When this scribe phones the Old Men of the Mountain, most of the time the call is made from a regular phone number. Then there are a few with “cell phones” and most of the time this scribe is able to tell that by the area code.
Numbers which are familiar are 872, 861, 827, 295, and 868. When this scribe bumps into a number like 314, or 212, the scribe knows it is a cell-phone number.
The purpose for starting like this is that many, if not most, businesses, doctors’ offices, and the like assume everyone has a computer and knows how to use it, or a cell phone and knows how to use it, or any other of these electronic communicating devices and knows how to use them.
Well, they don’t. The assumptions are so strong that seniors can do either (the computer or the cell) but, in actuality, many seniors don’t have either one. Their kids may have given them one but they don’t understand how to use it. To arthritic hands, and senior minds, these devices are just paper weights.
One OF said, “What is so d--- important that it can’t wait?” His granddaughter’s cell phone rings all times of the day, even during meal time.
The OF claims it is rude. The call breaks up conversations around the table, and the family comes second to her. One time her mom said she speaks so seldom to them they don’t even know what her voice sounds like.
“Her little brother was smarter than his parents,” the OF said. “If you want to talk to her call her on her phone.”
Doctor-speak
The OFs spoken to did not understand the medical portals; one OF could get into it but then it became so confusing the OF was unable to go on, so he does not bother with it.
The OF also said, while at the doctor’s office, he thinks he understands what the doctor said in doctor-speak, but once out of the office the OF forgets half of what the doctor told him.
One OF said he was in the hospital with quite a problem and doctors kept coming in and doing different things and scratching their heads. The OF said the only one that could explain things to the OF and seemed to know more than the doctors, or at least spoke in real-speak was a young, male nurse.
The OF said, “He was the only one that put me at ease.”
Are girls turning into boys?
The other conversation morphed into when the OFs were young and times were different, and again it centered around young people today as opposed to the OFs when they were young, and this was gender inclusive.
This scribe thinks the OF was talking about chivalry without using the word. This OF did not understand the young ladies of today. To him, they don’t want to be ladies; they want to be boys.
The OF grumbled that girls want to be on the baseball, football, and basketball teams. They want to wrestle in the boys’ weight class.
What set him back a little was not too long ago his son and daughter-in-law were taking him to his doctor’s appointment and his granddaughter was coming along. He opened the car door for her and she told him, “Grandpa, I can open the door myself; I don’t need any help.”
The OF said he is beginning to have trouble distinguishing the girls from the boys. They dress alike, in jeans, plaid shirts, sneakers, and hats. The OF also claimed he wouldn’t be surprised if the girls are growing bigger with a different bone structure.
It almost seems the girls are becoming broad-shouldered and narrow at the hips. He isn’t sure but their voices seem to be coming deeper too.
Unfortunately, this is a one-on-one conversation. This scribe is sure, if the same conversation were carried on in the group, there would be much talk and opinions on this one, and some of the OGs might think this particular OF is becoming a little paranoid.
This scribe thinks: Wait until the granddaughter is 18 or 19 and things will be different.
This scribe said think back to when we were young on the farm. All the kids pitched in to help with the farm work, even the milking, and many a young lady could pitch hay as well as any boy her age, or handle the horses, drive the tractor, milk and feed the cows, and it was expected and not considered different at all.
All the jokes about the farmer’s daughter were probably made up by city slickers who didn’t know what farmer’s daughters were really like. If boys messed with those young ladies, and they didn’t want to be messed with, the boys would be decked quicker than you could say Jack Robinson.
Heaven and hell
Another week has passed and this column did not have to mention the pandemic once. Until now. This scribe received this note from another OF who obviously knows how to access his computer.
It seems that people keep asking if COVID-19 is really that serious. Listen up: Casinos and churches are closed. When heaven and hell agree on the same thing, it’s probably pretty serious.
Thanksgiving is over and the few calls to and from the OMOTM revealed that — to a phone call — the gatherings of relatives and friends were going to be greatly reduced. One OMOTM was going from the normal 20 to 24 people down to three.
That was the largest drop reported. The others were generally the same down to nine or 10, with one who has family close by and even though the countdown was at 12 there was a sentry at the end of the road to watch for turkey cops.
Today with cell phones it is not necessary to have walkie-talkies or a two-way radio to communicate back and forth. The above-mentioned OF had one of the attendees leave their cell phone on, and that was the number for the sentry to call if a turkey cop was spotted.
Two attendees who drew the short straws were assigned to scurry to the root cellar if a call came in. A few cars were in the driveway, but some were in the barn with the doors closed to cut down on suspicion of possibly too many at a particular domicile by car counters as they drove by.
The OFs really didn’t worry that anything would happen but part of the conversation at a couple of the meals was what would the police do if they spotted 11 at one of the meals? What would their options be?
Would they cuff one and take him or her to the station with the rest, or hand out an appearance ticket to whoever was hosting the dinner? What would the penalty be?
This made for some interesting chats around the table at a couple of the OFs’ dinners. However, only one had anything to worry about, and this scribe does not think they worried much, if at all.
In these well-wishing calls, the Thanksgiving wishes were given by all to all, and the theme was that, in the way things are going now, we still have much to be thankful for. In one call, the scribe and one OF hit on the same theme.
That theme was: With all that is going on — this matters, and that matters or nothing matters. The discussion finally came down to this: Enjoy yourself. These are the good old days you’re going to miss in the years ahead.
One OF said that, because the group is so small, instead of turkey this year they purchased a big chicken and were going to cook it turkey-style. The same OF said that, with some of the side dishes they usually make, they had trouble figuring out how to scale the quantity of ingredients down, because they are only feeding three instead of 23. The OF said, if they use the original recipes, they would have leftovers all the way to the Christmas dinner.
Christmas is coming
That is right. Christmas is only a few days away. No wonder we all put on pounds during this time of year.
One OF asked the scribe if he has done any Christmas shopping yet. The scribe gave a truthful answer and said he really only shops for one person and that is his wife, and he does a miserable job at that. The scribe said his wife does the Christmas shopping and she does a bang-up job at that chore.
All the scribe does, he told the OF, is the Christmas cards, but again the scribe’s wife goes over the list, makes out the labels, removes those who have passed on, changes the address of those who have moved, etc., etc. And the older we become, the more names are taken off the list because they have joined the passed-on group.
The OF said there is a heck of a lot that goes on with the holiday season, including the decorations, super-cleaning the house, keeping the cat-box empty and the cat full. Then the OF added maybe this year it will all be for naught because this OF said he thinks they won’t be getting visitors like they used to in past years, at least for the remainder of 2020, and maybe part of 2021.
Along with this time of year, with Thanksgiving over and Christmas coming, two of the OFs mentioned how (at their places) the lilacs are budding out, and so are the wild apple trees, and this is in the Hilltowns. One OF mentioned he has not been to the flatlands in a while but he bets the trees and shrubs are further along than at his place.
When the scribe mentioned this to one of the OFs, this OF said he winterized all his lawn equipment and the lawn could be mowed again for winter but he is not going to do it now; he will just let it grow. The OF said he will cut the lawn in the spring because he is not going to run his mowers just for one shot and then have to go through all the winterizing again.
With all that is going on, it sure is a different year.
During this trying time, I noticed my wife was a little upset with some things that had gone wrong. I told her she should embrace her mistakes. She gave me a big hug!
The Old Men of the Mountain, when spoken to, generally start with the pandemic, then the how-are-you’s, then the weather. These are normal opening greetings when the get-together does not have a specific purpose.
When it is the pandemic, the OFs generally complain that it is a pain in the butt, but really wish it would be over. The how-are-you’s usually are full of fibs because every one of the OFs seem to be great. The weather, if it is seasonal, there are just a few comments; if it is bad either way then “I remember what the weather was like in …” begins.
That takes up some time in the conversation. This week, however, somehow a few comments and remembrances were on basic training in the military, and being called up to serve. This scribe remembers one OF early on telling how the seniors at Berne-Knox-Westerlo all went to Schenectady to answer a draft call.
Snowed under
One of the OFs related a story of his coming home after reporting and going through all the rigmarole at the draft center. It was in the dead of winter and it was snowing.
At the top of the hill, just about at Highland Farms, or not too far from where routes 156 and 157 (Thompsons Lake Road) meet, the group buried the car in a snowbank and they decided to walk home and get a tractor to pull the car out.
However, the OFs did not realize how bad it was snowing, (they were just kids at that time anyway) and by the time they made it to a house at the end of Witter road and Route 156 they had had it. The YFs stopped in and asked if they could get some help from the old goat who lived there and he refused.
The (now) OFs remembered how he said he wouldn’t even let them in to warm up. Thank goodness the people on the Hill are not like that now, or least the OFs hope so.
So the group trudged on, but did split up some, because a couple of them took off up Pleasant Valley Road. The OF telling the story had to hike all the way to Line Road, and that is a hike in the winter, in the snow. The OF said, after all this, the draft board wouldn’t take him because he was a farmer and farmers were deferred.
An older recruit
Another OF told of how he knew his number was becoming close to being called and the OF said he did not want to go in the Army, so he enlisted in the Air Force. The OF said he was not that young and had two college degrees under his belt. This scribe forgets what he turned down because of his education but he did go into the regular air service.
Some of his buddies tell the stories of what the OF did in basic training and afterwards these buddies say it is a wonder he was not put in the stockade. None of the shenanigans he is alleged to have done were bad; most had to do with authority and common sense.
One story was about day one and they were still in their civilian clothes. The first uniformed airman they met was their drill sergeant and, after initial greetings, they were told in no uncertain terms to go to their barracks and he wanted all of them in the barracks in two minutes. Which was impossible, but was to apparently give them the idea this guy wanted it done right away and fast.
The buddy telling the story continued that the first in line ran and all tried to go through a simple door at once, which really did not work. When the OF in this story got to the door, he walked instead of running, but the walk was at a good clip, and he put his arms across the door and told everyone to stop and he started letting them through quickly — one at a time.
The OF again telling the story said everyone paid attention to this OF and he thinks it was because he was so much older and made sense. He also said the sergeant pulled him aside and started hollering at him. He doesn’t know what was said but he noticed the OF just listened with his arms folded.
The OF kept on with telling some of the stories and he feels that the other OF early on got something on the sergeant that was important, because nothing happened to the older fellow all the while he was there and he did other things similar to this — not many but enough to be noticed.
He does recall that the captain one time came to this particular OF and the two of them went to see the colonel. The report was, in essence, the colonel told the OF that, since he was older, and not much younger than the colonel, and the colonel knew that the men respected him, but the job of the sergeant was to teach that following orders, no matter what, and would he please help.
Later on, the OF said, the Air Force was aware of his education and wanted to make use of it. The OF never left the states and was in a pretty important position though he never took a test or desired to go any higher in the military. He just put his “time in to get out” which was his motto. Just like the doctors in M.A.S.H.
A soldier finds
a scorpion in his tent
In the Marines, he kills the scorpion.
In the Army, he calls his CO and reports the presence of the scorpion.
In the Air Force, he calls the front desk and asks why there’s a tent in his room.
To begin with — the title of these reports is The Old Men of the Mountain. Old is the predominant word, but so is Mountain. In quite a few discussions with the Old Men of the Mountain, many times “Mountain” has nothing to do with it. It is the word Old.
With Old comes how things were years ago and how these things were simpler. Loyalty to your employer, and the employer to the employee, was common. Younger people might not understand this. It is involved and the Harvard bean counters have taken over and people are now collateral and the OFs hate it.
Another aspect of “back then” was that doctors were doctors. The OFs make sure in most of their discussions that doctors today have more to deal with and it may be necessary for them to operate the way they do.
The OFs generally start the conversation when the topic comes up “Ole Doc (enter name) would have treated that right in his office,” and then they would go on with the story. The essence of the story would be an aliment the OF had that the “old family doctor” would treat right in his office and not send the OF off to some specialist that treats only warts.
Many stories crop up that fit the criteria of then and now, some of which definitely point up this fact. A few such stories follow.
An OF accompanied a friend of his to the doctor because that friend was breaking out in boils. These boils were mostly small, yet some were pretty good-sized.
The friend went to the school nurse in Schoharie Central School who sent him to the school doctor. When he arrived at the doctor’s office, the doctor looked at the friend’s arms where the majority of boils were.
After looking at the boils for a while, the doctor said, “OK boys, come in the back and we will take care of those right away.”
There were no questions about insurance, or family history, or had the kid recently come in contact with some animal, or the manure pile. No questions. The OF said they just went in the back.
The OF said the doctor had the kid with the boils hold out his arm and the OF was to take hold of his hand and hold his friend’s arm stiff. The doctor then took what looked like a rolling pin and rolled down his arm and the boils popped like bubble wrap.
Blood and pus ran down his arm and the friend tried to tough it out but couldn’t and yelling became quite loud until the doctor was done. The doctor cleaned up both arms and put a black-looking salve on them and wrapped them in gauze.
That was it! There was no going anywhere else because the doctor took care of the whole thing.
The doctor told him to increase his hygiene and to get some Fels Naptha soap and use that. Problem ended!
Another OF said he woke up one morning and could not move his head in any direction and when he did the pain in his neck was excruciating. The OF said he was very young at the time (it was the early fifties) and his wife took him to the doctor in Esperance and she did not even have her driving license yet (did this scribe mention they were young OFs?). The OF said it was panic time.
When he reached the doctor’s office, the doctor took them in right away. The OF said he barely made it in because not only could he not move his head, but his legs did not want to cooperate either.
The doctor said, “Well, what do we have here?” and took the OF into the office.
The OF said the doctor checked him over and then the doctor went into his inner office and brought out a large-sized book and started reading. The doctor then said to the OFs wife, “I think I got it.”
Then he disappeared again and came back with a needle as long as a yardstick and the OF said the doctor told him to put his head down. The OF said he did and the doctor stuck that needle right into the left side of his neck from the back. (As the OF gets older, the needle gets longer.)
“Whatever he had in that needle he pushed into my neck and it was hot,” the OF said.
Within seconds, the OG was better. He had no more pain and everything worked.
“Plus,” he said, “I am 80 years old now and I’ve never had that problem again. Whatever the doctor found in that book and whatever he pumped into my neck did the trick. We never asked what it was, and the doctor never said. We just thanked him profusely, paid our 10 bucks and went home.”
Would that happen today? “Nah,” the OF said. “I would probably see two or three specialists, and wind up in the hospital and it would cost the insurance company thousands.”
There were quite a few of these early-doctor stories that were rather intriguing but if this scribe can remember them we can use them at a later date. This is not the horse-and-buggy days but simpler days.
This scribe poses the question: Are the OFs, “old” because of the doctors we went to when we were young, or is it the young doctors of the OFs’ old age that are keeping us here, and up and about?
By the way, did you hear about the guy whose whole left side was cut off? He’s all right now.
Occasionally, the Old Men of the Mountain consider the weather and right now, as the scribe squints his tired old eyes at the machine that types on glass, it is Nov. 8 and it is beautiful outside. Not only that but the TV will, or should, be rid of all those political ads. OF course, one OF mentioned the broadcast stations will be missing a source of easy revenue.
The roving reporter reported that there were even fewer at the restaurant than previously. All the OMOTM can’t wait for this “pandemic” to be (more quotes) “over” or a workable “vaccine” found and the group can get back together again, this scribe included. This scribe hopes there is not another “plague” waiting in the wings to come on stage.
During this time of limited travel many of the OMOTM are fixing up their domiciles, or, as some are doing, playing with wild animals. Some have said they are training chipmunks to eat out of their hands, but many of the OMOTM say these things are nothing but rodents and are worse than mice.
However, don’t tell the chipmunks that because, according to the OMOTM, they think the chipmunk enjoys the camaraderie and the free food. On the other hand, one OF is taming a mink. He has a video of the furry critter cavorting on the deck of his pond in back of the OMOTM’s home.
This scribe does not think the mink will ever be tamed but he thinks it is just hanging around for a handout. It must be fun to see such an elusive wild animal behave like this.
One OF years ago told the story of having a skunk adopt his home. The OF said he did not know it was around because there was no odor until one day, when he was getting the tractor out from the garage, a little black nose poked out from behind a piece of plywood leaning against the wall. The OF said he didn’t do anything but back the tractor out.
This procedure went on for about a week. One day the OF said he summed up a little nerve and reached over with his hand out and the skunk approached his hand and took a sniff. From then on, the OF and the skunk were friends.
One day, the OF and his wife were going square dancing and were waiting for the rest of the square to come and pick them up. The other couples seemed to be a little late so the OF went out to see if for some reason they were there waiting for the OF and his wife to come out. And they were, but their concern was the skunk in front of the garage door.
The OF said, as he approached the car after calling to his wife that they were there waiting, the driver lowered his window and said, “Go back! Skunk, skunk! There is a skunk in front of your garage door.”
The OF said, “Oh that! Hang on! I will let it in,” and the OF opened the garage door and the skunk waddled in.
The OF commented that the skunk hung around for about three years and finally just disappeared — one day it was just gone. The OF said it was like losing a cat or a dog — just gone.
The other odd thing is there never was an odor. It is an example, this scribe thinks, that animals adopt us, not the other way around. When anyone gets a cat or a dog, or even a canary, these animals usually just put up with you. We never own them; we just think we do, no matter what they cost.
Gust throws tree into OF’s house
There was some excitement at one of the OMOTM’s home on Monday, Nov. 2, when the winds were so high. At this OMOTM’s place, a gust of wind came through around 12:15 p.m. that drew the attention of the OF and his wife.
The OF said he heard the roar for about an instant (however long that is) then the house shook, and there was a huge crash. The OMOTM’s wife said excitedly, “Look out the bathroom window.”
The OF quickly went to the bathroom window and all the OF said he saw was branches. A huge tree in back of the house blew over and crashed against the house.
What a mess — there was a branch through the roof of a room in back of the house; part of the ceiling was down. The OF went outside and what clutter was seen then. The tree lay on the roof of the 3-season room and up against the main part of the house.
The OF said that he told his wife, “This is not going to be a good day.”
The OF said he then called Pridemark Tree Service, which is owned by the son of one of the OMOTMs and does a lot of work here in the Hilltowns. They were at the OFs home in short order, checked the situation out, and showed up the next day with enough equipment to build the Grand Coulee Dam, and in about four hours had the situation cleared up to the point where everything was safe.
Now comes the cleanup. The OF said that tree appeared healthy and was the air-conditioner for the house in the summer.
At this point in the month, the OFs have made it through the pandemic, political elections, animal activities, uncertain weather, and there is still a lot more to come. Being an adult is like folding a fitted sheet.
“It’s paradoxical that the idea of living a long life appeals to everyone, but the idea of getting old doesn’t appeal to anyone,” said Andy Rooney.
It is tough for this scribe to type the month “November” but there is no stopping time. Time marches on, so they say, and each breath is in the future and once taken is in the past.
The tendency to stay home among most of the OMOTM still carries on; however, many took the advantage of early voting hoping the status quo holds forth and nobody kicks the bucket between voting and Nov. 3.
A couple of OMOTM usually worked at the polling places, but this year because of the virus they decided not to. One said it is about time some of the younger people did that job, we are getting too old, but one said he liked doing it because he got to meet his neighbors.
When times were different, the OMOTM would bring breakfast to the OMOTM that was working the polls, and the others working there would grumble as the aroma of the OMOTM’s breakfast wafted through the polling place. Fun days.
Talking to the various OMOTMs one-on-one via the phone, this scribe has learned that some OFs take it day by day and whatever the day starts out the OFs take care of the problem, and the others have to-do lists. These to-do lists have carry-overs.
What does not get done today continues on to the next day. It is hard to know what causes more stress, the to-do list for some OFs, or the OFs who just wake up and whatever happens — happens.
Then there are OGs that don’t worry about either one; they have a wife that does that job. This is the OF’s typical honey-do list, and the scribe did find a multiple to-do list where the OF has one, the kids and grandkids have another, and the wife another.
This requires quite a bit of dovetailing to find out who gets what done first. The OF said generally it is his projects that come up last.
“But,” the OF continued, “when we were meeting on Tuesdays, that was always number one. This included doctors’ visits not made on Tuesdays unless in the middle of the afternoon, things like that.”
What constitutes a to-do list? One OF mentioned house maintenance is normal and not on the to-do list. Taking the wife shopping is on the to-do list. Phone calls are on there also.
This OF said he really falls into the category of not having a list; he just does as he is told, and goes to where he is directed. “That takes up my whole day,” the OF said.
Grocery costs
One OF complained about the price of groceries. The OF asked the scribe a rhetorical question about how much it costs to go to the grocery store now.
Then he added this comment: “Here we are with tons of people out of work and groceries going through the roof. How in blazes are they supposed to manage? They (whoever they are) keep touting on how we are supposed to eat healthy, but all the healthy food costs an arm and a leg; even cereal is getting expensive.”
If out of work, no money coming in and two kids, junk food is about all people can afford to keep the stomach from growling. The OF said, “Thank goodness for all the work people do with food banks and food giveaways. God bless these people.”
Then the OF continued, “Look what they charge for a box of corn flakes. I bet, if you dump the box and count the flakes, there isn’t even one ear of corn in the whole box.”
Animal welfare
A few of the OMOTM did get together and their conversations again were typical OMOTM talk except one OMOTM reported that his daughter-in-law unfortunately hit a bear cub and the OMOTM relating the information said the location was on Route 156 somewhere between Pleasant Valley Road and Route 157 (the Thompson’s Lake Road).
The OMOTM reported there was not much damage to the truck, but they had to put the poor cub down. There is one mad momma bear running around the woods in the Hilltowns right now.
This brought up notice of how this year has produced so much vegetation and food for animals native to the area, including bear and deer. They are well fed and enough should still be on the ground to help them out during the winter.
Rabbits are now as big as hound dogs, and squirrels are as big as cats. The whole collection of hills that make up the Helderbergs are covered with pine cones.
The squirrels munch on a pine cone and have such a good time doing it. They leave the cone looking like the cob of an ear of eaten corn.
In this conversation, one OF wondered what the winter will be like. According to the woolly-bear, it will be similar to last year. Front and back — black; the middle — brown. However, the middle brown is somewhat darker than last year if that means anything.
For those of us who live in the Northeast, winter is snow problem, and when someone wishes me a “Happy Winter,” it always leaves me cold.
Some of the Old Men of the Mountain are beginning to come out of the woodwork. There have been a few meetings at a couple of places on different days. They all got together at the Chuck Wagon last Tuesday and, according to reports, there were about 10 there. Most, however, are still staying away from crowds and eating establishments.
It was reported that some of the conversation at the Chuck Wagon was on motorcycles and motorcycle repair, but there was also a discussion on bees. Honeybees are extremely important as well as butterflies.
Without these bees we don’t eat. As we have reported before, there is an apiarist (beekeeper) in the midst of the OMOTM. The OF who is the beekeeper was telling some of the other OFs that, instead of hauling all his bees to North Carolina for over the winter as he usually does, the bee-keeping family has decided they are going to keep them here. This Carolina trip has been in the column before.
The OF reported that his son found an article on keeping bees in Canada and how the Canadians keep their bees over the winter. So the OMOTM beekeeper and his son refurbished a chicken coop on their farm into a controlled atmosphere for keeping bees and they are going to use the converted chicken coop to keep the bees right on their farm over the winter months.
This endeavor, the OF told the group, will save them travel time back and forth plus they will not have to quarantine themselves for 14 days upon the return to New York. Ever wonder where Noah kept his bees? In his archives.
Other than the honeybee talk the conversations were rather routine and regular OMOTM conversation the OG on the phone said.
“United Statesicans”
In the paper the other day there was a conversation that hinged on the same discussion that the OFs had a while back. Sometime before whatever country it was that sent us this nasty little germ, the OFs would have momentary deep discussions — at least for the OMOTM.
This topic was on the word “Canadians.” We are Americans, Canadians are Canadians, Mexicans are Mexicans. Brazilians are Brazilians, so on, and so on. Canada and the United States are in North America. Mexico is in Central America. Brazil, Chile etc., are in South America. Doesn’t that make us all Americans? Why are we singled out as Americans?
This scribe thinks they really all are Americans, but it is tough to say “United Statesicans.” It is much easier to just stick the “icans” to Canada, and come up with Canadians, and Mexico to come up with Mexicans, etc. etc.
Then again, the U.S. is a conglomerate of a group of states into one country instead of being like South America where that part of the continent is a group of separate countries confined to one geographical land mass.
An OF at the time said, “Can you imagine the United States being like Europe with each state a country having its own currency. Holy cow! What a mess that would be.”
Another OF chimed in, “What would we call those from North and South Dakota, or even us from New York, and how about Massachusetts?”
Yet another OF said, “It is good we are all called Americans, but still again so are all the others in our hemisphere.”
Then an OF brought up the question of what about all indigenous people that inhabited the land before Amerigo Vespucci?
Enough of that, should we all be called Indians, now it becomes another can of worms.
Excursions
Now on to something else. Some of the OFs have the hobby of fishing. Some even couple this hobby along with other hobbies — as reported just a few weeks ago — motorcycle trips.
Fishing poles are easy to carry (as are some of the lures) and as these OFs travel around using one hobby to facilitate another like camping, and that one to facilitate another like fishing, they are able to make possible both of those from the motorcycle. The OFs into those hobbies are kept busy.
One OF mentioned that this fall has been great to do all three, and some of the pictures he has sent show that the OFs are having one heck of a good time. The latest excursion has been to Lake George and elsewhere in the Adirondacks.
One of the OFs says it gets him out, and social distancing is not a problem because most of the time he and a couple of other OGs are by themselves.
The fishing experiences in many cases are catch and release. When the OF is fishing by boat, it is still a lonely sport, and still outdoors, except when driving to wherever. No one ever said fishing is a contact sport, except on the Salmon River in Pulaski when the fish are running. Fishing is done by OFs into their eighties.
One of the OFs reported that, just to get out and enjoy the late fall weather and the color, they packed up a picnic lunch and took a ride to nowhere, had their lunch on a hilltop in the car, and then went home. Not a bad idea just to get out of the house.
Maxine (do you remember the crabby old lady?) said the leaves are falling faster than a politician’s approval ratings.
Location:
There are many topics the Old Men of the Mountain have discussed via the now technology-loaded instruments developed by ole Alex G. Bell. It is rumored that the original annoying communication tool was possibly invented by some guys like Elisha Gray, Antoino Maucei, or others.
Of course the current times are mentioned by those OMOTM because they are concerned about what is going on with medications because of their ages. The OFs were all hoping for a remedy that will work if you get the virus and a few maintain a cure is already out there.
Then there is the vaccine that appears to be close. One OF mentioned the vaccines that have been developed and how well they have worked.
An OF related that, at one point, this family doctor was a research doctor and the company he worked for closed, so he went into private practice. This doctor told the OF that the doctors and medical people that are in the research business are doing the best they can.
Many doctors or members of their family have the same illnesses that we all suffer from. The research people are not kidding around — they want the cure and they are devoting their lives on finding just that.
This OF said he will always remember that. This particular doctor was also not a pill-pushing doctor. The OF said he used to get a jumping nerve in his head that at times really hurt. When it jumped, the pain then would drop him to his knees; when the pain stopped, it went away like nothing happened and the OF was fine until this nerve jumped again.
To make a long story short, the doctor told the OF, “Oh, I have this problem too; you have trigeminal neuralgia.”
The OF said he thought this was something terrible and asked the doctor, “What do I do now?”
The doctor said, “Wear a hat.”
The OF said he now wears a hat all the time, and has never had the problem since. Worth the five bucks co-pay for that one.
Politics
Despite the OMOTM’s rule against talking politics, voting came up twice, and two OM thought that this election is going to be a mess, and why didn’t they leave well enough alone? You can tell we are Old MOTM.
One OF said, “What if you early vote, and one of the nominees running dies. You have already voted. Does any voting count then? Or another scenario could be that you voted and later on you find out the one you voted for is a skunk and you want to change your vote, now what?”
Another OF, who has a semi-common name, mentioned his mail gets screwed up every now and then. This OF also said that on his road one time there was a substitute carrier and everyone’s house was one house off.
The OF said he had the mail for the place next door, and they had the mail for the one next to them, etcetera, etcetera. This OF’s mail was delivered to the house next to him.
Admittedly this was only once in many years but it can happen. This is going to be a mess. Not one of the OFs really know whose idea voting by mail was but they think it is going to be crazy anyway.
One OF thought voting by mail will be a good idea with the way things are now to not have to go and mingle with all the people. Vote by mail and let the chips fall where they may.
The mess it’s going to make will create great entertainment with all the finger-pointing afterwards no matter who wins. One OF said there are going to be great paydays for lawyers coming up.
A final thought on voting: George Washington is the only president who didn’t blame the previous administration for his troubles.
Advice for Yankees
The few OFs spoken to had no other thoughts in common, other than the Yankees being out of the World Series this year. It is surprising how many of the OFs are Yankee managers and scream and yell at the TV.
One wants Boone to get some pitchers, and others want Boone to sit Sanchez down and let Higashioka catch, park Judge, and put Frazier in right field. Too bad Aaron Boone can’t hear all this abundant advice.
News
Again, and it is just a few of the number of OFs called; the OFs have given up watching the news. Maybe it is because many are on the short end of the ruler, and watching the death count day after day is not fun, or necessary in the OFs’ opinion. These OFs rely on the “Flintstones” and “Happy Days” at supper time.
In the paper, about all the OFs contacted read is the obits and the funnies. Occasionally, a good grabbing lead-in to a story might pique their attention and the OF will read that, but a lot of the paper winds up in the landfill not read.
Those that get The Enterprise do read that to see what’s going on locally.
One OF mentioned that, from reading the obits, he sees how much longer older people are living. The OF said he is approaching 84 (which means he is now 83) but people are hanging in there until their nineties.
The OF said it used to be quite rare, but now it seems to be more common. The discussion led to how we are constantly being told the air is bad, don’t drink milk, stay away from processed foods and red meat, and the list goes on and on, even to the point we take too many pills.
The question was: Why are we living so much longer, and why do I feel so good at 83 when I am eating all the wrong stuff? Will you please pass me my hamburger and French fries.
The phone calls today brought information that some of the Old Men of the Mountain are gathering in small groups of three to five people. There appears to be three groups of these OMOTM getting together.
However, they are not combined as a unit. One group of three gathers every now and then; this is a group of guys that have a common interest. Another group apparently meets on Friday, and another holds to Tuesdays.
The communality of the groups looks to be like interests and the desire for socialization. This is a strong feeling for all the OFs, including those who are still hunkered down.
Coping with storm aftermath
There were other conversations (and the conversations were few) concerning the problem the OFs thought affected just about everybody in the surrounding area. That was the storm that visited our region on Wednesday, Oct. 7. Some of the OFs reported being without power for four days, and for others the power was off for about one-and-a-half days.
Much of this dialogue was how prepared they were for such a situation. With the OMOTM, again, it was a few who were quite well prepared with whole-house generators, stored water, and quick meals in the freezer.
One did not have a whole-house generator but he had a generator that would run most of what he needed. This OF would run the refrigerator and freezer for a while, then he would run the furnace. He could not run the pump in the well, but they had stored water for washing, and using the toilet. The OF said they had bottled water for cooking and drinking when needed.
Another OF said that he thinks everyone should have a list made for medicines, hygiene, clothes, and food for at least a couple of weeks. Make a place to keep this list, and a system for use, then replace used items to keep it well stocked, but not stale.
It was surprising for this scribe to see in these few calls how many of the OFs have something like this going already. This scribe guesses it is because they have been through it before. Especially on the mountain when those living here had to experience the winter of 1957.
That was some experience in 1957. The farmers could not ship their milk because the roads were impassable. Buildings were collapsing because of the weight of the snow.
Farmers were getting food and hay for the livestock dropped by airplanes. Farmers with animals were digging tunnels to the barn to get to the cows that had to be milked.
This scribe has pictures of snow so high that his brother stepped from the snow to the roof of the barn. The plows in many places could not push the snow; huge truck-driven snow blowers were brought in to clear the roads.
In places on the roads, the snow was so deep that volunteers stood on top of the snow and shoveled it into the snow blowers. In places also the snow covered the power lines, and all this was reported in three sections of the towns of Wright, Knox, and Berne, let alone what other towns the local residents could not experience.
One OF who worked at the cement plant in Howe Cave related how the cement plant had to shut down, and sent out all its heavy equipment with operators and helpers (who lived right around the plant) to help clear the roads. So that snowstorm would include the towns of Cobleskill and Schoharie also and maybe others.
It was the type of event which many people count other events by — like World War II, the birth of a baby, or a wedding, or funeral.
Changing weather?
The OFs mentioned that we don’t have winters like that anymore. Winters when the OFs were younger seemed to be different.
They seemed shorter, with lots more snow, and easier. Now the winters seem to have less snow, longer, are more bitter, and no fun at all. To which this scribe replied maybe it is because our old bones and thin blood, with a low rate of metabolism, makes it seem like that. The OF didn’t think so.
The OFs say the weather is changing. One OF asked the question, “Have we ever had a storm like the one which came through on Wednesday?”
The scribe had to reply not that he could remember. The scribe and his wife, and a house guest watched it come from the west, over the trees in back of their home and slam into the house as they watched out the kitchen window.
It bordered on scary as it approached and hit. A few minutes later, the lights flickered and went out. That was it for about three days. Fortunately, the generator kicked in.
Now will this be the time event that is used to measure other events by? Nah, this is just a blow compared to 1957.
A little groaner from the internet will close this column’s final thoughts on power outages and weather: When I was younger, I was scared of the dark. Now, when I get my electric bill, I am afraid of the light.
The OMOTM and friends on a spur-of-the-moment jaunt to Bath, Maine, stop at Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire.
Boy! The news of the day politically might change some opinions both ways. A few of the Old Men of the Mountain I talked to commented that both sides of the fence are filling up.
This little report keeps advising that, in many cases, age is just a number. That is quite two-sided. Sometimes age creeps up and the genes are really rotten. All the advice about what to do to keep your health comes with a grain of salt.
The OMOTM can and do attest to that. Some OFs are 80 years old and carry on like they were 50 or 60 while others can be 50 or 60 and carry on like they were 80. In many conversations, this scribe has ascertained that it has nothing to do with lifestyle; it is genes.
Some of the OFs had it tough in the beginning. They smoked, drank, ate all the wrong stuff, and got only about three hours of sleep on a good day. Now they are 80 and doing basically the same thing.
Others, who had the chance to live basically right in the beginning, and who are still trying to do so, are now 70 and have trouble getting out of bed. These same OFs keep many doctors in practice.
It is a matter of who has the genes and who doesn’t. At least that is the way it looks to this scribe.
There is one big BUT here and that is: With eating right, getting exercise, and enough sleep, it may be possible to beat the gene thing, or at least improve on it. Maybe, if done often enough, it may help change the getting- old-quick-gene to getting old less quickly for your kids. The scribe really doesn’t know if this is how it works or not.
This scribe, in an answer (or maybe it was a discussion) that most did not know, and that dialogue was, where is the cut-off point? Or is there even a cut-off point?
On the road
What prompted the scribe to remember the discussions on this topic (which had to be pulled out from all the truck, tractor, and car bits) was recently an OMOTM reported on two motorcycle trips that he took that covered many days and miles.
The first one was over 1,500 miles-plus some days with a group of friends. The second one that the OF just returned from was to Bath, Maine. One day, they just thought it would be great to go to Maine for some chowder and lobster.
This trip included various stops along the way with sight-seeing taken in. Side point: It is fun to be retired and able to do things like this, and have the right genes to pull it off.
According to the OF, this trip was planned and laid out by a friend of his who is 77 years old. Now this theme harkens back to the gene bit at the beginning. Not many people 77 to 80 years old can sling their leg over a motorcycle and head out on a four- or five-day trip.
Is it careful living in the beginning, or is it genes?
According to the OF, the trip was great, and the weather was great, and there were no incidents like flat tires or little bumps in the road that generally happen when this type of experience takes off. As a rule, something is bound to happen that puts a little damper (or sometimes a big damper on) excursions like this.
The group did have a bear cross the road in front of them but that is not an intrusion but part of the adventure. The scribe thinks maybe breakdowns are also part of the adventure.
Though there was some color, the OF reported the leaf peepers were not out yet so the ride was very comfortable in that regard. The little group traveled back roads and made many stops; the OF said they were not in a race. The scribe thinks they were too old for racing anyway.
It is noticeable the group followed a column written a little while back about camping, and sleeping bags, and putting up tents; however, the photograph shows this group was motel-ing it.
There, again as reported, a few of the OFs are getting together (this scribe now wonders if the word “together” was developed by groups of ancient chauvinist guys who gathered in groups and were out after the female sex and would say, “OK, guys lets go out ‘to-get-her’” which shrunk down to the guys going out together — hmmm). Back to original thought.
As the scribe read somewhere online: Young motorcycle riders pick a destination and go. Old riders pick a direction and go. There are drunk bikers. There are old bikers. There are no old, drunk bikers.