Hello on Friday Morning

Dear Friends,

It wasn’t a good day for my Boston teams on Thursday. The Sox lost an afternoon game at Fenway, while the Celtics lost their game in Los Angeles.
Maybe these losses were a carryover from the lack of our power washers not finishing the job at our house. They are bringing back a forty foot ladder to get to a couple portions of the house, and to reach the gutters in the front of the house.

Linda had a great time with her book club members at Jae’s Spice last evening. She said that the food was wonderful, and that I would have enjoyed it.

We both won’t be home when the Power washer guys return this morning. My Friday golf with the seniors has a 7:30 AM start because there is noontime golf tournament.
Linda has a 9 AM appointment which is just about the time that the workers will be at our house.

Our annual UNICO installation of officers takes place this evening at the Cranwell Resort and Spa in Lenox. The cocktail hour starts at 6 PM. The food will be gourmet since the Chef is an honorary member of UNICO. He was too busy to become a regular member. If you remember, I missed it last year when I a pancreatitis attack, and eventually had my gall bladder removed.

Oil Spill – I can’t bear to watch the creatures covered in oil. The oil slick coming in with the tide is also an ugly sight. This oil spill will wreak havoc on the environment for decades to come. You can’t clean up after a hurricane, but not after an oil spill of this magnitude.

Observation – There is a movement across the country for a national test for our students. For anyone who thinks that this is some new or great concept, it is actually something that most of us have been talking about for years. As the influx and outflow of our students started when we baby boomers started teaching in the 70’s, most of us educators could see a need for national testing. We could see that our mobile society needed students learning the same base of knowledge in all subject areas. I remember a student form California who entered an honors’ class of mine. His base of knowledge was so different from what we were teaching in Pittsfield. It took months for the student to adjust.
National testing is not a new concept. They do it all over the world, and often it is for placement for Universities or Vocational schools. I do like our open enrollment system instead of pigeon holing someone in a tract which may turn out to be less than desirable, as time progresses.

Charter Schools are another thing that Politicians use as part of their campaign speeches as a way to solve problems with respect to public education. I haven’t seen too many great results with respect to these Charter Schools. The students at these schools don’t test any better. After a couple years, the Charter Schools usually shut their doors, and return to the Public School System.

Well, I have to read the local newspaper, do some quiet activities, and select my wardrobe for golf.
Since I am up a bit early, I will need an afternoon nap if I expect to make it through the UNICO installation.
Have a great Friday and a great weekend in general.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad

Hello on Thursday Morning

Dear Friends,

I would like to tell you how wonderful the power washing of our house looks, but it never happened. Our power washer guy thought that he would quickly do our neighbor’s house first, and then do ours. The crew worked from 9 AM until 4 PM on the neighbor’s house & deck. He rang our doorbell at 4 PM, and said that he would be back on Thursday morning to do our house. Our neighbor did say that they did a great job on his house and deck (synthetic material). This includes cleaning gutters also which were jam packed of pine needles from a massive tree in his front yard.
I hope that our house gets done today, but there is a chance of a stray thunderstorm.

I did give the lawn a trim. Our guy who spreads the chemicals on the lawn to keep it looking beautiful showed up just about the time I was finishing the lawn cutting. They said that the dry and burnt looking spots on my lawn were being caused by a fungus, and not grubs. The sprayed a chemical on the lawn which should kill the fungus. Actually, the two man crew said that they were spending the whole day doing what they did to our lawn for many of their other customers. I must admit that my friend who looked at our lawn was correct by telling us that it wasn’t grubs causing our problem.

Linda did go off to Panera Bread last evening to bond with an informal knitting group. There were 16 avid knitters at the gathering. You know that Linda can very easily join a group of total strangers, and become part of the group in just a few minutes, which she did.
I was happy to stay home, grill some burgers, and settle down to watch the Red Sox do battle.

Linda is out again this evening. Her Book Club is having farewell party for one of their members who will be leaving the Berkshires shortly. The lady has already sold her McMansion, and the house never spent a day on the real estate market. I think the book club will be dinning at Jay’s Spice on North Street in Pittsfield.
I will be home alone again in my “Man Cave.” I will have the remote control in one hand, and a snack of some sort in the other as I go between the Celtics, and the Red Sox. Do you really think that I will be sad to be home alone for the second evening in a row?

Speaking of baseball, how about the umpire who made an incorrect call at first baseball thus denying a Detroit pitcher of pitching a perfect game? At least, the umpire admitted the mistake after the game, but the pitcher was still credited with a one hitter, and not a no hitter.

My friends and I did play a quick 9 holes yesterday morning. We were supposed to do it again this morning, but my two buddies can’t make it. I kept the tee time Justin case I wanted to go alone. Right now it looks like the rain is ready to fall at any moment. I might stay home and bond with Linda while we wait for our power washer guy.

Well, the oil spill continues to flow in the gulf. Some plate size globs of oil are reaching Pensacola, Florida. That doesn’t bode well for tourism.

It is time for me to read the local newspaper, and make a decision whether to play golf alone or not.
Have a great Thursday.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad

Hello on Wednesday Morning

Dear Friends,

Well, the Tuesday rains caused a little disruption in our plans for Tuesday. The power washer guy didn’t want to take a chance on aluminum ladders during the rain and possible thunderstorms. My friends and I made it through 8.5 holes of golf before we heard the first clap of thunder. Luckily we were in golf carts, and headed directly to our cars to put away our clubs. After socializing for a little while, I went home and took a nap.
Linda had a fun time playing Mah Jongg at a friend’s home. Everyone won at least one game before they called it quits.

We decided to eat at home last night. I grilled dogs and hot sausage patties, and had the leftover foods from the picnic the night before.

We both settled down after supper, and went to our respective places to watch television. The Red Sox kept me entertained for over three hours as they were successful in beating the Oakland Athletics. Linda watched her favorite programs while I was doing my thing.

Since we have a sunny day predicted for today, My friends and I are going to play 9 holes of golf starting at 7:30 AM. Linda will deal with the power washer guy my absence. I am going to give the lawn a trim when I get back from golf.

I am not sure what Linda has planned for this evening. She has wanted to attend a knitters group at Panera Bread. They meet every Wednesday at 6 PM to socialize, share patterns, and have something to eat. Maybe tonight she will be able to participate.

Politician of note– It was sad to see that Al Gore and his wife are calling it quits after 40 years of marriage. They were growing apart according to the report that I heard. I will bet that he hooked up with a younger woman. The global warming must not have been working in his home!
I suppose that this separation / divorce can happen in any marriage. Neither Linda nor I could afford to keep the other partner maintaining the particular life style which we are enjoying right now. We don’t have some family fortune which we could tap into to resolve financial issues. We would have to sell the house, find separate apartments to live in, and possibly go back to work (heaven forbid), etc. Linda and I are totally happy as we approach our 39th year of marriage. We know pretty much what each is other is thinking and doing. I have my idiosyncrasies, but they are not enough to dissolve a marriage. We both drive each other crazy at times, probably me more than her. I did one load of clothes yesterday after I woke up from my nap. I left a napkin, from one of the two weekend picnics, in one of my articles of clothing. You can visualize a load of dark clothes covered with pieces of a white napkin over every article of clothing, plus the remnants of the napkin in the washing machine itself. Linda better wash a load of her whites next.

The oil spill continues to destroy lives in that region. They interviewed a Matriarch of a family whose has been Shrimpers for generations. The interview was so sad to see how this disaster has affected their lives. They were just recovery from the Hurricane Katrina disaster (5 years ago), and now their lives are in turmoil once again.

Our Berkshires, here in Massachusetts, are looking like a pretty good place to live. If we could get some more jobs back in Pittsfield, we would be ranked number one.

Well, I have to read the local newspaper and select my golf wardrobe for today.
Have a great Wednesday.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad

P.S. Garbage collection for our street and Pittsfield in general has been delayed one day because of Memorial Day.

Hello on Tuesday Morning

Dear Friends,

We had another pleasant day on Sunday, but not exactly the one which Linda wanted. She didn’t get a chance to see fireworks.

We had an impromptu cookout for supper at our house which included the Cote’s, the Gerardi’s and his parents who were in town visiting Steve and Marilyn.
It was a simple meal of dogs and burgers along with a portion of the bean concoction which Linda made the day before, a pasta salad which the neighbor’s made. Of course we had to have some appetizers which included chips and dip, a cheese and cracker platter made by the Gerardi’s, and an Asian epicurean delight made by the Cote lad. The dogs and hamburgers and a little batch of onions and peppers, and Linda‘s efforts of coordinating plates, utensils, serving devices, serving platters was our contribution. I was the cook and the beverage man. Some good conversation and some great food made for a wonderful time.

I had to empty the trash cans on the deck after the party because I didn’t want a visit from Rocky Raccoon last night.
Speaking of a visit from creatures, Linda planted a beautiful Herb pot on the deck. Some creatures ate the dill and parsley. I am not sure if a rabbit came up on the deck to feast on the herbs, or if it was our chipmunk friends. This battle with the creatures is driving me nuts.

We have another full day in the Curley Household. I have the power washer guy coming to do the house at 8:30 AM. I have to go around the house at take out the screens because he is going to do the windows too. I also have a 10:30 A.M. tee time at Berkshire Hills with three other friends.
Since today is Tuesday, Linda has her regular 11:30 A.M. to 4 PM Mah Jongg session.
Supper might be a grilling event, but I have the feeling that Linda might want to be waited on. She was pretty tired after being the party planner last evening. Cooking dogs and burgers is the easy job (which I do), but coordinating and taking care of the other details requires more effort.

I see where the world is in turmoil, the oil in the Gulf is still dumping many gallons of oil, Israel and the Palestinians are going at it, North and South Korea are gearing up for a fight, and today is the first day of the hurricane season in the United States. The weather prognosticators all agree that we are in for a difficult and long hurricane season. Agatha has already killed 115,000 in Guatemala.
Life may be good for the Curley’s, but it might not be so good for other people in the world.
If more people spent time enjoying family and friends by the end of the day they would have no energy to fight. If more people spent 40 hour per week working during their workable years in their lives, they would be too tired to come home, and engage in illegal activities.

Well, have to read the local newspaper before I start taking out the screens. Linda has promised to get up a little early since the power washing guys are arriving at 8:30 AM.

Have a great Tuesday at work or play.
As you see, our day is mostly play!
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad

Hello on Memorial Day

Dear Friends,

Happy Memorial Day!
Thank you for all the people who have served our country both past and present, and those who continue to do so. Thank you to all the men and woman who made the ultimate sacrifice.
I read yesterday that we have lost 1000 military people in Afghanistan so far.

We have a 23 unit parade which starts at 10 A.M. this morning. They will be marching from our City Hall to a Soldier Memorial Park about a mile from our City Hall. There will be a flyby and a speech form some high ranking military guy who will be flown in by helicopter to our local airport.

Another Day went as planned.

We did some errands before we went off to the picnic which we were invited to. We arrived at 3 PM, and stayed until 9:30 PM. The party and bond fire in the back yard of the hostess was still going on when we left. We had a great afternoon of food, fun, and merriment!

There was an interesting mix of people at the party besides the members of our Irish Sister City group. The Mom of one of my former students was there, and she explained what it was like going through the birth of triplets. Each baby weighed only one pound, but each grew up with no ill affects of being so little at birth. The Mom thought she was having twins, but to her surprise there was an extra one. She had two boys, one of whom I had in class, and one girl. The married daughter and her husband, who our oldest son graduated with from Pittsfield High School, were at the party.
As we left the party, we saw some flashing lights of a couple of police cars about a quarter of a mile south of the party house. We saw a ocean sized boat tipped over on its side. It appeared that the tire on the boat trailer must have gone flat as the guy was making a turn, and the boat just tipped over on its side.

While at the party, people were discussing what they were going to be doing today. Some are volunteering to help out with the setting up of the various units, dispensing coffee and doughnuts, etc. The Veterans’ Affair officer, who was at the party on Sunday, is in charge of picking up the guest speaker at the airport. Rosanne Frieri is not only the Veterans’ Affairs officer for our City, but she is a member of our Irish Sister City Committee.

After the parade and ceremony, some people said that they were going to opening day at Wahconah Park for the new minor league baseball team. They are called the Colonials. The league is an independent one. The Coach of the team is a former Red Sox player named Brian Dauback. The friend said that they would be staying for the fireworks after the game. As soon as Linda heard the word “Fireworks”, she said that she wanted to go to the game too. Linda is like a little kid when it comes to fireworks.
The game and fireworks is not a definite since we are we are supposed to hook with two couples at some point today. We are finalizing the details for a trip together at the end of August with all three couples. I think that it will be one of those Chevy Chase Family Lampoon vacations, and it should be fun.

Well, I have some chores to do, some of which are noisy, but they need to be done.
Have a great Memorial Day!
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad

Hello on Sunday Morning

Dear Friends,

We had another pleasant day on Saturday. We spent the day just doing our thing.

My day started at Retro Fitness with the 6 AM crowd which was really a handful of people.

I had to get a propane tank refill because I am pretty sure that I left the grill on the last time I cooked anything. Luckily the gauge was near the low end so that I didn’t waste a full tank of gas.

A little before noon, we headed off to Home Goods to replace a towel. Linda bought a towel a couple of days ago. Her new bathing suit doesn’t go well color wise. I said that I thought that we had some nice beach towels with fish on them. She said yes we do, but those were about 15 years old (still in good shape) She said that when she goes off to her yearly Cape adventure with her girlfriends at the end of June that she can’t be bringing the same towel year after year. We men wouldn’t care one bit!
You would think that a towel exchange would be a quick one. Not! We spent over an hour choosing a gazing ball and stand. Linda has always wanted a gazing ball for one of our flower beds. She got her wish yesterday, but it was a major production. The first problem was that Home Goods had all these beautiful gazing balls to choose from, but the store had no stands to put them on. I found a large flower vase in the clearance section. We spent over an hour finding the best gazing ball for the vase. Total strangers, and a neighbor, who happened to be in the store at the same time, even helped out with the selection. We started to attract a crowd of onlookers who were wondering what we were doing. I felt like I was in the women’s shoe department at Macy’s.
Well, the gazing ball is all set up in one of the flower beds, and I must admit that it does look quite nice. Linda said that she has wanted one for many years. Can you imagine if I, a color blind person, came home with my version of a gazing ball and stand?

We then had to make a grocery run, and pick up a few things. I needed to replenish our beer supply especially since we are going to a picnic today, and we are supposed to bring our own beverages. I also had a coupon where if I purchased two bottles of a particular beverage, I would get an $8 rebate.

We had a quiet evening alone. I grilled a couple of steaks. Linda whipped up a large sweet potato, which she split in half, and added some vegetables to compliment the meal. We finished supper about the same time as the first pitch was thrown for the Red Sox game. The Red Sox finally beat Kansas City by an exciting score of 1 to 0. It was so exciting that I dozed off for a couple of innings.

Sports -- A perfect game was thrown yesterday by an old Red Sox nemesis Roy Halliday when he was at Toronto. He is now a pitcher for the Phillies

Social Calendar – We are going to the picnic at the home of one of our Irish Sister City Members during the mid afternoon today. Linda made up one of her bean concoctions. It has been brewing in the crock pot all night. It smells wonderful. I am pretty sure it will be a big hit, and people will want the recipe. This is one of those recipes where we hesitate to give it away because everyone will start making it because it is so good.

News – A while back, a drone shot and killed some innocent people in the various war zones. A report came out, and the crew who controlled the drone got into some serious trouble. The Drone was controlled out of the same place in Las Vegas where Danielle was working as a flight instructor for the Predator before she left the military. If Danielle was in the military at the time, it would never have happened on her watch. The report said that it was pilot inexperience, and some bad decisions were made. Demotions have already taken place.

Well, I have to read the local newspaper, and the Boston Globe. I like to do so before Linda gets up. Reading the newspapers at the same time sometimes becomes a conflict. I will do some weeding while she reads the newspapers.

Have a great Sunday.
We are all set to have a great one.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad

Hello on Saturday Morning

Dear Friends,



Another day went as planned in the Curley household.



I played another not so great round of golf, but the day was picture perfect.



I took and afternoon nap so that I could stay up for the Red Sox and the Celtics’ games. The Red Sox got beat for a second night. I must admit that I spent most of my time watching the Celtics, and not watching the Sox go down to defeat.



Linda made it through her breakfast, body maintenance procedure, and squeezed in a little recreational shopping too.



Since the usual suspects weren’t available for supper, Linda called up another set of friends and asked if they were going to the Hills for supper. We went with two other couples and had a great evening. We skipped the buffet offering, and we decided to eat off of the regular menu, and the specials of the day. Linda and I had a thinned slice rib eye that was cooked to perfection. The place was not crowded at all. We sat in the members bar area.



We have no social engagements today, and I told Linda that it was perfectly okay with me. The weather channel says that we are in for a little afternoon rain with temperatures in the low 70’s. Sunday and Monday are supposed to be in the 80’s with plenty of sunshine.



We did get invited to a picnic on Sunday afternoon. An Irish Sister City member invited all of the Sister City members for a cookout. Everyone was asked to bring a covered dish, and BYOB. The festivities start at 2 PM.

I also think another friend is having a cookout too that we were invited to. Decisions – decisions! What are we to do?



The other night Linda heard some noise on the deck while she was watching some of her previously recorded programs. She turned on the spot light on the deck. She noticed a big fat raccoon knocking over garbage cans, and climbing on the lone birdfeeder. One garbage can just has the corn peels from the night before. The cobs I put in trash cans in the garage. This is why we can’t leave out trash outdoors.

Linda even yelled at the raccoon, but he just kept on doing his thing. This must have been the same creature that knocked over the bird feeder a week ago that I had hanging from a branch high off of the ground. Raccoons are great climbers. I am not sure how I can get rid of the raccoon. I hate to spend the money for a “Have a heart trap”, then what would I do with the captured animal. I also don’t want to stop feeding the birds.



A lot of people are having parties this weekend. Some are for college graduates, and some are parties before the actual high graduations in the county take place.

Speaking of school, on the way out of the Hills yesterday, I stopped to talk to some former colleagues who are still teaching. I asked one of the guys how things were going? He said that is starting not to be fun anymore. He said that he is starting to lose his patience with some of the wing nuts who disrupt class. Every teacher has one or two classes of these types of students.

I asked him when his projected retirement was going to be. He said that he has five more years to go before he can collect a reasonable pension since he entered the education field later in life. His wife is in the private sector, and they will both retire when they are 62.

I told him that the way he is feeling was exactly why Linda and I decided to call it a career. We saw the clientele was changing, and it wasn’t for the better.

Life as a teacher would be so easy if parents gave their children a head start in their own home. Parents are their child’s first teachers, and some parents fail to do their job. I saw a bumper sticker on a car when I was stuck in Boston traffic this past Monday. I can’t remember the first few words on the bumper sticker, but it essentially said to stop whining, and “Take care of your own damn children.”



Well, have a great Saturday, and remember this is Memorial Day weekend.

Yes, I have an American Flag blowing in the breeze in the front of our house.



Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad