February 26, 2009

Perhaps I was born guilty. But doesn't it give you a start when a "uniform" comes to the door? The last time the railroad officials came into the shop some genius had parked 3 feet from the tracks out front. The train cars however are significantly wider than the tracks (duh) so when the mile long train came a-hauling cars and coals, KABOOM!!! It struck this jeep AND THE PASSENGER SITTING IN IT and drug it about 30 feet before they could stop the train. The freaked out rider walked away from the heap, but what a feeling!!! It sounded like a bomb went off and I was glad it wasn't one of my customers. I was pleasantly surprised that today's visit was simply about salvage. How nice is this? They are taking down all the telephone poles in town and the CN guys had carefully selected the unblemished insulators for me. I came out with a bucket, and looked up at the HUNDREDS of insulators still to come and made two trips to bring the ones they had taken down in. I spied the long lengths of 2 inch cable wrapped with copper wire and strapping which was going into a dumpster, and grabbed my bolt cutters. At 6# per foot, it was a back breaker unspooling it and lugging it to my backyard. I love how the strapping looks all jumbled up and thought how cool it would be in a giant bowl. I have an idea to take the cable and insulators and make some kind of light fixture with it. I also thought to design a very simple steel holder to stick into the ground and hold an insulator upside down with a votive candle in it for a pretty garden light. The teal glass is beautiful illuminated. Got a better idea? Let me know or come on in and get some of your own to play with. I just love roadside, or in this case, railroadside, junk....

February 3, 2009

Did the ground hog see his shadow? Seems like everyday around here lately is ground hog day. All January I thought, the yesterdays looked like the tomorrows and wore the same clothes everyday. Damn but it was cold, my heating bills look like mortgages. But hey the sun was shining today and it was over 20 so I washed the car and in Detroit, that's a good day. Took a drive through the country and picked up "eddie" (name he came with),this 1920's Ambercrombie and Fitch rhino that looks strangely like my dog. Hey it's a crisis, and Eddie needs a good home. Word from Washington is we've got to shop a little, just don't spend the fund under the mattress. I say Eddie is as solid an investment as Citigroup and he'll look good in the living room. Funny thing, I'm actually doing some business in Detroit and our fabulous former mayor may get hired away to Texas, things are looking up. The industrial stuff is looking hot and I've hunted up some choice pieces. I sold giant foundry bellows to my favorite forward thinking designer Ron Rea, he's got it hanging in a restaurant. A handsome young couple is gutting an old house in upscale Birmingham and boldly going industrial with it. And well everyday people are just out and buying interesting things to feather their nests since it looks like they're going to be in the same ones for awhile. I'm cutting back on over-priced martinis to fund my purchases, you give up the french manicures and I'll see you at the flea market.