"Snowshoeing"  

   After we got back to their house and got out of all that snow gear, we made a nice snack and watched this great animated movie called "The Triplets of Belleville" (at right) together. It's about a trio of singing sisters, la Tour de France, intrigue, and motherly devotion among other things. And with great music, too! I've  seen it a few times already. My favorite character is the dog. Although I like the part the train plays in the movie a lot, too.

 Sunday, January 4, 2009

  "Local Clan Gathering"  

   For about a week, a few of my family members that live close by have been madly planning a little local family gathering at my nephew Mike's place in Williamsburg MA. Supposedly it was a Christmas gathering, so we planned a family potluck with a Yankee Swap.
   In recent years when we hosted a family Christmas gathering, there were at least 18-22 people there. This time we had 7: Nancy & I, my nephew Ken and his other half Alia, Mike and his two kids Kyah and Reilley (hope I spelled that right). Granted, the other years we actually planned it for right near Christmas — like the day before or the day after — not all the way into the next week, the next month, the next year! And other years, we planned it well ahead of time, too, but this year I think we started emailing about this just six or seven days ago. 
   But you know what? It was a great little local clan gathering! In fact, we all liked it so much that we're talking about doing it monthly! I'd really like that. Sometime months go by and we don't see each other even though we live less then half an hour from each other. So this is a really good idea. Plus, I know if we do it regularly, more family will show up more often. YAY!
   The potluck was yummy, the company was good family, and unlike most Yankee Swaps where at least one person (and sometimes several) get stuck with a gift they don't want or can't use, this time everyone ended up with the best gift they could have gotten from all the choices available! Wow! That doesn't happen very often.
   I got a set of three prints of Ken's photos with a nice wooden frame that I can rotate them through. The one in the frame right now is a gorgeous Fall view from their homestead in Ashfield MA. The other two are a very awesome vivid orange-colored red eft (above) and a terrific shot of a great blue heron. I'm really liking this gift. Thanks Ken... and Alia, too!  

   I had a lot of fun with my great niece Shirley Positive... I mean, Kyah... while we were there! Above is a picture of Shirley & me goofing around on the couch. She looks Positive, doesn't she?
   Our birthdays are both at the end of March, so when I ask her how old she is and she says, "Almost 10," I know she's really pushing it because that's three months away and that's a quarter of a year, okay? *Tch* "Almost," indeed. Hmph. It's tough for me to think of having 25% left to go as "almost there". Ah, youth! They all want to be older while those who are old would like to be younger.
   She and I had FUN together most of the afternoon. We sat next to each other at lunch, messed around a lot not picking numbers for the Yankee Swap, goofed around on the couch for a long time after lunch, then sat together there again during the actual Yankee Swap, and then we played a few games of dominoes together with her dad and aunts and uncle before it was time to go.
   So a special thanks to everyone who was there! It was great seeing you all and I'm looking forward to seeing you again real soon. 

 Tuesday, January 6, 2009

   "I Love Role Reversal!" 

   There's something about role reversal that I really love... you know: seeing the dad pushing the stroller while the mom reads the New York Times financial section. I just love that! So today I'm walking into the hardware store and this bull dyke walks in ahead of me. (I can say "bull dyke" because this was in Northampton MA — you know: Lesboville USA — and that's how this kind of lesbian actually refer to themselves. It's okay. Really.) Anyways, this bull dyke wearing coveralls, a carpenter's tool belt, work boots, and a crew cut holds the door open for me, the long-haired hippy man with bare feet inside my non-leather snow boots. I thank her graciously, and we both go about our business. When we get back to the checkout counter, it gets even better: she's buying a hammer and a box of nails, and I'm buying kitchen sponges and a bottle brush. Ya-hoo! Now that's role reversal at it's finest. I love it!

 Friday, January 9, 2009

  "Jennifer Myszkowski Rocks!!!"   

   My lovely wife and I both have meetings in Boston this weekend — mine on Saturday and her's on Sunday — so we decided to go together and spend the weekend there with each other, attend each other's meetings, and enjoy Beantown together. Nancy's fairy godmother Joan owns two condo's across the hall from each other in Cambridge near Porter Square. She lives in one and uses the other as a "guest house", so we have a free place to stay that's really really convenient to pretty much everything: we can walk to the grocery store, the church, Harvard Square, and the T station (so we can get anywhere). It's really great! We're so grateful to Joan for letting us use it.
   But this entry is not titled "Joan Hutchinson Rocks!!!", it's titled "Jennifer Myszkowski Rocks!!!" so let's get on with it already!
   So, we packed my truck and drove east right after lunch today, got there just fine, found a parking spot just a few doors down from the apartment (oh joy of joys!), lugged our stuff up the four flights of stairs (oh the panting and wheezing!), had a nice quiet dinner together, and then went uptown to the Comedy Studio in Harvard Square where our friend and award-winning comedian Jennifer Myszkowski is currently the Comic in Residence. That means she opens of the show five nights a week for the entire month!
   Now, we are huge Jennifer Myszkowksi fans. She's been hosting a monthly Open Comedy Mike back home in the Happy Valley of Western MA that we've been attending for well over a decade. So we know all her jokes; we hear her new stuff; we are eager guinea pigs for her to test new material on; and we love her as a personal friend, too. And on top of all that, she's wicked funny!  
   And tonight was no exception. We're used to her hosting — which means she's on stage a lot and can talk as much as she wants. But tonight there were nine comedians on the docket, so it was cool to see Jennifer do a fairly short and very tight set to open the show. She knocked the audience upside the head several times in her brief appearance on stage with her excellent timing, level-headed stage presence, and unflappable aplomb. She is such a professional.
   She chose some of her best jokes (which is always a good idea) and even seamlessly updated one to include recent events in the subject of the joke's life (he died). It was hilarious.
   All the other comedians were also very funny... but we still like Jennifer the best. Check out a video of one of her sets at the Comedy Studio on her blog entry for January 9, 2009 and we think you'll agree with us that Jennifer Myszkowksi Rocks!!! 

 Saturday, January 10, 2009

   "Awesome Lunch Makes Mid-Winter FNCA Meeting So Worth It!" 

   Since the early 70's, I've been on the Board of Director's of my church's summer family camp — the Fryburg New Church Assembly. Each year, we have a mid-winter meeting to plan camp. It's pretty straight forward, standard stuff. We're pretty good at it by now, so it's kind of run of the mill. If there's nothing controversial (which is most of the time), it can be down-right boring in it's attention to mundane detail. I know, I know... it's necessary. Just remember: we're all volunteers here.
   So, a few years back, we elected a new treasurer to the BoD: Bob Perry. Bob is not only a very attentive treasurer, but he also owns the three Elephant Walk restaurants in the Boston area. For those of you don't know, the Elephant Walk serves Cambodian/French cuisine that is just plain awesome! So, since Bob got elected, he's hosted our mid-winter meeting at one of his restaurants and provided lunch at no cost to us or the camp. So here's a big THANK YOU, BOB! His simple act of generosity has elevated our meetings from the basement into an upper room. (That's an oh so appropriate Biblical reference there).
   And then, that evening at Joan's apartment, we had a little potluck attended by my son Jason and his girlfriend Kelly (who live right there in Cambridge) and one of Nancy's old college chums. It was a fun little gathering and it was great to see my son again.

 Sunday, January 11, 2009

   "Snow Wimps"  

   Both the church services at the Cambridge New Jerusalem Church (aka Swedenborg Chapel) and the monthly meeting of the MA Association of New Jerusalem Churches executive committee (Nancy's meeting) got cancelled today because certain people who shall remain nameless (because I don't know their names!) are a bunch of wimps! It snowed several inches in Boston last night, but by morning the storm was over and both the streets and the sidewalks were pretty clear. I spent most of 45 minutes clearing the snow off my vehicle and getting it out of my snowplowed-in parking space, but when we drove to the church (on mostly black roads and getting there in plenty of time) the only other person there was the guy shoveling the parking lot! They had cancelled both church and the meeting because they are a bunch of snow wimps! It wasn't snowing. All the roads were plowed. Even the sidewalks were clear. We got there just fine and so did the guy shoveling the parking area. What a bunch of wimps.

 Monday, January 12, 2009

  "A Great Bunch of Guys"  

   This morning, I got up and drove to the co-housing in North Amherst for the regular monthly meeting of the Hats Off Performers Guild. What a great bunch of guys! Tim Van Egmond (pictured at left) facilitated, Henry Lappen shared some showcase info with us, Rob Rivest lead some movement and improv exercises,  Rob Peck practiced a few re-writes of a piece he's been working on; and I drank a lot of water and rubbed my sore shoulder a lot. We missed our other two members who weren't there because they were working somewhere this morning. (Yay for them!) With seven full-time entertainers, it's not at all unusual for someone to have a gig on our regular meeting date. That's the entertainment business! 

 Tuesday, January 13, 2009

  "This Site Now Including Video! YAY!"  

Thanks, Jason! You da man!

   A second great thing about this waterfall is that right next to it (and I mean, right next to it!) there's another awesome waterfall called Flume Cascade that's nearly as spectacular as this one!

   FRIENDS: And then, as M&J were leaving, they met our good friends Don & Barbara in the driveway arriving. Don & Barbara were expected. We had made tentative plans with them the night before to visit them today and do some snowshoeing together again, but we ended up not being able to change an appointment, so — good friends that they are — D&B decided that if we couldn't go up there that they would come down here. Yahoo!

   We didn't actually make it as far as the lake today. The parking lot had more cars in it than we've ever seen, so instead of walking the main trail all the way in to the lake as we usually do, we picked a tiny unused side trail (pictured right) and plunged into the woods. It was really nice to snowshoe on virgin snow with no people around. We had a great walk before we got to a small creek we decided not to cross. 

   As Barack Obama's swearing in ceremonies as the 44th president of "these United States" was beginning in Washington DC this morning, I was doing the first half of a wonderful double header at All About Children day care in Easthampton MA, entertaining a bunch of grinning, giggling, laughing pre-schoolers. What a wonderful group of children. Seeing all those happy faces smiling up at me is just plain good for my soul. It gets to the core of my being every single time. This particular group of kids seem particularly happy even before I got there... which says a lot for the center's director and staff. (Note: the photo at left is an imposter. It was not taken at All About Children. It's just there to demonstrate the idea of happy kids! I'm hoping to get some real photos from All About Children to put here instead.) 
   All About Children director Karen Malo has booked me before. This is not the first time she's responded to one of my Winter Special offers: "50% Off This Month to Pioneer Valley Day Cares!" This year, however, she called the day after I sent out the offer and booked me for a kids show and a cooperative play staff development training for her staff on the same day. It was great!  
   When I got home after my morning show, my lovely wife was watching the inauguration ceremonies on her laptop. We were expecting another potential housemate in just a few minutes, but I had a phone message from her saying she was down the street at River Valley Market watching the ceremonies and wondered if it was okay to come after they were over? I called her back immediately, but she was already on her way. When she got here, the three of us all watched the rest of this momentous event together before I showed her the rooms and Nancy did the interview.
   Later in the afternoon Nancy & I walked in to Fitzgerald Lake and back. It's our favorite local walk. We've done this walk as many as three or four times a weeks sometimes.  
  After that, I did some prep work for the second half of today's double header, because this evening I drove back to All About Children day care in Easthampton MA and lead a staff development training called Indoor Cooperative Games for Younger Children with about a dozen providers plus one parent that was "auditing" the course!
   Like the children at this day care center, the staff also seems quite happy... which says a lot for the  Karen Malo's directorial skills. The staff at All About Children are an enthusiastic group of professionals who are obviously quite eager to learn new skills that will enhance the children's experiences while in their care. This group willingly and eagerly participated in all the activities I lead them through, and listened attentively and, yes, eagerly, to all the information I shared. It was quite refreshing to work with a group of people who all care passionately about their work. (Note: The day care staff photo at left is also an imposter.) 
  So much thanks to Karen Malo and Barack Obama for making today a top-notch day!





 Saturday, January 24, 2009

  "One Problem With Doing the Same Show Over and Over Again"  

   For a final time this winter, I was at The Grand Summit Hotel at Mt Snow today. I did two shows: one at 4:00 and another at 7:00. Now, I've been performing 3-7 times a year at the Grand Summit Hotel at Mt Snow since 1999. It's a wonderful place to perform with appreciative audiences, terrific facilities, and an awesome staff. It's one of my all-time favorite place to perform.
   However, I'm one of those "sameness people" who tends to enjoy doing the same kinds of things over and over again because, well, I like them. In the case of my shows, a lot of the time I'm doing variations on the same two shows over and over and over again: one for kids and another for adults.   
  All the time,  however, I'm working to improve my shows, so the more I perform them the better they get. As time goes on, they get better and better and better. I've been doing this particular show since my very first "stage show" performances at the Buckland-Shelburne Elementary School in Shelburne Falls MA in 1989. So this show is good! Plus, it holds up well under repeated viewing, that is, people usually enjoy it just as much the second, third, or even fourth time around as they did the very first time. That really is important in keeping the entertainment value high. 
   My kids show, of course, has lots of variations (depending almost totally on the crowd, by the way), but the basic parts are always there, there's some lines that I always say, there's some jokes that make it into every show. It's because they work. They get the right response every time. They entertain the crowd. I like them and so does the audience.
   So at my afternoon show, there's this little girl like maybe 7 years old sitting right down front. Her family has been coming there regularly since before she was born. And I've been performing there even longer. So she's seen my show lots of times. She starts responding to all my standard requests to the audience before I finish the sentence! She's giving the correct answers every time to questions the audience isn't supposed to know yet. She's even saying my jokes out loud before I do! And she's doing it loud enough for everyone to hear. Basically, she's seen the show so many times that she's got my entire schtick memorized and is ruining every joke, destroying every punch line, giving away all my tricks, revealing every surprise way too early, and seriously messing up the tempo and timing of all my patter! All cheerfully with a big genuinely happy grin on her face. (This girl is having way too much FUN!) 
   So I ask her politely several times not to tell my jokes before I do because it is, after all, my show ya know. So she stops doing that but keeps on doing all the other prescient things. After a while, it starts to wear on both me and the audience, so I start pulling lines out of my Heckler File. These are one-liners designed to stop people who keep interrupting the show, yet still allow them to save face and have FUN during the rest of the show.
   All the lines I try get laughs from the audience — who knew exactly what was going on because I told them! But much to my amazement (I amaze myself sometimes), the one that finally worked was: "You got all the words right, girl, but you're timing just plain stinks!" The adults in the audience actually applauded! I then quoted the famous Steve Martin (pictured right) line about how good comedy "is all in the ti-ming." That got a good laugh, too. And she didn't say another word out of place the remainder of the performance! Phew!
   Oh. And she still had a great time the rest of the show, too!
   And that's just one of the problems we entertainers have to face in our profession, as well as one of the problems we "sameness people" just have to learn to deal with! But you know what? Because of this experience, I've pinpointed another line that works. (!!) And that means that the next time it's needed, it will probably come out way earlier! And thus that is just one of the many ways my shows just keep getting better and better and better the more I perform them.
   Besides that, there's so much variety in the details of this show, that they really don't seem exactly the same every time anyways...       so there! 
   Here's a big THANK YOU to the Grand Summit Hotel at Mt Snow for providing the staging (pun intented) that allows for this unique opportunity for an increase in excellence! YAY!!
 
 
 

 Monday, January 26, 2009

  "25 Random Things About Me"  

   My wife's cousin Becca suggested to her Facebook friends that they all write about this. I'm not on Facebook, but I'm doing this anyways because it's FUN! Thanks for the great idea, Becca!) So without further ado, here they are:

  1. I'm very happily married.
  2. I like sweet potatoes a lot.
  3. I own five(5) parachutes (but I've never jumped out of a plane because they are play parachutes: they are definitely not aerodynamically sound).
  4. I love comic books but don't read superheroes.
  5. I do at least one crossword puzzle a day.
  6. I own a huge set of refrigerator letter magnets and am constantly changing what it says on our fridge (one example pictured right), usually following various themes for weeks or months at a time. In fact, a former housemate and I anagrammed the same 15 letters for more than a year and a half.
  7. I like a couple pieces of warm whole wheat toast (no butter) with my vanilla Rice Dream.
  8. I own more than 100 hats (one pictured right, and am pretty much always wearing one of them.) 
     9. I'm related to a lot of Swedenborgian ministers, including my father, brother, maternal grandfather, maternal aunt, cousin-in-law, great uncle (I think), and at least one or more other relatives a few generations back... plus, my paternal grandfather always wanted to be a Swedenborgian minister but wasn't.
10. Bananas are my favorite fruit even though I like cantaloupes better.
11. When I'm on-line, I'm working on my wife's iBook G4; when I'm off-line I'm working on my ancient but still-does- everything-I-want-it-to 1994 Mac.
12. When I was in college in the mid-1970's, I had a job cleaning the local high school for an hour a day 5 days a week. During those 2 years, I kept all the pencils and pens that I picked up off the floor. I still haven't run out yet.
13. I think "triskaidekaphobia" is a really cool word. But I like saying "endoplasmic reticulum" even more.
14. My previous little Toyota pick-up (pictured right) racked up just a couple hundred miles shy of 350,000 miles and 13 years.   
15. I use a date book that easily fits in my pants pocket. I not only keep my appointments in it but all sort of other stuff, too: my To Do list, To Buy list, phone numbers, birthdays, reminders, and at least half a dozen others lists, as well.
18. I collect produce stickers. I have hundreds and hundreds of them. I keep them on my filing cabinets (which I also have a lot of).
17. I have three delightful specimens in my ugly pole lamp collection. (I am NOT looking for more!)
18. I can play dozens of musical instruments. Some of them I can even play well.
19. I've been both on staff and on the board of directors of my church's summer family camp in Maine since 1972.
20. My son recently moved in with his wonderful new girlfriend in Cambridge, and my daughter and her wonderful new husband just bought a house in Windsor CT.
21. My lovely wife (pictured right) is a few days away from starting grad school to become a librarian.
22. I was born on the 22nd of March.
23. I've never owned a pet. (But I've lived with people who do.)
24. Since childhood, my favorite color has gradually shifted from green to brown to yellow.
25. I like lists.

When I read over my list I realized that more than half of them have more than one piece of random information in them, so I've actually got way more than 25 tidbits here. But I'm still not changing the title; these things are numbered 1-25, so it must be 25 things. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.




 Thursday, January 29, 2009

  "More Website Video News"  

   Thanks to my handsome and skilled computer tech, web designer, and web site host son Jason, I now have video on this site. (See January 13th above.) Today, I started a YouTube account and uploaded 3 brief videos my lovely wife took of me on stilts playing People to People with a group of youngsters in front of the fireplace at the Grand Summit Hotel at Mount Snow in W. Dover VT last January. If you want to see them on YouTube, once you get there, type in "Trevor the Games Man" and all three of them will come up.
   After doing the YouTube thing, thanks to a wonderful little tutorial Jason wrote for me, I then downloaded them onto my site! Click here to see them here on this website. (When you get there, they're at the bottom of the page.)
   I'm just all excited that I can enhance my site with videos now! Thank you so much, Jason. I love you.

 Friday, January 30, 2009

  "101 Things I'm Grateful For"   

  My favorite weekly astrology column http://www.realastrology.com suggested this week that I have a lot to be grateful for, and I quote:

   "Don't tell me you have nothing to be thankful for, Aries. Your parents could have named you Hooligan or Lightsaber or Flu, and they didn't. There are no photos floating around the Internet that show you riding a pig in the nude. No one has ever broken up with you via text message. Now keep going in the direction I've pointed you. Count your blessings up to at least 101. Create an ongoing list of all the things in your life that work pretty well and make you feel at home in the world. Why do this now? Because it's Massive Explosions of Gratitude Week for you --- a time when you can attract even more good fortune into your life by aggressively identifying the good fortune you already enjoy."

   I readily admit that I mostly read this particular horoscope column because it's entertaining, but I really like the idea of Massive Explosions of Gratitude Week! So in the order I thought of them, here is:

   1. More than anything, I am most grateful - massively so, in fact - for my lovely wife Nancy. Not only did she pull me out of the depths of sarniness and show me unconditional love in a way I had never experienced before (She loves me for who I really am!), but she also shares herself with me 100%, without reservation, and in general without censoring herself. Nancy is WONDERFUL! I love you with all my heart & soul, woman. Thanks for being my wife. You're THE BEST!
   2. I'm also grateful for my two terrific grown-up children, Jason & Myrrh. They have both grown up to be delightful people and I am just so proud of them.
   3. My parents and family were a great support as I was growing up.
   4. My career is both satisfying and fulfilling.
   5. My fellow Hats of Performers Guild members have been a continuous source of inspiration and friendship for over 20 years.
   6. My home is a source of comfort and a safe haven in a storm.
   7. My little Toyota pick-up starts every time... even in the dead of New England winter.
   8. There's always food on the table.
   9. I have a raft of regular clients who book me time after time.
 10. I inherited good organizational skills and attention to detail from both side of the family.
 11. My wife lets me use her laptop to work on line whenever she's not using it.
 12. My best buddy Don (pictured right) and his wife Barbara who stick with us through thick and thin.
 13. Music.
 14. The Fryeburg New Church Assembly. http://www.fryeburg.org
  15. That we've got a local church to attend that works for us even though it's not our denomination. (Yay, Rev. Sarah!)
 16. Children.
 17. Babies.
 18. Sweet potatoes. (Parsnips too.)
 19. The wonderful anise tea my lovely wife makes for me that just totally sends me every time.
 20. That my lovely wife is also an excellent photographer, freely lets me use her photos, and takes photos and videos of my work for me to put on this site.
 21. The Internet.
 22. My website is a constant source of FUN for me. (If others enjoy it even a fraction as much as I do you'll be having a bunch of FUN, too!)
 23. The four season weather of New England, especially right where we are because all four season are the same length.
 24. Wood.
 25. The Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts where, unlike anywhere else I've ever been, this 52-year-old hippy has fit in seamlessly.
 25. Mother Nature in all her glory, especially long walks in the woods.
 26. "Hard" science fiction.
 27. Comic books for grown-ups. 
 28. Filing cabinets.
 29. The New Games Movement & Cooperative Play.
 30. The housemate who nagged me incessantly until I buckled and let him teach me how to walk on strap-on stilts in 1987. -------->
 31. My new tire chains that let me get to my sister-in-law's house in northern Vermont (only 10 miles from Canada!) this winter without a whit of fear. Click here for a brief video of it. 
32. Really FUN, creative toys like Pin Art, Tinkertoys, Magical Flowers, blocks,  ... oh, the list could go on a loooooong time!
 33. Awesome picture book authors like William Steig, Maurice Sendak, Vera Williams, Esphyr Slobodkin,  Molly Bang, H.A. Rey, Dr. Seuss, Eric Rohman, Aliki, Ezra Jack Keats, Virginia Lee Burton, Sandra Boynton, Tomie de Paola, ... and this list, also, could go on way longer!
 34. Space heaters.
 35. Vegetarian options at restaurants that aren't just something with cheese.
 36. Brown rice and whole wheat flour.
 37. Key West and the Caribbean.
 38. Water.
 39. Emanuel Swedenborg.
 40. My desk.
 41. That this list is so easy!
 42. My lovely wife's family (Pete & Ivy pictured right).
 43. The new, truly kinder and gentler direction our country has taken since 1/20/9.
 44. Paper cutters, hole punches, scissors.
 45. The wonders of paper.
 46. All the creative people around the world who dedicate themselves fully to their art form.
 47. Bundling up hugely and taking a walk in a snow storm in the middle of winter.
 48. Wearing only shorts (and maybe a tank top) and taking a walk in the middle of summer.
 49. Nightlights.
 50. The Resolution Sandwich: baked brie, red pepper, Kalamata olives, fresh spinach, and a thick layer of alfalfa sprouts on toasted 100% whole wheat bread. Yummmmmm. (Special thanks to Fern Spearer and the former Raw Carrot Juice Bar in Amherst MA.)
 51. River Valley Market in Northampton MA (pictured right). http://www.rivervalleymarket.coop 
52. Discount stores, including Acme Surplus, Salvation Army, etc.
 53. Jazz.
 54. Self-help books and all my mentors whether they know who they are or not.
 55. Laughter.
 56. All my friends old and new, long-lost, short term, long term... ALL my friends.
 57. That I've been able to stay in the entertainment business and rack up a very impressive 5,000+ professional appearances.
 58. Radio.
 59. Copy machines, both personal and professional.
 60. The amazing road system we have in this country.
 61. Healthy food.
 62. Pillows.
 63. This one's easy! 63 is my favorite number! -------------------> 
64. That comics... I mean "graphic novels"... have finally gone mainstream.
 65. Neuro-Linguistic Programing.
 66. When our cat Tiger Lily jumps up next to me on the chair when I doing a crossword puzzle.
 67. Crossword puzzles.
 68. Sudoku.
 69. Sex.
 70. Physical contact with other people.
 71. Electricity.
 72. Light bulbs.
 73. Peace in all it's forms.
 74. All the inventors and inventions that took us out of the Hunter/Gatherer stage so we could focus on more important things than where our next meal is coming from.
 75. Washing machines.
 76. Trombones. (Trombone Shorty pictured right)
 77. House plants. I LOVE HOUSE PLANTS!
 78. Live concerts.
 79. My sister Laura, who has always been my friend.
 80. Cameras.
 81. Fire & Water Cafe & Performance Space (May it rest in peace.) and all the friends I made there including the owners Star Drooker & Trish Overstreet.
 82. Carol MacColl and Paradise Copies in Northampton MA. Carol has been my printer since before she even started Paradise Copies.
 83. Stickers. I LOVE STICKERS!
 84. Acme Surplus downstairs in Thornes Market in Northampton MA. I buy lots of stickers there. A few years ago, I got a huge roll (like 9" across kind of huge!) of green iridescent triceratops stickers(!) for $20. A week later I bought the same size roll of tiny cat stickers. The owner Mark Rosenzweig told me if I buy more than one at a time that the second would be $19, the third $18, etc. The offer was intriguing, but I had just bought the two rolls I was most interested in, so I let it ride. But a few months later, Mark wanted to clear out some stock and made me an offer I simply could not refuse: ALL the remaining rolls for $20 total(!)... but I had to take them all! There were at least 25 of them. I calculated that it was well over a million stickers! Wowie Zowie! Wotadeal! As a result, I've got a mighty lot of stickers of bunnies with balloons, bunnies with rainbows, computers, kites, St. Pat's Day, Halloween, Christmas, Puerto Rico flags, and the treasure trove of all: a life-time supply of the provincial flag of Quebec (pictured above) (three 9" rolls)!
 85. Books.
 86. CDs.
 87. DVDs.
 88. FUN, unusual card games like Apples to Apples, Quiddler, and Set.
 89. My Pop's music collection (records and tapes) that he gave to me a few years back. What FUN!
 90. All the "small people" who, although they aren't constants in my life, have helped me in any way ever.
 91. My lovely wife's rock collection.
 92. My lovely wife's cooking.
 93. Good housemates who "get it".
 94. All my teachers, both past and present.
 95. The many circles that I move in, and all the wonderful people in them.
 96. The color yellow.
 97. Being able to go barefoot most of the year.
 98. Legwarmers.
 99. Wicker baskets.
100. List like this that give me a chance to assess and acknowledge some of the goodness in my life.
101. God the creator and sustainer of the universe, gentle wielder of awesome power, forgiver and acceptor of all, councelor to all who ask, amazing friend to even the worst of us, and source of everything good and true. Praise the Lord!

 Saturday, January 31, 2009

  "Librarians & Laundry"  

   Two things worthy of note happened today: 1) My lovely wife Nancy started grad school at the Simmons College Graduate School of Library and Information Science (GSLIS)!2) We got a free washer to replace the one that's been dead for a week and a half!

   2. When our washer died last week, Nancy called our regular appliance repairman, Dave Gauger of Gauger's Appliance Repair (413-527-2277). He said it was either a control switch or the motor and the only way to know which one it is is to replace one or the other and see if it works. He thought he had the right motor at home but turned out he didn't so he ordered the switch cuz it's way cheaper. When it came in, he came right over and tried it, but alas it was the motor that was bad. However, Dave Gauger is such a great guy and friend to the poor that not only did he not charge us for the part or his two visits, but he offered us a free washer which he delivered today! He was replacing a washer & dryer set for some rich folks and got to haul away their old ones. We're simply stunned that he gave us the washer for free! He's just won our business for life. We recommend him highly for washer, dryer, refrigerators, and all other appliance repair. And not only is he a nice guy, but his rates are good, too!

   top of the page 

previous month           next month

Home

About

Shows

Stiltwalking

Workshops

Residencies

Events

Other Services

Quotes

Photos

More Fun Stuff

Press

Contact

Links