Cabin Fever Get-Together

a nice winter tepee somewhere...

obviously not one of ours!

I'd have to say the highlight of my February vacation week was meeting up with everyone at the Inn on Thursday night!

So instead of, "Oh, guess who we ran into last night at the Inn..." and going there cold and not running into anyone, I did send out email invites to some local camp folks. We've all shared some good history together, inevitably life and all of our choices as we've gotten older has caused us to drift a part some. So, given no winter tepee to hang out in around the campfire as in the days of old ... February cabin-fever seemed the perfect time to break out of our cocoons and share a few stories and laughs!

Thanks for coming out everyone!

Rumor has it we'll be doing it again soon sometime!
Another rumor has it that we're going to be on the cover, or at least photographed, for the April edition of Boston Magazine, who was there that night to cover "Pub-life" at the Inn in their "Restaurant Haunts" section...HA!! Funny, after all the time and dollars we've spent down there over the many years...we go "away" for almost a year, come back for that one night, and Boston Magazine is there shooting (I mean specifically us?!..."Could you just continue what you're doing, drinking that beer, laughing and telling stories, acting natural...while I stick this camera in your face and shoot about 700 pictures?!")

The drinking beer, telling stories and laughing was natural...the camera in our faces was not!!

In the end they'll probably use a picture of the fireplace!

It was a nice get-together everyone...thanks!!

And, as always, thanks for tunes, Fitz!
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BTW, does anyone have any Survival pix...or AOE for that matter? I know I don't...all those years of my life not recorded in photos.....hmmmm, that could be a good thing, actually!
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...this is all of us after winter camping for 4 days...check out the campfire, little sleep smiles!
...this is Patte after a swamp walk with 20 kids...check out the happy, muddy smiles!
...this is Ace after "Late Night Duty"...ka-boom! phew! got-out-alive smile!
...this is Charlie stepping into the morning tepee no whistles...check out the smile
...this is Jen leading "The Princess Pat" song...check out the Dining Room full of smiles
...this is Harv heading down the "Goat Path"...check out the smiles
...this is Nancy Mac after a run down the camp road...satisfied smile
...this is Myk sharing the Wisdom of the Universe with us all...ah, the smiles of the Universe
...this is John and Michael playing guitar around the campfire...nodding campfire smiles
...this is Ken making Zoomers the Golden Griddle Treat....all smiles and laughs
...this is Wally leading a Star Show...heads up enjoying the show smiles
...this is Karen with her shorts inside out...check out the smiles
...this is Larry with his darter's Fait Accompli smile
...this is Marianne making announcements with Jackson in a backpack on her back..."Look at me, I'm as helpless as a kitten up a tree..." smile
...this is Jimmy Mac dressed up and doing the Funk-Down....look at all the smiles
...this is me swarmed with blackflies..."One blackfly, two blackfly..." black flies in my teeth smile

...this is Henry leading a square dance in the Dining Hall..."Rebel Yell!" loud smiles
...this is Mary making her Loon call faking out Nan H....check out the laughs
...this is Frenchie chasing and hooting with owls in the woods...RIP Frenchie...sad smiles
...this is Don, smiling at Frenchie's stories at Survival... RIP Don...sad smiles


...I'm enjoying all these pictures that are floating through my mind now...who needs the real ones!!


: )

R. Crumb Exhibit

Mass College of Art

Stephen D. Paine Gallery

'til March 7, 2009

Janis Joplin

A nice (and free) take to help break up the mid-winter cabin fever...

About 100 pieces on display of R. Crumb's somewhat irreverant, warped and twisted humor of work from the 1960's through to 1996. The exhibit includes a short film made in 1970 of he and his friends at work hand-assembling an issue of ZAP Comix.

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You'll recognize and remember - Fritz the Cat, Mr. Natural, Crumb's mini-skirted big-thighed women, Janis Joplin album cover...and lots more! Some fun stuff that brings you back to the day...if you were around in the warped era of the dawning of the Age of Aquarius!

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Great comment by friend Mary who we joined for the show -

"So, it made me realize that these early comic geeks, were the fore-runners of "Dungeon and Dragons" geeks, who were the forerunners of today's computer game geeks. I guess these kind of people are always around doing these geeky things!"

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Of course, R. Crumb's "geeky" things are laced with warped realities, bad LSD trips, pot-smoking, and rather vivid carnal views of life! And, showed America a "new view" of what a comic book could be...move over Captain Marvel and fellow super-heroes!

(*and absolutely no offense to any kind of geeks out there!)

R. Crumb spool characters done (front and backsides) in pen and ink with some color...very fun!

Born Again American

Sharing the Day!

Ellen DeGeneres

1/26/58Lucinda Williams
1/26/53

The Season...

And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow,
stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so?

It came without ribbons.
It came without tags.
It came without packages, boxes or bags.

And he puzzled and puzzled
’till his puzzler was sore.
Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before.

What if Christmas, he thought, doesn’t come from a store?
What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more?

* Dr. Seuss From “The Grinch Who Stole Christmas”

Gotta love Dr. Seuss for covering just about every

important topic there is in Life...
and, saying it just so!

Enjoy the Season!

'Tis the Season

Mid-December is here and we're into the holiday season.

Here in New England we had a major ice storm 5 nights ago that nailed more than a few towns around the area. We were fortunate in that all we got here was rain....but a mere 15 minutes away at our friends little place, "The Teapot Cafe" .... ice storm, trees down, no electricity...still...5 days later....right before the holiday season. (Dang! We were hoping to sell lots of gift shop goodies!!)

Lots of people still without electricity...living in the school gymnasiums; or maybe their own home...just no electricity, heat, cooking, showers, etc. That's gotta be tough.

But, I've never shared this one with you. My sister lives in Texas, outside of Galveston Bay area which got hit, big time, by a hurricane back in early September. She's lived there for over 30 years now, and yes, she's been hit with some hurricanes during that time, but apparently nothing like this past one....Hurricane Ike.

Knowing how to live in "hurricane country" for years now, sister Jo knows when these severe weather warnings come just how to elevate certain pieces of furniture; pack and store other household items; and, when the weather reports indicate that her area is up for a "Big One!" she's learned how to quickly pack-and-go.

And, that's just what happened during those early September days when the annual hurricane report was issued.....she packed and stored everything up high and away just before she fled the town for more inland areas at her son's home outside of Houston.

Well, Ike hit, and the days past...and continue to pass...the Galveston Bay area got wiped out during that storm...and, Joey, who lives inland from that area by quite a ways, hasn't been able to return to her house since then. Four feet of water...and, all the damage that that incurred...it took almost 2 months for someone to come by and declare her place "totalled." And, that's where she learned that having a "totalled house" takes a whole lot longer to take care of than other. Right from the start she's filed her living situation with FEMA, but every step along the way seems to take an extremely long chunk of time.

Apparently, over 400 households of people in her town have just up and moved out due to the ravages of this storm.

Joey is fortunate that she lived across the street from some folks who she didn't really know at all, but have a small over-the-garage apartment, and after spending almost 2 weeks at her son's place outside of Houston (which didn't have electricity during that time either!)...she moved into her neighbor's apartment.

We talk about once a week...and, as my every day life goes on and I hear of the assorted hardships due to ice storms or mundane life problems going on in people around me, I always have in the front of my mind what my sister must be going through....

that's gotta be tough.....

We've all had a snowstorm where we got socked in for a day or two.... but, at this point, she's looking at 3 months of not living in her own "home sweet home"....having to deal with FEMA regarding rebuilding it...and, realizing that she doesn't make much/any money back on her 30-plus year property ownership, if she doesn't put the money into rebuilding!

So, now she's dealing with architects and contractors to see if they can rebuild her place...and, hopefully make it "hurricane-proof" for a price that she hopes she can afford on her recently earned retirement pension.

Take a deep breath and as you let it out realize that your life is okay....perhaps even better than a whole lot of people. Be grateful for the roof over your head and the loving people in your life.

'Tis the season.....

Wisdom - Andrew Zuckerman

"Inspired by the idea that one of the greatest gifts one generation can pass to another is the wisdom it has gained from its experience, The Wisdom Project, produced in cooperation with Archbishop Desmond Tutu, seeks to create a record of a multicultural group of people who have all made their mark on the world. Presented against the same white space, all of the subjects are removed from their context, which not only democratizes them, but also allows for a clear dialogue to exist between them. In an attempt to create a more profound, honest and truly revealing portrait of these luminaries, the project encompasses their voices, their physcial presence and the written word. This comprehensive portrayel of such a profound and global group is an index of extraordinary perspectives."