Good Deal - Good Read - HL 233 (2)

 GOOD DEAL:

From: Carol

Date: 6/3/2015 1:58:40 PM

To: Undisclosed-Recipient:,

Subject: ***AIRLINE STUFF*** of interest

Designer Duds at Major Discount at Unclaimed Baggage Center

Jun 2, 2015, 12:32 PM ET

By GENEVIEVE SHAW BROWN

The Unclaimed Baggage Center buys lost luggage from airlines and sells it at this store in Scottsboro, Ala.

Unclaimed Baggage Center

 

Consignment shops have some stiff competition when it comes to selling designer duds for less.
It turns out the Unclaimed Baggage Center in Scottsboro, Alabama, is the place to get luxury goodies for less. Can you say a $60K Rolex sold for half that much? It happened last year, Brenda Cantrell, a spokeswoman for the center, told ABC News.
Turns out rich people lose their luggage, too. And when they do, and their airline can't locate them for 90 days, their stuff ends up at the center, which stocks between 4,000 and 5,000 new items every day. At any given time, there are about 100,000 items in the 40,000-square-foot facility.

Unclaimed Baggage Center

PHOTO: At any given time, there are about 100,000 items in the 40,000-square-foot facility.  see above.

Among those on sale now: Tory Burch ladies leather jacket with a retail price of $798.99, but just $269 at the Center; a black Soho disco leather bag by Gucci with a retail price of $980, and $299.99 at the Center; and a Lilly Pulitzer yellow sun-glow dress, retail price $198 but $59.89 at the Unclaimed Baggage Center. Prices are typically 30 to 50 percent below retail, the company said.

Unclaimed Baggage Center

PHOTO: Pictured here is a Lilly Pulitzer dress that retails for $198 but sells for $59.89 at the Unclaimed Baggage Center.

Delta Reunites Boy With 'Daddy Shirt' of Dad Who Passed Away

It works like this: Person loses their luggage. Airline tries to reunite person with luggage. After 90 days, those bags and their contents get sold to the Unclaimed Baggage Center. The Center -- which, according to Cantrell has contracts with every major domestic carrier -- purchases it sight unseen in bulk. And then the real fun begins.
Cantrell said the Center has a bag opening event each day. One randomly chosen customer gets to open a bag and see what's inside. But before they do, Cantrell said the Center does sanitize all the items and then repacks the bag, just to be safe. "We're one of the largest cleaning and dry-cleaning facilities in Alabama," she said.
One million people visit the Center each year. Cantrell said some are regulars who live in the area, but many come to the Center from out of state. "It's definitely a tourist destination," she said. "People come and spend six or seven hours."
So has it ever happened that someone lost a bag and then found their items at the Unclaimed Baggage Center? Once, that Cantrell knows of. "A man came in to buy a pair of ski boots for his wife. When he gave them to her, she thought they looked really familiar. And right there written on the boots was her maiden name as she had written it."

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Good Read:

From: David Bina dbina@comcast.net
To: David Bina <dbina@comcast.net>
Sent: Fri, Jun 12, 2015 10:46 am
Subject: Memories

A Tribute to Military Aviators

      (In Victory, you deserve champagne... In Defeat, you need it!)

As we get older and we experience the loss of old friends, we begin to realize that maybe we  bullet-proof Pilots won’t live forever. We aren’t so bullet-proof anymore.  We ponder, "if I/we were gone tomorrow, did I say what I wanted to my Brothers?”  The answer is “No!”  Hence, the following random thoughts:

When people ask me if I miss flying, I always say something like, “Yes, I miss the flying because when you are flying, you are totally focused on the task at hand.It’s like nothing else you will ever do (almost).” But then I always say, However, I miss the Squadron and the Guys even more than I miss the flying.”

Why? You might ask. They were a bunch of aggressive, wise ass, cocky, insulting, sarcastic bastards in smelly flight suits who thought a funny thing to do was to fart and see if they could clear the room.

They drank too much they chased women, they flew when they shouldn’t, they laughed too loud and thought they owned the sky, the bar -- and generally thought they could do everything better than the next guy. Nothing was funnier than trying to mess with a buddy and see how pissed off he would get. They flew planes that leaked, that smoked, that broke, that couldn’t turn, that burned fuel too fast, that seldom had working autopilots or radars, and  with systems that were archaic compared to today’s new generation aircraft. But a little closer look might show that every guy in the room was sneaky smart and damn competent and brutally handsome in their own way! They hated to lose or fail to accomplish the mission and seldom did. They were the laziest guys on the planet until challenged and then they would do anything to win. They would fly with wing tips overlapped at night through the worst weather with only a little "formation light" to hold on to, knowing their flight lead would get them on the ground safely. They would fight in the air knowing the greatest risk and fear was that another friendly fighter would arrive at the same enemy six o’clock position as they did. They would fly in harm’s way and act nonchalant as if to challenge the grim reaper.

When we flew to another base we proclaimed that we were the best as soon as we landed.

Often we were not invited back. When we went into an O’ Club, we owned the bar. We were lucky to be the Best of the Best in the Military. We knew it and so did others. Later, we found flying jobs, lost jobs, got married, got divorced, moved, went broke, got rich, broke some things and knew t he only thing you could count on--really count on--was if you needed help, a fellow pilot would have your back.

I miss the call signs, nicknames and the stories behind them. I miss getting lit up in an O’ Club full of my buddies and watching the incredible, unbelievable things that were happening. I miss the crew chiefs saluting as I taxied out of the flight line. I miss lighting the afterburner, if you had one, especially at night. I miss going straight up and straight down. I miss the cross countries. I miss the dice games for drinks at the bar. I miss listening to BS stories and laughing until my eyes watered. I miss three man lifts. I miss naps in the squadron with a room full of pilots working up new tricks to torment the sleeper. I miss flying down in the Grand Canyon and hearing others' stories about flying so low. I miss coming into the break "HOT" and looking over and seeing my three wing men tucked in tight, ready to make our boys on the ground proud. I miss belches that could be heard in neighboring states. I miss putting on ad hoc Air Shows that might be over someone’s home or farm in far away towns.

Finally, I miss hearing "DEAD BUG!" called out at the bar and seeing and hearing a room full of men hit the deck with drinks spilling and chairs knocked over as they rolled in the beer and kicked their legs in the air followed closely by a Not Politically Correct tap dance and singing spectacle that couldn’t  help but make you grin and order another round.

I am a lucky guy and have lived a great life! One thing I know is that I was part of a special, really talented bunch of guys doing something dangerous and doing it better than most--flying the most beautiful, ugly, noisy, solid aircraft ever built--supported by loyal ground crews fully committed to making sure we came home! Being prepared to fly and fight and die for America . Having a clear mission.  Having FUN.

Most of the time, we box out bad memories from various operations, but never the hallowed memories of our fallen comrades. We are often amazed at how good war stories never let truth interfere and how they get better with age. We were lucky bastards to be able to walk into a squadron or a bar and have men we respected and loved shout our names, or our call signs, and know that this is truly where we belonged. We were military pilots. We were few and we were PROUD. I am privileged and proud to call you Brothers ! Push it Up and Check your "SIX!"

 


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