Speedin'

So..........there I was at our Maine estate facing a four hour drive alone without the benefit of coffee. Stopped at a convenience store for a big one and saw a selection of Five Hour Energy drinks "like seen on TV". $3.50 for a really little can. Not wearing my glasses it took me awhile to see that it claimed to be the equivalent of one cup of premium coffee. Coffee,  like beer has always been a question of quantity not quality so I was in uncharted waters. It occurred to me as I gulped it down that I had no idea what it contained or the effect it would have on me. Then I remembered the advice given me by an AF officer. If a little bit of something is good for you a whole lot more is a whole lot better. Down it went and I hit the road. Five and a half hours later while sitting on the couch watching college football the experience ended and I fell asleep. The only advantage I can see to this swill is that it avoids pee stops and pee stops on long rides are often the high point of the trip. Anyway, a full bladder focuses the mind much better than caffeine.

Ridin'

So............last October I decided to start riding my rebuilt bike to court. Only a mile and downhill in both directions so actually faster than driving. Would also loosen up my knees for a long day of genuflecting before the judge. Wanted to lose weight for younger daughter's graduation in late May and was disgusted at the 280 lb blivot I had become. A very mild winter and a realistic goal meant I was able to ride thru the cold never missing a day until a recent eye exam had me driving to the local VA facility about 15 miles away. Lost 60 lbs and began to enjoy the workout as much as the weight loss. Clothes began to fit and people were kind enough to humor me into thinking I was doing well. I now want to reveal the answer to a question asked by many people. They all wanted to know which item of fruit I saw most often on my rides. Never saw a grape or pineapple. Never saw a coconut. What I do see almost every week is a banana peel. Never a squished banana,just the peel. Never the little sticker I wear on my forehead, just the peel. There is a lesson in this.

Friendin'

So.............................. my life on the beach is temporarily over and I have returned to renew my life in court. While sailing I was immediately drawn to the comradery of fellow sailors and their willingness to help others in every imaginable way. Sometimes we helped or were helped by people we only "met" over the radio. I have tried to continue this habit since. In Florida we seldom drove the car choosing to ride our bikes everywhere. One day we needed the car and the battery was dead. I stood by the car holding my jumper cables in the time honored request for help. First guy said no. I was shocked. Having learned to drive in WNY where jumper cables are often wedding gifts I was pissed. Then the surfer dude walked by with his wife. Talked with him every day, usually the same discussion as he never seemed to remember the day before. He said no. Yesterday one of my oldest friends actually picked me up at the airport without me asking or even expecting pay back. A wonderful gesture and experience diminished only by his inability to drive.

Diggin'

So....... In line with my earlier musings on the preservation of our past I began the rebuilding of my family tree. I had gone back to 14th Century Switzerland largely by cutting and pasting the work of others. My first ancestors in North America came from Switzerland and fought in the Revolution. In payment he was given land in Ohio. Two years ago while at a county fair in Maine I discovered that many of the town fathers shared my name and part of the community was named after me.  Yesterday I discovered that the Daughters of the American Revolution had a free site that confirms much of what I learned. Our daughters are eligible for membership in this august group because of the blood of rebels flowing through their veins. It's disconcerting to read these lists and see how many people borrowed my name before me.  It would surely be worse had my name been more common like Schoenberger.

Scannin'

So....... big box of pictures from 88 Coolidge. 1920's to 2011. What to do? Buy scanner. Cheap wine and warm fire in Maine. Errol Morris wrote long and hard about photographers and composition and a road with cannon balls in Crimea to wreckage in Gaza. I'm left with two pictures taken in same room. I have the lamp on table and I think one of the women is my stepmother grandmother Min. The baby is my sister, Manya, but she doesn't remember much about the picture. My Aunt Kay just died and was the last link to this generation. She already gave me info into the identity of Dodo Germaine who died in WWII. The lesson from all this is to label all pictures and question the remaining members of our parent's generation as to the identities of all those memories. Otherwise, Dodo Germaine would be lost to some cemetery in Western New York and people like me and I will ponder over the identity of these ladies. Thus, the lesson endeth.

Paintin'

So...............your intrepid explorers realized there were places in Western NY that hadn't been visited in some time. This is not Upstate NY. That is north of Albany. WNY is west of Rochester. Driving there to visit friends and see long lost family we wandered along the roads of Erie County where I once toiled as an employee of the Erie County Water Authority. One can easily tell when one is in Erie County by the color of the fire hydrants. They are usually painted Erie County Water Authority Yellow.

I was the experienced summer help when my good friend Gary joined the crew. I drove the truck and he would get out and paint the hydrant. He quickly developed the Erie County Water Authority Pour. By pouring the paint on the the top and spreading it as it ran down the sides Gary was proving the Law of Gravity. As an aside, if we used the term Law of Evolution would we avoid the stupid conversation taking place? Anyway, it worked and gave us extra time to get to the beach so Gary could see his girlfriend. They eventually married, had three kids and six grandkids. Thus proving the time saving benefits of the ECWAP.

Windin'

 So.......after spending a glorious week with the girls and friends in London we took plane to RAF Gibraltar. The airport there goes by that name despite the absence of the RAF. The runway crosses the only road on to the peninsula and traffic stops whenever a plane lands. Anyway, stayed in a really nice hotel in la Linea and walked into Gib.

I digress momentarily to offer some insights into my hotel/motel rankings developed over years of watching our daughters row. They always stayed in the nice places while we stayed in what were once called "no tell motels". My ranking system is based on whether one can read a newspaper through a bath towel. The Bellair and Track and Turf in Camden NJ offer towels that are almost as opaque as a windshield. The places we stayed in Europe included towels that actually absorbed water and light. Maybe it's a European thing.

Anyway, we had wintered in Gib in '92/'93 when we realized that plans to do so in Marseille included the possibility of snow. The prevailing wind there is westerly blowing out of the Med. The current through the strait is easterly so coming and going by sailboat is often a problem. When the wind turns easterly it is called a Levanter and the result is shown here. Results in a dark and gloomy day there and bright sun a couple hundred yards away across the airport. A windrose painted on the wall of a ferry terminal shows the various winds and their names. Thus endeth the lesson for today.