Click on this photo to see it full size. It's incredible. Every time I see a photo like this, something deep inside me tells me that I was born way too late; that the era depicted in the photo is where I belong. And I don't say that lightly. Ever since I was a wee lad I've always been drawn like a magnet to the pre-WWII years of this country. Everything from the machinery of the era, to the music, the movies (Mary Pickford!), to the social mores has fascinated me. Needless to say, it has led to more than my fair share of depression over the years. It's also one of the reasons that I've always been so obsessed with Merle Haggard's music; Merle has always felt the same way. Brian Wilson (of Beach Boys fame) once said, "I just wasn't made for these times." I'm not a big Wilson fan, but that single sentence pretty much sums up my entire existence.