Random Thought

This is just a random thought and I’d like to say something about the ACLU or the American Civil Liberties Union.

I know this has nothing to do with outdoor furniture, but I had to say that as Google says that our blog post must have relevant content and by mentioning  the words outdoor furniture we now do. Now back to the topic at hand.

 I heard on the news this morning (5/9/2012) that the ACLU has taken it upon themselves to sue a high school, (which I thought was incredible) and I apologize that I did not pay attention to who the high school was or where the high school was located, but the fact that it was being reported on the national morning news, either The Today Show or Good Morning America, for displaying the Ten Commandments.  Apparently the ACLU is an anti-religious organization, as I gather it. Now, I am an American and I am not against religion and I am pretty sure I am in a country that was founded and allows freedom of religion and I do not understand why the ACLU wants to restrict the freedom of religion, not to mention the freedom of speech which in turn would allow the voice of religion, along with anything else anyone would want to voice, say or display.

So this evening, I am out in my back yard down at the lake, it is totally dark, there is no moon,  the stars are shining brightly, I can make out some house lights across the lake,.… it’s quiet, a beautiful night, I’m reflecting  on the day’s events and my life in general and then I hear the roaring sound of a jet plane as it passes overhead, really loud, spoils the mood  that I had drifted into…….and then I think, how come the ACLU is not suing the airlines, the airports, the airplane manufacturers, the pilots (both commercial and general aviation), for  ruining my civil liberty of a quiet night down at my dock, (or in my backyard or wherever). My pursuit of a quiet evening is my civil right and I would want an organization that was formed to protect my civil rights to jump in there for me,…. maybe an organization like the ACLU. So why are they picking on and suing in real dollars, a high school that is displaying a plaque with the Ten Commandments on it, in a school that has what maybe just 400 students or so, and not suing the airlines for ruining possibly millions of people’s quiet enjoyment of peace on earth with the sounds of jet engines, not to mention my formerly quiet night at my dock!!

Now, as a former airline pilot who used to make all that noise, I hope you understand I’m being a little sarcastic.  

So, let me be frank, I think that the ACLU is a very small organization in terms of numbers of individuals, (now really, somebody tell me how many members are there in the ACLU), and who I believe are basically radicals, of some degree, and who I am sure believe they are doing good for the general populist, but who are in fact, so far out in left field that to put it in baseball term, they’re way out of bounds. ……… out near the Outdoor Furniture .

The ACLU is not America's friend and is possibly a hugh threat to the American way of life.

A Visit to High Point

The High Point Furniture show has now come and gone. We managed to spend only one jam packed day meeting & talking to our vendors to find any new offerings in their line of products, plus finding new vendors with products that we would like to carry on our newest website, www.patioandyards.com 

It’s always good to meet up with Chris Bruning the owner of Groovy Stuff Furniture. This year Chris was really excited about some new designs that he or rather some college design students were adding to his collection.

 We met Chris about 8 years ago at a Chicago furniture show where he was showing his collection of old teak wood farm implements that have been turned into very useable, eye catching, furniture in the style of southwestern USA.  The only catch is that all the wooden farm equipment, that Chris makes his furniture from is purchased from farms in southeast Asia that have been active for 100’s of years. He has collected a treasure trove of old wagon wheels, that were used on oxen carts, plows, benches, even old tree stumps, (make that teak wood tree stumps), that he has turned in to one-of-a-kind furniture that becomes focal point in just about any setting that they are used in.

Janice Kammler
University of Idaho
Groovystuff
Design Winner High Point April 2012

Chris told us that he had had an epiphany about two years ago concerning his Groovy stuff furniture line. He said he had designed and done just about everything he could think of with the teak wood he was bringing in from overseas, and was basically out of any new ideas. That was until he thought that maybe some younger minds of a new generation might come up with new and innovative designs. So Chris contacted some colleges that offered design courses, such as Auburn and Appalachia State. He went to their classes with the raw material (teakwood), and asked them to come up with designs of their own utilizing the material that he gave them. The results have been fantastic. Chris is now getting several other colleges to participate in his program. At the last two shows that we attended, Chris has created what he calls University Hall where he connects students with the furniture buying industry. At his very large booth, 12 students from each college have on display miniature models of their proposed designed furniture. Chris encourages people visiting his booth to vote on the designs that they like the best. The winner will then have his design go into production and sold as part of the Groovy Stuff line, with the student listed as the designer. And the best part is, that student will receive royalties for any sale of the furniture they designed for the rest of their lives!!! “Pretty freaking cool” if you were to ask me. It’s just a very innovative way of giving students an opening into the furniture industry.

Next posting, I’ll high lite some of the newer products that we discovered.

As for Sinbad, our restoration project, virtually no work was performed this past month other that some additional stripping down of some hardware. Major work won’t start until this website starts to produce some significant income as all the profits from www.PatioandYards are dedicated for this purpose. For the month of April, just $278.71 was deposited into the Sinbad fund, bringing our total to $1,014.22 available, which is not nearly enough to even think about starting work. Pat Cruse of Crusse'n Classics charges $65.00 / hour. Sinbad will need at least 3000 hours of work. He’s the best in the business, doesn’t come cheap, but when your boat is done, it will be better than the day it came down the production line. You can visit his website at http://www.crussenclassics.com/ .