Mom always has to take a picture when her kids get together. Here is Earl and me with my sister.
Jumpy.
A residential building on Manhattan’s Lower East Side blew up this morning around 9 a.m. The White House has been quick to tell everyone that this is not terrorism related. As of right now they’re saying it could have been a gas leak or something, not that that makes it all better or anything.
I don’t think I would do well living in the Big Apple these days. There’s too many variables; tunnels, subways, honking cars, skyscrapers, ships, boats, planes, automobiles; I’d have way too much to worry about. We live over three hours away near a city that has little to entice a terrorist organization and I’m jumpy enough with low flying airplanes, contrails that do U-turns and the like. I’d be worried about the couple of million people around me if I lived in New York.
When the fire trucks head through downtown, I wonder if they’re headed for the tallest building in the county, which clocks in at 16 stories. After hearing the news stories about how big of a target the local nuclear power plants are, I wonder about the planes I see flying over Lake Ontario. Right after 9/11 the local news agencies did everything short of marking a map with “Aim Here”. I’m afraid for our own stupidity.
We live near a former Air Force Base that has been converted to a “Technology Park”. One of the companies that moved in services various shapes and sizes of airliners. When a huge 747 looms over our house on approach for servicing (on one of the few runways long enough to accomodate a shuttle landing, by the way), I remind Earl that the plane flying over the house “is going in for repairs.” I’m happy when a wing doesn’t fall off.
I don’t strive to sound like a paranoid freak, especially since I believe what will happen, will happen, but with all the unrest in the world it’s hard to be totally at ease. There are too many crazy people running around. There are too many crazy people in positions of power. And I just have this uneasy feeling jumping around in the back of my head.
I hope it’s all for nothing.
The Heat Is On.
Earl and I are back from our camping trip this weekend and are settling in for the evening. This evening has turned out to be quite warm and humid, so we threw caution to the wind and just got back from a jaunt to get an ice cream.
I’m not a big fan of ice cream. I never have been. I think it was my fifth birthday party that I first decided I didn’t want the pile of ice cream in front of me and threw it into the nearest running box fan, making quite the mess. I have no doubt that I was scolded for what I did but I was never offered ice cream again. So it’s a rare occasion that I eat ice cream but I decided that Earl and I needed the little treat so off we went. I had an “apple crisp” sundae which was basically apple crisp with a plop of vanilla soft ice cream on top. It was easy to eat around the ice cream. It was very good.
Today we celebrated my dad’s birthday with a picnic at Green Lakes State Park. Earl and I had to be off our campsite by 11:00, so we packed everything up and installed ourselves on some strategically placed picnic tables in one of the beach areas. We cooked up some pork tenderloins, baked beans and other goodies. My sister’s friend brought along birthday cake for my dad, so we did the whole sing Happy Birthday bit. It was a nice way to bring the weekend to a close.
I’m typing this blog entry on my old Dell laptop because my PowerBook is charging and feels like it’s going to melt from the heat. I don’t know what’s going on with it, but I thought it might be best to give it a little bit of a rest as it charged. This old Dell isn’t too bad; I have it running the latest version of Ubuntu Linux. I’ve always been a Linux fan and I think Ubuntu is top notch. It’s definitely a superior alternative to Windows.
Earl and I are keeping busy this week with social engagements. Monday night we have dinner with my sister and my mom, Tuesday night our friend Eric is coming over for supper and on Wednesday I am judging a local beauty pageant at the “General Herkimer Days”. We’re such the social butterflies.
Green Lakes State Park.
Earl and I are spending the weekend camping at Green Lakes State Park just east of Syracuse. While this is our traditional Easter picnic spot, it’s our first time camping here. The experience has been pleasant.
Stage right we have a young couple and his mother-in-law from the more rural area of the Mohawk Valley. They introduced themselves as Bill, Regina and Ruby. They have a small dog named Gizmo that hasn’t figured out how the leash around the pole thing works. They are friendly enough but they argue amongst themselves quite a bit. They were somewhat dismayed that we were eating lunch when they were still trying to figure out how to light their camp stove for the eggs and bacon they had planned for breakfast. It was 12:30 p.m. at the time.
To stage left we have a group of people with a really beat-up station wagon, complete with wood paneling. It may be mahogany. They have a small compound of tents around a blazing campfire. I think they forgot to bring a few things along, including their teeth. But they seem harmless enough and pretty much keep to themselves.
While the sites are not the biggest we’ve seen during our state park experiences, they are sized comfortably so that we don’t feel like we’re camping on top of other people.
Today has been a day of pure relaxation. The weather has been perfect with the sun shining brightly and the temperature comfortable. This morning Earl and I walked around the two lakes here, Green Lake and Round Lake. It was about 2 1/2 miles when all was said and done.
The two lakes really do appear green but not from algae growth or anything like that. There are few lakes in the world like these two, in that the bottom 2/3 of the lake are never “mixed”. Even though the lakes are relatively small, they’re both very deep with Green Lake clocking in at 85 feet and Round Lake, the smaller of the two, clocking in at 175 feet deep.
Being relatively close to Syracuse, the beach area was quite busy today with lots and lots of people populating the sand and swimming areas. Earl and I went for a brief swim and enjoyed the experience.
Tonight we’re going to grill up some steaks, make our obligatory campfire popcorn and drink some beer. I’ve gathered up quite a bit of brush to start a hopefully blazing campfire.
It’s good to be able to relax in the relative peace and quiet of a state park.
If You Don’t Have Anything Nice To Say…
I try to be rather upbeat from time to time when I blog. I like to give readers that uplifting, satisfying, happy feeling one gets after eating a delicious meal, watching an award-worthy movie or taking a well needed dump.
But I’m not feeling it today. I’m trying to, I really am. But the world is not living up to my expectations today and instead of ranting on about the ills of the world, I guess it’s just better to not say anything at all.
As a child I learned two important lessons from my mother:
- Never hand wash dishes when you can run a second load in the dishwasher.
- Don’t say anything if you don’t have anything nice to say.
So today I’m just going to smile, nod my head a lot and just try to get through the day.
Tonight Earl and I are heading out with the camper to a state park for the weekend. The weather is suppose to be gorgeous. I’m sure the experience will wash away the stress from today.
Love.
I’m proud to say that our marriage is based on unconditional love; a unique bond between two people that few ever experience.
We do not need the approval or endorsement of the closed and simple minded people that populate the New York State Court of Appeals. Regardless of today’s verdict, the love Earl and I share for one another will never be extinguished nor diminished by discrimination.
Our bind is stronger than any piece of paper that says we’re married. Nothing will ever change that.
That being said, when couples must fight for legal recognition of their relationship, it’s clear evidence that the New Dark Ages are truly upon us.
Bullhorns.
I really hate speakerphones. I despise them. When I speak with someone using a speakerphone, I feel that I’m told indirectly, “Don’t think that you’re important enough that I need to stop what I’m doing to talk to you. Just keep on yapping and I’ll mutter some yeps and nopes.”
I rank speakerphones one notch below cellphone use in public. This morning I spoke with a customer who was using a speakerphone. She spoke at bullhorn levels into the inspid little device to tell me she was having a problem with her e-mail. She would ask me a question, I would give her an answer and then she’d confer with someone that would whisper so I couldn’t hear what they were saying.
That’s just rude.
First of all, the conversation sounded like it was coming in from Venus. Secondly, she was multitasking way too much. When the customer wasn’t speaking at abnormally loud volumes, she was either drinking coffee, eating something or speaking in hushed tones with the suspicious little man in the shadows. Maybe I’m a little bit paranoid but I like to know who I’m speaking with and that I have their attention.
Earl is a very busy corporate executive. He earns lots of money for his company and all involved (including me) are quite proud of him. However, early in our relationship he learned that the speakerphone thing isn’t going to work for me. I’d call him up and answer his greeting over his speakerphone with “hi”. He’d say “hello”. I’d say “hi”. He’d say “hello”. This would go on until he was frustrated enough to pick up the receiver and pay attention to me in which I would then have a delightful conversation of whispering sweet nothings and my asking him to bring home cat litter or something equally mundane.
I could be a little paranoid. Back in my radio days, the morning show team would take great delight in calling their boss (me) around 6:00 in the morning and put me on the air. “Ha ha! J.P. is asleep! Ha ha!” After telling them several times to knock it off, I finally responded to one of their questions with a “How the fsck should I know?” or something equally profane in which the phone went dead and they learned to take Station Daddy seriously.
We have a support tech in our group that likes to use his speakerphone. We get to hear all sorts of fun throughout the office. “What did you say?” “I said press CTRL-ALT-DEL twice.” “Press catcha all mice?” This goes on and on.
I seriously miss Ma Bell and her rotary dial.
Monday Wednesday.
So I was humming “Monday, Monday” to myself all morning when all of a sudden I realized that it isn’t Monday at all, it’s Wednesday! How silly of me. I wondered why the weekend flew by so fast.
It doesn’t really feel like Wednesday. Heck, it doesn’t even feel like July, with tonight’s temperature predicted to be in the upper 40s. I’m wondering why we are feeding chemicals into the pool, I don’t think it needs to be clear to be an ice skating rink.
I keep waiting for summer to “kick in”. It still feels like May to me. Perhaps it’ll warm up by the end of the week and we can put the winter clothes away.
Earl and I are camping for the next two weekends. This coming weekend we’re headed to a state park and next weekend we’re taking a long weekend and going to the gay campground in Pennsylvania. We’re looking forward to both trips.
Gotta remember to pack the parkas.
New Jersey.
The casinos in Atlantic City, among countless N.J. state run agencies, were ordered to shut down today. Think what you may about the morality behind gambling but it’s just wrong to put thousands of workers on an “unpaid absence” simply because the government can’t get its act together.
I don’t understand budgets. I don’t pretend to. I can’t even bluff my way through a debate or conversation regarding the government and its sea of red tape. I think the answer to money problems is simple: print more money. Worried about government spending? Then stop spending!
Some newspaper articles covering the budget mess in New Jersey were talking about how law makers had to come into session on the 4th unshaven and wearing t-shirts under their sportcoats. The poor souls apparently had to skip their holiday plans and work at coming to a budget resolution. It didn’t happen. So this morning, the state basically remains closed, and since the casino has state funded overseers on site, the casinos shut down as well.
I feel bad for the casino workers. The money isn’t that great, the job isn’t really that great and now they’re told to stay home without pay. All because the state government can’t get its act together.
I’m a little fired up about this. I don’t even like New Jersey. I hope the folks there make their dissatisfaction known come election time.
Rebellion 101.
The roadway: An interstate in Upstate New York.
The vehicles: One VW Jetta, One Suburu WRX, One Acura RSX Type-S.
Top Speed: 101 MPH.
The victor: One Acura RSX Type-S.
The look of the other two drivers when a bald 30+ man effortlessly breezed by them: Priceless.
