Local stores handy for supplies

I?m glad to say that the facelift of the Free Press building is complete with new paint, new awning and replacement sign. We have heard that people can?t find us, but I think that will change now.

Son Dan has been accustomed to taking about an hour to get anything he needed for the work he was doing in the Seattle area, plus dealing with traffic to boot. Not so here.

We were glad we could get everything locally that we needed to do the job. With The Lumberyard and True Value just down the street, it was a matter of walking over and getting what we needed. The green awning material took just two days to get here after ordering it. And Jostrux was right here in town for the sign. It?s so handy to have everything so close by when it?s needed.

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Don?t know if you have seen the video of K-State high jumper Erik Kynard jumping over Jamar Samuels head but here is the link to it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xKxmfZMSUQ

Samuels is 6 feet, 11 inches tall and Kynard sails over him like he isn?t even there.

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I have now completed my scanning sessions for the veterans book. This past week I was in Tampa, Florence and Hillsboro. You can still bring your photos to the Free Press through July 10, or e-mail them to me at the address listed below. We will also have a banner on our website that will allow you to send the information via the Internet.

Tampa sure has changed with the remodeling of a major portion of the buildings downtown.

Thanks to Ken Novak and Doc Novak for assisting me in Tampa. Also, thanks to Reilly Reid in Florence and Dick Carr and Loren Hiebert in Hillsboro for all of their help with the scanning sessions.

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Randy Wiens of Silver Shears just celebrated his 30th anniversary of barbering in Hillsboro. In honor of the occasion I scheduled a haircut?probably my 350th, at least north of 300. He is the only person who has cut my hair since he arrived in 1982.

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This month marks 40 years since I quit smoking. It was May 1972 and we had just bought a new car. Our daughter, Amy, was just over a year old and frankly my lungs hurt.

It was hard to do and I know I?m not the only one to have quit the habit. Becoming addicted to nicotine is what happens when you smoke two packs a day of unfiltered cigarettes?even when you have a cold, and it hurts even more to drag on a smoke. Back then a pack cost about 30 cents and now I think they are about $3 a pack.

Part of the motivation was also financial. I had a boss at the time who smoked, as did most of the printers I worked with back then. He told me to give myself a raise and stop smoking.

I smoked for an eight-year period, but I now wonder if this is why I am plagued with bronchitis these days. I went for six years without smoking and then thought I could mess around and smoke a few here and there and then found I was smoking again.

I quit for good Dec. 5, 1981, and haven?t wanted one since.

A bit of advice for those who tell someone else they should quit. Don?t do it because it won?t work. The person has to decide it is what they want to do, and then stop in whatever way they can.

If you wish to share your comments or ideas, my e-mail address is joel@hillsborofreepress.com.

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