Typical Month at Rooftop Reviews

"Jimi Hendrix - A Brother's Story" by Leon Hendrix... Aug 14, 2012	4397
The Vance Hotel - Statesville, N.C. Sep 19, 2010, 24 comments	3857
The King and Elvis Aug 16, 2010	1136
Birmingham, Alabama - September 15th, 1963 Sep 15, 2011	397
"Ants in the Plants" - Max and Dave Fleischer (1... May 11, 2013	372
Leap Year, George Washington and the Jewish Calend... Feb 28, 2012	146
Popeye Meets Bluebeard - Chivalry Is Not Dead Aug 13, 2013	139
Oleans Street - My Secret Walks Oct 1, 2010	135
Midnight - Cat Napping at Noon Mar 11, 2013	125
Follow up on "Decoding the Lost Symbol" by Simon ... Dec 5, 2009	115

It's been a typical month at Rooftop Reviews. The things I write today won't even "chart" until next year. Sometimes I'm surprised at what gets on there at all! Dismiss the Jimi Hendrix one; it's largely junk mail. I just keep it for the numbers it generates. By next month it will be gone and something else will replace it.

Sometimes it's seasonal. Like in April; my top hit then will be about the Civil War and also about the American Revolution. Surprisingly; overall; the Civil War is the more "popular” of the two. I wonder if that says anything about us as people?

The Vance Hotel is a regular in the top 10. It actually gets comments and also generates e-mails; which I prefer. The Vance is one of those places which attracts people; partly because of its reputation as one of the better hotels of the "old days"; and partly because it has a ghost. Now, that's unique...

Of course; the King and Elvis. I mean, anything about Elvis will get you a hit. I am putting Elvis in the keywords for this. Hey, I may start doing that with all my posts! But seriously, some folks actually do read this stuff. And I'm glad they do.

From cartoons to old films and books and history and stuff that I don't even recall, this is the best value for your buck on the web. Why? A- It’s free. B- There are 7 articles at any given time, as opposed to most other blogs where you can only look at one article at a time. They do that to get the extra hits. I don't need to. That's why I have Elvis and Jimi.

Railroad Coins

When I was a kid we used to put coins on the railroad tracks and retrieve them after the trains had passed. We did this at the elevated section of the BMT in Brooklyn, Actually it was on the Avenue S trestle at East 16th Street, next to Kelley Park and the Public Health Building. I still have one of the coins; a nickle with the year of my birth showing. The rest have all been scattered to the ages, lost years ago. And, I miss them. 

So, taking myself over to the freight tracks which run along Route 115 in Cornelius, I decided to relive a bit of  my youth, placing several coins on the rails, intending to retrieve them in a day or two.

Upon my return, I was rewarded with the most perfectly flattened and oval shaped remains of the two coins. Art is all around us in various forms. The quarter even has all the ridges on the rim intact, making it perfect material for a pendant. 

Art is all around us. We can ignore it, appreciate it, and sometimes even create it. The quarter which was crushed will be turned into a beautifully engraved pendant for my wife. And she loves me enough to wear it! I know because I asked her.

Reading for Fun - A Self Portrait

I began to read a new book the other day; I had just cracked the cover of the book which I intend to review next week; when I realized that I had no idea which book I had picked up, nor what the subject was about. I frequently have several books going at once, sort of a juggling act which I enjoy doing, but I always know which book I am reading. Apparently ,not this time. However, in  my defense I offer the following;

I had just turned to the first page of Chapter One; I read the Introductions, etc. later on, after I have gotten the flavor of the book, so as to avoid being steered in any direction other than that of the author’s own words within the narrative. This book begins with the line, “Fred Whalen learned to scam along the Mississippi, the river that divides America, at pool halls and revivals.” Great line; it  hooked me from the get-go, it has the elements of time and place, along with the personal type of pitch which appeals to me. In short; it made me want to read more; and I am in the process of doing just that. We'll have to wait and see if it can hold my interest against the other two I'm reading.

But, my greater point is this; I have finally reached the point I always dreamt about; I have become that absent minded, besieged by books, slightly confused type of old guy I always wanted to be. And, I actually understood Clint East Eastwood the other night. You got a problem with that?

The Matchbox Fleet

The following was forwarded by Edward Rothbacker, a crewmember who served on the USS Milwaukee a few years before I did. Ed is also the driving force behind Pianos for Patriots, a group which provides free music lessons for the children of soldiers currently deployed. You may contact him at;

https://www.facebook.com/Piano4Patriots

The Matchbox Fleet

79-year-old Phil Warren from the UK spent 62 years to build this incredible fleet of 432 ships. All vessels are built entirely of matchsticks and boxes of wooden matches. The collection includes nearly 370 American and 60 British ships.

Although now 79 years of age, he began creating his first boat in 1948, when he was only 17. He uses a razor blade, tweezers and sandpaper to carve the pieces and boxes, then assembles them with balsa wood glue. In total more than 650,000 matchsticks are used to create an amazing collection of 1:300 scale models. He has even added 1,200 aircraft, which give an ​​even more realistic appearance to the decks of the aircraft carriers.

The Fleet Is In.

The Subs are running a screening pattern.

And all of the aircrft are ready for launch.

Here is the Admiral reviewing the fleet.

And this is Mr. Warren at work on one his ships.