Thursday, October 27, 2011

Teaser Snow

Snow Covered Grass  -Recently Mowed


      As a skier I am always looking forward to the beginning of ski season with a good snowfall to get things started.  However, in late October in upstate New York any snow that falls at this time is only teaser snow.   An inch or two of slush that is bound to melt in the next 48 hours is not worthy of being called anything but teaser snow.   In spite of the teaser snow I still enjoyed my afternoon walk.  There is a certain beauty to the white snow piling up on the green grass, coating the still blooming mums and changing the dark roofs to white.   Here are a few scenes that capture this beauty.
Well Insulated Roof?
Droopy Headed Mums Frosted With Snow 


     The new snow certainly stirred me to action to get the cars ready for the winter season with filling of the windshield washer fluid containers.   Also was inspired to throw the snow brushes and ice scrapers into the trunks.   Probably time to check out the snowblower too.   I think I'll wait a few weeks to bring the snow shovels up from the basement.   
    Meanwhile, best wishes to the ski geezers in Colorado who are getting enough snow at Arapahoe Basin to get in a few runs.



Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Geezer = Curmudgeon?

      I sometimes wonder if I act like a curmudgeon.   The definition is "A crusty, ill-tempered old man" from the Merriam-Webster Dictionary on line.   I guess I don't object to being crusty since it seems like one could think of that as being like a pie crust.   A little crisp and flaky but all right to consume.   Being ill-tempered is another matter.    Fortunately most of my geezer friends are not ill-tempered.   They may be opinionated and sometimes abrupt but for the most part they are quite congenial.
      Perhaps when you exceed ninety years of age you have the right to become a curmudgeon.   Recently Andy Rooney retired from a regular appearance on the television show 60 Minutes.   He certainly qualifies as a geezer at 92 and is certainly crusty.    To a degree I would have to also classify him as a curmudgeon.   Often in his opinion pieces he revealed an ill-temper about many things.   His complaints sometimes revealed an irascible nature that could be endearing but at other times irritating.   He clearly demands to be left alone in public and I expect anyone approaching him for an autograph would suffer his wrath.
     When one points a finger at someone else, there are three fingers pointing back at oneself.   I shall be careful about who I call a curmudgeon and if complaining too often is curmudgeonly I promise to mend my ways.   Meanwhile, I am thankful for my geezer friends in their nineties who are as kind and cheerful as anyone I encounter.
    In conclusion, I am glad I have a curmudgeon monitor in my dear wife.   Her gentle chiding will keep me on the straight and narrow.

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Reflection on Protests

   Recently the Wall Street Protests has been garnering a lot of attention from both the press and the public.   I am heartened that there are people brave enough and committed enough to bring injustice to the attention of the nation.   I applaud their efforts to bring into the common discussion the problem of the wealth of the nation flowing to the few while the masses lose economic security.   Regardless of ones political position, it cannot be healthy for our country when the poverty rate increases while the financial elite gets disproportional rewards.   I don't know what the outcome of the Wall Street Protest activity will be, but I see it as a valuable raising of awareness of the continuing unfair distribution of rewards in our society.
  Perhaps my enthusiasm for the Wall Street Protests comes from  reflection on  protests that I have personally encountered in my lifetime now that I have reached geezerhood.   During my years at Cornell University I experienced student and faculty protests regarding racism and the Viet-Nam War. As a faculty member I spent many hours in faculty meetings reacting to and debating the demands and disruptions of the protesters.    At the time I was very much against their behavior and actions.   Walking over protesting students to gain entrance to meetings and cancelled classes both were very disturbing to me.   In fact I thought these actions were inappropriate and unnecessary.    Following the protests of the 60's and 70's there were changes spurred by the protesters.   And I came to appreciate that they did have right on their side.   Changes did have to be made and we both individually and collectively had to face our racism and war mongering.   I have truly grown to appreciate what the student protesters had to teach me.
     In my senior years,  I continue to see injustice that disturbs me.   I probably will never be the one to go into the streets with the protesters.   However, I am cheering them on from the sidelines.