Talk of a peerless peach, chickens with horns, storing sunset images on computer

Tuesday, Oct. 6, brought another beautiful sunrise, though the sunrise the day before was more spectacular. The OFs were out taking pictures Monday, and Tuesday morning on the way to Mrs. K’s restaurant in Middleburgh it was no different.

The sunrise on Tuesday morning did not hang around in the sky as long as it did yesterday, but there was a little more color on the trees as the OFs rode over the mountain to Mrs. K’s. As the sun clipped the top of the mountains and added its color to the scenery, there were many moments for calendar shots. 

One OF said that, on his computer, he keeps a folder just for sunrises. The OF did not mention sunsets. Another OF has sunrises and sunsets listed in folders also with dates and times when they occurred. As the OFs become older, they appreciate the finer things life has to offer more now than when they were young Fs.

Chickens with horns?

Why does the chicken cross the road? That was not the question of the day but crushing chicken bones was.

One OF just picked up an antique “bone crusher” used to crush up chicken bones to feed back to the chickens. The OFs speculated that it could be used to crush up other bones too.

This is the same OF who has the dehorning cutter. One OF said he didn’t know chickens had horns.

“Yeah, they do,” an OF said, “And you had better watch out for those chickens with horns — they’ll getcha.”

Oh no! No wonder the OFs’ wives don’t want the OFs talking to the grandkids and telling them things like horns on chickens, chocolate milk from brown cows, and how to plant some raw spaghetti to grow spaghetti trees.

Dodging chores

As we have reported before, our suspicions have been confirmed.  One OF came right out and said he is at the breakfast so he can dodge the wife and get out of chores.

This has been suspected for some time and this is why the attendance at the breakfast is so good. This scribe wonders how many OFs use the term “meeting” (which implies they will be doing something important) with their wives when they head out to join us.

The sneaker-and-pipe crowd

A couple of OFs who were familiar with the General Electric Research and Development facility in Niskayuna talked about all the developments that have come out of that place, one being the MRI technology.

They mentioned that there was no such thing as a Friday casual day, as every day was casual day. The OFs mentioned how some came dressed, and how some (when working on something exciting) stayed right at the site day and night.

They had an ambiguous but respectful title for this group called “the sneaker and pipe crowd.” These people developed much of what we use today as routine, especially in the medical field.

Paid for grades

Siena College was discussed, and what a tight-knit group the graduates of that institution are.

One OF mentioned that his son graduated from Siena and going from BKW to the college atmosphere was quite an adjustment for his son. Many kids from small schools are not ready for the college life, and Siena is not that big.

The OF said his son’s grades were not what he expected and related to his son that he would pay for courses where he earned As and Bs but, for the rest, he was on his own. It worked. The studying started and the grades went up.

The kid was not having any of that “I’ll have to pay for it”; he went with “hang it on dad,” There is a lesson here for all us somewhere.

Peerless peach

Sometimes the OFs tell very basic of stories in the most humorous way. This year, the OFs have mentioned how prolific their gardens are, especially mentioning the grape vines and the fruit trees.

There is usually an exception to these stories and this one OF told of his peach tree that produced only one peach. The OF said he watched that single peach develop all year long, then one day last week that peach was on the ground.

The OF said it looked OK to him so he picked it up and ate it. The OF said it was the best peach he ever had.

Another OF said, “No wonder it was so good; it didn’t have any competition.  All that the entire tree had to offer went right into the one peach.”

No surprises

One OF said that his daughter told him that she was planning a surprise birthday party for him and not to tell anyone. Was this so she could do all the planning and the OF wouldn’t take off and go hunting, or take a trip to Timbuktu?

This OF is going off on the next Honor Flight to the war memorial in Washington, D.C. and she probably did not want to prepare two meals, or plan two parties in a row for the same OF. The effort put forth in this would really be redundant for this OF. 

The OFs are wondering who his chaperone will be because this OF is in great shape and he could be some other veteran’s chaperone.  

The OFs were also kidding another OF who is a member of the fire department as one of the fire police. The OFs say he just dons the uniform and goes and blocks roads so he can talk to people in the cars that have to stop.  There is nothing going on and the OF is just flagging them down.

They were kidding him about all the roads that were closed in the Hilltowns, which segued into talking about Pinnacle road with the repairs done and the road just being opened up. The OFs commented how beautiful the view is from Camp Pinnacle.

One OF said, “Yep, just one of many from the Hilltowns, encompassing the Schoharie and Fox Creek valleys.” 

Those OFs who traveled to Mrs. K’s in Middleburgh and made Loretta and Patty happy were: Bill Bartholomew, Frank Pauli, Harold Guest, Jim Heiser, Mark Traver, Chuck Aelesio, Dave Williams, Glenn Patterson, Robie Osterman, George Washburn, John Rossmann, Lou Schenck, Jack Norray, Gerry Irwin, Mace Porter, Wayne Gaul, George Gebe, Bob Fink, Bob Benninger, Roger Chapman, Don Wood, Ted Willsey, Rich Donnelly, Duane Wagenbaugh, Elwood Vanderbilt, Jim Rissacher, Harold Grippen, and me.