Hitchin'

So....our winter has been cold and snowy and that got me to thinking about growing up I Buffalo winters where this wasn't unusual. It seemed that a bit of snow fell every night so it was always white and fresh. Then it was gone. The city used garbage trucks with plows to clear the roads. Didn't seem to be a lot of salt used.on Coolidge Road where I lived there was often a lot of ground up snow and cars usually drove slowly. We would often bumper hitch. It meant waiting for a car to slow enough so that we could grab the rear bumper and slide along behind. Of course cars had bumpers then. If they got going too fast you let go. Seems I remember being able to ride for blocks. Now I wonder if the drivers knew and went along with the fun. Some would stop but I don't remember being chased. Another pass time was throwing snowballs at cars,trucks and busses. This usually brought a reaction. It became unfun when I had to ride on these busses to and from high school.

Footballin'

So, long since lost interest in pro and semi pro American football. Adopted Tottenham Hotspur when younger daughter "studied" in London. oFound out it was also the favorite team of good friends in Bristol. Had no idea where Tottenham was but liked the Hotspur part. Now couple years later I have begun to realise that Spurs and Bills are a lot alike. Both heartbreakers. Tottenham, by the way, is an area of London not a city on its own. Buffalo is a part of Western New York (not upstate) and the only professional football team in New York State. Still.....soccer is a much more interesting spectator sport than American football. I'm my humble opinion.

Sundayin'

So....having spent a lot of the summer at our Maine estate it is all winding down. Good friend arriving tomorrow to critique my hand I work and bask in the solitude. Long ago I read a biography of Robert Moses writing by Robert Caro. I then began his bio of LBJ. Twenty years later and I'm almost finished with the fourth volume published last year. Fantastic writer and fascinating subject. LBJ gave a speech at Gettysburg in July 1963 as VP.
"One hundred years ago the slave was freed. One hundred years later, the Negro remains in bondage to the color of his skin. The Negro today asks justice. We do not answer him, we do not answer those who lie beneath this soil when  we reply to the Negro by asking, "Patience',...... To ask for patience from the Negro is to ask him to give more of what he has already given enough.......The Negro says,"now", others say, "never". The voice of responsable Americans - the voices of those who died here and the great man who spoke here - their voices say, "Together, there is no other way"

Amazing.

Bananin'

So, this morning riding my new bike in to town and the great library I passed another banana peel. My informal study continues. Many more bananas than apple cores, peanut shells or coconut husks. Next is to determine whether people save their apple cores while throwing out the banana peels. Perhaps there is an app that tracks apple cores.

Plumbin'

So, couple weeks ago got a chance to sail from St Augustine north with a guy I met in January. Wonderful time and made a friend. Had to get my foul weather stuff from MOON and discovered water in the cabin. As the boat is on the hard it was unusual. Flew down Friday to rig a solar panel to keep the batteries charged while running the bilge pumps. Also looked at why and how the water got on the wrong side of the hull. Found that the previous owner made some unusual changes that were pretty easy to correct and am now happy that the problem is solved. I do like working on boats. Much more fun than wearing socks and dealing with people in robes.

Evolvin'

So, living on a boat for six weeks brought back lots of memories. Our bunk on MOONSHINE was queen sized. On MOON we slept in the V berth forward. Getting in and out proved the theory of evolution on a micro scale. V because of the hull shape and usually reserved for people who think of sleeping on a sailboat as quaint. Owners usually sleep in the comfortable berths elsewhere. Evolution comes in to play when the mind begins to figure a way out of the bunk at 0200 without sitting on your friend's back. I wonder if the science deniers ever tried it. Also, if it wasn't called a theory would it be harder to deny? Eventually I discovered that doing a backward roll landed me in a position where I could marvel at my dexterity and still pee in a place wherein I did not sleep. Evolution proved.

Wordin'

So......fungible and cottage are two words that I find very comfortable. I try using them all the time. Lately I have taken to musing on the word "on". Like the first person to eat an oyster I wonder about the first person to use "on" as in "turn on the light". How does one go from using it in this way when there was nothing to turn? Hard to imagine someone lighting a candle and saying they turned it "on". So you invent a machine that just sits there. To do something it has to work because it would be hard to invent a machine that is already "on". Take a light. One invents the light but is the switch already there? If not, then how is "on" determined and why use the word to describe the act of starting the light? "On" works well on the little thingy the says "on" and "off" as hydrant would be waaaay too many letters for such a small place. Did "on" exist before electricity? Or faucets? If so, what was the first thingy to be turned "on"? And why "on"? Mancunian is also a cool word.