NOV 9 2017

I THINK... JUST MAYBE... WE HAVE THE 13 PHOTO'S FOR THE CALENDAR...-- WE DO HAVE A MEETING THIS MORNING AT 10  TO HOPEFULLY WIND IT UP..   IT IS... PER USUALL... A THING OF BEAUTY... AND THER E ARE A COUPLE REALLY SPECTACULAR PHOTOS... REMEMBERING  THAT WE HAVE BEEN KNOWN TO MISPLACE HOLIDAYS ETC...  WE WILL  TRY AND GET THE  DETAILS CORRECT THIS TIME....  THE OVERALL WILL BE SPECTACULAR...  ****  ABOUT MONKEY FISTS..  REMEMBER ANYONE BUYING A CHICKEN BRICK IS INVITED TO SEND A PADDED SELF ADDRESSED ENVELOPE AND I WILL SEND ONE OF THE ZIPPER PULLER TYPE MONKEY FISTS---- SOMETIMES 2 ESPECIALLY IF YOU PUT A DOLLAR OR TWO IN THE ENVELOPE FOR THE POSTAGE..   *** I REMEMBER..... WHEN I STARTED MAKING THESE THINGS, I KNEW  THAT HISTORICALLY A STONE WAS USED IN TH EMIDDLE  AS A WEIGHT  SO A SAILOR COULD SWING THAT ROPE BETWEEN SHIPS....-- SINCE I WAS USING STRING, IT HAD TO BE A SMALL STONE... I JUST HAPPEN TO KNOW OF A VERY STRANGE PLACE  "BENTLEY WARREN  TRUCKING COMPANY"  ABOUT 4 MILES AWAY THAT  CRUSHES ROCKS AND SORTS STONES BY SIZE.I HAVE ALWAYS LOVED THIS PLACE-- THEY HAVE IRON TOWERS WHERE THEY DUMP A TRUCK FULL OF  SANDY STUFF, IT GOES UP 30 FEET IN THE AIR AND  THEN STARTS DOWN A CONVEYOR WHICH SHAKES AND GROANS  AS THE SAND DROPS  THRU FIRST.... THEN THE 1/4 INCH PEBBLES, THEN 1/2 INCH.. THEN THE 3/4 INCH , 1"/  AND FINALLY... THE REST.  IT WAS INTO THIS YARD OF  MONSTER TRUCKS  AND TRAILERS THAT  I WENT WITH MY COFFEE CUP AND ASKED AT THE OFFFICE  IF I COULD HAVE A CUP FULL OF1/2 " PEBBLES (TO MAKE THESE  MONKEY FISTS...  WHICH THEY HAD NEVER HEARD OF)   I AM ABSOLUTELY POSITIVE OVER TH E CB RADIO WENT " LOOK OUT FOR THE LUNATIC WANDERING AROUND LOOKING FOR A COFFEE CUP OF 1/2 INCH PEBBLES..."   ---SO I SAAT MYSELF DOWN IN THE PILE  AND STARTED PAWING THRU THEM.... THEY CERTAINLY LOOKED ROUND-- BUT IN ACTUAL FACT THEY WERE QUITE FLAT ON ONE SIDE - MEANING I COULD NOT USE THEM...   SO I WENT BCK INTO THE OFFICEE AND EXPLAINED TO TH E NICE WOMAN THAT I COULDN'T FIND ANY SUITABLE 1/2 INCH STONES IN THE  16 TONS OF 1/2 INCH STONES IN THAT PILE. THAT ESTABOISHED MY REPUTATION AT BENTLEY WARREN-- BUT I SAW WHAT THEY HAD THERE.... AS CRAZY ACRES DEVELOPED, I NEEDED  THINGS LIKE SAND...-- SO I WENT BACK TO THE OFFICE AND ASKED HOW ONE BOUGHT  SAND-- AFTER A FEW COMMENTS ABOUT CUPFULLS, I FOUND YOU COULD ASK FOR  A PILE OF SAND BY THE SIZE TRUCK THAT DELIVERED IT... A 10 WHEELER WAS A SMALL PILE WHICH THEY WEIGHED NS SOLD BY WEIGHT.  WITH DELIVERY  OF $30 IT WAS ABOUT $150 FOR A PRETTY GOOD PILE.  LIFE WENT ON  AND I LEARNED ABOUT STONE DUST( WHICH WE NOW HAVE) AT $500 FOR A  MAMMOTH DUMP TRAILER WITH AN AWFUL LOT OF WHEELS.  .MY REPUTATION IMPROVED.... I WAS STILL NOT "A CONTRACTOR" BUT MY CHECKS WERE GOOD.... SO THEY PUT UP WITH ME.    THE STONE WALLS HERE WERE ROCKS BY THE TRUCKLOAD.. ETC.. IN THE MEANTIME, I NOTICED A SMALL PILE OF WHAT LOOKED LIKE SCRATCHED UP  PLEXIGLASS  TOSSED ASIDE..TURNS OUT THAT MONSTER LOADER THAT MOVED ALL THESE PEBBLES AND FILLED TRUCKS, HAD A FRONT WINDOW OF LEXAN WHICH NEEDED CHANGING EVERY FEW MONTHS BECAUSE IT GETS SCRATCHED....  LEXAN IS NOT PLEXAGLASS... IT IS FAR BETTER AND MUCH MORE EXPENSIVE--- THESE  SCRATCHED SHEETS THEY WERE THROWING AWAY COST OVER $500 EACH WHEN NEW.. LEXAN IS GOOOOOOD TOUGH  STUFF.  I COULD NEVER AFFORD TO BUY IT  SO  I ASKED BENTLEY WARREN... AND THAT IS WHAT LINES THE DOG KENNEL IN THE ALLEYWAY OF THE BARN..... AND SOME OF THE FEEDERS ETC..... FINA LLY .. WITH THE HELP OF A CP I DID BUY ONE FULL SHEET, UNSCRATCHED AND IT IS THE WINDOW  BETWEEN THE FEEDING ROOM AND  ARENA...  BUT ALL THE REST IS  FROM BENTLEY WARREN. **SO IF ANY OF YOU KNOW OF A TRUCKING COMPANY WITH  THOSE HUGE FRONT LOADERS,  WATCH FOR THE LEXAN PILE...... YOU WILL LOVE IT. ***  THERE IS ONE OTHER BENTEY WARREN STORY...I HAD A RED SUV- AND I WAS LOOKIN FOR FIELD STONES- THE OFFIC PERSON SENT ME  "DOWN  THE DIRT ROAD PAST THE SAND" WAS A PILE---  SO I STARTED DOWN THE ROAD..  THERE WERE TIRE TRACKS   .... ONLY TO HAVE  THE FRONT OF MY CAR GO NOSE DOWN IN A BOGGY HOLE--   I HAD TO CLIMB OUT THE WINDOW QUICKLY-- IT DID NOT KEEP SINKING BUT NO WAY COUOLD I DRIVE IT OUT...SO I WENT BACK FOR HELP-- AND THEY SENT THAT BIG LOADER WITH CHAINS  WHICH LIFTED MY POOR LITTLE SUV OUT-- THUS MY DIZZY REPUTATION WAS MAINTAINED... AND REMAINS TO THIS DAY.---