from Mindsets

Thrift Store - Big Find!

 WOW, I purchased this for 50 cents.

I dug this out of the bins with old tools. Of course, I had no idea about it. My phone was dead, so I couldn't check it. It is 4" long by 3" tall. The auctions are asking $200 to $400. I will hang it inside my trailer.

The history is very interesting.

"Vehicle entry into our National Parks began in the early 1900’s after construction of dirt paths and gravel roadways were introduced into Banff National Park during the 1920’s. Previously, only railway access to Banff and Jasper allowed visitors to depart the train, and visit via horseback or “Tally Ho” wagon from the train station.

A “new” metal Buffalo style vehicle pass was introduced in 1925, and used as a roadway National Park pass in the mountain Parks until 1940. These annual passes originally cost $1 and later $2, and were intended to be mounted to the front bumper or radiator shell of the vehicle, so the gate attendant could see them on vehicle entry to the Park. The first metal used was a copper “walking buffalo” with “CANADIAN NATIONAL PARKS” on the base and no date on it. Each year after the metal used was alternated between aluminum, brass and copper (A.B.C.). Six mounting screw holes were drilled in the original plates, until 1930 when the holes drilled were reduced to four. The first three years (1925, 1926 and 1927) did not have a date on them, but were made of copper, aluminum and brass to distinguish each year. 1928 and 1929 (copper and aluminum) only had .8 and.9 dates to distinguish them, and the name was changed to “CANADA’S NATIONAL PARKS”. 1930 AND 1931 (brass and copper) used .30 and .31 to date each.

Beginning in 1932, a more detailed “standing” buffalo was crafted, with the full date. In 1939 and 1940, mounting holes were removed, and a base plate with a slotted mounting bar opening was added. The use of metal for entry passes was discontinued during the Second World War to help assist the war effort. Paper receipts were then used, until window stickers – first buffalo, then elk, and eventually a stylized beaver – were used into the 1990’s.

n 1938, 1939 (aluminum) and 1940 (copper), circular metal passes were also produced for use in the prairie National Parks. They had a single mounting hole base, and the date in the beaver lodge that the beaver sat on. Again the use of metal was discontinued for the Second World War. 1942 saw a paper bison sticker replica produced for a few years. During the 1930’s Saskatchewan Natural Resources produced an aluminum beaver, “SNR Parks” for use in that province at the time.

Other provinces and local communities used a moose, elk, or fish (Waterton) metal format promoted by local Chamber of Commerce groups. Many “commemorative plate reproductions” have been produced since the National Parks centennial in 1985. Banff National Park did one of the first, then Elk Island for 1906, and Jasper for 1907 (100 Year Park commemorations). The Jasper Museum also produced replicas in a metal alloy format, for use as a fund raising effort in the early 2000’s.

The metal plates were stamped in three different locations, Winnipeg, Ottawa and Vancouver where various contracts were let to produce them. Some have the maker’s location stamped on the back. Counterfeit copies were common, and many have had the dates altered in an effort to avoid paying the next year’s fee when entering the Park. Examples of all of the original metal passes are considered rare to extremely rare and of significant value!"

National Park Warden Alumni Society

Magical Connection

 

When your dog is your soulmate, it feels like they’ve seen the depths of who you are and decided to love you anyway, flaws and all. There’s no pretense with them. They don’t care if you’ve had a bad day, if you’re broken, or if you’re lost. They just stay. Not because they have to, but because, for some reason, their soul fits with yours in a way that makes everything feel a little lighter.
It’s not about them reading your mind or sensing your moods like it’s some magical connection. It’s more raw than that. It’s in the moments where you feel like you’ve got nothing left to give, and yet, somehow, they bring out the part of you that still cares. It’s in their eyes, how they look at you like you’re the only thing that matters. There’s no pretending with them—no need to put up walls or hold back emotions. With them, you’re exactly who you are, and that’s enough.
And it’s more than just love—it’s the way they make you see yourself differently, the way they pull you out of places you didn’t even know you were stuck in. The bond is stronger than anything life throws at you because it’s rooted in something so simple and pure. They don’t just support you—they remind you, in the most basic, honest way, that you’re worth being loved. And when the world feels cold or distant, they’re the one soul you can count on, no matter what. 

A Barking Chance Animal Rescue

Her Last Words

 

"I'm not ready, but I know it's time."

Diane Keaton's Last Words.

Diane Keaton was one of my favorites. Her movies are excellent, and I watch them many times.

The Water Glass

 

The psychology professor taught a lesson I’ve never forgotten. On the last day of class before graduation, she walked up on stage to teach one final lesson, which she called “a vital lesson on the power of perspective and mindset.” As she raised a glass of water over her head, everyone expected her to mention the typical “glass half empty or glass half full” metaphor. Instead, with a smile on her face, our professor asked, “How heavy is this glass of water I’m holding?”

After a few moments of fielding answers and nodding her head, she replied, “From my perspective, the absolute weight of this glass is irrelevant. It all depends on how long I hold it. If I hold it for a minute or two, it’s fairly light. If I hold it for an hour straight, its weight might make my arm ache. If I hold it for a day straight, my arm will likely cramp up and feel completely numb and paralyzed, forcing me to drop the glass to the floor. In each case, the absolute weight of the glass doesn’t change, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it feels to me.”

As most students nodded our heads in agreement, she continued. “Your worries, frustrations, disappointments, and stressful thoughts are very much like this glass of water. Think about them for a little while and nothing drastic happens. Think about them a bit longer and you begin to feel noticeable pain. Think about them all day long, and you will feel completely numb and paralyzed, incapable of doing anything else until you drop them.”

Think about how this relates to your life right now.

Written by Marc Chernoff