Fifty Plus (50+) - The Real Thing: A List

Age does compensate one with perspective. I've recently been looking closely for those things and institutions and people who are "The Real Thing" including as a related category "Good Things That Last". Here's my first cut.

1. Cycling,

2. Customer service from the Stihl* dealer,

3. Helen Mirren,

4. The Missouri Mule,

5. The C-47,

6. The Colt [Army] .45 cal autoloader.

What can you add to this list? I'm looking for those things that justify the proportion of the Universe's space and matter they take up.

* - For those of you who don't know, Stihl makes a line of outdoor power tools. It's almost worth it to buy a chainsaw or "weed-whacker" just to watch the Stihl folks go into action. If I have a question about the tool I take it in and the rep tears it down and re-assembles it to demonstrate. . .THEN tears it down again and makes me re-assemble it just to make sure I'm "gold" with it. That just impresses the BE-jay-jays outta' me!!! I'm used to going into most places and "disappearing" from the sight or attention of the overpaid and undersmart staff. . .NOT with the Stihl dealer. Too bad they don't make bikes!!

The Real Deal that's worked for me:

-- Levis 501's. (Been wearing them most of the time since 1959.)
-- Campbell's Chicken Noodle Soup.
-- SunTour ratcheting barcons.
-- Cuisinart food processor (since 1983).
-- inexpensive Tange headsets.
-- Sears Kenmore washer/dryers.

My wife.......with our 35th coming up soon.

http://www.pbase.com/billd9/image/62586695.jpg

Great idea for a thread. I could come up with a long list, but for starters, here are 10 that are all in the real things category for me:

Louis Armstrong
Home-grown vegetables
Walter Matthau
The paintings of Claude Monet and Georgia O'Keefe
Turner Classic Movies
Lugged Steel Bicycles
Sophia Loren
British pubs
12-bar blues
Ella Fitzgerald

Oh, yeah, and....Old Spice

Pinetop Perkins. Sweet blues piano. Definitelly the real thing. bk

Kitchenaid stand mixers
Dogs--they don't last long enough, but they definitely "justify the proportion of the Universe's space and matter they take up"

The real that worked for me. And anyone.

Jesus Christ.

Pinetop Perkins. Sweet blues piano. Definitelly the real thing. bk

I'm listening to PP right now on Pandora.com radio. Sweet.

My wife.......with our 35th coming up soon.

I concur. We are just past 34.5 years of marriage, which followed almost 5 years of courtship as college students.

I concur with the other post in this thread, as well.

Scientific method
Your favorite wooden stringed acoustic instruments
That life-changing novel you read as a teen (fill in own title)
Beatles
A good education
The dome of Santa Maria del Fiore (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Maria_del_Fiore)

EDIT:
Tricia adds:
Good cup of coffee in the morning
Fine glass of red wine in the evening

http://www.corbinstreehouse.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/fat_tire_IMG_1189.jpg

Evidently, my '93 Ford Escort. I can't get the thing to stop running!
Cast Iron skillets
Craftsman Channel Lock Pliers
A good bench vise
Bisquick
A singing tea kettle
Films by Alfred Hitchcock

The CRC* handbook.

*(Chemical Rubber Company handbook of chemistry and physics)

People who like things that last should read "The Wonderful One Horse Shay" by Oliver W. Holmes

The CRC* handbook.

*(Chemical Rubber Company handbook of chemistry and physics)

People who like things that last should read "The Wonderful One Horse Shay" by Oliver W. Holmes

I agree with all the previous, but for a scientist or engineer, this book is a dependable constant and a necessary tool. It contains some of the truths you have to depend on in your work.

Road Fan

WD40
Ticonderoga #2 Pencils
Pepsi
Small town Illinois
Zippo lighters (I don't smoke, but I appreciate the classic design that's remained unchanged)
Pure maple syrup
The Cubs

also ... +1 on Stihl chainsaws

Detroit Iron



http://www.pbase.com/billd9/image/68803377.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/billd9/image/41317429.jpg

6. The Colt [Army] .45 cal autoloader.

+1


The real that worked for me. And anyone.

Jesus Christ.

+1


The CRC* handbook.

*(Chemical Rubber Company handbook of chemistry and physics)


+1

I'll add...

1. The Toyota Tacoma
2. The Browning HiPower
3. The pipe organ
4. Real fried okra (not the breaded junk in restaurants)

Dogs--they don't last long enough, but they definitely "justify the proportion of the Universe's space and matter they take up"

+100

You can't put a price tag on wagging tails and happy wiggliness when you come home. You always want to come home when you have dogs.

Tricia adds:
Good cup of coffee in the morning
Fine glass of red wine in the evening

Two more reasons why I love your wife. You're okay, too, but she rocks. :D

- McKinley Morganfield (Muddy Waters)
- lugged steel bicycle frames
- old Fender Champ tube amps
- Lee Oskar harmonicas
- George Dickel
- Suntour friction bar end shifters
- Brooks B17 saddles
- Shure Green Bullet microphones
- Hunter S. Thompson
- Flying Dog "Doggie Style" Pale Ale
- Rock 'n' Roll
- Chicago Blues
- John Hiatt
- 1968 Triumph 650 Bonneville
and last but definitely not least...
- Ribby
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2236/2087037240_4b1a35aa22_o.jpg

Well, I'm not really big on guns or Jesus but I'll bet if I think about it, I can come up with a list.
I mean beyond cycling, music and guitars, my wife for sure, and my pets.

Porsche Sports Cars
Steinway Pianos
Swiss Watches - Ebel
Mont Blanc Pens - Fountain
Beethoven - Moonlight Sonata and the "Emperor" Piano Concerto
Rolling Stones - Symphony for the Devil
Remi Martin XO Cognac
Belgian Dark Chocolate

The real that worked for me. And anyone.

Jesus Christ.

Ditto that!

I'm beating Tom bombadil to this one:

Lord of the Rings

And I will also add:

Chevy Pickups
Diamonds - always the right thing to give

I'm beating Tom bombadil to this one:

Lord of the Rings

And I will also add:

Chevy Pickups
Diamonds - always the right thing to give

I'm surprised you didn't mention your motto, "In Dog We Trust." :-)

I'm surprised you didn't mention your motto, "In Dog We Trust." :-)
Someone had already mentioned dogs. And though I happen to strongly prefer terriers, they being the one true dog, I recognize that others, wrong though they may be, have a right to love and keep other false dogs.:):):)

Someone had already mentioned dogs. And though I happen to strongly prefer terriers, they being the one true dog, I recognize that others, wrong though they may be, have a right to love and keep other false dogs.:):):)

"Thou Shalt Have No Other Dog Before Me?"

"Thou Shalt Have No Other Dog Before Me?"

That would be their preference, yes.:D

I always like reflecting on where we are in the bigger scheme of things.........

Friend Joyce (OrbeaJ in the NorCal forums) isn't 50, but wants me to add:

Louisville Slugger
http://curtis.corlew.com/hosting/bat.jpg
I think she has a point here.

I'm beating Tom bombadil to this one:

Chevy Pickups
Diamonds - always the right thing to give

Chevy.... (http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/03/10/business/main1391253.shtml)

Diamonds... (http://www.un.org/peace/africa/Diamond.html)

Chevy.... (http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/03/10/business/main1391253.shtml)

Diamonds... (http://www.un.org/peace/africa/Diamond.html)

Bite me.:D

Terrierman surmised. . .

>>> terriers, they being the one true dog

Dunno' 'bout that. I share the house with a half-breed Aussie and she'd fight a saber-tooth cat for me if I asked it of her. Could we possibly agree there's a "one true dog" for every man-Jack, woman-Jane, and coyote-Max out there?

Good Steel frames, any fixie and the Stones/Doors/Arosmith.

Terrierman surmised. . .

>>> terriers, they being the one true dog

Dunno' 'bout that. I share the house with a half-breed Aussie and she'd fight a saber-tooth cat for me if I asked it of her. Could we possibly agree there's a "one true dog" for every man-Jack, woman-Jane, and coyote-Max out there?

Highly unlikely. Highly.