Saturday, July 14, 2012

Friday the 13th

Does Friday the 13th have some kind of a carryover effect on cars and humans?
This past weekend:
1. Two friends' car batteries died (one was well overdue, the other wasn't).
2. A light on my dashboard came on, alerting me that my oil had only 15% of its life left.
3. A stone chipped a friend's windshield while she was on her way to a family reunion ... and then she hit a pothole and wrecked a tire.
4. A local trainer came off her horse and broke her right hand. 
5. Two friends got stung by bees. One of them had a bad and first-time-ever allergic reaction, but fortunately she was at a party with doctors, vets and nurses.
6. The latter bee-sting victim also got stepped on by her horse. "But I still managed to ride," she said.

Fate

I was torn today when I woke and heard the usually welcome noise of rain on the roof. On the one hand, it is so needed for the corn and other crops and for everyone's gardens and lawns.
On the other hand, why oh why did it have to happen on a Saturday when I was helping to run an event for 100 people from out of town, and for which I had argued strongly that no, we won't need to rent a tent?
Actually it all worked out for the best. We moved the morning portion of the proceedings indoors, and although it was a tad crowded a real sense of camaraderie developed. And by lunchtime the rain had lifted, though it was still overcast, and we could have lunch outdoors as planned. (By the way: Triple Fresh in Ercildoun does some awesome catering!)

Friday, July 13, 2012

Job description

I am deeply honored to serve on the board of a local historical group, but sometimes my duties go well beyond the four-meetings-a-year that I was promised would be all board membership would entail.
Yesterday the board president (who recruited me) and I loaded up cut tree branches from around the nonprofit's property and dumped them in the woods. I was standing there behind her pickup, sweating, impaled by rose thorns, tugging with all my strength-training might to try to dislodge the branches from the truck bed as my colleague pushed.
They weren't budging.
We paused. We both uttered the same oath.
I looked up at her.
"Four meetings a year, huh," I said.
She roared with laughter.
"Yeah, that's what we tell everybody!"

Along the way

Midsummer is a peculiar time for roadside flora. There's still a whiff of honeysuckle, but the multiflora rose, once so pungent, has been reduced to desiccated rose hips and the leaves look raggedy. The cow parsley, once so green and lush, is fried and brown. Dust kicked up from the road onto the verge has clotted onto cobwebs and powdered over the sheen of poison ivy leaves. The wineberries are especially plentiful this year.
If you get a chance, teach a kid how to make a shooter out of a plantain stalk. The Young Relative mastered this on maybe his second try, making me his target (per usual).
On my walk last night I spotted a harbinger of the next season: bittersweet berries, still green and tight. In a few months they'll be a brilliant red, with yellow hulls and brown pliable stems, perfect for fashioning into an autumnal wreath.

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Reading Phillies

Two friends of mine went to a Reading Phillies game the other night and couldn't stop raving about what a great time they had. In addition to the baseball game itself, there was plentiful entertainment, including guys dressed up as vegetables having a foot race and an excellent, loud, half-hour fireworks display after the game, topped off with a very good rock band, Burning House.
"All this for nine dollars!" my friend exclaimed in disbelief.

Let's twist again

The Fallowfield Historical Society is holding a craft festival from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, July 28, to commemorate the 135th anniversary of the deadly Great Tornado that hit the village of Ercildoun on July 1, 1877.
"In keeping with the tornado theme, there will be a twist contest held at 2 p.m., with a cash prize to the winning couple," says the press release for the event. Other entertainment with include a DJ and a performance by the Coatesville Cultural Society, and Triple Fresh will be selling BBQ chicken.

The village of Ercildoun is on Route 82 at Buck Run Road in East Fallowfield Township. Rain date is Sunday, July 29.
You can find a fascinating and extraordinarily detailed account of the storm's path online.
The tornado, which started in Lancaster County on that hot Sunday afternoon back in 1877, traveled 22 miles through Sadsbury, Highland, East Fallowfield and West Bradford, wreaking a path of destruction 150 to 300 yards wide. Mary Hopkins of East Fallowfield was crushed to death when her house was overturned. Jacob Eisenberger was picked up by the tornado as he was walking along Strasburg Road. It carried him 200 yards and dropped him in a field; he suffered a broken jaw, a fractured shoulder blade and other injuries. Another man, Samuel Jackson of Parkesburg, was also badly hurt when he was hit by a door, breaking several ribs. Horses, cows and chickens were killed.
The tornado destroyed the Ercildoun Academy, razed or damaged several houses and barns, uprooted trees, ruined crops, tore apart railroad rails and dislodged a railroad bridge; property damage was estimated at $36,000. The storm was so violent that it was the subject of a lecture at the French Academy of Sciences the following year.

Planning

Do you remember the scene in "The Day of the Jackal" when The Jackal is at a fork in the road, assessing how much the police have learned about his deadly plans and whether he needs to tweak his strategy posthaste? He makes a quick decision, raises the roof of his convertible and speeds off over the mountains.
I feel that way sometimes at the end of my driveway. Left or right? There's a gym, a grocery store, and a Starbucks to either the left or the right, pretty much equidistant. The post office is to the left. My family is to the left, my most-visited friends to the right. I try to map out the most efficient errands strategy, though blackmail-minded forgers and libidinous aristocrats aren't usually on my agenda.

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

See ya, seafood

The Kennett branch of Hill's Seafood has shut its doors. It's moving to a new store in Brinton Lake, set to open July 16. When I drove by the old store on July 10, workers were removing the fixtures. I don't know what the next incarnation of the former Boston Market will be.
And in Jennersville, Sweet Peas, the florist, just moved around the corner into the former Mr. Mulch building on Route 796. The former Sweet Peas building now houses a clothing consignment shop called Dressy Deal.

RIP

A reader just passed this horrible news along to me:
Sarah Libby Greenhalgh, a steeplechase racing writer and photographer for the "Horse of Delaware Valley" and a reporter for the "Winchester (Va.) Star," died in a fire in her home Monday, July 9, near Upperville, Va. The fire is still under investigation by the Fauquier Sheriff’s Department; they are considering it a possible homicide.
I have been reading her stories for years and am in shock.

Monday, July 9, 2012

Mail call

A gym friend of mine from West Grove was thrilled and relieved to receive a letter from her son, who just started Army basic training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina.
He said he's meeting nice people from all over the country, he finds the mental rigor harder than the physical challenges so far, and he misses his family. He also said he has two nice drill sergeants.
"I was like, WHAT?!" said my friend. "They must have been standing over him making him write that."
I looked at Fort Jackson's website to learn about the lad's experiences, and the person who wrote the copy clearly is a master of understatement: "The Army trains for about 12-14 hours a day, Monday through Saturday. We try to avoid too much sitting in a classroom...but it does happen. We also spend a little bit of time outside; getting some fresh air and, when the opportunity presents itself, a little exercise."

911 funding

The West Marlborough supervisors have gone on record as agreeing with other local municipalities that any additional funds needed to operate the county's 911 emergency system should be collected by the county, not individual townships.
At the July 3 meeting, Bill Wylie, who heads the township board of supervisors, said they would write a letter to the county commissioners "that lets them know townships don't have extra cash floating around these days" and that the supervisors believe the $5-per-resident fee would be "more efficiently collected at the county level."
Township resident Bernie Langer emphasized to the board how important the 911 system is and urged that it be supported by whatever means necessary. He said he spoke from personal experience: he recently used the emergency system to summon an ambulance, and without their prompt response, "you'd have one monkey off your back."