Got a check in the mail for a small piece of writing, and the amount was almost the exact sum I just paid someone to fix my dog’s butt. It had a nice symmetry - in one end, out the other, in a way. Birch has gained weight, which is good, but the GI problems still haven’t been fixed. Says me. This is not Munchausen by proxy; this is buttmunching by puppy, since he’s always snapping away at his hindquarters. I have 24 cans of special food that should help with the digestion, and help him fill out a little. And they took some blood to test for this blood-borne parasite Southern dogs get.

It’s worth it. He’s a good dog.

The picture on top is the hallway of Hunt & Gather this week. They've gone a little mad. I'm going to end the week with a round-up of cast-off items, because I think I'm coming down with a cold and my brain isn't all here. Sore throat. Could be nothing, but also a slight headache and general punkyness.

There were lots of these, and they're quite old.

At least the design's old. That has to go back to the Twenties. Doubt me? Well:

It's a bit creepy.

From the look of the items in the bin, the "Nine Cent Sale" was an idea sold to grocery stores; they filled in the items they wanted to sell for the low-low price of less than a dime. What can you buy in a grocery store today for nine cents? Some carrot shavings from the salad bar, perhaps.

I don't think there really was a Dr. Freezer.

This may shriek SEVENTIES, but 80s is just as likely. Let me google . . . well, aren't I clever: first used in 1980, trademark registered in 1982. That's about right.

The trademark page says "CONTINUED USE NOT FILED WITHIN GRACE PERIOD, UN-REVIVABLE, " which sounds drastic, like someone in the trademark office said "I'm calling it. Note the time."

A plastic grocery store sign had this classic logo in the corner:

Everyone tapered in those days.

Brown & Foreman, your dependable supplier of mass-produced central nervous system depressants, brings you Moatly Forgotten Presidentwhisky.

I don't know how that stuff didn't eat right through the glass.

Have a seat while we bake your scalp:

Emil J. Paidar got his start in barber chairs, if my research is correct. You can find a catalog here - available on CD for $9.99! Site appears to be rather . . . vintage, itself.

This made me smile.

It had such a kind and gentle face, and judging from the saddle paint, kids rode that guy a lot.

Ancient and fascinating:

Royal Scroll - the Complete Panorama of Sacred Stories, by L. W. Yaggy/. he was an author of note on the subject of antiquities. This was like a player piano roll for pictures. Published in 1921, according to this site, but I think that was a republished work. Different publisher.

This is from the new room they opened up in the back, the one that used to house an AA meeting. It's where things get . . . strange.

But that's why I love the place.

Gildersleeve season 7. We're coming to the end of this year's exhaustive catalog of the Gildersleeve musical cues, and believe me: I could go another year. I won't, but I could.

		Listen to how hard they hit the transition from the main theme.

		Not this time; we're going alll Gersh on you.

		A little classical reference to get us out of one mood and into another.

		Now, something introduced in the last few years. Birdy was given this bit where she got all worked up and couldn't stop talking about somthing.

Guaranteed applause getter, so they worked it into every show.

		AD: 1947. But enough of Silent Sam. Let's meet the tiresome Interrupting Man.

Here's a fellow no one remembers any more.

		And that's a pity. He has a website dedicated to his memory, but this style of music - smooth, civilized, grown-up - just isn't popular unless someone's pretending to be cool by saying how much they love Sinatra.

Not that people who say that are always pretending, but he's the stand-in for everything pre-Elvis, for some.

On the other hand, there's something about the song below that makes you realize the size of the gap between the old and new.

Banjo. Godfrey. Two of the least popular words among the young set.

That'll do; see you around. New Gallery addition today.