Okay, so I'm back

and I was sorta doing the catching-up thing all day. I took some pictures for Otis's website this morning and then had a meeting down at Antioch about the new class. Mags was up from The Couv for training so she got together for dinner with Otis and me. I also took care of my flapper bracket (see below): I got a certified check today and signed over the title to Ural; the fellow will be back to pick it up before the weekend. (The battery is dead.) I may also have a line on selling my comics

So, I want to get together with everyone and shoot the breeze over the whole Hilo thing and everything else that has been going on. Anyone fancy a get-together over glass candles at a bendix somewheres on Friday night? Maybe the Red Door in Fremont, unless you think that would be too trendoid? Any other suggestions?

At any rate, as a little substitution for fairy tales of the Hawai'ian islands, here is some faux-forties slang, neatened up by me but courtesy of Calamity Jon Morris, a comix blogger guy. We might even be able to actually use some of this:

Ajax: A $20 bill. Also “both sides of the blender” and a “vichy quarter.”

Back room dentistry: A punch in the mouth. "Take this guy in the alley for a little back room dentistry."

Bendix: A diner, usually lit with neon outside and fluorescent inside, with steel stamped siding.

Body Work: The opposite of an Oil Change: When a meeting goes bad and the two parties end up fighting. The loser of the fight "got body work." “I met Knuckles at the bendix and gave him a little body work. He won't be bothering no one for a while.”

Chuckle Jockey: A stand-up comedian.

Dance hall telegram: Any public display of affection, especially an obvious one like a kiss or a goose. "Hey, look out, Jerry, it looks like your cousin is sending Mae a little dance hall telegram."

Eskimo Floorboards: ice, ice cubes, particularly for use in alcoholic beverages. As in "Serve me up a scotch and lay down plenty of Eskimo floorboards." Also as in ice covering the ground, "He didn't know that the sidewalk was all Eskimo floorboards, so he took a nasty spill."

Flapper Bracket: A motorcycle sidecar.

Give [someone] the squirrel: Mess with or trick someone.

Glass candle: Any alcoholic drink. “Man, Harper and I blew out glass candles all night and I'm really feeling it this morning.

Goin' Down to Georgia: Making a dangerous bet or wager, as in: "Ten thousand bucks against my life; talk about goin' down to Georgia."

Liquid sandwich: A cold beer. "Three liquid sandwiches, Morty, and roll 'em down fast, I got a deadline."

Matchsticks: Baseball bats.

Oil Change: To up all night in a diner drinking coffee and smoking cigarettes. Usually done as a peaceful meeting to handle a dispute. "I met Knuckles McGee at the Bendix and we got an oil change.

Panther Sweat: Cheap/bad whiskey or alcohol of any sort.

Sell it to the French!: "I ain't buyin' the line you're handing me, pal."

Smirk merchant: A used car salesman.

Sweating votes: v. Gladhanding the public, via speeches, handshaking, babykissing, and other forms of sucking up, in order to garner positive opinion. 'Sweating' can also be used generically to indicate brown-nosing: "He's really sweating the boys upstairs. Must have a new kid on the way."

Wolf tickets: Interaction with someone who is bad news, trouble, or generally insubordinate. "Don't fuck with him, he’s passing out wolf tickets."

Wooden kimono: A coffin.