Signs of the Times

This is made right there in Missoula Montana. In case you have trouble reading around the curve of the bottle this is Moose Drool, which probably deters the wimpish drinker. It is a very good dark beer, probably one of the best of the increasing number of micro-brews that we are becoming famous for.

This is the cashier's place at The Soup Place, where at lunch time today we had some of the beer above together with some excellent chicken soup, gazpacho and a nice Reuben sandwich. As you can see there is a lot of stuff going on in Billings in August, but who would have guessed we are having a "bellydance festival?" Check it out.

Driving home after lunch, at a safe level of blood alcohol of course, I came across this sign on Broadwater heading west. I know we have the promise of our Lord that his church will endure forever but it is still fairly comforting to know that while the rest of us are out working this place where a part of the church gathers on Sunday and Thursday is protected by a tough-sounding Security Center. Notice also the dark green foliage around the sign. By this time, middle August, in much of Montana things look fairly brown owing to a lack of rainfall.                                                                                            But this year is one of those that probably fooled our ancestors of the 19th century into thinking that they had found a piece of Paradise. When I look out into my backyard this summer I wonder why I planted the trees so close together.

Florida Signs

On the way to the Keys. This is pretty far south. Florida has plenty of roads but they are still crowded and driven on by mostly maniacs.

Although the roads were crowded the beaches were not, at least in Fort Lauderdale. I don't know where the spring breakers were hanging out. This pale girl must have just arrived from somewhere in the cold north.

Turtles were allowed privacy but humans were encouraged to let it all hang out. Hmm.

These were the signs that we were looking for on the southeast side and on the Gulf side and also up around Tampa and Orlando.

These folks offered really good food in the Fort Lauderdale area, especially catfish, but other seafood as well.

This must be very boring. Lucrative I suppose but very boring. Sometimes we make the mistake of thinking that because our medical specialists only do one thing they necessarily must do that one thing better than the others.

I found this sign, dated 1933, on an old stone filling station, on a back road near Ocala. The son was the father of the guy I talked too, a real Florida native, at least for 4 or 5 generations.


I found this near the driveway of a Special Forces paratrooper and Vietnam vet who now teaches in a middle school. The kids don't fool around with him. And he seems to get all the hard cases.

These are the Five Ringling Brothers of circus fame. The last and richest of the lot left his stuff to the state of Florida. It is on view in Sarasota. I had no idea that circuses could be so lucrative.

From an airboat, a part of the equipment used by John and Adam McCormick out of Ocala and Crystal River. They run a good business. Recommended.

This seemed like a good idea, especially during Lent. And as a fund-raiser for the school. I like the neon sign as part of the advertising. Churches in Florida do things differently. Though the awful architecture of the late 50s and 60s probably shouldn't be blamed on the churches themselves. I think it was something in the schools that did it.

That's right, we are on our way to a Braves baseball game right here in the middle of Disney's Wide World of Sports. They play all kinds of games here. I knew it was a high class place as I'm sure I saw a lacrosse team walk in with us.

I guess the manatees move slowly, so slowly they have trouble getting out of the way of the boats. I wonder if there are vets who specialize in propellor injuries to manatees. I wouldn't be surprised.

Maybe a sign of the difficult economic times even the big guys are suffering from.

And some good marketing as well

I saw this sign on a drive to our dog Maggie's vet. I had to stop and pass it along. Even our OB/GYNs can be funny at times, probably because of the nature of at least some of their work.

Around & About Billings II

This is down in Stewart Park and is looking fairly nice, especially after they put up the old lights from Cobb Field. The playing surface looks good. The stands need a little work.

This is the new addition to Faith Chapel, more or less tripling the size of the old place next door. Is this what they call a "mega-church?" See the vehicle in front of it?

A downtown sign for an "Old Fashion Baptist Church." I guess we have to bloom where we are planted.

Who would have guessed that this sign would have made sense a few years ago. The Spoke Shop on 19th and Grand.