My Auntie Wanda's Birthday is Today:(

[BrandonDaCollector]

Today is My Grandparents' Anniversary of when they married. If you need a recap, they were married over 40 years and did so much together, very little times did they do things by themselves unless it was with their daughter/My Mom or Me. They were such good Grandparents. Okay, so I've been planning this for months now. This will be a big and important one so please bear with & follow Me here. You know My Grandpa PoPo loved his Magazines, this is how I got to love Magazines too. Well, it 45 years ago this year that he got the January 1979 Issue of Cycle World...



here's the front cover....My Grandma MiMi wanted to make sure that this very one was taken good care of which you'll see why in moments. I put this in My keepsake drawer, and it's been there since his passing in 2003 so it's been over 20 years already but I would never let anything happen to this




Here's the table of contents...



Now, this isn't just any Vintage Motorcycle Magazine...no-siree-bob...this one has an Article WRITTEN BY MY GRANDFATHER He submitted it in and they posted it Long before message boards & the web was ever a thought, this how it was done



Here's a special close-up of it...he says so much and this will give you an idea how it was with the adventures of My Grandparents before I was born...here's the first part...PLEASE READ IT WITH CARE



Here's the second part...



again...PLEASE READ WITH CARE



As you just saw, it said Ronald Cassin, St. Louis, MO



Now here's to quote that wonderful sentence he said...she only had one grandchild and that was Me



Here's the back cover



Now that's not all because I got more for their Anniversary. Here's this special from one of Our Family Photo Albums...



My Grandparents did a lot of traveling on the bikes and won a ton. My Grandma MiMi was very nice looking here




Here's My Grandpa PoPo, he was such a handsome man, he was so much to Me



Here's this trophy lot that they won



Now, here's the fantastic feature of this...they were part of the Yamaha Society...they both made it together to the YAM-650 News as here's the front of this flyer



Here they are seperatly as she is on the top row and he's on the bottom section



Here's a close-up of her as you see it's the same picture in the Family Album. Look as it says Gloria Cassin with Lucky Shirt Winner of the St. Louis Donelson Run...keep in mind I introduced Donelson Cycles in their Halloween Special



Here he is as it says Ron Cassin with Lucky Shirt Wins St. Louis Zodiac Run



Well, that will do it. This was quite a showcase here for My Grandparents' Anniversary and I finally posted this I hope in Heaven, Cyberspace or wherever they maybe, they are having a Happy Anniversary and that they see and know that I made this special for them to make sure that their memory of this wonderful history doesn't fall to Oblivion I have more to come later on in time

[BrandonDaCollector]

Before I say this, check out My Grandparents' Anniversaries from October & December, it's really cool that they did so much together Today is My Grandma's Birthday, she would be about 85 right now as I type this Before I go on, please play these two Cues, it was from one of her fave movies...The Bone Collector from 1999, this year marks it's 25th Anniversary . It's also her fave score more than any other. It's by Craig Armstrong. She's the one that showed Me how wonderful this score is We listened to the score countless times in her Garfield Express and in the house



I love this one



So, I'm going to show you something special that she wanted really bad back in the day that I was with her all the way for. We got this special item from Frank's Nursery & Crafts. I have spoken of them and showcased about them before. Here's a quote from My all-crucial Odds & Ends

Now here is the store I got this compact gem of a read & look at which was Frank's Nursery & Crafts which I really liked their logos



We went to them for years in the late 80s & throughout to the early 2000s. When I was a youngster I really never wanted to go there or I wanted My parents to hurry up so we could go to Venture because they were next door (look for the pic VERY SOON below!). Frank's had a lot crafts & supplies, gardening supplies, plants & flowers, Holiday decorations among great stuff.

Here is a couple commercials of their form the early 80s to show you how they were!




I look back on this I feel quite foolish because I have matured/wised up a lot since their closing in 2004. I think back at the Holiday times like Christmas but especially for Halloween, now as a kid I liked that whenever we'd go there. When i showcased National in My Vintage Action Figure topic just recently, I expressed My love for their Halloween section and decorations but Frank's was also very cool and I remember how it was, it was a small area but gosh do I miss it Places like Home Depot & Lowes ran them about of business but surprisingly they are apparently attempting a small comeback as they are on FB Here is a look at some of the stores in the USA after they closed down and were unoccupied



As a side not there was a Frank's in Crestwood Plaza long ago on the hill next to the railroad track bridge across the way of the Kenrick Wehrenberg Theater whom I plan on showcasing sometime soon. I really don't recall much of that Frank's location, I may have been there once of twice, I just remember seeing the sign a multitude of times because I see it on the way when We'd go to the show or on our way to go to Crestwood Plaza itself to stop at the mall for Sears, K-B, K&K and more!

Now, thanks to Instant Street View, this IS My Frank's Nursery & Crafts location We always went to. It was a big one and didn't share any building space with another store. It's near Kingshighway & Chippewa that I have talked about many times recently especially when I showcased National, you would already know that if you have read and keeping up with My topics It would become a Home Decor store but they also went out of business sometime later.



Notice the green fence area, that is where regular & Christmas trees, many plants, bags soil and dirt was. It was a large section to walk around in. It was kinda fun when they'd have Venus Flytraps and they had the sprinklers on a very light mist for the plant life there. There was really only one way to ge to that section however and that was inside the store via the electronic sliding doors. I used to go back and forth there because the Halloween & Christmas stuff was right in the isles before you you enter the doorway



Now here is the part I have been waiting to do for a long time ever since I figured out how I was going to bring back the stores of the past local & otherwise. Here is 2 big looks of a large view on the left where Frank's was. Now look towards the middle, that is where Office Depot was that I talking about in My Star Wars topic when I showcased Dark Forces. Now look to the right, you see Burlington Coat Factory Well, that is WHERE VENTURE used to be You can clearly tell that it was because Venture had a very distinct look to ALL of their buildings where it was white with large spirals that are raised on the walls. I used to feel them all the time because they felt so different compared to other stores when We'd go there. I had greatly showcased Venture in My Vintage Action figure topic a long while back because I loved them, got so many great action figures there and had so many fun times there in the late 80s thru the 90s plus at 2 other locations as well in the 80s & 90s




So that will conclude this special look at My Quotable America Pocketbook from one of the coolest yet under-appreciated stores Frank's Nursery & Crafts

So, with that quote to remind you of things, this is what she got. It was sometime in around 1998. At Franks, she noticed a very nice statue of Mary, the Holy Mother of God. MiMi was a devout Christian. I believe the statue was $20, perhaps $30. Money was a bit tight at this time and MiMi wanted her very bad and she'd talk about it often. We went to Frank's a lot then We'd go to Venture next door. Well, she was hoping that they'd keep her in stock. Sometime the next year in 99, 25 years ago this year, Venture was out of business which was a very sad time for Me that all of that history was gone She had more mollah and she's like I gotta get her now. So, they still had her, and she bought her and I'm so glad that I was with her when she did Well, Mary is still on Our front porch right now after all of these years. She's tied down so no freggin' vandals & fruit porch pirates get her Here she is, I'd like to take more pics but I don't want to attempt to move her



I talk to this statue sometimes and say how much MiMi wanted her and that I hope that MiMi has met the real Mary and maybe is even with her now in Heaven or wherever they maybe. Also, I think about this often that I hope she took a good long look at her beloved statue before her deadfall accident that caused her demise I hope your seeing this MiMi that your Grandson did this for you...Happy Birthday

[BrandonDaCollector]

Today is January 16th, that means it's My Auntie Wanda Lee Wade's Birthday...here she is



She would be about 70 now She left this planet in 2016 at only 61 which is way too young especially for person as active as her that had such a unique personality She always said that nobody cared about her I never wanted to believe that but I know the best people are treated like garbage, acknowledged & never talked about...My Grandpa PoPo is a perfect example of that Well, Me & My Grandma & Mom sure treated her good So, I have explained & expressed about her last year. So, what I'm about to present here is this special event. Very recently for My B-Day Week, Me & My Mom watched 1990's Total Recall. My story about Auntie want begins during in the mid 2000s on fine Summer late night about 2:00 - 3:00 AM she called Us and said to Me & Grandma that she knows We stay up real late and that if We wanted to go to Walmart to do whatever and We're like heck ya So, she only lived a couple doors down which was sweet so We walked to her house, got into her car and we're off. I love going out late at night, there's hardly any plebeians out plus you got a better chance of doing & getting what you want plus it just looks cooler. So, We're going to Our close Walmart in South County. They were still 24 Hours, long before companies are still doing this milking the P!anDemic in this pathetic era. They have a ton of good figures and all that. I'm not sure what I got that night but one thing I sure recall is that they had a massive bin filled with DVDs that was on sale/clearance. I saw Total Recall there and I was like wow look at that. I picked it up and put it down numerous times. Like a stupid idiot, I didn't buy it and I really regretted it and I'm like why in the hell Brandon did you do that You love Total Recall, it's one of your faves of ever of all-time So, I kept on thinking about it. So you know what I did I called My Auntie Wanda up to see if you could do Me a huge favor, to see if she could go to Walmart and get Me that Total Recall DVD. Well, after she got off work THE VERY NEXT DAY, she went to Walmart and thankfully they still had it and nobody else got it BUT HER FOR ME When she came home she called and said Brandon, I got your Total Recall so I hurried up and went to her house and got it She gave Me her her "her look" that I miss. I was like okay, I'm gonna give you the $10 and she's like no, don't So here's My DVD, now this isn't a showcase, I have a small Total Recall Collection that I will showcase in My all-crucial Odds & Ends later on this year for it's 35th Anniversary







See what kind of a good woman she was She did a lot of special stuff for Me and for My Grandma MiMi as well. Of course We did things for her too. You'll be seeing a lot of stuff that I got from her including that We had a huge deal back in the 2000s that she'd go to Walmart & TRU for Me and get Me the Marvel Fantastic Four Movie Action Figure that I will soon be showcasing this year in My Marvel Collection Topic That will do for My Auntie Wanda's Birthday. I'm probably the only one in this whole world doing anything about her today and I hope she's knowing & seeing this from Heaven, Cyberspace or wherever she may be Happy Birthday Auntie Wanda