Friday Fantasy - Speed Skaters

So I was skating at my usual boring rink the other day when a several speed skaters blew by me. They were skating in a line to best use their slip stream. You would not belive how fast these guys go! Afterwards, I got to talking to them and invited them back to my house. They followed me home and were really friendly and somehow I coaxed them all out of their clothes!!! Let me introduce:


Dennis Kalker from the Netherlands,

Dmitri Deboel from Belgium,

Jan Bos from the Netherlands,

Sebastian Falk from Sweden,

and last, but not least, Kip Carpenter from the United States. Wasn't it nice of them all to strip and pose for me? Don't ask how I got them to do it. Since Kip was the only one who spoke English fluently I found out that he is 5'10" and was the 2002 500 meter Bronze Olympic Medalist. Good going Kip!!! Hence the tattoo.

He also owns an Italian Greyhound that he named "Swift". Isn't Swift cute?



Kip's favorite movies are Fight Club, Interview with a Vampire, Minority Report, and The Matrix. I think I have a bit of a crush on Kip now. But, you have to trust me. With all these fit, hot naked young men at my house, nothing out of sorts happened. I did not lay a finger on any of them. You do trust me, don't you?

Bookfield, Home Again - Part 1

The Greyhound bus departed early in the morning from the tiny one room station in Cayuga, New York, bound for New York City. I had to go home to Nassau County, briefly, to pick up my winter clothes for the semester ahead. It was a gorgeous late summer day in the country. I sat in an aisle seat next to a young man, whose face I really couldn’t see at first. He turned out to be cute, though. Dark brown hair, ivory skin, brown eyes, I liked him immediately. His name was Sam, and we seemed to have quite a lot in common. He did gymnastics in high school as had I, and was also biology major at Cayuga, but a freshman, on his way home to Riverhead, also on Long Island. I told him that I was a junior. We chatted the whole 6 hour drive to the city. He was entranced by my southern accent. At one point I was sleepy and put my head on his well muscled shoulder. He seemed happy enough with that. He gallantly offered to wait with me for my mother to pick me up, but I declined politely. We decided to get in touch when we returned from home. I felt pretty confident that we would date (and we did) and my spirits were high.

I was an adult returning home. An adult who had made it through the summer against difficult odds, doing a job that proved my independence, and tenacity. The demanding hours and personal sacrifices surely illustrated my ability stick-to-it when the going got rough. I felt confident that I could do anything. I couldn’t wait to greet my Mom, as a new adult me.

We arrived at the Greyhound bus terminal on Eighth Avenue, NYC in daylight. The terminal was notorious at that time for sheltering panhandlers, drug dealers, muggers, and other unsavory characters. Sam and I said our farewells and he was quickly lost from sight in the crowd gathered to meet the bus outside. I entered the terminal. There was no natural daylight as I walked further in. The institutional gray cinder blocks were dimly lit by weak fluorescent bulbs. The floor was filthy, and smells of urine rose in waves while a general stuffiness predominated the air. God knows what the bathrooms looked like. I never would have dared venturing into one.

I had been instructed to meet Mom in the terminal’s television area. The area consisted of a raised circle of molded grey plastic chairs with coin operated television sets attached to one arm of each chair. I stood inside the circle of chairs trying not to look conspicuous, and simultaneously checking out the people around me, for about twenty minutes.

‘Mom should be by any time.’ I thought to myself while I waited.

A small group of young unkempt black men was loitering in the circle. They asked me for change for a television, and I told them I didn’t have any. They kept looking me over, and I didn’t feel that staying in the circle for a prolonged time was a good idea. I waited there for another few minutes, even though I felt more concerned as each second ticked by. My eyes followed a transit cop as he made his rounds just past the circle. I left the circle and followed the cop. He only walked about ten or fifteen feet from the circle and stood his ground as if it was his post. I chose to stand behind him, up against the wall. I was still plenty close enough to the circle to be seen, and to see anyone else who entered the circle. There I waited until I had waited for abut an hour total. The station was emptying out by then. Soon all that were left were people who appeared to be loitering, or confused. The transit cop was on the move again. I really felt insecure, and so I followed him a little bit, thinking about reasons my usually punctual Mom could be late. I concluded that traffic on the Long Island Expressway was most logical. ‘She’s probably here by now’ I thought as I returned to the circle again. The loiterers had split. I sat in one of the television chairs. I didn’t have enough coins to watch, and by now I was kind of worried about Mom and wasn’t interested in T.V.. I noticed how the floor under the circle of chairs was raised, like a stage, above the surrounding flooring. This made me feel exposed, like the one animal in the pack that is straggles behind, and is therefore more likely to be singled out by predators. I returned to my position by the wall. More time passed by. Where was mom?

Boat Shmoat, We're Going to Paris - Part 4

When I got home, Sean was at the dining room table reading the paper. Without saying anything, I handed him the two sheets of paper describing the job I had just applied for. He looked at it and grinned and said, “Did you apply for this?”

Timidly I replied, “Yes. I was worried that you wouldn’t want to move because of Summer Camp.”

He said, “BOAT SHMOAT, WE’RE GOING TO PARIS!”

He stood and we did a little happy dance together, while we giggled with glee. He told me that he didn’t see how anybody could beat me out of getting this job. We chanted together, “We’re going to Paris, we’re going to Paris…”

So, back at work I waited for word on my application. Time passes so slowly at big companies. They move like molasses. When I am waiting like this I think about outside candidates who are waiting to hear from us and don’t understand why it takes so long and eventually give up hope. Bureaucracy is a deadly thing. But, eventually I got a call to come to New Jersey for an interview with Ms. S of Human Resources. I took the train there to make my appointment with her.

She met me and she had the most wondrously manicured nails, which I complemented her on. She became Ms. S of the manicured nails. She acted like the cat that ate the cream as she showed me into her office and treated me like royalty. She explained that if I got the job I would get the full ex-patriot package that would include a car, sizeable salary increase that may even cover my husband’s salary, money to cover my mortgage at home and help for my husband to find employment. I would be flown to Paris with my husband to go house hunting (in Paris, eep!) where a real estate agent would accompany us, and we would meet with a lawyer to begin work on my work visa, plus my husband would meet with connections for a job all at the company’s expense. I felt as if I had won the lottery or something, if only I could land this job. So, I shook hands warmly with Ms. S of the manicured nails and made my way back home.

More time went by. I was contacted by Dr. A’s administrative assistant here in the US and told that Dr. A would be in town and could I come meet with her? But certainly, of course I could. Arrangements were made. I managed to get on the helicopter there. When vice presidents are over from Europe it means there is a big meeting going on and I usually get to fly on what ever is going.

Our company has several of these babies that seat 5 passengers

The thing about the company helicopters, jets and planes is the vice presidents can order them, but then they need to fill them with bodies to keep them, or another vice president with more people can take priority (and the chopper). What I did is make friends with the administrative assistants of all of the vice presidents at my location so that if there was a helicopter going south, they would call me to see if I needed a ride. Few others at my level knew this and of those that did, they did not feel it was their place to be on company air transportation. I say to heck with that. I’m flying! I got to know many vice presidents this way too.

So, I got there, fresh as a daisy and ready for my interview. Dr. A, vice president of Europe and the supervisor for the position I was applying for, was a cardiologist and widow, in her early forties. She was a handsome Parisian woman and always dressed at the cusp of style in clothing and jewelry. I complemented her jewelry even though I thought it was ugly. It was striking though. She thanked me and told me who the artist was that designed it.

Then she put me through my paces in the interview and I passed with flying colors because the initiatives are my job. I had no trouble seeming eager to travel and meet people of differing nationalities, because I already had. She seemed pleased and stood when the interview was over and we shook hands. But, I still had no idea if I had the job or not.

More time passed. I mean like weeks. I put out my tentacles to gather information on other candidates and my competition. All I could find is that it was between me and one other guy from Spain. (Spain?) Finally, Ms. S of the manicured nails called and told me that there would be a final interview in Paris for the last two candidates, myself and the guy from Spain. She said excitedly that Sean was invited too and we would be going for a week. I almost fainted from joy. When I got off the phone with her, I called Sean and told him right away. He was also uber-stoked. I couldn’t contain my joy. How would I wait until it was time to go? The way I usually waited, I shopped for clothes to wear!

Christmas Meme & Happy Holidays!

Here's wishing all of my readers Season's Greetings and a Happy 2007. I found this Christmas meme on LargeTony and thought I'd give it a whirl.

1. Eggnog or Hot Chocolate? Eggnog with plenty of rum or brandy to ensure a very merry Christmas.
2. Does Santa wrap presents or just set them under the tree? He just sets them under the tree, silly.
3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? Both. Depends on my mood. This year we have colored on the house and white on the tree.
4. Do you hang mistletoe? No. In actuality mistletoe is a very unimpressive saprophytic plant. If I want to plant one on somebody, I just do it.

5. When do you put your decorations up? Traditionally, the night before Christmas, but this year we needed some cheering up and did it the second week of December.

6. What is your favorite Christmas dish? Honey glazed ham. Yum.

7. Favorite Christmas memory as a child? When we were little kids, we snuck downstairs to wait for Santa to bring our presents. We hid under the living room couch and tried to be very quiet. We fell asleep and when we woke up, the gifts were there! What had actually happened is that mom and dad had already put the gifts there before we came down but it was too dark to see them. But, we ended up still believing in Santa.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? I don’t specifically remember, but probably some kindly kids at school enlightened me.

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? No. In my family we rarely wait even that long. LOL

10. What kind of cookies does Santa get set out for him? When we were kids we used to leave him Viennese Crescent Cookies with walnuts in the dough.

11. Snow! Love it or hate it? Love it. It is so pretty and I can ski on it.

12. Can you ice skate? Absolutely. Skating was a passion for my father and he shared it with my family.

13. Do you remember your favorite present? A bicycle that I got when I was a kid. It was metal flake green and I named it Dunbar. Don’t ask, I was just a kid. Of course, my brother took it out for a spin and crashed and warped the front wheel on the first day I had it. Eventually I was able to stand on the seat with no hands. I rode that thing all over Long Island with my brother.

14. What's the most important thing about Christmas to you? Not Christmas itself, but the whole holiday season. I am not religious at all, but all faiths celebrate something this time of year and the primary theme is peace on earth and good will to all men. That is the most important thing of all.

15. What is your favorite holiday dessert? Viennese Crescent Cookies

16. Favorite tradition? Trimming the tree with our favorite ornaments.

17. What tops your tree? A star.

18. Which do you prefer – giving or receiving? Receiving. Just tell me where and when and I will arrive with my husband’s truck for pick up. Oh, that’s not the right answer? GIVING, nim nuts. In our family Christmas is for the kids and only they receive gifts. There is nothing like a wide eyed child getting a gift at Christmas. Christmas is also a great time for donating to the needy.

19. What is your favorite Christmas Carol? I just love Christmas carols, even the religious ones. To listen to: Sleigh Ride. To sing: The Christmas Song. When I’m blue: I’ll Be Home for Christmas.

20. Candy Canes? They look awfully nice on the tree, but my dogs would eat them, so no.

Sunday Comics - Oliver Frey Encore

Here is yet another masterful work in full color by Oliver Frey, courtesy of Pete of Finland. The full image can be seen here. And the encore here. Enjoy!

Friday Fantasy - A Night at the Ballet

When I wrote the Nutcracker post, I had to keep it G rated so that my 13 year old niece could read it. Typically she is not allowed to read her Auntie’s blog, for reasons I am sure you can understand. Here is the real dirt. In one of the dances, the male dancer was bare-chested, even showing a bit of trail below his navel, and the female was wearing a harem-type outfit (but who cares about her). As my sister whispered to me, “Lose the skirt.” The whole dance was so sexy and seductive, to quote a fellow blogger, it made me feel funny in my pants.

When Evie and I went back stage, that dancer was still shirtless with all of his male buddies all around him and having his picture taken with female fans. Still your hearts guys, he has a girl friend. We were about to head over there, when our husbands showed up. So close, and yet so far. Although, it would have been really bad had we been caught. They also had two West Point Cadets in the performance that played the soldiers and they were just adorable. One was blond and one was brunette. At the cast party the next day, they showed up in tight tee shirts and were both very muscular. The brunette knew the samba, and danced the salsa with the 60 year old wife of the company owner. He was running his hands all up and down her front and back and I guess it was quite a thrill for her. Who wouldn’t it have been a thrill for?

So for this week’s fantasy, I offer a male ballet dancer. Ethan Stiefel came to my attention in the movie Center Stage. I have always liked ballet because there are men in tights and you can just see everything. Little is left to the imagination. All the muscle groups are readily apparent, buttocks, quadriceps, and calves, just everything. Then there is the bulge. Yum. Nothing is better than that. So, without further ado, here is Ethan:

Click on any image to enlarge

I thoroughly enjoyed Center Stage and if you like oogling the men of dance, you might like it too. Another movie with ballet dancers you might like is The Turning Point with Mikhail Barshinikov. So, check out these two movies and spend a Friday Fantasy night at the ballet.

Bookfield, Blue Mountain - Part 2

The next morning at eight o’clock we all got into the canoes owned by the Cayuga facility and began to paddle to Blue Mountain. It was maybe 3 miles away and with 3 canoeists in each boat, it was easy going and fun. The lake was peaceful and gorgeous and we could see the Adirondack Mountains in the distance all around. There was one short portage, and then we were quickly back into the water for the last leg of paddling. We disembarked at the foot of Blue Mountain and met our two guides. We could summit before lunch hiking at a steady pace. So we started out, led by our guides.

I kept pace with the guides easily and we spoke about the flora and fauna of the Adirondacks. It was supposed to be an educational trip, after all. I had quite a southern accent, and everyone wanted to know how I came by it and inevitably I ended up regaling them with my Parchment stories. Suddenly, I felt so energized that I began to race up ahead. One of the guides followed me and one other student did as well. We pretty much ran up the side of Blue Mountain, making it to the summit and hour before schedule. It was exhilarating and terrific. I felt I was on top of the world both literally and figuratively and nothing could bring me down. It was a pristine view from up there; nothing bad in sight. I was in the best shape of my life from all of the riding I had done that summer.

The view from atop Blue Mountain

The way back was a breeze. We had a wonderful dinner and next on the agenda was the cedar sauna, which I had never done. I was pretty excited about it. The bad news was that the girls were going first then the boys. Though at the time there were lots of snickers and whispers on both sides about peeking and checking each other out.

After we got back to camp, the women went into the cedar sauna first. We all stripped naked. Man was it hot in there and really dry. One gal threw water onto the hot rocks and the steam rose and was almost suffocating. It felt so good to let all of my tensions go after a hard day’s rowing and hiking.

I looked around tentatively at all of the other women. Women are typically modest sorts in locker room situations and modest when together in the nude. But here in the sauna they had to be relaxed. So I took full advantage to slyly take a look. Then, it was time to take a dip into the cool lake. Steam rose from our bodies as we exited the sauna and entered the lake. The water was so cold, but if I stayed still I could feel the heat from my body warm the water near my skin. I kept thinking that this was how Native Americans bathed and how cool was that!

We all wanted to catch a glimpse of the boys getting into the sauna. But, try as we might, none of us did.

Small Town News - Vote on Planning & Zoning Chair

I was at the most infuriating town meeting last night. As you may recall, the town had voted twice against the P & Z chair being on this commission since there is an ordinance precluding town employees from being on the P & Z and Wetlands commissions and the Chair is an employee of the town. However, he has continued in that capacity since then, as Joe, our first selectman of 17 years, arrogantly ignored the wishes of the town. Well, his term was up on December 1, and there was a vote last night on whether to confirm him again.

Joe turned out all of his cronies and we called out as many of our members as we could. But this is the third vote on this issue and folks are beginning to give up. Sean had written a letter to Joe earlier in the day pointing out how what was being done was not in line with the ordinance and mentioning that a motion was going to be made at the meeting. However, shortly after the meeting started, Ricky, one of the selectmen that everybody hates, piped up with a motion to approve the slate as proposed, before we could make our motion. There were cries of protest and frustrated motions being flung, but it was too late. The vote was held and the P & Z chair was confirmed until 2009 by a vote of 44 to 21.

Add to that that earlier one of our citizen group members, who is the eloquent architect, was tossed off the economic commission for voting against the Cumberland Farms project and publicly chided by Ricky, and you have a perfect evening. The architect had produced a wonderful village plan, but taken heat for doing so from the P & Z chair, because the town development plan was not complete and village plan was supposed to be done after. You know, the development plan needed for the land swap that the public is not trusted to see. So there this architect stood giving Joe a well deserved piece of his mind.

I piped up and said, "I don't understand how after two town votes to remove the chair he has just been voted back in against this ordinance, yet you have no place for this gentleman here on the P& Z."

Joe sputtered something about the ordinance not being legal and said that there was no spot open, and when there was he thought he needed another woman. I elbowed the architect and said something like, guess it's time to reconsider that sex change.

The architect said, "Oh, so it's all about gender balance?"

Joe shrugged.

I said, "I think there are too many women and old men on the P & Z."

Then Sean came up to yank me away as they were trying to close town hall.

At least before the meeting I had a nice visit with Sean's nephew and his family who showed up to vote. Even though they live in town, we don't get to see them nearly enough. Sean's nephew was stationed in Afghanistan for way too long. But he is back safe and sound now. Focus on the positive.

Boat Shmoat, We're Going to Paris - Part 3

Meanwhile at the company, I was working on initiatives with the president of clinical research, Dr. S, to streamline and shorten our drug development processes from first in man to marketing. Dr. S had created a group of his vice presidents to work on different strategic aspects of the processes. For example, one process was writing the final study report which actually can begin the day the protocol is final by slipping that content into the report to create a shell report. Then, key data could be entered as they became available and the draft would be updated. In the past, nothing would be done until the final data were available. I know, now all of you are bored. Anyhow it was pretty exciting for me, because it was very high profile to be working with all of these high level executives. I would be using the company helicopter and jet, and there is nothing to compare to rushing to and from executive airports with a vice president on his cell phone. Picture me in my best suit with short skirt, designer shoes, matching jewelry, striding about, feeling important. That’s me; the jetsetter. I had to travel to New Jersey once a week. I worked closely with a half a dozen vice presidents on high visibility projects and got along with all of them very well. It was like being high.

I also worked closely with the marketing folks who were all in New Jersey. The lead person there was Roslyn, an executive director. I just loved her. We worked together on streamlining the juncture between marketing and research. Through this project I really learned a lot about marketing. I wrote a script for a production that we put on that later took me to Singapore. Those marketing folks sure do know how to spend money.

Through all of this, I was still looking for my next career move. My annual review with Dr. S was coming up and I looking forward to hearing what he could do for me. But, unfortunately I was unprepared for what he told me.

After all the required niceties, he said, “Sue, I will never promote you or give you a raise, but I really appreciate your hard work.” He grinned ear to ear.

I was shell shocked as his words echoed in my ears. I smiled back, we shook hands and I left. I fell apart on the train ride back. How could he be so cold? I guess I was on my own. When I got back to my office I called Roslyn. She offered me a job, but I would have to move to New Jersey. I politely declined since I didn’t want to move there.

So, I started looking at the in-house job postings. Then I found the perfect one. It was for a senior manager of clinical initiatives in Europe and read: full knowledge of clinical initiatives required, willingness to travel across the EU, gets along well with all levels of management, reports to vice president of Europe. It would be at the next level higher, a small promotion. I was uberstoked! The vice president of Europe was Dr. A, who I knew and had worked with, and she was LOCATED IN PARIS! I was sure to get this job, I was perfect for it. I could not think of anyone else who could compete with me for it.

I had electronic copies of my resume ready for just such an occasion, so I completed the electronic application for the job, attached my resume and sent it all in thereby applying for the job in PARIS! Then I thought, holy shit! I haven’t asked Sean. What about the boat we just bought? Sean loves that thing. It is his dream come true. What if he says no? So, I worried about that all the way driving home.

The Nutcracker

Yesterday, Sean and I drove down to my twin sister Evie’s house so see my 13 year old niece perform in a local production of the Nutcracker. On our way out of town we saw Santa Claus rushing off to an engagement. No kidding. He drives a black Volvo station wagon, I’d say 90’s vintage. We also saw a half a dozen cars with Christmas trees tied to the roof on our side of the road only! It must be that time of year. When we got to her house, I rushed in to see her clivia and compare it to mine. I think mine is better. What do you think?

Anyway, we had a great lunch, just the four of us, Evie, her husband Adam, Sean and I, and then we had to rush off to the auditorium to get the best seats. We got great seats. We were in the reserved section for parents, balcony, first row, and my seat was on the aisle. Perfect! Of course, then we had to wait an hour for the ballet to begin. But, anxious stage mothers were saving whole rows and we would never have gotten those seats had we not gotten there when we did. So we chatted away happily to pass the time.

Then the lights dimmed and the performance began. Act I was mesmerizing and magical. It just sped by. I was entranced. Then there was an intermission. After that, Act II began. My niece was a crystal flower and on stage for most of the second act. The flowers enter in a garland dance on point with arms linked and this is extremely difficult.

A garland dance

But, it was done flawlessly. Of course, she was the best one (no bias here). She had to stand absolutely stock still for most of the performance, right in the middle of the stage to one side of the throne that Clara sits on, while another flower was on the other side. All of the other flowers lined the sides.

Anyhow, Act II is when the principals of the company get to show their stuff. Some of the dancers were really quite talented. One professional dancer was quite the leaper. We saw him on the street entering the auditorium and he just looked like any other guy. But wow. On the dance floor was another thing. This guy is a star.

After the performance, Evie and I, we had backstage passes since Evie is on the board of the dance company, went back stage to get my niece. The whole cast was back there with relatives and the energy was amazing. I met the head of the dance company and told him this was the best performance yet and he had outdone himself. The niece was understandably reluctant to leave and while we were standing there with her, the man who played the Nutcracker took her photo and gave her a hug. He had accidentally brushed her nose with his toe during a rehearsal one day. Evie knew him, she knew everybody, and introduced me as her twin. All evening people were giving us double take looks and asking if we were twins. At this point in my life I am so accustomed to it I don’t even mention it. I shook his hand and told him he was fabulous. It was really a thrill to meet and see the dancers up close.

After that, we all went out for sushi. It was a perfect end to the day.

Friday Fantasy - Puerto Rican Vacation

I was on vacation by myself in Puerto Rico, you know, looking for love in all the wrong places as usual. I had gotten a sunburn having fun on the beach all day snorkeling: it was heaven. I dried off with a towel, gathered my gear and walked back up the sand to my inexpensive hotel for a shower. No five star trips for me now, I was on a budget. This quickie trip was all I could afford. After my shower, my skin felt warm from the sunburn but did not hurt as I put a soothing balm on it. I just love the tropics. I put something soft and pretty on for dinner and went downstairs. I had a wonderful conch dinner and went to the bar. That is where I met this hustler. He was cute and full of smiles and very engaging at cheerful conversation. His name was Pedro. He kept telling me that he was playful and would I like to play with him? He said that he had the perfect toy. I kind of just looked at him with a “what?” expression, when he started reaching into his shorts to show me. I put my hand up to stop him and he just grinned.

I don’t know what came over me, but I was irretrievably intrigued by Pedro. He had to be okay, since he was allowed to hang out at the bar. But, I had no illusions that he was anything but a hustler and had “played” with many other guests. Maybe it was the booze, I didn’t care. Besides, I had plenty of condoms. I led him to my room. He quickly got naked and jumped on the bed. He looked up at me and smiled and said, “Are you ready to play with me?”

Doesn't he look delicious?

Bookfield, Blue Mountain - Part 1

I was thrilled to arrive at Syracuse Airport, but less than thrilled that the airline had lost my duffle bag. I went through the arrangements to get it back and when I found out that it was insured for $400, I was hoping I could just get the money. All of the clothes I had worn that summer were hopelessly worn out and therefore worthless.

The Syracuse Greyhound Bus Station

All the way back to Cayuga, which was about 35 miles west of Syracuse, by Greyhound bus I was thinking of just exactly how much time there was in a day, since I was accustomed to working an 80 hour week. Now I had all of that time just for myself.

I was rooming in a suite for four with three friends I had made last year. Our dorm was the top floor of a ten story new buildings called the twin towers. The view was really wonderful: hills, fields, cows, apple trees, and a little bit of small town Cayuga. I had to borrow underwear from one of my roomies who was my size 4 until the airline found my bag that had mistakenly gone to Salt Lake City, Utah. I offered to retrieve it myself, but the airline person laughed it off and the duffel was returned to me at my dorm the next day. It was so good to be home.

I had signed up for a weekend trip to the SUNY Cayuga’s Pine Tree Lake Research Facility in the Adirondacks before the semester began. We took a chartered bus there one Friday and checked into dorms. The dorms were long narrow two story log cabin type buildings with double occupancy rooms. That evening we all met at the Pine Boughs, a three story post and beam wooden structure first built in 1887, to discuss the itinerary. The next day there would be a canoe trip to Blue Mountain, which we would then climb and then canoe back. That evening, we would take a cedar sauna and a dip in the lake. Great plan!

The lodge we met at.

Ooh Child by The Five Stair Steps - Music to Soothe the Soul

When this song came out in 1970 I was 14 and in turmoil over my parents' divorce. I listened to it from my small transitor radio as I sat in my sycamore tree with no one to comfort me and tears poured from my eyes. I found comfort in this song.

For those of you who find this time of year difficult, for whatever reason, be it the shortness of the days, or that you cannot be with loved ones, or that you have lost a loved one, or that you are ill and/or in pain, or short on funds, I hope you find comfort in this song as I did long ago.

Ooh-oo child
Things are gonna get easier
Ooh-oo child
Things'll get brighter
Ooh-oo child
Things are gonna get easier
Ooh-oo child
Things'll get brighter

Some day, yeah
We'll get it together and we'll get it all done
Some day
When your head is much lighter
Some day, yeah
We'll walk in the rays of a beautiful sun
Some day
When the world is much brighter

Ooh-oo child
Things are gonna be easier
Ooh-oo child
Things'll get be brighter
Ooh-oo child
Things are gonna be easier
Ooh-oo child
Things'll get be brighter

Some day, yeah
We'll get it together and we'll get it all done
Some day
When your head is much lighter
Some day, yeah
We'll walk in the rays of a beautiful sun
Some day
When the world is much brighter

Some day, yeah
We'll get it together and we'll get it all done
Some day
When your head is much lighter
Some day, yeah
We'll walk in the rays of a beautiful sun
Some day
When the world is much brighter

Ooh-oo child
Things are gonna get easier
Ooh-oo child
Things'll get brighter
Ooh-oo child
Things are gonna get easier
Ooh-oo child
Things'll get brighter
Right now, right now

You can listen to it here.

Boat Shmoat, We're Going to Paris - Part 2

Sean and I were so excited to own our first power boat. We transferred the mooring to our ownership so that we wouldn’t have to move her to another marina and Frank told us that he also had a mooring in a nearby cove and we could leave that paperwork just as it was since there was no charge. We contacted our insurance company and they sent someone out to assess her value. She was assessed at over twice what we paid for her, which just shows what a reasonable deal Frank’s offer was. So we had her insured as a second residence and thus she added to our equity. We registered her as soon as we could.

Next, we had to deal with piloting her. Sean had piloted many single engine boats, but never a twin. With two engines, you have two keys, two gears, and two throttles. So, the boat can be maneuvered in countless combinations of ways that can take many moons to master. Also, she is a good size and her response time is naturally slower than a smaller vessel meaning that you need to plan in advance what you are going to do. I was hopelessly intimidated and to this day have only driven her on open water with plenty of room. But Sean is very courageous. No machine shall defeat him is the attitude he takes. He purchased a computer program designed to train him to pilot a twin engine boat, took our state’s safe power boating course (classroom only) and thereby earned a state license for boating. The first couple of times out, he drove her off the mooring and out of the marina, down river to the nearby cove where we inherited a mooring and then we moored there. No problem.

The cruise down was quite beautiful with the fall leaves in full color and many places where there are no houses in sight. It is easy to imagine that you are back in time to when only early natives were around. If it was very cold Summer Camp can be piloted from inside the glassed in saloon. We even put a space heater in there. Or, she can be piloted from the fly bridge. She was an absolute delight!

The one time he had trouble with her was when he tried to pull her into a docking slip at the marina. There was quite a current and some wind and he just couldn’t get the turn right without the boat being dragged too close to the shallow water or the other boats. Our safety wire got hung up on another boat’s anchor that was sticking out beyond her bow and broke and one metal stanchion got bent at the base, but there was no damage to the other boat (You can see it’s missing and the bent stanchion in the photo below). I freaked out, of course. We had to ask someone to help us bring the boat in, but Sean watched what the guy did and said that it helped for him to watch. It must have, because he never had a problem again.

Me sitting on Summer Camp on another beautiful fall day.
Click to enlarge to full screen

We began to have parties on her. We’d invite friends, who would bring wine, and we would provide cheese and crackers and we would enjoy these as we cruised up and down the river or as we were moored. Little kids loved the boat, especially in summer when they could swim off of her in the cove. I kind of liked that too. Sean would let friends pilot the boat while under his supervision. She really was a Summer Camp. She made the summer fun and we just loved her.

The most beautiful time of year to have a boat in the water begins after Labor Day, when everybody pulls their boats out. Boat traffic declines dramatically and the leaves change color. That year we left her in the water until after Thanksgiving. Then reluctantly we had her pulled out. It was a sad day for us to say a fond farewell to boating for the season.

Fair View Welcomes Two New Aussie Links!

The first new link is SHANEY who authors Gay Flavors. Let me introduce him. This is Shaney:

He's a cutie, don't you think? Such pretty eyes.

And this is his beloved tabby, Sheekah, who is his life companion:










In my book, any body who adores a cat as much as Shaney does has got to be an alright guy.



Everybody say, "Hi!"

Join them on their journey to find the meaning of life and a love for Shaney.

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The second link is DAVE's blog Speedo Guy. Dave has not to my knowledge ever posted a photo of himself, but he has posted one who looks like a guy he rooms with when he is in Canada skiing:

I must admit that I licked my screen when I first saw this image.

Dave stays very active physically and travels lots. He is also a clever guy and has designed his perfect speedo. They are white and sheer (of course) and can be ordered all over his site. Adults only please.

Friday Fantasy - Manhunt

Remember Manhunt: The Search for America’s Most Gorgeous Male Model? That show helped me find my man lust.

Just oozing attitude

The doe eyed ingénue

Making a splash

Hot hot hot

Lose the skirt

Lose the skirt

Remeber the show? If you don't walk down memory lane here. Tell me your winner. I told you mine.