This'n'That; March Twenty-Sixth #1; Portsmouth, N.H.

....A Place That Helped Me Mature....
    I hadn't thought about Portsmouth (N.H.) in some time;  and then, usually only in  a melancholy state-of-mind!  A place and time wherein I'd gained a lot; I'd lost a lot.  I didn't know the place even existed until after I'd been assigned to Pease Air Force Base, just outside the city.  Anyone who was 'in' during the mid-1960s and before, will remember that an Airman Third Class (E-2) was paid approximately "zero-point-crap."  After everything was taken out, my twice-monthly checks were less than $22.00!!  With that money, several things had to happen: two cartons of 'Lucy Strike' cigarettes (twenty packs to last fifteen days-at $2.40 per carton!);  about a $5-6 expense at the local 'One-Hour Martinizing' (as an 'Air Policeman,' my uniforms had to be constantly without fault);  and, and..... a "Moe-burger" (my nickname for the greatest sandwich on earth; at that time--if memory serves--about $2.00 a copy)!!   
    Where I'm goin' with all this; actually how I got started with all this: a news article on the internet about counterfeit $10s and $20s being passed at local Portsmouth sandwich shops.  When I clicked on--and read--the article, I found a tab for local businesses.  Just to see what had survived the ravages of time, I clicked there, and whad'dya know?!?  'Moe's Italian Sandwiches' had survived!!  Not only survived, they'd expanded from the original shop on Daniel Street to a total of nine shops in various New Hampshire cities.  Moe's sandwiches were of a particular delight to me.  Coming from a little "burg" in New York's western Southern Tier, we had no such delicacy!  I suggest any newcomer or visitor to the city be sure to try one of these sandwiches!!
    Portsmouth; the city, it's people, it's rich history are treasures to explore.  It's the city that introduced me to my future wife.  The first of four children was born in the area-actually at the 'Portsmouth Naval Shipyard' in Kittery, Maine.  The shipyard has probably gone the way of the air base, slowly sliding into obsolescence; into non-existence.
    Enough of my meanderings-all this blather only because some mutt tried to pass counterfeit bills in Portsmouth's sandwich shops!!