Author: stumberry

Greetings Fellow Travelers:

“If you miss the present, you miss your appointment with life” ……………………………………………………………………………………………………. Thich Naht Hanh (you know him, right?)

“The shortest answer is DOING!” ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. Lord Herbert

“Sometimes the lights all shining on me…other times, I can barely see” …………………………………………………………………………………………..Jerry Garcia and Robert Hunter

We’re back…. after a three-week hiatus……have you been checking your inbox daily to see where the hell the missive is? Are you Jonesing? Well, there’s been a lot to keep the fires burning…. made the trip back to the Heartland for THE SALE, and back with our HazMat suits….and lived to tell about it……now, ensconced back in the mountains, and the cool morning dew tells us that Fall is approaching……

Traveling in the time Of COVID– is not all that simple…involves a lot of outdoor peeing, for which The Queen is a master (20 seconds or less)….I try to empty her cavalcade of fluids when she is not looking, but she winds up consuming gallons anyway; ergo the 20 second frequent pee stops along the way……………..our trips would be a lot shorter if I could stay off the phone with The Prodigal and The Nave….and not repetitively miss exits as a result….though we had perfect driving weather both ways, and the animals were great roaming around the detritus accumulated in the back of the car….stayed at the Marriott in Binghamton each way, which is getting more and more crowded with urbanite, mask-less escapees….luckily were able to find rooms in the back away from the revelers…and, the hotel maintains five nights between guests per room-so felt relatively safe…..On the way, I managed to place a takeout order at  a Greek Place in San Antonio thinking it was in Binghamton (same name place on line), only to find when I got to the joint to pick it up, they had no idea what I was talking about  (though they sure did in San Antonio when I called to find out where the food I ordered was -they offered to deliver, but seemed like we would still be there waiting for dinner)…..

A 45-year-old house is like new to a one eyed man– WOW-being used to living in houses from two centuries ago, it was shockingly easy to return to our new place- just walked in, opened the blinds and turned on the AC….no mold, mildew, mice, rodents, blown fuses, broken appliances, plumbing leaks, etc……does everyone live like this? I thought everyone lived with rodents?

End of an Era– I excerpt from the e-mail I sent to the family on the day of closing- “We came back to Ohio this week, and this morning closed on the sale of the beloved Bunty Station homestead after 35 years. Last night, the band gathered in the driveway for one last hootenanny-a blessed event in beautiful late day sunshine. After everyone left, Steve and I had stayed to make one last walk around the property and to reminisce about all that has happened there in the last 35 years- beauty, jubilation, a 1000 rituals, celebrations, sadness and mourning…. a lifetime of memories. We grieved the lost ones: Helen, Ron, Pat Burrows, Work Barbara, Pat Cianflona, Joy, Barbara and Larry, Mom, Mocha and all the cats- many of whom are buried there in some fashion in the family graveyard.

All of you have at one time or another, in one way or another, shared this extraordinary journey, and the ending is certainly bittersweet, but spent the afternoon yesterday meting the new owner and walking through the various ropes and idiosyncrasies…and he will clearly love the house, and we are only five mines away-so when in Ohio, we can drive by and keep tabs on the changes he makes and feel the connection from afar.

It was the best of times It was the worst of times…. now we move on.”

The sale went without a hitch, the Band played, we all got to say goodbye, and the house is now in the hands of someone who is really excited to have it, and will love it. I know this after spending two hours with him the night before closing and answering his three pages of typed out questions. Despite, Stu’s ongoing Change-Trauma, it was a happy ending. I am including below a link, for those of you not on Facebook or trolling You Tube, to the Last Dance music videos The Band (without Brother Al) did in the driveway the night before closing. Check out the brand new song about the world we live in. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGI0SwROVPgOvob3p8oGBhA/

Babies, Babies, Babies -Nanna and Papi went hog wild –seeing all the g-daughters in one week. Got to babysit Sloane and have multiple dinners… and visited with Quin-Lily and Baby Harper for the first time since February on the way back. Manna from Heaven…check out the updated Angel-Pix…. Sloane was perplexed to have us seem to emerge from the TV, where we seem to live through our Weekly Portals, and Quinn was eager to find out what we had for dinner….

Back to The Inn- The car had not stopped rolling into our drive when The Queen jumped out to begin watering the plants and herbs…and was soon on the road to locate horse shit…. maters, melons, beans all on the way…better late than never in our Northern climes…. Except for being down about two feet due to prolonged drought, THE POND was pristine and beckoning (foreshadowing for later) …. after a whirlwind week, we settled in for our Quarantine…

Car Repair in the Mountains #2- After getting settled, we headed up to the wilds of New Hampshire to pick up my car from the only place in the Northeastern United Sates that would repair my exhaust system. Returned home to car not starting and all the check engine lights on, so now have had to search out another mountain mechanic…luckily I discovered I can get it started by winding up the crankshaft, rolling downhill and jumping in to pop the gears (you’ve seen that movie, right?) ……so basically carless again, but who really needs to go anywhere anyway?

A Rare Sighting- after taking the car to Mountain Tony to computer the problem (of course it started right up and no check engine lights……he basically said take two aspirins and call me in the morning) …. we decided to stroll through the hills above Ludlow and encountered a Brigade of Hasidim from Williamsburg, moving into a forsaken ski chalet. The NYC folks are all trying to hide out in Virus-free Vermont…. but this is going to add some local color to our local ski community (along with the now ubiquitous Jamaicans next door) …I was trying to figure out how to surreptitiously take their pictures, to which Jenn said “just go talk to them, Jew to Jew” …I opted for the telephoto lens….

Kayaking on Blues Sky day– first time in six years without Lucy (who was howling with indignation as we left her in the house, and has since moved in with the Jamaicans) …. makes the trip quite a bit easier…and quick……good Quarantinie activity…

Jenn mows with The Bees– whilst I walked around in my underwear, and made soup, Jen got back on the horse –roaming the property in search of projects and decided mowing was in order, then proceeding to mow over a bee hive and, last I saw, she was flailing her arms, running down the mountain towards Rutland in her beekeeper suit………………….

Corona- treat– we have taken up traditional Chocolate Malt making (after spending a week finding malt on line…. where have the candy stores gone?) ….and this is our new late night Quarantinie activity-check out the machine…. when did you last see this?

And, the latest project– can’t keep a good woman down, so we are embarking on the replacement of the back wall of the old horse barn (don’t ask). We have someone with actual skills coming to assist this week, but we have the grunt work to do, which started yesterday with moving forty years’ worth of boards, flooring, pipes, hoses and general junk from the collapsed lean to built on the back of the barn…we yanked, we burnt, we stacked we sorted, we sweated…… and we finally crawled into The Pond in late afternoon sunshine for a floating beer and doze…. then down to pick up dinner at DJ’s in Ludlow and find the proverbial picnic table to eat it….we are slowly documenting all the abandoned dinner-worthy picnic tables in the State of Vermont…….

And that, my friends, is far more than enough….be well, stay safe, don’t hug strangers…….

Papi

Greetings, Salutations, Bow-Downs:

“It all begins when we say “I”. Everything that follows is illusion” …………………………………………………………………………. Sawaki Kodo Roshi

“I will be the hero! These morons — when this is over, I will be the hero.”………………………………………………………………Rudy Giuliani

“What happened to our promised land? Lost trying to cross the Rio Grande” …………………………………………………………New Days Risin’- (2020)

……………………. You’re my blue sky, you’re my sunny day….and it’s been a series of those days (thank you, Dicky Betts) here in the Greens……The grass is greenin’, the flowers are flowerin’, THE POND is emptyin’, The Queen is dirt movin’…. what a day for a day dream, what a day for a daydreamin’ boy……

Masks, Masks, Masks…. how many do you have in your car?…….Can’t go in the grocery here in the Greens or a Mart, without one……Mask Police at the door…. have you thanked them for their service?

Amazon in the Time of Corona- is better in the heartland…. ordered a two-day Prime delivery two weeks ago- took 12 days to arrive……can’t seem to find The Inn……you can’t always get what you want….

Bears and Brownies…. local King of Edibles, Master Jeb, left all his brownies in a cooler outside his trailer……and our resident local Bear found them…. he was discovered by an elderly neighbor two hours later lying face down in her yard with thirty-five empty bags of potato chips…

How about John Kasich……. you go Guv……….

Where are The Hasidim?…….with the state park they gather in closed …. they have taken up residence at the Rutland Holiday Inn…. a minion a day…

Third times a charm…after two recent aborted, ravenous treks to Rutland, to the fabled Ramuntos Pizza…which apparently closes randomly in Corona-land (you can only order and pay by phone and then open their barricaded front door and yell for them to bring the pizza) ….we scored last night….which resulted in our new favorite activity…..pickin’ up dinner to eat at the picnic table outside my closed chiropractors’ office….which surrounds Allen Pond, and has ducks for Lucy to chase around while we dine….

Goin up to the country, mama don’t you want to go…….Got stuck this week on moving mounds of dirt, plantin’ bells, continuing to beautify and organize rubber bands in the barn and garage space and regular Pond floatin’…so only managed one afternoon outing…..that meant a trip to Ernie’s Hand Carved for Brisket, Corned Beef and Pastrami…it’s not the city, but pretty righteous for the mountains….after cholesterol-laden cemetery lunch and very ominous thunder clouds, we started driving south to beat the storms and find a destination-dirt road before the skies opened…….found one south of Wallingford….and headed straight uphill for a  scenic hike….skies opened after two miles…and we jogged, rolled, sloshed back to the car soaked to the gills, with Lucy looking like a large wet rat…..camera got soaked and died (later repaired), money got ruined, shoes are still dryin’ out five days later….and then driving home in the floods, tried to avoid Trump-ish driver in middle of the road, hit massive pothole, and blew out exhaust system….the proverbial wet blanket…..

Speaking of machines (were we?)-……the ancient tractor is down again…. after fixing the broken deck spring a few weeks ago, the cable (which I refused to buy proactively after we drove an hour a half to pick up a spring) has now busted……penny-wise…dollar foolish……. F___ Me!!!!!……another parts trip to Brandon this week

When we finally returned our soaked selves home, sounding like a Panzer tank, we were so chilled, Papi channeled Bubby and made Matzo Ball Soup (see pix), which seemed pretty weird when most of our flatlander friends were lamenting 100-degree heat……but…it’s the mountains ya know……

Closin’-schmozin’………if the skies don’t fall in, we are heading back to the heartland next weekend for a week to close on our sale of the beloved ancestral home……it has been quite a haul, so keep fingers crossed…..time to say goodbye to the family estate, home of The Country Jew, family graveyard….luckily have had months and months to come to grips with this, so ready as can be…..will get to see the grandkids, kids, make nice with our new house, maybe gather the Bunty boys for a distanced jam…..

Thus…sad to say, but likely off line for a few weeks……Don’t despair, you can watch the news instead…or maybe listen to reruns of Prairie Home Companion…

To tide you over, we have included some pictures of Papi ‘s proverbial Summer of Corona state……hair has not been cut since February and is hardly ever attended to, mostly wearing just a swim suit or just the tidies, Bud-shirt and flips…who needs to get dressed any more, anyway?????…….

Stay well, drop a line, pucker up, it’s all in the game……

Papi

Bonjour Mes Amis:

“Doing nothing, but leave nothing undone” ………………………………………………………………………………………. Zen saying

“I tell you: one must have chaos in oneself, to give birth to a dancing star” …………………………………………Friedrich Nietzsche

“Sometimes things are just what they seem to be, that’s all there is to it” ……………………………………………Charles Bukowski

Rona-Rona- BoBona- Bananna-Fanna- Fofona- Fee-Fi-Fo- Fona…. Corona………………………………. Have we had enough yet?……….Unlike with some people and places, we are pretty much in total Exile here in the mountains…………………The state had a surge this week with 15 new cases since some fool from the South came to Manchester and spread their wings at the Outlet Stores (come to the beauty of the Mountains to shop) …. thank you, tourista……but that’s about it……first state in the country to go 30 days without a single death……but still we hibernate……long time comin’-gonna be a long time gone……

Tryin’ to figure out what exactly we do with our days here……always seem busy, but not sure how…..Cleaning: we are uber spotless…..Gardening: starting to look like the Botanical Gardens here  (TQ now obsessing over Herb Gardens….is that a Jewish garden?)…….Organization: working on ridding the Barn/Garage of 60 years’ worth of stuff, now have music out there via 60 year old solid state radio and lots of aluminum foil antenna, and have organized all my string and rubber bands into one convenient place…….Work: are you kidding me….is this what retirement is like?….did a two hour lecture to 20 small talking heads on The Zoom this week for the Vermont Law School- has anyone bought Zoom stock yet?……Binging– nighty TV and Corona Fritos (had not had one in two decades and have not stopped, as the Devil said they are anti-viral)…………Writing– lyrics, songs, Blogs, hate letters, curricula, hate letters, Reviews- with being a really bad typist, this takes up half of each day…..Talking- who knew we had so many phone friends…..Exercise– out in the Barn, on the Circuit three times a week, and running up and down mountains, down to weighing 47 pounds now…..Herbs (the other kind)- don’t ask……..Friends?– weekly dinner on the ground at The Big Table in the yard-do not dare to come in our house, fool…….Ponding- sinking a bit with concerted drought, but best ever, PRISTINE, 90 degree plus days shockingly for much of last two weeks, so a good deal of float time- clean enough for even TQ to delve into…..Outings: trying to uncover exactly how many dirt roads there are in Vermont, and walk all of them-twice a week we pack the car like The Beverly Hillbillies (prepared for any Virus or Republican threats) and head off into the great blue……… we are Dirt Road Royalty….

While I toil away at mostly doing nothing, THE QUEEN is distance gallivanting all over the county—-working at the organic farm to feel empathy with the deportables, moving hay bales back and forth over the property, coffees with the Trailer Masseuse, Scavenging with the Dump Master through the 50 foot pile of junk metal for potential finds, doing virtual Garden tours, presiding over the Mt. Holly Community Association…finding piles of rhubarb to make cake for post herb consumption, finding used furniture on the road to take up space in my pristine barn (which I the move back out to her trunk)….touching base every other day with the official Mountain-Yentas: the JPF wife, the French Chef Madam, the Trailer Masseuse, the Empress of General Electric and The British Deck Hair Stylist…..the woman is just plain busy….currently obsessing most about Plastics…..Plastics….

Okay, Kiddoes……since there is really not much happening here, it is almost POND time, and since I need to get in my obsessive amount of written words for the day…. here are three pop quizzes for you to mull over or ignore…all matching answers…. scored on a bell curve….

Song Lines

“Livin’ ten floors above me, in the tower of song” ____                                                                                                 John Prine

“Back of my neck, getting’ dirty and gritty” ___                                                                                                                 The Temptations

“Plant that bell and let it ring” Gram Parsons                                                                                                                             

“We’re the big door prize” ____                                                                                                                                             The Silhouettes

“Just my ‘magination, runnin’ away with me” ____                                                                                                  Neil Young

“With a road sign leading straight to Satin’s cage” ____                                                                                                   Lovin’ spoonful

“Ba-pa-Ba-pa…Ba-pa-Ba-pa-Ba- pa…. Get a job” ____                                                                                                    Leonard Cohen

Movie Lines

“I think we’re going to need a bigger boat” ____                                                                                               Dances with wolves

“Leave the gun, take the cannoli” thermal and Louise                                                                                                                                

“Lets you and me jump in that river” ____                                                                                                  The Untouchables

“You’re a real live outlaw, aren’t ya” Field of Dreams                                                                                                                           

“Individual achievement” The Godfather                                                                                                                                               

“Tatonka…..                                                                                                                           Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

“If you build it, they will come” ____                                                                                                                                         Jaws

Great Presidential Quotes

“Ask not what your country can do for you……” ____                                                                                                          Jimmy Carter

“99 % of virus cases are harmless” _ Richard Nixon

“I lust only in my mind” ____                                                                                                                                                       George H.W. Bush

“Masks are great, in the right time and place” ____                                                                                                               Bill Clinton

“I never inhaled” ____     The Donald                                                                                                                                                    

“A thousand points of light” ____                                                                                                                                                George W. Bush

“Mission accomplished” ____                                                                                                                                                      John Kennedy

“This left-wing cultural revolution is designed to overthrow the American Revolution” ____                                         Ronald Reagan

“All the waste in a year from a nuclear power plant can be stored under a desk” ____

“I am not a crook” ____

Fun time is now officially over……go do your Corona Lives Matter things……………………………………Can we bring back “W” please…pretty please……I’d trade my first born (sorry, Max) for Rayguns…… or even…. Tricky Dick, too……..

Bye-Bye, Love

Papi