fine food and ales. The village church, the old school and the village chapel and surrounding countryside are worth visiting.

    According to the Humble Vicar..

    http://www.lgmethodistdistrict.org.uk/gci_circuit/churches/nth_thoresby.asp

    Chochise and Big ED are planning on a joint venture for the largest Roller Coaster in the area..

    :cool: It will compete with the Sky Vault .

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/nottinghamshire/4534538.stm

    News at 11

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/lincolnshire/

    New Thoresby Coaster
     

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    Last edited: Dec 16, 2005
  16. big ed

    big ed Registered Member

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    You...you...what the he.. is this....Fox News??

    For your information I was minding my own bidness when 3 houses rolled into my path. I think it was the one on the left that hit me! Bingo was sound asleep in his dog crate so he is in the clear!

    The shtops made at the Pubs were only for hishtorical purposes!

    N Thoresby is only 8 mi from Grimsby? Holy Britannia!! I needed 3 fillups to get there! It was worth the effort though because the N Thoresby Horticulural Society grows some of the biggest Horts imaginable.

    Yeah....Chise and I are really excited about our joint venture in Coastering. 'Edchise' (pronounced Gorg-on Zola) is billed as the safest ride in the world. After much yelling and hair pulling (like there was a lot of the latter!) we decided to flip a coin to see who goes on the first test ride! I won the toss.....so Chise has to go!

    Theres trouble in the Glen, Faithful ed
     
    Last edited: Dec 16, 2005
  17. Primrose

    Primrose Registered Member

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    The long and short of it..
    I have been blessed with driving many of the roads in Texas..always amazed me I could travel all day on Interstate 10 or U.S. 83 and still be in the same State. Never met anyone I could not call a friend. ;)




    The shortest highway is Loop 168 in downtown Tenaha in Shelby County. The road is 0.074 miles long, or about 391 feet.
    The longest highway is U.S. 83, which extends from the Oklahoma state line near Perryton in the Panhandle to the Mexico border at Brownsville, a distance of approximately 899 miles.



    Interstate 10 is a study of contrasts through Texas. Covering 881 miles, the longest interstate in Texas travels from the scrubby deserts of El Paso to the bayous of Orange. The drive is quite memorable, if nothing else for the sheer length of time it takes to drive.

    http://www.lonestarroads.com/i-010a_tx.html


    Interstate 10 is often viewed as the "loneliest interstate highway in America," since it passes through some of the most desolate regions in the nation.


    Mile marker 880 (and the corresponding exit number) near Orange, Texas are the highest numbered mile marker and exit on the interstate highway system, or for that matter, on any freeway in North America.
     
  18. ronjor

    ronjor Global Moderator

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  19. Cochise

    Cochise A missed friend

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    Makes you wonder what awaits us when we get there eh?.......


    Cochise,:D Lodging in Laos...
     

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  20. big ed

    big ed Registered Member

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    Waal....here goes,

    Daughter left Hollywood, Fla on Mon. 10 AM w/loaded UHaul truck towing her car on a 4wheel trailer. Got cell call couple hrs later telling me truck was acting funny (not!) and gas gauge occillating. Lotsa calls during the day to monitor progress. Was sitting here at puter trying to gouge Ronjor in '4 word sentences' around 12:30 AM when I got the call.....Stopped at Fla/Ala border to check trailer....locked keys and wallet in truck. I, after quite a hassel, got ahold of AAA and after a couple of hrs. got her squared away. She stayed there @ the welcome ctr and napped til morn. Went another 50 or so miles and stopped for fuel...truck would not start!! Called U-Haul..they came out...did not have correct battery or proper new cables...returned w/new stuff. Told her gas gauge not fixable. Continued on US rt 10 got call yesterday (about 7 PM) that RPM gauge going nuts!! Truck quit about 60 mi short of El Passo (in boonies w/no road shoulder). U-Haul arrived after couple of hrs. and declared the fuelpump kaput. Musta jury rigged it so she could make it to El Passo w/the U-Haul guy following. As of this moment she is not yet back on the road. Now...everytime we talk....I always inquire "How is the trip from Hell going". This is the 4th time she has made these kind of trips but this is one for the books! She's hoping to make it to San Diego before the end of the year!

    Can I sue anybody for loss of sleep??

    Oh....and Happy Holidays!!

    I need to find somebody to choke, Grrrrr ed
     
  21. Primrose

    Primrose Registered Member

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    What a bummer Ed. :mad: Interstate 10 is a bone yard of UHaul trucks. Most of them they send out are not even fit for a local one way..much less cross country. I feel for ya and your daughter on this Odyssey..keep us informed.

    This site might give you some answer..and at least some ammunition.

    http://www.clanboyd.info/uhaul/uhaul3/

    If she gets no satisfaction..it is time to call penske in el paso

    https://www.pensketruckrental.com/personal_rental/location_finder/locationSearchResult.html



    Tire Connection
    6100 Dew Drive
    El Paso TX, 79912

    Furniture Country
    4801 Fred Wilson
    El Paso TX, 79906



    Montwood Self Storage
    1951 Joe Battle Blvd.
    El Paso TX, 79938

    Empire Warehouse Company
    9201 Empire Avenue
    El Paso TX, 79925



    Penske El Paso
    11451 Chito Samaniego
    El Paso TX, 79936-7422

    Adams American Car Care
    2001 South Valley Drive
    Las Cruces NM, 88005
     
    Last edited: Dec 22, 2005
  22. big ed

    big ed Registered Member

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    Grrrrrr!!

    She was back on the road at 4PM EST (2PM Texas variety) and last I heard, 7PM, all was AOK. Cell reception is spotty so I'm gonna try to call again soon.

    It ain't over til it's over!

    Anxious in Paternalville, Dad ed
     
  23. ronjor

    ronjor Global Moderator

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  24. big ed

    big ed Registered Member

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    Day 5!!

    Spoke to Daughter about an hour ago. She should have bored thru the Az/Ca border by now and has 3 or 4 hrs to go. Seeing that she is a day or so late I hope she can get help in unloading the 'Hellish' truck.

    Doting Daddie in Denial, Deranged ed
     
  25. Blackspear

    Blackspear Global Moderator

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    We have The Nullabor, when I was on it I took a photo that captured both the road in front and the road behind (through the rear view mirror), both came to a point on the horizon :eek: :D

    Cheers :D
     

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