Scapular medal

I had a gold Scapular medal on a gold chain.  

Gold is nice in that it doesn't corrode.   Stays nice and shiny forever.  Unfortunately gold is soft and breaks easily.   And that is what must have happened.   One day I discovered that the scapular medal and chain were gone from around my neck.   I had worn the medal and chain for so long that I had gotten so use to it that I was not aware of it.   I looked but I couldn't find it.   I decided to replace the gold Scapular medal with a silver Scapular medal with a silver chain.   Silver will be much stronger than the gold.   Plus the gold was really expensive.   I decided to go to the Mary Queen of the Universe Shrine locally.   It is incredible huge.   Maximum capacity inside the shrine is:

That is a lot of parishioners.   The gift shop is equally large.  By far, the largest religious gift shop that I have ever seen.   They have an incredible selection of everything that you could ever think of, including some scapular medals.  They had three of the same design.  

But hey, guess who was there?

 Not really.   It was just a life size cardboard cut-out.

Their scapular medals were just too modernistic for me.   I am more of a traditionalist.  I still have an old scapular medal that I had which I have always liked the design best.  I think that it was gold on silver and after a period of time the gold started to flake off.

On the back side of the medal you can see how the gold has flaked off.

This particular shape is very difficult to find.   I did an unsuccessful internet search.   So I decided to see if I could order something of a similar shape and design from Amazon.   If it was close I would be happy.   I couldn't believe it when I found the same exact medal shape and design in silver for sale on Amazon.   I was elated.

It has been shipped and is on its way.   The silver should not break.   But it will tarnish.   But that is alright because it is easy to clean.  I am happy.   Have a blessed day.   Lew

Little Green Army Men

Little green army men.   Remember them?   They were one of my favorite childhood toys.

For a dollar I could get a large bag of these toy soldiers.   They had a base to them to help keep the toy soldiers from falling over.

I visited Walt Disney World, Hollywood Studios, Toy Story Land this week.  It was a nostalgia trip down memory lane with huge representations of toys from my childhood.

And along came these "Little Green Army Men" drumming a nice marching beat on their drums.   Actually, they weren't so little.

They were completely covered in green material.   It is August and incredibly

hot, especially at 100% humidity.   I don't know how they managed to tolerate  the heat.

What was interesting was that they had flat pieces on the bottom of their boots similar to the toy army men.   And they could walk without any problem.

I only saw about half of the Toy Story Land but evidently they have the Little Green Army Men for sale in a gift shop.

By the way I was a big fan of R. Lee Ermy.   He was great both in Full Metal Jacket and Mail Call.

Have a really nice day wherever you may be.    Lew

 

The Impossible

10" x 12".   Not very big.   About the size of a standard picture frame.   It is also the size of an x-ray film.   Actually the standard size of x-ray films were 8" x 10", 10" x 12", 11" x 14", and 14" x 17".   But there is something special about the 10" x 12" size as you will see.   In the past, x-ray films were developed by hand.   The films was clipped to a "hanger" and then dipped into various tanks of solutions.

The hangers made it easier to get a film into and out of a particular tank of solution.   It was a messy process.

One day a co-worker said that he could pas through a 10" x 12" hanger.   He was slender but this would still be impossible.   His shoulders were too wide.   Imagine taking a standard picture frame, remove the back, remove the glass, and then try squeezing through the frame.   No way.   Impossible.   He had a 10" x 12" hanger and proceeded with great effort trying to squeeze the hangar.   I was right, he had difficulty with the shoulders.   But he persisted and persisted in his effort and eventually made it.   There were several people in the room also to see this and we were all amazed by this.   I mean, have you ever seen something which you know is impossible but someone does it?   Sort of like watching a magician in a magic show do their illusions.   But this was no illusion or trickery, he actually passed through that 10" x 12" hanger.   And the hanger didn't get bent at all.   Although I saw it, I am still amazed by it.   Take a ruler and measure out and draw a rectangle of 10" x 12".   Do you think that you could fit through?   I know I can't but Jim did.   Have a pleasant day wherever you may be.    Lew