NANTUCKET TO HYANNIS FLIGHT 8/28/14

I flew back and forth from Hyannis to Nantucket today. Here is a video that will give you an idea of how the flight is and especially if you are skittish about flying in 9 seat Cessna planes you can maybe start to overcome your fear by looking at this "co-pilot" view of the 15-20 minute flight. We had to wait for about 6 planes to land before we "took  off" which I don't remember happening on previous flights but I guess it is worth waiting versus crashing into another plane.

Coin Flip

Sometimes in life probably everyone is faced with a decision that will impact the future course of their "life's path" and the decision is not clear cut on which path to follow as you may be comfortable with the current situation and wonder whether to leave that situation and take a leap of faith into the uncertain future of  change and a new direction. I was faced with such a choice in 1973 while at the time attending Marietta College in Marietta, Ohio.


I only applied to two schools of "higher education" after graduating Simsbury High School in Simsbury, Connecticut in 1972. I learned of Marietta College primarily from my high school coach of the Simsbury Rowing Club in 1971 C. Barton (Bart) Gulong  as I was one of about 30 or so high school kids who helped found the Simsbury Rowing Club that year. The Simsbury Rowing Club later became a recognized Simsbury High School sport that is still active to this day with many awards and trophies won by the Simsbury Crew team over the years. Marietta College (named after Marie Antoinette who had the same birthday as me, November 2nd but different birth year) is a liberal arts college with about 2500 students more or less located in Southeast Ohio near West Virginia. The town of Marietta was founded by a Revolutionary War General George Putnam.


I also applied and was accepted out of high school at the University of Connecticut (UCONN) to the main campus in Storrs, Connecticut. UCONN had about 19,000 students more or less attending the main campus with also branches in Hartford, Waterbury,Stamford and maybe another branch or two that I don't remember.


I decided to go to Marietta an started my college education there in the Fall of 1972. Marietta College at the time was about $3,000 per semester whereas UCONN was about $1500 per semester. I was again accepted at UCONN but at the Hartford branch after one semester at Marietta but I didn't want to go to the "branch". At Marietta I had fun and enjoyed the people I met there and was being "groomed" to be the "Concert chairman" by the current concert chairman for future years. For some reason that was one of my goals and interests. Myself and friend "Jim" were involved in setting up a film series for the students to watch (one film per week) at I think an admission price of 50 cents per movie.


I was accepted again at UCONN to the main Storrs campus after 3 semesters at Marietta for the 1974 Winter semester. This is where I had a decision to make as to "should I stay or should I go?" I didn't decide right away and told my friends that after the "Winter Break" either I would  be still at Marietta or transferring to UCONN and to check my room for the answer.


I had two tuition bills to choose from: Marietta at $3,000 approximately an UCONN at approximately $1500. My parents contributed a certain amount of the cost and I also had money from savings and a Summer job. I did have a small student loan from a local bank to afford the Marietta tuition. To help me decide which school to continue my education I decided to flip a Kennedy half dollar 10  times and decided that a "heads" result would mean I should stay at Marietta and a "tails" would mean I should transfer to UCONN. Guess what the result of flipping the coin was? (TEN HEADS IN A ROW!!) I thought to myself, what are the odds of that? Each coin flip of course should have a 50/50 result and each coin flip result should be independent of the previous and subsequent coin flips.


The reason for the coin flip in my case anyway was to assess my reaction to the result of the coin flip such as "Oh Good! or Hmm, I wish the coin had landed the other way".


I ended up after the coin flip walking the over two miles from my home in Simsbury to downtown Simsbury to the post office. I had with me two letters, one for Marietta and one for UCONN both with signed checks in them. When it came time to "Drop the letter with my "final decision" I ended up mailing the UCONN tuition check.


It was a tough choice giving up the situation at Marietta and it was a tearful trip to Ohio with my parents and brothers and sisters as we drove to Ohio to move out of my dorm room. In the end my "rationalization" was that I could try UCONN and see if I liked it and if I really hate it I could probably return to Marietta a semester later having saved $1500 dollars plus lower travel expenses for that semester. During this time Jimmy Carter was president and there were "gas lines" which probably also had some weight in my decision.


As it turned out I became too involved at UCONN and eventually became concert chairman there with the Student Union Board of Governors. I also over time came to the conclusion that "everybody graduates or transfers at some point into the "real world" after attending college. I do sometimes wonder what would have happened if I had stayed at Marietta and graduated from there where I would be today and how my "life path" would have changed.


Sooo, Flip a coin and see what you think of the result when faced with a decision on whether to "make a change".

Harwich Cranberry Festival Beach Volleyball Tournament

Here are a couple of photos of the trophy I still possess from The Harwich Cranberry Festival Volleyball Tournament from some time in I believe the 1990"s. Back then I used to play volleyball sometimes 4 nights a week in 2 leagues and 2 "recreational volleyball nights". In mid-September the Town of Harwich on Cape Cod hosts an annual Cranberry Festival with parades, fireworks, arts and crafts shows, a road race and back then a day at the Red River Beach in South Harwich with a beach volleyball tournament. 

The year that my team took the "trophy" a group of my volleyball friends assembled a team that didn't happen to include me. I said to myself "O.K, I guess I'll  just have to form a team of my own and win this tournament without them. I formed a team with myself(of course), brother Scott, Bob, Brian, Jill. and Doreen. I sent my winning thoughts out into the universe the night before the tournament and went down the beach the next morning to enter the tournament. 

As it turned out the team I was on and the team with my other volleyball friends had the best records in the "round robin" format and ended up playing in the finals. The game was scored with the first team to reach 15 points being declared the winner and you had to win by 2 points. We are into the final game and my team is behind 14 to 10 in a game to 15 one point away from losing as mentioned. I thought to myself, "How  can this be?" I had already decided that my team was going to win the night before and at that moment it looked like that wasn't going to be the outcome. 

Well, our team rallied from being behind 14 to 10 to winning 16 to 14. For some reason they never had another Cranberry Harvest Volleyball Tournament in future years so my team is STILL the undisputed CHAMPION of the Cranberry Harvest Volleyball Tournaments over 20 years later.

Soundings Resort ALS Ice Bucket Challenge 8/24/14

AnotherALS Ice Bucket Challenge at the Soundings Resort 8/24/14. Christina and Tamara of "guests services" get all wet.

ALS Ice Bucket Challenge 8/23/14 Soundings Resort Mr. Rickshaw

 I got surprised at the Soundings Resort beach today when Christina "challenged" me with the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge" Isurvived the cold, wet ,sticky ,sandy , ordeal. The "Ice Bucket Challenge for ALS has raised over 50 Million and counting recently and is definitely a "cool" experience.

Friday Fish Fry

Fried up a little bit of the fresh fish this Friday from Soundings Resort vacation owner Eric H. who owns a week at the Soundings and spent his honeymoon here at the Soundings about 25 years ago. Eric and his son usually go fishing with Captain Robbie Briggs a couple of times during their August visit. Eric mentions that he caught about 9 striped sea bass on their latest trip and that Capt. Briggs seems to know where the fish are. Thanks again Eric for the fish; topped with a little Italian bread crumbs, cooked in olive oil with a little bit of my home made sea salt later and a fresh home grown tomato I had an almost "free lunch" that was probably good for me.

360 Degrees of Soundings from the Beach CapeCod August 2014.

Here is a 360 degree photo for the Soundings Resort taken from the beach during the early evening of the "Big August Moon" with my new to me Samsung S5 smart phone.  Somehow this feature pieces together the phone while you spin around the full circle. Reminds me somewhat of when I visited Disneyworld in Orlando, Florida and they had a circular room where they had a 360 degree movie where you really felt like you were "right in the middle" of all the action on the circular screen. Click on the above picture for a larger sized view.

"Five Years After"

Five years ago on 8/20/09 I broke my wrist playing volleyball at the Harwich recreational center while sprinting from one side of the court to the other chasing a ball that no one seemed to want to retrieve. I remember diving and sliding retrieving the ball and then putting out my right hand so the I wouldn't hit my head on the cinder block wall and snapping my wrist making my wrist look like an "S". I then remember driving myself one handed to the Cape Cod Hospital and entering the emergency room. Other memories as well but although memorable these were not fond memories. And, lucky for me, my wrist healed so well without pins or surgery so  that now it was like I never had a broken wrist at all.

I celebrated the 5 year anniversary of my "wrecked wrist" by playing volleyball tonight at "The Woodshed" in Brewster, Mass on their outdoor sand court in the back of their rear parking lot.

I remember a "Sienfield" episode where "George" had a job as a "hand model". Now, I'm not saying my hand is so great that I too could be a "hand model" but I wouldn't mind having a "hand job" like George if I
was somehow discovered by a "hand model talent agent".

Yes, Only 1826 days ago my wrist was a fractured wreck; but now with the helping hands of Dr. and Mrs. Manel my wrist can make a fist, hold a fork in my hand, and even spike a volleyball once again.

"Summer on the Spring Break"

I remember back in 1975 while attending the University of Connecticut (UCONN) I went on a bus tour during March "Spring Break" from Storrs Connecticut to Daytona Beach, Florida for the week. We all  stayed at the "Whitehall" an oceanfront multi-story  hotel.


During the afternoon they had some sort of "lounge act" in a fairly small bar with "comfy chairs" and tables. During the break in the entertainment I went over to the jukebox and saw that they had the song  "Love To Love You Baby" performed by disco Diva Donna Summer who recently passed away. The price for songs on the jukebox was 3 for a dollar so I decided to select this song, then again, then again so that it would play three times in a row. The song, if you are familiar with it has lots of moaning and groaning in it by Donna. I had fun doing this as this song could be really long (over 17 minutes in the original version: see the above link from You Tube).


What reminded me of this is I recently was listening to a "Pandora Comedy" station and the comic (John Mulaney) told a story about when he was 11 and he and a friend went to a local restaurant and selected 21 songs by Tom Jones "What's New Pussycat for 20 times and 1 selection of "Its Not Unusual" which they selected as the 7th selection between all the "pussycat songs". The comic then described how everybody went crazy over time and the owner pulled the plug on the jukebox after the 11th playing of "Pussycat". This description had me almost "rolling on the floor laughing" in my brother's car recently during my mini-trip to Vermont. Luckily I wasn't driving.

Donna Summer Love To Love You Baby original long version (Disco 70s)

White Raven Green Mountains Didjeridoos.

  

On July 28,2014 I visited the "White Raven Drum Works Shop" up in Bridgewater, Vermont almost directly across the street from the "Long Trail Brewery". Proprietor  Kai  Mayberger  makes custom crafted Didgeridoos, Flutes, and Drums and gave a demonstration of the flutes and didgeridoos.The didgeridoo is common to the aboriginal tribes of Australia and I guess requires a little practice on how to breathe properly while playing. These hand made instruments are truly a work of art. Not sure how the didgeridoo received its name or what the word means in the aboriginal language. Maybe there was a tribe member named Geri and everyone would ask " Did Geri do" his chores? Probably not, so they invented an instrument to call Geri back to the camp ground.

Local Farm Stand

On the way back from inspecting a home for insurance purposes in Brewster on Cape Cod today I decided to stop at this local farm stand and buy some corn and cucumbers. The 8" cucumbers were $1.00 apiece and the corn was 50 cents each. It is good to patronize local small business efforts I think as there are in this case no waiting lines and I was driving by so this was definitely not out of my way as far as time or gas are concerned.

This farm stand reminds me of when I was four and used to sell tomatoes and cucumbers from a little red wagon that I would pull up the hilly  street on St. Michael's Terrace in Carmel , New York which is next to Brewster New York. Back then the prices were "2 for a nickel and 4 for a dime" for the vegetables. Some things I guess go up in price over time or maybe more accurately; the value of a dollar doesn't go as far as it used to from the days of yesteryear. It is somewhat coincidental I suppose that having lived in Carmel, New York next to Brewster, New York I now 50 years later live in Dennis, Mass which is next to Brewster, Mass.

Sometimes A Little Restraint Is Needed

Sometimes in life you can find yourself almost losing control and at those times it is true sometimes a little restraint is needed before you find yourself perhaps crashing and/or burning despite your efforts to keep yourself in a stable safe place. Do you know what I am talking about? Have you ever been in your life in such a situation as I currently am  where it is difficult to maintain a steady pace and not hurt yourself or others?

I wish I wasn't in such a situation as it can be a little time consuming and a little expensive to cure my problem. I consulted my Dad and he said I would be best to contact an expert that would know how to fix my situation. I made an appointment for early Thursday morning and all I can do is hope I can survive that long and make it into Hyannis (aka "the big city") on Cape Cod and hopefully they can steer me in the right direction so I won't have this problem again further down the road.

Yes, I admit I have a problem and that they say is the first step towards finding a solution. My problem is this: MY BRAKES ARE GONE!!  I think I am down to "metal on metal" as all of a sudden although my car will stop, it makes a very loud "groaning " noise. At first, the brakes were making a kind of "whump, whump, whump, whump" sound but not the "screech, squeal sound" that I have experienced with other cars. I have to somehow survive tomorrow through early Thursday morning and "nurse the car along". Yes, sometimes a little restraint is needed but "that's the brakes".

Free Gluten?

 What's all this I hear about "free gluten" and  "gluten free" this and that? To each his own of course but I  LOVE gluten and would be even happy to pay for extra gluten especially in bread, pizza and cake,  Some people even say I go a little overboard in my gluten consumption. I've even been called a  "glutton" for gluten  by some,  I just don't understand how the gluten manufacturers and processors can give away their gluten and stay in business' How do the gluten makers pay their gluten workers; not to mention the upkeep of the gluten processing plants not to mention the electricity and other utilities and those expensive gluten making machines' Maybe there is a governmental subsidy similar to all the Huge farms that get paid not to grow certain crops or get subsidies like the sugar beet farmers do to prop up the price of sugar for example. That reminds me though; there are a lot of "sugar free" products. There again, how can these people give away free sugar? Then there is "Pepsi Free" soda. Again, how can Pepsi make any money if they give away Pepsi Free? Oh. Well. I guess these business people must know what they are doing. I just don't understand all this "free stuff" myself.

HAIL CAPE COD

A dark and stormy afternoon on Cape Cod with hail ,lightning and rain. See the storm without getting wet!

Double Rainbows

Lately, I've been experiencing a greater than normal amount of rainbows. First on 7/27/14 in Vermont at a wedding with my niece Kaitlin and husband Jon on 7/27/14  in the Killington area and then on 8/6/14 at the Soundings Resort in Dennis Port on Cape Cod. The last time I saw this many rainbows in a short amount of time was probably when I went to Hawaii in the early 1980's where it rained I believe every day BUT usually only for about 10 minutes then the Sun came out and created a rainbow.  I don't know if this is a foreshadowing of something "wonderful" about to happen to me or just the fact that sunlight reacts to water vapors still in the air after a recent heavy cloudburst. Time will tell but some of these rainbows appear "out of this world" and perhaps "heavenly".  Maybe I'm due for a big "pot o' gold jackpot of some sort or maybe I'll run across someone with a "heart of gold" or maybe I'm just at the spots whether in the mountains or at the beach where there is a lot of thunder and lightening cloudbursts that clear up fairly quickly with the return of the Sun. I don't know.

"The World Can Breathe A Little Easier"

Yes, the world can breathe a little easier  today. AND,do you want to know why? Well, I rode my bike to work today and back home afterwards thus saving the gasoline needed to power a car approximately 3.8 miles. This act on my part made the air quality improve in Dennisport on Cape Cod and depending on the air dispersal through the wind direction also helped the air quality of wherever the wind would have taken the vehicle emissions if I had driven my car. I used to ride my bike more often in past seasons to the Soundings resort and back probably at least 100 times per season which had quite an impact I'm sure on the local air quality. Recently though I don't always allow enough time to ride the bike to work and sometimes I have the time but it is either raining or the forecast was for rain. Seeing how my bikes don't have fenders it is not a good idea to ride in the rain as you end up with all the water the tires kick up getting your pants all wet. Not good to show up for work looking like you had a massive "wet accident"racing stripe with your pants. Usually riding the bike to work takes me about 10 to 12 minutes but I have made it through the 1.9 miles in as little as 8 minutes whereas a car ride usually takes about 6 minutes and 47 seconds depending on how long it takes to wait at the stop signs for the traffic to clear. I enjoy the ride from the resort to home in the dark and don't mind the added risk or danger of the dark. Some people would even say that Danger is my middle name (but its not). Sometimes I see rabbits, foxes, skunks or squirrels on the road during my travels but I have never run over any animal with my bike but I do see the effects of road kill on the road from people who drive cars.

Yes, similar to the "butterfly effect" where supposedly something as minor as the beating of a butterfly's wings can start a chain reaction of events resulting in a hurricane; my bike ride is one small step toward a cleaner atmosphere and a giant leap towards energy independence by reducing the demand for petroleum usage. Plus, think of the health benefits I receive from this bike ride. Yes, although I don't ride my bike as often as I used to; I still remember how even after a long pause between rides as once you know how to ride a bike that knowledge stays with you and you don't forget. Similar  to other motor skills in life, riding a bike is like riding a bike.

Quick Brown Foxes

Just a few minutes ago I heard the sound of these foxes wailing like a wounded goose or something as they roamed the street outside my home on Cape Cod. They were chasing a neighborhood cat but either they were not hungry or not  skilled enough yet to organize an effective game plan to catch the cat. The foxes seemed fairly young so maybe they just wanted to run around and get some cool night air before retiring to their den.