Daily Archives: October 10, 2025

Last Summer Day

The New American Digest Posted on by

Not the last day of summer - that was a couple of weeks ago.

I was out last night watching the moonrise ... in a T-shirt! The wind wasn't blowing and - while the day's temperature was in the unseasonable low 80s - the temperature didn't drop at sunset like it normally does.

I woke up early - still dark - and went out to see the world.

Wow! It was warm out (it still is) - and not windy; apparently the low last night was 72 ... normal is high 30s

Going to be mid-80s today. The predicted high for tomorrow is 10 degrees less than the low last night - 62. And no better for the reasonable future. But with occasional rain.

I likely won't see 80s here for another 6 months.

I used to like winter. I missed it when I lived in the southern deserts. I wanted to be a reverse snowbird - deserts in the summer, mountains in the winter.

I'm ready for Memorial Day.

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Sir John Bennett

The New American Digest Posted on by

Or at least his mechanical clock atop his shop.

Sir John Bennett (1814 - 1897) was a London watchmaker. An obituary described him as "a man of strong character, very eccentric, and one of the most familiar figures in London". He was prominent enough to have had a Spy caricature done in 1883.

The shop was originally built in 1730; remodeled for John Bennett in 1846. Moved and rebuilt 1928.

Henry Ford was fascinated with the Gog and Magog figures who strike the bells. He purchased the building and reconstructed it at Greenfield Village, reducing the original 5-story structure to the 2-story version in the village.

The crowds still gather to watch the clockworks.

Although the Henry Ford Museum has become quite woke (run by the Ford Foundation), the Village is still one of the more pleasant ways to spend a day while in the Detroit region. I remember many visits as a young'un, including a weekend tour and stay as a Boy Scout.

The goodie-two-shoes have since come and cleaned the place up from when Tom and Hank first opened the place in 1931. It used to be a technology development museum; now it's something different.

Regardless, I visit the place every time I'm back in the area ... been near-on 10 years now.

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