Tribute to Sammy

Lost another good friend today.  This time it was a canine friend, Sammy.  Sammy was a 13 year old Australian Shepard that came home with me as a ball of fur in a box one afternoon in Georgia.  I was still married at the time and Noah was born about a year later. 

Sammy was the biggest pup in his litter as I remember and came running up to us as to yell  "Take me, Take me!".  Sammy would grow up to be a gentle giant about 80 pounds and tall at the shoulder.  He loved water, both to swim in it and try to eat it as it came out of the hose.  Sammy was big and friendly to everyone who came in contact with him.  Noah's mother would bring Sammy to Noah's baseball games and Sammy got everyone watching the game to pet him.  After two games everyone knew Sammy. 

Noah and Sammy grew up together and were best friends.  Just like I did with my boyhood dog Rusty.  I know Noah will  keep his memories of Sammy in his heart forever.

I just wish I had an answer for Noah when he called at 3:00 this morning asking me "Why?" 

But I didn't have one, I'm still asking that question myself.

Thanksgiving

General Thanksgiving

George Washington's 1789 Thanksgiving Proclamation

Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor; and Whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me to "recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness:"
Now, therefore, I do recommend and assign Thursday, the 26th day of November next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country previous to their becoming a nation; for the signal and manifold mercies and the favorable interpositions of His providence in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed; for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enable to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and, in general, for all the great and various favors which He has been pleased to confer upon us.
And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions; to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually; to render our National Government a blessing to all the people by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed; to protect and guide all sovereigns and nations (especially such as have shown kindness to us), and to bless them with good governments, peace, and concord; to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us; and, generally to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as He alone knows to be best.


Given under my hand, at the city of New York, the 3d day of October, A.D. 1789.

G. Washington (his actual signature)

Hog casings reflections....

I stopped by the grocery store to pick up a few items to make a pizza.  I guess most people don't call them grocery stores these days but I still call them by that name.  As I'm walking by the sausage and bacon aisle what do I see but packages of Hog Casings.  Salted Natural Hog Casing, a thing of beauty.   I make my own sausage and  finding casing in a local store in a suburb of Boston is not an every day occurrence.

There are plenty of places to order casing on the web, but I the quantities just didn't make sense for my use.  Making your own sausage for those asking is very easy and you control what you put into the mix.  All you need is a food grinder.

So I finish shopping and head to the cashier.  A young lady of about 17 and young man about same age was bagging.  Of course we need a price check on the casing because it does not scan.  I'm thinking let's have some fun with this.  I tell the cashier I'm not sure of the price maybe $4 something.  Then I say I'm surprised you have these, I make my own sausage.  Her look was priceless "You make your own sausage???"  like I just announced I had the cure for cancer.  I explained how easy it was and how you control what you put in to them, and the kid bagging pipes in that he really doesn't like the way sausage tastes.

I told him ,"See you would like it if you made it yourself".  I'm sure they both said I was a crazy old guy when I walked away, but someday I hope they try their hand at making sausage.

A Friend and a Horse

Personal Ensign died today. Who's that you may ask, you can find out here http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/56353/racing-icon-personal-ensign-dead  You can watch her last and greatest race here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oILJ6IYoZso

I watched that race on a Saturday in November 1988 with my friend Marty Healey  at the sports bar on 3rd Avenue  and 33th street in Manhattan.  Marty is gone, the bar is gone, now Personal Ensign in gone.  Seems like yesterday but it was almost 22 years ago.  Back in those days Marty and I would  follow the horses.  We would go to Belmont and spend the day mostly picking losers, but picking a winner ever now and then. 

The 1988 Breeder's Cup was only the 4th time the event was held.  It was still finding it's way in the horse racing world.  Personal Ensign helped put it on the map with her win that day.  I still get goose bumps watching it today.

Marty and I would take turns running up to Lexington Avenue in the rain, to an OTB to place our bets that day.  Now it is legal to phone bets in or place them online. 

I'll remember that November day fondly, I had the good fortune to spend it with two of my favorites a friend and a horse.

Reflections Along The Way to Fifty Two

Funny how the years have ambled along life's path.   One tends to forget it is all a matter of perception.  Back when I was is grammar school - that's what elementary school was called in those days - the subject of the year 2000 was often discussed, as I recall.  We all thought it was light years away.  More than one of the gang used to say " I'll be 42 when the next century comes around."  Now I'm about to turn 52 and it seems like the last ten years took about 37 minutes on my clock.

Time can play tricks on you.  But where you are in life plays a big part in your perception of time.  A child's perception a time is vastly different than an  adult's.  Anyone who has been a parent can relate.    As adults most of us are controlled by time to some degree.  We have to be at work at a certain time, be at this activity at a certain time, be at this place, and on and on.

Jimmy Buffett has a song he wrote about Hurricane Katrina, called Breathe In, Breathe Out, Move On.  the song starts out with these lines;
I bought a cheap watch from the crazy man
Floating down Canal
It doesn't use numbers or moving hands
It always just says now
Now you may be thinking that I was had
But this watch is never wrong
And if I have trouble the warranty said
Beathre in breathe out move on.

Maybe the man wasn't so crazy after all he did seem to me to have a pretty good handle on time.  Another interesting look at time is the classic Twilight Zone Episode " Time Enough at Last" take a look if you don't remember it.

Make the most of time and try not become a slave to it.
   

Old Friends

Old Friends,
Old Friends
Sat on their park bench
Like bookends.
A newspaper blown through the grass
Falls on the round toes
On the high shoes
Of the old friends.

Old friends,
Winter companions,
The old men
Lost in their overcoats,
Waiting for the sunset.
The sounds of the city,
sifting through the trees,
Settle like dust
On the shoulders
Of the old friends.

Can you imagine us
Years from today,
Sharing a park bench quietly?
How terribly strange
To be seventy.

Old friends,
Memory brushes the same years.
Silently sharing the same fear...

by Paul Simon

Well not quite 70 but still terribly strange to be turning 52 next month.

On New Years Day I wrote I wanted to slow down and make more time for friends. It is still a work in progress but still a worthy goal.

Facebook has been a good tool to use to catch up with some old friends. About 30 people from what seems like another lifetime got together one Sunday in August. It was great fun to see old friends from childhood and high school days. One of the highlight of the day was getting to see and speak with Mr. Tony Marino, who is the father of 4 of my childhood friends. Tony was and remains a vibrant person, well worth the time to stop and visit with. Pull up a chair.

Let's all take more time to pull up a chair and sit a spell with friends.

Bookends Theme
Time it was,
And what a time it was,
It was...
A time of innocence,
A time of confidences.
Long ago ... it must be...
I have a photograph.
Preserve your memories;
They're all that's left you.

By
Paul Simon

Baseball and Derby Day

To continue my theme of my last entry baseball is in full swing both Little and Major Leagues. Noah's team has played two games for a record of 1-1. This is his first year playing organized baseball and he is having fun playing. I was able to get to his second game and took a few photos.

It is interesting to see how the Little League has changed over the years since I played back in the late 1960's.

Most of the runs that were scored in Noah's game came as a result of a wild pitch or passed ball. I dug out my old newspaper clippings to read about home runs, doubles and the like. Today's kids have so many other things to grab their attention, back in the day we played ball all the time. Even if no one was around to play with I remember throwing the ball at the front stoop of the house as a backstop and practicing that way. I also remember getting yelled at when the ball hit the metal screen door.

Noah's team pushed 7 runs across in one inning and that ended the inning. Can not let any one team beat the other team to badly now. Back in the day there was no mercy. You played to three outs. I don't like that rule. If you get whooped on the diamond you need to practice harder to improve your team. But we can not hurt anyone's feelings these days.

Sports can be a wonderful tool to teach kids life lessons. There is no shame in losing if you try your best.

Theodore Roosevelt put it like this, ""The one thing I want to leave my children is an honorable name." "It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed."

One change that is positive is that ever kid get to hit even those not playing in the field. Also every kid get to play in the field for part of the game.

Little League baseball is a great thing for kids to be involved in.

On to Kentucky. The Derby was run yesterday and the second longest shot in the history of the race won and no I did not have him. There's always next year.