It is good to see someplace opening instead of closing

On Tuesday, April 18, 2023, the Old Men of the Mountain journeyed back to the Your Way Café for their weekly morning repast; then next week it is off to a new place to eat in the OMOTM’s stomping grounds — the Helderbergs.

One OMOTM mentioned that it is good to see someplace opening instead of closing.

Another OF had a comment that had a bit of truth in it. He stated, “The way people are leaving the state, we are going to be left with only the young (the ones getting their education) and the old (that is us) and pretty soon we will have the whole darn state to ourselves.” 

“Yeah,” was a retort. “The way the ‘we are hiring’ signs are popping up, and as crippled as we are, we will be able to go back to work.”

Just like the old Revolutionary War poster stated, “As long as you are male and have two opposing teeth the military needs you,” no mention of age or physical condition.

Wedding rings

This did not bring up the next conversation. This scribe can’t remember what did or what it was related to, but it is in the notes, and the talk was about, of all things, wedding rings.

That very important little band of gold has been on some of the OMOTM’s fingers for so long they have worn grooves in their fingers. One OF had to have his ring taken off by a jeweler and stretched out to fit.

Another OF was much heavier, and the OF claims it was muscle when he was married, but now the OF has shrunk considerably, including his hands, to the point his ring keeps falling off.

The OF was afraid he was going to lose it, so he took it off. The OF said that, without the ring, he did not feel dressed, so he had it altered and the ring is now back on.

Some of the rings looked identical, and have worn down to the point they are more than half the size they were when purchased and the beaded edges are all gone.

One OF said, when he was married, the ring cost about $12.95. And another OF agreed that was a lot of money then. (The scribe checked it out on — what else — Google and 13 bucks back then is about $163 today.)

Those bands of gold, though small, are very important as constant reminders of a very serious commitment. A couple of hit songs will attest to that. Don Cherry and “Band of Gold” and Randy Travis with “On the Other Hand” are good examples of how universal these golden bands are.

One OF said that his wedding ring saved his life. One day, while stacking wood at Bush Lumber in Middleburgh, his foot slipped and he fell off the pile of lumber; however, his ring caught on the edge of a piece of lumber and spun him around so he landed on his butt, and not his head.

The OF said he did not come out scot-free; he did break his tailbone, but at least he did not land on his head like he would have. Another OF said he should have landed on his head, because it is hard as a rock. That OF thought he would be better off if it had been the head.

GPS gone awry

Another OF story centered on how much trust we should put into Google and GPS. The OF said they were leading a group on a hike that was supposed to go from point A to point B.

The OF said the group hiked for some time and he thought they were headed in the right direction; however, one of the hikers said, “Ya know, I think I’ve seen that tree before.”

In checking it out, yep the group had seen the tree before, about two hours before, or maybe longer — all they were doing was hiking in one great big circle. Apparently the group had to return to good ole Boy Scout training and use a compass to arrive at point B.

One OF told of traveling to a location out in the western part of the state. The driver did not have GPS but had been to this destination before.

The passenger brought along a portable GPS, just for kicks and giggles, that he listened to and used the GPS, and this item was right on until it got to within five or six miles from the destination. The GPS had them go straight at one point when the driver said they should turn and go up a hill.

The GPS had them make a left turn a couple miles down the road and then a couple more turns. Eventually they went through a gate and wound up in a gravel pit, at which point the GPS announced that they had arrived at 225 something street. Hmmmm.

Spring

The unusual warm weather has some of the OFs doing much of their early spring cleaning, house and yard.

One OF said he has planted 150 pounds of potatoes. Theoretically, in good soil and with good weather, two pounds of potatoes planted should yield 50 pounds at harvest. The OF should realize 3,750 pounds of potatoes, which is almost two tons of potatoes. That’ll take a whole lot of eggs to match those home fries.

Then and now

The theme of then and now cropped up as usual because one OF showed up in his early, restored cream-colored Ford Ranchero.

The then and now was not on vehicles but on Old Men of the Mountain no longer with us and how the group is aging, and still has considerable new blood to keep the OMOTM rolling along for a while.

Those Old Men of the Mountain who rolled into the Your Way Café in Schoharie and brought all their stories with them were: Mark Traver, Joe Rack, Glenn Patterson, Wally Guest, Harold Guest, Robie Osterman, George Washburn, Bill Lichliter, Doug Marshall, Frank Fuss, Ed Goff, Rick LaGrange, Jake Herzog, Rev. Jay Francis, Paul Guiton, John Dab, Lou Schenck, Jack Norray, Dick Herzog, Herb Bahrmann, Elwood Vanderbilt, Dave Hodgetts, Bob Donnelly, and me.