— Photo submitted by John R. Williams
The Middleburg Diner lacks the "h" that the town of the same name ends in. The eatery is a regular stop for the Old Men of
The Middleburgh Diner in Middleburgh was visited by the Old Men of the Mountain on Tuesday, Nov. 24. With Thanksgiving then just a couple of days away (and in our area we have had no snow to speak of) the OFs and thousands of other people are lucking out this November. We’re not even having cold weather! The ski people may be a little ticked though.
The OFs, one would think, are far enough away in age to not remember a lot of things of long ago but as these little reports show that is not the case. Most of what the OFs remember are good things but there have been some bad things that the OFs think they have shaken off but deep down have not.
The topic drifted to whom the OFs hung with when the OFs were young. A lot had to do with where you lived. The kids in town had their own little cliques, and the farm boys rattled around on the outside. In middle school, then junior high, many dies were cast, depending on age; the farm boys, along with some of the town kids, were not in the in crowd and the teachers unknowingly (at least it seemed) played into the circle of the in-town kids.
The OFs said they were quite often judged by what their siblings did. The teachers would never admit it outright but an OF said that one teacher told him his brother was a lot of trouble “so I am going to keep my eye on you.”
The OFs who went on to college said that for them no one there knew what their brother or sisters were like, or even what their family was like because there was no family history tagging along.
One OF said, “We were all strangers on a level playing field.”
Then another OF said that he had to shake off the feeling of being on the outside even though he had a lot of friends and did not consider himself a dork. In college he was able to select the people he wanted to hang with, and they accepted him because they were in the same boat.
Some OFs said that is why college reunions, and high school reunions are 180 degrees apart, and for some reason the high school reunion seems more important, because quite often the OF can go back to the jerks in high school and say, “Ha, I drive a Maserati, and you are still driving a Dodge Dart.”
Tech talk: Preserving pictures
The OFs started an interesting conversation on computers and one OF brought up some points about saving your pictures for posterity. It seems the best thing to do is make prints of the ones anyone really wants to keep
One OF said he places them on the computer first, then he puts them on a flash drive, and then on an external hard drive. Then he makes folders of ones that pertain to particular subjects, or ones that the OF really wants to keep and puts those on a compact disc.
The OF said that none of these will last. The major problem is that in a few short years there will be nothing that will read them. The best way to make sure they will be read at least in the foreseeable future is to purchase a cheap computer and never use it.
Never hook it to the ’net, and use it only to read what you have, like the pictures or documents you have now.
Another OF said that even prints fade. Then an OF suggested that if it is a person you really want people to know about in the future have their portrait painted, or drawn. Those have been known to last for centuries. The same thing applies to the old homestead: Have it sketched.
Perils of talking
The OFs had a short discussion on talking and driving, and it was found out that some of the OFs cannot do both. Many of the OFs say they have been in the middle of a conversation and driven right past their own driveway.
“Not only that,” one OF said, “it’s worse when you’re gabbing and miss a turn you know you should take and you have taken it many times.”
When the OF comes to and realizes he has missed the turn, he looks around and has no idea where he is, and then it becomes scary.
One OF said he doesn’t have to be driving; it takes a lot of concentration for him to carry on some conversations and in the middle of talking he could even walk into a wall. Another OF said that could lead to a serious problem if you happen to be yakking and come to a set of stairs going down.
Oil trumps wood this season
The OFs and this scribe must say again, redundancy is an OF trademark, but the OFs talked about outside furnaces. Some of the OFs have used this method of heating their homes and their hot water for years.
“Now,” one OF said, “the price of oil has gone down some, but the price of wood has not.”
This OF opined that 100 gallons of fuel oil and one full cord of wood heats about the same. Unless anyone who has one of these outside furnaces also has their own woodlot right now oil is the way to go.
Another OF said he still thinks the outside furnaces are OK because they will burn anything, while a stove should only burn dry hard wood (which ought to be used); otherwise, the risk of a chimney fire is great.
The OFs with the woodlots say that is true and the outside furnaces do burn anything. According to the OFs with the woodlots, they take only trees that are down or standing dead; rarely do these OFs cut a live tree.
Those OFs attending the breakfast at the Middleburgh Diner in Middleburgh, and not having the cold weather blood circulating yet, were: Dave Williams, Frank Pauli, Jim Heiser, Robie Osterman, Chuck Aelesio, Mark Traver, Harold Guest, Bill Lichliter, George Washburn, Glenn Patterson, Henry Witt, Bill Krause, Lou Schenck, Jack Norray, Mace Porter, Don Wood, Wayne Gaul, Mike Willsey, Warren Willsey, Elwood Vanderbilt, Ted Willsey, Harold Grippen, and me.
Location:
— Photo by John R. Williams
The Hilltown Café in Rensselaerville shares a building with the post office.
Tuesday, Nov. 17, the Old Men of the Mountain met at the Hilltown Café in Rensselaerville.
The OFs enjoy coming to the Hilltown Café and for some it is a hike, and for some it is just on top of the hill. The car pools are as much fun as the breakfasts, and the way the restaurant rotation works out most of the OFs have short rides, then medium rides, and then longer rides. It is only fair, Magee.
One OF told about his information, which he has garnered from research, on the genealogy of his family tree. The OF said what came up in his trek down the family path can be quite interesting at times when the paths of history comes up along with the family research.
Another OF is a member of a church that performs this research for many people. This information can be done for anyone; it is not necessary to be a member of this church. According to this OF, the church’s collection and resources for genealogy is one of the best sites for obtaining information on a particular family in the country.
The first OF related that he has traced his mother’s side of the family back to a Celtic tribe in Ireland and there he thinks he has run into a dead end because going back this far (especially Celtic tribes) just staying alive was more important than keeping records of who was who.
Magnetic phone poles?
The OFs were making an observation that many people have made. The OFs think that telephone poles have magnetic properties. Many stories were told of vehicles of all sorts running into telephone poles.
One OF said that were he lives the road is as straight as a string and along the road are telephone poles; nothing in between them except grass and brush, there isn’t even a deep ditch or culvert.
“Yet,” the OF said, “inevitably, vehicles will zip down this road and smack a pole, from ATVs to cars, to trucks, to motorcycles. The only thing that has not whacked a pole is a tractor and wagon. It’s like the poles have arms and hands.
“If the pole wants a little excitement, it just reaches out and grabs whatever is going by. It’s like trying to throw a small stone through a chain-link fence; invariably, the stone will hit a wire while the space between the wires is 10 times the size of the stone. Go figure.”
Green guy
One of the OFs has a completely electric car, which this OMOTM report has written about before. That report told a lot about the vehicle and how far it will go on a charge, etc.
However, on Tuesday, the OFs learned that not only is the car totally electric but at home the OF has solar panels on his roof. The OF says that with these panels he charges the car for free.
With this little setup, and the price of gas, the OF is going have the car and panels paid for faster that you can blow your nose. By the time the hanky is placed back in the pocket, the system belongs completely to the OF — no more payments.
Built to last
The subject comes up quite often about the OFs’ homes, and the home repair — the discussion can be on a minor or major project underway. Tuesday morning, the conversation was on the construction of some of their older homes, especially when really delving in and attempting a modernization or adding a room, or bathroom.
What the OFs will find when they begin tearing down a wall that has been there 100 years or better, can be anything: horsehair plaster that clings to every lathe, spacing that is anything other than 16 inches on center, studs that can be a full 2x4, to even 3x4 or 4x4, or anything close was OK.
They might find studs that can be fish-plated if they weren’t long enough to reach the plates or maybe one nail holding a board, or overkill with 10 nails. They may find completely debarked logs for floor joists at random spacing. These homes are still standing, functioning as they should.
The newer homes, the OFs feel, will not last anywhere near the time this old, basically haphazard, type of construction has proven it will. One OF mentioned that he lives across from a new home with new materials and, within six months, they had to do extensive repairs. Not remodels — repairs.
“But,” one OF said, “what one of us is going to be around in a hundred years to see what these newer homes, with the newer materials will be like?”
Another OF said, “Any home, new or old, has to be properly maintained or it won’t last 30 years.”
A third OF said he would like to live long enough to see homes constructed out of composite materials like those used in airplanes. This OF said, when he goes to build something that requires 2x4s, most of them could be strung with string and used as a bow for a giant’s bow and arrow.
Someday, this scribe mused, homes will be constructed with walls and roofs out of composites, with solar collectors built right in and all directed to a central WiFi system so no wires will be required. These homes will be heated with microwaves, and cooking and hot water also completed with microwaves. Each home will be its own energy source.
Can happen, this scribe thinks. All waste material will be microwaved and turned to vapor or dust. Can happen. There are probably better ideas out there right now by smarter people than this scribe.
Those OFs who left their humble abodes (no matter how old these abodes are) and some OFs who are still living in tents, made it to the Hilltown Café in Rensselaerville, and hitched their horses and wagons to the hitching post, were: Miner Stevens, Dave Williams, Roger Chapman, Robie Osterman, Frank Pauli, Harold Guest, John Rossmann, Lou Schenck, Jim Heiser, Chuck Aelesio, Glenn Patterson, Mark Traver, Jack Norray, Wayne Gaul, Jim Rissacher, Elwood Vanderbilt, Mike Willsey, Ted Willsey, Harold Grippen, and me.
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Not only the Old Men of the Mountain can’t beat this weather with a stick we are having in the Northeast, but everyone can get on the bandwagon and not beat this weather with a stick. On Nov. 3, the Old Men of the Mountain met at the Chuck Wagon Diner in Princetown.
This scribe will continue about the weather because getting out of the vehicle in the parking lot of the Chuck Wagon’s parking lot was surreal. The sunrise, the feel in the air, did not seem right; this scribe felt he was someplace else; this is November?
The OFs gave the waitress at the Chuck Wagon a break because there were not many OFs at the breakfast.
One has pneumonia but is now on the upside; four have just returned from Las Vegas; one is in Aruba; three were on the wrong time, and just couldn’t get up, so the drivers went on, leaving them home; two were working the polls; one was running for election and was working hard; one was on a trip with the kids; and one was at the doctor’s office after a tick decided this OF was a good place to call home.
As is often mentioned the OFs are old but do have places to go, people to see, and things to do. Only at the breakfast are most of the OFs sedentary.
Where have all the earwigs gone?
A new topic for the OFs at the breakfast was bugs.
Not only have the OFs noticed a decline in wildlife (like deer, rabbits, raccoons, porcupines, turkeys, and some birds and bats), the OFs have noticed that some bugs seem to have vanished, like earwigs.
Fifteen to 20 years ago, the OFs never saw an earwig, let alone knew what that nasty-looking bug was, and then all of a sudden they were here. Turn over a piece of wood, lift up a flowerpot, pick up the water dish for the dog outside and there they were, scurrying all over the place.
Now they seem to have gone for the most part. This year, nary a one. But these, unlike the wild animals, have been replaced with others like the box elder, and the stink bug.
Now where did they come from? The OFs wonder, if they have been here all the time, where have they been hiding? Particularly the stink bug, that thing is aptly named. Squash one of those bugs and you will know it.
Plenty of nuts
This is also a year the OFs notice that many trees have an abundance of fruits and nuts and even pine cones. One OF reported that his oak tree has the lawn so covered with acorns it is like walking on marbles.
Then another OF said that on his walks in the woods he has noticed that under one oak tree it would be like the other OF said, but under one right next to the first tree, practically nothing is there, hardly even one acorn. This OF said he thought this was odd.
The hickory nuts from the hickory trees are also falling from the trees like rain. Hickory nuts are all over the ground like the acorns.
One OF thought it has been a different year. The trees changed color in our area very late, by almost two weeks.
Another OF threw in the comment that the tour buses that bring people to see the color were going to miss it; the leaves would still be green. Now, instead of frost on the pumpkins, the dumb things are still growing.
“That is not entirely true,” one OF said. “We have had a few killing frosts.”
“Yeah, only in the really open areas,” another OF said.
With his plants, he noticed that, if the plants had any kind of protection at all, they are still green, and the grass is still growing.
“We are going to pay for this,” an OF said.
All the OFs thought this OF was right.
Tough jobs
The OFs talked about the current dilemma of being a police officer. One OF thought that the press and most all of the media are presenting the news in such a fashion that it is painting all police officers with the same brush as the few bad ones.
Many people forget, the OFs thought, that police officers deal with the dregs of society day in and day out and are on edge from the time they go to work until they go home. It takes a certain type of person to be a police officer, or to work in a nursing home, or even to work in a children’s hospital where many are dying of cancer and other diseases.
One OF said, “Give me a shovel and let me dig a ditch because I don’t think I could do these other jobs.”
Those OFs who were still around and had the opportunity to enjoy a beautiful beginning of a beautiful day and started it out by heading to the Chuck Wagon in Princetown were: Robie Osterman, George Washburn, Bill Lichliter, (whose name was entered incorrectly last week; this was to protect the innocent) Roger Shafer, Henry Whitt, Gerry Irwin, Wayne Gaul, Harold Guest, Bob Fink, Bob Benninger, Ted Willsey, Mike Willsey, Elwood Vanderbilt, Gerry Chartier, Harold Grippen, and me.
Location:
On Tuesday, Oct. 20, the Old Men of the Mountain met at the Your Way Café in Schoharie and the way the OMOTM travel to get there is about the only area around here that the trees are still showing off their fall colors.
In the fall, the hunting begins (as we mentioned in last week’s OMOTM report) but some of the OFs reported not seeing as many of the field animals that they have seen in the past
A couple OFs reported that, under one of their barns, a fox had a litter of pups and the OFs would watch these pups come out and play. They also reported that there was both a mom (vixen) and dad (dog) fox that would be around, a regular family.
These OFs also reported that one day a big, ole coon showed up and would pester that den of fox. Papa fox would harass this old coon while the momma fox just stood and watched — she would not go in and help.
The OFs reported that, one day shortly after that coon showed up, there were no more foxes, just the coon. They surmised that this coon had a breakfast, lunch, and dinner of fox. No proof of that — only fur.
The foxes may have scattered because of the coon; however, the OFs don’t know that for sure, but the foxes are gone. These OFs are outdoor OFs and this was just a summation on their part, but the OFs claim big coons can be nasty and it is not a good idea to mess with them.
Many children’s books show raccoons as cute little animals with a black mask around their eyes, and hands that wash their food, but it is not a good idea to have your kids think they can go up and pet one of these animals and they will curl up and purr like a cat. No-siree-bob, reach out to pet one in the wild and your hand could come back minus a couple of fingers.
Wonders of technology
A few of the OFs who were missing last week had traveled to Maine to get a bite to eat and brought back some pictures on their cell phones for show and tell. As is said over and over, technology is moving so fast it is almost impossible to keep up.
Now just about everyone has a cell phone that will take pictures, videos, and wipe your nose if you have a cold. When interesting events happen while an OF is on a trip, the OF can now let friends and relatives know what is going on in real time whether he is across the street, or with Captain Hook in Never-Never Land.
Thirty years ago, who — except maybe Dick Tracy — would have thought this is the way life would be.
Now the topic turned to discussing the latest technology — drones. Will the government probably charge a fee and insist people register to own one of these drones?
The OFs say part of the fun of these flying platforms is building them on the kitchen table out of parts you can by at your local hobby store, or Sears, or electronics store (electronics store used to be Radio Shack, one OF added). It is not necessary to go out and buy one.
So if any crackpot wants to raise havoc with a drone he can build at home what good is all that paperwork for guys that want to have one for the fun of it? Like you do with radio-controlled planes, you could purchase the kit and build it at home or buy the parts and do the same thing.
One OF said, “Well, it will generate another governmental bureaucracy and create jobs that will raise taxes and that will insure votes for the ones that vote for all these rules and regulations but for criminal activity these rules won’t mean a thing.”
As the saying goes: You can hoodwink some of the people some of the time, but not all the people all of the time, and you certainly can’t hoodwink the OFs.
One OF thought, if government bodies are going to spend money, they could create better security around airports and governmental buildings and equip the guards with scatterguns and shoot the drones down.
“Hey,” one OF opined, “that is the kind of job I would like — popping those things out of the sky when they are flying where they are not supposed to be.”
Ways of going
The conversation became a little morbid at the end of the breakfast when a few OFs started talking about who would be next to pass away. The OFs were going by physical condition and age.
Really, if the OFs glanced up and down the table, it could be any one of the OFs, including the glancer.
“Then again, when your name is called up yonder, age and physical condition has nothing to do with it,” one OF retorted.
This prompted another OF to say, “Yeah, it does if a ten wheeler is bearing down on me. I certainly am not in the physical condition to get out of the way, and that is because of my age.”
“Well,” the other OF said, “I am still right, that truck has your name on it, and if it wasn’t the truck, it would be a piano falling from the sky.”
To which another one of the OFs stated that, for him, it would be a bullet fired from the gun of a jealous husband.
“In your dreams,” another OF said. “That scenario would have taken place 40 years ago, not now. The way you are going, your name is written on the bottom of a beer bottle.”
And so it goes.
Those OFs who attended the breakfast at the Your Way Café in Schoharie and one who had to be told where the syrup was when he (not naming a particular name here) had it in his hands were: Harold Guest, Glenn Patterson, Mark Traver, Miner Stevens, George Washburn, Roger Shafer, Roger Chapman, Robie Osterman, John Rossmann, Frank Pauli, Chuck Aelesio, Joe Ketzer, Lou Schenck, Jack Norray, Mace Porter, Gerry Irwin, Bob Fink, Bob Benninger, Jim Rissacher, Duncan Bellinger, Don Wood, Elwood Vanderbilt, Mike Willsey, Ted Willsey, Gerry Chartier, interloper John, Harold Grippen, and me.
Location:
On a colorful day, Tuesday, Oct. 13, the Old Men of the Mountain met at the Country Café in Schoharie. The drivers of the car pools were at a slight disadvantage because, duh, they had to drive, but the riders had the time to do some real leaf peeping.
There is really no reason for the OFs who live on the Hill (or in the valley for that matter) to travel to Vermont or New Hampshire in order to view fall color and nature at its best, except for the ride. Maybe the OFs who ventured to the coast through the White Mountains of New Hampshire would eventually reach the ocean.
The ocean — now that is different! Unfortunately locally, where the OFs roam, there is no ocean.
This scribe does not know how true this is but one OF said that an entrepreneurial guy is laminating leaves and selling them.
One OF said the OFs should advertise: Rake your own leaves, five bucks a box. This OF thinks people would do this and purchase boxes of leaves.
This scribe added that this is not original; Joe Gallagher, the weekend guy on WGY, has been advocating this for quite a while. The OFs have to admit that the fall season in the Northeast is unique with the many varieties of hues on the trees and sometimes the same bush will be wearing Joseph’s coat of many colors.
It is fun to notice that the OFs are OFs and they still take rides and trips to view the colors of the season like they have never seen it before.
One OF mentioned he likes this part of fall but it is too short; however, so far this year, it has been a great fall season. Some years, we go from late summer to early winter and skip the fall feeling altogether.
Some OFs thought that fall was a nostalgic time of the year. The OFs said they felt like they had this unexplained empty feeling.
One OF said he just confided in a very good friend that he wanted summer back because there was so much left undone; people unseen; and dreaming dreams, which are still just dreams. Now he has to wait until spring because, by next fall, he will do the same thing with things undone becoming longer; people not seen now gone; and dreams, well, dreams are dreams, the OF said.
One OF mentioned that, to him, each season has its own aroma. This OF can smell the leaves of fall, the worms of spring, the new-mown hay of summer, and the fresh air of a cold winter’s morning.
“Gone now,” an OF said, “is a fun part of fall, along with Halloween, and Thanksgiving, and that is the raking of leaves and burning them by the roadside — that smell is a thing of the past. We are not supposed to burn leaves now.”
The OF said, “Instead of burning leaves, we burn gasoline in chippers and trucks to pick them up, and cut down trees to make bags to put them in. Doesn’t make sense to me,” the OF said.
Thoughts on hunting
The OFs mentioned that it was the beginning of bow season, and that, at least, is quiet. On opening day of the hunting season, it sounds like World War III is underway on the Hill. By the sounds of some of these things, they must be machine guns.
Unless the hunter is a darn poor shot, maybe two shots should do it, but, when it is pow, pow, pow, one shot right after another, it is a good indication that the hunter has missed the deer. But, if he has hit the deer, the hunter must be trying to make hamburger of the animal before it is dressed.
It is good that hunters do hit the fields and thin out the herd. Not only that, it does put meat on the tables for many of these hunters.
The OF hunters say that this is not cheap meat. All the gear you have to have, plus the travel to where you think the deer are, has to be figured in.
Then one OF said, “And all that beer — that makes for very expensive meat.”
Stewart’s plaza?
The OFs mentioned they have heard that soon Middleburgh will not look like Middleburgh, especially by the school. According to the OFs, Stewart’s has acquired the bank, the dentist office, the chiropractor’s office, and one other building. These buildings are all coming down and Stewarts is planning on building a Stewart’s “plaza.”
One OF said, “Well, at least the kids won’t have to cross the street now to get to Stewart’s; it will be on the same side of the road and, with no roads to cross at all, the place will be practically on school property.” Stay tuned.
Forgoing the future
The OFs have mentioned before why we are OFs with ages the OFs never thought they would be, and still having fun. This scribe has covered comments about medicines, food, medical care, and activities.
The topics Tuesday morning that the OFs were covering were geared more to mechanical items like design of homes, and senior apartments with the walk-in showers and tubs, ramps instead of stairs, riding lawnmowers, and now cars that drive themselves.
They like the idea of homes that are now prefabricated, all on one floor, and smaller. Older couples can still have their own place and basically maintain it, plus the advent of cars that drive themselves will give a sense of freedom that was not around 30 years ago.
The OFs said they are not ready for these homes yet, but they know many that are. Are they just fooling themselves?
Those OFs who left their three-storied homes and hopped into their standard-shift cars and pickups and drove to the Country Café in Schoharie and had man-sized breakfasts were: Miner Stevens, John Rossmann with his grandson Scott Ciabazttari, Joe Ketezer, Robie Osterman, George Washburn, Harold Guest, Roger Chapman, Roger Shafer, Lou Schenck, Gerry Irwin, Mace Porter, Wayne Gaul, Duncan Bellinger, Bill Krause, Jim Rissacher, Ted Willsey, Duane Wagenbaugh, Elwood Vanderbilt, Harold Grippen, and me.
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Tuesday, Oct. 6, brought another beautiful sunrise, though the sunrise the day before was more spectacular. The OFs were out taking pictures Monday, and Tuesday morning on the way to Mrs. K’s restaurant in Middleburgh it was no different.
The sunrise on Tuesday morning did not hang around in the sky as long as it did yesterday, but there was a little more color on the trees as the OFs rode over the mountain to Mrs. K’s. As the sun clipped the top of the mountains and added its color to the scenery, there were many moments for calendar shots.
One OF said that, on his computer, he keeps a folder just for sunrises. The OF did not mention sunsets. Another OF has sunrises and sunsets listed in folders also with dates and times when they occurred. As the OFs become older, they appreciate the finer things life has to offer more now than when they were young Fs.
Chickens with horns?
Why does the chicken cross the road? That was not the question of the day but crushing chicken bones was.
One OF just picked up an antique “bone crusher” used to crush up chicken bones to feed back to the chickens. The OFs speculated that it could be used to crush up other bones too.
This is the same OF who has the dehorning cutter. One OF said he didn’t know chickens had horns.
“Yeah, they do,” an OF said, “And you had better watch out for those chickens with horns — they’ll getcha.”
Oh no! No wonder the OFs’ wives don’t want the OFs talking to the grandkids and telling them things like horns on chickens, chocolate milk from brown cows, and how to plant some raw spaghetti to grow spaghetti trees.
Dodging chores
As we have reported before, our suspicions have been confirmed. One OF came right out and said he is at the breakfast so he can dodge the wife and get out of chores.
This has been suspected for some time and this is why the attendance at the breakfast is so good. This scribe wonders how many OFs use the term “meeting” (which implies they will be doing something important) with their wives when they head out to join us.
The sneaker-and-pipe crowd
A couple of OFs who were familiar with the General Electric Research and Development facility in Niskayuna talked about all the developments that have come out of that place, one being the MRI technology.
They mentioned that there was no such thing as a Friday casual day, as every day was casual day. The OFs mentioned how some came dressed, and how some (when working on something exciting) stayed right at the site day and night.
They had an ambiguous but respectful title for this group called “the sneaker and pipe crowd.” These people developed much of what we use today as routine, especially in the medical field.
Paid for grades
Siena College was discussed, and what a tight-knit group the graduates of that institution are.
One OF mentioned that his son graduated from Siena and going from BKW to the college atmosphere was quite an adjustment for his son. Many kids from small schools are not ready for the college life, and Siena is not that big.
The OF said his son’s grades were not what he expected and related to his son that he would pay for courses where he earned As and Bs but, for the rest, he was on his own. It worked. The studying started and the grades went up.
The kid was not having any of that “I’ll have to pay for it”; he went with “hang it on dad,” There is a lesson here for all us somewhere.
Peerless peach
Sometimes the OFs tell very basic of stories in the most humorous way. This year, the OFs have mentioned how prolific their gardens are, especially mentioning the grape vines and the fruit trees.
There is usually an exception to these stories and this one OF told of his peach tree that produced only one peach. The OF said he watched that single peach develop all year long, then one day last week that peach was on the ground.
The OF said it looked OK to him so he picked it up and ate it. The OF said it was the best peach he ever had.
Another OF said, “No wonder it was so good; it didn’t have any competition. All that the entire tree had to offer went right into the one peach.”
No surprises
One OF said that his daughter told him that she was planning a surprise birthday party for him and not to tell anyone. Was this so she could do all the planning and the OF wouldn’t take off and go hunting, or take a trip to Timbuktu?
This OF is going off on the next Honor Flight to the war memorial in Washington, D.C. and she probably did not want to prepare two meals, or plan two parties in a row for the same OF. The effort put forth in this would really be redundant for this OF.
The OFs are wondering who his chaperone will be because this OF is in great shape and he could be some other veteran’s chaperone.
The OFs were also kidding another OF who is a member of the fire department as one of the fire police. The OFs say he just dons the uniform and goes and blocks roads so he can talk to people in the cars that have to stop. There is nothing going on and the OF is just flagging them down.
They were kidding him about all the roads that were closed in the Hilltowns, which segued into talking about Pinnacle road with the repairs done and the road just being opened up. The OFs commented how beautiful the view is from Camp Pinnacle.
One OF said, “Yep, just one of many from the Hilltowns, encompassing the Schoharie and Fox Creek valleys.”
Those OFs who traveled to Mrs. K’s in Middleburgh and made Loretta and Patty happy were: Bill Bartholomew, Frank Pauli, Harold Guest, Jim Heiser, Mark Traver, Chuck Aelesio, Dave Williams, Glenn Patterson, Robie Osterman, George Washburn, John Rossmann, Lou Schenck, Jack Norray, Gerry Irwin, Mace Porter, Wayne Gaul, George Gebe, Bob Fink, Bob Benninger, Roger Chapman, Don Wood, Ted Willsey, Rich Donnelly, Duane Wagenbaugh, Elwood Vanderbilt, Jim Rissacher, Harold Grippen, and me.
Location:
Tuesday, ah Tuesday, particularly the Tuesday of Sept. 29, the Old Men of the Mountain met at the Middleburgh Diner in Middleburgh. That makes sense, if the Middleburgh Diner were in Duanesburg, that would not make too much sense; conversely, if the Duanesburg Diner were in Middleburgh, that wouldn’t make sense either.
However, it could be that way. There are no rules when it comes to names.
The Middleburgh Diner is just one of the diners the OFs have on their roster and it is one with a very high decibel rating. Some of the OFs suggested that the OFs should all learn sign language, or at least how to read lips.
Some of the OFs are pretty good at the reading of lips because the use of hearing aids in noisy situations like restaurants, parties, and public places where everyone is chatting at the same time, is basically of no help. The OFs have developed certain lip-reading skills (particularly when a person is facing them) to augment their diminished hearing capabilities. The OFs aren’t deaf — just a tad hard of hearing.
Then there is the pitch of voices. One OF said he could clearly understand the OF sitting to the left of the OF directly across from him but the OF directly across from him sounded like Charlie Brown “speak” except at times a few words were understandable.
One OF said for some reason his hearing is pretty good except when his wife speaks, then there seems to be a blockage most of the time. However, for some reason, it generally ends the same way, i.e., “shopping” is an audible word, and “give me some money” is another sentence that rings clear in the OF’s ear.
A study in contortions
Watching most of the OFs sit down is a study in contortions. Most of the OFs have their own way to twist and turn to get their butts into the chairs.
Getting up is the reverse, but most of the time the contortions are different. In this case, there is a lot of arm movement to assist in raising the body to an upright position, and any position is good enough as long as the OF is not prone.
What is surprising is how strong furniture really is. Some OFs get their bodies just about six to eight inches from the chair and drop straight down the rest of the way, and the chair holds.
In getting up, the OFs apply an undo amount of pressure on the edge of the tables to take some of the weight off of the OFs’ legs, and the tables don’t tip or buckle under the weight. Truly amazing.
Timothy Murphy remembered
The Saturday of Sept. 26 was beautiful and there was a lot going on in the Hilltowns. Thacher Park had its Fall Festival, Westerlo had its day with a parade and fireworks, and Vroman’s Nose in Middleburg had its hiking festival.
One of the OFs who volunteers his help working on the Long Path (a trail that goes from Fort Lee, New Jersey to the Adirondack State Park) donned a replica of the clothes Timothy Murphy would wear and guided and talked to the people at the Nose and told them about ole Tim.
Timothy Murphy was a Revolutionary War “hero” in Schoharie County. Murphy was the subject of a novel written by John Bricks titled “The Rifleman.”
At Bemis Heights, during the second battle of Saratoga, Timothy Murphy climbed a tree and from 300 yards, in four shots, dispatched British Brigadier General Simon Fraser and Sir Francis Clarke the aide-de-camp to General Burgoyne.
Timothy Murphy rose through the ranks after joining the revolutionary army and was eventually assigned to Daniel Morgan’s riflemen because of his marksmanship. There is a monument to him in the cemetery in Middleburgh.
Hooked on fishing
We have some OFs who fish for salmon; some go up to Pulaski, and others who go to Mexico Point.
The OFs were covering fishing in that area of New York State and discussing when is a good time to go. When the fish are spawning is not the time. They are just going up the rivers to lay their eggs and die.
The OFs said this was not good eating fish. Maybe for us, but the animals might not mind.
Some of the OFs take fishing excursions out on the lake and fish for salmon on the big water. A chuckle for the OFs was the signs in the motel rooms about no waders in the rooms, and no cleaning fish in the tub or sinks.
Many of the motels have a garage, or shed, or some kind of building out back where that can be done, or some motels will even do it for the OFs.
We are all different
Just listening to the OFs talk about their hobbies or extracurricular activities is like sitting in a classroom with each small group of OFs having their conversation going on with the five or six other OFs who are within earshot and discussing current events, old times, their interests, and hobbies.
Rarely do the OFs discuss diets, but a brief comment was made on dieting. The gist of the comments was there is no such thing as a diet.
There are many, many diets and there is not one diet that fits all people. So if Joe Blow tells the OF to eat this or that so they will lose weight, it may not happen.
The OF may eat this or that and put on weight. The OFs say we are all different, and that is what makes us who we are.
Now, if some were to tell the OFs a sure-fire way to get along with the wife, kids, and grandkids ,the OFs would be all ears and take it to heart.
Those OFs attending the breakfast at the Middleburgh Diner located where it belongs in Middleburgh, New York were: Bill Bartholomew, John Rossmann, Harold Guest, Miner Stevens, George Washburn, George Gebe, Karl Remmers, Bob Snyder, Frank Pauli, Dave Williams, Don Wood, Robie Osterman, Roger Chapman, Roger Shafer, Jim Heiser, Mark Traver, Glenn Patterson, Chuck Aelesio, Lou Schenck, Jack Norray, Gerry Irwin, Duncan Bellinger, Joe Bender, Bob Fink, Bob Benninger, Jim Rissacher, Rich Donnelly, Duane Wagenbaugh, Ted Willsey, Mike Willsey, Gerry Cartier, Harold Grippen, and me.
Location:
On Sept. 22, the Old Men of the Mountain met at the Hilltown Café in Rensselaerville.
The OFs can’t complain about the weather this late in the year. Getting the home ready for winter for most of the OFs is moving right along.
Many of the woodsheds are full and ready for whatever winter has in store. Judging by the goldenrod, the wild apples, the pinecones, and other natural winter indicators, we may be in for a winner of a winter, this winter. The OFs hope it is not like last winter.
The OFs have talked about this a little while ago but now it is more emphatic: “DO NOT” sign up for or get Windows Ten. The thing is a disaster.
One OF says they can advertise all they want but this OF thinks Microsoft should be challenged for false advertising. This OF continued that even computer engineers have problems figuring this version out, and at times are left completely stumped.
Money misspent?
Switching topics quickly, the OFs talked about the rebuilding of the Blenheim covered bridge that was destroyed and washed downstream in the flood caused by Tropical Storm Irene in 2011. The OFs were throwing out numbers of $5 million to rebuild this bridge.
The OFs might not mind if they had enough parts of the old bridge on hand so the antiquity of the bridge would still be part of any rebuild, but, the way the OFs understand it, this bridge will be completely new. The OFs can’t understand the logic in this.
The OFs think that $5 million would go a long way to help those who have not yet recovered from the storm, or help some of the businesses that lost everything and are still struggling to get back on their feet.
Teachers remembered
It is amazing to this scribe how some OFs can remember their first- and second-grade teachers. Some of the conversations Tuesday morning were on who had what teacher in what grade and how they remembered them.
The OFs wonder if teachers realize what an impact they have on their students, good and bad. Some must, an OF thought, because, as adults, a few of a teacher’s former students will mention to him or her how that particular teacher formed their lives, and that teacher may have been in the lower grades when the OFs brains were still like soup.
Then the opposite is true: There are some teachers who made life a living hell for some of the OFs and they remember this teacher for other reasons.
One OF said, when he graduated, he couldn’t wait to run for the school board to get a chance to fire her a--. Never happened.
Then some OFs couldn’t remember their teacher in the lower grades at all. They couldn’t even recall much of what happened in elementary school.
These OFs did not have a good recollection of teachers until middle school, high school, or college. Some became good friends, and some even dated. Today they both would be put in jail.
“Life isn’t fun any more,” one OF said, “There are too many rules, and too many do-gooders.”
Migration
A few more of the OFs who winter in warmer climates shook hands and said it was October and they were heading down to Florida. This seemed to some OFs that it’s too soon for this migration, because it seemed like these OFs just got here.
The OFs leaving are from the area and should know they’re missing one of the best parts of the year. With fall and all its color, and the upcoming fall events, an OF doesn’t even have to leave his backyard to enjoy what fall has to offer.
The OFs said these migrating OFs should hang around until the last leaf falls and then head out.
This latest exodus of OFs talked about where they were going to land in Florida, and it was in a town near The Villages in Florida. One OF from that area said that The Villages started as a trailer park, and that two brothers operate it now.
The Villages, as a development, according to these OFs, is now over 100,000 people and is the largest “city” in that area. The OFs wondered how in the world does one family accrue all the land necessary to construct a development of that size. One OF thought there had to be some political shenanigans involved in order to pull this off.
Some OFs reported that the rules and regulations at The Villages are pretty strict. One OF thought it depended on where you bought into; however, no one really knew for sure.
Construction know-how
All this about building homes and how fast they were constructed in The Villages had the OFs talking about building homes here in the Hilltowns. More than one OF mentioned how little “dirt” was over the bedrock.
They discussed building their own homes and having to blast the cellars or make sure the house was on solid rock, lay up the foundation, and then back fill.
One OF said, “You can tell how much dirt is around, or how many cracks are in the rocks by looking at the white pine trees. If they are spread out like shrubs, or have large round trunks but not too high, there is not much dirt. If some are tall and others are short and squatty in the same area, it is safe to assume there are quite a few cracks in the rocks.”
It is possible to learn a lot from an Old Man of the Mountain.
The knowledgeable Old Men of the Mountain that used their knowledge to make it to the Hilltown Café in Rensselaerville, and again using their knowledge to know that this was good place to eat on the mountain, were: Harold Guest, John Rossmann, Art Frament, Robie Osterman, George Washburn, Bob Benac, Jack Benac, Joe Ketzer, Alvin Latham, Bob Snyder, Lou Schenck, Mace Porter, Jack Norray, Gerry Irwin, Bill Bartholomew, Dave Williams, Mark Traver, Glenn Patterson, Jim Rissacher, Duane Wagenbaugh, Rich Donnelly, Mike Willsey, Gerry Chartier, Elwood Vanderbilt, Harold Grippen, Ted Willsey, and me.
Location:
On a beautiful Tuesday morning on Sept. 15, the Old Men of the Mountain had their breakfast at the Home Front Café in Altamont. It was almost too nice of a day to be indoors, but here the OMOTM were having breakfast inside.
This was an unusual breakfast because of the opening remarks by some of the OFs as they came up the ramp to the dining area of the restaurant. Most were chuckling and some were even laughing.
“Did you see the news last night?” was one opening remark, and then a few others would come in and say, “Did you see the paper this morning?”
What was causing all this snickering? It was that someone couldn’t live on $80,000 a year so apparently it was OK for him to steal in order he could take care of his family. All of the OFs said, if someone gave them $80,000 a year, they would be able to live very well.
Some legislator said he could not live on that amount of money, and one OF said, add the per diems to the eighty grand, and committee assignments, and it approaches $100,000 a year. What is wrong with this picture? The OFs would consider half of this pretty comfortable.
“Are these people on another planet?” one OF wondered.
And, apparently, it could be a defense that it was OK to steal if you made $30,000 a year or, if you don’t make enough money (in your mind) to support your family, it would be OK to steal to make up the difference. The OFs use the “wow” as exclamation points on this discussion.
Strange deer habit
The OFs left that topic and segued into hunting. An OF asked the hunters in the group, “Why do deer eat burnt wood?”
The OF said in his backyard fireplace there are pieces of burnt wood and three deer come out nearly every day and gnaw on those pieces of burnt wood. The OF said the same deer come so often he has names for them like pets.
Some OFs gave their opinions on why the deer are doing this. The ideas sounded plausible but for some reason did not seem right. Deer eat a lot of things but gnawing on burnt logs was not on the list.
Waking up is hard to do
The OFs talked a little bit on how the OFs used to behave when they were younger. The OFs were not talking about when they were kids at this time, but by younger they were talking about 60 years old.
At this age, when most of the OFs woke up, they would immediately get out of bed and do whatever they did, put in their teeth, or go to the bathroom, or slip on the slippers — things like that. The OFs got up out of bed right away and started the day.
Now in their 80s, most of the OFs say they sit on the edge of the bed for awhile and contemplate the effort of getting up. Then one foot may hit the floor and the OFs say to themselves, “Well, I’ve gotten this far, I might just as well do the whole darn thing” and then they put the other foot on the floor.
Are they ready for the day? No, but the OFs make themselves ready and, once they get going, it doesn’t seem that bad. All the old friends are there — the aching back, the sore feet, the cramping legs, but the OFs are used to them by now and continue on regardless.
Traveling tribe
This scribe is amazed at how often the OFs have been to the same places around our great country. This time it was Greenfield Village, and the Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan. The OMOTM has an OF who, with his wife, is there right now so, when his name was brought up as to where he was, about nine OFs said they have been there and it is some place.
It was concluded that visitors had better have good walking shoes if they are going to do all three things, the village, the museum, and the factory tour. Some of the OFs said they couldn’t make this trip any more unless they stayed a week and took in a little bit each day.
Disasters abound
On a more somber note, the OFs talked about the wild fires out west, and how they feel for those people. The OFs think there is really no place to run away from natural disasters.
The fires out West, the tornados in the center of the country, the hurricanes in the South and along each coast, the blizzards in the North and Northeast, and earthquakes anywhere makes it seem like an OF can only run from one mess into another.
An OF says it really is a miracle that the homes is some areas are one- and two-hundred years old. One OF thought a young family starting out should build a geotactic home out of concrete. That, the OF thinks, should handle just about anything.
Jury duty
Jury duty is a discussion the OFs have on occasion but not many have been called to serve on a jury, and then a couple of the OGs have been called more than once. The OFs think that most of the OFs are too old to be on a jury.
Number one is that any one of us could keel over at any time. Many have had heart bypass surgery, and many are walking around with stents in the heart. One OF mentioned that most of the OFs can’t remember where they put the car keys, or even their wife’s maiden name.
One OF joked, “To heck with the wife, sometimes I have to stop and think who I am.”
What a bunch we would make if we were on a jury; we would probably send the judge up the river for life.
“Yeah,” another OF added, “I would have trouble remembering who the defendant was, and might even think his lawyer was the plaintiff. Wouldn’t any one of us cause quite a bit of confusion in the deliberating room? You bet we would — we’d probably say ‘not guilty’ to a guy who stole because he didn’t think he made enough money to support the lifestyle he wanted.”
Hmmm — isn’t this where we came in?
Pressing work
The Old Men of the Mountain would like to thank Steve Dunham from Dunedin, Florida who took the time to send the OFs a lengthy letter of his time on a dairy farm in the Raymertown, New York area.
He included a picture of himself as a young man working at a homemade cider press he built and he is in hip boots. Mr. Dunham states this was to keep the snakes from crawling up his pant legs as he stood pressing the cider
Those attending the breakfast at the Home Front in Altamont which, according to The Enterprise, was the home of the Enterprise at one time, were: George Washburn, Robie Osterman, Joe Ketzer, Art Frament, Miner Stevens, John Rossmann, Harold Guest, Frank Pauli, Dave Williams, Bill Bartholomew, Roger Shafer, Rich Donnelley, Bob Lassome, Duane Wagenbaugh, Lou Schenck, Mace Porter, Chuck Aelesio, Jim Heiser, Glenn Patterson, Mark Traver, Ted Willsey, Jim Rissacher, Jerry Willsey, Bob Fink, Bob Benninger, Henry Whipple, Elwood Vanderbilt, Harold Grippen, Mike Willsey,. Gerry Chartier, and me.
Location:
On Tuesday, Sept. 8, The Old Men of the Mountain trudged (like Alex Rodriguez trudges the bases) to the Chuck Wagon Restaurant in Princetown. It was a very warm morning for the eighth of September, but the OFs were there in full garb.
This has been mentioned before, that originally the OFs would gather at an OF’s home, shoot the breeze for awhile until all were there, then the OFs would head out to the restaurant of the day. The plan was to arrive around 10 in the morning.
By that time, all the people who had to start out early would have left the restaurant, and the noon crowd would not be arriving for some time, so the restaurant on the OFs’ schedule would be in a lull at this time of the day.
That plan worked well until more OFs joined the group and some of these OFs would head directly to the restaurant. These OFs had places to go and things to do so they would arrive a little earlier.
Now we have OFs waiting at the door for the restaurant to open. The group of OFs is not as laid back as it once was.
The OFs who were with the original OF group still come a little later, but other OFs are now much more active even though they are old (and as many of the OFs say “in numbers only”). It must be the meds that keeps these OGs so perky. These OFs have joined the OFs with places to go and things to do, which means most OFs now arrive pretty darn early.
As this is an ad-hoc group with a 20-page book of bylaws, the time of arrival was never entered so the OFs can show up whenever they get up and are properly dressed.
The darndest places
A few of the OFs participated in the Scottish Games held at the Altamont fairgrounds on Sept. 5 and 5. They said the fairground was cooking. The OFs should have weighed themselves before they went to the games and again after they got home. They must have shed a few pounds.
All people, no matter who they are, run into strange circumstances and in the darndest places. One OF had to go to the hospital in Cobleskill, and while there bumped into another OF who was there with both hands in bandages.
The OF with the bandaged hands showed us why they were bandaged, and told us they were bandaged for scheduled operations. The OFs were wondering about going to the bathroom and then washing his hands. That must be some kind of trick with both hands in bandages.
Then one OF said he had a very good friend who had a carpal tunnel syndrome procedure done on both hands at the same time because his friend did not want to go through the operation twice. The friend of the OF admitted after the operation that there was never a thought about the bathroom, showering, getting dressed, and things like that.
At that time, the OF said he was surprised the doctor never brought this up. The friend of the OF said the doctor never mentioned it, and it was more of a problem than originally thought. I guess the lesson is: Always keep one hand free for whatever.
Pricey tickets and goods
The OFs touched a little on baseball, and how much it costs to go to a Yankee game. Just to sit in the bleachers would cost a family of four about 100 bucks, and that is minimum.
There is the cost of getting there, food, kids would want souvenirs, and all those extras. That would be an expensive day.
One OF said, “Go see the Mets; it’s cheaper.”
“Nah,” another OF replied. “I will watch it on TV with the mute button pushed so I won’t have to listen to those commentators run their mouths.”
Everything has gone up, not only tickets for concerts and sporting events, but even those baseball caps for the OMOTM. They are now priced at about $17 to advertise you are an OF.
“Hey,” was an OG’s statement, “I am proud that I am an OF, and I’ve made it this far, so we should get T-shirts that have the OMOTM logo on it.”
“There is a T-shirt out there already,” was a comeback. “It doesn’t quite say that but it’s close. I think it says ‘Old Guys Rule.’ That isn’t strictly true. We can buy shirts that say OMOTM, but it really is ‘Old Ladies Rule’; if you guys think you are the boss in the house, think again.”
Winter’s on the way
Another topic quickly unfolded — winter! Some of the OFs are already planning on joining the migration of other wimps who run away from winter to warmer climes.
One OF showed photographs of his new travel trailer, so new it isn’t made yet — the OF has to wait for it. These trailers are becoming real homes on wheels. They have full-size beds, refrigerators, and electronic gadgets that open and close things, and they make them now so the trailer trails easier. It used to be that pulling a travel trailer was like hauling a load of hay to the barn (with maybe an exception of the Airstream Trailer).
One OF said, “Here it is 90 degrees and you are already planning on going where it is warmer and still 90; you’re nuts.”
Those OFs who made it to the Chuck Wagon in Princetown (because the real boss of the hacienda said, “Get out of my hair”) were: Henry Witt, Roger Chapman, Miner Stevens, Robie Osterman, George Washburn, Harold Guest, Frank Pauli, John Rossmann, Chuck Aelesio, Jim Heiser, Glenn Patterson, Mark Traver, Roger Shafer, Lou Schenck, Jack Norray, Gerry Irwin, Mace Porter, Ted Willsey, Bob Lassome, Rich Donnelly, Duane Wagenbaugh, Bob Fink, Bob Benninger, Mike Willsey, Harold Grippen, Gerry Chartier, Elwood Vanderbilt, and me with my son, Jay Williams.