On Tuesday, Nov. 29, the Old Men of the Mountain traveled to Kim’s West Wind Diner in Preston Hollow to have their last breakfast in November.
Now the month of “Hectic” starts — also known as December. Christmas is supposed to be the time of peace, love, and joy but somehow it becomes push, shove, and “that is mine.” Underneath it all though this time of peace, love, and joy does shine through all the hustle and bustle; most of the OMOTM can attest to that.
The OFs who have to travel quite a distance to Kim’s West Wind Diner must get up early in the morning, but most are up anyway so that is not new. On this particular Tuesday, the OFs out on the road while it is still dark had temperatures in the high forties and low fifties, and yet many encountered salt trucks spreading salt. They must have known something the OFs didn’t.
Usually the OFs skip all over in their conversations, and Tuesday morning they did follow the pattern somewhat but most of the conversation was on homes. They spoke of maintenance, the environment’s attack on homes, and how the cost of upkeep is outpacing the OFs’ incomes.
The last part may be because many of the OFs are on fixed incomes and the planned rise of inflation did not match the actual cost of inflation on items that affect many of the OFs such as taxes, medicine, food, and gas. Even the price of paint is way out of proportion to what a gallon of paint cost 20 years ago.
Window worries
Some of the OFs are in the process of replacing the windows in their homes and they discussed the effort in keeping the older windows clean, and how some of the windows failed because of poor construction. Design flaws the manufacturers did not see coming caused windows to leak, sag, and rot.
In a previous time, the old-fashioned double-hung windows with their ropes and weights could be repaired by the homeowner; however, these windows are not very efficient in keeping out the cold and drafts.
The OFs now look to windows that tip in to clean instead of having to leave the outside of the upstairs windows dirty because it takes a 20-foot ladder to reach them. Cleaning becomes a real chore especially if these are six-over-six windows.
Another reason is we do not need any OFs falling off 20-foot ladders. They would make an awful splat on the ground and, with their ancient bones, they would shatter like glass. What a mess!
Tilted but solid
The OFs topics covered painting houses with white lead paint and how long that paint lasted. Some OFs said that houses they painted with white lead 50 years ago are still in good shape, and a properly used pressure washer to clean off the grime makes the house looks like it was just freshly painted.
The OFs also noticed that metal roofs are making a comeback. It used to be that a metal standing-seam roof was the roof of choice and those roofs, if painted every now and then, would last a lifetime and maybe one or two more lifetimes.
One OF wondered if the new houses of today will be around 150 or 200 years from now, like many of the houses in the Northeast and South. If you drop a marble (in a 200-year-old home) in one end of a room you might see it roll to another corner of the room on its own. Some of the doors might not shut tight, but these homes are still being lived in today. Even though a little tilted, the home is still solid as a rock and will probably outlive a home built in the year 2000.
Home conundrums
On OF mentioned how the wood on his home is aging. This OF thinks it is causing a dust to settle not only on the windows but on other things on the outside of the home.
One OF years ago had a deck painted white on the back of his home facing west-north-west and in a few years the OF noticed a grayish-black coating on the deck, yet the paint was fine. The OF also noticed the same discoloration on the part of the roof that faced in the same direction.
This OF had the problem checked out and was told the discoloration was caused by acid rain. This OF said he has not noticed it in recent years.
The OFs also had experiences with housing mistakes where the manufacturers (on mostly rehab jobs) measured wrong, or sent the wrong materials. In almost all the cases, the manufacturers did not want the mistakes brought back.
Apparently all they would do, if returned, would take up room in their warehouses. What are they going to do with them?
One OF said a friend of his selected a prefab home that was stick-built and it was shipped to him on trucks. When the contractor was putting it together, he found the company shipped halves of two different houses.
The contractor said the OF’s friend had two choices. The contractor could jury rig the two-mismatched houses or the friend would have to wait quite awhile for the manufacturer to sort it out. The OFs friend said, “Go ahead, hook ’em up,” and so they did.
The OFs think at their ages there is a lot to be said for either renting a home, or buying a condo — to heck with this house work, let someone else do it.
Those OFs who made it to Kim’s West Wind Diner in Preston Hollow after they finished the house work were: Mike Willsey, Warren Willsey, Roger Chapman, Karl Remmers, Bob Snyder, Chuck Aelesio, Richard Frank, John Rossmann, Harold Guest, Don Wood, Otis Lawyer, Glenn Patterson, Mark Traver, Lou Schenck, Mace Porter, Jack Norray, Gerry Irwin, Robie Osterman, George Washburn, Elwood Vanderbilt, Ted Willsey, Jim Rissacher, Marty Herzog, Harold Grippen, and me.
Location:
Well, we have finally seen winter! The Hill received more snow on Nov. 20 and 21 than the Hill saw all of last year. This correlation may be a little off but the weather surely seemed like it.
Anyway, even with weather like this, we were at the Hilltown Café in Rensselaerville, on Tuesday Nov. 22. The Hilltown Café is the restaurant with the highest elevation (at 1,651 feet) that the OFs frequent. This gave the OFs a good drive to sharpen their winter driving skills.
The OFs talked a lot about energy, and why not with the onset of winter getting such an early start this year. The OFs mentioned how dirty a fuel coal is, and how we should get away from using that. However, that would cost many jobs, and coal is so plentiful.
What can be done is that instead of ignoring coal we add it to the many types of energy that are already being used (wind, solar, nuclear) by using the talents of engineers to develop scrubbers, or ways of cleaning up coal, and throw that into the mix and eliminate the dependency on fuel oil as a source of energy.
This leaves the limited supply of fuel oil to be used for other things like medicine, and macadam, along with all the other products that rely on petroleum as a part of this mix.
The OFs also not only think, but know, the internal combustion engine can be made to develop more power on less fuel but they also think the big oil companies and the automotive manufacturers are in cahoots and won’t let this happen. It is the view of the OFs that suppression of this technology is a plan the big companies work on together. The OFs are of the opinion that all the technology is already here but being kept under wraps.
One OF reflected, “Could you imagine all the people that would be put out of work if even a portion of this technology was invoked in a year?”
Maybe cooler heads are prevailing here and the plan is to ease into some of these advancements so the populace has a chance to adjust. Especially with the OFs — their heads can only take so much information at one time.
Pondering pickers
A TV show that is mentioned from time to time and one which many of the OFs watch is “American Pickers.” The OFs are amazed at how many places around the country have hoards of just plain old stuff. One OF said these places look just like quite a few of the OFs’ barns and backyards.
It does not take much imagination to see how the OFs would take to too much technology when they are still so concerned about the old stuff. The OFs at times still don’t know what the heck is going on; some are still amazed with how much a 3- or 4-year-old knows.
One OF commented on what some of the old junk the pickers look at and how much it is worth. The OFs say, “We were just ready to take something like that to the dump.” Now the OFs are leery about throwing anything away.
One OFs said he watches the pickers on occasion where the locality they are picking is in a place where the OF is interested, particularly when the area is local or at least close to local.
Protecting our flag
The OMOTM continued dropping off their flags by giving six flags on small wooden holders to the Hilltown Café. The OFs have no idea how these flags will be used but figure in today’s world the flag is not getting the respect it is due.
For all the work so many have done to keep it flying, our flag deserves more attention than it is getting. The effort many people have put into protecting the flag so a few have the right to burn it — how sad it is to see it treated this way.
Like drunk cows?
Some of the OFs did brave the winds of Tuesday, Nov. 22, and made it to the Hilltown Café in Rensselaerville. It is a good thing the OFs travel all the distances to the eating establishments and they are always open. If, for some reason, one was closed without notification, the OFs would be milling around like cows drunk on apples, trying to find their stanchions.
So it was a very good thing that the Hilltown Café was open and able to take care of the OFs who were: Robie Osterman, George Washburn, Karl Remmers, Bob Snyder, Harold Guest, Bill Lichliter, Mark Traver, Glenn Patterson, Lou Schenck, Jack Norray, Gerry Irwin, Mace Porter, Ted Willsey, Jim Rissacher, Marty Herzog, Elwood Vanderbilt, Rich Vanderbilt, Mike Willsey, Warren Willsey, Harold Grippen, and me.
Location:
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.
Location:
On Tuesday, Nov. 8, another gorgeous day, the Old Men of the Mountains met at the Chuck Wagon Diner, on Route 20 in Princetown.
The election weather was going to be nice, at least in our part of the country. This should make for a good turnout. Some of the OFs had already voted before the breakfast and others were going to vote right after.
One OF was working the polls, so another OF ordered a breakfast sandwich and delivered it to the one at the polls. Even though he was “working” at the polls, should we consider him an absentee at the breakfast? The rules will have to be checked for this.
The OFs had a good discussion on weight and weight control at the breakfast table and, looking at some of the breakfasts ordered, it must be that, for some of the OFs, it is only the one meal for the day.
It was discussed that even people who do not have diabetes could consider following the diabetes diet. Those OFs who do eat that way say it is a very bland diet, with no salt and many food items not allowed, especially sweets and many types of bread. What fun is there in that?
One OF thought that eating is for health and sustenance and not supposed to be fun. Say what!
At our age, for many of the OFs, eating is the only fun we have left. Sex is out, hiking is out, driving fast (if driving at all) is out, skydiving is really gone, scuba diving — forget that, but the OFs can still raise a knife and fork.
Summer stretches on
Some of the OFs are still mowing their lawns because the grass is still growing. One OF reported that the bees are even now working what flowers that are still around, and lady bugs are all over the place, at least up on the Hill.
One OF reported that, while sitting at the kitchen table, the lady bugs would seem to drop out of nowhere. He exclaimed, “It is particularly frustrating when they fall in my coffee cup while I am still drinking it.
Another OF mentioned that he was getting ready to shave and reached for the soap and it moved. The OF said he snapped his hand back and said to himself, “What the heck is that?” There were three live lady bugs trapped in the soap and those bugs were really ticked off.
These bugs are portrayed as cute little things (and they are) with their red wings with the black dots, but these suckers can bite.
How best to teach kids
The OFs do not remember dunce caps, but they do remember being put on a stool in the corner in school if and when they acted up. The OFs don’t know if they do that today or not.
One OF remembered a teacher in Schoharie who was a former United States Marine and then went on to become a teacher, and it was a good idea not to fool around in his class. This teacher had his own idea of the dunce cap and that was to have the one misbehaving stand in the front of the class with his or her arms outstretched until they felt like they were going to fall off.
This ex-Marine was a good teacher; the kids knew and understood what was going to be on a test, and this Marine was not afraid to hand out “A’s”
One OF said that the kids today get awards even when they lose. The OFs don’t quite understand that.
One OF said, “If you are in something to win, why bother when you are going to get an award even if you don’t try?”
Another OF said he did not think that was really the gist of it; this OF thought it was the perception of self-esteem that some kids are never going to be winners but should be rewarded for effort and at least trying their best. In their minds, this will make them a winner of sorts.
An OF said he can see this in some situations but not all. Some other OFs agreed but they did not elucidate as to what the differences were — sports, art, music, academics — or who was participating.
One OF liked the idea of having the smart kids in a smart class where they could be challenged. This OF thought the schools are dumbing down to the lowest common denominator. This is why we are being left behind by other countries.
This OF said he was in the slow class, and turned out alright, and had more fun in school than the egg heads. Another OF summed it up by saying that the ones running the show want to throw everyone in the same basket; however, people are different and there should be many baskets, but all baskets should be the same. Somehow this scribe understands that.
Bygone models
The OFs talked about the cars they have had and the names of some are really weird. Some of them they just rode in because they never could afford them — just like today.
The Duesenberg, Hudson, White, Whippet, Reo (truck), Studebaker, Packard, Willys, Nash, Hupmobile, Vauxhall, the Brewster with its bat-wing fenders and heart-shaped grill. Stanley Steamer, Franklin, Jack Benny’s Maxwell, Checker the yellow cab, the little Bantam, Auburn, the Kaiser with its double-arched windshield — these are just a few the OFs came up with and now these vehicles are no longer made.
Some the OFs could describe but could not come up with the names. Then there was the Tucker but that is another story. Probably those reading this can come up with some that are not listed. The OFs were not talking about the companies still manufacturing cars, like Ford, General Motors, Chrysler, and the like.
Those OFs who motored to the Chuck Wagon Diner in Princeton Tuesday morning, in cars with names just as strange only with names in languages from all over the world, were: Robie Osterman, George Washburn, Bill Lichliter, Roger Chapman, Chuck Aelesio, Richard Frank, Wayne Gaul, Ted Feurer, Roger Shafer, John Rossmann, Harold Guest, Bob Fink, Bob Benninger, Gerry Irwin, Glenn Patterson, (the OFs wish him good luck on his hip replacement,) Mark Traver, Jack Norray, Otis Lawyer, Mace Porter, Andy Tinning, Elwood Vanderbilt, Jim Rissacher, Marty Herzog, Gerry Chartier, Mike Willsey, Ted Willsey, Harold Grippen, and me.
Location:
When there are things to do and people to see on a repeat basis, the day that these activities are to to take place seems to roll around so quickly, the week seems to have only three days. So it is with Tuesdays.
The Old Men of the Mountain met Tuesday, the first day of November, at the Duanesburg Diner in Duanesburg. Wasn’t yesterday Tuesday? The day pops up much faster than a Thursday.
In a previous column, an OF mentioned the Army Air Corps. Another OF said it should have been the Army Air Force.
This information sent this scribe to the net to check it out. Like anything with government involvement, it became very convoluted. The OFs were each half right.
It was the United States Army Air Corps. from 1926 to 1941.* (That asterisk is where the confusion lies.) The Air Corps was discontinued on March 9, 1942 but in paperwork only it continued to exist as a branch of the Army (similar to the infantry, quartermaster, or artillery) until the reorganization act of 1947.
It took two years to complete the transfer of all military and civilian personnel to the Department of Defense and be called just the Air Force. So it became the USAF on June 22, 1949.
The semantics of this type of information is what makes discussions and arguments go on forever, both sides using their points and refusing to budge. As said, both are right, and both are wrong.
However, the patch was changed from the three-bladed propeller, to the wings and star in March 1942, which would help the argument of the U.S. Air Force being used while it was still a division of the Army until 1949. During the limbo period of 1942 to 1949, it was called the USAAF: United States Army Air Force. And, in 1949, the “Army” was dropped. Now you know the rest of the story.
Figuring inflation
The OFs tried to compute the price of inflation and what many items cost today. Many OFs mentioned what they paid for their first homes in the early forties and middle fifties and what the same house would go for today.
The OFs also included vehicles, and some items of clothing. Then, of course, there was the price of having a baby in the late forties, and early fifties and what it costs today. Within this topic, education and medicine were mentioned.
To the OFs, the current price of many products and services seems to far exceed the rate of inflation. Somehow we need a good reporter in the paper to scope this out and write an article in simple terms that the OFs can understand. Along with this, it was suggested large jumps in pay could be justified.
Growing up with bullies
The OFs took on the subject of bullying. Many of the OFs (this scribe included) said they had to contend with bullies and it was part of growing up,
And, as far as the conversation went, the OFs dealt with it, some with help and some by themselves. Only a few had to deal with gang bullying of a sort that was hard.
Is this something that has really gotten out of hand and with the advent of the internet a more serious threat? The OFs did not have to deal with that.
They met the bullying head on; if it was the physical kind, it would be similar to Ralphie in “A Christmas Story.” The mental type is a harder battle to win; the OFs thought this was the type you really needed help on.
The OFs also thought many of those who were bullied turned out better later on in life because of the experience than the one doing the bullying. The OFs could not remember anyone with physical or mental handicaps being bullied, but as one OF said: Back then, they were mostly in institutions and not out in harm’s way.
One OF said that the OFs had to remember we were in small schools, with small classes, and anyone who started out bullying only had to do it a couple of times and they were well taken care of and wouldn’t even think of continuing on with the practice.
Sharing fears
Along with this was another topic which came up later but is related because it is a problem the OFs deal with and work their way through — phobias.
The OFs talked about some of the phobias they have like claustrophobia, and acrophobia, and whatever name they attach to the phobia of bridges.
One OF mentioned that, when he drives over a bridge, his hands grip the wheel so tight that, if he were much stronger, he would crush the steering wheel. The OF said he looks straight ahead and is sure he does not blink. Some bridges he even slows down a bit before starting across.
Fear of flying was another one, and an OF said that this was more common than people think. Another OF added that he hates closed-in, tight places and thought that this might add to the fear of flying; it is not the flying but being closed in that the OF said was his problem.
All these OFs, though scared silly, did fly, and did drive over bridges. The OFs also talked about their fear (and this scribe began to get the feeling it was more a dislike than actual fear) of snakes, bats, and spiders. On the Hill, these critters are a part of the landscape and most who live there learned to cope with them.
Those OFs who made it to the Duanesburg Diner in Duanesburg and ate well even though they had to drive off a bridge to get there were: Robie Osterman, Miner Stevens, Roger Chapman, Chuck Aelesio, Richard Frank, Bill Lichliter, Roger Shafer (who is going to be playing and singing at Mrs. K’s on the 17th of this month), Harold Guest, John Rossmann, Jack Norray (who again brought flags for the Duanesburg Diner), Wayne Gaul, Mace Porter, Glenn Patterson, Otis Lawyer, Mark Traver, Bob Fink, Bob Benninger, Elwood Vanderbilt, Richard Vanderbilt, Mike Willsey, Gerry Chartier, Ted Willsey, Jim Rissacher, Henry Whipple, Harold Grippen, and me.
Location:
On this Tuesday morning, it was reported again that around 6:30 to 7 a.m. the wildlife was very active and out running around. No time to be late for work and scurrying down the highway because our friendly critters are out there scurrying too. It may be the weather, because it was a tad chilly on Oct. 25 and the wildlife likes this weather so they become a little perkier.
Tuesday morning, an OF used a statement that the OF must have read from one of these cute signs that are on a lot of refrigerator doors, or hung in many restaurants, because a perfect time came in one of the discussions where the OF could use this little ditty: “If I thought you were right, that would make both of us wrong.”
That is another witticism that can be stored is some gray cell to use at the appropriate time in a discussion, particularly one on politics.
The OFs seemed in a nostalgic frame of mind. They went back in time (the 1940s and ’50s) to when Schenectady was a completely different city. Some mentioned how much the city has changed physically on State Street and Erie Boulevard.
One OF mentioned that it now looks a lot like what they did in Oneonta years ago, with landscaping and benches and lighting. The OFs said it is still not the old Schenectady when the Carl Co., Wallace Armer, Woolworth, and Grants were in full bloom and in business in the city.
The OFs remembered getting your change from vacuum tubes that ran around the store. One OF thought Wallace Armer had the tube run around on a trolley system. The Carl Co. had an elevator with an elevator operator.
The OFs also remember people walking all over the city, especially State Street, Erie Boulevard, and Broadway. There were many active stores from the Van Curler Hotel, up the hill all the way to the park. Going to Schenectady was more fun than going to Albany.
Bad ads
Again, the OFs discussed the political ads on TV. They are so nauseating.
With the ads running continuously and saying nothing, the OFs think both major parties want us not to vote because they think a low turnout will favor them; therefore, they run these vile ads to get the populace so fed up they stay home.
Whoop!
A fellow stopped in the restaurant not to eat but to get directions. Whoop!
Asking directions from this group, which requires four guys in a car each Tuesday morning just to be sure to find the restaurant where the breakfast is going to be, is one big mistake. But the OFs were nice and only let three or four OFs give the lost soul directions.
The directions sounded correct to this scribe and this scribe knows a little bit about the village so it made sense. The OFs hope the gentleman finds Bridge Street.
One OF said, “Did you ever think, when giving directions in a case like this to a complete stranger, that you might be giving directions to somebody who does not have the best intent on doing whatever he is going to do when he gets to where he is going?”
No, was the collective answer.
Droning on
Drones were another topic of discussion. These new toys are becoming more than toys.
One OF said that some youngsters are making platforms with the drones under them and flying them by standing on the platform. The OF said that these daredevils now are going as high as 50 to 60 feet in the air, and maneuvering them by leaning on them one way or the other and leaning forward to go faster. Then they seem to be using the radio controls to hover and go up and down.
Some of the OFs said, if they were younger, this looks like it would be fun. Some OFs did not know if these were truly drones, or an improvement on the boards that were used awhile back, using fans and Venturi tubes to direct the flow. (Giovanni Battista Venturi (1746–1822), was an Italian physicist. The Venturi effect is the reduction in fluid pressure that results when a fluid flows through a constricted section — or choke — of a pipe. So says Google).
Who knows, maybe this is how we will be visiting our friends and neighbors in the future. “That is until something else comes along,” an OF said.
One OF thought they can only be used in good weather, it can’t be raining, or too windy. That is right for reasonable people, but kids think they are never going to die or get hurt and when these things become popular the kids will use them in a snow storm.
Blind spots
Apparently there was an accident in front of the Carrot Barn, which is only a few miles down the road toward Route 7 from the Your Way Café and it brought up a pretty good discussion on how many blind spots there are on the roadways. The OFs started listing some that are really bad.
One was the intersection on Route 443, where county Route 1 (Switzkill Road) crosses 443 just west of the Berne town park. Vehicles heading east on 443 and coming over the little knoll by the cemetery have to be particularly leery when approaching this intersection. When vehicles crossing 443 at this intersection, the sight distance to the top of that rise — the OFs guess — is only about 100 feet or so.
Another bad spot is from the optical illusion on Beebe Road in the town of Knox. Beebe Road appears to continue without a road crossing it. Route 146 (which is the main road) has an intersection where Beebe road crosses, and to strangers driving Beebe it appears like 146 isn’t even there until the driver is upon it and sees the stop sign.
One OF remarked, “If he even sees the stop sign!”
The optical illusion, this OF thinks, relaxes the driver enough not to even expect road or sign.
The OFs talked about many other risky areas, especially driveways that enter the road at dangerous locations.
Driving is a challenge: animals that can’t read, bikes that play car and ride in the middle of the road, dead limbs that can fall out of tree at anytime, drivers texting who don’t even notice what lane they are in, and then the OFs with their legs that don’t work and only one eye— they are all out there. It is pure luck anybody gets to where they are going.
The Old Men of the Mountain who accepted the challenge of driving, drove to the Your Way Café in Schoharie and these OFs were: Miner Stevens, John Rossmann, Harold Guest, Robie Osterman, George Washburn, Chuck Aelesio, Richard Frank, Roger Shafer, Wayne Gaul, Lou Schenck, Sonny Mercer, Ray Kennedy, Roger Chapman, Don Wood, Bob Fink, Bob Benninger, Greg Hawk, John Jasniewski, Ted Feurer, Jim Rissacher, Marty Herzog, Elwood Vanderbilt, Mike Willsey, Harold Grippen, and me.
Location:
It was an unbelievable Tuesday morning on Oct. 18. Some of the Old Men of the Mountain were at the Country Café in Schoharie in shorts and sandals. All were in short sleeves later on as some came with jackets but removed them when it became really warm as the morning wore on.
Global warming was dismissed because, the OFs said, we have been here before (meaning the temperature) but wearing shorts and sandals in the Northeast in the middle of October?
Some of the OFs said they are stocking up on ammunition, and some are upgrading their guns. These are OFs who are hunters, and a few are avid hunters. The OFs feel that this sport will be taken away along with many of our other freedoms as time goes on.
“But,” one OF said, “how long do you expect to live? Why are you even worrying about it? The revolution has already started — get me off this planet. I don’t want to go through all the hassle of learning Chinese or Arabic.”
Greetings
A few of the OFs come up with clever ways of answering greetings of the day with salutations that are really funny. A couple of weeks ago, one was reported as the greeting.
This week the retort was in reply to a greeting. The reply was, “Oh I am better now, but I have been worse.”
That sums it up in a nutshell for the OFs — we are better now but we have been worse.
Respect for our flag
Thanks to one OMOTM, the OMOTM are handing out six American flags in small wooden stands to all the restaurants the OMOTM visit. The restaurants can use them in their table settings, or they can give them to other people who visit their restaurant, or they can take the flags home for themselves.
The OMOTM not only appreciate and respect the flag, but also all the restaurants that put up with us on Tuesday mornings.
No aid to hearing
Over and over again the OFs discuss hearing aids; some wear them to the breakfast but have to turn them off. It seems that virtually none of them work in these situations.
It makes no difference if the hearing aids come from Wal-Mart, or a real high-class hearing-aid place where a hearing aid is no larger than a quarter and can cost thousands of dollars. To the OFs, neither one works any better than the other.
One OF who has nerve deafness, and it has impaired his hearing since he was a kid, said that, when he was inducted into the Army, they gave him a hearing test. The nerve deafness, of course, showed up but that did not deter the military from conscripting the OF.
The OF said, “And where did they put me? They trained me and made me a radio operator!”
To which the other OFs said, “Radio operator? A deaf guy as a radio operator?”
“Yep,” the OF said. “It was a good thing that deafness is all that it was; if I had bad vision, they probably would have put me in the Army Air Corps as a pilot.” (Scribe’s note, you can tell our ages by our use of the term Army Air Corps, the forerunner of the Air Force.)
No why required
Some of the OFs attend auctions, or go to flea markets. Many of the items that go up for sale at auctions or are on tables at flea markets, the OFs use on a routine basis at home. Tuesday morning, the OFs talked about some of the acquisitions they have recently purchased.
“Why,” some of the OFs inquired, “do you buy all this old junk?”
Like many things in life, why the OFs do this or that does not have much of a rationale — the OFs just do it. To the OFs, it doesn’t require a why.
Where are the bugs?
The OFs were commenting on the lack of bugs this year, and the lack of hornets. A few stink bugs, a few lady bugs, no earwigs; ants are still around but seemed normal.
Maybe it is our location; maybe other areas are inundated with bugs but for the Hilltowns and surrounding areas not much. This is at least by observations of the OFs, and we all know how that goes since the vision or hearing of this group could be greatly improved upon.
“However,” one OF said, “maybe my glasses are thick, but I know when I get stung, or bit, and that has not happened this year.”
Another OF mentioned that the honey bees seem to be more prevalent than the last couple of years, thank goodness. The OF said that, on his walks, the white and blue pearly everlastings were humming with bees.
One OF offered the suggestion that it might be because of the mild winter. These bugs kept waking up, and then got put back into the deep freeze so frequently that they had no time to reproduce, and, when or if they did, the young froze before they could develop.
But, then again, that is just a guess; what do I know? Only that we need bugs if we are going to have birds to help pollination.
Pirate ship in dry dock
Briefly mentioned were pirates and pirates’ ships, due to the interest of one OF. The OFs were not concerned about treasures or treasure maps, just the pirates, and their ship, and maybe the “plank.”
The ship has reached a point in construction and has apparently stopped. This may be that the interest of Captain Jack has waned, or the “Black Pearl” is lying on the bottom of the sea cavorting with the “Little Mermaid” and not bringing in any plunder.
Either way the OFs’ pirate ship still sits in dry dock.
The crew for the pirate ship showed up this morning at the Country Café in Schoharie and they were: Miner Stevens, Bill Lichliter, Harold Guest, Roger Chapman, George Washburn, Robie Osterman, Chuck Aelesio, Glenn Patterson, Mark Traver, Otis Lawyer, Richard Frank, Roger Shafer, Ted Feurer, Wayne Gaul, Sonny Mercer, Ray Kennedy, Lou Schenck, Mace Porter, Jack Norray, Bob Fink, Bob Benninger, Marty Herzog, Jim Rissacher, Warren Willsey, Mike Willsey, Gerry Chartier, Elwood Vanderbilt, Randy Foretuin, Harold Grippen, and me.
Location:
The breakfast for the Old Men of the Mountain was held Tuesday, Oct. 11, at the restaurant called Mrs. K’s in Middleburgh.
Many of the OFs like going to Mrs. K’s because the proprietor was a classmate of some and she is like a female counterpart to the OFs. She still rises early in the morning, works hard, and is the same age as many OFs. Since she’s known many of the OFs from when they were still in knickers, she takes no snot from any of them.
The OFs were talking about their annual flu shots, which most of them get. It was being bantered around that a few of the OFs have heard that older people should get their flu shots later this year.
None of the OFs who were talking about this knew the reason why. The OFs offering the advice of taking the shot later because of this information had no takers.
The OFs said, for the most part, the shot works for them, and they have not had the flu, so they were going to take the shot when they always take the shot, or when their doctors advise them to, not when some OF tells them it is time.
Evacuating to France
Hurricane Matthew was a topic that kept creeping into the conversations. Almost all the OFs knew of someone who was in the way of this nasty weather.
One OF has a friend who lives near Hilton Head, South Carolina. So out of concern the OF emailed this friend to see how he was doing. The OF said he received a reply in a couple of hours that he was OK and in France.
The OF said his friend’s message was they were given plenty of advanced notice and then a mandatory evacuation was issued, so they evacuated to France, and that is where the OF’s friend was at that time of the emails.
One OF said, “Well now, that is what I call an evacuation escape route.”
While the people along the coast are having all those awful weather conditions, we in the Hilltowns are having a gorgeous fall. The OFs can imagine the destruction because of what our area went through with Irene, only Matthew came in on a much larger scale.
Some of the OFs have homes in the affected areas and they are up here with all the other OFs at breakfast. Those OFs have checked with friends and all reported that their homes are fine. This is good news to all the OFs.
Being prepared
All this prompted another conversation on how prepared the OFs are in case some really bad catastrophe comes along like the time the whole East Coast was without power. The OFs mentioned that they are more prepared now than they were then with generators (the whole house type) and the smaller portable ones.
They have food in cans and mom’s type canning to last for quite awhile. Many of the OFs have prepared like this for years because that was the way they were brought up.
One OF mentioned that, if you were the sort who took your family camping (and the OF said he meant tent camping, not these motor homes that are like houses on wheels), you were used to cooking on the campfire or a Coleman stove, and having mantle lanterns (which were the source of light for this type of camping) and knew about self preservation.
Even backpacking, carrying everything you were going to need for days on your back, was another way to learn the same thing.
“Now,” one OF said, “if the girls can’t power up their hair dryer and the guys can’t access the latest football game, they are lost.”
Like zombies
The OF also touched on gated communities, and senior living where there are so many rules all the people can do is sit around and play hand and foot. (Yes, Martha, this is a real card game that amuses many retirees.)
They are like zombies trapped in their own little community. One OF was checking into some of these communities and found that one of the rules involved the number of cars, boats, trailers, etc., that an OF was allowed to have.
Furthermore, he could not cut his own grass; it would be done by the yard crew, for which there was a charge. The grandkids could not stay overnight.
The OF said these rules went on and on; it was worse than being in jail. Definitely not for him — he would rather live in a normal area and take his chances with the occasional burglar.
“Hey,” one OF said, “you might catch him in an attempted burglary and he might turn out to be a neat guy. I bet the crook could show you a better way around town that would be a lot more fun than some old geezer on his three-wheel bike.”
(This scribe chuckled to himself listening to these conversations knowing that the people talking were older geezers than the old geezer they were talking about. It is all in the mind.)
One OF mentioned coming to the breakfast as a rider in a car where the driving OF announced audibly to the car ahead of him, “Come on, you old goat, get a move on,” and the driver of the car the OF was riding in was 84 years old. It is, as has been stated, all in the mind.
This rider was riding in a car headed to Mrs. K’s Restaurant in Middleburgh where they were going to meet with the other OFs, and they were: John Rossmann, Bill Lichliter, Harold Guest, Richard Frank, Chuck Aelesio, Glenn Patterson, Robie Osterman, George Washburn, Mark Traver, Jim Heiser, Sonny Mercer, Roger Shafer, Otis Lawyer, Lou Schenck, (welcome back), Mace Porter, Don Wood, Jack Norray, Jim Rissacher, Marty Herzog, Bob Fink, Bob Benninger, Jess Vadney, Richard Vanderbilt, Elwood Vanderbilt, Gerry Chartier, Mike Willsey, Harold Grippen, and me.
Location:
What’s in a seal? The Old Men of Mountain tell the story behind the horse in Schoharie County’s seal.
As the Old Men of the Mountain traveled over the hill to the Middleburgh Diner in Middleburgh some were wondering how the tour buses handle the lack of color that the tours have been scheduled for in our area. The OFs say they are still keeping up with mowing the grass, a few trees have changed, and the white pines are still hanging onto to their needles.
On Tuesday, Oct. 4, with all the leaves that remained on the trees, the OFs remembered the October snow storm of Oct. 4, 1987 when a freak snowstorm fell with leaves still on the trees and the trees came crashing down.
One OF reported he was in the hospital having his gallbladder removed (this was when they cut you from stem to stern to remove the diseased bladder, and this OF has the scar to prove it) when the snows came. The OFs said that his doctor had a huge tree come down against his home and one across his driveway.
The doctor could not get his car out and borrowed a neighbor’s chainsaw to cut his way through the trees so he could get to the hospital. The doctor had a heart attack in the process and passed away. The follow-up and the rest of his care, the OF said, was by doctors he didn’t know or had anything to do with the operation. They must have done OK because the OF said he is still here.
That snowstorm some mess, but it doesn’t look like it is going to happen this year at least on Oct. 4 because, by the time this hits the paper, the 4th will have come and gone.
A real whopper
The case of “the one that got away” from the State Police in Schoharie was talked about. It was commented that the Troopers and the police departments had better be careful in handling these farm girls — these girls seem to be able to escape on a regular basis.
One OF mentioned it is no wonder the girl in Schoharie slipped her handcuffs off since the pictures of her on the news seemed to indicate she is no bigger than a mite, and the OFs think that the cuffs might not go small enough to really fit the young lady.
Another OF opined she went from a rinky-dink type of crime to a real whopper. And finally one OF said she must be real stupid, or real frightened, to pull a stunt like that.
Dry season
The OFs mentioned that the area really needs rain — a good rain! Many of the creeks are just dribbles of water. It’s hard to imagine from what the Fox Creek and the Schoharie Creek look like now, that we had a flood — Tropical Storm Irene — of such magnitude five years ago.
One OF said, even though it is dry, he sees farmers still out cutting hay, probably their third cutting. A second OF mentioned some farmers were out cutting the day before the breakfast; this is nice looking hay.
County seal
A few weeks ago, this column had a section in it about history, and part of the history of Schoharie County is contained in the county seal. The seal is of a horse. The OFs talked about this at that time but no one could quite come up with all the facts.
At Tuesday morning’s breakfast an OF brought in a book on the history of Schoharie and this accounting was in that book with names of who owned the horse and how it came about. The following is a paraphrase of the story.
This horse is very important to early settlers of the valley and the Hilltowns. At that time, after the grain was harvested, it had to be taken to Schenectady to be ground into flour and this was the job of the women, to haul these sacks of grain to the mill and return with the flour.
It wasn’t only flour but other staples that were required by the community that was transported in this fashion and by the women. If only they had a horse to haul the loads, it would be easier and they could do more.
One day on the way to the mill, they spotted a horse for sale and mentioned it when they returned home. The horse was more expensive than they thought they could afford but with what money they could round up, they went to inquire about purchasing it anyway.
The owner of the horse pulled a switcheroo and brought out an old nag instead of the stallion they first saw. The owner was bargained down to what money they had brought with them and he told them it was still a good horse.
On the way home, the women weren’t sure the horse would make it back, but it did. The next morning, when they went to check on the horse, they found it had given birth to a spry, perky foal. Now they had two horses, and in a year the foal would be big and strong.
Some looked on it as a miracle and said they were being taken care of by a greater being. This event became the seal of Schoharie County.
Condolences
The Old Men of the Mountain would like to offer their condolences to the family of Paul Giebitz with the passing away of Paul in a tractor accident. Our thoughts and prayers go with them as Paul joins the other OMOTM at the table in the clouds.
Those OFs who will take this kind of weather right up until spring so they can make it to restaurants like the Middleburgh Diner in Middleburgh were: Miner Stevens, George Washburn, Bill Lichliter, Dave Williams, Roger Chapman, Robie Osterman, Harold Guest, Sonny Mercer, Ray Kennedy, Don Wood, Ray Gaul, Jack Norray, Mace Porter, Bob Benninger, Bob Fink, Marty Herzog, Jim Rissacher, Bob Giebitz, Ted Willsey, Duane Wagonbaugh, Roger Shafer, Gerry Chartier, Mike Willsey, Elwood Vanderbilt, Harold Grippen, and me.
Location:
Some Old Men of the Mountain still can’t find their way through these hills, and wander all over the place. Some blame it on the signs on county roads not marking north, south, east, or west on their route numbers. If you are not paying attention when driving, it is easy to miss things.
Some of the OFs can’t talk or chew gum while they are operating a motor vehicle. The OFs, when doing these normal functions, are apt to turn left instead of right, or drive past a turn they know they should take, then wonder why they are where the heck they are.
On Tuesday morning, Sept. 27, on the way to Kim’s West Winds Diner, some OFs headed over the hill in the dark of early morning and in some pockets of fog they drove around in circles twice in the hills where many of the OFs have lived for 70 or 80 years and they have even hiked some of the areas they were wandering around in. The OFs tempered this with how beautiful a morning it was and a great day for a ride anyway.
Leaving leaves
Some of the OFs who summer in warmer climes are beginning to leave and some have already flown. So far this year, the summer and early beginning of fall have been one of the better times, although it has been a little on the dry side. One OF who is leaving said that it is a good idea to close the place down now because a cold snap can come when least expected — then it is hurry-up-time to shut things down.
This OF would rather leave when it is still nice and take his time in buttoning up the place. Look at all the beautiful fall scenery the OF will be missing by abandoning the ship so early.
He said he has seen enough fall colors in his lifetime and raked enough leaves and it does not break his heart to leave. (This scribe just typed that sentence and looked at leaves, and leaves. Boy, the English language to newcomers must offer a challenge. There is no connection between the two words spelled exactly the same way.) Some of the travelers to Florida commented that the state is getting so crowded it may break off and sink.
Polling the OMOTM on the presidential debates
In a question about the debates, not the debaters, just the debates, it was found by the respondents and those at the breakfast that the OFs may be a microcosm of the nation with about a 60/40 split, with the 60 not bothering to watch and the 40 really interested, watching either 80- to 90-percent of the debate or all of the way through.
For the most part, all the OFs vote, for whatever that is worth. Many of the OFs already have their minds made up, and have trouble with all the political ads that bombard the airwaves around election time each year. Many OFs are confused with the logic of wasting money to run these ads.
One OF said he can understand why some people take a gun and shoot out the TV. He comes darn close to it when four and five of these ads follow one another on the screen.
A few other OFs mute the ads when they start and that includes all of them even the ones from Raymour & Flannigan, and Huge. They do click the sound back on occasionally if the ads from Geico, or the ads with the duck are sandwiched between a series of political ads.
When pranks were fun
The OFs have delved into this topic before and it generally sticks its head out around Halloween. The mischief the OFs took part in when they were young about this time of year would land them in jail today.
The pranks when verbalized were harmless and funny. Some of the pranks took a considerable amount of time to plan and execute. None of the OFs considered any of these pranks vicious or mean. The general populace expected, for the most part, many of the pranks and people even prepared for them as if they, too, were part of the game. Today it seems that some pranks go over the top, which spoils it for everyone else.
The OFs remembered good ole fashioned “hornings.” When a young couple married, a horning was planned by friends and neighbors.
The young couple had no idea when this was going to happen but, through the advice of their parents, they made preparations for it. Being young, broke, and newly married, the couple generally had help from their parents in putting in a good stock of beer, cheese, and crackers, and pepperoni for when it happened.
The day of reckoning of a horning was kept a secret better than any surprise party. When the day came, and the midnight hour rang, all cane broke lose — shotguns fired in the air, horns blasted, old large sawmill circular saw blades suspended on steel bars beat with hammers, torches lit, and the friends and neighbors marched around the house — then the party began.
The party generally broke up by the time for milking and the farmers had to get to the cows. That was usually about 4 or 4:30 in the morning. Try doing that today! Every cop and trooper in the surrounding area would be there shutting that thing down. Gee, it’s no fun anymore.
Thin skins
Then the OFs started talking about a much more serious topic and that was: Why does a banana skin get thinner as the banana becomes older? Where does it go? The banana actually becomes softer and smaller.
One OF suggested the banana skin loses air. He thought the skin, when new, is full of air and the air escapes and the solids fill in the voids.
What happens to the rest of the banana was a question asked. It is like a balloon, one OF thought, and, as when the air leaks out of a balloon, it becomes smaller and squishy. Hey, could be.
The OFs who made it to Kim’s West Wind Diner in Preston Hollow to escape the political ads were: Bill Lichliter, Robie Osterman, George Washburn, Miner Stevens, Roger Chapman, John Rossmann, Harold Guest, Marty Herzog, Pete Whitbeck, Bill Bartholomew, Dave Williams, Chuck Aelesio, Richard Frank, Glenn Traver, Karl Remmers, Bob Snyder, Don Wood, Sonny Mercer, Ray Kennedy, Otis Lawyer, Bob Benac, Don Gates, Jim Rissacher, Duane Wagonbaugh, Ted Willsey, Rich Donnelly, Jessie Vadney, Elwood Vanderbilt, Gerry Chartier, Mike Willsey, Harold Grippen, and me.