Re: [Cal_Boats] Drip Free/Dripless Packing

Travis - I went with teflon impregnated packing when I had my boat hauled last year. I'm pleased with the results. Tom Tilley 1982 Cal 9.2 "Lenochka" Hull #53 San Mateo, CA From: Travis <tr… [at] sbcglobal.net> To: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com Sent: Wednesday, December 20, 2006 6:17:50 AM Subject: [Cal_Boats] Drip Free/Dripless Packing While my Cal 33-2 is on the hard, I'd like to do something besides the typical packing. I don't want to spring for a mechanical seal but would like to improve on standard packing. What experience does the group have with these? I see some that are putty-like and some packing rope that is teflon impregnated. What is recommended? Thanks, Travis Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com

Getting sick of the cold, impersonal big-box stores and the nasty sales people in the mall this Christmas? The following is a Christmas thought for everyone who is out there in the shopping frenzy. It definitely applies to the stores where most of us get our sailing stuff.. Merry Christmas to all on the list. \Rog Connections My wife, often known as St. Lori to others who are part of the boating community - after all she puts up with me owning four boats and way too many bird dogs and shotguns - grew up in Gallup, New Mexico, in the sixties. Downtown Gallup had a number of healthy businesses back in those days, before Wal-Mart and other big-box retail chains ripped the hearts out of little towns and not a few big cities and left their downtowns to rot from the core. One of Gallup's great businesses was Stern's Sporting Goods. In the area around Gallup, particularly in the McGaffey Mountains of the Zuni Range, east of town, there are numerous trout streams and many small lakes. The populations of elk, deer, antelope, mountain goats, boar, javelina, brown bear and bighorn sheep are large and robust. There are tens of thousands of acres of open range that support prairie grouse, pheasant, chukkar and quail as well. Because of this natural bounty, St. Lori, like many kids in Gallup, grew up on wild game for most evening meals. And Lori, like most of those kids, accompanied Dad, Mom, uncles and aunts and often grandparents to Stern's Sporting Goods, their de facto community center. Though the store was closed in the early '70s when Mr. Stern passed away, the sense of belonging, connection and community that it fostered lives on in the memories of many sportsmen and their children. In the storefront windows of Stern's Sporting Goods, there was always the latest trophy, a snarling bear showing off its gleaming incisors, or a regal elk sporting a gigantic rack of antlers. And every glass-topped counter was taped up with the latest photos of big trout or large-mouthed bass caught in the local streams and lakes. There were articles from the Gallup Independent telling about the exploits of a local hunter or fisherman or paddler or rock climber. And there were glittering trophies provided by Stern's to celebrate the year's biggest buck or trout or the winner of a marathon. Right inside the front door, and not hidden in back by the restrooms, the first thing you saw was the bulletin board. Most of all, there were the people who would crowd into Stern's to organize their events or to listen to a good story or just to hang around, tell lies and brag. There were summer barbecues out back in the parking lot and on cold winter evenings there were lectures by experts. And most of all, there was a sense that Stern's was the center of a community where everyone was welcome and there was something for everybody, whether it was an insulated sleeping bag or a little recognition or a good story or a pair of rugged hiking boots. Sterns sold everything from ammunition to skis and boots to Zebra safaris in Africa. It provided a place for people to make new friends and to poke fun at fishermen exaggerating the one that got away. Fishing derbies, the Charity Turkey Shoot, rafting trips on the San Juan, ski trips to Santa Fe or to Colorado, all had their roots in the diverse community of people who frequented Stern's Sporting Goods. Stern's didn't sponsor these activities. It just offered a place where people got together to organize them and met others with similar interests. Gone now for more than thirty years, Stern's is still remembered fondly by adults who were once kids listening wide-eyed to the fellow who just got back from a trip to the Serengeti or the couple that had just ascended Mt. McKinley. It was a person-to-person place where people developed their identities, connected with their community and sat in awe to the old timers telling of bison and wolves and the coming of the railroad. We all seek the comfort of a community. It's human nature. At least in part, it is why we participate in forums on the Internet, go to church, help the scouts or visit the gym. And yet there is still a part of each of us that yearns for a Stern's and the lifelong friendships that a connected business can foster. And people are willing to support that kind of business. As consumers, we should ask for this connection from the places where we shop, because connected businesses create communities that make for happier lives and a better America. We need more Stern's Sporting Goods.

Rog, This is beautiful. I would love to forward this to some other groups. OK with you? Attributed to you? Thanks, Jon On 12/20/06, Rog Jones <ro… [at] nvsailing.org> wrote: > > Getting sick of the cold, impersonal big-box stores and the nasty sales > people in the mall this Christmas? The following is a Christmas thought for > everyone who is out there in the shopping frenzy. It definitely applies to > the stores where most of us get our sailing stuff.. > > > > Merry Christmas to all on the list. > > > > \Rog > > *Connections* > > > > My wife, often known as St. Lori to others who are part of the boating > community – after all she puts up with me owning four boats and way too many > bird dogs and shotguns – grew up in Gallup, New Mexico, in the sixties. > Downtown Gallup had a number of healthy businesses back in those days, > before Wal-Mart and other big-box retail chains ripped the hearts out of > little towns and not a few big cities and left their downtowns to rot from > the core. One of Gallup's great businesses was Stern's Sporting Goods. > > > > In the area around Gallup, particularly in the McGaffey Mountains of the > Zuni Range, east of town, there are numerous trout streams and many small > lakes. The populations of elk, deer, antelope, mountain goats, boar, > javelina, brown bear and bighorn sheep are large and robust. There are tens > of thousands of acres of open range that support prairie grouse, pheasant, > chukkar and quail as well. > > > > Because of this natural bounty, St. Lori, like many kids in Gallup, grew > up on wild game for most evening meals. And Lori, like most of those kids, > accompanied Dad, Mom, uncles and aunts and often grandparents to Stern's > Sporting Goods, their de facto community center. Though the store was closed > in the early '70s when Mr. Stern passed away, the sense of belonging, > connection and community that it fostered lives on in the memories of many > sportsmen and their children. > > > > In the storefront windows of Stern's Sporting Goods, there was always the > latest trophy, a snarling bear showing off its gleaming incisors, or a regal > elk sporting a gigantic rack of antlers. And every glass-topped counter was > taped up with the latest photos of big trout or large-mouthed bass caught in > the local streams and lakes. There were articles from the Gallup Independent > telling about the exploits of a local hunter or fisherman or paddler or rock > climber. And there were glittering trophies provided by Stern's to celebrate > the year's biggest buck or trout or the winner of a marathon. Right inside > the front door, and not hidden in back by the restrooms, the first thing you > saw was the bulletin board. > > > > Most of all, there were the people who would crowd into Stern's to > organize their events or to listen to a good story or just to hang around, > tell lies and brag. There were summer barbecues out back in the parking lot > and on cold winter evenings there were lectures by experts. And most of all, > there was a sense that Stern's was the center of a community where everyone > was welcome and there was something for everybody, whether it was an > insulated sleeping bag or a little recognition or a good story or a pair of > rugged hiking boots. Sterns sold everything from ammunition to skis and > boots to Zebra safaris in Africa. It provided a place for people to make new > friends and to poke fun at fishermen exaggerating the one that got away. > > > > Fishing derbies, the Charity Turkey Shoot, rafting trips on the San Juan, > ski trips to Santa Fe or to Colorado, all had their roots in the diverse > community of people who frequented Stern's Sporting Goods. Stern's didn't > sponsor these activities. It just offered a place where people got together > to organize them and met others with similar interests. > > > > Gone now for more than thirty years, Stern's is still remembered fondly by > adults who were once kids listening wide-eyed to the fellow who just got > back from a trip to the Serengeti or the couple that had just ascended Mt. > McKinley. It was a person-to-person place where people developed their > identities, connected with their community and sat in awe to the old timers > telling of bison and wolves and the coming of the railroad. > > > > We all seek the comfort of a community. It's human nature. At least in > part, it is why we participate in forums on the Internet, go to church, help > the scouts or visit the gym. And yet there is still a part of each of us > that yearns for a Stern's and the lifelong friendships that a connected > business can foster. And people are willing to support that kind of > business. As consumers, we should ask for this connection from the places > where we shop, because connected businesses create communities that make for > happier lives and a better America. We need more Stern's Sporting Goods. > > > > >

Rog Jones wrote: > > And yet there is still a part of each of us that yearns for a Stern's > and the lifelong friendships that a connected business can foster. And > people are willing to support that kind of business. As consumers, we > should ask for this connection from the places where we shop, because > connected businesses create communities that make for happier lives > and a better America. We need more Stern's Sporting Goods. > Nice piece, Rog! How could you become an engineer if you write like that? For me, the magic place was Goddeyne's Hardware and Sporting Goods in Bay City, MI. It was located in a neighborhood shopping district. Bay City had several of those, leftovers from the days before we were all accustomed to driving miles to shop at vast commercial palaces. The little district had two pharmacies, a local five-and-dime, a grocery store, a bar or two, a barber shop, the milk store, the beer store, a gas station, and the hobby shop. My barber shop was in another old neighborhood, and one of the guys who cut my hair became a winter Olympics gold-medal winner, the only American that year, in speed skating. But Goddeyne's was the centerpiece for a kid. One of the Goddeyne relatives had designed one of its two buildings, linked in an L-shape around a pharmacy on the corner. One section had the hardware store. They sold appliances, TVs, and the usual range of hardware items. Nuts, bolts, screws, paint, stovepipes. Whatever it was, they had it hidden away somewhere--on a shelf, under the stairs, in the basement. The other section had the sporting goods. Baseball gloves, basketballs, bicycles, hunting guns, sports clothing. It's where you went to buy your jock strap for gym class. At Christmas, the town's best Santa Claus (the real one) held forth there, with afternoon broadcasts on the local radio station. One little addition, not more than about 15 feet wide, was the service shop for outboard motors and lawn mowers. It was a wonderful place, smelling of gas, oil, and the water in the test tank. You knew the people who worked there, because they had worked there forever, or so it seemed. Then the owners got old and decided to retire, and since K-Mart and other national retailers were nibbling away at business, they just closed the doors. The building still stands there, after a period of vacancy, then service as a charity thrift shop, and now again vacant. My memories of Goddeyne's and the other local places like it are what make me shop at the Ace Hardware, four blocks from my house, or at the hiking-climbing-paddling shop downtown, 5 blocks from where I work, and why I bought as much boat stuff as possible from the local guys until West Marine and Boater's World squeezed them out. Price, I have learned, is not the only criterion. We can be accused of wallowing in nostalgia, but there are other important qualities--connection with the community, convenience, local flavor. This is why, in my periodic rants against West Marine, I always emphasize what I regard as their obligations to the communities in which they operate. The local guys recognized that there were certain things they had to carry, to maintain in stock, as a service to the community. I think of a hardware store in yet another little shopping district in Bay City. I was there at the holidays on a cold morning. One of the employees had been out thawing pipes for old folks whose gas or water lines had frozen up. Tell me, do you call Home Depot or Lowe's on a cold weekend morning when your pipes have frozen? Chris Campbell > > > >

--- In Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com, "Rog Jones" <rog@...> wrote: > > Getting sick of the cold, impersonal big-box stores and the nasty sales > people in the mall this Christmas? The following is a Christmas thought for > everyone who is out there in the shopping frenzy. It definitely applies to > the stores where most of us get our sailing stuff.. > > > > Merry Christmas to all on the list. > > > > \Rog > snipped > > We all seek the comfort of a community. It's human nature. At least in part, > it is why we participate in forums on the Internet, go to church, help the > scouts or visit the gym. And yet there is still a part of each of us that > yearns for a Stern's and the lifelong friendships that a connected business > can foster. And people are willing to support that kind of business. As > consumers, we should ask for this connection from the places where we shop, > because connected businesses create communities that make for happier lives > and a better America. We need more Stern's Sporting Goods. My father took me to Von Lengerke and Antoine in Chicago. It was called "VL&A" and was similar to the New York City Abercrombie & Fitch. It was a fishing and hunting store. It wasn't the community center that you described but it was a magical place for a 9 year old kid. My first shotgun came from there. Here's some of the stuff: http://wantitnow.ebay.com/1947-VL-A-Hunting-Catalog-Von-Lengerke- Antoine_W0QQadidZ260066197605 I missed quail hunting last Sunday becuase my broher-in-law was stranded in Minneapolis when his flight was delayed. He was the pilot so he couldn't shake his fist at anyone. Toe rail is done on the Cal 40 and will be ready to be admired in a couple of weeks when varnishing is done and the painting touchup is finished. I can't put the stanchions and pulpits back until the paint is done. Mike Kennedy Conquest Cal 40 # 96 >

Thanks for your kindness, Jon. This is for anybody who wants it. I care about attribution. This isn't a work of the value or quality of, say, even a bad short story. It's just that we need to try to recapture something that was once very much an essential and meaningful part of American culture and that we've allowed to be taken away from us in the name of cheap stuff from China. \Rog Cal 29+ #1 Swiss Navy Cal 2-30 #77 St. Lori's Comet _____ From: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com [mailto:Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Jonathan Brush Sent: Wednesday, December 20, 2006 1:59 PM To: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com Subject: Re: [Cal_Boats] Thought for the day? Rog, This is beautiful. I would love to forward this to some other groups. OK with you? Attributed to you? Thanks, Jon On 12/20/06, Rog Jones <rog@nvsailing. <mailto:ro… [at] nvsailing.org> org> wrote: Getting sick of the cold, impersonal big-box stores and the nasty sales people in the mall this Christmas? The following is a Christmas thought for everyone who is out there in the shopping frenzy. It definitely applies to the stores where most of us get our sailing stuff.. Merry Christmas to all on the list. \Rog Connections My wife, often known as St. Lori to others who are part of the boating community - after all she puts up with me owning four boats and way too many bird dogs and shotguns - grew up in Gallup, New Mexico, in the sixties. Downtown Gallup had a number of healthy businesses back in those days, before Wal-Mart and other big-box retail chains ripped the hearts out of little towns and not a few big cities and left their downtowns to rot from the core. One of Gallup's great businesses was Stern's Sporting Goods. In the area around Gallup, particularly in the McGaffey Mountains of the Zuni Range, east of town, there are numerous trout streams and many small lakes. The populations of elk, deer, antelope, mountain goats, boar, javelina, brown bear and bighorn sheep are large and robust. There are tens of thousands of acres of open range that support prairie grouse, pheasant, chukkar and quail as well. Because of this natural bounty, St. Lori, like many kids in Gallup, grew up on wild game for most evening meals. And Lori, like most of those kids, accompanied Dad, Mom, uncles and aunts and often grandparents to Stern's Sporting Goods, their de facto community center. Though the store was closed in the early '70s when Mr. Stern passed away, the sense of belonging, connection and community that it fostered lives on in the memories of many sportsmen and their children. In the storefront windows of Stern's Sporting Goods, there was always the latest trophy, a snarling bear showing off its gleaming incisors, or a regal elk sporting a gigantic rack of antlers. And every glass-topped counter was taped up with the latest photos of big trout or large-mouthed bass caught in the local streams and lakes. There were articles from the Gallup Independent telling about the exploits of a local hunter or fisherman or paddler or rock climber. And there were glittering trophies provided by Stern's to celebrate the year's biggest buck or trout or the winner of a marathon. Right inside the front door, and not hidden in back by the restrooms, the first thing you saw was the bulletin board. Most of all, there were the people who would crowd into Stern's to organize their events or to listen to a good story or just to hang around, tell lies and brag. There were summer barbecues out back in the parking lot and on cold winter evenings there were lectures by experts. And most of all, there was a sense that Stern's was the center of a community where everyone was welcome and there was something for everybody, whether it was an insulated sleeping bag or a little recognition or a good story or a pair of rugged hiking boots. Sterns sold everything from ammunition to skis and boots to Zebra safaris in Africa. It provided a place for people to make new friends and to poke fun at fishermen exaggerating the one that got away. Fishing derbies, the Charity Turkey Shoot, rafting trips on the San Juan, ski trips to Santa Fe or to Colorado, all had their roots in the diverse community of people who frequented Stern's Sporting Goods. Stern's didn't sponsor these activities. It just offered a place where people got together to organize them and met others with similar interests. Gone now for more than thirty years, Stern's is still remembered fondly by adults who were once kids listening wide-eyed to the fellow who just got back from a trip to the Serengeti or the couple that had just ascended Mt. McKinley. It was a person-to-person place where people developed their identities, connected with their community and sat in awe to the old timers telling of bison and wolves and the coming of the railroad. We all seek the comfort of a community. It's human nature. At least in part, it is why we participate in forums on the Internet, go to church, help the scouts or visit the gym. And yet there is still a part of each of us that yearns for a Stern's and the lifelong friendships that a connected business can foster. And people are willing to support that kind of business. As consumers, we should ask for this connection from the places where we shop, because connected businesses create communities that make for happier lives and a better America. We need more Stern's Sporting Goods.

Thanks, Chris - This, of course, wasn't my memory, but St. Lori's. Yours is of the same spirit. Mine are of a small corner grocery, but it's all similar. We need to try to make retailers give some this back to their communities. All it takes is asking and people sharing their desire to have a return to face-to-face dealings with people we know and like and can trust not to look at us simply as a way to make this quarter's numbers. Merry Christmas to all my friends on this list. \Rog _____ From: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com [mailto:Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Chris Campbell Sent: Wednesday, December 20, 2006 2:29 PM To: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com Subject: Re: [Cal_Boats] Thought for the day? Rog Jones wrote: And yet there is still a part of each of us that yearns for a Stern's and the lifelong friendships that a connected business can foster. And people are willing to support that kind of business. As consumers, we should ask for this connection from the places where we shop, because connected businesses create communities that make for happier lives and a better America. We need more Stern's Sporting Goods. Nice piece, Rog! How could you become an engineer if you write like that? For me, the magic place was Goddeyne's Hardware and Sporting Goods in Bay City, MI. It was located in a neighborhood shopping district. Bay City had several of those, leftovers from the days before we were all accustomed to driving miles to shop at vast commercial palaces. The little district had two pharmacies, a local five-and-dime, a grocery store, a bar or two, a barber shop, the milk store, the beer store, a gas station, and the hobby shop. My barber shop was in another old neighborhood, and one of the guys who cut my hair became a winter Olympics gold-medal winner, the only American that year, in speed skating. But Goddeyne's was the centerpiece for a kid. One of the Goddeyne relatives had designed one of its two buildings, linked in an L-shape around a pharmacy on the corner. One section had the hardware store. They sold appliances, TVs, and the usual range of hardware items. Nuts, bolts, screws, paint, stovepipes. Whatever it was, they had it hidden away somewhere--on a shelf, under the stairs, in the basement. The other section had the sporting goods. Baseball gloves, basketballs, bicycles, hunting guns, sports clothing. It's where you went to buy your jock strap for gym class. At Christmas, the town's best Santa Claus (the real one) held forth there, with afternoon broadcasts on the local radio station. One little addition, not more than about 15 feet wide, was the service shop for outboard motors and lawn mowers. It was a wonderful place, smelling of gas, oil, and the water in the test tank. You knew the people who worked there, because they had worked there forever, or so it seemed. Then the owners got old and decided to retire, and since K-Mart and other national retailers were nibbling away at business, they just closed the doors. The building still stands there, after a period of vacancy, then service as a charity thrift shop, and now again vacant. My memories of Goddeyne's and the other local places like it are what make me shop at the Ace Hardware, four blocks from my house, or at the hiking-climbing-paddling shop downtown, 5 blocks from where I work, and why I bought as much boat stuff as possible from the local guys until West Marine and Boater's World squeezed them out. Price, I have learned, is not the only criterion. We can be accused of wallowing in nostalgia, but there are other important qualities--connection with the community, convenience, local flavor. This is why, in my periodic rants against West Marine, I always emphasize what I regard as their obligations to the communities in which they operate. The local guys recognized that there were certain things they had to carry, to maintain in stock, as a service to the community. I think of a hardware store in yet another little shopping district in Bay City. I was there at the holidays on a cold morning. One of the employees had been out thawing pipes for old folks whose gas or water lines had frozen up. Tell me, do you call Home Depot or Lowe's on a cold weekend morning when your pipes have frozen? Chris Campbell

I meant to say I don't DON'T DO NOT care about attribution. Life is way too short. \Rog _____ From: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com [mailto:Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Rog Jones Sent: Wednesday, December 20, 2006 4:06 PM To: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com Subject: RE: [Cal_Boats] Thought for the day? (Jon) Thanks for your kindness, Jon. This is for anybody who wants it. I care about attribution. This isn't a work of the value or quality of, say, even a bad short story. It's just that we need to try to recapture something that was once very much an essential and meaningful part of American culture and that we've allowed to be taken away from us in the name of cheap stuff from China. \Rog Cal 29+ #1 Swiss Navy Cal 2-30 #77 St. Lori's Comet _____ From: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com [mailto:Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Jonathan Brush Sent: Wednesday, December 20, 2006 1:59 PM To: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com Subject: Re: [Cal_Boats] Thought for the day? Rog, This is beautiful. I would love to forward this to some other groups. OK with you? Attributed to you? Thanks, Jon On 12/20/06, Rog Jones <rog@nvsailing. <mailto:ro… [at] nvsailing.org> org> wrote: Getting sick of the cold, impersonal big-box stores and the nasty sales people in the mall this Christmas? The following is a Christmas thought for everyone who is out there in the shopping frenzy. It definitely applies to the stores where most of us get our sailing stuff.. Merry Christmas to all on the list. \Rog Connections My wife, often known as St. Lori to others who are part of the boating community - after all she puts up with me owning four boats and way too many bird dogs and shotguns - grew up in Gallup, New Mexico, in the sixties. Downtown Gallup had a number of healthy businesses back in those days, before Wal-Mart and other big-box retail chains ripped the hearts out of little towns and not a few big cities and left their downtowns to rot from the core. One of Gallup's great businesses was Stern's Sporting Goods. In the area around Gallup, particularly in the McGaffey Mountains of the Zuni Range, east of town, there are numerous trout streams and many small lakes. The populations of elk, deer, antelope, mountain goats, boar, javelina, brown bear and bighorn sheep are large and robust. There are tens of thousands of acres of open range that support prairie grouse, pheasant, chukkar and quail as well. Because of this natural bounty, St. Lori, like many kids in Gallup, grew up on wild game for most evening meals. And Lori, like most of those kids, accompanied Dad, Mom, uncles and aunts and often grandparents to Stern's Sporting Goods, their de facto community center. Though the store was closed in the early '70s when Mr. Stern passed away, the sense of belonging, connection and community that it fostered lives on in the memories of many sportsmen and their children. In the storefront windows of Stern's Sporting Goods, there was always the latest trophy, a snarling bear showing off its gleaming incisors, or a regal elk sporting a gigantic rack of antlers. And every glass-topped counter was taped up with the latest photos of big trout or large-mouthed bass caught in the local streams and lakes. There were articles from the Gallup Independent telling about the exploits of a local hunter or fisherman or paddler or rock climber. And there were glittering trophies provided by Stern's to celebrate the year's biggest buck or trout or the winner of a marathon. Right inside the front door, and not hidden in back by the restrooms, the first thing you saw was the bulletin board. Most of all, there were the people who would crowd into Stern's to organize their events or to listen to a good story or just to hang around, tell lies and brag. There were summer barbecues out back in the parking lot and on cold winter evenings there were lectures by experts. And most of all, there was a sense that Stern's was the center of a community where everyone was welcome and there was something for everybody, whether it was an insulated sleeping bag or a little recognition or a good story or a pair of rugged hiking boots. Sterns sold everything from ammunition to skis and boots to Zebra safaris in Africa. It provided a place for people to make new friends and to poke fun at fishermen exaggerating the one that got away. Fishing derbies, the Charity Turkey Shoot, rafting trips on the San Juan, ski trips to Santa Fe or to Colorado, all had their roots in the diverse community of people who frequented Stern's Sporting Goods. Stern's didn't sponsor these activities. It just offered a place where people got together to organize them and met others with similar interests. Gone now for more than thirty years, Stern's is still remembered fondly by adults who were once kids listening wide-eyed to the fellow who just got back from a trip to the Serengeti or the couple that had just ascended Mt. McKinley. It was a person-to-person place where people developed their identities, connected with their community and sat in awe to the old timers telling of bison and wolves and the coming of the railroad. We all seek the comfort of a community. It's human nature. At least in part, it is why we participate in forums on the Internet, go to church, help the scouts or visit the gym. And yet there is still a part of each of us that yearns for a Stern's and the lifelong friendships that a connected business can foster. And people are willing to support that kind of business. As consumers, we should ask for this connection from the places where we shop, because connected businesses create communities that make for happier lives and a better America. We need more Stern's Sporting Goods.

Rog, You have an elegant way of expressing that lost sense of community that many of us see in our culture. Even though I don¹t post all that much here, I certainly enjoy this boating community and greatly appreciate the spirit and collegiality in this Cal group. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and thanks for being a leader in this little community. Merry Christmas to you and all others on the list. Terry Spencer Capriccio Cal 2-29 From: "Rog Jones" <ro… [at] nvsailing.org> Organization: Sierra Nevada Community Sailing Reply-To: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com Date: Wed, 20 Dec 2006 13:30:13 -0800 To: <Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com> Subject: [Cal_Boats] Thought for the day? Getting sick of the cold, impersonal big-box stores and the nasty sales people in the mall this Christmas? The following is a Christmas thought for everyone who is out there in the shopping frenzy. It definitely applies to the stores where most of us get our sailing stuff.. Merry Christmas to all on the list. \Rog Connections My wife, often known as St. Lori to others who are part of the boating community ­ after all she puts up with me owning four boats and way too many bird dogs and shotguns ­ grew up in Gallup, New Mexico, in the sixties. Downtown Gallup had a number of healthy businesses back in those days, before Wal-Mart and other big-box retail chains ripped the hearts out of little towns and not a few big cities and left their downtowns to rot from the core. One of Gallup¹s great businesses was Stern¹s Sporting Goods. In the area around Gallup, particularly in the McGaffey Mountains of the Zuni Range, east of town, there are numerous trout streams and many small lakes. The populations of elk, deer, antelope, mountain goats, boar, javelina, brown bear and bighorn sheep are large and robust. There are tens of thousands of acres of open range that support prairie grouse, pheasant, chukkar and quail as well. Because of this natural bounty, St. Lori, like many kids in Gallup, grew up on wild game for most evening meals. And Lori, like most of those kids, accompanied Dad, Mom, uncles and aunts and often grandparents to Stern¹s Sporting Goods, their de facto community center. Though the store was closed in the early Œ70s when Mr. Stern passed away, the sense of belonging, connection and community that it fostered lives on in the memories of many sportsmen and their children. In the storefront windows of Stern¹s Sporting Goods, there was always the latest trophy, a snarling bear showing off its gleaming incisors, or a regal elk sporting a gigantic rack of antlers. And every glass-topped counter was taped up with the latest photos of big trout or large-mouthed bass caught in the local streams and lakes. There were articles from the Gallup Independent telling about the exploits of a local hunter or fisherman or paddler or rock climber. And there were glittering trophies provided by Stern¹s to celebrate the year¹s biggest buck or trout or the winner of a marathon. Right inside the front door, and not hidden in back by the restrooms, the first thing you saw was the bulletin board. Most of all, there were the people who would crowd into Stern¹s to organize their events or to listen to a good story or just to hang around, tell lies and brag. There were summer barbecues out back in the parking lot and on cold winter evenings there were lectures by experts. And most of all, there was a sense that Stern¹s was the center of a community where everyone was welcome and there was something for everybody, whether it was an insulated sleeping bag or a little recognition or a good story or a pair of rugged hiking boots. Sterns sold everything from ammunition to skis and boots to Zebra safaris in Africa. It provided a place for people to make new friends and to poke fun at fishermen exaggerating the one that got away. Fishing derbies, the Charity Turkey Shoot, rafting trips on the San Juan, ski trips to Santa Fe or to Colorado, all had their roots in the diverse community of people who frequented Stern¹s Sporting Goods. Stern¹s didn¹t sponsor these activities. It just offered a place where people got together to organize them and met others with similar interests. Gone now for more than thirty years, Stern¹s is still remembered fondly by adults who were once kids listening wide-eyed to the fellow who just got back from a trip to the Serengeti or the couple that had just ascended Mt. McKinley. It was a person-to-person place where people developed their identities, connected with their community and sat in awe to the old timers telling of bison and wolves and the coming of the railroad. We all seek the comfort of a community. It¹s human nature. At least in part, it is why we participate in forums on the Internet, go to church, help the scouts or visit the gym. And yet there is still a part of each of us that yearns for a Stern¹s and the lifelong friendships that a connected business can foster. And people are willing to support that kind of business. As consumers, we should ask for this connection from the places where we shop, because connected businesses create communities that make for happier lives and a better America. We need more Stern¹s Sporting Goods.

I agree, Here in Templeton Ca. We have a hardware store. It has been in the community since the late 1800s. A person can go there and buy just about any piece of hardware that one can imagine. The prices are cut rate. The help is personal. I have purchased a whole bunch of stainless steel fastners from Jim Hewitt and his loyal staff for several years now. Our community is a better place because of Hewitt Hardware. Merry Christmas, Dave Terrence Spencer <ts… [at] harbornet.com> wrote: Rog, You have an elegant way of expressing that lost sense of community that many of us see in our culture. Even though I don’t post all that much here, I certainly enjoy this boating community and greatly appreciate the spirit and collegiality in this Cal group. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and thanks for being a leader in this little community. Merry Christmas to you and all others on the list. Terry Spencer Capriccio Cal 2-29 --------------------------------- From: "Rog Jones" <ro… [at] nvsailing.org> Organization: Sierra Nevada Community Sailing Reply-To: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com Date: Wed, 20 Dec 2006 13:30:13 -0800 To: <Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com> Subject: [Cal_Boats] Thought for the day? Getting sick of the cold, impersonal big-box stores and the nasty sales people in the mall this Christmas? The following is a Christmas thought for everyone who is out there in the shopping frenzy. It definitely applies to the stores where most of us get our sailing stuff.. Merry Christmas to all on the list. \Rog Connections My wife, often known as St. Lori to others who are part of the boating community – after all she puts up with me owning four boats and way too many bird dogs and shotguns – grew up in Gallup, New Mexico, in the sixties. Downtown Gallup had a number of healthy businesses back in those days, before Wal-Mart and other big-box retail chains ripped the hearts out of little towns and not a few big cities and left their downtowns to rot from the core. One of Gallup’s great businesses was Stern’s Sporting Goods. In the area around Gallup, particularly in the McGaffey Mountains of the Zuni Range, east of town, there are numerous trout streams and many small lakes. The populations of elk, deer, antelope, mountain goats, boar, javelina, brown bear and bighorn sheep are large and robust. There are tens of thousands of acres of open range that support prairie grouse, pheasant, chukkar and quail as well. Because of this natural bounty, St. Lori, like many kids in Gallup, grew up on wild game for most evening meals. And Lori, like most of those kids, accompanied Dad, Mom, uncles and aunts and often grandparents to Stern’s Sporting Goods, their de facto community center. Though the store was closed in the early ‘70s when Mr. Stern passed away, the sense of belonging, connection and community that it fostered lives on in the memories of many sportsmen and their children. In the storefront windows of Stern’s Sporting Goods, there was always the latest trophy, a snarling bear showing off its gleaming incisors, or a regal elk sporting a gigantic rack of antlers. And every glass-topped counter was taped up with the latest photos of big trout or large-mouthed bass caught in the local streams and lakes. There were articles from the Gallup Independent telling about the exploits of a local hunter or fisherman or paddler or rock climber. And there were glittering trophies provided by Stern’s to celebrate the year’s biggest buck or trout or the winner of a marathon. Right inside the front door, and not hidden in back by the restrooms, the first thing you saw was the bulletin board. Most of all, there were the people who would crowd into Stern’s to organize their events or to listen to a good story or just to hang around, tell lies and brag. There were summer barbecues out back in the parking lot and on cold winter evenings there were lectures by experts. And most of all, there was a sense that Stern’s was the center of a community where everyone was welcome and there was something for everybody, whether it was an insulated sleeping bag or a little recognition or a good story or a pair of rugged hiking boots. Sterns sold everything from ammunition to skis and boots to Zebra safaris in Africa. It provided a place for people to make new friends and to poke fun at fishermen exaggerating the one that got away. Fishing derbies, the Charity Turkey Shoot, rafting trips on the San Juan, ski trips to Santa Fe or to Colorado, all had their roots in the diverse community of people who frequented Stern’s Sporting Goods. Stern’s didn’t sponsor these activities. It just offered a place where people got together to organize them and met others with similar interests. Gone now for more than thirty years, Stern’s is still remembered fondly by adults who were once kids listening wide-eyed to the fellow who just got back from a trip to the Serengeti or the couple that had just ascended Mt. McKinley. It was a person-to-person place where people developed their identities, connected with their community and sat in awe to the old timers telling of bison and wolves and the coming of the railroad. We all seek the comfort of a community. It’s human nature. At least in part, it is why we participate in forums on the Internet, go to church, help the scouts or visit the gym. And yet there is still a part of each of us that yearns for a Stern’s and the lifelong friendships that a connected business can foster. And people are willing to support that kind of business. As consumers, we should ask for this connection from the places where we shop, because connected businesses create communities that make for happier lives and a better America. We need more Stern’s Sporting Goods. See Ya On The Trail, Dave

Nice. Thank you, Roger. I often find myself seeking out the locally owned businesses, the family stores. Sometimes, I pay more than I might at the big box, and other times I am pleaseantly surprised to find out it is actually less. Either way, I feel good about keeping the local economy going and not letting the profits of my expenditures be shipped out to some fat cat job-robbing multinational corporate CEO's bank account where it might support another crystal chandelier in some vacation home on the Riviera. That would be the one that rarely even gets visited, because it's -so- cramped in the Leer jet and it is -so- dreadful to fly first class with all the 'common people' and have to use those horrible public bathrooms. Happy sails ~smile~ SMon Rog Jones <ro… [at] nvsailing.org> wrote: Getting sick of the cold, impersonal big-box stores and the nasty sales people in the mall this Christmas? The following is a Christmas thought for everyone who is out there in the shopping frenzy. It definitely applies to the stores where most of us get our sailing stuff.. Merry Christmas to all on the list. \Rog Connections My wife, often known as St. Lori to others who are part of the boating community – after all she puts up with me owning four boats and way too many bird dogs and shotguns – grew up in Gallup, New Mexico, in the sixties. Downtown Gallup had a number of healthy businesses back in those days, before Wal-Mart and other big-box retail chains ripped the hearts out of little towns and not a few big cities and left their downtowns to rot from the core. One of Gallup’s great businesses was Stern’s Sporting Goods. In the area around Gallup, particularly in the McGaffey Mountains of the Zuni Range, east of town, there are numerous trout streams and many small lakes. The populations of elk, deer, antelope, mountain goats, boar, javelina, brown bear and bighorn sheep are large and robust. There are tens of thousands of acres of open range that support prairie grouse, pheasant, chukkar and quail as well. Because of this natural bounty, St. Lori, like many kids in Gallup, grew up on wild game for most evening meals. And Lori, like most of those kids, accompanied Dad, Mom, uncles and aunts and often grandparents to Stern’s Sporting Goods, their de facto community center. Though the store was closed in the early ‘70s when Mr. Stern passed away, the sense of belonging, connection and community that it fostered lives on in the memories of many sportsmen and their children. In the storefront windows of Stern’s Sporting Goods, there was always the latest trophy, a snarling bear showing off its gleaming incisors, or a regal elk sporting a gigantic rack of antlers. And every glass-topped counter was taped up with the latest photos of big trout or large-mouthed bass caught in the local streams and lakes. There were articles from the Gallup Independent telling about the exploits of a local hunter or fisherman or paddler or rock climber. And there were glittering trophies provided by Stern’s to celebrate the year’s biggest buck or trout or the winner of a marathon. Right inside the front door, and not hidden in back by the restrooms, the first thing you saw was the bulletin board. Most of all, there were the people who would crowd into Stern’s to organize their events or to listen to a good story or just to hang around, tell lies and brag. There were summer barbecues out back in the parking lot and on cold winter evenings there were lectures by experts. And most of all, there was a sense that Stern’s was the center of a community where everyone was welcome and there was something for everybody, whether it was an insulated sleeping bag or a little recognition or a good story or a pair of rugged hiking boots. Sterns sold everything from ammunition to skis and boots to Zebra safaris in Africa. It provided a place for people to make new friends and to poke fun at fishermen exaggerating the one that got away. Fishing derbies, the Charity Turkey Shoot, rafting trips on the San Juan, ski trips to Santa Fe or to Colorado, all had their roots in the diverse community of people who frequented Stern’s Sporting Goods. Stern’s didn’t sponsor these activities. It just offered a place where people got together to organize them and met others with similar interests. Gone now for more than thirty years, Stern’s is still remembered fondly by adults who were once kids listening wide-eyed to the fellow who just got back from a trip to the Serengeti or the couple that had just ascended Mt. McKinley. It was a person-to-person place where people developed their identities, connected with their community and sat in awe to the old timers telling of bison and wolves and the coming of the railroad. We all seek the comfort of a community. It’s human nature. At least in part, it is why we participate in forums on the Internet, go to church, help the scouts or visit the gym. And yet there is still a part of each of us that yearns for a Stern’s and the lifelong friendships that a connected business can foster. And people are willing to support that kind of business. As consumers, we should ask for this connection from the places where we shop, because connected businesses create communities that make for happier lives and a better America. We need more Stern’s Sporting Goods. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com

Templeton huh? Cool! I grew up in Atascadero and even lived there many moons ago :-) Small, small world! Best, Marsh david tice wrote: > I agree, > Here in Templeton Ca. We have a hardware store. It has been in the > community since the late 1800s. A person can go there and buy just > about any piece of hardware that one can imagine. The prices are cut > rate. The help is personal. I have purchased a whole bunch of > stainless steel fastners from Jim Hewitt and his loyal staff for > several years now. Our community is a better place because of Hewitt > Hardware. > > Merry Christmas, > Dave > > Terrence Spencer <ts… [at] harbornet.com> wrote: > > Rog, > > You have an elegant way of expressing that lost sense of community > that many of us see in our culture. Even though I don't post all > that much here, I certainly enjoy this boating community and > greatly appreciate the spirit and collegiality in this Cal group. > > Thanks for sharing your thoughts and thanks for being a leader in > this little community. > > Merry Christmas to you and all others on the list. > > Terry Spencer > Capriccio > Cal 2-29 > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > From: "Rog Jones" <ro… [at] nvsailing.org> > Organization: Sierra Nevada Community Sailing > Reply-To: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com > Date: Wed, 20 Dec 2006 13:30:13 -0800 > To: <Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com> > Subject: [Cal_Boats] Thought for the day? > > > > > > Getting sick of the cold, impersonal big-box stores and the nasty > sales people in the mall this Christmas? The following is a > Christmas thought for everyone who is out there in the shopping > frenzy. It definitely applies to the stores where most of us get > our sailing stuff.. > > Merry Christmas to all on the list. > > \Rog > Connections > > My wife, often known as St. Lori to others who are part of the > boating community - after all she puts up with me owning four > boats and way too many bird dogs and shotguns - grew up in Gallup, > New Mexico, in the sixties. Downtown Gallup had a number of > healthy businesses back in those days, before Wal-Mart and other > big-box retail chains ripped the hearts out of little towns and > not a few big cities and left their downtowns to rot from the > core. One of Gallup's great businesses was Stern's Sporting Goods. > > In the area around Gallup, particularly in the McGaffey Mountains > of the Zuni Range, east of town, there are numerous trout streams > and many small lakes. The populations of elk, deer, antelope, > mountain goats, boar, javelina, brown bear and bighorn sheep are > large and robust. There are tens of thousands of acres of open > range that support prairie grouse, pheasant, chukkar and quail as > well. > > Because of this natural bounty, St. Lori, like many kids in > Gallup, grew up on wild game for most evening meals. And Lori, > like most of those kids, accompanied Dad, Mom, uncles and aunts > and often grandparents to Stern's Sporting Goods, their de facto > community center. Though the store was closed in the early '70s > when Mr. Stern passed away, the sense of belonging, connection and > community that it fostered lives on in the memories of many > sportsmen and their children. > > In the storefront windows of Stern's Sporting Goods, there was > always the latest trophy, a snarling bear showing off its gleaming > incisors, or a regal elk sporting a gigantic rack of antlers. And > every glass-topped counter was taped up with the latest photos of > big trout or large-mouthed bass caught in the local streams and > lakes. There were articles from the Gallup Independent telling > about the exploits of a local hunter or fisherman or paddler or > rock climber. And there were glittering trophies provided by > Stern's to celebrate the year's biggest buck or trout or the > winner of a marathon. Right inside the front door, and not hidden > in back by the restrooms, the first thing you saw was the bulletin > board. > > Most of all, there were the people who would crowd into Stern's to > organize their events or to listen to a good story or just to hang > around, tell lies and brag. There were summer barbecues out back > in the parking lot and on cold winter evenings there were lectures > by experts. And most of all, there was a sense that Stern's was > the center of a community where everyone was welcome and there was > something for everybody, whether it was an insulated sleeping bag > or a little recognition or a good story or a pair of rugged hiking > boots. Sterns sold everything from ammunition to skis and boots to > Zebra safaris in Africa. It provided a place for people to make > new friends and to poke fun at fishermen exaggerating the one that > got away. > > Fishing derbies, the Charity Turkey Shoot, rafting trips on the > San Juan, ski trips to Santa Fe or to Colorado, all had their > roots in the diverse community of people who frequented Stern's > Sporting Goods. Stern's didn't sponsor these activities. It just > offered a place where people got together to organize them and met > others with similar interests. > > Gone now for more than thirty years, Stern's is still remembered > fondly by adults who were once kids listening wide-eyed to the > fellow who just got back from a trip to the Serengeti or the > couple that had just ascended Mt. McKinley. It was a > person-to-person place where people developed their identities, > connected with their community and sat in awe to the old timers > telling of bison and wolves and the coming of the railroad. > > We all seek the comfort of a community. It's human nature. At > least in part, it is why we participate in forums on the Internet, > go to church, help the scouts or visit the gym. And yet there is > still a part of each of us that yearns for a Stern's and the > lifelong friendships that a connected business can foster. And > people are willing to support that kind of business. As consumers, > we should ask for this connection from the places where we shop, > because connected businesses create communities that make for > happier lives and a better America. We need more Stern's Sporting > Goods. > > > > > > > > See Ya On The Trail, > Dave >