A Day of Pain and Logistics
GUEST POST BY JACKSON, the Teagarden Museum Mascot!
Please, no Rocky and Bullwinkle jokes...
Hello, friends. Mark asked me to type this installment because he can’t move his fingers right now. He and Mike are kinda tired, and I can’t say as I blame them. They only drove an hour and a half to Buffalo, NY and back, crossing the border each time, just to pick up the big ol’ U-haul…but I’m getting ahead of the story.
This is where the gang ate breakfast today. It’s just around the corner from the IKEA–I mean, the hotel, and it’s one of those places that’s been in operation since the 1920s. Toronto has a LOT of those places; little lunch counters, with really reasonable prices and great food. Bonus: Not one of them serves moose burgers. Whew!
Check out these vintage menus. Swanky!
After breakfast, the gang of four squeezed into their rented clown car and beat feet for Buffalo, NY. They had to pick up the truck there because there wasn’t one in the size they needed anywhere in Toronto. As it was, Buffalo was a pleasant diversion, and it’s a shame they didn’t get to explore it further. It was very picturesque.
Nice! Painted windows advertising a theater's upcoming season.
What Buffalo lacked in convenience for my guys, it made up for in charm. Mark said the next time he was in the area, he was going to go exploring in Buffalo. Of course, he saw a used bookstore that they didn’t have time to investigate, so that probably added to the allure of the town, right there.
There she is! The orange beast! Our home for the next few days.
After a quick lunch (well, as quick as Buffalo allowed), they hopped back over the border and met Barb at the storage place. This is where the Joe Showler collection has lingered, in limbo, since 2009. Opening the door felt a lot like Indiana Jones discovering the ark of the covenant…only, you know, without the face melting and the explosions.
A lifetime of collecting, separated into nearly 300 boxes...
The rest of the evening was spent re-organizing the collection and carefully loading the fragile items into the truck in such a way that they would be protected. Barbara was a trooper, helping with toting and lifting as well as fetching rope and tape…and also coffee and donuts. A lifesaver, she is.
Pat tries in vain to get a handle on everything that's in the collection.
Loading will resume tomorrow. Another three or four hours’ worth. After that, the guys will rest up and then get a fresh start early Sunday morning. Wish them luck, won’t you?
Now, if you’ll excuse me, Mark has a blister on his foot the size of a yam, and he’s asked me to tend to it. A moose’s work is never done.
Cathy
April 28th, 2012 at 5:44 pm
Oh Honey! Your poor little foot! I hope Jackson is gentle. Sonya says “Woof!”.