We are never too old for springtime car rides with that someone special
MIDDLEBURGH — On another beautiful morning, May 14, we arrived at the Middleburgh Diner and instead of turning right upon entering the diner as we always do, we were directed to the left this morning toward another room.
It was like going to an entirely new and different diner! I was going to say something about it not being a good idea to pull a switch on the OMOTM so early in the morning, when we are set in our ways and thinking about what we are going to have for breakfast, but that’s not the case at all.
There were positive vibes all around. The Maple Syrup OF showed off his syrup again, a clear indication that a tall stack of pancakes would soon be placed in front of him.
It was a perfect morning prompting one OF to comment about riding his motorcycle later in the day. Another OF said he was going for a nice ride in his classic early 1950s Hudson automobile. Yes, he was taking someone along with him to help enjoy the ride.
That comment led to a discussion about motorcycle sidecars. All of which just proves that the old saying about never being too old, especially in springtime, for car rides (even motorcycle sidecars), or boat rides, or just going for a walk, or sitting on the porch with that special someone. Just ask the OMOTM, we are never too old!
Flower power
A lot of the discussions around the tables dealt with flowers and gardens. Probably having Mother's Day a couple days ago and the nice morning it was with all the outdoor flowers in bloom, it was sort of natural we would get around to this.
Having to prepare the gardens, old and new, requires digging up the ground and that got us very quickly to rototillers. No one had a new rototiller, just old and older.
Which kind of tiller was easier to use, the kind that has the tines in front of the engine, or is it better behind the engine? It was felt that a tiller with the tines behind was easier to handle.
Then helping your neighbor or relative tilling their gardens when they found out you had a rototiller. Sorta like owning a snowblower after a big storm or a pickup truck to haul that topsoil back to the garden you just made ready with your rototiller. Sometimes you sure get popular in a hurry!
Also, that little flower garden leads to maybe a small vegetable garden, which leads to a somewhat larger garden. That’s when you realize you only have that little old tiller in the first place because you wanted to plant a few flowers in front of your house two decades ago.
Common thread
I have mentioned in this column over the last couple of weeks of the constant need for additional volunteers that virtually all firehouses and ambulance squads find themselves in search of. I’m happy to report that it prompted one OF to check out a service club that has been part of the fabric of the Hilltowns since 1960.
That organization is the Kiwanis Club of the Helderbergs. He said he had belonged to another service club during his working career and had enjoyed the many projects that he participated in over the years as a member of that organization. He always felt good when he put back a little something into the community where he earned his living and enjoyed what the community had to offer.
He is retired now and said he has some time to get involved in something. Sitting on the porch can get a little boring.
Another member of OMOTM invited him to come to a Kiwanis meeting. He said they were meeting for a potluck dinner at the Octagon Barn in Knox. He said he would go, if only to see what this Octagon Barn was all about, and besides that, he would get a free dinner! What could go wrong with that? Nothing!
The members, men and women, were gracious, friendly, and welcomed him into their meeting and potluck dinner. I won’t subject everyone reading this column to the long list of what this Kiwanis Club does with its youth-oriented programs for the Hilltowns. (I looked it up and it is impressive.)
They actively help the children in our schools by extending a helping hand to some of our neighbors who may need a little assistance once in a while. So the OF has joined the club in order to volunteer some of his time to give back to his community a little of what it has given him of itself over the years.
This writer is not promoting one particular service club over another. They are all great and we all live in a better place because of them. What I am promoting is the common thread that binds them all together. That thread is called volunteers. Give it a shot; it will give back more than you will ever give it.
Miscellany
Just a couple of random things heard around the room on Tuesday morning. We all know about the age-old argument about toilet paper; should the paper fall over the top, or under?
It was noted that one surefire way to solve this monumental decision is to install two toilet-paper dispensers, one for the over folks and one for the under folks.
Here is another comment that is near and dear to all of us OMOTM: Why is it that the older we get, the stupider we get? Yes, we all smiled and nodded in agreement.
That’s all folks. Time for the roll call. Joining this morning were: Harold Guest, Ed Goff, George Washburn, Wm. Lichliter, Pete Whitbeck, Frank Fuss, Roland Tozer, Pastor Jay T. Francis, Wally Guest, Ted Feurer, Jake Lederman, Russ Pokorny, Warren Willsey, Frank Dees, Jake Herzog, Gerry Cross, Herb Bahrmann, Jack Norray, Lou Schenck, and me.