What to do when a sport coat fits like a tent
MIDDLEBURGH — We had to add a couple of tables to the long table this Tuesday, Aug. 26, as we settled in at the Middleburgh Diner. That means we had 17 OFs around the long table plus more sitting at additional tables close to the long table.
Looking back at some of the columns written by Scribe Emeritus John Williams, it is apparent that the OMOTM have been moving tables around the different diners ever since the beginning.
It looks like the OMOTM will enjoy some really nice, dry, late August weather. Maybe a little cool, but great sleeping weather.
Remember last week there was a discussion about how to have a conversation with a teenage granddaughter? It was pretty much agreed on that the OMOTM have no clue how to accomplish that particular feat.
Not only do we not know what to talk about, but we can’t hear the responses when we do try to talk.
We are kind of proud men who don’t have a problem asking a fellow OF to speak up, but it is kind of embarrassing to keep saying “What?” “What?” to a young lady, even if she is the granddaughter of a fellow OF. We just naturally don’t like to embarrass ourselves like that.
Well, this week another topic came up that we don’t do well with at all.
It seems as though one OF was going out to dinner and was getting dressed and, when it was time to leave, he put his sport coat on and found out that the weight-loss program he has been on is really working.
He said the coat felt and looked like a tent! Of course the good news is he has lost weight; the bad news is he has no idea how to fix his problem with how his coat fits.
Someone at his table suggested that he start eating a lot again. That is not an option. At our age, buying a new coat is pretty much not an option either.
Someone else suggested finding a seamstress.
“What's a seamstress?” he asked.
When he was finally told what a seamstress does, his next question was, “How and where do I find one?”
Not one of the 17 OFs seated at the long table had any idea. Nor did anyone at the other tables either. It was finally decided to go home and ask our wives and report back next week. Stay tuned for the ongoing misadventures the OMOTM.
Sailing misadventures
Speaking of misadventures, there was a brief discussion about sailing a Hobie Cat sailboat on our local lakes here in the Hilltowns. I had one of these misadventures myself wherein I promptly sailed my Hobie Cat to the bottom of the lake!
Without getting too techie, simply put, if the mast is set up so it is leaning toward the front (bow) of the boat, it will cause the bow of the boat to dig down into the waves. If the mast is set up so it is leaning to the back (stern) of the boat, the bow will tend to raise up and away you go!
I did not know anything about this, and neither did the OF across the table from me, who also suffered the same fate as I. We also both learned very quickly what was wrong and fixed the problem and never suffered that misadventure again. Other, equally embarrassing sailing misadventures sure, but not that one again.
Lake reverie
The conversation then turned to end-of-summer type questions to those of us with camps or who just plain live on a lake year-round. Questions concerning the population around the lake.
Does it go way down? Do all the boats get pulled out? How about the docks?
Some answers are the same year after year. Those families with children in school, who can therefore use their camps only from the Fourth of July to Labor Day, are obviously gone after Labor Day. School activities take up their time with sports and other school functions.
The weather is cooler, the water is cooler, the days are shorter and their boats are the first to be pulled out. Sure, they will come back to do the work to close the camps up for the winter, but summer fun at the camp is over.
For those lucky enough to live on, or near, one of the many lakes scattered throughout the Hilltowns, September and October can be an exceptionally fine time to be right here where you already live.
Time seems to slow down a little and it also seems a little bit quieter. Especially on the lakes.
It is canoe and kayak time and maybe some quiet fishing or just sitting on the dock or deck with a good cup of coffee or tea and watching the sunrise or set. Fall colors are not here yet and no hint of frost is in the air, just beautiful late summer weather. And it is free!
Time enough later to do the work of preparing for winter. First, let’s enjoy the late summer and then the colorful show that Mother Nature puts on each year. And it is all right here in our own backyard for the fortunate OMOTM who live in and around the Hilltowns of Albany County. No charge, compliments of Mother Nature.
Those OMOTM who enjoyed the good company and good food at the Middleburgh Diner were Harold Guest, Wally Guest, Ed Goff, Miner Stevens, Wm Lichliter, Pete Whitbeck, George Washburn, Frank A. Fuss, Robert Schanz, Jim Austin, Gerry Chartier, Chuck Batcher, Warren Willsey, Russ Pokorny, Frank Dees, Herb Bahrmann, Gerry Cross, Jack Norray, John Jaz, Dick Dexter, John Williams, Lou Schenck, and me.