CHRISTMAS IN THE SPRINGS

The gifts are bought, mostly wrapped, and the tree is trimmed, waiting for the big event. This one will come, and hopefully so will many others. All the anticipation, planning, apprehension, and stress will come to an end, this time, and be repeated many times if we're lucky. The climax is joy, happiness, and the simple pleasure of the satisfaction of watching our loved ones enjoying the gifts, food, and company we share.
There is sadness in the world, surely. But in the Holiday Season, in the microcosm of our lives we should see only what we need. We deserve to cherish this time of unbridled pleasure and share it without guilt or shame. If we can provide well for our friends and loved ones, good for us. Good for all those who have and can share!
The sadness and strife in the world will continue after we are all dust. There's little we can do to stop it or bend it's path. Entire countries and wealthy organizations have been working at it for centuries, and not a dent made. People will continue to recreate and procreate, the rich and the poor. That means more for both columns, and nothing to be done for it.
So celebrate! Enjoy this time of year and reveille in its hedonistic saturation of your soul. It's what you work so hard for day after day. It's why you worry for your children, weep for your neighbors' losses, and volunteer your time and services to your community. You've worked for it, you've earned it, and now is the time of year to immerse yourself in the wonder of it all.
Merry Christmas!

Benny's Great Adventure

Ben had in mind to come home for the Thanksgiving Day weekend, so off he went shopping for some supplies to tide him over. Pulling out of his space in the Mall lot, he gets backed into by a pickup truck, and suvvers minor damage to the left rear fender and hatch of his Maxda 5. The tail light is a shattered mess without hope. Insurance info is exchanged, and bob's yer uncle.

That's fine, he thinks, he'll get home and get it fixed. Wednesday, AM, leaving North Carolina: lovely warm day so the sun roof is tilted up, open at the rear. 15 minutes on the road, there is a stone thrown up from a vehicle, and it glances off the glass roof, causing it to open up in the middle and disintigrate. When the rain started, duct tape to the rescur, sort of.

Benny got home late at night, and had called ahead to have the barn open to get his holy roof inside to avoid auto flooding. Good idea. that's where the car still is on Thanksgiving night, no light, hole in the roof, and awaiting work.

Can I use the Bug? Sure, but 3 miles away, a deer lies in wait on the driving lane. Bugs are short, deer are a big lump. The underside of the V-dub got wiped out, so we have no idea what will happen.

Can't wait for Benny to come enjoy the Christmas Season with us. Just kidding, none of this was his fault just really bad luck!

Keys to Happiness; Though Fleeting

"Boat drinks, the boys in the band ordered boat drinks........." (Jimmy Buffett). How appropriate for a few days in the steamy southern reaches of the Florida Keys, listening to bands and sucking on boat drinks.
Meg and I winged our way into West Palm last Wednesday, looking for Margaritaville, and some fun in the sun and sand. There was sun, and sand, and many margaritas, Coronas, and Mojitos. The streets ran like a sea of humanity to the walls of the shops, with revelers from all reaches of the world, and in every possible state of 'partiness' you can imagine. You just throw yourself into the crowd and go along with whatever happens next. The living imbodiment of 'imprompu' to the most extreme degree! MOTM (www.phip.com) was in full swing when we arrived. The Casa Marina was closed to the public, but filled with Parrot Heads from everywhere.
Meg and I were working Security and checking IDs at the door before we'd been there 20 minutes. Get right in and start 'doing'. That's not only the Parrot Head way, but we soon found it to be a way of life for Key West itself. Over 30 bands played non-stop, with more music than you could find and listen to playing at the same time, all over the city. One act followed another, constantly from 10 or 11 AM, to 2 or 3 AM the next day, for five straight days.
The people who make up Parrot Head Clubs around the world are the nicest you'll ever meet, as a group or as individuals. I learned about the ups and downs of living the rock band life, traveling from town to town setting up and tearing down. I learned about the paranormal events all around us, that we pitifully common folks cannot see or comprehend. I saw a semi-nude Viking riding a reposed bike up and down Duval St. at lunchtime, waving to the throngs and creating his own little world of photo ops for the diners and gawking tourists alike. We drank to the driving live band music, to the full moon of November 5th, and to the breathtaking sunsets on Mallory Square, barely missing the legendary green flash many times. It all ended too soon, and we did not learn enough, have enough laughs, or enjoy enough Cuban cuisine. Yet we did all of these things for 5 continuous days, without missing a beat or getting much sleep.
Was it worth the delayed flights, checking to see if a rented Saturn is amphibious, and spending 2 hours 2 feet in front of a booming bass speaker at a Jerry Jeff Walker concert? You bet your feathered parrot butt it was! Would we do it again? You bet your pirate's eye patch and wooden leg we would! To my friends, one bit of advice: If you ever get a chance to sit at the bar at Louie's Backyard and suck down boat drinks with the tide rising around your feet and the full moon over your shoulder, do it! You'll never feel so alive and so in touch with your inner parrot, as you will at that moment. Remember: "The weather is here, I wish you were beautiful........" (Jimmy Buffett), as reported by John Parrothead.

Judgement Day

Out and about today, or maybe yesterday, I couldn't help but observe all the unjudged people milling here and there. I went to CVS and there were the rampant unjudged. Sauntered over to Giant Market to seek out some supplies, and you guessed it: Unjudged everywhere!
It appears that more people should stop advising others to "don't judge me"! Maybe more people should give in to the conservative notion of judging and put that shoddy old liberalism behind them.
In CVS, the old ladies were teaaring down the house to get to the items in the coupon/sale flier. Rudeness prevailed, and my already frail and healing body was buffetted to and fro like a corked bottle on the high seas. Barely escaping the household goods shelves, I sought the serenity of the checkout counter. Here was little better. The cashier/associate was deeply engrossed in conversation about Friday night's club scene with another non-working 'associate', to take my money and give me correct change. This when the exact amount they need to hand back is flashing in LED before their very eyes! My God! Is it the green and blue fading into orange in her hair, or her exposed and pierced navel that has her distracted to this point? I fully doubt it's either. Probably her parents didn't judge her properly, as someone needy for remedial manner and work ethic training. Maybe fewer hours on the olde "My Space" and more time "face to face" would have turned the trick.
Escaping CVS with my chocolate, expensive pills, bag full of bandages, and little patience remaining, I still needed limes and spices for my Jamaican dinner. Off across the lot to Giant. Right at the door I knew it was going downhill fast. Teetering through the transome at full hobble, leaning on the jam for support for my pain wracked body, here comes this warp speed soccer mom with a creaking shopping cart laden with about e small incidental items in one tiny plastic bag. Too late! She's heading straight for me, yelling into her blue tooth equipped ear, "you better not have poured that down the toilet, that was you and your father's dinner"!
I'm thinking, "she can see I can't get out of her way. She's gonna have to stop or turn"! NOT!
There I am, flying backward from the sharp blow of a shopping cart to the fresh gizzard removal area, wondering if Jamaican food was worth the pain. Who failed to judge that woman? Whoever it is/was did her and the rest of society a huge disservice. Her psuedo apologetic "didn't see ya", was the icing on the cake, spread on thinly as she continued afterburner lit, undaunted, unembarrassed, and unstoppable, straight to the Caravan waiting in the handicapped parking spot nearest the door.
Oh yes, I judged those people. I judged them to be mindless buffoons. Too late, though. Throughout the years leading up to my encounter with this mob, parents, siblings, peers, employers, and teachers should have done the job.
"Judge not lest ye be judged", tho olde saw goes. I have a thought: "Judge others and let them know your feelings, before they are beyond civility". Not their race, religion, occupation, or insanity. Just judge their interaction with society. It'll do everyone a lot of good.

A helluva note!

The front page of the Press Sun-Bulletin last Saturday was some kind of joke. A world full of news that effects each and every one of us pushed off the headline, below the fold, and into the bowles of the paper. What was the important issue which neaded the full attention of the entire readership of the local Gannett rag? Some kid is a race car driver! Large color spread on Page 1, newsworthy.
He's gonna be the 'next Jeff Gordon' they shout. We'll see about that. You know about the thousands of high school quarterbacks graduating into anonymity every spring? You know the tens of thousands of drivers out there in go carts, midgets, and street stocks wishing for stardom. It goes on and on, and it is unlikely to end up a pot of gold at the end of some rainbow powered by Jack Rousch, the coach, or even Bill Davis.
It's not like there wasn't newsworthy issues in the world. There's the latest carnage in Iraq, 2 school shootings (at that time, now there's another one in Pennsylvania), and the political morass and obfuscation currently permeating the grey matter of Americans. There were plenty of good deeds done, I'm sure, which could have been hearlded and exposed for the glory they deserve. Where were they?
Hats off to the Binghamton Press and Sun-Bulletin. For putting a 4th page Sports Section story on the front page, above the fold, they win the North of Disorder "Rusty Ignoramous" Award. Bravo! Encore!

Big Splash of 2006 (Will we be ready now?)

"We better go inside to eat", Meg said, "it's about to pour out here"! The burgers and chicken quickly scarfed off the grill, lid down, hit the kitchen, and the sky opened up.
Rain had been heavy off and on all day long. Tuesday June 27th was a wet and dreary day, and now it looked like the Weather Channel girl was right. There would be flash flooding, and some property damage in lower areas. Rivers would exceed flood stages, so tie down the wagons and prepare for a wash out. Rain it did, like this writer has never seen in all his years.
Two hours later, at about 9:00 PM, heavy footfalls on the porch, hammering at the door, and a loud authoratative voice advising all inside to pack up and get out. The fire station on Route 7 is the offered refuge, and in 5 minutes, Dad, Mom, Ben, and Ashley along with big dog and ankle biter are in the rigs and splashing down the street which has suddenly become a river. Bumping over the debris and logs washed down by the deluge, the Dakota has no problems. The Beetle is a boat, pushing water ahead of it's headlights, to the safety of the local convenience store parking lot. That gave me a new appreciation for both the presence of and need for 'convenience' stores. It was truly an island in the lake which Sanitaria Springs had become. Ben's little Mazda, is taller, and he had no problem making it to a friend's house on higher ground to spend the night cozy and dry.
But, I'm me! The meaning of that, as you get to know me, is that nothing seems in kilter, and each step is 1/4 out of step with the world's stride. Only free place I can think of to hole up for the night is my reliable and blessed ex-wife's home far from streams and rivers. We called her from the road, wipers making no difference, and she agreed to put up with us. Big dog, Murphy, wasted no time in making his presence known. Murf greeted our hostess with his huge happy grin, and immediately dropped a steamy pile, quickly seeping into her kitchen carpet. He knows how to show his appreciation. Spending a half hour cleaning the mess took my mind off my house's immenent destruction at Mother Nature's hand. How did Murf get so wise?
After a night of weather forecasts on TV, sleeplessly watching the rain fall, and trying to be sure the dogs didn't consume Pat's stash of chow, dawn finally broke to the same downpour we felt the night before. The most important day of the year at work, had dawned and I was going to have to be late or not show at all. Your reporter was torn between the duty of family and the obligation of his job. Only one decision was possible, and I called the boss with the bad news.
By mid morning, I felt it had eased up enough to make travel possible, with great caution. The county had closed all the roads and banned all travel. Only essential persons would be allowed to drive anywhere, and in my position, I fit the description. I had to head back to the Springs for a change of clothes, my shaver, and an inspection of the anticipated damage to our home. The Chenango River was covering the parts of Chenango Bridge I could view from 12A, and mudslides were down to the shoulder of I-88. In Sanitaria Springs, the road had become a road again, but a badly damaged one. Many people would not be moving their cars until the 5' wide/6' deep ditch the water had made was repaired. Most residents were leaving the fire station and checking out their homes, to find cellars full of water, backyard pools washed away, and decks ripped loose and rendered scrap. If you lived on my street you had damage. You likely needed a new furnace, hot water heater, and if your laundry was in the basement, a new washer and dryer. Short cellars meant wet downstairs flooring and ruined furniture. A sad and costly day for Broome County, and Sanitaria Springs little creek created no havoc of note compared to the mighty and raging Susquehanna River.
Over 800 houses in the county destroyed and over 2500 homes suffered major damage making them unlivable. There were amazingly no deaths attributable to the storm in Broome County. There were only 15 deaths in the entire area hit by the storm. FEMA turned out as useless here as in New Orleans last August. If you can't help yourself, you better not hold your breath. Many people not only lost their home but also lost their job because that went down the Susquehanna as well.
With our secure New York State jobs, and only a few hundered dollars in damage, Meg and I are very lucky. We have no claims or complaints, but can only do what we can to ease the plight of our neighbors and friends. Very few have no damage or loss due to the 'Big Storm of 2006', and those of us in that category must help wherever we can.
I want to give special thanks to Tom Steen. After the firemen left my cellar as dry as they could, there was still about 4 inches of standing water remaining. I had to go to work. There was no escaping that, now that the girls were safe and sound. Tom took it upon himself to bring his sump pump down from his house, and spend the morning being a truly great friend and neighbor. Meg and Ashley, Ben and his friends, and Tom all pitched in to make it possible for me to go attend to the huge move my residential unit was scheduled to make on June 28th. I arrived by 11:30 AM, and oversaw the remainder of the move, and life for my charges went on unspoiled and unimpeded by the raging storm outside of their protected world.
In the end, the lesson is this: You are never really safe from nature. You cannot possibly forsee or prepare for every eventuality, but you have to try. Get out of the flood plain. Apply for a government buyout, find a sucker willing to buy, but get out! Flood insurance is impossible to get or to pay for if you can get it. Make your own insurance, and cut your losses. Do NOT be one of the Conklinites, or Endwellians who year after year clean up and rebuild, replace their belongings, and move back into their flood prone homes. Stupid, stupid, stupid!
We'll chat after the next disaster.

The Big Event

Wow! It was a wonderful weekend, capped off by a spectacular event! The grand wedding of Jaime Slaga and Christian Winfield was fantastic! If I seem enthusiastic, it's because I am, as was eveeryone present. I don't know the exact number of guests , but a huge crowd of friends, family, and well-wishers turned out for the nuptials.
The wedding was held at the Beardslee Castle near Little Falls, NY. It's midieval motif, and rustic charm were perfect. After the happy couple had once been there, early in their courtship, they could think of no better place to have the wedding. Neither could anyone else, by the time we had seen it and experienced the warm ambience of the great hall.
Talk about ambience, and charm! The entire wedding party stayed at and partied after the Friday afternoon rehearsal, at the marvelously restored Hotel Utica, in Utica, NY. Hotel Utica was an absolutely perfect choice for the wedding party and family to stay during the wedding weekend. The Friday night meal was cooked to perfection and served with style and panache unparalelled in my memory. This historic old hotel, recently restored to it's prime of beauty, once entertained the likes of FDR and Elenor Roosevelt, Judy Garland, and many of the stars of the 20th century. They stayed there and performed there. You could feel the presence of greatness in the vast lobby and on the opulent mezzanine.
I could go on forever, but I think you get the picture. Never was there a more connected and loving couple. These kids share every interest, and genuinely enjoy just keeping each other's company. Their love is obvious to even the most casual observer. The olde blogger wishes them the happiest possible of lives together, and know that they will have and enjoy it. Best always to Jaime and Chris!

Wedding is coming!

Everyone in the family is gearing up for the big day! My eldest, Christian, is about to step up to the alter and cement a life with his lady love, Jaime. She's a wonderful girl and they're about the best fit anyone has ever seen in a couple. I'm overjoyed that Chris was lucky enough to find such a fantastic lady to spend his life with. Fathers worry about those things, ya know.
So, dresses are being tried and bought. Shoes are ferreted our and broken in. Plans are being made to maximize the time of celebration and merriment. The air is becoming saturated with anticipation and joy. The old man's ready, as he has his best tropical shirt all wrinkled up and ready for the occasion. The beach shorts are properly ragged, and it should be quite a sight. Ha! Scared ya, didn't I? No, pop is doing the right thing and will be in bib 'n tucker for the great day. June 3rd is approaching too fast, and it's going to be a truly great day for the whole clan!

Where's the Motivation?

Did you ever wonder where all the motivation went? Why is it more and more people seem to need a swift kick in the pants to get themselves moving. Regardless of what they're supposed to be doing, be it their job, civic responsibilities, friendship maintenence, or family life, people seem less and less likely to join in and step up to the plate.
Sure, it's easier to lay back and watch the world go by. Hey, pop another brewski and pass the popcorn! From a spectator's position it's lots easier to criticise, and in the process of doing nothing, you've left nothing for anyone to be critical of. You can always claim you're gathering info so you can spring instantly into the fray at any moment. Let's see 'em prove you aren't.
Motivation. Where does it come from? I know where I get mine. Let em know where you get yours. All of us here North of Disorder are dying to know. However, we don't want to have to go out and find out for ourselves.