Where is Steve's blog?....or how I spent my summer vacation.

It is a warm sunny summer day the sky is blue , kids are enjoying the beach, somewhere grown men are playing golf thinking it is a sport and I could be riding my bike dogging drivers texting or playing Pokeman Go as they drive instead I'm in our downstairs apartment. In the bathroom. On the floor. I'm getting dizzy from inhaling some ammonia laced cleaning product.
We decided to try and rent our downstairs apartment using Airbnb, a room sharing, online service that lets you rent a space in your home to people from all over the world.
We went about decorating and furnishing the apartment with a New England beach cottage theme.
After several local antique stores and a few Facebook yard sale buys we had our "cottage".
Once I figured out the nuances of Airbnb experience we were ready to go. Now I'm running a hotel with one bedroom.
Our first booking came from a friend who owns a local restaurant. Her friends stayed a weekend in April. It worked. They loved our cozy, cottage filled with antiques and furnishing from local yard sales. Once we got down the routine of cleaning between visitors it became easy. We started enjoying
meeting people from all over the world. The young girls from New York who used our bikes, our backyard fireplace and who, after watching them drift off into Wickford cove with our kayaks I had feeling that only a dad has when he thinks that his children may be in over their head. When they asked if the kayaks had pedals I knew that they were novices. I watched from the shore under the cover of nearby trees as they struggled to go forward by paddling frantically while going nowhere. I didn't want them to see me hovering over them like a mother hen so I left secure in the knowledge that they would never make to the open ocean and would continue to paddle in circles in what I knew was a foot of water. I was was back in 20 minutes when I had not heard from them...( once a dad always a dad). There they were on the shore wet but smiling.
Not all of our guests need this type of coddling. Some we never hear from the time we give the grand tour and hand over the key to the day they leave. Other families with young children become best friends in the short time that they stay with us. Most are always just a text away, asking about restaurants, local attractions or in one case for a ride home when they got stuck out late on a local island after having missed all the buses home.
It is been a busy summer vacation!      

Memorial Day

I remember laying down in the outfield as the arguing escalated on the pitchers mound between twin brothers as to which one was going to pitch and who was going to catch. The sky was a bright blue as I lay there shading my eyes with my glove. My senses filled with the smell of the leather , the green grass and the warm sun.......Memorial day...the Indy 500 , the gravelly voice on the radio of Johnny Most describing how Bill Russell was being physically mauled on his way to yet another championship.  Memorial Day when I was a kid was as simple as most things are when your young...it was summer.

Now with a car at my disposal I would look forward to a long weekend away from work. Time to go to the beach...get a tan......hide a beer from the life guard as Scarborough ....talk some trash with friends.

Years later I would invite everyone over to a front row seat of the town parade. We seemed to know everyone in it. Kayla knew the kids in the band...Jo knew the kids and teachers from her time working at the elementary school and I knew all of the politicians as the strained walking up the small incline near our house by what somebody once described was the " unofficial grand marshals " of the parade because we knew everyone who came by.

Now I ride a slow and quiet on my bike ....past the flags...past the memorials....past the family and friends who served our country. The Veterans Cemetery is what the day is about for me now. It is a time for me to say a simple thank you to all of those who are buried there and did what they had to do so that I could live my life and make some memories.

I'm lazy

It fits ....perfectly..easy to put on when you just want to do some painting or cleaning around the house. It is even good enough to be a rag but yesterday it was a shirt. I could wear it over a tee shirt on a cool morning and take it off to check the oil in my truck then use it to wipe up a spill on the kitchen floor when my reheated coffee over flows because it is to hot when I pour in some creamer. But it becomes a rag when Joann says ..."Your not wearing that into the office when you come to get your teeth cleaned" I knew its life as a shirt was over.

But this isn't about an old shirt. It is more about knowing when things have gone beyond there usefulness, age is not the only question. Neither is the original use of the item a problem since many things that I have like the shirt morph from there original use to something else as they age. The shirt becomes a rag, the shorts go from something to wear every day to a hole filled, paint splatted piece of clothe that is not acceptable to wear to the dentist...( I sense a pattern here as to when I should throw out a piece of clothing.)
This about all of the other things that I have for which there is no second life as something other than what they were made to do.
I have had this bird feeder for a long time and I have repaired it many times in the last few years trying make it last forever. But like the lawnmower that died last year, the patio chars that have become a pile of clinging rust, the bird feeder has become a collection of hanging sticks blowing in the wind, that birds dare not get close to let alone eat there meals from.

Now as I tend to keep things perhaps beyond there point of usefulness, I wonder if that pertains to friends. Now these guys and I have been friends since we all were playing endless baseball games from sun up to sun down or until we lost to many outfielders because the paper routes called. Now that is a long time and maybe, just maybe since they are getting a little cranky and most of them are breaking down and I don't mean just physically with body part replacements and operations is it time to turn them into something else ....recycle them like my old shirt?....mmmmm.....nahhhh ...to late for that too.

I guess some things can last forever ....the best things always do.

The Bar

The guy on stage has what looks like and expensive 12 string Taylor guitar that is probably worth over $1200 but the voice attempting to sing his rendition Johnny Cash's song Ring of Fire leaves a lot to be desired. With a gap tooth snarl he wails into the microphone with the passion only a real musician can reveal. But he falls short with the audience who give him an a occasional hoot followed by long moments of silence as he pauses at end of the stage for payment by adulation but instead feels the indifference of tonights bar room crowd.

Bars are like that, comforting one minute with the feeling of new found friends to go with an ice cold draft along with the occasional argument about who will be the next president that sends long time friends to blows....ahhhh a dangerous place.

Not many will remember what was said or done this night which is probably for the best. It is a place where dreams and past conquests are remembered and losses not resolved are rolled out again in front of strangers who do not judge but are very willing to be the arbiter of what could have and should have been done to make the world right.  It is a philosophy whose fuel is alcohol ...loosening the tongue and the mind to wander.  But here there is also the feeing of camaraderie ...of belonging ..at least for a few hours to other like minded souls. A safe haven from the rest of the worlds rules. A place to express what you really feel not just what is expected of you.  A place for the lonely...a place for a clown...a place to celebrate... a place to frown....a fun place all around.  Its a bar.     

A day on the trail

The feel of the crunchy snow under my feet as I head out the door along with the warm April sun on my face reminded me that this was going to be good day.  I woke to what felt like the beginning of a head cold but when I looked out he window I knew that I had to go to the woods.

Most days begin with Lola and I trekking thru the local trails, her getting her exercise and me my daily dose of sanity and solitude.

I knew as soon as hit the trail that todays walk was gonna be special. Most people love a warm sunny summer day a beach but for me nothing beats the solitude and serenity of a snow covered spring trail in the woods.

Lola sprinted ahead of me romping in the pristine white snow under her paws. As she strained at the leash I was trying to take in the feeling of the cold air as it hit my lungs clearing my head better than my first cup of black coffee. The trail on this day is soft. The rocks ,branches and normal undulations are covered making it easier to navigate with my old knees as I shuffle along. Lola is running back and forth tossing snow in the air as she snorts in the delightful freedom of being on a soft white blanket. I stop more than usual on the trail just to delight in what I think will be the last of this years cold snowy days. The snow is quiet and untouched except for the occasional tracks of the lone rabbit or deer...... it is our paradise now to enjoy. 

 As I get back to the car I hear the roar in the distance of a highway filled with many who curse the snow as they plod along in traffic. I feel for them, I do, but for me I can only wish for more days like this. Another day on the trail.   

Steveisover60: Life with the Internet

Steveisover60: Life with the Internet: It is quiet....to quiet. I know it is Sunday and it probably should be quiet but this is different. It is 7 am and I am having the first c...

Life with the Internet

It is quiet....to quiet. I know it is Sunday and it probably should be quiet but this is different. It is

7 am and I am having the first cup of coffee for the day.....nothing unusual yet. I check the weather by looking out the window. Nothing strange outside. The usual chilly late winter morning with a little sun, no traffic on the road, all is quiet.

Lets see what is happening in the world. What is the price of oil today? Is it going to rain? Did the Celtics win last night ? Did Trump pick a Kardashian as his running mate yet? All burning questions that need to be answered before I start my day.

I pick up my cell phone and there are no new emails or texts....mmmm. Am I suddenly unpopular?

Facebook with nothing but yesterdays posts about the politics in town or pictures of somebodies last home cooked meal....( now I'm hungry)....nothing new!

My Ipad sends me the same no new news...mmmm I sense a pattern.

I go to old reliable ....the TV...it never fails to get me caught up.

NOTHING!....I begin to panic...sweat forms on my brow...could it be...am I disconnected?

I fumble with the remote and go about my systematic check of all systems Internet...reset everything...check cables...the usual....NOTHING!

This bad...real bad! I'm not connected to the outside world.

Well it is hours later and the powers that be ( the cable company) tell me it wont be until tomorrow sometime before they can send somebody out to get me back online.

Now it is up to me to get thru the next full day..disconnected. Should I got to the nearest Starbucks check in for the next 24 hours and use their WiFi ?  Well I start by using my phone and all of my allotted data for the month to do my banking, check emails and oh yea do important stuff like check Facebook for important posts about latest ads for things that I will never buy or use.

What the heck I can always go for a walk, read the book that I started six years ago, practice on a guitar that Joann gave me 20 years ago, one that I have yet play a single song on. Heh wait there are plenty of things that I can do.... Who needs the Internet?  Jo says if I have nothing to do I can start painting the walls or do several other projects that I have been putting off because I have "work " to do on the computer. I open my big mouth or in this case my fat fingers on the keys of the computer and look what happens. I 'm gonna quit now before it gets worse. The only thing that would make my day a complete disaster would be if the electricity went..........................................................

A walk in the woods or why I love the winter

 The snow is a crunchy crust frozen on top but with a soft powdery texture that helps me as I plod thru what is normally a rock strewn trail. The snow softens both my footsteps but also the sounds of the forest. I stop to listen and Lola looks back at as if to say...."What...are we going back already?" The quiet is deafening. The wind whistles over head because we took and off trail that is lower than the one we normally take ...I did take note of which way the wind was blowing when we started.
     I can hear the creaking of frozen branches as they strain against the winter wind. But there no other sounds....except for the din of the a constant low rumble in the distance. It is sound of traffic in the distance because I'm not exactly in the wilderness of my old favorite spots in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. The forest trails of Wickford do have its advantages being that I don't have to drive three hours to go for a hike in the woods. The highest peak that I will climb today is a small mound that Lola helps to pull me up as she strains at her collar.
     It is cold but not bitter cold. Cold enough that we are alone. None of the " what a beautiful day" people who come out for a walk a few times a year usually around Memorial Day. Lola and I are hard core. We are here everyday. Braving the wilderness of Wickford and all that the forest can deliver. Cold wind, warm summer breezes,sticks to jump over in the middle of a well worn trail, bugs in the summer and unexpected spring shower....aren't  exactly like the perils of climbing Everest. I don't think either of us will die of thirst if I forget to bring water in the hour it takes to do a 3 mile hike. The Lewis and Clark of North Kingstown are blazing a trail today a trail that thousands have gone down before.  
After pausing for a minute to breath in the air of the moment I feel the tug on the leash and soon we are back at the car...back to civilization...we made thru another morning adventure....survived to try again tomorrow our trailblazing skills.

Deep thoughts from the deep south and Florida

We are back....or we are close to being back...we are in the middle of the New Jersey turnpike and by the middle I do mean literally the middle of the turnpike which is where I have been white knuckle driving for the last hour.

Just a few thoughts from this past week....

I watch a girl at a Pizza Hut counter at the turnpike rest stop stand at the register....alone....she is standing at the cash register doing her job...Joann asks the girl if she can order a pizza and without uttering a word she silently points to the sign above the counter that says that "Pizza Hut is closed today"......no pizza ....no talking....just a big sign...she is standing alone at the cash register doing her job. I guess the boss never told her to go home.
 
I'm waiting at the entrance to a Walmart in the hills of Virginia ....waiting for Jo and her father to buy lunch at the Subway in the store. It has been a half since I started my vigil, watching the cart and its contents as Jo and her father buy sandwiches. "you want iiiiitalian dressing on that ?" the girl asks.
I'm working now as a Walmart greeter now standing near the cart so long that I'm ready to collect a pension.  I have been there so long that I am getting funny looks as I shout " Welcome to Walmart !" to everyone who passes in my best Yankee Rhode Island drawl.

It has been a week of morning walks that I participate in by being the designated driver who checks on everyone on the 2 mile walk to the Florida beach and drive the tired home after a quick view of the waves .... to an afternoon watching Gunsmoke ..then the daily trip to Walmart.....to wine at dinner and more wine every night with the neighbors.

No Internet....(using all my data)....as I prowl the neighborhood hoping some elderly Internet geek has left their router on without a password or at least has used the word..."password" as their password.

No HDTV's....heh...I have cable....I need more Gunsmoke!

White Cadillacs....everywhere

Dammm these people are friendly!

Seeing Jo and her dad spending time with family and friends makes it a memorable and moving journey.




Oh By The Way....I am stopping the "Every Picture Tells a Story" section of my web page. I started a project that involved me taking a picture every day for a year and commenting on the picture. Sort of a pictorial diary. Well it got to be work with to many pictures of me and the dog. Also I don't think anybody but me cared about it so it now ends after one month...January. Instead at Joann's suggestion, I will chose a picture of the month to be selected at the end of each month....stay tuned!

The feeling....

I'm standing on the bridge. It is cold....dammm cold. The wind is whipping the normally calm water on the frosty, fridged half frozen pond.

I stood there facing the wind and setting sun....loving every minute of it.
It is hard to describe but it is the same feeling that I get when I'm on the bike wheezing away after climbing a long hill, gasping for air as I push my screaming thighs to their limit, finishing what I should not have started.
The same feeling that I get with sweat rolling down my face as I a swing the maul towards another piece of firewood in 90 degree August heat with an old Kinks song blasting thru my ear buds all the while knowing that the next swing could land me on the ground with my back in volcanic spasms.
I don't know what it is but I love all of those feeling...everyone of them are extreme....some are dangerous...some are painful .....but I love the feeling...

I will not ....My New Years Resolutions.....

Most people make New Years resolutions around this time of year. Things that they want to change in their life. Things like losing weight getting in shape, eating less, ( alot of them have to do with food) Well I am nearly perfect and I cant think of anything that I need to do to make my life better.
So instead of a list of impossible goals that I will never fulfill I have decided to go the other way and list things that I know that I won't do this year.
 
I will not fly a plane

I will not play golf

I will no participate in the annual Save the Bay Swim

I will not hike the Appliacian Trail.

I will not buy a new car

I will not eat a steak

I will not get taller, faster, younger, smarter or get a better jump shot

And I will not do a polar bear plunge today unless my Kayla shows up at my door in the next few minutes and says ..." Let's go"

Then I would

Merry Christmas!

I'm finishing writing Christmas cards. I said writing...as in sitting with pen and paper not a computer and keyboard.

I am noticing that the amount of cards that I am writing seems to be getting less each year.  Perhaps I know less people or less people feel the need to send me a card...heh it works both ways...lol.

I have been out of circulation for a few years now. Not having a daily job to go to and living the life of a semi-hermit, writer, dad ,driver, husband, volunteer, videographer, dog walking retired state worker, former business owner, landscaper, cook, salesman, paperboy....ok ..stopppp....I'm not going to list all of the 50plus 

different

 jobs that I have had in my life here....now. (If I haven't done that in blog I will soon...lol)  But this and other things lead to less card writing.

After finishing my last yuletide greeting I thought about the next time that I will take pen to paper and write a greeting to somebody....probably a year from right now.

If I was more digitally engaged in the process like many of my friends I could do all of this ,like everything else, on the computer with a picture and the use of an Internet photo greeting service. They look great and are very creative but for some reason I am to lazy to use them or I have this need to use up all of my previous years hand written, probably Job Lot bought, greeting cards before I too make the transition to the digital greeting card age.

Before I go there, and I will once the envelopes don't fit the old cards, I will enjoy the physical sense of actually 

writing. 

I may actually do more of it

in another form. I'm thinking of crafting a few letters....yes actually paper, pen, words, envelope and stamp letters. So if I have your address ....lookout...another invasion of my thoughts and ramblings may becoming to your mailbox along with the rest of your junk mail.

Cheers and Merry Christmas!   

I'm full

I'm full and it isn't because I ate to much on Thanksgiving. No...it seems everything that I have is full.
My computer is full, my cell phone is full, my Ipad is full, my external hard drive is full and worst of all my cloud is full.  My garage is full as well as most of my closets, drawers, desk tops, cabinets and junk drawers.
Now I'm not a hoarder but I do keep a lot of things that I might never use again. Like I have written here before I have enough tee shirts so that I will never need to by another one for the rest of my life. I also have things like a every record that I ever bought, memorabilia like a ticket stub from a Fenway Park ball game that my father took me to when I was 8 years old. Some of these things I will never get rid of .....but some of it has to go. I found some newspapers from my team, the NY Giants, documenting their year as they made the run to their first Super Bowl. They can go...after one afternoon of rereading them....lol...along with manuals, receipts and other paper work of things that long ago were used and thrown out.
I watch episodes of "Tiny Houses" on tv and think ..."I don't need all this space any more...I could live in a smaller place someday"....but where would I put all of my stuff?
You know what most of it is for me?....memories...of things I did...people I have known and places I have been...it is all in the past....time to move on....well maybe after one last look at everything one more time.
Now that I listen that blues record still sounds good even if it is mono and my number 56 LT jersey still fits and the VHS version of the Three Stooges on New Years eve 1986 recorded from WSBK Ch 38 UHF......ahhh...maybe some things can stay... just a little longer.
I gotta go make more room.

Dog Bites Man

I remember opening the screen door as I had everyday at the same address . The newspaper was still in my hand as I glanced into the backyard to see how my friend the giant German Shepard was behaving. As usual he was barking loudly and running toward me. Normally he would get to the end of his leash tied securely to his dog house in the yard far enough away so that any visitor would not feel threatened but still feel the fear of his menacing growl. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed that he seemed closer today when I put the paper down. I had barely closed the screen door when I felt the hot breath of the beast as he closed in on me, leaping for my face. Instinctively I raised my arm for protection. Luckily it had been raining that day I was wearing my raincoat. I am convinced that it saved my arm from many stitches. I swung my arm with all of my weight giving me just enough space from the growling teeth to make my escape. As I hit the fence door closing it behind me I was able to breath again with my four legged enemy inches away from me on the other side barking loudly with  frustration because he had lost his prey. Being a paperboy was a dangerous job when I was a boy.

That was the last and only time that I was bitten or even attempted to be bitten by anything let alone a dog. Now you would think with my history of stitches, falls, and many landscaping and house repair mishaps that I would have had a dog bite or two. But no, or at least not until earlier this week.

I'm riding my bike on a nearby trail when I came a couple and what looked like a friendly dog. As I passed them I felt a slight sting on my leg as the dog, straining at his leash, leaped at my ankle. Well my sock began to fill with blood and I knew that my relaxing ride was over. The owners apologized and I left not thinking of the pain in ankle but the doctor visits, shots, paperwork and the " what happened to you today?" question that Jo was going to ask when she got home from work and she noticed all of the blood soaked paper towels scattered throughout the house.

I don't like these small accidents and not because of the damage they do to my now scared and ravaged old body but because of endless explanations of how this particular mishap happened. The latest in a long line of what makes my family and friends eyes roll and sigh thinking he has done it to himself again....guilty. I have always be sum of the various physical mishaps of my life with the scares that I carry acting as permanent reminder of what I have done to my body. I have only broken something in me once..( yea that was a big one ) ... but I have had a problem keeping the blood on the inside where it belongs. Oh well it is recovery time again.   

Friends

We sat in the car on the way to the show. The music was flowing as we argued about whether we were going to be early or late. We were on our way to a concert, something that along with sports has bound us together since we were kids.

I have known all of these guys for over 50 years. That is long long time to stay friends with anybody let alone a bunch of greying , knee replacement ,paunchy, overly gabby and opinionated , old men. ( and I do mean old as in we ain't young and certainly are not going live to be 100 so we aren't middle age...but also old as in we have survived and that is sometimes hard to do.) We have done many things in those years. From playing endless baseball games on warm summer days that seemed to last forever or least until the only bat that we had broke or enough of us had to leave for paper routes which meant that more than one outfield position was "closed" . By closed I mean if the ball was hit there it was a foul ball and if only left field was open because of a lack of 10 year old boys well then game over....whew!....that kind of closed. Now we go back to where we use to play pick up basketball games next to my Catholic grammar school. We shoot some baskets and actually one of us is crazy enough to challenge the local kids to a game. Well nobody got hurt and I didn't have to go and get stitches so it was a good night.  I have more stories and memories with these guys than I care or will ever retell to anybody but them. We do tend to forget some details of things in the past. Its like a foggy day when you can only see so far and details of things around are some what muted.              

Tonight we were going to see an old guitar hero but instead of the dank, dark, smokey, beautifully bad old bar, we were going to a casino....oh well better to play at a gambling house than fade away. It was the music and the company that mattered now. Our knees hurt from walking up to the nose bleed seats and we didn't stay long enough to lose any money but we had a great night because we were together. The story here is if you have friends ...keep them..cherish them...if you dont get some....soon.....your gonna need them...remember nobody here gets out alive....so its important to have somebody to help you enjoy the ride.

Rock on Boys...I love ya!

The Flag

I stood there focusing on the flag draped over the coffin. I had seen this ceremony before but this was different. This was my dad. The military gun salute still echoing thru the trees as the last refrains of taps put and end to the solemn ceremony. I was given the flag the draped my father's coffin. I felt the pride of having known that he had served his country.

I return often the Rhode Island Veterans Cemetery. I find it to be a calming place to reflect . I am especially moved on Memorial Day when each marker is given a flag of it own.

The flags there and the one on my porch have personal meanings for me. I am sure that everyone has their own feeling when they the flag, after all it a symbol and that is what symbols do they make us think.

I was thinking of this the other day on the anniversary of 9/11.  As I understand it during that day it was deemed proper etiquette for the flag to be flown at half staff throughout the day. In my travels throughout the day I noticed variations on this. Some people who had proudly positioned flag poles in their front yards were flying the flag at full staff. Perhaps they had a reason for this, away on vacation, perhaps a unmindful of the etiquette of the day. It is their choice. There is no law that I know as to how the flag must be displayed....again it is a symbol. I have noticed the flag, as a symbol displayed  various ways from iphone covers to swimming trunks to advertisements on floats in parades. All of which according to what I have read are not proper uses of the flag according to the United States flag code .  A veteran I met once at ceremony at the cemetery once told me that he and his friends fought first of all for each other but also for country where people can live and express there opinions without fear.

I also noticed that some government institutions observed this day different which I did find confusing. Some were flying the flag the way that i thought was proper, half staff, others had a flag at full staff or no flag at all. ( I passed on government facility today and the flag was still at half staff)

although some of this does irritate me I have to step back and realize that it is still a symbol and although some of what I see may not be "proper" it is not in any way meant to be disrespectful and I think that is the most important thing...respect ...for those who severed and continue to serve and sacrifice so that we can enjoy the life that we have.

the last time...the first time

I'm sitting in a tight seat way up in the upper deck enjoying the show and as I watch the show I begin to think that this may be the last time that I ever see this person perform. I'm not getting any younger and the performer now in his seventy's isn't either. How many more tours will he do. The last time I saw him was twenty years ago. Is he going to be touring when he is ninety?

When your young you have so many chances to do things over. Right the wrongs, relive past glories, but as you get older those opportunities diminish. It is simple arithmetic.

It made me think of the things that I may never do again because of age, circumstance or opportunity.

I will never need to buy another t shirt.

Climb Mt Washington

Ride another century...( that is a one day 100 mile bike ride)

Put another roof on my house

Buy another new car

Buy another tie

But as there are many things that because of time and circumstance that I may never do there are some things that I have never done but may try for the first time.

I learning to play the guitar (finally...although I may never get beyond a few notes it is fun trying)

I am gonna finish writing a short story

I did build a deck (pergola...lol)

I'm learning to cook on my own.

I'm gonna try surfing soon

and some other things like clamming,juggling, bag piping, and growing a tomato.

Ok ...never say never....

There is always time to learn something new

Rock on

My wife says: " I hope that we don't get caught next to somebody loud and obnoxious." "Don't worry" I say." everyone here is old like us,,,they all just want to sit down."

We are at a concert and it is full of old hippies. Women wearing their daughters mini skirts and 60 plus year old men in tank tops, earrings and Born to be Wild tattoo's.

We find our way to our nearly front row seats. I usually like to sit on the aisle but we are in a few seats wondering who will be our neighbors. My wife's biggest fear is soon realized when very large man sits down next to her swallowing his seat and half of hers as he struggles to get comfortable in seats that were made for children under 12.

The show starts right on time. Gone are the days of sitting in the Boston Garden in a cloud of smoke for 5 hours as the band is held in a Warwick jail cell for being involved with in an altercation with a member of the local media.

From the first chord of blues guitar great Kenny Wayne Shepard our view is blocked by the overly enthusiastic middle age woman who is more interested in the the lead singer looks than any of the music as she screams at him every time the revolving stage brings the band in front of us.

The band is lost ...they cant get off the stage because it revolves and since it is in the middle of what is a huge tent with seats , there is no back stage. They hurry, following a confused old roadie with a gray beard and ponytail, up the stairs past us. Sure enough, the middle aged teenager sitting in front of us nearly leaps into the aisle after one of her idols in the band. Her husband just sits and cringes...heh ....its her night out. That is what most us of look like. Old hippies who have been beaten down by jobs, kids, mortgages. etc and yet have a little wildness still inside that the old rock n' roll seems to feed whenever we hear it. Either in the car on some classic rock station that we lip sync to on the way to work in traffic or the time we can cut loose at a concert with out the kids watching and rolling their eyes.

I know its only rock n' roll but I like it.   

Junk?

I was looking for a way of watering some plants without having to stand there and do it. I know that I had a sprinkler some place. I found it in a pile outside near the hose. Broken and battered but still in one piece...but did it work? Yes!!! the water came spurting out from every crack and hole ,but yes it did what I wanted it to do...spread water without me standing over it.
I keep a lot of things that still work. My father in law looks at me like I'm some crazy swamp Yankee penny pincher.  "Why don't you buy a new one?" he says as I take a part the retractable dog lease that just broke when Lola went nuts and bolted up a tree after a squirrel. "It has screws" I say .."let see what is inside and if it can be fixed"
I have a SUV with 200,000 miles on it, dents, scratches and several warning lights blinking on the dash. It gets me to Home Depot, local trails for dog walking and to the boat launch for kayaking.
Our grill is pile of black rust clinging together for one last burger and I have about a dozen old flags that have to be retired properly but until then the best of them are displayed on the property at various appropriate times of year.

I keep things that still work...maybe not like they did when they were new but they still do what I need them to do.

A few things...

 David Letterman

I watched the end of the David Letterman show and remembered the time we had tickets and took the trip to New York. As chance would have it my back went out the day before the trip but I was determined to go. I was in pain as we walked the sidewalks of the Big Apple on the way to the show.

We got there early so the line wasn't to long. I was standing there in pain letting building hold me up when one of the shows interns came out to check on the line. She noticed me standing there in agony and asked if she could help. I told her I was fine but she insisted on bringing out a chair for me. When the doors opened the rest of the audience was let in as I sat and waited. The girl then led us to what would be front row seats. Well we got tickets again latter that year and sure enough my back was out again. I brought along my cane and again front row were ours. Sometimes my agony can have its benefits.

Memorial Day

I usually take a ride to the Veterans Cemetery on Memorial Day to visit the graves of my dad, family and friends.I find it comforting to ride thru the sea of small American flags that mark each grave.

I think of the sacrifice that veterans have given so that we can have the freedoms that we often take for granted. I wait and watch others visit there loved ones. I feel especially bad for the younger people we may be visiting for the first time a loved one who has recently died.

One year I met an older man who like my father had been a fireman. He was visiting the grave of a friend. It seems that all three of them had served together on the PFD.

We swapped stories about my dad and his friend and as I left thought about what I had learned that day about my father, something that I had never know before. You never know what you will learn on a simple ride to the cemetery.