Folks.. I apologize.. Myspace blogs were down last night.. I had to post this in the morning…

Oh man am I sleepy.. We got in so late last night. Found our nice hotel and fell asleep. Here’s a bad picture of flying in that came out pretty cool.

Note the name of the resturaunt behind the hotel.

I’ve fallen asleep twice while sitting down ready to start blogging. . I’ll do my best to get through it. We got in very late night and did not get enough sleep. I still managed to have a really nice and productive day, though. I began today with a short run around some of the roads and paths behind the hotel. I had forgotten what it felt like  to run in this moist Texas  heat. It was really quite beautiful. The Grackles were out making their normal racket..  which reminds me of growing up on Houston. There it was a comforting familiarity to it.     After a quick  breakfast, I headed out to work and Diane began her planned day of just relaxing away from house and yard work

   I spent my day in meetings in building 45  It was actually nice  being at so many meetings in person after all the phone meetings I do in Burlington.   This is my first trip to Austin since Sam’s passing. Many. folks came up to me here to tell me how sorry they were and to hug me. As always., the love an concern folks show us  really lifts  me up.

Here are my good firends Sybil (Slayergrll.. she posts to my myspace) and Peggy.

I finished up around 6:30 and drove aback to the hotel to pick up Diane. It was soooo nice to have her there at the hotel when I got home. I can’t tell you how many times a year I come back to a dark and empty hotel room somewhere n the world.

    Diane told me about her lazy day.. which sounded  very peaceful…she’d also talked to both boys.. Gabe was still having a good time in Oregon.. and Max was doing fine at home.. I miss them both so much..   Around 7 we headed out to meet my friend Leon and co. for dinner.    Leon was taking the managers who reported to him here in Austin for dinner. The restaurant.. was called “Mood and Food”  . Diane and I did the ‘we’re trying to be vegan’ dance with the menu and found something with no meat, eggs or dairy.. Once again.. I’ve been a vegetarian for years with no problem.. but trying to avoid eggs and dairy in our culture is really tough.  One interest side note about the restaurant. was that the room was filled with color changing lights  (I that kept cycling our food between shades of red . white, green and blue… I managed to take most of my bites during the white cycles.  Conversation at dinner was good… it was good getting to know these folks better. 

   AT about 8:30 we excused ourselves and headed over to my friend Jim and his wife Mary. Jim and Mary’s house looks our over Lake Austin… which was really beautiful tonight. Amazingly, the night was quite cool.. I think it’s cooler here tonight than back in Vermont. We sat out on Jim and Mary’s porch and listened to the rain.. t couldn’t have been nicer. One cool bonus for the evening is that Mary and I went to the same High School in Houston (Memorial High)// Mary is a couple of years younger than I am, but we still new many of the same folks. There are very few folks I know who I can reminisce  with about those days.. it was fun. 

    Now were back at the hotel and I keep falling asleep.. I just nodded off for the third time while tying. Time to post this and get to sleep. More from Austin tomorrow !  Goodnight folks.. goodnight Sam !

-me

A story from texas wouldn’t be complete with out a picture of the state mascott !

Diane and I had a great day today. We left our hotel in Parsipanny (sounds like a root vegetable) at about 8 for the drive to New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) in Newark. I was the keynote speaker for summer technology camp for high school kids.  Newark is about as different from Vermont as two places could be.. The air was hot, humid and hazy as people edged their cars along the packed freeways.. I’m not a great city driver. I’m pretty distractible (no.. really ? )   and there was so much to look at as I drove.  I was so happy to be driving the Prius.. it’s GPS got us right to the door of NJIT . My friend Maureen met us and guided us in to our unloading spot. A bevy of camp counselors descended on our car and lugged the equipment up to the third floor where my show was to be while Diane went and parked  the car. It was great having her here with me..  I think there were about 80 kids in this camp.. half from new jersey, half from out of state.. Some for inner cities. They were all interested in engineering and science. .  The show went great… I always choke up a little when I do the introduction and dedicate the show to Sam.. but once I’m into the shtick.. I’m ‘on’. All of the equipment worked today.. which is a bit of a miracle in itself.. the kids were great participants and the faculty and staff at NJIT were warm and welcoming as always. This place has such a great heart…

   After the show… the samy clutch of camp counselors lugged the equipment down stairs for me.. which is  the only part of doing these shows that I usually  don’t enjoy.  It was about 12:30 when Diane and I got the car loaded .. We had about 6 hours to kill until our flight to Austin. For no particular reason we headed down to the Jersey Shore..   It seemed like a better idea than heading into NYC on such a hot and muggy day. The temp outside read 97 degrees as we headed down the Garden State Parkway. 

    We turned off at Point Pleasant Beach because one of the students had told us it was one of the closest beaches. .. looking for the quintessential Jersey Shore experience.. and we found it.  Jenkinson’s Beach at Point Pleasant was about as Honky Tonk as you could get.. a boardwalk, expensive rides, rigged (I assume) games of chance.. cool beach food .. and lots of sunburned people. We looked  for a place to change our clothes.. For some weird reason changing in the restrooms was a punishable offense.. The only place you could change was a ‘bathhouse’ that wanted $4 apiece for the opportunity to change your clothes in a tiny stall.. no thanks.. We went back to the car and di the classic change in the car routine, then headed back to the beach.  We paid $6.50 apiece to be able to go down on  the beach and we sat down in a sea of people.. . I know it sounds yucky.. but for some reason, it was just what we were looking for. The breeze kept the heat down.. the sun was bright… and we just spaced out. We’d ate the few veggie sandwiches we’d found at  a health food store and fell asleep. I woke up before Diane and just stared up at the sky for awhile and spaced out. ..  The kids would love this place.. I missed them all…    When Diane  woke up, we went down to the water and put a SamStone in the Atlantic for him.. It felt good to do that..

Here we are in the parking lot

Check this out !

We’re going vegan in solidarity with Max.. It’s harder than I thouhgt.. and I’m already a vegetarian !

This is me spacing out and starign into the sky

Who does his shopping ?

   By then it was time to head back up to JFK.. We spent a few hours driving back up to NYC.. I had work calls for the whole drive.   New Jersey freeways are … err…. uh… picturesque ?!

We also talked to Max and Gabe. Max is home in Vermont and sounded hot.. We heard it hit 100 in Burlington today !!! Gabe sounded like he was  having a great time Snowboarding in Oregon. Snow sounds great on a day like today.

   Right now, Diane and I are sitting in the airport waiting for our flight..

we’re already an hour late.. which is no fun.. At this point, we’ll probably miss the rental car pick up in Austin. We’ll manage. I’m looking forward to seeing many work friends in Austin..

Hey they’re boarding our flight !..  Gotta go.. More tomorrow !

-jc

Greetings from Parsippany New Joysee. Diane and I just got here after a pretty easy 6 hour drive in from Vermont. I’m down here to do a science show at the New Jersey Institute of Technology tomorrow morning before flying to Austin for work .  I’ve been doing shows/talks  at NJIT for several years now.. My good friend Kevin went to school here.. and he turned me on to the place.  NJIT offers a  great science summer camp. In past years it’s been  a great and really diverse group of kids. I’m looking forward to the show. I’ll dedicate it to Sam…

     I do this drive down to NY all the time by myself..      It’s so much fun having Diane here with me this time.. She’s a great travel companion.. interesting, fun and compact !..  Compact is a big deal because I have every piece of my science equipment crammed into our Prius. There’s not room for another toothpick in the car.. but it’s so much better on gas !

    Diane’s able to travel with me this week because Gabe left at 6AM this morning for High Cascade in Oregon. He was so excited to be going.. he’s been planning it for over a year. It will be extra meaningful for him this year. Sam went there last year and loved it.  The boys were looking forward to going there together this year. Gabe is taking all sorts of Sam stuff out with him. He’s also taking a box  to Tyler E., the kid who was paralyzed after a bad snowboarding accident. The box contains  a bunch of  SamStones, a Sam shirt and a letter from the Friends of  Sam with the donation they’re making to Tyler and his family. The High Cascade folks are taking the box down to Tyler next month,

   I have to admit that it was hard for me putting Gabe on the plane with Sumner.. but Diane and I are determined for the kids to live fully and bravely. I know that Gabe will be in good hand and will be well supervised. He got to Oregon without a hitch… so far he loves the camp.. I’ll post any stories he sends me.   He just called as I was writing. I love hearing from him.

    Meanwhile, Chai is home taking care of Max !  Max is dong a 4 going vegan for the next few weeks.. He’s been doing some amazing cooking over the past several days. Diane and I are trying to do the vegan thing too… I’m surprised how hard it is to do.. and I’ve been a pseudo-vegetarian for over 30 years (I eat fish.. but no other meat stuff). I’ll let you know how it goes.

    Speaking of stories.. I ran into our friend Charlotte-san at Richmond Beverage. She told me that she just had a dream about Sam.. In here dream, Sam was dressed in a big bunny suit and handed her a bunch of used-but-clean Tupperware.  Anyone what to interpret that ?

   OK.. gotta run.. Tomorrow, NJ and then Austin. I’ll keep everyone posted.

-jc

Short post tonight. A slow day today.  Diane and Max left early to help out with the Voice’s Movie fundraising banquette at Shelburne Farms. Max dropped me at Toyota in South Burlington so I could pick up my car.  I got back home around 11AM. Gabe was lying low as he still had a slight fever. He needs to gather his strength.. He’s leaving for High Cascade snowboarding camp in Oregon tomorrow at 6AM.    He’s really, really  excited.. He’s heading out there with his friend Sumner and Jeremy to do a little mid summer snowboarding. Sam went there last year and absolutely loved it.

   Scott and Mary were around this morning. They let us know that they’ll be moving back to Scott’s house .. I think they need a bit more privacy than this house can give right now. The kids from the Voices movie will start showing up next weekend.. and it will get pretty zooey around here.   I’ll really miss having both Scott and Mary around. They are both wonderful people. They’ll only be 8 minutes down the road, so I’m sure we’ll still see them around.

 I had no real plans for the  day so I started to see if I could salvage our downstairs computer. It’s got some sort of progressive hardware problem that prevents it from booting up.. or staying up most of the time. I checked online and found that it’s a common symptom of this model of eMachine. Evidently many. many people are now having this same problem n this now out of warranty model. Based on what I read today.. I’d really avoid that brand altogether. I was able to get it to boot and stay working up long enough to recover our critical data.. I had to  keep a fan on it to keep it from overheating.

 
Sam’s passing has made some of the data on all of our computers unbelievably precious. There’s music movies and pictures that we just can’t afford to lose now.. I’ve got them all backed up 3 ways. Like anything else in this house.. going through these files for salvage can cause great emotional ups and downs for me.. Sometimes seeing a picture or movie of Sam’s can make me so sad.. other times it makes me so happy.  The whole process put me in a pretty soulful place…

   As the data was copying I started to thumb through the ‘memories book’ from my 30^th high school reunion. My buddy Marie sent me a copy of hers. The reunion was in Houston on June 9th in Houston.  I didn’t  want to go  because it was Gabe’s birthday. The memory book was really fascinating.. I had trouble putting it down after I started reading. It was really weird seeing what people had done.. or not done.. with their lives. How had kids, how didn’t… who married who.. who divorced who.. what they’d done.. where they’d traveled.. what dreams they’d followed or given up.  My name was in there.. but no picture and no story. They hadn’t contacted me at all for the reunion. I was pretty surprised. I’ve been in the same house for 25 years.. and I’m pretty easy to find on the internet.. What would I have said to my 634  friends of the 1977 graduating class of Memorial High School ?   .. I’ve been writing the paragraph I would have submitted in my head…  had they found me to ask.  I think I would have told them how wonderful my life was.. how much I loved my life up here.. how much I loved my family and I would tell them about Sam’s passing.. I think I would even have said that despite. Our deep tragedy.. I still loved my life.. maybe I love it even more now.. since things are so precious to me now..   I want to reach out to all the folks who wrote their stories in the book to hug their kids.. to …..what.. pray for us ? Think about us / .. hug hteir kids ? .. at least that for sure…

     I was starting to spin on that when Diane called to tell me that our friend Arthur …was desperately in need of extra kitchen help. Arthur, who’s a professional cook..  and his family had very graciously offered to volunteer their cooking and serving to the Voices movie fundraiser He was cooking for 175 folks   and it required more than his two capable hands. Diane and I showed up to do whatever we could. It was a great experience. I ended up dipping several hundred chocolate cookies in chocolate, dusting a bunch of almond meringues with sugar , making Crème Fraise from scratch, and helping make some really cool Portobello  quiches. In addition I washed a veritable mountain of dishes.  It was fun to help 

I had planned on going to the fundraiser myself.. but when I got home, I could tell that Gabe was bored. He did not want to go all the way to Shelburne Farms to watch the voices folks serve people dinner.. Even if max is  a cast member.    Sensing his mood, I changed the plan.. I invited Gabe to  just hang out with me … first we went to Cody’s for dinner.. (yum) ..  Here we are just goofing around…

then we went to the Essex Cinema to see , Fantastic 4, Rise of the Silver Surfer. It’s a pretty good movie.. though I can’t tell if the story is true or not J .. Seriously.. I loved Silver Surfer comics when I was a kid.. they were so cool and bizarre..

   We got home around 9 just a few minutes before Diane and Max. Diane and Gabe quickly finished up packing Gabe for his trip. IN addition to all of his snowboarding gear.. Gabe is taking a box of stuff from the Friends of Sam which  High Cascade will give to the kid Tyler.. who broke his neck a few months back and is now paralyzed . In the box is a letter  form the group, a bunch of SamStones and a letter with a check for the  $2500 the kids raised for Tyler‘s care. I’m glad that Gabe can take this with him. He’s also taking a small amount of Sam’s ashes to spread on the mountain out there.. Sam would really like that.. It was an interesting emotional challenge for me to get the small vial of ashes for Gabe to take.. I though it would be harder.. but that just isn’t Sam.. it’s just…. stuff…

   Anyway.. we need to  wake up at 4 to take Gabe to the airport.. so I’m going to sign off now.. How everyone had a good weekend. Love to all..

-me

 Ps. our friend Erin B/ has just posted two songs she perfromed and recorded in her living room. You just gotta check these out. on Erin’s myspace music page. The first is  Billy Holiday’s : G-d bless the child.. You have really got to hear this record ing. The second one is Regina Specktor’s ‘On the Radio’.. it’s got that line.. “... so you stick your heart into soemone else chest, pumping someone elses blood’… “ She  is simply amazing !