Hey! Did you know that the Mysterious Benefactor has photos of the Mark Twain to share with us? Maybe you've seen a few on GDB! I'm not clairvoyant, so I don't know. Well, today I have five more Twainy pix for your viewing enjoyment.
Ahoy up there! The pilot always has time to greet the little people, even though he secretly despises them. He has issues. This guy is holding a strange device in his hand, probably for communicating with the dead.
If a guest manages to climb up to the pilot house, he or she will be rewarded with a delicious snow-cone. Cherry, the best flavor! Try it the next time you go to the park, you'll be glad you did.
At first glance, one might think that the Skipper from "Gilligan's Island" is at the wheel. But it's not Alan Hale Jr., instead it is Captain Mike! The man, the legend. He appears to have a microphone just above his head, perfect for telling "dad jokes".
Here's one of his jokes:
"Where did Captain Hook buy his hook?"
"The second hand store".
That young fella has finished his snow-cone and is now learning the ways of the river - she is a fickle mistress (only you can't say "mistress" around him because he's only eight). There's snags and sand bars and sometimes the river can change course overnight. You also have to look out for barges, rafts, and exploding ducks.
THANK YOU, Mysterious Benefactor!
Major-
ReplyDelete"This guy is holding a strange device in his hand, probably for communicating with the dead". Well, if an intercom phone handset is 'a strange device' - then I suppose so. The base looks like it's part of an Aiphone brand intercom, probably Model TB-F1. And yes - it IS used for conversing with 'the spirits' (or ordering some...)
Thanks again to the M B.
Well by golly, now that I think about it, I HAVE seen some of the Mysterious Benefactor's Mark Twain photos!
ReplyDeleteI have to admit, I laughed at Captain Mike's 'dad joke'. And the staged pic with the three of them looks especially stagey. Nice, but stagey.
Cherry Sno-Cones are good, but I like grape best.
In these pics, the Mark Twain looks like a cake with lots of swirly frosting decorations.
Thanks, MB. And thanks MP.
I've never noticed the wiring that runs along the gingerbread trim of the Mark Twain (visible in the first three photos). I'm sure it's for the tiny light bulbs, but I wonder if you could also tug on it to let the pilot know that you want to get off at the next stop?
ReplyDeleteThank you, MB and Major!
These are my era...Bachelor #1: Don't remember this guy: my memories maybe put him more in Pirate garb as an Ops guy on the West Side doing the "Pirates/Twain/Columbia/Thunder thing..." (I think the treehouse was a bit of a punishment, the Jungle guys were their own thing...the canoe guys were there own thing...and maybe some crossed over into Mansion...Bear Band was girls only...The Mark Twain costume ages this employee a bit more than I think he is: and....button your vest. Captain Mike: well: the guy loves a photo shoot. I wonder if the guest liked the sweaty hat or not: but it may not matter, as Mike's fangs are about the emerge as he takes a big bite out of Grandma. Button your vest. Bachelor #2, I do remember: as you can see, there is a bit of a theme going with who they "cast" for these Westside roles. Bachelor #4: don't remember him: but he is right there on the line of grooming standards for his sideburns, those are certainly EXACTLY at the bottom of his earlobe (which anything beyond that was termed "mutton chops", and VERBOTEN!" His hair is a bit long at the back: touching his collar (VERBOTEN), but seems like this handsome lad would be able to pull it off with supervision without a "lashing". Looks always helped to get around slight infractions. Mark also is wearing his vest as designed. "Perfect" and thanks Mark! (or is it Max?) And thanks to MB and MJR.
ReplyDeleteMore Mark Twain! Hooray!
ReplyDeleteThe tippy-top of the Columbia makes a guest appearance in the third photo.
The smiling guest at the wheel reminds me of an actor. I just can't remember which one.
I wore a shirt almost identical to the lad in the last photo for I think my third grade school photo, which would have been right around the time these were taken (1977). Sadly, my school photo was taken in the gym rather than in the pilot house of the Mark Twain.
Thanks, Major & MB!
Nanook, the “DeadTalker3000” happens to look just like an Aiphone Model RB-F1, it is tricky to tell which is which.
ReplyDeleteJB, I’ll need proof that you have seen those other photos. And a check for $5,000. I’m glad you enjoyed one of Captain Mike’s most popular jokes! Grape sno-cones, I don’t even know what to say. Why not salmon flavor?? The Mark Twain looks like a cake, but it tastes terrible. Don’t ask me how I know.
TokyoMagic!, later on, Walt spent 35 million dollars to hide that wiring underground. Back in the 1890s, if you wanted to get off at the next stop, you fired your pistol into the air and yodeled.
Bu, hey, you can’t know them all. When people hear about the college that I went to, they always ask if I knew some friend of a friend of theirs, and I have yet to know any of them. Is it true that the CMs for Country Bears was really “girls only”?? Maybe that older Twain employee with the unbuttoned vest thought he was safe breaking the rules since he was up in his hidey-hole. Captain Mike’s big personality definitely comes through in these pictures. And that woman is clearly falling for him (and his sweaty hat), much to the displeasure of her husband, who is feeling uneasy. I’ve always thought that mutton chops on people of today look weird. Who do you think you are, Chester A. Arthur? I’m starting to think that an unbuttoned vest was OK in some situations. Wait until you see one upcoming photo from the MB, there is an infraction that is so crazy I can hardly believe it.
Chuck, the Columbia was such a diva, it couldn’t let the Mark Twain have a little fun without barging in. I think that lady at the wheel is Dame Judy Dench, who played James Bond’s mom (YES SHE DID!). I only wore shirts with ponies on them when I was a kid, I got looks of admiration everywhere I went.
Now that you mention it, I may have seen a Mark Twain pic or two on the GDB. It is easily my second-favorite steam railroad in the Park.
ReplyDeleteI’ve been mulling over the “Young Mr. Smee” idea and this Captain Hook joke just keeps that ball rolling. I know there was a back story involving a crocodile and an alarm clock… but why stop there?
There’s a potentially rich vein of prequel here, two young rapscallions wearing unbuttoned vests, Smee and Chester A. Arthur (Hook’s name before his accident) set out to make their fortune smuggling alligator luggage…
It could make millions, and think of the popcorn buckets!
JG
Unbuttoned vest? Remember, Captain Mike was "the Captain". And if you didn't like it, you could walk the plank off the stern onto the paddle-wheel! He was "personality plus". Miss that guy.
ReplyDeleteYep, Bear Jamboree was an all female crew back in the day. And then there was us guys in the canoes. Think of the hormones flying. It was a great place to enjoy some back-stage air conditioning while on a break. LOL
The phone in the wheelhouse. That's a new one on me. We used the mic above us on the left side for announcements. There was no other communication onboard the boat beside the horn and buzzer to the boiler engineer back in the Stone Age.
That last photo reminds me how I'd do a little word play and invite guests to "Blow the bell and ring the whistle". KS
You can't get any more up close and 'you are there' than this! Always fun images from MB.
ReplyDeleteI'm with JB on the Sno-Cone flavor...I think I want grape, too. Most anything flavored cherry - reminds me of cough syrup.
Fun day on the Too Too Twain, thank you, MP and MB.
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ReplyDelete