Saturday night – Lincoln in the bardo

Just back from endicott.   Nice to be home. It’s jsut about zero out and walking into a cold house.. brrrrrr.. the oild keeps the place from freezing, but it’s nice now that we have a fire bruning again. I took advantage of the cold stove.. one of the ferw times it’s ever cold in the winter to replace the stell baffles in the stove with new 1/2 plate baffles I had made at queen city stell. So far so good. 

DIane drove the whole way home from endicott. we listed to podcasts most of the way. The last hour we listened to ‘live from here’ the replacement for prairie home companion.  Cant say I’m a fan yet.. but tonights show was interesting. The main attraction for me was a dramatic reading from George Saunders book’ Lincoln in the Bardo’. from the excerpt  we heard.. it’s an interesting telling of the inner thoughts of Abraham Lincoln following the death of his 11 year old son willie. Willie died of typhoid about one year into the civil war. ..  The Saunders story  is based on a true story of Lincoln going down to visit .. even hold..his son in the crypt where his body was interred..  The story is told from the vantage of ghosts who settle into Lincoln’s body and feel what he’s feeling and hear his thoughts. 

 

“My poor boy, he was too good for this earth,” the president says at the time. “God has called him home.” Newspapers report that a grief-stricken Lincoln returned to the crypt several times alone to hold his boy’s body.

ATHe reading on the radio show was amazing. Lincolns thoguths wander from his own grief, the the grief of all the fathers.. and mothers.. who’s sons were being lost in the civil war.. . He feels responsible.. it was very powerful. I just bought the book online .   I’ll let you know how it is..

for now.. time for sleep

nite all. nite sam

-me

 

Friday night – cabin fever

We’re still in Endicott .. it’s a balmy 3 degrees down here right now.. while it’s -4 at home.. and heading who knows how much colder. it was -11 last night.. getting colder through the week. We’re mostly stuck indoors.. cabin fever setting in.. .. though we went out for another run with the girls on the flood wall.. it’s beutifull out there.. but very exposed to the wind.. 

we did make it over to linda and davids again.. tis time for dirty martinis.. 

 

those do keep out the cold a bit.. I have to admit..

nite all, nite sam

-me

 

Thursday night – cold at home

We’re still down in Endicott NY with my mother in law Marcia.. we’ll be heading back tomorrow afternoon. I just saw that it’s goign to be about -10 F at hoe tonight. It’s cold down here.. but not that cold. We went runnign today with the girls ot was  the flood wall. it was  about 10 F with a stiff breeze. . cold enough for me !

Looks cold.. no ? !

nite all, nite sam

-me

Wednesday night – Southern tier

Greetings from Eindicott. WE’re here at my mother in law Marcia’s.  It’s nice to be down here with her. 

It’s cold down here.. in single digits.. but not as cold as it’s going to be at home. THere they are expecting -9 F.. with the daily highs for the week below 0F. brrrrr

spent the day inside here except for a cold and bright run on the Susquehanna dam midday.. I used the time to finish a bunch of end of year tax and wor stuff.. felt good.. 

this evening we went to Linda and David’s for a really nice dinner.

here’s one of Linda’s dish towels 🙂 

 

they even had a food corner for me.. hot sauces, kim chi, capers and tequila !

 

hanging out was wonderful.. so was staring at their sink with my lights on.. it was like the aurora borealis indoors !

it was so cookl, thye all joined me in the bathroom to watch !

 

now thats how to have fun !

nite all, nite sam

-me