Thoughts on the Pierce Arrow, the election, naps, and woodpiles
Tuesday, Nov. 15, the Old Men of the Mountain met at the Home Front Café in Altamont.
Someone must have returned from Florida because the restaurant had a huge bowl of oranges on a table in the back. Each of the OMOTM got an orange. We feel the Home Front wants to keep the OFs healthy so there are enough of the old goats to continue this round robin of restaurants.
Particularly Tuesday morning at the Home Front, at one table two of the OFs sat side by side and there were 183 years of living between them. Someone should sit them both down and compile that many years of living history. It would not only be local but national and international in scope.
There is an update on the old cars topic: An OF (not of this group because of geography) mentioned the Pierce Arrow that was made right here in New York State. According to this OF, it was produced in Buffalo, New York.
This scribe should have remembered this vehicle because it was one of the vehicles that convinced this scribe he should give up sign painting. This scribe was given the “chore” of striping a beautifully restored Pierce Arrow — talk about nervewracking. Maybe this scribe tried to wash that experience from the gray cells that have it stored somewhere in his brain.
Busy election
The election was briefly touched on and a strange phenomenon popped up as many of the OFs did not vote for one or the other, rather they voted against one or the other. One OF who works at the polls said that this election was the busiest he has ever seen and he has been doing it a long time.
The OF said the poll workers did not even have time to eat. They caught a bite here and there as the evening went on.
The OF said they usually (in the town of Knox) have pizza brought in or they call for take-outs. Not this year — no time to do that. This OF also noted that the preponderance of young people voting was really noticeable.
All the OFs are glad the election is over and they can watch TV, and laugh at the Geico and Aflac ads, along with some others that are so interesting the OFs say they forget what is being advertised.
Nap experts
The OFs commented on the new trend of taking naps. The OFs are masters of how to do that. The OFs could write a book on nap-taking.
Most all the OFs say they feel refreshed after taking a nap. The duration of the naps and when they take them do vary, but basically the results are the same. One OF did mention that he does not nap because, when he does, he can’t sleep at night.
A couple of the OGs said that they have trouble sleeping at night and take naps all through the day. For them, this seems to work.
Some notable people who napped or got along on very little sleep were mentioned. One was Thomas Edison who had strange sleeping habits. One OF said that Edison thought ideas were in the air for anyone to grab and Edison figured that, if he were sleeping, he would miss some of these ideas.
One OF mentioned that he is tired all the time and all he has to do is sit down and he is asleep. How soundly the OFs were asleep in these naps did not come up but most claim they were actually asleep, and could tell by how much time had gone by that they did not realize had gone by.
One OF said he wakes up from his naps quite often for the same reason he wakes up at night — he has to go to the bathroom.
“Isn’t it funny,” one OG remarked, “that, even though the body is asleep, the plumbing keeps right on working?”
Fuel for the fire
A conversation that is common at this time of year is about the woodpiles of the OFs who burn wood for heat. Some have stoves; others have wood-burning furnaces either in the cellar or outdoors. A few have the outdoor furnaces that they run all year-round because they also use the furnace for hot water.
One OF said that, in his furnace, he uses wood that, for the most part, came from trees that have fallen or are dead. This helps keep his wood lot clean. With the outdoor furnace, it is possible to burn just about anything since the furnace is a good distance from the house so, if a chimney fire from creosote happens, it is not a problem.
What is a problem is to feed the dumb thing when it is 10-degrees below zero and there are two feet of snow outside to wade through. This makes it necessary to bundle up to put another log on the fire.
Just like cows: If the OF doesn’t feel good, the cows still have to be milked, and, in this case, the fire still has to be fed. Yep, it has to be done unless there is a good backup in case adversity happens.
Condolences
The Old Men of the Mountain would like to offer their condolences to the family of Dick Ogsbury who passed away on Veterans Day. Dick was ill for a long time and courageously dealt with it.
No scurvy
The Old Men of the Mountain who made it to the Home Front Café in Altamont, where the restaurant made sure the OFs would not get scurvy, were: Miner Stevens, Bill Lichliter, Roger Chapman, Robie Osterman, George Washburn, Wayne Gaul, Ted Feurer, John Rossmann, Harold Guest, Roger Shafer, Chuck Aelesio, Richard Frank, Dave Williams, Mike Willsey, Jack Norray, Gerry Irwin, Mace Porter, Mark Traver, Otis Lawyer, Bob Giebitz, Jim Rissacher, Bill Rice, Henry Whipple, Ted Willsey, Elwood Vanderbilt, Rich Vanderbilt, Marty Herzog, Harold Grippen, and me.