Flight insurance - back in the day...

 Back in the 60's and 70's, you could buy life insurance 

right from a macine at a kiosk at the airport...  

I tell this story because my brother was a semi-degenerate gambler and had a sick sense of humor. Whenever anyone had to go to the airport to catch a flight, TJ would always volunteer to drive them. He'd park in the short term lot, go in with me - or them, and when we went of to the gate, he'd go to one of those kiosks and buy ten bucks of insurance on whoever was flying. His logic? If you died in a crash or something, he'd be bummed out, of course, but he'd have the payout to ease his suffering. Twisted logic for sure, but the man was also my idol because of it. Juss' sayin'...

Anyway, on a related note, John Gilbert Graham (also known as Jack Graham) blew up United Airlines Flight 629 in 1955 to collect a $37,500 flight insurance payout on his mother, Daisie E. King. On November 1, 1955, a dynamite time bomb planted by Graham exploded aboard United Airlines Flight 629 11 minutes after it took off from Stapleton Airport in Denver, Colorado.

The explosion killed all 44 people on board, including Graham's mother. Graham bought multiple flight insurance policies - including a $37,500 policy from an airport vending machine right before the flight - listing himself as the primary beneficiary.

Investigators discovered that the insurance policies were unsigned by his mother, making them legally invalid and exposing his motive. Graham confessed, was convicted of premeditated murder, and was executed in the gas chamber in January 1957...

...  

And this 'robust' HillBetty...

 

...  

Click here for more information.

...   

And Eggplant was her name...

...   

Click the screen cap to play. If  you don't have Prime, sign up today and all the music is free.

...   

Do you listen to music in the

 background while you're on your

 computer? I do, and I have

 these. Great sound and only 

38 bucks. Helluva deal.

...   

Pickin' shades...

...  

This blog is supported by the meager commissions I get when you buy stuff 

on Amazon going through a link you see here. It doesn't matter if you buy what

 is promoted, or something else - it's all still credited to the blog. 

Long and short of it? If you're ever going to Amazon, come to the blog first 

and use one of my links. Your help is greatly appreciated. 

                                                                                                                         

                                                                      

...  

 

...

Hey - let's all go surfing and try to kill ourselves...

As high winds and flooding ravage New York City, roughly 20 surfers were seen braving the storms off the coast of Beach 91st Street in the Rockaways. Despite warnings to stay away from the beaches, wave riders took to the water specifically because of the storms. Preston Head, 35, traveled from Laguna Beach, Cali., to ride the waves, but the extreme surf snapped his board in two. “The wave broke my surf board,” he said with a laugh. 

“It was probably a 8-foot wave.” The traveling surfer told The Post that he ventured across the country for the extreme waves, boasting that he “had some of the best barrels that I’ve ever experienced in my life.”

Locals, including 29-year-old Ron McMaster, of Queens, and 30-year-old Ryo Kuroki, of Manhattan, also came out for the roughly 12-foot waves. “Today is for the experts. Today is a great day to go surfing if you know what you are doing,” said McMaster, who daylights as a software engineer. “It’s dangerous. People die from surfing on days like this when the waves drift them into the rocks.”

Meanwhile, on another storm-battered beach, a Long Island swimmer disappeared in the waters off Robert Moses State Park as 18-foot waves crashed onto the beaches because, as Forest's Mom usta say - 'Stupid is as stupid does'...

I guess it's up to us Boomers to hold down the fort, booze-wise...

Alcohol consumption has decreased across the United States in recent years, particularly among adults under age 40, but there is one older demographic in which more people are drinking than before the Covid-19 pandemic – and more are doing so heavily, according to a new study.

For the first time since before the pandemic, the percentage of US adults who drink any alcohol decreased between 2022 and 2024, according to the report in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine. People from 50 to 64, which roughly corresponds with gen X, were the only age group in which drinking continued to increase.

Meanwhile,us old farts don't seem to be doing our fair share. It's up to each and every one of us to drink more, not less. Have bad knees or a bad back? Alcohol is the only answer. Retired with nothing to do? Go to the friggin' bar before happy hour and babble on about nothing with your cronies. You have a job to do. Do it, dammit.

It's the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine...

If you grew up in America anytime from the 1950s onward, there’s a good chance you remember this sound without anyone having to explain it: KER-PLUNK. That frozen cylinder of Minute Maid orange juice concentrate sliding out of the little cardboard can and landing in Mom or Grandma’s plastic pitcher was once as ordinary as cereal on the breakfast table.

But after an incredible 80-year run, that little piece of Americana has disappeared. Coca-Cola, which has owned Minute Maid since 1960, discontinued Minute Maid’s frozen concentrates in the United States and Canada in 2026, including orange juice, lemonade, pink lemonade, raspberry lemonade and limeade. The company said it was leaving the frozen-can business because of “shifting consumer preferences.”

The story actually began right here in Florida. During World War II, the U.S. Army ordered 500,000 pounds of powdered orange juice, prompting the creation of Florida Foods Corporation. The war ended before the order was filled, but the company kept working on the idea and eventually developed frozen concentrated orange juice. In 1946, the product was named Minute Maid and began shipping across America.

And what an invention it was. You peeled off the metal lid, dumped that rock-hard orange cylinder into a pitcher, filled the empty can with water, poured it in and started stirring. Before refrigerators were packed with cartons, bottles, energy drinks and a dozen different varieties of juice, that humble little frozen can gave families an inexpensive pitcher of orange juice whenever they wanted one. Thanks to Florida Hillbilly for reminding us of another golden nugget from our youth that's passing us by...

...  

That's a funny, intelligent cartoon. And subtle. We like subtle..

...  

...  

This simple adornment on the corner of a building in Rome.

We don't do nice little things like this. I wonder if they still do...

...  

...  

Brian Kelly, the mayor of the tiny New Jersey beach community of Sea Bright, said the borough was bracing for winds up to 50mph and flooding that could reach up to 6ft on some streets. Officials expect the flooding to start on Saturday and worsen by midday.

“It’s going to be worse than average. We do have probably one or two flooding events a year, sometimes more, sometimes less, but I think this one will be closer to an Irene-scale flooding event,” Kelly said, referencing the 2011 storm that caused major flooding in the north-east. “I hope I’m wrong, but that’s my gut feeling.”

...  

...  

...    

Rosie O’Donnell says her move to Ireland isn’t necessarily forever. The comedian, who left the United States with her son Clay ahead of President Donald Trump’s 2025 inauguration, told Ireland’s “Late Late Show” that she plans to return once Trump is out of office.

“I said, I’ll come back as soon as it’s safe, as soon as he’s out. And so I’m hoping that will be sooner rather than later,” O’Donnell said. She also blasted Trump as a “mediocre man” and a “criminal,” while saying Americans are growing tired of his presidency.

O’Donnell, 64, is currently waiting for Irish citizenship and has continued her nearly two-decade public feud with Trump from across the Atlantic. She even suggested American media outlets should simply ignore the president after some organizations were recently excluded from White House coverage.

So after leaving America because Trump returned to the White House, Rosie now says she’ll return when he leaves it. Apparently her moving schedule and the presidential calendar are going to remain closely acquainted.

Sources: Facebook Florida Hillbilly News | Irish Mirror 

...  

...  

...  

Two suspected “mole people” have been arrested in New York after they were seen emerging from a manhole.

A spate of mysterious cases where people are spotted sneaking out of sewer systems have sparked wild conspiracy theories and a police probe.

...  

...  

...  

...  

We certainly do fall in love with some expensive gadgets, don't we? Sure, they're effective and all that shit, but why is it that Ukraine can bomb the fuck out of Moscow with drones they make themselves for under $ 500.00 bucks apiece and we're paying ten times that + for basically the same exact thing. Military procurement procedures need a DOGEing pretty much more than anything else in our over-bloated Gubamint. Juss' sayin'...

...  

...  

...  

...  

...  

...  

...  

What's a Caicos?

 
There was an article in a Brit tabloid yesterday that refered to St. John (above) and St. Thomas - the US Virgin Islands - as 'the Turks and Caicos' of the United States'. It actually took me a minute to understand WTF they were talking about. Easily one of the most un-necessary and stupid comparison statements I've ever heard, because, obviously, the other way around would make much more sense.

If you've never been to either of them or heard of them for that matter, The Turks and Caicos Islands are a self-governing British Overseas Territory made up of two tropical island groups in the Atlantic Ocean, north of Haiti and just east of Cuba...

 ...  

Handmade gifts are extra special when

they're for someone extra special.

 

Click on the picture for more information on what's available today.

 https://www.etsy.com/shop/BjacksonJewelry

...  

This blog is supported by the meager commissions I get when you buy stuff 

on Amazon going through a link you see here. It doesn't matter if you buy what

 is promoted, or something else - it's all still credited to the blog. 

Long and short of it? If you're ever going to Amazon, come to the blog first 

and use one of my links. Your help is greatly appreciated. 

                                                                                                                         

                                                                      

...  

 

...

Cats are all alike. Even Fat Freddy's...

Looks like Honey's gonna chub up on him...

 

...  

Find one for yourself by clicking on the picture or here:

Lodge Pre-Seasoned Cast Iron  Reversible Grill/Griddle

...  

Sometimes, we all need an extra HillBetty...

 Especially tonight, and especially 

this one. Juss' sayin'...

...   

Let me tell you a little bit about these. I bought two for 

my kitchen cabinets. They're rechargeable, held on 

by self stick magnets, and were real easy to install. 

Trust me on these - they work great...

...

Oh, Dear - looks like he's stuck in the hammock...

I'da got a headache just watching this porr thing trying to get out, so we can imgaine the headache it ended up with. What should have been a picturesque moment devolved into chaos when a deer wandering through a Long Island backyard got its antlers stuck in a hammock - and video shows the flailing woodland creature’s dramatic rescue.

Frank Floridia (cool name, no?), president of the nonprofit Strong Island Animal Rescue League, sprang into action when the distressed homeowner called Friday looking for help.

The animal expert, donned an antler-proof vest (didn't know there was such a thing) and expertly used scissors to carefully cut the netting, as the deer slowly begins to settle down, video of the rescue shows. It’s not long before Bambi is finally freed - and high tails it away from the Lake Grove home. Are all deer really named Bambi? Even the males? 

... 

A gift idea for you wife. Or your 

daughter. Or your girlfriend.

 

 Click on the picture for more information on this beautiful bracelet.

It's a one of a kind gift - and it comes to you with free shipping!

 https://www.etsy.com/shop/BjacksonJewelry

...  

When you buy anything on Amazon going from a link

on the blog, I get credit for whatever you buy. 

Granted, it's only pennies, but every penny helps, right?

...