Thursday, October 8, 2015

Travel day October 8, 2015

Schoodic Point, Acadia National Park

 An antenna array at the Naval Communications Station, Cutler, Maine

Larry at the eastern most point in the United States
with West Quoddy Lighthouse

A pileup by glacier

Library, Gouldsboro Maine, a favorite

Rogues Bluff State Park, Maine

A Look at Sally Island off Corea, Maine

Small splash at Schoodic Point

The view from Schoodic Loop- west side

Schoodic point looking east

More glacier pile up

Tidal Falls, Hancock Maine
the tide is making the river run backwards

Tidal Fall longer view

West Quoddy Light in the shade.

Monday, August 10, 2015

On being asked "What did you do this summer?"

30 years ago, in 1985, I was working for the South Portland, Maine School Department.  I worked in the Business Office where we worked 52 weeks a year.  Every year when the teachers came back one or more of them would ask "that" question; I finally wrote the poem to pass out.

 
What do you do in the summer?
 
Some people ask us what we do when school closes,
  so let me tell you of our bed of roses.
It's not just play, work, sing and laugh,
  they even cut our lunch hour in half.
 
Ralphs out combing the bushes for help,
  and looking to sea in big beds of kelp;
looking to see who's beating a path,
   to our doors wanting to be his better half.
If he doesn't show soon we'll see better days,
  when Ralph goes on Vacation and stays.
 
Lee guards the parking lot chasing off golfers,
  even old ladies with nine irons, and walkers.
He makes many trips to old City Hall,
  the path is well beaten well before fall.
A rumor floats 'round here in the air,
  that South Portland soon will have a new mayor.
 
Ellen's all smiles, and eager to please;
  her new boss is coming, wonder if he swings from trees?
She's very crafty and really thinks BIG,
  spends hours and hours stitching a pig.
 
Fran's out back processing words,
  tells the rest of us it's for the birds.
She wears pretty skirts, and a prettier blouse,
  get down from the chair Fran, it's not that kind of mouse.
 
Judy's been on vacation down at the beach,
  forgot the beeper, real hard to reach.
She's dropping off weight, losing a bunch,
  she still can remember that good Portsmouth lunch.

Elinor takes care of some summer pay,
  I wonder if maybe my check's here today?
She's the one that dishes out what we take,
  then she goes home to her house on the lake.
Now, Elinor, please I know this is awful,
  but there's been a change.  I can't cash a waffle.

Dot Lee's been here seems like all summer,
  but without her it would be a real bummer.
She type's up PO's by the dozen - no by the gross,
  I'll bet she's typed way more than most.
But she keeps out mouths working and stuffin'
  keep it up Dot, make me a muffin.

Jackie's been typing up PO's too,
  she's a real pro, one of us few.
She's very soon moving, and she needs more boxes,
  for Wisconsin apples and famous French loxes.

Hope's been in here scrubbing up walls,
  watch out for her ladder before someone falls.
The windows are clean and the floor is all shiny,
  but you'd better watch out - the toilets all slimy.

This is me Larry, who's writing all this,
  it's just my way of throwing you all a good kiss.
The poem is long and maybe downright sloppy,
  but I just finished stapling "Students Welcome" - 4 millionth copy.

So when someone asks you what you did this summer,
  just smile and look happy and no ones the dumber.
Say we all went to market, and bet on a hunch,
  so we could all enjoy our one half hour lunch!
 



Sunday, January 4, 2015

The geezers days off

  The geezer has pneumonia and little energy.  I'll take a couple of days off.

Saturday, January 3, 2015

Beautiful music, made the old way - real old

Shaping up the Cello
Photo: Gabor Degre, Bangor Daily News
  In the City of Bangor, Maine a craftsman plies his trade the old way.  Nathan Slabodkin has made violins, cellos and violas in a time honored fashion.
  The cello being built now is made to a plan formed by Giuseppe Guamen del Gesu in 1731.  In musical instruments doing things "the old way" is found to be best.  The cello here won't be an exact replica but the plans are being used "to do things right".
  Please use the link to view the entire process: http://bangordailynews.com/slideshow/bangor-violin-maker-creates-unique-new-instruments-using-very-old-techniques/
Closer to the finish
Photo: Gabor Degre, Bangor Daily News

Friday, January 2, 2015

Watch out! Danger!

Taking a huge risk
Photo: www.pak101.com
  You see that guy?  He is not a real electrician.  Someone else I know also wanted to be an electrician, he work with electricians every day for years, but he couldn't pass the test.
  My friend Roger is a licensed Master Electrician, my brother Lysle is a licensed Master Electrician.  Those two could be trusted with projects that would scare the crap out of the rest of us.  Both are now retired but keep taking the test and paying the License Fee.
  The wannabe?  No such luck.  He just goes around pretending to be whatever each day.
Illustration: www.cafepress.com
Wanders!  see it's already gone

Thursday, January 1, 2015

Somebody could get hurt

First of all Happy New Year.  I have some hope of progress this year, I might have more hope if it were a wee bit warmer - but this is January and it ain't going to happen.

Norton was a bit upset when he arrived yesterday at coffee.  Roger asked him if he'd seen any flying objects.  What Norton really wanted to do was jump out of a high window.  But fearing he'd get hurt he decided to go to the basement and pull himself out of one of those windows.  It wouldn't hurt!

Enjoy the day and we'll all hope for something better for this year.  Maybe the U S Congress will do something, anything in harmony.  That's a crazy thought right there.

Wednesday, December 31, 2014

He called it The Flash!

A Meteor during the 2009 Leonid shower - click to enlarge
Photo: www.wikipedia.org
  Yesterday at coffee Norton came in.  He was all excited about The Flash.  He claims to have been walking his dogs in the field at his home when he saw it.  He told us it was 100 feet off the ground and as big as a battleship!  It would have been about 4:30AM he said.
  In all truth a meteor was seen in some parts of Maine about 6:30PM the previous evening, but that's not what he saw, nor is it what he said.  Norton has a way off putting news items in the first person if you will.  Or, often, he just makes things up.
  Now, I'll also submit that a large hole opened on Hammond Street in Bangor (just in the area of yesterdays blog) early in the morning yesterday.  Public Works officials blame a sewer pipe or collector from the 1800s.  I wonder if The Flash fell to earth seconds after being seen in Glenburn.
News Article on www.cnn.com - click to enlarge