There's a good word for the day.  This was a hair care product used in the
20's by blacks to slick down their hair, know then as having a "gas head"
(not pinhead).  Therefore if you didn't know "shit from Shinola" you were in
deep doo doo, literally.
-----Original Message-----
From: JRhodes <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
<[log in to unmask]>
Date: Wednesday, November 17, 1999 5:36 PM
Subject: Re: Patina


>Re your, "a person's relationship to nature...when a limestone facade
>is cleaned",
>
>Actually, Ken, the motivating force wasn't appreciation of nature as
>much as being cheap...Why spend a lot of money if it'll just get
>dirty again.  In a way this motivation has preserved this particular
>building quite well...at least no one there mucked it up.  It was
>just left to get dirty, inside and out.
>
>Sometimes (if you're not dealing with real deterioration) benign
>neglect preserves historic fabric, when the alternatives may go too
>far.  This particular building has travertine walls in the lobby
>which is dingy and has dirt clogged pores, but no gunk or cleaning
>residue.  Good, honest dirt.  This is relatively easy to extract,
>leaving the pores open and textured.
>
>And I agree with you completely, that the best cleaning job is the
>one that doesn't go all the way.  It provides the evidence that you
>didn't go too far.  As I said once before.  I like to test a cleaning
>procedure to failure, then back off.
>
>As to how they would feel about the plight of Monarch
>butterflies...these are city folk who wouldn't know a rock dove from
>a Shinola.
>
>--Jim