Tag: garage

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Re: Genealogy Blog for MyCousins Family Tree Contributors

Mon 1/11/2021 1:46 PM
Becky,
I share your pain.
The garage above is just the tip of our iceberg. Pam has a huge warehouse that costs us over $200 a month. Ouch.  We have three of everything, and if we need something, often, it requires a purchase as we can’t find one of the three we own.
I love my wife!
My goal is to get rid of the warehouse even if the garage takes a hit.  Lol.
My advice is to take pictures of everything and write down its history. 

Otherwise, my story is that everything deserves a good home where it will get used and appreciated. I would give 99% of it away if Pam let me. That is my story, and I’ve preached it for decades without much success. I’ve also made empty “threats” to dispose of things when she is away on trips. Pam and Michelle take trips to Disney in Orlando without me.  I prefer to take care of our two puppies rather than walk 20,000 steps a day. Lol. I have a theory that she won’t know what is gone. There is just so, so much stuff.

Yes, it is hard! There are family things that it’s tough to admit no one wants: Family China, a collection of Toby mugs, Village houses, furniture, etc.

Warmest regards,

John, IV

P.S. I like Christmas ornaments, so I am partially responsible for the hoarding. 🙂

P.P.S. I get results only when I threaten to call the fire department. Lol.

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Re: Genealogy Blog for MyCousins Family Tree Contributors

Mon 1/11/2021 2:26 PM

Holy smokes!  Now our garage doesn’t seem so bad – haha.

It must be an Elcik thing!  My mother does the same thing when my dad goes off for the day.  I would swing by and load up, so he doesn’t see what we are tossing.

I’m glad I’m in such good company –  with keeping Xmas ornaments et al.  I’ve gotten better with the ‘letting go.’  It will always be a work in progress.  Like I tell my mother.  I’d much rather I decide to let go than to have a hurricane decide for me.  ☹

Thanks for the advice – very valuable.  I don’t even want to think about my parent’s house.  That will be a full-time job!

Hopefully, my mother makes her annual fall trip to Florida this year.  She canceled obviously last year.  If she comes down, we need to plan a visit!  I will keep you posted.  Typically it’s the last week of Oct/first week of November timeframe.

-becky

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Another Surprise

Tue 1/26/2021 3:26 PM
Team,
Pam has been working on our garage and the expensive storage unit that we rent for the overflow. The goal is to do away with the storage unit.
Yesterday she found a box with real family treasures.
Clyde Raymond Skillin, Sr. my maternal grandfather, was a garage mechanic.  He also wrote poetry. I’m attaching the poem he wrote when his son was born. I thought it was the only poem to have survived. But, I was wrong. Pam found a box with some three dozen of his poems.  Those that have seen my garage know that this is a miracle.  The storage unit is worse.
Several poems are written on the back of a Mechanics Daily Time Distribution sheet. And I have some work cut out to get them typed as most are written in pencil and somewhat faded. Nevertheless, I see a book of poetry getting self-published as part of my journey.
Whistling Dixie for Charlie. [A reference to his “southern” family.]
John. IV
Posted on by — Leave a comment

Elcik Humor

Definition of “Smart Aleck”

On Wed, Jan 27, 2021, at 11:40 PM

Beth,

Given all the alternative spelling for the Elcik surname has given me cause for concern. People might think that the term “smart aleck” is a reference to my family or me. Ouch!

Let me assure you it is not.

The term ”smart-alec” came from Alec Hoag’s exploits, a celebrated con man in New York in the 1840s. He and his wife Melinda and an accomplice known as French Jack operated a con called the Panel Game, a method by which prostitutes and their pimps robbed customers.

I’m not sure which is worse, being a person who is irritating because they behave as if they know everything or knowing the origins of the term.

John, IV

“Smart Aleck – Yes or No?”

Thursday, January 28, 2021, 8:28 AM

John,

You are neither irritating nor a smart alec.  I know you are simply driven to find the answers to your questions and the “real truth.”   Considering the odds we’re both up against, that isn’t easy to do.  You have the ways and the means to accomplish that much more than I do.  I would have given up long ago without your help and the Fantastic Four!!!

I still can’t believe Pam’s garage and the task to sort through everything.  It’s snowing in Maine and is the second day to do so.  If you need an explanation of the word “snow,” ask google, she’s a “smart alec” and can sometimes be irritating!!!!  I DO love her, though!!

Beth

Who Is Sirsi?

Thu 1/28/2021 11:10 AM

Beth,

Thanks!

Your encouragement, participation, and support have been what keeps me involved and focused. Your talent for engaging others is evident in the others you have brought into our crazy world. It is fun. You have made it so.

I, too, love Google. She is only responsive to the questions I ask.  I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with Apple’s Siri, who eavesdrops on conversations and occasionally spontaneously speaks up.

I googled Siri; and Her name is Susan Bennett, and she lives in suburban Atlanta. Susan Alice Bennett (nee Cameron, born July 31, 1949) is an American voice-over artist and a former backup singer for Roy Orbison and Burt Bacharach.  Apple won’t confirm it. But Bennett says she is Siri. Professionals who know her voice, have worked with her, and represent her legally say she is Siri.

John, IV

“Siri (/ ˈ s ɪr i / SIRR-ee) is a virtual assistant that is part of Apple Inc.’s operating systems. The assistant uses voice queries, gesture-based control, focus-tracking, and a natural-language user interface to answer questions, make recommendations, and perform actions by delegating requests to a set of Internet services.”

 

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Join Us in Preserving Our Family’s Heritage

Join us in going forward.

Hopefully, each of us will heroically dig into the basement and search the attic for photos that can be added to the family history.

[In Florida, this means the garage as we don’t have a basement. Heroic is not a term I chose haphazardly. Take a look at the pictures below of my garage. Lol. Beth has both a basement and an attic, with perhaps double the opportunity for heroics? – John]

Some of you will be superheroes and write Life Stories to share with us.

Whatever your contribution, future generations are sure to be grateful,

Please send your “artifacts” to:

John Elcik
15117 Cloverdale Drive
Fort Myers, FL 33919
john@mycousins.org

 

From my point of view, this is scary. Notice that there is no commonality between these two pictures. This means it never gets better. Ouch!