The adventures of a wayward parrot
On Tuesday, Feb. 22, in the year of our Lord (A.D.) 2022, written as 2/22/22 (which is almost as bad as being bombarded with 444-4444) the Old Men of the Mountain met at Mrs. K’s in Middleburgh. Not only is the date unusual, but an OF mentioned, even with the warm weather, he claimed it was fake, and the rodent in Pennsylvania was correct, we are going to have six more weeks of winter.
The Old Men of the Mountain rotation is out of whack so the idea the OFs were here, and next week we are there, is going to take just one weird go-around to get things back in order. This is going to be fun, but spreading the wealth is what it is all about. Some of the OFs said, if we are spreading wealth, spread some our way because we could use it.
One thing about the Old Men of the Mountain is, if anyone has a ton of money, these OFs are hiding it very well. The OF who did flaunt a bit passed away a long time ago.
This OF plied the old trick of taking a couple of twenties and placing one on each end of a stack on singles, folding it, then holding it together with a rubber band. The wad now looked like it was a grand, but in reality it was only about fifty or sixty bucks — if that. Ya gotta watch these old goats.
There was some conversation about the Middleburgh Rod and Gun Club and how active it is. Not only active, but continually gaining the number of members they now have.
The club reportedly works with the Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts, teaching them about archery. Plus they are working with many kids about hunting and gun safety. Where could one go to get the best instruction on these subjects better than a rod and gun club?
As usual, around this time of year, the OFs talked about what birds they have been seeing. We have reported on this many times before.
We have reported that robins don’t count because some never leave as long as there is a nice patch of staghorn sumac around to winter them over. The typical birds, like the red-winged blackbird, have shown up so the early birds will be surprised by the current weather as if they haven’t been surprised by lousy weather in the past.
One OF said he has a friend who has a parrot and the bird escaped (or maybe just wanted a little adventure in its life) a couple of weeks ago. The OF said his friend thought it was gone, for a few reasons.
The friend thought someone might have picked up the parrot, or the parrot might have frozen to death, or the parrot might have had enough sense to continue to fly south. For any reason though, the friend thought the parrot was gone.
Ah! But it wasn’t!
A couple of days later, it showed up on top of the dog house. The OF said the friend left the back doors open and put some food in its cage, brought that cage by the back door, and in a couple of hours the parrot flew into the cage and started eating like it never left. Like at the beginning — the bird just wanted a little adventure.
Where is the younger crowd?
It is winter time and there is still maintenance being done by the OFs who have an interest in the Long Path. The path does see some activity in the winter, but not as much as the summer.
Snowshoers use a small portion of the path where it traverses through Thacher Park during the winter months. Hmmm. When else do people snowshoe than in the winter months?
At one time, there were a few OMOTMs who did work on the path, but these OFs are getting older and they mentioned that they do not see many younger people stepping up to take their place.
This seems to be true in many organizations. Many churches have noticed their congregations consist mostly of white hair (or no hair) individuals.
One OF thought that the younger crowd is attending more active, and modern churches; this same OF thought that volunteerism is still at work in younger people but it seems to take a different direction; however, the OF could not quite put his finger on it.
Another OF mentioned that the kids of today are the same as when the OFs were kids. Today’s kids are no different. It is us, we are old and out of the loop, just like we thought our parents were. We are now our parents.
This scribe received a card from his grandson. It was more or less a proclamation of “The Ancient Order of Ye Olde Farts.” This card stated:
“Let it be known to all that you have reached the age of eligibility and have been accepted in the ‘Ancient Order of Ye Olde Farts.’ Belching, groaning, wheezing, and snorting are bodily noises you are now allowed to emit without guilt. In addition, you may now pass gas, let a windy, cut the cheese, or just plain fart in public without the need to apologize.”
Witnessed this 22nd day of February 2022 by the following in attendance at Mrs. K’s Restaurant in Middleburgh, New York were: Joe Rack, Mark Traver, Paul Nelson, Rick LaGrange, Harold Guest, Wally Guest, Glenn Patterson, Jake Lederman, Ted Feurer, Roger Shafer, Russ Pokorny, Jake Herzog, Bill Lichliter, Robie Osterman, Elwood Vanderbilt, Rich Vanderbilt, Dave Hodgetts, Bob Donnelly, John Dabrvalskes, and me.