So, I have been on somewhat of a casual hunt for 5 specific issues of National Geographic magazine.
(you know... the thick magazine with the yellow cover... the one that junior high boys read for its "intriguing" coverage of pygmy tribes.)
The five:
1) July 1976 (200th anniversary of the United States)
2) September 1997 (features a story on Route 66)
3) month of my birth
4) month I graduated high school
5) month I graduated from Eastern Illinois University
Every once in awhile, I'll come across a big stack of National Geographics at a thrift shop or a flea market.
Stacks and stacks of them.
Because of their historical accounts, rich literary content and great photographs, I figure the subscriber kept all his issues tucked away somewhere. Then, when it comes time to move or downsize, that library of magazines ends up donated and up for resale.
Several weeks ago, I found #1.
It has some great content, although one of the cover stories features Kansas City Missouri, which baffles me. I would have figured they'd want to feature a more "patriotic" city, like Boston or Philadelphia. After all, it is the 200th anniversary of the U.S. (No offense to any Kansas City folk reading this blog entry, or anything like that.)
There are some really cool aerial photos of various landforms and man-made "stuff" in the issue, along with an article about the life of George Washington.
Over the weekend, I found both #3 and #4.
Just a buck a piece! woo-hoo!!
The content in the one from my birth month is actually kinda dull. None of the articles really impressed me at all.
Rather, the most interesting part was the advertisements. Caterpillar. Ford Thunderbird. Exxon. Alcoa. GTE. Chevrolet Monza (what??). and Kodak, with their carousel slide projector.
The National Geo from my high school graduation month has a couple interesting stories.
The one about New York's Central Park has some great photos.
And the one on beekeeping features this text:
The few male bees, called drones, exist solely to mate with a virgin queen in a mid-air courtship. "Then the drone dies and falls out of the sky like a dive-bomber."
Dang! That must be some.... well, yeah, you know what I mean.
I'm still looking for #2 and #5:
It's a hunt that I enjoy. No pressure. No timeline. Just know I need to start digging when I see a pile of thick magazines with yellow covers.
The one that features pygmies. :)
Out for now......
Matt