Thursday, July 8, 2010

Hello on Thursday Morning

Dear Friends,

It was another scorcher on Wednesday, and I hoped that you all survived the heat. Oh, I wish I had central air conditioning.

The people down South can keep these hot, hazy, and humid days. I couldn’t take a life of running from an air conditioned house, to an air conditioned car, to an air conditioned place of work, to air conditioned stores and restaurants, and then back home to a central air conditioned home.
I like to wake up to cool mornings and to be able to read the newspaper on my deck, play golf in 70 degree weather with no humidity, sit on the deck on the 19th hole, and socialize with my golfing buddies. Could Al Gore be correct that this heat wave is a form of global warming?

Our Tuesday went as planned. The claims adjuster took pictures of the water damage, and took copious notes and measurements. He said that he will submit a report to our insurance company. Our contractor is bringing samples of floor replacement materials mid morning today so that Linda can make some selections so that the contractor can get the job started.

Linda had fun at her Mah Jongg session last evening.
My golf committee meeting went okay. The Chairperson saved me from making telephone calls to people who haven’t responded to playing in our UNICO Golf Tournament on August 11. There were enough other people to do the task including the Chairman of the event.

Social calendar – Linda has a noon time body maintenance procedure. I will be doing some golf committee stuff while she is doing her thing. We both have to do some packing for our weekend trip to Cape Cod for the wedding which we were invited to.
The festivities begin with a 5 PM to 8 PM party at the Cape Cod home of the bride. Before we head off to this party, the plan is to visit one of my e-mail recipients who own a home in Falmouth area which is where the wedding will be taking place. I can’t wait for the partying to begin.

Observation 1 – On these hazy, hot, and humid days, it doesn’t even make sense to fire up the grill. When it is 90 degrees outside, how could anyone find joy cooking over a hot grill? It is even too hot to do a crock pot dinner.
I did use the electronic pressure cooker the other day to cook corn on the cob. Even though the corn wasn’t locally grown, the pressure cooker saved what little sweetness was in the corn. When you have to truck in corn from across the country or from down south, the flavor is lost during the journey to the Northeast.
We went by a corn field the other day on the way to one of our multiple picnics, and the corn stalks were only about three feet high. Maybe this warm weather will make them grow a little more. We have a ways to go before we eat locally grown corn in the Berkshires.
Our friend in West Stockbridge used to grow the best corn on the cob. The deer, raccoons, and rabbits caused him to give up growing corn even though he fences in his garden.

Observation 2 – I just got back from Retro Fitness. I was doing my own thing, which I like to do, when a guy that I know came up to me and starting chatting. We were talking about a couple of local guys involved in some situations which made the local newspapers. He wanted me to give him some first hand knowledge of how these two well known individuals got themselves in trouble. I tried to dance around what I did know, and what I could say so this guy goes into his life’s story. I didn’t want to know that he had a drug problem when he was growing up. I didn’t want to know that his two grown children are hooked on drugs; one on crack cocaine, and the other on heroin. I didn’t want to know that the state wants to take away his daughter’s two young children because she is an addict. Why am I a magnet for people like this? I must come across as psychologist or a psychiatrist, or maybe a Parish Priest.

Observation – 3 The Sox lost a third game in a row on Wednesday evening.
Tonight is the 9 PM announcement on ESPN of what team LeBron James will be playing for next season in the NBA. It is difficult to believe that the sports world will be watching and listening to a high school educated athlete, who makes millions of dollars right now playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers, talking about what team he decided to play for next season. Whatever the new team is, they will be paying him more than the millions which he has been making each year in Cleveland.
While the rest of the nation is hurting financially, sports teams seem to always be able to find money to pay for these overpriced athletes. This is all happening while the rest of us go from pay check to paycheck while trying to make ends meet.
In tough economic times, communities want to layoff teachers, firemen, policemen, nurses, etc. while athletes are paid exorbitant sums of money. Maybe if we stopped buying tickets to the games, which these high priced athletes play in, then some restructuring of pay might take place. They want the average person to “bite the bullet” during tough economic times, is it time for the athletes to be doing so too?

Observation 3 – I have given up watering the lawn. I am going to take the advice from a friend, and let the 90 + degree weather burn up the grass until the next rain falls. This saves me from doing the task of cutting the lawn.
I will continue to water the flowers. We invested too much money and effort into growing them and taking care of them. We can’t afford to replace them, if I let them die.

Observation 4 – How about the guy who fell 30 feet from an upper section in the Texas Ranger Ballpark reaching for a foul ball. Luckily no one got injured seriously.
I will be the next time, the guy will purchase a baseball instead of trying to catch an out of play ball.

Well, I have to get to some quiet chores.
We have one more day to suffer through before relief is in sight. I can’t wait!
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad

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