Hello on Thursday Morning

Dear Friends,

Wednesday went almost as planned.

>The Retired teacher luncheon went exactly as planned. The sit down meal was served, and consumed complaint free. Linda and I came in separate cars because I had to go early to help my treasurer set up for some of the things which we do at the luncheon. Linda actually won one of the prizes during our multi gift raffle. The meeting adjourned at 2 PM.

No, I didn't go directly home. I rushed to the Pittsfield City Hall to catch the last speaker of the Mayoral Reception for our Irish Sister City guests which was held in our city hall chambers. The public was invited to the reception. A good time was had by all.
Linda squeezed in a body maintenance procedure while I was at the city hall.

After the reception, I went home and took a nap. I did so because of the evening event which we had booked in with our Irish Sister City Guests. We were supposed to go to an open mic session at a folk singing type of place located in the middle of our Berkshire Hills. I received a telephone call around 7:30 PM saying that the Irish Guests were tired, and they wanted to take a pass. Some of the people who were invited, including some reporters, were already at the place waiting for our Irish guests to arrive. I am not sure if our Irish Sister City President contacted all the invited guests, and told them that the event was canceled. Oh Darn!

We head East today for our next adventure. I will keep you informed as we make it through this journey.

We are in for a stretch of really nice weather for the Columbus Day holiday period. It we be back to short sleeve weather for several days before a cold front roars in next week. Words like a "frost" will not be found in any Northeast weather forecast for 5 or six days.

The court case, which I was involved in, ended last Friday. The write up was in the local newspaper earlier this week. The case ended up exactly as when I was dismissed from the jury at 3 PM last Thursday. The defendant was found guilty on only one of three indictments.
As far as me describing all the facts, events, and some of the wacky jurors, I think that I better stay away from the written word. I did tell the story to one of our Pittsfield Irish Sister City members at the Pub the other evening. She couldn't believe what she was hearing as I went through all the details of the trial. I think that she thought that it was more of a comedy show than a trial.

The AARP newsletter had a good article about how to add a couple of years to your life. They did a study of people from 1958 to the present time. The key to these extra years was to stay organized, stay busy, and have an upbeat attitude during retirement. I didn't have to have a study done to tell me what I am already experiencing.

We received an email from the Massachusetts Teacher Retirement Board the other day. Our pension fund account has weathered the financial storm. There will be no interruption of our monthly checks.
I really feel bad for some of my friends who work in the private sector, and who were banking on their 401 K 's as their pension. I have no clue what they are going to do. Let us hope that the financial markets make an upward turn soon.


Well, I have to get another cup of coffee, and do some chores inside the house.
Have a great weekend.

Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad