Still More From the Archives - Moscow

It came to pass in 1993 that Electronic Data Systems (now defunct, the old company currently doing bid'niz as HP Enterprise Services) decided it would be a Good Thing to get their foot in the door of the former Evil Empire, seein' as how the Russian gub'mint was privatizing former state-owned enterprises at a most astonishing rate.  And they were, Gentle Reader, yes they were.  EDS felt that there might be some serious opportunities there and began pursuing bid'niz in Russia... but we're getting ahead of ourselves.

One such newly privatized company was Rostelecom, an analogue to the old monolithic AT&T for all intents and purposes, in that the company provides long-distance telephone services for all of Russia.  It also came to pass that Rostelecom released an RFP early in 1993 for network management consulting services; EDS bid on the RFP and won the contract.  Shortly after that the company released a call for volunteers to staff a team that would go to Moscow for on-site surveys and evaluations of Rostelecom's network management infrastructure, said team further being required to recommend technical improvements and a strategy for implementing the recommendations.

Cutting to the chase... I was the technical team lead for that project and made two trips to Moscow, one in early July 1993 and the second in September of that year.  What follows are some snapshots from the last Moscow trip.  I didn't take all that many still photos when I went, what with having bought my first video camera for the sole purpose of documenting the experience.  And I shot a LOT of video.  At some point in time I'll get those old VHS tapes converted into digital format, but that remains a task on my To Do list... and it's pretty far down that list, actually.  So, without further ado...

Shelly, an EDS sub-contractor and YrHmblScrb

Just me

Two shots of me on Red Square and one of the changing of the guard at Lenin's tomb.  Yep, the mausoleum that holds his waxy ol' cadaver is still one of the biggest tourist attractions in Moscow or was, at the time.   Watching those immaculate goose-stepping troops gave me a world-class chill, believe me.  Click for larger and note how they carry those rifles.  Impressive.

The very FIRST thing we did after unpacking and sleeping off the arrival drunk (more on that phenomenon below) was to hit the shower and walk over to Red Square.  The sole saving grace of the flea-bag hotel EDS booked us into was the fact it was within walking distance of one of the most famous squares in all the world.  We'll digress just a lil bit more to say EDS was doing this deal on a shoestring and doubled up everyone on the team, two to a room.  That was the first and only time that ever happened in all the road trips I made with EDS and it was ugly, given my roommate snored like a proverbial buzz saw.  I MIGHT have gotten all of four hours uninterrupted sleep during the two weeks of that first trip.  Back to Red Square... my one lasting impression of my first view of the place... and it IS most impressive... was turning to one of my co-workers and casually mentioning "there's at least three MIRVs sitting in a hole somewhere in North Dakota with these EXACT geo-coordinates programmed into the warheads."  He looked at me like I was insane.

About the drinking... we were met at the airport by a welcoming delegation from Rostelecom and the first thing we did upon leaving the airport was whip into a hotel parking lot and consume two large bottles of vodka.  Amongst the six of us on the team and our two Russian hosts.  That lil event set the tone for the remaining two weeks.  After we'd finished with the welcoming toasts we were driven to our hotel and given a half-hour to shower and change, whereupon we were off once again to a welcoming banquet.  The food was very good and the vodka continued to flow throughout the two-hour ordeal.  I say "ordeal" because we had just decamped from an approximately ten hour flight between JFK and Moscow... we were DEAD tired.  And then we were drunk.  Dead drunk.  But it was one of those deals you could NOT refuse.

So, we drank a lot.  Early and often, too.  An example: my project counterpart was a Rostelecom director who summoned me into his office every morning at 1000 hrs for his daily briefing.  I'd be ushered in to his office by his secretary who would seat me in front of the guy's desk and then proceed to his wet bar where she would pull out a bottle of vodka and two shot glasses.  We'd have a drink, I'd brief him, and then we'd have another drink... sometimes two.  When we left the country after the first phase of the study was complete one of my team members said to me "Thank God that's over.  Another week and I'd need a new liver."  That's not much of an exaggeration.

Some shots of the hotel room on my second trip.  This time only two of us went over to do final reviews and we each had our own rooms... in a MUCH better hotel.

My bed

The sitting area

The bathroom

The bathrooms were the BEST thing about Moscow hotel rooms, at least in the two hotels I stayed in.  The tubs were long and deep, deep, deep... just the thing for a full body immersion experience after a trying day.  And most days were trying, Gentle Reader.

The conference room where we did our final reviews; note the ashtrays.  I LOVED that aspect of doing bid'niz in Russia... most everyone smoked and NO one looked down on you if you indulged.  My kinda people.  At the time.

Me standing across a busy boulevard from one of the many Stalinist architectural monstrosities that litter the Moscow skyline.  Present day Muscovites take a perverse sense of pride in these Gawd-Awful things.  And they are kinda-sorta impressive in a bizarre way.

One last vignette.  Something else happened in Moscow in September of 1993 and you might remember it, Gentle Reader.  We were in the end-game of our outbriefs and had about three days left in-country when I was awakened very early one morning (like 0430 hrs) by a phone call from a VERY panicked wife who demanded to know "What the HELL is going on over there?"  "What do you mean?" sez I.  "Haven't you been watching ANY teevee?" she asked, incredulously.  "Hang on," sez I.  I walked over and flipped on the teevee (which was always tuned to the Beeb, the ONLY English-language station available) just in time to catch some talking head seriously intoning "... and it looks like Russia is on the brink of civil war.  Back to you, Barbara."  Say what!?!  Russia?  Civil War?  THIS Russia?  Shit!  Damn!  

Fast forward to later that same day.  On our way to the office we noticed many busloads of troops strategically parked at various intersections around the capital and that afternoon we saw our first tanks on the way home from the office.  I returned to the hotel to find numerous messages from EDS... in both the Dallas and Detroit offices... all of which said "Call IMMEDIATELY!"  So, we booked a phone call and got in touch with our management, who informed us we were to leave the very next day, no questions, no ifs, no buts.  Get the Hell out and get out ASAP... there are tickets waiting for you at the airport.

And so we did.  Three days later Yeltsin ordered the Army to fire on the White House and the crisis was over.  But it was sure exciting for a couple of American bid'niz men caught on the ground there... for a brief moment.

And now... Happy Hour!

Linkage

Our favorite milblogger was in Boston recently for some sort of military/contractor conference.  He took time off from the conference this past Tuesday to visit the world's oldest active warship, the USS Constitution.  The narrative of his visit is one of those pieces that (a) makes one feel like you're right there with him and (b) SHOULD make all of the blogging world wonder why they even bother to publish.  The piece is THAT good, seriously, and you'll be much the poorer if you don't go read... comments included.

The man has a freakin' GIFT.

Today's Happy Hour Soundtrack

More Little Feat...

And you know that you're over the hill
When your mind makes a promise that your body can't fill
Doin' the old folks boogie
And boogie we will
'Cause to us the thought's as good as a thrill 

Well now... HOW appropriate is this?  The thought will have to do now, won't it?  Coz while the spirit may be willing the flesh is weak, indeed.  Ah, well.  No one gets out of here alive, according to Mr. Morrison.

Broadening Our Horizons XX

We've called Happy Hour early this afternoon.  And we're broadening our horizons once again, this time with Hoptober, a Fall seasonal beer from New Belgium:

The usual, customary, and reasonable tableau

A close up of the label.  Pretty pagan, ain't it?

Our cigar this afternoon is an Acid Opulence Three, which is a fine stick with which we have a bit of experience.  Suffice to say we're feeling good enough to indulge and that's about as good as it gets, Gentle Reader.

Our soundtrack this afternoon... Little Feat:

Ah.  I've been a few places like that. 

And now... back outside yadda, yadda, yadda.

Linkage

From The Awl... which is a good read if you don't mind the odd piece of liberal snark here and there:

Old Men Using Bikes To Snag Young Chicks  (by Balk @10:15 AM)

)

"With a bike, it’s all about fitness, strength and stamina. But in some ways a top of the range bicycle says many of the same things about you as a sports car – they both have a rugged, dangerous element to them."
—Psychologist Cliff Arnall explains the logic behind the idea that bicycles are the new Ferraris when it comes to signaling midlife crises in middle-aged men. I am not exactly sure why riding around on something that squashes your nuts flat like a penny on a railroad track will somehow increase your attractiveness to the opposite sex, but then again I hate bicycles and the people who ride them, so maybe I'm not the best person to judge.

Heh... this strikes a certain chord with me.  Now I don't actually hate bikes and the people that ride them, with the possible exception of those spandex-clad Yuppie types cluttering the bike paths on the Left Coast.  Or more specifically, when those same Yuppies ventured OFF the bike paths and got in my way in normal city traffic. Those types are oh-so-fortunate they didn't get run right the Hell over.  I hate those asshats.  Old men should stick to sports cars, anyway. There's much less wheezing involved in operating one.

Speaking of wheezing... we're back from our commissary/beer run out to Cannon Airplane Patch and took our first dose of Mucinex about an hour ago.  It's high hopes we have.

Paris In August

From NatGeo, where this vid (Ed: I removed the vid, the code didn't work.  But go to the link and watch - it's good.) comes from...

"The Eiffel Tower pulses like a nagging cell phone, weekday traffic on Place de la Concorde snarls and honks, sidewalks along Rue de Rivoli resemble ant colonies, cafés jam and jangle, waiters frazzle, market vendors push and pull, hawkeyes snag park chairs. . . . Every week of the year I pray for Sunday. And when Sunday comes here in Paris, where I live, I pray for August."

So begins "The Longest Sunday," the cover feature of our July/August issue, written by James Morgan, which celebrates the quiet lull of the City of Lights when many of its residents have left for their August vacations. Watch the video, above, and get a sense of how Paris feels on these lazy summer days.

What do you love most about Paris in August? 

Well... let's let Frank answer that:

Back to Paris in August... been there, done that.  The sole two surviving tee shirts from that trip (click for larger, click twice for largest)...

 Main dans la main à Paris

 Sur La Seine près de Notre-Dame

When we lived in London in the early '80s The Second Mrs. Pennington and I were lucky enough to have a friend who had a flat in Paris.  Said friend was a colleague of TSMP's at London Central High School and he lived in London most of the time.  The flat in Paris, when vacant, was available to his friends just for the asking and we took advantage of his kindness.   Paris is fun anytime, as Mr. Sinatra noted; it's MUCH more fun when you have your own space... and that space is free.

Relapse

I remain amazed at the body's ability to produce mucus... a seemingly inexhaustible supply.  WHERE does all this stuff come from?  I thought I was nearly out of the woods on Saturday but noooo...  We went off the cold meds yesterday morning in the mistaken belief we'd turned the corner but THAT only lasted for about three hours, and it certainly wasn't the best experience I've had lately.  This is well and truly The Mom of All Summer Colds.

So, it's back on my head.  I absolutely, positively HAVE to go out and run a few errands this morning... assuming I want to eat tonight and have coffee tomorrow morning, not to mention the fact the beer supply is nearly exhausted.  I'm not looking forward to this.

Deep In the Hockey Doldrums

But there's an app for that...

If you're a hockey fan you WILL take exception to this work.  Mine is that the piece should be called "The Top Ten Skilled Forwards," with the notable exception of Bobby Orr.  We won't even go into omissions.  (h/t for the vids: Kukla's Korner)

In other hockey news... Look out Western Conference.  Detroit signed Mike Modano to a one year deal and this is a GREAT good thing.  The Wings can roll four lines once again, as noted in this piece from the Detroit News:

Rolling four lines in the NHL is the equivalent of a batting order with 50-and-60-RBI men in the eighth and ninth slots -- it debilitates opponents, giving them little rest physically or mentally. When a team continually attacks, it also takes pressure off teammates responsible for the defensive end of things. From at least 1997 to 2002, when they won three Stanley Cups, the Wings confronted opponents with the need to defend three strong offensive lines, and a fourth that was reasonably capable at that end of the ice. The lines were full of players who could muster goals, forecheck and backcheck.

With the agreement with Modano announced Thursday, General Manager Ken Holland and Coach Mike Babcock have every confidence that the 2010-11 Wings could well play more like those teams, after a year in which free agency and injuries reduced them to low-scoring and playing a lot in their own zone.

History just might be made.  Again.

Light At the End of Our Tunnel

We shut off the O₂ machine this morning shortly after we got out of bed and have been untethered from that life-saving device (and I'm not indulging in hyperbole) for the whole day... for the first time since this past Tuesday.  We also are conducting our first full-blown Happy Hour since last Monday, with more than just a single perfunctory beer and complete with cigar (also for the first time since Monday).  Like this:

Shorter:  We are feeling MUCH better.  As for the above... that would be a Mothership Wit and an Acid Blondie Belicoso, both of which made me think of The Second Mrs. Pennington.  The beer because it's brewed in the city where she lives and the cigar... well, I dunno.  It might have something to do with the name.  Mebbe.  OTOH it might be because the cigar is spicy, full-flavored, slightly sweet, and out of the mainstream.  Yeah, let's go with that.

And now... back outside to continue as we've begun.

Getting to the Right Place

Courtesy of SN2 (click to embiggen, as always)...

Ah.  I can... and HAVE... take(n) multiple routes to the final destination.  It's all good, innit? 

The Saturday Re-Run

Occasional Reader Katy down 'Bama way sent along a link to the following video this morning, which prompted me to think now's as good a time as any to re-post this.  Soooo...

"Victory Or Death"

In the speech below Newt Gingrich advocates impeaching the Attorney General, disses the ACLU and secular-progressives in general, and ends with a rallying cry for conservatives (which is the title to this post):

I'm really surprised I hadn't seen this speech until last night, especially since it's been around for over a month.  Why this speech hasn't gone viral with the right wing is beyond me... or maybe we're all just focused on the holidays at the moment.

I've said this before and I'll say it yet again:  I like Mr. Gingrich.  A lot.  He's one of the few thinking, articulate conservatives left in America and I like the way he thinks.  It's too damned bad he has such negative and massive personal baggage because I think he would make a damned good president.

h/t to Darleen Click, posting at Protein Wisdom.

I originally put this clip up about two weeks after Mr. Gingrich delivered his speech back in December of 2009.  It's good to see the video is still making the rounds amongst the choir because things haven't gotten any better at all in the last year and a half, they've only gotten worse.  I don't post much political content these days but that doesn't mean I've quit paying attention or am otherwise disengaged.  Far from it.

The Fifth Installment of Not Your Father's Air Force (I Counted)

From today's AFA Daily Report:

Into the Wild Blue Yonder: The Air Force leadership intends to announce USAF's new motto at the conclusion of the next Corona senior leadership summit in late September. The process of identifying a new motto began in February with airmen given the opportunity to voice their suggestions. Service officials are now close to having a list of 10 candidate mottos that airmen will get the chance to rack and stack in a survey. The top three selections will then be carried into the Corona in Colorado Springs, Colo. The leadership will then decide upon the winner. "The intent is to create a phrase that captures the spirit of the Air Force, is inspirational, and serves as an enduring rallying cry for airmen, from airmen," said Gen. Howie Chandler, USAF Vice Chief of Staff. (SAF/PA report by TSgt. Amaani Lyle)

Facepalm.  

That whirring sound you hear is Billy Mitchell, Jimmy Doolittle, Curt LeMay, and MANY others spinning in their graves.  Can you IMAGINE Gen. LeMay uttering the words "The intent is to create a phrase that captures the spirit of the Air Force, is inspirational, and serves as an enduring rallying cry for airmen, from airmen..."?  Me neither.  I had a soft spot in my heart for LeMay's "We'll bomb the bastards back into the Stone Age."

Update:  Speaking of LeMay (in an offhand way), today marks the 65th anniversary of the Hiroshima bombing.  A short blurb from a piece in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

This week marks 65 years since the United States dropped the atomic bomb. On Aug. 6, 1945, President Harry Truman delivered a "rain of ruin" upon Hiroshima, Japan, with Nagasaki hit three days later, killing 100,000 to 200,000 people.

Truman's objective was to compel surrender from an intransigent enemy that refused to halt its naked aggression. The barbarous mentality of 1940s Japan was beyond belief. An entire nation had lost its mind, consumed by a ferocious militarism and hellbent on suicide. Facing such fanaticism, Truman felt no alternative but to use the bomb. As George C. Marshall put it, the Allies needed something extraordinary "to shock [the Japanese] into action." Nothing else was working. Japan was committed to a downward death spiral, with no end in sight.

This is more about Harry Truman than Gen. LeMay, granted.  But Gen. LeMay commanded 20th Air Force, the guys who dropped the bomb.  Read the whole thing.

Heh - USAF Division

A tweet from USAF:

usairforce: RT @cunningpike: RT @devyces: hahaha! RT @chrisalbon: Don't leave your F-16 in a hangar overnight at an F-15 base:

There was a link to this pic:

Heh.

Customer Service

This is why I like dealing with My Man Tim at cigar dot com (the thread is in reverse chronological order)...

My pleasure.  So sorry about that, but I'll take care of you!

Tim Blythe/Cigar.com
Sr. Account Executive                                              (800) 357-9800 x761

tblythe@cigar.com                                                                        

-----Original Message-----
From: Buck Pennington

Sent: Tuesday, August 03, 2010 6:15 PM
To: Tim Blythe

Subject: Re: Complaint!

Sounds perfect, Tim.  I saved the box but the other packaging (i.e., the cedar layer separator) went out in yesterday's trash.  I'll send the remaining 19 cigars, boxed, as soon as get the RMA.

Thanks VERY much.

Best Regards,
bp

On Tue, Aug 3, 2010 at 4:12 PM, Tim Blythe wrote:

Keep those cigars!  Buck - so sorry about that...  I'm sending your Deep Dishes and a return label.  Please use it to send those Partagas back to me, then I'll refund you and file a complaint with the manufacturer.

Sound good?

Tim Blythe/Cigar.com

Sr. Account Executive                                             

(800) 357-9800 x761

tblythe@cigar.com                                                                        

-----Original Message-----
From: Buck Pennington
Sent: Monday, August 02, 2010 6:00 PM
To: Tim Blythe
Subject: Complaint!

Hey Tim,

This is the first time I've ever complained to you, but...  today I received that box of Partagas Black Label Magnificos I ordered from you last Friday.  They are UNSMOKABLE.  The cellophane on the box was broken and each and every cigar in the box is as hard as a brick.  I just tried to smoke one right this minute and nearly busted a lung trying to get a draw on the stick... it's just impossible to smoke the damned thing.  I am NOT a Happy Camper with this deal.

In the meantime... I'll be out of smokes in a couple of days so would you please send me a box of Acid Deep Dishes, soonest.  I've never had quality problems with anything from Drew Estate.

Best Regards,
bp

In related matters... coming down with this cold was a good thing in one regard: my cigar stash survived the inconvenience of getting a bad box of cigars.  I might have run out otherwise.  See?  I'm a "glass half-full" kinda guy. 

Today Is...

... International BEER Day!  Now if ever there was a holiday made just for ME...

You can get one of these tee shirts here.

Thanks to Occasional Reader Kath for bringing this to my attention.

Added:  We're making the blog-rounds and were MOST pleased to see Blog-Bud Dan posted this appropriate lil ditty yesterday.  





Heh.

We're Nothing If Not Consistent

Our humidity is back down into a range fit for normal human beans here of late...  note the heat index in the graphic at right, which is two degrees below the actual temperature.

And as the post title notes, our WX is nothing if not consistent lately, too.  Our five day forecast:

It's warm but it ain't unbearable.  It actually feels pretty nice out right now.

It's Always SUMTHIN' VII

I haven't had a head/chest cold since my COPD went south and I went on serious drugs for it, including nighttime O_2.  Up until now, that is, and I'm here to tell ya it really SUCKS.  I didn't realize I had a cold, or failed to recognize the symptoms until fairly late last night, in yet another case of advancing senility.  

I always wake up with some minor congestion in my chest - that's part of the COPD territory - but I clear it by the time my second cup o' coffee is done.  Not so yesterday... the congestion just kept getting worse and worse as the morning wore on and was accompanied by one helluva rasping cough.  I tethered myself to the O₂ machine sometime around 1500 hrs and that didn't seem to help much, if at all.  By 2130 hrs my breathing had become increasingly laborious - I was literally gasping for air - that I was seriously considering calling 911.  I'm not a Drama Queen by any means, but it really was THAT bad.

I'm glad I didn't, coz I would have looked like a fool.  I have a bottle of Tylenol Cold and Flu - Severe in the medicine cabinet and took a healthy dose right after I had The Mom Of All Duh Moments.  I also shot up with nasal decongestant spray and whattaya know?  I was breathing relatively freely within a half hour.  Life is a lot better this morning (but I won't go so far as to say "good"); we're sitting here waiting for the morning dose of TCaF-S to kick in after a reasonably restful night.

Better living through chemistry.  Gotta love it.  Senility, on the other hand...

I Suppose We'll See More of These Pretty Soon

My Buddy Ed in Florida sends this along...

Before Chelsea's wedding yesterday

Hillary wanted to play the perfect Mom.

She asked Chelsea... "have you had sex with Marc?"

Chelsea said.... "Not according to Dad."

Heh.

Ya Hadda Be There

"There" being here... Dorian House Bed and Breakfast in Bath, England:

That's a long view of the outside and a closer shot of The Usual Suspects gathered under the sign before we set out to do touristy things in Bath.  Don't they look ALL enthused?  I'm thinking this shot might have been taken the morning after the night before, wherein we went pub crawling in Beautiful Downtown Bath, which was within walking distance of the B&B.  Dorian House has a good web site, btw.  Here's a blurb from the opening page:

Enter an atmosphere of period charm in Dorian House, built of Bath stone circa 1880. Extensively refurbished in 2009 with Marble bathrooms and high pressure showers,  a new Breakfast-Orangery and additional room "SLAVA" in memory of the great cellist Rostropovich. Characterful bedrooms have a restful ambience and views over the Royal Crescent or well-tended gardens. Some have traditional oak four-poster or superking size beds and are luxuriously decorated with opulent fabrics and stunning decor. Crisp cotton sheets, fluffy towels, tea/coffee making facilities, television, hairdryer and telephone ensure a comfortable stay.

Their pictures are a lot better than mine, too... they musta been done by pros. But we digress.  This particular B&B was one of the nicest ones we stayed in during the Infamous UK Tour of 1990/91.  The Second Mrs. Pennington went to great lengths to plan our trip route and itinerary, something she excelled at doing, among her many other skills and general all-around wonderfulness.   

That said, we also played things pretty loose, allowing for changes in plan and all that.  We usually made B&B reservations for the following night on the day before we arrived, using a Fodor's Guide to the UK as our source.  Things worked out pretty well in that regard but it's too bad the inner-nets weren't as developed then as they are today.  Some of the copy in Fodor's was pretty misleading, resulting in a one-night stay in places we rather not have stayed.

Now... about the "you hadda be there bits."  Here are a few shots of us after our night on the town, during which the pubs closed before we were ready to call it a night.  So we returned to the B&B, finding we had the parlour and its beer supply all to ourselves.  Herewith some pics of the party's continuation...

 The Lovely Miss Lynch, SN1, and TSMP shortly after we arrived and before the parlour warmed up.

 TSMP in front of the fire which wasn't fired up.  It should have been, coz it was CHILLY in there, Gentle Reader.

 SN1 striking a country gentleman pose.

Not to be outdone, I snagged TWO brass pheasants.

We drank all the beer in the fridge (literally) and then headed upstairs to our rooms.

Ya hadda be there, like I said.  It was just another great night on the road in Ol' Blighty, one of many.  That vacation was waaay too damned short.

Ye Olde Redneck Pub...

... where The Second Mrs. Pennington, The Lovely Miss Lynch, SN1, and I spent New Year's Eve in 1990/91.  This is also the place where rumo(u)r has it four Yanks walked out with about a dozen beer mats, six ashtrays, and other odd bits of bar paraphrenalia. But that would be rumo(u)r.

This is the Dew Drop Inn in Oxford, England... and you thought it was in N'Awlins, dint ya, Gentle Reader?  Or Mrs. Hippy, or Alabama, or Jawja...  Well, if'n ya google it you'll get 86,000 results, so there are more than a few of 'em.

Here's a tease while we're on about England...

SN1, The Lovely Miss Lynch, and YrHmblScrb in front of a big-ass pile o' rocks sitting out in the middle of a moor in the middle of nowhere.  But I repeat myself.  Yes, it WAS cold... why do you ask?

Heh

Yet another blast from the past... SN1 and a couple o' sleazy ladies caught in a less-than-sleazy motel... (click for larger, as ever)

That would be The Second Mrs. Pennington and (friend) The Lovely Miss Lynch.  Speculate all ya want, Gentle Reader, but MY lips are sealed.  That said... we DO have blackmail material.  Just sayin'.

Well, You ASKED...

Kath, in comments to the post below:

And besides all the gorgeous people in these pictures -- I'm checking out the house! Love the windows and the hardwood floors, which must be real, based on the date of the pictures. Any more pictures of the house?

Well, yes.  Yes there ARE.  Buckle up, Bay-bee... you might be sorry you asked.  Here's 351 West Oakridge, Ferndale, Michigan.

A couple o' views of the exterior:

The outside didn't change much over the years but the interiors did.  Case in point, two Christmases Chez Pennington:

1989 or thereabouts, it might have been 1990

Christmas '92, with granddaughter Anastasia in the pic

More of the living room...

Right around the time we moved in; note the shabby old furniture... some of which had been with us for years.  And years.

Updated, somewhat later

Two shots of the dining room...

Both dining room pics were taken around the same time.

The kitchen

The study

The master bedroom, which was small.  ALL the rooms were small, actually.

The house was built in the mid-1920s and had the original hardwood flooring along with lath and plaster walls.  It also had the original 1920s wiring and plumbing when we bought the place.  We kept the squeaky floors but upgraded the plumbing and wiring as a matter of necessity.  I don't know HOW the previous owners lived with 1920s electric service or the trickle that came out of the faucets.  Those two items were Jobs One and Two on our list but the house remained a work in progress for its entire life... or at least while we lived there, which was about ten years or so.  Just about the time we got things "right" I took another job (an internal transfer with EDS) and we moved to Rochester in Beautiful Western New Yawk.

I loved that house even though it was small at 1100 square feet.  Of all the places I owned throughout the years this is the house I wish I could have back.  Joe Louis Arena is just a hop, skip, and a jump down Woodward Ave, yanno?  Hell, I could even handle the winter.  I think.

Added:  The proprietors:

Which is where we spent most summer evenings, beer in hand.