Days Getting Shorter

  Director, author and celebrity Nora Ephron recently passed away at a far too young an age of 71.   She hardly made it into "geezerhood".    She had written some thing about aging and observed that as one reaches the senior years you should make it a point to enjoy the things your really like since the "days are getting shorter".   I think she meant that one eventually runs out of time.  Our earthly lives are finite.
   I have to agree with her philosophy.   With the shortening of the days available to live life, I plan to concentrate on enjoying my special pleasures and at the same time continue to give back to friends, family and  professional endeavors whenever I can.   Thus, I will continue to enjoy my daily apple fritter, my specially brewed coffee, tooling down the highway in my little Smart Car, and solving my daily crossword puzzles.   In season I will enjoy tennis with my wife and friends and skiing with the geezers as many days as the winter will allow.   I will also endeavor to treasure the remaining days of Nancy's and my now nearly 30 year marriage for the days to come.
    Now that we have passed the longest day of the year, we are in the period of shortening the hours of daylight.  And by late December we will again experience the shortest day.   However, then the days will lengthen once again.   This rhythm of the year is a reminder existence is governed my a rhythm too.   Birth, life, death and rebirth!   The generations go on and on and on.   Each of us has our time.   Make the best of the time you have!

June 20, 2012 Shadow - My Benchmark for the Length of Days

Museum Displays

     I have been writing a history of the Agricultural Museum at Cornell to preserve some of the heritage of  this component of Cornell that was established in 1873.   Between 1873 and today the museum was disbanded and the collections were either lost, trashed or in some cases stored at various locations on campus.  There were six major components to the early museum and only fragments of three of the major components still exist.   I have restored the remnants of  two of the collections; the Rau plow models and the sales and patent models of agricultural machinery.   This activity has sparked my interest in museums in general and more specifically museums that display agriculturally related items.   Therefore, I have been on a quest to understand how museums select and display their wares.   Also the quest has led me to observe displays of artifacts in other settings.   Beyond the Johnson Art Museum on the Cornell Campus one can find a multitude of historical artifact displays in a number of other buildings.

     My curiosity has taken me to observe antique veterinary medicine instruments displayed in a hall way adjacent to the Veterinary College Library, the glass models of invertebrates at the Mann Library and the Corson-Mudd atrium and the Rouleaux mechanical models at Upson Hall.   Each of these sites have done a magnificent orderly presentation of their collections.    Saturday I enjoyed viewing the collections in the Central New York Living History Center in Homer, New York.   Several weeks ago I also had a chance to see an impressive set of displays at the Shelburne Museum in  Shelburne, Vermont.   All of these activities have given me inspiration for setting up a display of  the remaining Cornell Agricultural Museum artifacts in Riley-Robb Hall.

An Elegant Display - Corson-Mudd Atrium

    Our mini-museum now has a proposed site and plans are under way to acquire trophy cases and signage to tell the story of the Cornell Agricultural Museum.   At the same time we look backward at the history of engineering in agriculture as displayed in our collections we will also display items of the present and point to the future.   I think geezers are especially qualified to help preserve history, but also can creatively point to the trends for the future.

    

Being Perfect?

  A couple a weeks ago I heard excerpts from a poem by Ron Padgett about "How to Be Perfect".   I love the comments he makes in the poem.    As we approach Father's Day I think one of the lines is especially appropriate.   "Don't expect your children to love you, so they can, if they want to."  
   As a father and step-father I have had the privilege of parenting seven children.   I always hoped that I would be good in the parenting role and even hoped they would love me.   Especially I hoped they would appreciate my presence and forgive my imperfections since I clearly am not perfect nor ever will be.   I am truly blessed, however.   During this week, leading up to the big day on Sunday, I have received many beautiful expressions of love and appreciation from our brood.   And even received appreciation from a grandchild and family.   What a blessing ti is to move into geezerhood and participate in  the success of generations of family.

Just a Sampling of the Group - June Picnic

Senior Games - Round Robin

  I finished up my New York Empire Senior Games tennis matches this morning.   Five matches over two days was a pretty exhausting schedule.   My opponents were feeling it about as much as I was.   We all were feeling the effects of some pretty competitive matches upon our feet, legs and bodies.   However, it was a great time of camaraderie even though we all have a strong will to win.   There were five men in my singles 75-79 group.  Dave Shannon and Dave Usher certainly were the superior players and proved it with a one-two finish followed by Walt Schoonaker in third.   This years format was lots of fun since we used a round robin scheme which had each one of us playing the other four.   With the 8 game pro set matches the matches were not as long but still had enough games to give everyone a chance to come back from being down.
    Past tournaments have used a one and done for the loser format which can be discouraging for someone to travel hundreds of miles to play and have their participation finished in as little as an hour. The French Open has been played over the last couple of weeks and I truly can agonize with the players that go out in the first round.   One and done has to be tough on the psyche!   I guess they do get some money to show, but that has to be a hard way to make a meager living.   Truly the grunts in the trenches that fill out the brackets in the lower seeds don't get the appreciation they deserve.   In the past Nancy and I have gone to the semi finals of the U.S. Tennis Open and sat high in Ashe Stadium while the stars performed.   More recently we have gone to the early rounds and enjoyed sitting a few feet from the lesser known players competing in their matches on the perimeter courts.   I think I have enjoyed the latter experience the most.   They may not be the very best in the sport, but they are professionals and give it their best.
    I don't know how entertaining the geezer tennis players are for the gallery but we still give it our best shot and thank the Lord we are enjoying life this side of the grass.   Oh for the love of the game!
   As and end note, Nancy and I for the first time competed in mixed doubles.   We had a great time even in a losing effort.    And our marriage remains as strong as ever!

Victor ready to receive.

Dave Usher -Great serves.

Gerry - Post match smile

Walt -Preparing to serve.

Loose Change

  I know of a couple of people who compete with one another to see how much loose change they can collect in a  year by looking for coins on the ground, asphalt or pavement in public places.   They contribute these coins to charity and enjoy the hunt for carelessly lost money.   To amuse myself I have taken up this chase myself.   Whenever I am walking alone in public places, parking lots or sidewalks I keep my eyes peeled for the sparkle on the misplaced coin.    When one is walking alone, it provides distraction and amusement and the thrill of the hunt.   In the last month my total take has been one dime and two pennies.   Not much value in today's world.
   Respect for the penny has been lost in recent years.    Inflation and the cost of penny production has reduced the usefulness of the penny.     And to some merchants the penny is a nuisance.   During my visit to McDonald's today to pick up my apple pie dessert the customer ahead of me was paying in part for his purchase with a whole bunch of pennies along with a few nickels and dimes.   After he left the servers were bemoaning the pennies that they had to deal with and in fact the manager even said they should not accept that many pennies in payment.   I thought their attitude was disrespectful of the customer.   The whole episode made me angry.   Actually I was angry enough to confront the servers to remind them that if they really wanted to welcome customers they should smile and say thank your very much for your business.   Even if it meant dealing with pennies!    Maybe all this is an indication that I grew up in a different era.
    In my childhood a penny could get you a couple of pieces of candy and a perhaps a stick of gum.   Loose change had great value to a kid.   My dad had his favorite easy chair that was a gold mine for loose change.    He always carried his change in his overalls pockets and often had holes in the pockets.  In addition when he would lean back for nap the change would sometimes fall out of his pocket.   All that I had to do was to slide my hand down beside the cushion and dig out the loose change.   This change supplemented my dollar a week allowance and bought many a comic book or candy bar.    Such fond memories of the joy of loose change.   So now in my geezerhood I revert to the joy of finding loose change, even if it has little buying power.   I'm from the waste not, want not generation!

Dad Relaxing at a Picnic - Coins in the Grass?

A Vermont Adventure

  Being a grandparent means having opportunities to enjoy the successes of grandchildren.   Four of my grandchildren currently attend the Lake Champlain Waldorf School in Shelburne, Vermont.   One of the traditions of the school is to have a Grandparent's Day when grandparents and special friends are invited to spend a day at the school.   So Thursday May 17, 2012 I travelled to Vermont to enjoy some time at their school and to attend a concert by the students and community members.   This school requires every student to learn to play a stringed instrument so there was a large orchestra with significant talent.    Voice instruction is also provided.
    The Thursday night concert was all Vivaldi performed with extraordinary competence.   Granddaughter Jenny had a solo part that she performed beautifully.   The setting for the concert was the Carriage House of the Shelburne Farms estate.   The grounds and buildings are magnificent and are set on the shores of Lake Champlain.  
   Grandparents day started at  8:30 A.M. with an introduction by the Waldorf School leader.   After the introduction we adjourned to be with our grandchildren.    There were only two sessions so it was not possible to visit all three grandchildren in K-8.   Since Carson is graduating from 8th grade to public school next year I made a special effort to get to his display of accomplishments during his tenure at the Waldorf School.   He has become a capable photographer and his iPad display of his work was exceptional.    After my visit with Carson I was off to join the kindergartners and granddaughter Kiara at play in their room.   Yes,  this old geezer can still get down on the floor to play with the young ones.    We grandparents were also treated to the morning snacks of soup and bread that their group had prepared and baked.   A delicious treat.    On the way out I still had a chance to visit grandson Turner's 4th grade class to say hello and see his schoolmates.
     Following my school visit I travelled to the Shelburne Museum to spend several hours examining a variety of exhibits.   Because I am anticipating setting up exhibits of the artifacts from the Cornell Agricultural Museum I was especially interested in the manner of displaying antique tools and devices.
     The Vermont visit continued with time at son Colin's house and a stay through Saturday at daughter Tange's house.    We even had time for some tennis.
     Although I travelled to Shelburne via the Essex ferry, I chose to return via the new New York - Vermont Champlain Bridge.    It is a stunningly elegant design.   The grand opening was this past Sunday so there was all kinds of activity at the bridge as I passed over it on Saturday.
     All in all the three days were a great geezer adventure.

Tange, Turner, Kiara 

Granddaughter Jenny right and friend at Shelburne Farms

Carson and projects display

Kiara, right front in kindergarten - Snack Time

 

Memory Triggers

   I find it interesting to reflect on what triggers distance memories.    Today as I was returning from an errand in my car my eye caught a look at a plastic bag that had become air borne  and was wafting along in the sky.   This vision immediately triggered a memory of kite flying when I was a youngster.   Each March of even later in the year I would be able to purchase a kite (or even make one) to fly in the fields of our farm.   Getting the kite to fly stably in a brisk wind required some pretty big tails.   My kite tails would be made with strips of old rags tied on a string extending from the bottom of the kite.  With a bit of experimenting I could add just the right number of rags with the right spacing to hold the kite stable for the day's wind velocity.
    When I would get the kite as high in the sky as the amount of string I had available, I would stake the end of the string to the ground and even launch another kite if I had one.   The next creative thing I used to do with kite flying was to launch parachutes from the kite string.    With string and paper I would make a parachute weighted with either a nut or stone.    At the top of the canopy I would add a bent pin or wire to serve as a loop to hang the parachute on the kite line.   After placing the parachute on the kite line, the prevailing wind would blow the parachute up the line.     After the parachute had risen to several hundred feet into the air it was time to launch the parachute.    Triggering the launch was a bit difficult.  The technique I used was to give the taut line a snap.   A wave would proceed up the string and when it  reached the parachute it would release the loop of wire from the string.   The parachute would  gently waft to ground delivering its load gently to earth.   I took great pleasure from this play and the creative effort that it took to carry off this event.   Perhaps this an indicator of my life to be as an engineer.

     All this makes me wonder about the play of my grandchildren and now great-grandchildren.   As a child of the World War II era our generation fewer manufactured toys and gadgets available.   Therefore we had to be more inventive in our play.    We made our toys from whatever we had available.   Maybe I need to demonstrate  to my iPod, iPHone, and iPad grandchildren the joys of making a kite and parachute and launching a parachute from a flying kite string.