Our local newspaper has been running adds for the last couple of weeks for the various “haunted” venues that are being offered to the public. There is one in a small town about 20 miles west of us, and one here in town at the old hospital.
The Haunted Hospital is said to be quite frightening. The owners of the building rent out much of the space to the Food Pantry, some mental health provider offices, and some take-out food places. The bulk of the building, especially the older parts from the 1930’s and 1950’s is empty, and it is there that the haunting occurs. The owners make much of the fact that many people have died in the building. They recently bought out the inventory of a defunct haunted venue from Montana, including a really old hearse.
I have never been to any of the Halloween venues. I hate being surprised or startled. I can hardly watch a movie or read a book with any suspense in it. I believe most of the teenage population of town has visited this, I believe. The real world is scary enough without adding to it for Halloween. I suppose, though that I could tolerate performing as a scary person at a haunted venue. That could be interesting.
What was your favorite Halloween costume? Whatpart would you like to perform at a haunted venue?
Of course there were clouds here on Saturday when the partial eclipse was gracing the late morning sky.
I got my fascination for astronomy from my dad. He loved following the space program and I remember when the Hubble started sending images back to Earth; he was enraptured. He sliced several photos out of Scientific American and kept them in a file in his living room drawer.
When I traveled to see the 2017 eclipse, I thought a lot about my dad. Of course, as much as he would have enjoyed the eclipse, I don’t think he would have enjoyed how I experienced it (cheap motel the night before, five hours waiting in a parking lot with other folks, huge traffic issues getting home). But it was fun to imagine sharing the observation with him, even when the clouds and rain meant there were only a few clear views that day.
For last weekend’s annular eclipse (when the moon is the farthest from Earth and you get a bright ring effect), we got only a partial eclipse here in the Twin Cities. Since I’m making a trek to Indianapolis next spring for that eclipse, I decided to stay home for this one and enjoy the partial. When the time came, I got my eclipse glasses and headed out onto the back stoop, which turned out to be a great vantage point. YA followed me out, laughing at how dorky I looked. She’s right; unless you’ve invested heavily, you’re stuck with rectangular cardboard frame glasses that resemble the cheap 3-D glasses you get at the movies. But then her curiosity got the better of her and soon she was standing out on the stoop with me, using another of my pairs of glasses (I have several). The clouds were moving in quickly but at the apogee of the eclipse, we did get several good views, a few seconds each.
A little later, she shared some websites she had been looking at which showed the eclipse from various locations in the west and southwest, where they could see the whole shebang. She’d been watching for over an hour! She says she doesn’t want to go with me to Indianapolis next year but I feel like at least for the day, I passed along a bit of my father’s interest in the heavens!
In an effort at team building and increased camaraderie, our new clinical director declared last Friday Band Shirt Day. Many of my coworkers wore band shirts, including a very middle aged addiction counselor who proudly showed off her Def Leppard shirt. There were lots of country music shirts, along with shirts worn by my younger colleagues sporting bands I had never heard of. All I had was a Handbell Musicians of America shirt, so I wore that.
It used to be that we could only wear jeans to work on Fridays if we paid a dollar. The proceeds went to fund the social committee and our annual Christmas party at the local Knights of Columbus Hall. We haven’t had a boozy blowout like that in almost 10 years after our party loving Regional Director retired. Now we just have a noon potluck in the big staff room in early December.
There isn’t much of a dress code at my agency now, which I think is a good thing. I dress in corduroy pants and sweaters most of the time. I like to be comfortable. I only dress up when I have to testify in court. We don’t have to pay to wear jeans anymore, either. We have more important things to be concerned about these days.
What kind of dress codes were there at your places of work? What band shirt or shirt with a picture or slogan do you like the most?
My wife and I love Canada. We’ve visited our neighbor to the north some ten times, traveling through the lower tier provinces from Vancouver Island in British Columbia all the way across to Quebec City in Quebec. Last month, we finally achieved our goal of visiting one of the maritime provinces. Our choice—as you may recall—was Nova Scotia.
When I plan a trip to a new location, I develop preconceptions about the place. Will it be flat, hilly, green, not so green, grassland, have lots of lakes and rivers, a damp climate, an arid climate? Some of those preconceptions you can resolve by looking at maps and reading about the climate and landscape. But there are also preconceptions about the people. Will they “be like us?” What will the demographics be? What’s the personality of the place? (Think tough, urban New Yawkahs vs. small town super-howdy friendlies.)
My preconception of Nova Scotia was one of a terrain similar to the last place on the Atlantic we visited—Acadia National Park in Maine. Rocky coastline, sparse population, flat terrain inland, and a predominantly white Anglo population. I also imagined the northern half—Cape Breton Island—to resemble Cape Cod: flat, sandy, full of dunes, no farmland to speak of, and lots of fishing villages and quaint little towns. I was half right on that, and half right on the whole of Nova Scotia.
We were surprised to find some amazing resemblances to Minnesota. Some areas in the southern part of the province are full-on farmland, like southern MN. The end of one drive from the Bay of Fundy on the north coast to Lunenburg on the south coast reminded me of descending the Gunflint Trail into Grand Marais. We saw many more lakes than I expected. Not as dense as lakes in the Brainerd area, but enough to notice.
Cape Breton Island was far hillier than I expected. Many roads had grades from 5% to 10%. If you’ve ever driven in the Rockies, you know a five percent grade is common, 7% to 8% less so, and 10% rare. Cape Breton Island pretty much matched that ratio. We actually drove on one 10% grade for a short distance and traversed many 5% to 8% grades.
The Bay of Fundy is awe-inspiring. Low tide must be seen to be believed. Nova Scotia is home to SIX UNESCO World Heritage sites plus two other UNESCO supported sites. There are many wineries in the province. Halifax, the capital city, is as urban and sophisticated as any city in the US. It’s also hilly, with old narrow streets not conducive to car traffic, and has one of the most impressive harbors I’ve ever seen. The boardwalk near downtown is a must-visit. The historical significance of the city since colonial days is well-remembered and preserved. One thing that didn’t surprise me was the quality of the seafood. It was every bit as outstanding as you’d expect from a maritime location that has hundreds of miles of coastline.
Finally, everyone we met who lived and worked in Nova Scotia was as friendly as could be (other than a few stuffy hotel staffers). Even in Halifax, a big city where it’s easy to encounter people who are aloof, mistrustful, and too much in a hurry to chat or help.
I’ve attached a few pictures of our trip. If you want to see more, simply sign up for my website newsletter and you’ll get access to many more. Since I just published my latest missive, I’ll even share the password with you now: ChrisN2021. But don’t tell anyone! 😊
Sunset at Inverness, NS
Halifax boardwalk
Lighthouse at Peggy’s Cove
Chris and his caddie
What are some of your preconceptions of a place that got blown out of the water after you visited there? What places exceeded your expectations in the same way Nova Scotia exceeded mine?
We finally had a hard freeze, 27° at our house Tuesday night. It finally killed off that wild tomato plant that was taking over the driveway. There was still a ton of green tomatoes on there. That was some plant.
The soybeans had pretty much reached maturity; they had lost about 50% of their leaves, so there will at least be a crop there. They’re short and the beans will probably be small, but it won’t be a total loss. The people who do my harvesting said they’re just about done with their beans, which is pretty impressive. It’s just the way this year will be: lower yields mean the combine can drive faster in the fields, lower yields mean fewer truckloads, which means it doesn’t take as long.
I’ve been delivering some straw lately for mulch, or some to put around trailer homes, or to cover their garlic. Even some for ‘pumpkin bowling’ at a church.
The 40th anniversary for the Repertory Theatre went real well. A lot of good compliments and it was fun to see some people from when the theater first started, including one gentleman that I didn’t think would even remember me just because I didn’t have much to do with him. But he had some pretty good stories and once again, you never know the impact of your actions. I didn’t know Jeff had moved into Dave‘s apartment because Dave had moved in with Skip. I didn’t realize Kim, who was filling a sabbatical at WSU, had brought in Kris and Jeff because they were students. Dare I say a nice time was had by all. There was a champagne reception and showing my age again, some of the people didn’t know how to open a champagne bottle. I knew. I was in a cast one that won a cast party battle of drinking more champagne / person than any other cast. 2+ bottles / person one night. I haven’t liked champagne since. Ah, to be young.
I talked about naming calves after people at the theater. The header photo is Michael, Thom, and Kim in the theater office about 1985.
The puppy. I guess we have a new dog. She does need to pass a few tests yet, Humphrey hasn’t totally accepted her and she needs to not eat chickens.
But she and Humphrey are getting acquainted, and I think Humphrey has relaxed a little. He’ll stress out again if she comes in the house. He’s the biggest dog, and he’s also the most sensitive.
This puppy, which we think looks like a German Shorthair Pointer Pitbull mix, (sometimes called Pointerbulls), has a lot of attitude. She’s only half Humphrey’s weight and size, but the attitude coupled with her puppy eagerness will be a lot for Humphrey to put up with. The vet discovered she does actually have a chip, but they said it was not registered. Then they talked to a place in Oklahoma that tracked her to someone in Oklahoma. That woman gave the puppy to her cousin, who moved to Rochester, and into an apartment building where she couldn’t keep the dog, and that woman gave puppy to someone else. The veterinarian’s office gave us this man’s name and phone number, and when we called there, a woman answered the phone who knew nothing about a dog and no person of that name. The cruelty of people dumping animals is just abhorrent. This puppy is so smart! She’s potty trained, she’s very good on a leash, she knows basic commands, she loves to fetch, and does she have a lot of energy! We’re still looking for a suitable name.
We got a truckload of dirt / mulch on Wednesday afternoon and filled in a space Kelly has been working on all summer. Wanted to get that in place before it rained. Any fresh laid dirt we have to cover with plastic snow fence to keep the chickens from rooting it up, and even the dogs from digging.
Can you imagine us years from today, Sharing a park bench quietly? How terribly strange to be 70….
– Paul Simon, Old Friends
The classic Simon & Garfunkel album Bookends was released in 1968. While working on the album, Paul Simon reportedly told a writer at High Fidelity, “I’m not interested in singles anymore”, but when the album emerged, it featured the hit single Mrs. Robinson, which was featured in the hit movie The Graduate.
The B-side of the single was the contemplative melody Old Friends, which segued into Bookends Theme (Reprise).
Paul Simon is 82 today. If weather permits, I hope he is sharing a park bench, quietly, with a friend.
How has the passage of time changed your views on aging?
The big news in Fargo this week has concerned the fate of a group of 85 local Roman Catholic parishioners, clergy, and their relatives who were on a pilgrimage to Israel.
The group was in Jerusalem when the bombing started, and for some reason they fled to Bethlehem where they holed up for a few days with the fighting happening just 45 miles to the south.
Yesterday they managed to get on three buses and made their way through multiple checkpoints until they were able to walk to safety in Jordan. I can’t imagine how frightening that must have been. They are scheduled to be back home in the next couple of days, many of them facing 40 hours of travel with their plane connections. It could have all gone so much more badly for them.
When have you or someone you know had a close call with disaster? When have your travel plans changed significantly?
Our daughter has been very excited his past week to be playing with Legos. She is an adult. I had no idea there were Lego sets for grownups, but daughter found a store that sells them and has been assembling them as a relaxing hobby in the evenings. You can see one she put together in the header photo. Her most recent purchase is below. Lego has an entire line of kits for people 18 years or older.
She says there is a kit for a large replica of Rivendell from Lord of the Rings for $600. That one is out of her price range but it is tempting. I don’t know how she keeps her cats away from them but she says they leave the completed designs alone if she puts them on her bookshelf. I don’t remember having Legos as a child, but I liked building with wooden blocks and Tinker Toys.
What were your favorite building materials in childhood? What would you like to see Lego offer as a grownup project?
Last year our church choir director and her husband sponsored a foreign exchange student from Sweden. She was a lovely girl named Hedwig who fit in very well with the host family and the community. The family has stayed in contact with the girl and her family in Sweden.
Hedwig’s mother is a costumer for a Swedish opera company. Recently, the opera company put on a production of Wicked translated into Swedish. Our director heard a brief recording of the production, and said it was very odd to hear Defying Gravity sung in Swedish. I guess Stephen Schwartz, the composer, even came over make necessary changes in the production.
I can’t imagine how a person could translate lyrics from one language to another if the lyrics had to rhyme. I don’t know if I like hearing productions in their original languages with subtitles. I don’t know if I like translations from the original language. Such a dilemma.
What English theatre or opera production would you like to see translated into a different language? What non-English production would you like to see translated into English? Where would you have wanted to be a foreign exchange student?
Husband has been the secretary on the board of directors for our local food pantry for the past three years. He has to type the minutes for the monthly meetings, a thankless task. His term is up this month. He typed his last minutes on Saturday.
Husband said he got the motivation for finishing the minutes by promising himself that he could bake some rye bread when he was done. He loves baking rye bread so much he considers it a treat. The bread was really good.
I had a dear friend who was a philosophy professor who would reward himself with a small glass of cognac and a good cigar after grading every twenty essays and papers. I always wondered if his grading of the first papers was somewhat different from the grading of the last papers. Freshman philosophy essays must have been pretty tedious to read year after year.
What motivates you to finish a tedious job? Ever had to write up meeting minutes? Did you ever take a philosophy class?
Trail Baboon 