Movies – Page 2 – Chasing Phantoms

Well, there goes yet another year. And that’s kind of sad, if you think of your lifetime as a gas gauge that is counting down to empty, and there’s no gas station anywhere on your planned route. In fact, there’s not even a gas filler pipe on the whole car. You just drive it til it’s empty and that’s it. Off to the crusher.

But surely that’s not the right way to think about these things; instead, we’re advised to roll down the window, turn down the radio, and pay attention to all the cool things we’re seeing and doing as we drive our car along the unsigned and mysterious Highway of Life. And if we’re lucky, there’s still enough gas in the tank for some more adventures. As they say, life is a journey.

And speaking of journeys, I’ve got some good ones planned for 2025, including a winter trip to Needles, CA (pop: 4,800) to see one of the last remaining Harvey Houses, and a visit to Blob Fest in Phoenixville, PA in July.

*Adele seems to have fallen on hard times…*

I’m also planning a return to the town of Kingsburg, CA to witness the delivery of a century-old, 82-ton steam locomotive. The delivery has been delayed several times, but the current best guess is January or February.

*Old #1238 cools its heels in Fresno, waiting to be moved to its new home in Kingsburg.*

And speaking of a hundred years ago: alert readers will recall that I received a cache of love letters my grandfather wrote to his then-girlfriend in 1925 and 1926. I have transcribed all 17 of those letters and I’ve posted them here. Feel free to read them while you’re waiting for the ball to drop in NYC.

And with that I will wish a Happy New Year to all. We’ll see you in 2025! Your mileage may vary….

That’s of course a quote from the Wicked Witch of the West. Let’s roll the tape:

Alert readers may recall that two years ago I stopped at the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, Michigan, primarily to see the famous Ruby Slippers. Here’s an excerpt from the blog:

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Naturally, my primary objective at the Judy Garland museum was to see the ruby slippers. And behold, there they were, just sitting on a pedestal with no barrier separating me from them!

*“Their magic must be very powerful, or she wouldn’t want them so badly.”*

Alas, a sign explained that while this was the “original pedestal” on which the ruby slippers used to sit, the slippers were reproductions. The original slippers were stolen in 2005. A docent (Sheena, pictured below) told me that the slippers were recovered in 2018 in Minneapolis, but they remain in the possession of the FBI, which continues to gather evidence of the crime. What’s worse is that the slippers were just on loan to the museum, so if and when the FBI releases them, they’ll go to the owner, and not to the museum.

*Sheena, the Wizard of…the Garland Museum.*

Still, the museum contains numerous authentic artifacts, and I recommend it. Meanwhile, when she heard I was driving the length of US Route 2, Sheena encouraged me to visit the headwaters of the Mississippi River, which are a short drive from the highway. This I will do tomorrow. Until then.

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OK, it’s me again, in December 2024. The reason I’m bringing all this up is because there’s been a major development in the ruby slippers story. The miscreant who’d stolen them has been brought to justice, and the slippers have been reunited with their original owner…who then turned around and auctioned them of for a cool $28 million. I’m not making this up. You can read the story here.

Sadly, the Judy Garland Museum did not have the winning bid. The winner has not been disclosed. We can only hope it’s someone, or some organization, that will make them visible to the public.

Category: Movies

Runnin’ On Empty

“The Ruby Slippers–What Have You Done With Them?”