On the Road Again with Merle

It's still not a bad idea though.

Maybe better suited to scrimshaw work though.
 
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Many years ago when I was driving a truck over the road to pay the bills I broke down in northern Nevada. The little shop where they towed my truck for service was very friendly and accommodating until a couple of buses pulled up outside. The owner of the shop apologized and told me that I would have to wait until he got done working on his friends bus before he finished work on my rig. I was watching out the window when it finally dawned on me the buses were tour buses. Me being nosy I asked the lady doing the books if she knew whose was on the bus, "That's Merle" she said as she pointed to an autographed picture on the wall.

I watched for a while hoping to see Merle but he didn't come out of the bus, but his driver did. The driver came out with two large cups and went to the luggage storage under the bus where he got into a cooler. All I saw was a little ice, some orangeish liquid and a health serving of a clear liquid go into both cups. The driver saw me watching and we gave each other polite nods before he stepped back aboard where he promptly put one of the cups into a drink holder by the drivers seat and then took the other to the dark depths of the bus.

Really wish I'd been able to meet Merle but it was an interesting experience. Talking to the owner later I got the story that Merle's bus had broke down years earlier and the shop owner had been called out to the road to fix it not knowing whose it was. Turned out the repair was a simple thing he was able to fix quickly and Merle came out to thank him personally. The shop owner was a huge fan of his and refused money for the simple repair. He said ever since then if Merle was in the area he would stop by for any needed repairs and at least a quick visit.

And by the way I'm not in, I'll live vicariously through the thread.
 
Magizm7 said:
Barrett,
Count me in for the international leg of the tour. I am sure Merle would enjoy seeing the west coast of Scotland 🥃😉
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I might need to chaperone Merle for that part of the trip. 😁🥃🥃

Johnnythefox said:
You fooled me
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Sorry for any confusion!

beezwax said:
Bring Merle up to Alaska! I promise to take good care and get some fun pics :)

Edit to add: when I'm done I can send along to @Wharn in Hawaii if he's game? Because if Merle makes it to the arctic in the middle of winter that is definitely where he's going to wanna visit next!
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That would be a really cool back-to-back! :thumbsup:

Old Engineer said:
Please count me in Barrett . I would like to get a picture of Merle with the Car On The Ice in our little town . I should be pretty Mobile by that time .

Harry
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That would be great, Harry. You know I always enjoy your Car on the Ice updates! 🙂 When I start putting the list together and this thing really gets underway, I’ll try to make sure Merle makes it over your way at a time when the Car will be out on the Ice. :thumbsup:

Markeologist said:
This was done with a surfboard as documented in the movie Singlefin Yellow back in early 2000s…a very grand idea for Merle, sign me up, heck I’ll take him surfing!
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Just make sure he has a leash! 😉😁
 
Old Engineer said:
Please count me in Barrett . I would like to get a picture of Merle with the Car On The Ice in our little town . I should be pretty Mobile by that time .

Harry
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The Car On The Ice is one of the highlights of my year Harry! :) :thumbsup:

Fantastic idea Barrett, and of course, please count me in when it's time for Merle to travel overseas :) I spent some time re-reading both the Earl and Pearl threads, and it was great to read the posts by so many old friends, who are either sadly no longer with us, or have simply wandered off the reservation - Ron Half/Stop Half/Stop and Bob BigBiscuit BigBiscuit spring to mind, but there were many more, who were once regular posters here, and I hope return here one day :)

Something else that kind of stood out was something that plagued both threads, posters VOLUNTEERING to take a turn, and then not having time, or opportunity, or inclination to post, often for long periods, which killed the inertia of the thread. I remember sending one of the knives to a feller, who kept it for a month, and didn't carry it, or make a single post. The next guy changed his mind, and forwarded it on to someone else. So I hope when everyone who puts their name forwards, eventually gets their turn, they'll realise that hosting Merle isn't compulsory, and that if they're busy with work or family, have lost interest, or are ill, or whatever, they'll make that clear. Nothing wrong with changing your mind :thumbsup:

I'm really looking forward to this one :) I'll aim to book a week off work to show him round my part of the world, and hope he doesn't get into the mischief Earl got into here! :eek: :D

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Pearl was better behaved ;) :thumbsup:

YWJOvN4.jpg


Well done Barrett :thumbsup:
 
Should Merle ever take a trip to Canada, I'll be glad to take him for a walk on the beach, and dip his feet in the healing waters of the Canadian coastal area of the Pacific Ocean!!
Earl quite enjoyed his visit here!!
 
Count me in, Barrett! Happy to show Merle around Central New York. Maybe I can get him to pose at the old Camillus Cutlery factory. I'm sure he's a history buff. :D

Here's links to the Earl and Pearl threads, for those wanting to reminisce.

Earl Sees the World!

Hey guys, some of you might remember Earl. Well, Earl went ahead and carved his name into this Schrade barlow, and after years and years, it has come to my doorstep. By carving his name into this old knife (probably new at the time), Earl gave this knife a spirit of its own! To quote...
www.bladeforums.com www.bladeforums.com

The Adventures of Pearl !!! Host list post's #22 and #23

R8shell, Cambertree, BigBiscuit and myself have been working on second traveling knife project similar to "Earl. We have been working on a knife for this project and it is a very special Case Medium Stockman that will receive a "Make Over" courtesy of R8shell before "The Porch Pearl" starts her...
www.bladeforums.com www.bladeforums.com
 
Merle Haggard lived in Palo Cedro, CA just outside Redding, CA. When we'd go to Redding, we'd oftern eat at Applebee's and sometimes he'd be there eating. Nice guy. If you passed his table and said hello, he always give you a friendly greeting unlike other personalities I've had the pleasure/displeasure of meeting. Interesting note - he kept three connecting rooms at the Red Lion Motel/Hotel across the street from Applebee's reserved at all times for visitors, business associates, etc. when they were in town.

Not an entry. Just passing on some trivia.
 
Just bringing this back up to page 1 for the weekend. We’ve got a good list of hosts going so far, but as byjiminy byjiminy quipped, the more the Merlier! 😁 I don’t think I’ll set any sort of cutoff for signing up, and hope that additional interest will be garnered as Merle’s cosmetic work is completed and his travels get underway.

I saw yesterday that WValtakis WValtakis did a little practice work on his own 2021 BF Barlow, in anticipation of Merle’s arrival, I’m sure. ;) Seriously, Chip, I already knew you did great work, but now I’m looking forward to seeing Merle even more! 😎 :thumbsup::thumbsup:

Jack Black said:
The Car On The Ice is one of the highlights of my year Harry! :) :thumbsup:

Fantastic idea Barrett, and of course, please count me in when it's time for Merle to travel overseas :) I spent some time re-reading both the Earl and Pearl threads, and it was great to read the posts by so many old friends, who are either sadly no longer with us, or have simply wandered off the reservation - Ron Half/Stop Half/Stop and Bob BigBiscuit BigBiscuit spring to mind, but there were many more, who were once regular posters here, and I hope return here one day :)

Something else that kind of stood out was something that plagued both threads, posters VOLUNTEERING to take a turn, and then not having time, or opportunity, or inclination to post, often for long periods, which killed the inertia of the thread. I remember sending one of the knives to a feller, who kept it for a month, and didn't carry it, or make a single post. The next guy changed his mind, and forwarded it on to someone else. So I hope when everyone who puts their name forwards, eventually gets their turn, they'll realise that hosting Merle isn't compulsory, and that if they're busy with work or family, have lost interest, or are ill, or whatever, they'll make that clear. Nothing wrong with changing your mind :thumbsup:

I'm really looking forward to this one :) I'll aim to book a week off work to show him round my part of the world, and hope he doesn't get into the mischief Earl got into here! :eek: :D

599tSoo.jpg


Pearl was better behaved ;) :thumbsup:

YWJOvN4.jpg


Well done Barrett :thumbsup:
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Thanks, Jack, I’m know Merle will have a great time in Yorkshire! :thumbsup:

There were some long periods of inactivity in Earl’s journey. 🙁 I feel like it was a little better with Pearl, but it still happened. Maybe it’s just be the nature of the thing, but hopefully we can do a bit better with Merle. I understand that people have work and family and other responsibilities, which is why I think 2 or 3 weeks is a fair amount of time to give people. But that doesn’t mean set the knife aside for 3 weeks and then finally get around to snapping a few hasty pics before sending it off again. A little effort goes a long way towards making these threads a whole lot of fun! :thumbsup:

waynorth said:
Should Merle ever take a trip to Canada, I'll be glad to take him for a walk on the beach, and dip his feet in the healing waters of the Canadian coastal area of the Pacific Ocean!!
Earl quite enjoyed his visit here!!
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Charlie, I remember Earl’s dip in the Pacific! Merle might have to start his journey by purifying himself in the waters of Lake Minnetonka. 😁


Peregrin said:
Count me in, Barrett! Happy to show Merle around Central New York. Maybe I can get him to pose at the old Camillus Cutlery factory. I'm sure he's a history buff. :D

Here's links to the Earl and Pearl threads, for those wanting to reminisce.

Earl Sees the World!

Hey guys, some of you might remember Earl. Well, Earl went ahead and carved his name into this Schrade barlow, and after years and years, it has come to my doorstep. By carving his name into this old knife (probably new at the time), Earl gave this knife a spirit of its own! To quote...
www.bladeforums.com www.bladeforums.com

The Adventures of Pearl !!! Host list post's #22 and #23

R8shell, Cambertree, BigBiscuit and myself have been working on second traveling knife project similar to "Earl. We have been working on a knife for this project and it is a very special Case Medium Stockman that will receive a "Make Over" courtesy of R8shell before "The Porch Pearl" starts her...
www.bladeforums.com www.bladeforums.com
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Thanks for the links, Gary! :thumbsup: (I had included them in original post, but they were embedded hyperlinks and perhaps easily missed.)

sbh06 said:
Hey Barrett, I’d love to take Merle on a tour of the world’s largest Naval base.
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That sounds great, thanks for joining!
 
I was honored to show Pearl the bayou, the Quarter, and even a Mardi Gras parade, and I'd be just as honored to find some new spots for Merle to enjoy down here in southeast Louisiana!
 
What an absolutely splendid idea! I will certainly be following Merle’s journey with interest.

It’s not uncommon for an individual to have fond memories of a knife, pretty rare to see an entire group experience that! Well done.
 
I would be interested in taking Merle for a tour around the Jack Daniel Distillery and points around south central Tennessee.

I am an Okie, but from Lawton, which does not roll off the tongue as well as Muskogee....

best

mqqn
 
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