Tuesday, October 9th, 2007
I can’t believe my parents have been married for 40 years. Well, it’s a little more then 40 years now. It was their anniversary yesterday.
I keep thinking about how fast life flies by. I have now been at this job for five years. I would say that’s about four and a half years too long. I wasn’t even going to take a job when we moved back to Brewster from Naples. It was just there and they offered it to me. How fast that five years have gone.
Well, 40 years is a little longer than five. I am sure my parents are thinking back about how much they have done during their marriage. The way memory works, at least the way mine does, is to think of recent stuff. I am not sure they think too often of the land in Amenia or when the garage door faced the other direction. When was the last time my parents sat at the dinner table and talked about how Mrs. Clancy used to mow her lawn on the Ford tractor in the middle of July wearing a winter hat? Or, going to the beach at Tonetta Lake? I guess my point is that they have done a heck of a lot more together than they even realize. It’s a good thing when you have lived with someone so long you forget half of it, I think.
Anyway, happy anniversary parents o’ mine. Love ya.
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Sunday, October 7th, 2007
My sister, Lauren, asked me recently how our new stainless steel pots and pans are working out for us. I told her that they were doing well. She is considering making the switch, I think.
As I mentioned, we tossed our old Anolon non-stick cookware and upgraded to a T-Fal Elegance 10 Piece Stainless Steel Cookware Set. The Anolon stuff was supposed to be really good. You know, it had all those warranties and guarantees…all that sales stuff. In actuality, the non-stick coating fell off, or scratched off in about a year. In my opinion, all those pans suck. There are so many rules to them. Don’t use metal, don’t use high heat, don’t put them in the dishwasher, don’t look at them funny…you get the idea.
I have never been all that good at handling limitations. My mother still has her set of T-Fal non-stick pans. She has had them for over ten years. I don’t know how she does it. I guess she is much better at behaving than I am.
Ok, so here is my early review of the new stainless steel cookware. In the beginning, everything stuck. I was making mess after mess. Then, I began cooking at a lower heat. I started noticing that fewer items of food were sticking to the pans. Hmmm…this made me think, and you know how much I like to think. Now, I cook at about 3 out of 10 (heat setting) and don’t have a sticking problem anymore. I have also noticed that olive oil isn’t the greatest lubricating agent out there. Margarine is much better. I actually cooked two huge pancakes this morning without issue.
So Lauren, my advice is to get the stainless steel pots and pans. I think they will last a lot longer and, for us, we won’t have to struggle anymore with cooking on pans with no non-stick coating left. For more opinions on this topic, you can visit this website.
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Saturday, October 6th, 2007
Ahhh…my first audio book. I don’t know how Laura finds these things, but she does.
I like to think of her sitting at her computer, very studiously analyzing and contemplating my psyche. “Who is Jay?” she would ask herself. “What makes this guy tick?” In actuality, she probably sees what is popular that day on Amazon, but we try not to think about that.
I can’t get over the clarity of the new stereo I installed in my car today. Just a moment ago, I walked outside, across the driveway to it. I sat down in the driver’s seat and turned the key. The radio came on so I could hear 95.5 WPLJ, down in the city. I changed the channel to 100.3 Z100. It’s remarkable how clear the radio receives the signal. My old one never did that.
I opened the package of the audio book, “Wandering Home - A Long Walk Across America’s Most Hopeful Landscape: Vermont’s Champlain Valley and New York’s Adirondacks,” by Bill McKibben. I really didn’t know what to expect. My mother has been raving about audiobooks ever since she lived back in Brewster. I think they helped make her drive everyday to work in Danbury a little bit easier. She used to say, “My car can steer itself on the trip to work. That’s how used to it I am.” I think she really believed that at times. Well, when she told the story, she sounded very convincing.
I pushed the CD in the brand new slot. Everything is so shiny. The radio stopped and the CD started. A very faint, but clean guitar sound started. It got louder, and then a very soothing voice, that introduced himself as the author, Bill McKibben, began to speak. I though, “Ooh, this is going to be good. I listened for a few minutes and turned the key back, so the sound stopped. I didn’t want to ruin the first part of the story during a time when I wasn’t focusing on it. I turned the key forward, so the CD turned on again. Yup, it picked up right where it left off. This was going to work out fine.
So what’s the story about? Well, Bill’s website tells it like this…
“The acclaimed author of The End of Nature takes a three-week walk from his current home in Vermont to his former home in the Adirondacks and reflects on the deep hope he finds in the two landscapes.”
That’s not all, you can read the rest here.
As you can see, I am quite excited about using my frontal lobe even more than I currently am. It is going to be nice to break out of the mold of NPR and bad local radio. Yeah, it’s going to be nice.
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Saturday, September 22nd, 2007
Do you want to hear something really funny? It just so happens that my parents are actually going to Bermuda in six weeks. I had no idea.
I called my father last night and talked to him about my great idea. He kept saying, “Six weeks, you have six weeks.” I am like, “What the heck is this fella talking about.”
Well, there goes my plan, unless they want to go to Bermuda again in May or June. Hmmm…I am also thinking Antigua.
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Friday, September 21st, 2007
So I just got a great idea.
I have been telling Laura for some time now that I want to go to Bermuda. She kind of doesn’t really respond because she doesn’t want to go. I will have to strong arm her. Anyway, since I never get to see my parents anymore, perhaps I will call the travel agent and get some prices. Then, I will invite my parents to meet us there.
How is that for a family reunion?
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Wednesday, September 19th, 2007
I thought it might be a good idea to give some mad props to my sister, Laurie. True, she is not part of the “Young Astronauts” program, but she’s ok anyway.
Laurie took some very nice photos of the dogwood trees in her front yard. I thought they were good enough to publish on one of the hottest sites on the world wide web. Here they are, let me know if you think she has a future in this stuff.
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Friday, June 8th, 2007
My sister Laurie emailed me these really cool photos this morning, so I decided to dedicate this post to her. Now she can print it out and hold it close forever.
Now, I don’t have much of a memory of any of these pictures being taken, but I am sure they did, because we are in them. Laurie’s email indicated that they were taken in 1976. Her email said, “All the things I love…..my stroller, my Jenny Doll, my blankie, my little brother and having lunch on the driveway (I still have the blankie and the little brother).” Now that is just too cute. Thank you so much Laurie. I love these kinds of photos.
Man, I have a lot of memories of that porch we were standing on in the first photo. I used to sleep out there when it got too hot in my room in the summer. Back when breakdancing was huge, I had my own cardboard box that I placed on the floor and tried to do the windmill (don’t laugh, you know you did too). There used to be a wooden bench that ran the length of the porch that my father built…it was pretty cool. Our cats, Smokey and Tiger, used to meow at the back door when they wanted to come in and I gave my sister Laurie a very meaningful hug on that back porch during a pretty hard time for her.
The driveway is a similar story. There is a lot to remember when you grow up your entire young life in the same house. My parents built most of that house, so there was a lot of heart put into it. Sure, they were ready to go when the time came, but you have to respect the amount of work that went into it.
I remember trying to roller skate on that driveway when we got roller skates…probably at a yard sale somewhere, or what we called “tag sales.” The blacktop was never quite smooth enough, no matter what we thought. Later on, we set up a basketball net to practice what I am still horrible at…basketball. I remember people kept on asking me why I don’t join the team (probably because I am tall) and I wanted to tell them because I stink at the game, but I didn’t say that. I can’t even count how many times I had the hood of my Camaro open in that driveway, just looking at the engine. What fun it was to try to fix things. I guess that’s where I get it from.
I am sure Laurie has a bunch more…
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Sunday, September 24th, 2006
It was about time I saw my family again. My sister, Laurie, planned a camping trip for all of us. My family was to meet at the Staunton Verona KOA Campground in Virginia.
Since I was coming from New York and I really hate driving across the George Washington Bridge (I have had enough of that), I decided to take Interstate 84 west to Rt. 81 south all the way to Virginia. 81 is a much more scenic route and I enjoy the openness of it more.
I was cruising, just minding my own business…and right when I crossed the Mason-Dixon Line, I happened to look to my left. Wham. What in the world was that?
Don’t ya love people? I am not sure what I was more curious about…the trike looking thing or the trailer. Thinking back, I am really glad I got this picture. I knew it would have a good use someday.
I arrived at the campground in my 89 Honda Accord just in time. It was about to blow up. That car had a strange problem with idling at around 3,000RPM when the engine got hot. I remember I was going out on the town once in Atlanta, GA when I got stuck in traffic. The engine started running hot so I decided to slow it down by putting on the AC. What in the world was I thinking? AC just makes the engine hotter. I had to pull over on the side of the highway and roll down the ramp with the car off, just to get some air running through the radiator.
Ok, back to business. I arrived at the campground to find a delightful setup. You really never know what you are going to get at a campground if you haven’t been there before. You can ask the people at the desk over the phone, but they will just tell you what you want to hear. “Does it have a lot of trees?” “Oh sure, we have tons of them! (10 miles away) This one was good.
They offered lots of little cabins for those who are scared to sleep in the woods (my parents) and tent sites for the brave ones (me). The cabins were probably better because you could lock your stuff up and go have fun for the day. I slept in the tent and seem to remember a nice tilt to the ground. I kept rolling to one side all night. Overall, I had a good night’s sleep.
It was great to see the kids again…Connor, Courtney and Jeffrey. Little people with a lot of energy and a lot of running around. Can you see them in this photo? Hint: look behind the trees.
One thing about this campground is very unique. Rabbits. Rabbits everywhere. Hundreds of them. I guess they keep having babies. What they say is true…I suppose.
If you are going to own a campground, you need something to pull people in. Something like a lake, a river, being close to town or…a WATERFALL!!!
There was a really cool river and a waterfall. Here is what you do: Hike upstream about a mile. Then, throw your tube in the river, jump and land in it. Get everyone else to do the same thing at about the same time. Have some fun floating down the river nice and slow to end up at the waterfall. You have to be sure to pull yourself under the water so you get freaked out a little bit by the weight of the water. This is critical. Finally, you get someone to throw you a rope and pull you back to shore. That part is optional. You can probably stand up and walk back, but my father likes to use rope. After you are good and tired from doing that a few times, go back and cook up some veggie burgers on a nice campfire.
All in all, this was a great campground and I would go back. It’s very close, if not in the Shenandoah Valley, which is beautiful unto itself.
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Friday, August 11th, 2006
Life is way too short. There are many reasons why someone would like to take flying lessons…for the thrill, the advantages of getting from one place to another in a shorter amount of time than driving, enjoyment, etc… Many reasons.
For me, the driving force is to get places fast. I really need to start visiting my family in North Carolina more. I need to see my nieces and nephews. I don’t want to be that uncle who never visits, or the one who the kids hear alot about but never really got to know.
My dream is to have my family waiting for me at the Wilmington International Airport (KILM) and for them to watch me land in my own plane. I really think that would be something.
My father has talked about getting his pilot’s license and getting a plane, but never got around to it. Maybe some day. Until then, he will have to sit in the passenger’s seat. Maybe I will let him fly…a little.
I looked around the area for a small airport and bumped into the Orange County Airport (KMGJ). It’s about a half hour from where I live. I called Quade’s Flight School. Gary answered the phone. He seemed like a very nice guy who has been around planes for a very long time. I set up the “Intro” flight lesson for $60. Basically, it is a half hour flight to get the tip of your toe wet. When you land, you say, “Sign me up, I am taking out a loan” or “Get me the hell out of this thing.” I said “Sign me up, but I will pay by check.”
We went up in his trainer…a Piper Cherokee. The intro flight consisted of learning about the pre-flight inspection of the plane, going over the checklist, taxiing to the runway, takeoff, some maneuvers and landing. The instructor, Gary let me perform some turns at about 2500 msl (mean sea level). That was pretty cool. I have never controlled an airplane before, so that was a thrill. I flew by myself for about 15 minutes. When we were approaching the airport for landing, Gary cut the throttle. He said he liked to do this for the new students to show that if an airplane of this size loses the engine in mid-air for some reason, you won’t spiral out of control and plummet to the earth. We landed very smoothly with no power.
After we landed and taxied to the hangar, Gary asked me if I was in. I said I was and set up my next lesson for Sunday, August 20 and 10:30AM.
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