In 1954 Vincent Minelli directed the farcial comedy, “The Long, Long Trailer”, starring a 1953 Mercury Montclair convertible, a 1953 New Moon trailer, and the two most popular television stars of the day, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz 
A modest budget movie, it became the cult classic for aluminum. If you have spent longer than two weeks, with a loved one, confined in a metal tube, the parallels are unmistakable. The film (not the coating on one’s teeth) is replayed often on classic TV channels.
The real star, the New Moon trailer, I have uncovered in the remote wilderness of Michigan’s eastern upper peninsula. It resides quietly uninhabitated, adjacent to the DeTour Village museum, a stone’s throw from the Drummond Island ferry dock, and overlooks the scenic St. Mary’s River passageway.The river hosts nearly constant freighter traffic to and from Lake Superior, joining the other four great lakes, & beyond. 
Here, the oxidized corrugated aluminum siding of the New Moon, skirted with a weathered thong of cedar decking, ignores the background passing of a U.S. Coast Guard patrol ship. Now in its mid-50s, nearing retirement, the memory of crossing the Sierra Madre with Desi at the wheel will have to endure for the old tin can. At least until eligibility in medicare part A and part B kick in.
Global Implosion; Earth, as we know it, has ended….
stay tuned for the six o’clock news to learn full details.
Exhausted by ‘teasers’, the suction attempt by the network affiliates to do something, anything, to prevent your channel surfing ?
Too bad, it’s a sign of the times.
Conversely, for comic relief, it is a time for some signs.
A joy in traveling is the often simple signs that stimulate your imagination. A sampling follows.
In Patagonia, Arizona, Kermit failed to complete his anger management re-hab.
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We’ve all seen the admonition at the entry to some retail businesses, “No shirt, No shoes, No service”. Makes you wonder if Charles Barkley, wearing a MADD tee shirt, a pair of Foot-Joys, but otherwise buck naked, would be offered seating at the IHOP. But what is this all about ?
A public parking lot, Sligo, north west coast of Ireland.
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Would you be inspired to change your morning pre-coffee and toast routine ?
Rancho Carrillo, shortly after dawn, rural Orange County, southern California
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He was one of the Israelite exiles who settled at a place, the mound of the deluge, on the banks the Chebar River,according to wikipedia, 600 years before Christ:
In Mackinaw City, Michigan, a religious zealot promotes his favorite brand of healthy bread
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The guy above prompts the need for:
On a side country road, Drummond Island, Michigan
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Just another deafening day for the world, hopelessly twirling into a black hole, the sound of flushing piercing the evening news, this last sign says it all:
The epitaph, on the Pickford, Michigan grain mill~~1909
The Irish Weatherman
If you’ve ever contemplated reincarnation (and who hasn’t), meteorology on the Emerald Isle would be a simple gig. You need master only two words to accurately forecast the weather.
Moist.
Damp.
At a train station in Ballymote, County Sligo, an architecturally interesting and large receptacle for cigarette ends, a.k.a. butts, does not admonish smoking, but does ask patrons to keep the pavement dry. Hmmm. Why ?
Having just returned from Ireland for the third time in 5 years, several observations of note. Partial or full frontal nudity is deemed acceptable as seen in this shop in Sligo Town.
The tenor of this community website has recently degenerated into non-PG rated as exhibited by scantily clad Las Vegas showgirls, plumed with ostrich feathers, invading Circus Circus airstream trailers. Hence, I have no trepidation illustrating mannequin storefront nudity.
An idyllic country, Ireland beauty abounds everywhere, but this is not a travel trailer paradise. Caravans, as they are referred to here, are not highly regarded. The roads are narrow, always winding, often treacherous, few available parking campsites, and petrol near $7 USD/gallon; all sufficient to limit your Steinbeck urge.
Also a social stigma, the Irish travellers (a.ka. knackers and/or gypsies) affect people’s attitudes toward trailer dwellers, as they camp on public (common) and private lands. Although permanently established, the Travellers, in the pejorative sense, are unwelcome. They have high unemployment (80%), are nearly uniformly illiterate, have high infant mortality rates, short adult lifespans, and are known for raising dogs and bare knuckle fighters. Few carry KOA, Good Sam, or AARP discount cards.
Describing the Republic of Ireland is similar to evaluating wine; crisp, well-balanced, fairly complex. Full flavored, good structure, it is led by the prime minister, Brian Cowen, a Runyanesque figure, with whom we had the pleasure of a personal audience during our stay. Like W.C. Fields, he possesses an almost cartoon characiture. A truly nice fellow, he grew up in a public house, his family’s saloon. Like all world leaders, he faces considerable difficulty in the global economic turmoil we are all encountering. I’m reminded of the 1957 Kingston Trio lyric, “They’re rioting in Africa, they are starving in Spain, what nature doesn’t do to us, will be done by our fellow man”. Or by the poet, Matthew Arnold, ” and we are here as on a darkling plain, swept with confused alarms of struggle and flight, where ignorant armies clash by night.”
Pictured here L-R, Lynn, the Prime Minister, myself, and Margaret Conlan, prominent member of the parliament representing County Monaghan. He was asking me for advice. Hence, the smiles.
Ireland is a wonderful place to visit. Not limited to the cordiality of the natives, near Drumcliffe on the rugged northwest coast, Lynn coaxes a friendly seagull to land on her finger. 
A charming place to be a tourist, but leave your tin can at home.
Pack a raincoat and an umbrella.