Volunteer hours may outnumber work hours

On Tuesday, June 9, The Old Men of the Mountain met at the Middleburgh Diner in Middleburgh, and did they meet! There were 35 OFs there and still some others did not attend because they had more pressing plans than gathering at the Middleburgh Diner.

It is a good thing that this group is totally ad hoc, and the organization plan and bylaws were scrapped long ago. Those were an unwieldy set of rules anyway, especially the rules that showed how the OFs were to deal as a body when problems with the wife and the police came up. However, when it is deemed necessary, that five-pound rule book is hauled out, dusted off, and used.

The OFs were glad to see the rain, but not all the damage that came with it. Of course, the OFs discussed the weather — it is a good conversation starter.

Along with the weekly weather reports, some of the OFs reported frost on June 7. The OFs who said they had frost, said it was not a killing frost and it came early in the morning. The ones concerned about the frost are the gardeners, and all reported that the tomato plants and pepper plants made it through.

The bridge-building OFs were at it again, building quite a span at Mine Kill State Park for hikers of the Long Path and others. This bridge is 40 feet long and 8 feet wide.

An OF who is a planner for some of these bridges had to build the bridge for ATVs. The OF said he constructed it wide enough so a 60-inch wide machine would make it across while the driver could still have a hand to handle his beer and there would still be plenty of room to navigate across the bridge. These people are all volunteers who maintain the path and repair the bridges.

Many organizations exist on the goodness of scores of people who volunteer for what interests them. These good people fall into groups that have similar likes, hobbies, or crafts. One OF thought that, if someone were to calculate all the hours good people put into volunteering, it would total more than work hours. This OF may be right.

Kidney stones no fun

Interspersed with the bridge discussion (and photographs of the progress of the work being done while it was under construction) was a discussion on kidney stones. Those OFs who have produced these nasty things are more than this scribe thought, and this scribe is one of those OFs who has manufactured these pointy rocks on more than one occasion.

This experience is not what anyone would place in the fun category.

An OF related a story of a kidney stone he had that was 3-1/2 inches long. The doctors had to remove two of his ribs, take the kidney out, and then cut the kidney in half to retrieve the stone.

They then stitched everything back together and returned the kidney to where it came from. This OF sent this scribe photographs of some of his stones. These photos will not be shared.

Lamenting rhubarb prohibition

The OFs found a common vegetable that they were told not to eat, and it was rhubarb. One OF explained that it was the oxalates in the rhubarb that was the culprit.

The OFs who had rhubarb taken off their foods to eat were disappointed because they all like rhubarb. Rhubarb-strawberry pie, or rhubarb-peach pie with vanilla ice cream — gone; no longer can this group of OFs enjoy these culinary delicacies.

One of the OGs mused, “Why is all the good stuff bad for you?”

This was just a rhetorical question — no one has the answer. One OF thought that is what Hell would be like for him — passing one kidney stone after another for eternity.

Shades of honey

Our honey expert brought in two jars of honey for show and tell. Tuesday’s breakfast was a good morning for interesting show and tell — one topic was the bridge, and the other was the honey.

What the honey OF had in one jar was honey the bees produce from May flowers, and then honey from later on in the season in the second jar. This is raw, unadulterated honey.

The May flower honey was almost clear while the late-season honey was much darker. The late-season jar appeared like honey on the shelf in the store, while May flower honey was almost like water.

The OFs thought that, if they saw the May flower honey on the shelf, they would leave it there because it appeared to be watered-down honey.

Some mornings with the OFs it is like going back to school as the OFs who have expertise in a particular matter give a little talk on what they do. These are not stand-up lectures but just discussions with the people who are within earshot of their table.

Those OFs who ambled into the Middleburgh Diner in Middleburgh and there were many, so that you know who they were, they were: Dave Williams, Robie Osterman, Otis Lawyer, Chuck Aleseio, Mark Traver, Bill Bartholomew, George Washburn, Don Wood, John Rossmann, Harold Guest, Glenn Patterson, Miner Stevens, Jack Norray, Mace Porter, Lou Schenck, Roger Shafer, Steve Kelly, Roger Chapman, Bob Benninger, Bob Fink, Jay Taylor, Bob Benac, Art Frament, Herb Swabota, Duncan Bellinger, Bill Krause, Jim Rissacher,  Henry Whipple, Mike Willsey, Gill Zabel, Gerry Chartier, Elwood Vanderbilt, Warren Willsey, Harold Grippen, and me.