Polly sails again!



With some help from our little friends.

Tuesday night biking at the Hollyloft was disappointing. Not many people arrived because it was raining and more was on the way.

The best part of the ride was the suggestion the ride leader made that I am fast enough to join the A-squad. I thought about it briefly, but decided, not to since I wasn't feeling particular spry and the last time I went with the As, they dropped me. That ended up being the right choice.

I also felt sluggish going up hills or even slight grades in the road. Perhaps it was because I only had a bagel for lunch...and one for a pre-ride snack. My stomach was rebelling and all the blood that should be in my legs wound up in the guts. Someone remarked that my back wheel looked wobbly. I knew it was since an accident I had back in Seattle, so I didn't think anything of the comment. That is, until someone else noticed. I checked it out and saw a more profound untrueness than ever before. I remembered a "ka-pang" noise from earlier in the ride and guessed, correctly as I would later find out, a spoke broke loose.

The wobble was enough to send each side of the rim hitting the brake pads, thus slowing me down a little at a time. I suppose I should not be too harsh on the ride, I averaged 17 mph, the second fastest speed.

One of the guys on my ride works at the bike shop. I told him I would be a tough sale...not that I was looking to buy...for the following reasons: I like my bike, I like Cannondale (handmade in PA) and I can buy replacement wheels on Ebay for $200.

I nursed my bike back to the shop and took of the pedals. Rorry let me take home a very expensive carbon-frame, Tour de France-ready Specialized worth $2800. It feels like riding in a Rolls compared to mine.

I just got a call from Hollyloft. The wheel is in pretty bad shape with a permanent hop. They replaced the spoke and made it semi-ridable...I am also sure they want to get their bike back.

Long time no write.

I guess I got all wrapped up with Mom and Dad visiting up here in Western New York.

After a glorious stay at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island (in the Somewhere in Time suite!) they settled for the bedroom of 291 Richmond Ave in Buffalo. It was hot when I got there after work and I did my best to open all the windows and start all the fans. The place would not cool down fast enough.

Fortunately, in the early evening a front knocked the temp down about five degrees and brought a cooling rain.

After discovering our clothes washer was no longer capable of holding water in the tank, we visited the Anchor Bar for a bucket of Buffalo Wings. Anchor Bar, of course, is the originator of the Buffalo Wing.

The next morning we drove around the city and hit a few key landmarks like HSBC Arena, the Downtown and Premier Liquor.

We arrived in Lakewood around 4. The Saunders, C&D, Alice and the Boys were already there. It was great to see C&D again. I haven't seen them since September, I guess.

Polly's birthday celebration lasted a couple days. Friday was the first night. Tons of wine, lettuce from the garden and ribs. She got tons of Eddie Bauer stuff as well as some generous checks...nice, since we intend on getting a new washer soon.

Grady and Owen loved the card for Polly my parents gave. It made noise of a Champaign bottle opening, two glasses filling and toasting. I thought the battery would run out before they got enough, but I was wrong. That's quality.

Monday I worked, but Polly, Charles, Diane, Alice, the boys and the Saunders came to Chautauqua to hear Al Gore perform his lecture about global warming, An Inconvenient Truth.

Chautauqua was packed. At 10:00, people at the front gate were told they could get a ticket to get into the institution, but there were no seats left at the 5,000-person amphitheater. As the veranda is right next to the Amp, we didn't need to leave the porch to hear the speech, which was very similar, if not the same, to the movie.

I bought Polly his book by the same name and had it autographed by Al.

Hot

People around here are melting.

I just returned from Maryland to visit with family at my sister's house. Hannah is looking lovely and is very bright-eyed child. She is very good natured, funny and becoming a good walker.

We visited the National Zoo and saw the pandas.

Visited the National Air and Space Museum at Dulles and saw tons of great planes including the Concorde, Enola Gay, an SR-71 and a Boeing Stratoliner, the same one that made a water landing in Elliot Bay near West Seattle while Polly and I were on the Sacramento in the shipyards.












We celebrated Hannah's first birthday party with a small chocolate-frosted cupcake, that turned very messy.

I made it back to the Hamptons' at 2 in the morning on Sunday. As soon as I opened the door to my car, Honu came charging out of the woods. She was out all night. I think she would be perfectly happy staying out, but there are owls and coyotes. I worry.

I had to wait until morning to see the boys, but they were there for breakfast. Owen has become a great talker. His ability to make cogent sentences increased to meet his innate ability to babble on. Quite impressive.

Mark and the boys built a tree house in the cherry tree in the back yard. Accessed by a ladder, slide and rope, it is a great play platform. As soon as the railing is installed, I expect to spend a few nights up there.

Last night the boys and I set up the tent in the back yard and intended on sleeping in it. Grady insisted on me telling ghost stories. I told two. After the conclusion grady announced he wanted to go inside to sleep. If I had done that unconsciously, I applaud my subconscious for making a great decision. It would have been miserable anyway, a hot night with no breeze. Instead, I was in early enough to catch the Daily Show.

Blog-worthy:

Maryland Transportation Security Agency troopers use Segues to roam about the airport.

They seem quite proficient in maneuvering, I saw one get through a couple of doors. One had card-swipe access.

But still, I wonder A: Is it worth the money?
B: Is it effective? C: Are would-be terrorists too intimidated/laughing too hard to make the strike? D: What do the troopers think? "Bummer, man, I pulled segue duty, again!"

At any rate, it made me chuckle. The first time I saw the guy, I just thought he was an abnormally tall trooper in a crowd. Then I saw it. I waited with my bags, reading a book and looking like I was checking numbers on my phone. I snapped a picture on the sly.

Has their "suspicious person taking pictures" report grown since they got these things?

I admit, I would like to ride one, perhaps in a deserted indoor area for about 15 minutes just to see what the fuss is about...and then never talk about it again. I will never ride one in a city tour. I will never have a job that requires mad segue skills, especially if it is combined with uniform wearing.

The Deal We Make With America

PS: upon spell checking this post, I found that "Blog" is not recognized.

Steamy and muggy in Chautauqua. You can't help feeling wet all the time. This is what I imagine living on a sailboat would be like. Better get used to it. Well, it is kind of what standing watch in the navy was like too. Sometimes it gets so hazy on the ocean one could get the idea the water's surface is not as definite as you thought. It spreads out toward the air.

despite last night's humidity and potential for thunderstorms I went cycling again with the Hollyloft crew. Mary Pat, a lady in her 40s and member of the CLSC from Philly was in attendance. I met her two weeks ago at the veranda and told her about the weekly rides. Since she is from out of town, I figured it was a good way for her to explore some of the Chautauqua County country side and meet some new people...kinda like me.

I am getting ready for my trip to Baltimore Thursday. Very excited to see my parents, K&D, Polly and especially Hannah. I can't forget the Cuba Cheese and the present for Baby-H.

Progress on the job front...more to help me remember and less for you to read, but whatever

Sent letter and resume to CBS Radio for Copywriter in Buffalo

Sent letter and resume to ENrG, a new start-up in Buffalo which develops fuel cell technology

Weekend Report

Friday was a 9-to-5'er as normal. The morning lecture was Dr. Mel Levine, professor of pediatrics at U of NC Medical School. His book, A Mind at a Time was one of our CLSC books a couple years ago. Unfortunately CLSC did not have the foresight to order any for his lecture, though his lecture was unrelated to us. Many people came by after the lecture to enquire about it. We were forced to direct them to the Bookstore where they sold hundreds to scholarly autograph hounds.

Afterwards I went to Eileen's house on Cookman for dinner with her, Donna and Martha. At 8:30 Donna, Eileen and I went to the Amp to see ABBA: The Music. This is a group of Swedish ABBA look-and-sing-alikes. We sat in the choir loft and saw everything from the behind-the-scenes view. Two lead singers, three guitarists, two violinists, one cellist, one percussionist, one drummer, two keyboardists and a bass. Two members of ABBA's original band performed a couple numbers with them as well.

Donna and I left before the third half in typical Hampton/Chautauquan style, but we got the gist.

I drove to the Idziks' to visit with the whole family, the kids being in from out of town for the Clam Bake at the Sportsman's Club. In typical Idzik fashion, they were eating a lengthy dinner at 10:30. I did not intend to eat, but Andy's steak tacos were too good to pass up...all three of them and the corn was fresh...both large ears.

Saturday Mark and I were up early and headed out to the Sportsman's Club to help set up for the annual Clam Bake. Some heavy lifting was involved for short duration and less laborious task were completed quickly with the 40 or so men who eventually showed up. The keg was tapped at 9:20 and quality testing began in earnest by 9:30. Then came the pink ladies which I can't say I wasn't warned about. In the early afternoon I had to nap.

Amy was my date for the Clam Bake and that brought endless enjoyment as we confused friends we hadn't seen in a while. We were tempted to make up stories about how we were dating until Polly dumped that new boyfriend of hers and moved back to Buffalo. Instead we were more modest and told the truth.



Waking up this morning was difficult and coffee fueled. I went back to the SC to help clean up and arrived before anyone else. I helped lift a few heavy tables and then was released to bring an extra car back to the Hamptons' from the club. I speculated it would be safer to NOT return to the roads until all the Sportsmen returned, still affected from the night before, to clean up.

I worked from 11:30 until 3:30 and sold a ton of books. There were several big orders and a rush of people prior to the Washington (PA) High School Steel Drum Band performance.

Traveling to Buffalo tonight to pick up a futon and get the house ready for my parents' visit in two weeks.

Balloon over Lake Chautauqua
Bee on unidentified flower...a little help, Priscilla?

I left Philly at 11pm last night and arrived in Buffalo after midnight. By the time I got home it was almost 1.

Always fly late at night on holidays. That is my rule from now on if I can help it. Can you imagine TSA inspectors anxious to see you because they are lonely?

At 291 Richmond in Buffalo, my sleep was punctuated by neighbors with fireworks who were not planning on driving to Chautauqua at 6:30 the next morning to get to work. It should be noted fireworks are illegal in the state of New York. You would have thought it a subsidized activity from all the noise.

I left Philly at 11pm last night and arrived in Buffalo after midnight. By the time I got home it was almost 1.

Always fly late at night on holidays. That is my rule from now on if I can help it. Can you imagine TSA inspectors anxious to see you because they are lonely?

At 291 Richmond in Buffalo, my sleep was punctuated by neighbors with fireworks who were not planning on driving to Chautauqua at 6:30 the next morning to get to work. It should be noted fireworks are illegal in the state of New York. You would have thought it a subsidized activity from all the noise.

Philadelphia- on the eve of the country's 230th birthday.



We started the day with run through Society Hill and down to Penn's Landing, brewed a pot of coffee, brushed Slayer (the biggest cat I ever had the honor to meet) walked Bela and made breakfast.

Bela...I never thought a dog could get so much attention. A white standard poodle, she reeks of a certain stage-presence countenance that makes me think she comes from a long line of show
dogs. Anyway, she is used to receiving attention and has a keen eye for anyone who wishes to pet her. She does a good job of ignoring anyone else.








Cookie is the third in the triumvirate. She is skinny, old and looks as if she has a beard. We are fairly certain she is a witch reincarnated. We think she roams around at night casting spells on parts of the house for good luck, continuing operation and structural stability. As she is a good witch, all spells are positive.

There is an indoor atrium and a small pond with goldfish. Because these fish were trained by the Hearns to eat out of their hands, they have no problem approaching anything submerged or breaking the surface of the water. This includes the cats' tongues. Probably one of the oddest sights ever witnessed by my own two... a cat drinking out of a goldfish pond and the fish expectantly approaching. The cat eventually retreats; my guess is it is too "wierded out" by the experience.

Polly and I went to go see An Inconvenient Truth, the Al Gore movie about global warming. While I was initially uncomfortable about seeing it (the title plainly addresses the source of my discomfort), I thought it was well done, humorous and hopeful. I left very pleased we walked to the theater.

Go to http://www.climatecrisis.net/ to see the movie's affiliated web site. Make sure to mute your sound as the theme music is a bit "Jerry Bruckheimer" and degrades the credibility of the site.






Afterwards, Polly and I walked Bela again, this time to sit on the grass in front of Independence Hall for a concert with the Philly Pops Orchestra and a reading of the Declaration of Independence (http://www.ushistory.org/Declaration/document/).

Get your drinks for the toast!...
From the entire menagerie...
Happy 4th of July, everyone!

Saturday night in Philly.

The fireworks were great. We watched them from the roof of the Hearns'.

Today we marched all throught the city looking for the best cheese (Reading Terminal), the best napping park (Rittenhouse square) and the best $.75 oyster happy hour (Devon).

We took a long walk tonight with Bela, the Hearns' standard poodle...she gets lots of attention from kids and adults. It is fun to see people stare at her.

Photos to follow.

Fishing on the Allegheny with Mark Hampton.

I caught multiple rainbow trout, but all were tiny. Their color is beautiful, dispite their diminutive size.

This expedition was embarked upon just following to a massive storm rolling off Lake Erie which dropped dime-size hail in Lakewood.





Thursday was our first author visit/lecture for CLSC, Olga Grushin who wrote The Dream Life of Sukhanov.