Longest night of the year and it felt like it.. another 6 hour drive back from NY.. . As always a combination of animated phone conversations , music (electronica.. this ride), site seeing, fast food and stretches of boredom..
,, well. I think boredom is optional.. I find ways to entertain myself.. like taking candid pictures of myself when I least expect it..
Time for sleep.. happy solstice folks.. let us now welcoem the lengthening days !
Hello (again) from Armonk NY (again).. I’ve been down once a week for the past four weeks . .. and that’s too much. I’ve been down for a variety of legitimate reasons.. but all added up.. it’s too much.. New years resolution to self.. travel much less.
I’m here in the learning center .. my favorite hotel as I’ve often said.. and I believe that I’m the only person in this entire building. i like to think that everyone else is at home sipping eggnog and eating christmas cookies.. I wish I were.. (though I’m also excited for the meeting I’m down here for tomorrow)
Strange to have such a big building to myself…
If I walked out my door now an screamed, I don’t think anyone would hear me..It makes me want to run through the halls with a sheet on my head and bang on all the doors..
that’s kind of spooky
and that’s kind of fun…
How much would you pay me to run through the halls here wrapped in a sheet ? Any takers ?
Nite all.. nite sam
-me
ps. just went out and the hall and ran around with a sheet on my head.. no one there !
We left Endicott about 7:30 this morning. On the way out of Gabe an Marcia’s house I snapped a grabbed a picture of some of the relatives that Marcia and my rother-in-law Steve have tracked down in the course of their explorations of the family tree. Meet Sara Ann Quick and her husband Lewis Snyder.. Here are their pictures from 1892. Sar Ann was born in this country of dutch parents. Lewis was (I beleive0 born here too, of German parents. Lewis was badly injured in the civil war.. bt I don’t know the details. All that I do know is that they lived near Kingston NY. It’ scool seeing these guys.. I’m hoping to get a simple geneology site up unde rthis web stie. Watch this space
On theway out of Endicott, we stopped at our favorite Deli, Roma’s and picked up soem Pizza for breakfast.. then began the long 6 hour drive home… With both Max and Gabe now driving.. we had 4 drivers to split the ride.. but Diane and I did the whole trip in two long runs.
Onecurious interlude.. We stopped at a rest area in the addarondacks and I found this sign in English and Yiddish over one of the water fountains. (Yiddish is the language of Hassidic and other very devout jews in all parts of the world. it’s sort of like German but written in Hebrew script. The yiddish for this is a long list of things you shouldn’t be doing ith this water.
as in no washing of the hands ! I wonder what was going on that required such a sign ?
We got back to VT about 2.. in time to stop by Puriton’s up the road from us and pick out another form of family tree.. this years Christmas tree ! Half the town was there, it seemed.
After a bit of searching we found our tree.. Max, Gabe, and I took turns with the saw..
After a
As always, we bring Sam into our circle.. we left a samstone on the stump of the tree..
It’s a thin and tall tree.. perfect for our house. .. We think we’re dressing it as a zombie this year.. not sure.. watch this week ..
OK.. that’s it for today.. Oh.. Max shared this cool film he made of a night on the oat.. Fun with steel wool. I really like this clip !
Peaceful day with Diane’s faily.. we all slept in.. then Diane and I went for a run on the flood wall..Mid day we drove to Binghampton and picked up Max at the bus station. We all went home and had an early xmas dinner. We toasted each other.. and those not with us.. Vincent was still in Boston waiting on his last final.. and of course we were missing Sam.. It was good all being together
Vincent’s birthday is on Monday so we had a small celebration for him..
After a few minutes of digestion.. we dug into presents.. it felt like Christmas !
Max, Gabe and cousin Victor looking sharp in their new bathrobes.
Sam was there in spirit.. and in our hearts.
He even got presents.. . one was a a donation to sam’s charitable foundation.. the other was a Hess truck.. all three boys have gotten them since they were little. it’s hard not to do that.
Afterwords, we got our nephew Vincent at Boston University on Skype.. we even got to see his dorm room and meet his girlfriend
Around 7 we headed over to David and Lindas for dinner number 2. It was great to see them and Andrea !
We exchanged presents.. I got a cool pipe.. (never used..).. and wonderfully weird.
It was grat seeing our oldest friends..
OK.. driving home early tomorrow.. so I need to sleep. More tomorrow !
