Sweet home...

Alabama...
Where the skies are so blue
Sweet Home Alabama
Lord, I'm coming home to you...
(by Lynyrd Skynyrd)

(oh I wish I was coming home...)



Alabama... I´ve never been to the US so far. But I was in my Alabama today, for some four minutes.

We were on the way to Ingo´s old apartment and the radio gave me those precious moments.
I turned it LOUD, because in my Alabama it was played SO LOUD you couldn´t talk to each other.

We sat on the verandah, there was a jukebox, filled with CD´s and you could choose by the cover of the CD.
We had just ordered bucket chips. BUCKET CHIPS!! They are served with ketchup and.... drumrolls... salt and vinegar.

YICKES???

We now LOOOOVE it.

A young man went to the jukebox, chose the CD from "Forrest Gump" and here he chose "Sweet Home Alabama".

There I sit. Ingo is driving on the Autobahn to Rhueden. And I close my eyes. I see the solar showers, the palm trees. I sit on the verandah and can nearly taste the bucket chips with vinegar. My throat hurts of sweet memories.

Darn it! I never took a pic, because back then digital cameras were way too expensive. I hope the pic in my brain stays forever or 'til I come back.

My Alabama is Mataranka. What a sweet place.

For a sec or two I was in Sun Pictures in Broome, where we saw Forrest Gump the first time (and twice then there).

BEAMING, please, will someone invent that now, pleeease?

We bought chips. And vinegar. For the first time in seven years we had some SALT AND VINEGAR BUCKET CHIPS - just without the bucket ;-) And home-made chips for the first time. Essig is vinegar, certainly, the combination is totally unknown here.

Sweet Home Alabama

...where the skies are so blue...
sweet home Mataranka, how I love your bucket chips!

- with vinegar!

Doesn´t make sense?

Let me explain.

I started postcrossing thanks to fellow blogger Sami

I sent away some cards and yesterday I got my first one back - from... Alabama. Yep, that was your first thought as well, right? ;-)

Let us change to 1999...

Mataranka, here you see the natural hot springs at the caravan park.
We just wanted to have a look and stayed days - can you imagine that the air - in NT ! - can be "cold" compared to the springs?

There was no entry fees, but we sure left money for...

Oh, I need to hop back to 1995:

This is Sunpictures, the world-oldest open air-cinema, located in beautiful Broome.
What was on?
Forrest Gump.
Gah.
I´d seen the movie here in Germany. What stupid stuff, I thought.

But, well, it´s Sunpictures, right? So, we went.

And there we sat in shown "sun"lounges. Forrest is on his verandah, looking up in the dark sky. Full of stars, sparkling the brightest you can imagine - what a fake, I thought at home - and... that sky blended over into the Australian, dark outback-sky, full of the brightest stars you can imagine.
I love that movie ever since.

Us, in Broome in 1995, btw:

In 1999, in Mataranka, we sat on the verandah of the camp-site-kiosk. And had our very first bucket chips.
Did you know having them with vinegar is totally unknown over here, so dang sad and home-made we don´t get the same result.

Anyhows. There was a jukebox on the verandah. We enjoyed (very, very much!!!) our bucket-chips and talked, when a guy came up and searched for a song. I saw the cover of..
Yes, Forrest Gump and he choose: ... Right. And man, that thing was LOUD!
So there we sat, now only enjoying (still much, much) our bucket chips to SWEET HOME ALABAMA, WHERE THE SKIES ARE SO BLUE...

Every time I hear that song I´m back on the verandah and next second in Broome.
Which we were in 1999:

Same place, same people, better different car.
Oh, how I dearly miss this car!!! In 2006, when we stayed in Perth, Kingsway Caravan Park (Landsdale/Wanneroo) we saw a model just like him. The owner allowed us to hop in... oh, we got all sentimental.
Just like here... I´m sad to let him go:

2006 btw... I bought this T-Shirt for wearing at home.

I ran out of T-Shirts and had to wear it in Perth - I thought everybody´d look at me like, "yeah, another stupid tourist".

I got smiles all over!
We went to Wanneroo Shopping Centre (3 minutes walk from "home"), it was shortly before christmas, a woman was checking backpacks at the entrance of Big W.
She grabbed my arm, turned me around. I was about to take off my backpack, but she smiled at me like real big, "Sweetie, I liiiiiike your T-Shirt!" and let me go.
Stupid us had no cam with us (just going to Big W, right??? :-(...), hence the sign.

Alabama... is so connected to Australia to me.

So, this very first postcard I got makes postcrossing even more special for me :-)

I got it from Elijah, btw. He just went to the dentist - no cavities, lucky 4-y-o :-)

This might become a great new hobby! Check it out, too?

And now I so crave bucket chips with vinegar. Or Chicken Treat, pie... ahhhh, c´mon brain, sing with me: "Sweet home Alabama...."

A Red CUBIFA VIII

A Red CUBIFA VII
A Red CUBIFA VI
A Red CUBIFA V
A Red CUBIFA IV
A Red CUBIFA III
A Red CUBIFA II
A Red CUBIFA I

Can "Y"ou Believe It´s Friday Again?

Run, Forrest, Run!

I thought this movie, Forrest Gump, is just plain stupid, when I saw it over here (certainly translated to German, at least Tom Hank´s German voice is sexy, too).

Well. Then. We came to Broome in 1995 and discovered Sun Pictures, the world-oldest open-air cinema.

Pic from 1999, Sun Pictures

And what was on? Right, Forrest Gump.
Ok, well, we went in.
One scene I disliked especially: Forrest steps out on the verandah and looks into a sky, black with so many stars, pfffft…. How unrealistic!!!
But in Broome, in Sun Pictures? The sky went on into the real sky, it was amazing! A pitch-dark sky with so many stars you only find in the outback.
I fell in love.

Forrest Gump is one of my fav movies.

Pic from 1995, Broome

Pic from 1999, Broome

We watched many more in Broome, in 1999, when we had plenty of time (oh, that makes a rhyme!).

Pic from 1995, Cable Beach

One is stuck to my mind.
The main actor won an Oscar. He jumped over the chairs and exclaimed, “Thank you, thank you, my English is all out!”
I didn´t want to see that movie, I´m sick and tired of being German in this case, my parents were kids back then, my Father´s Dad did not join the army.

Pic from 1995, Mangroves

But it was Sun Pictures, so we went.
We sat down.
No, actually we laid down in those beautiful, nostalgic “sundeck-chairs”.

Pic from 1995, Sun Pictures

Yes. “Life is beautiful” it was.
And to our very much surprise… it was given in the original language, which means – a big ha-ha for Ingo: Italian!
(Ingo, Australia and Italian stuff… a different story)

I thought – loving Pizza, but speaking no Italian – now, this is going to be tough!

But, no!
After just a few minutes I heard Italian, read English subtitles and watched a movie, I watched a movie and forgot that I read along in a different language to my own to understand, the brain is some awesome thing!
But… we certainly “outed” ourselves.
When the German officer threatened to kill, the main character “translated” to his son: If you don´t obey, I will eat all your sweets!
Both of us, who certainly too clearly understood the cruel German words, had to shortly laugh very bitterly – and all eyes were on us.
Germans.
Boy, did I feel bad – though actually I had no reason. Right?

Pic from 1995, beach

We watched many more movies in Sun Pictures – sadly, Red, if you read along, I never went to the loo there. But thanks to you… well, can´t say no more for now, have to wait a few days.

Pic from 1995, Malcolm Douglas Crocodile Park

I have to go away from Broome.

But let me tell you, Bro came home from a trip to Mallorca with a T-Shirt for me: “Green is as Green does” with Kermit, sitting… aw, here´s the pic:

Mataranka, 1999.
We sat on the Verandah and had vinegar-chips with ketchup.
The best chips in the world, I might add.
There was a jukebox.
Yes. A guy came, pushed some buttons, the cover of Forrest Gump appeared and he choose ”Sweet Home Alabama” – and, my it was LOUD!

Pic from 1999, Mataranka, Hot Springs

Bucket-chips, a verandah, palms and SWEET HOME ALABAMA with the cover of Forrest Gump.

Whenever I hear that song I crave vinegar-bucket-chips, see the Australian/Broome Outback night-sky and am on a verandah.

The pic, the moon?

Well, do I have to explain?

Stairway to the Moon :-)
It´s a monthly event in Broome, celebrated at Apex-Park, now Lions Pioneer Club.

Pic from 1999, Lions Pioneer Club

You get all kinds of yummy food and handmade stuff at the markets they put up for this event.
And then the moon gives you stairs to climb up to, in German him, to you, her.

Sadly many, many people use flashlights, so I decided to buy this perfect postcard.

Soso sad we can´t make it to Broome in November. Or Mataranka.

Hope I find a drawing with Windorah included, there is a story I can tell. I guess Sun Pictures was a bit part of that, too.

AND! (Yes, I have to get loud! )
One night we decided to move on, to leave beautiful Broome once again, Chicken Treat and all.

A last time we went to Sun Pictures.
And… guess what??!
The guy sitting next to me came in with… a fresh, hot Pizza!!!

I begged Ingo to stay another night so I can have Pizza in Sun Pictures, but… aw. Well. Guess today I´d somehow make him stay.
Is there any cinema in the world but Sun Pictures where you´re allowed to bring in a Pizza???

Maybe it even was a Friday when we left. Wishing you a happy one :-)

A Slow Good-Bye And Help

These grow at the main street  nearby, they didn´t give up - is there still hope? 💙💛

 

 

 

Australian Banana Boat Sunscreen from March...

 

 

 

There is more  to come. For now... I have to share this,bet it will make you smile:

 

I found something at FB today I could name, "Everywhere but in Germany" - or "That is America".

Here goes:

 

"Damn, That's Interesting
Generosityhub  ·
  ·
Due to a scheduling mishap, one frantic Waffle House worker was left alone to run the entire restaurant on a Sunday night. 

 

Ethan Crispo was just one of about 30 hungry customers who wanted food at midnight. 

After sitting at his table for a while, he noticed there was just one distressed employee available at the Birmingham, Alabama establishment to take orders, cook food, bus tables, and manage the cash register.

The employee - who was identified only by his nametag reading 'Ben' - seemed to be on the brink of panic until Crispo saw him speaking to a male customer in a blue shirt sitting at the counter.

After a brief conversation, Ben handed him an apron and the man got to work washing dishes.

 

A couple minutes later, a woman in high heels, and a sequined dress briskly strode behind the counter to brew more coffee. She then took a few orders before resigning herself to bussing tables. 

 

Suddenly, a third customer in a red shirt marched over to help, as well, though Crispo failed to catch his name or snap a photo of the man at work. 

 

The term ‘customer service’ took on a whole new meaning that night. 

Crispo fondly remembers is as a surreal as an example of humanity at its finest."

 

Why not in Germany? RULES. No guests behind the counter.

And of course:

 

 

 

 "Albert Einstein's creative and brilliant quotes

 

About what is valuable 

 

Nothing truly worthwhile comes from ambition or a mere sense of duty; Rather, it arises from love and devotion to people and to objective things."

Really, it get´s scary. I really, I promise, go quote by quote in the gallery´s order and doesn´t this quote again fit perfectly?

You would turn 83 today.

 Henry 🦁 sends Granpa Max again:

You May Need To Go....

Haha, guess what I found in the mail today? I ordered the book on July 8th and today it was already here, all the way from Australia and despite stupid customs duty checked it, too (hope they all had to go after they saw the cover!) - I´m off to the balcony to enjoy Red´s book - 29C btw - a great summer day!

Funny is: my fav loo:

Is on page 72, which is the year I was born. Sorry, numbers seem to haunt me and yes, I´ve been in Sun Pictures several times. And once to the loo. But I can´t remember what it looked like inside back in 1999... or was it 1995? Forrest Gump I first saw there, will never forget how the Alabama skies blended perfectly into Broome sky!

Hmmm. They call themselves now "Sun Cinemas" - does it mean you´re not allowed to have a Pizza inside anymore?
If so... Ingo, you are doomed!
(On our last day in Broome a guy brought a Pizza in, so I begged to stay one day longer and do so the next day, too. Ok, we´d seen all movies we liked at least once, but awwww. We were in no hurry!)

Great work Red, love that it comes with short descriptions, too.
Some 150 pages to enjoy.
Yes, you can enjoy looking at loos.

I need to go now ;-)

If you care about the salad-thingy, please read the comment to this post - thanks Grace, I am a happy salad now (still a tad afraid of Big´s words not coming true...)

Wipers

"Memory Lane Moments

Mary Anderson: The Unsung Hero of Windshield Wipers. Did you know that the windshield wiper, a crucial feature in modern cars, was invented by a woman named Mary Anderson? Born on an Alabama plantation in 1866, Mary was a real estate developer, rancher, and inventor who made history with her innovative idea.  

In 1902, during a snowy day in New York City, Mary rode a trolley and watched as the driver struggled to see through the icy windshield. She designed a spring-loaded lever with a rubber blade that allowed drivers to clean their view from inside the vehicle. 

Patented in 1903, her invention laid the foundation for windshield wipers as we know them today. 

Despite her groundbreaking work, Mary never profited from her invention. By the time windshield wipers became standard in cars, her patent had expired. Yet, today they are essential in safe driving, highlighting the vital role of creativity and perseverance. 🚗❄️💡
👉Also read and see more photos: https://besrilankan.com/21-historic-photos-that-captured.../
 #MaryAnderson #Innovation #WomenInSTEM #ForgottenFounders"

Series:

 

"30 bizarre wildlife facts that are actually true

Howler monkeys are almost as loud as jet engines

Howler monkeys more than live up to their name, as they are so loud that their calls can be heard up to five kilometers away and are estimated to reach 140 decibels. For comparison, a jet engine produces about 150 decibels during takeoff - enough to damage an eardrum.

Howler monkeys make these loud noises to mark their territory, with neighboring groups roaring back and forth to let others know their location."

 Henry 🦁 

 

 

Looks more like a big yawn, Baby...