Ted's Garage - Unique/Retro Dining in Clinton, IL

Several family members traveled to Clinton, IL late this afternoon to watch our cousin, Hannah, play softball.  Her team (St. Joseph, IL) was playing in the sectional state tournament.  Side note:  they won the game with the 10 run rule employed at the end of the 5th inning!

After the game, we drove down the street to Ted's Garage.  Ted's Garage is referred to as a "retro fifties diner" - apparently created and built, in part, by the guy that owns the car dealership next door.  It was a fun place for a post-game gathering.

The menu includes a wide variety of food from chili to salmon to onion rings.  All the menu items are named something "car-like".   The cloth napkins are actually mechanics towels.

In addition to food, there is a variety of memorabilia including a showroom where people ("friends, customers") can display their cars or motorcycles.  The displays are rotated every few weeks.

Our waitress, Tammy, was fabulous.  She was friendly, helpful and attentive.  They obviously welcome children (we had a couple in our group) including having a kid's menu.  I did note the menu for grown-ups included a kid alert

Looking for a country drive and good food?  Give Teds Garage a shot.  We really enjoyed our visit.

http://www.teds-garage.com/

TED'S GARAGE, 808 W. HIGHWAY 54, CLINTON, IL 61727

PHONE: 217-935-8008 EMAIL: nan@teds-garage.com

Airport security - should airlines send a reminder to passengers - "don't forget these rules"?

It never fails that when you're in the biggest hurry to get through airport security you encounter some type of delay due to a passenger trying to carry something through security that isn't allowed.

I guess its understandable, if you haven't flown since the liquid restrictions for carry-on bags were put in place, that you might not know that containers have to be 3 oz or less and all of them must be placed in a single quart-sized zip lock bag.  However, there are signs at every security area that provide detailed reminders....like this one

and this one....hadn't seen this one before.  It was at the John Wayne/Orange County airport

and this one...same airport (first and only airport where I've seen one specific to snowglobes...made me wonder why...are more snowglobes sold in the LA area???)

Side note:  you're really not supposed to take pictures in the security area...I've occassionally used my Blackberry to take a quick picture but they're usually not great quality.

I've observed various things being taken out of carry-on bags by TSA agents with passengers given the option to either take the bag (and the liquid item) back to check it, or throw it away, or on rare occassions, ship it home or to your destination (actually this is pretty rare but there are a few airports that have mailing envelopes right at the entrance to the security area.) 

What things slow down the process?

-Toothpaste (big tubes)
-Gel deodorant
-Make-up (liquid foundation) ...and generally you hear something like "I just paid $35 for that...I can't throw it away"
-Cologne..another item that usually is accompanied by a "but I just paid $xxx for that"...most recently it was a guy who said he paid $85 for the bottle (kind of made me want to sniff his neck to see if it was worth the $85)
-bottled water, usually stuck in a brief case (ok, full disclosure...I've been guilty of this...you have it in there during the day while you're working, you head to the airport and forget its in there).
-small bottles of lotion, usually from the hotel you just stayed in, loose in a purse or in your carry-on bag, but NOT in the ziplock bag...and ok, I've done this too, always when I've changed hotels during the stay and then forget to pack everything back up.

A co-worker of mine (AG) uses a gallon size ziplock bag instead of a quart-sized bag. She's never been stopped by a TSA agent when going through security. She doesn't fill the bag totally full so maybe they don't notice...although if a TSA agent can tell me I have a red apple in my briefcase, surely they can see the difference?

Side note:  prior to the liquid restriction, I used to always take the toiletries provided by the hotel.  When I lived in Charlotte, one of my co-workers (and fellow member of the Ladies of Harley club) collected them in a box and when the box got full, she'd take it to the women's shelter.  I did the same thing when I moved back here...until the new rule.  Now I only take the "good stuff", like Aveda products.  

So here's a question...is it stealing if you take the unused toiletries from your hotel room?

Harold Cruz, Navy - Serving our Country

May 19, 2010
Hotel Lobby
Kalamazoo, Michigan

Harold served in the Army (Infantry) for 4 years, during which he spent time in Kuwait (1990).

He then left the Army to attend college/law school.  He's now in the Navy reserves. 

His hometown is Jacksonville, Florida.

Harold will be deploying to Afghanistan in the near future.

Harold, thank you for serving our country!

Side note:  This is the first time I've encountered Navy camouflage.  Interesting discussion in the lobby regarding the color.  Intent is to blend in with the color of the ships but what happens if you fall overboard?  it then blends in with the water - good if you're wanting to avoid being seen by the enemy but not so great if you want the Navy to find you.

From Wikopedia - Camouflage
Military camouflage became an essential part of modern military tactics after the increase in accuracy and rate of fire of weapons during the 19th century. Until the 20th century, armies tended to use bright colors and bold, impressive designs. These were thought to daunt the enemy, foster unit cohesion, allow easier identification of units in the fog of war, and attract recruits. In addition, bright uniforms, such as the red coats formerly used by the British, tended to deter desertion.The development of camouflage drew on various skills and ideas of the period. An American artist and zoologist, Abbott Thayer published a book Concealing Colour in the Animal Kingdom this book was widely read by military leaders in an attempt to understand how to camouflage military equipment and troops. Theories from Gestalt Psychology also influenced the development of camouflage as it deals with questions such as "How is it that we see a thing?". Contemporary artistic movements such as cubism, vorticism and impressionism also influenced the development of camouflage as they dealt with disrupting outlines, abstraction and colour theory.[4]


Conversely, the intent of camouflage is to disrupt an outline by merging it with the surroundings, making a target harder to spot or hit, or to confuse an observer as to its nature. Different countries have undergone different evolutionary stages towards the development of military camouflage


 
Digital camouflage (or "digicam") is a pattern devised by utilizing small micropatterns, as opposed to larger macropatterns for effective disruption. The theory is that large blotches of color with sharp outlines are easier to see, while "blurring" the edges of the colored patches makes the outlines, and thus the objects, harder to discern. The name is misleading, as most non-digital camouflage patterns also consist of a set of discrete colors; "pixellated camouflage" would be more accurate, but "digital" has stuck.

Airport security - Miami - was this guy a wanna be Chippendale dancer?

One of my more entertaining airport security experiences involved a Russian man.  He was in the security line next to me and as I get through the scanner and am retrieving my stuff, I notice he was stopped because he had set off the alarm.

TSA agent nicely asks him if he has anything in his pockets (he was wearing jeans).  The guy makes a big production of not understanding what he's being asked.  Normally, they will let you empty whatever is in your pockets and then go back through.  Not this guy - he continues his "no English, no English" routine.  So they take him to the area for extra screening - where they wand you and pat you down.  The TSA agent passes the wand over the front of this guy's body and when he reaches the front pockets of the jeans, the sensors go off in the wand. 

At this point the guy pulls one coin out of his pocket.  The TSA agent wands him again.  Still beeping.   A couple of additional TSA agents join the "party".  I have to say I was surprised how patient they were when trying to communicate what they wanted him to do ....which was to pull out the liner of his pockets so they could confirm there was nothing in them.  The guy pulls out another coin.  This process continues....as the guy gets louder and louder in his responses.  Then some Miami policemen arrive.  Still the guy is not cooperating.

During this process I'm slowly putting on my shoes and repacking my laptop etc because I was curious how this was going to get resolved. 

There were a few more attempts to get the guy to pull out the liner of his pockets....and finally, he pulls out a lighter.

The next thing they tried to get the guy to do was to take the waistband on the front of the jeans and fold it forward so the inside portion would be visible to the TSA agent.  The guy continued to be obtuse even though the TSA agent demonstrated what he wanted him to do. 

All of a sudden the guy unbottons his jeans and the next thing you know he dropped them to the floor and there he stood in his white jockey's.  Those of you who know me well know I like to take pictures of unusual things....but unfortunately they won't let you use your camera while you're inside the security area....so no picture.  It would have been a funny one. 

I leave the security area and head to my gate.  Guess who shows up to board the same plane?  Yep...Mr. "I'm intoxicated and I don't speak English".  I was surprised they let him board, actually....I thought maybe there were some rules about that.

Miami TSA agents should have won the "we're the nicest most patient TSA agents" award for that encounter.

Airport security - almost always a story

I travel a lot -  most of it flying, which means going through airport security.  Its almost always entertaining or at least interesting, both from a social perspective and as well as a process management perspective. Keep in mind I'm a healthcare consultant and much of what I do is identify outcomes that aren't ideal and then review the often chaotic/illogical processes (ones that don't guarantee a person will follow the process and get the desired result) to see how they can be improved.

What started me thinking about the airport security process (TSA "encounters") as a potential blog topic was my experience going through the line at the Charlotte airport VERY EARLY one morning this week.  Now I'm a fairly upbeat person in the morning and am extremely cooperative going through security.  I think some of what we're required to do (and what they are required to do) is a waste of time, but I do what's required.  I don't expect TSA agents to be cheery, but I do think they should be polite.  Not so with this guy (on the left in the picture below).

 Have you ever seen the movie with Richard Gere - "An Officer and a Gentleman"?  Remember the drill sergeant - Louis Gossett Jr.  That was my lucky draw.  Barking directions  - and my complaint is that they weren't accurate nor helpful directions.  You see, Charlotte has the new body scanners and I had to go through one.

If you look carefully at the picture, you will see a page of instructions taped to the left side of the scanner wall (left as you enter the scanner - this picture is showing the exit of the scanner).  The problem is you don't see this as you walk into the scanner.  So, like a drill sergeant he tells me to step into the scanner and place my feet on the boxes marked on the floor of the scanner.  These are small rectangles with the longest sides perpendicular to you as you walk in...so I obediently turn sideways and put my feet inside the rectangles - facing right (turning right was my error, however, he hadn't said which way to face).  Then he instructs me to turn around  - at this point I'm still looking at my feet to make sure I'm exactly in those little rectangles.  Then he tells me to put my hands up on the side of my head...which I do, only its not exactly how he wants me to do it so he demonstrates.   Finally, as I am fully facing the left side of the scanner, I see the instructions page which shows an image of a body in the correct position.  I apologize and say "sorry, I didn't realize there were instructions in here - have you thought about putting them at the entrance so they can easily be seen or maybe asking the person to face the left wall?"  No answer.   

Here's my question - is it too much to ask that the TSA agents be polite and helpful?  I don't think so. I stopped one of the supervisors and asked if its a requirement to be rude and behave like a drill sergeant. She was very nice and asked me who and what I was talking about.  I explained the process I'd been through.

As I'm putting my shoes back on, I'm thinking if they just re-organized the process and put the instructions in a place where they were clearly visible as you're walking into the scanner, this grouchy TSA agent would no doubt have a better day. Honestly I can see how it would be frustrating to be in his shoes and have to tell people the same thing, over and over and over. However, a few tweaks to their process, in my mind, would fix that.   And my bigger point is that it might shave off some time for each individual going through the scanner and thus reduce the big lines of people waiting their turn to get through security.

It will be interesting to see if I go through the same process next week.  I'd put money on it being exactly the same.

As  side note, I asked who was viewing the scan pictures and got a vague answer - seems you can't see who is doing that.  I've been through a scanner in another airport and the viewing screen was to the side of the area and you could see the person (male or female).  I was just curious to see if they actually rotate male and female TSA agents depending on the gender of the person going through the scan. 

More TSA stories to come this week....I'll include a few "stupid passenger" stories.  There are far more of those than grouchy TSA agent stories.

Alex Musel, National Guard - Serving our Country!

O'Hare Airport
May 12, 2010

Alex Musel (pronounced "muscle") was enroute from Dallas to Fort McCoy, Wisconsin (via O'Hare) - headed there for training.  He has served in the National Guard for 17 years (which truthfully I found hard to believe as he barely looked 17!).  He's done a tour in Iraq.

Alex hails from Iowa.

Thank you, Alex, for serving our country!

Wallace, Indiana - home-cooked food, country music

My mom will celebrate her 88th birthday on Tuesday. It has become somewhat of a tradition to join her at her favorite "hang-out" in Wallace, Indiana, the Saturday night near her birthday. That was tonight. (side note: since her birthday is always close to Mother's Day, it's usually a double celebration)


I'm not sure how she got started with this addiction...and yes, I'm going to call it an addiction....but our family has learned to never schedule any family activity on a Thursday or Saturday evening if we have any interest in her joining us.  Those are her dancing nights. 

On Thursday and Saturday nights, the Highway 341 Country Cafe is a reservations-only hotspot with people driving  hour + distances from Illinois and Indiana.  Regulars arrive around 5pm to get their reserved seats and order dinner early before the band starts playing.  The Highway 341 band plays from 6-9pm.

For dinner you can order anything from a burger to chicken fried steak or a rib-eye, all home-cooked right there in the kitchen.  Home-made pie is popular (my mom's favorite is Butterfinger).For less than $10 you can get a great meal. They don't serve liquor.

The band is 100% country.  They are popular in the area and often play other venues such as county fairs, VFW's and town festivals.   They have a following.

Wallace is a very small town. Rumor has it, the population doubles on Thursdays and Saturdays. Getting there involves a scenic drive through rural Indiana (great bike trip - rolling hills, heavily wooded). They always warn you when you're leaving to watch out for deer.

It was a fun birthday celebration...like having a party except you didn't have to have it at your house.  Lots of friends and family.

Mom spends a lot of time on the dance floor.  She's lucky in that many of the married ladies generously share their spouses with her so she can dance a swing or a polka. 

Looking for something to do on a Saturday evening - give it a shot.  Only make sure you plan a little in advance cause if you wait until Saturday, you may not get a seat!

How old is old?

I recently returned from a trip to Europe where one of the primary tourist activities was seeing "old" things - like cathedrals that were started in the 1200's.  I love history, probably instilled in me by my dad who was like a talking history book.  I am working on my pictures from that trip and plan to post some soon.  However, I had a short trip to Washington DC this week and while walking around late in the day I arrived, I came to the conclusion that while you may not see structures that were built in the 1200's, there are plenty of sights to catch your eye.

First, I think the White House is a structure to be proud of (I say this without politics in mind).  Its a beautiful building as are the grounds. 

Here I am up against the fence that surrounds the White House grounds.  It was actually pretty crowded with many people trying to get their picture taken with the White House in the background.  It was easy to trade cameras for the photo op.

While walking down the mall (where the museums are - not a shopping mall ) I came across a couple of items that were far older than any I saw in Europe. 

According to the plaque, this piece of petrified wood is 200 million years old. 

I'm wondering how they calculate the age...and what's the difference in a piece of petrified wood that is 1000 years old vs. 200 million years????

The wood was actually young compared the next item.

This is banded iron ore.  According to the plaque it is 2250 million years old (actually I wondered if that could be a typo...not sure I've ever seen/heard of something so old)

So I took a picture of that plaque, too, just for the record.

There were many other architectural "finds" that emphasized the fact that you don't have to leave the U.S.A. to see interesting architecture. 

I really liked this building...the First Amendment is engraved down the side.  Wouldn't it be great to have these types of reminders around us so we don't forget how this country came to be.

Driving to the Reagan airport I noticed a neighborhood undergoing gentrification (that word always makes me smile....fancy word used in cities where they are cleaning up the neighborhoods...my son, Ryan, lives in such a neighborhood in Chicago).  I like the fact that they are keeping the interesting rooflines intact.

A short trip but another great reminder that we live in the best country in world!

Michelle Garlach and Briana Acree - Serving our Country

O'Hare airport, May 4, 2010.

Michelle Garlach (left) is from Gettysburg, PA and is currently stationed at Fort Hood, Texas. 
Briana Acree (right) hails from Baltimore, Maryland and is currently stationed at Fort Carson, Colorado.

Both just finished their AIT training and are chemical operation specialists (necessary to combat chemical warfare)

Thank you, ladies, for serving our country and keeping us safe!