Author: Randy Rydberg

A fairly mellow fellow who likes to read history books.

Maison

Where do we go
When we no longer have a home
The flowers under the concrete
Mom, tell me
Where do we go
Do we ever really know one day
Or do we pretend, all the time
Where does the heart go when it gets lost
In doubts and winters
Why do the days look alike
Do we end up seeing what we assemble
Mom, tell me
Beyond
The storm there is
Love, love, love
When the sky opens
Everything becomes calm again
And everything is fine
Where does it go
Happiness, this fragile thread
When it wobbles and breaks
Mom, tell me
Where does it go
Why does the world seem so big
When we become a little bigger than before
What happens to the dreams that flee
And the memories we forget
Will I always have questions
Maybe I’ll make songs out of them
Mom, tell me
Beyond
The storm there is
Love, love, love
When the sky opens
Everything becomes calm again
And everything is fine

Leather-Bound World War II Album

Upon revisiting a thrift we had been to already today (looking for something Dad missed), they had put out this leather-bound version of a book I already have… there are only two of these on eBay, the cheapest listed at twice what I paid, and the other one was at five times what I paid, and this was in perfect shape! Considering I’ve been very much into these kind of deluxe volumes lately, this was an A+ find!

Stratego 1961

I picked up a 1961 copy of Stratego at a garage sale yesterday for two dollars, and it is in great condition! Unfortunately, I think this now certifies me as a collector of Stratego games.

The copy on top with the battle scene is the same version that I learned on at my grandma’s house. The one below it with the General making a move, that is the same version (I don’t know where my original copy ended up) I received for my birthday in the 1980s. The white version with the father and son playing is the copy I just bought.

In addition to these three, I have a really nice bookshelf version in a wood case, it goes on a bookshelf like a book (I have a version of RISK like this, too).

The last Stratego is from a thrift store and is the more modern version, but thankfully not with the reverse piece-numbering. The original games had the most powerful piece as “1”, and the weaker pieces going down to the more pawn-like “9”. For some reason, the modern versions are backward, from 9-1 instead of 1-9. Why did they do that?

Unfortunately, there is a Pirates of the Caribbean version of the game, as well as a 50th Anniversary version. I must have these, but only if I come across them. The good thing about having more than one copy though, is that if one is missing a piece (the General version is missing a “9”), I can substitute one from a different game.

The modern version also didn’t come with a board (a common risk at the ARC Thrift Store, where they seal the used games so you can’t inspect them. But if they didn’t do this, there would be total chaos because kids already leave a mess everywhere with the bigger toys in that area as it is). So, I can just use one of the four other boards I have.

This is a lot like Classical music cd’s, or books and DVD/Blu-ray… so much value for next to nothing in cost. And no commercials.