The Old Men of the Mountain traveled to the Your Way Café in Schoharie for their early morning wake-up repast. This scribe is in trouble because this scribe missed his Monday morning duty of not calling the café.
This scribe was in the Albany Regional Eye Surgery Center in Latham Monday. This is really no excuse because there was the afternoon beforehand when a call could have been made, and the scribe did not feel that bad, but was still not thinking of restaurants at the time.
This meant the OMOTM started coming in and the restaurant did not know about it. Next time around this scribe may not be allowed to go to the breakfast at the Your Way Café.
The OFs had a discussion on wallets. Something so simple and used many times a day can be so different. Some OFs carry their wallet in the front pocket; some in the back.
Some wallets are one-and-a-half inches thick and have the OFs whole life history in there, while some are wafer thin. Thick or thin wallets, this scribe found out, have no relation to how affluent, or broke, the OF is.
Some thin wallets have a thousand dollars in them, and a one- pound fat one has a couple of bucks in it for gas, or cab fare, and the reality is it could be vice versa. However, once an OF finds a comfortable wallet, that piece of leather can be as old as the OF. Almost all the OFs agree it is hard to work out of a new wallet.
The thickness of many wallets is brought on by the OF’s family. He has photos in there of everyone and, when a new good photo comes along, in it goes, but the old one of the same person does not come out.
This scribe’s wife says the pant’s pockets are like a woman’s purse, and that the scribe has to chinch his belt very tight to keep his pants from falling down. She says that one of her biggest fears is that the scribe will be walking along in public and his pants will fall down from all the weight he carries around in his pocket (and his wallet is part of that) and it tain’t money that adds to the weight in this OF’s wallet, Magee.
Dogs as family
There was at this breakfast a discussion on dogs. Occasionally talks about dogs come up, most of the time as side lines.
This discussion was about guys (it could be anybody but this was guys; we are, you know, the OMOTM) and dogs the OFs have had for sometime. Apparently these animals have gone beyond pets and are part of the family.
These canines are to the point that the animal can almost talk, or the OF can understand dog-speak.
One OF mentioned that his dog brings the leash to him when it is time for them to go for a walk. Another OF said that is not so unusual, it is a bowel thing: The dog can’t hold it any longer and wants to go out.
The OFs think there is one OF who has taught his dogs to drive because, whenever you see this OF going down the road, it is the dog’s head that is seen on the driver’s side. The OF is not visible.
One OF said his family had a great Dane that they trained to open the back door. The dog was big enough that all the animal had to do is rest its paw on the door handle and open the door. It was even trained that coming in he would shut the door, but try as they might, they could not teach that dog to pull the door shut on the way out.
Another OF wondered where we would be without our pets, no matter what they are — cat, dog, bird, lizard, fish, horse, cow, pig — it makes no difference.
And now for something completely different, but appropriate, a little poem sent to me via the internet. The poem cleverly titled:
A Little Poem for Seniors, So True it Hurts
Another year has passed
And we’re all a little older.
Last summer felt hotter
And winter feels much colder.
There was a time not long ago
When life was quite a blast.
Now I fully understand
About living in the past.
We used to go to weddings,
Football games and lunches.
Now we go to funeral homes
And after-funeral brunches.
We used to go out dining,
And couldn’t get our fill,
Now we ask for doggie bags,
Come home and take a pill.
We used to often travel
To places near and far.
Now we get sore butts
From riding in the car.
We used to go to nightclubs
And drink a little booze.
Now we stay home at night
And watch the evening news.
That, my friend, is how life is,
And now my tale is told.
So, enjoy each day and live it up…
Before you’re too damned old!
Happy New Year!
Those who made it to the Your Way Café and, though the restaurant was not informed made, out OK were: Robie Osterman, Bill Lichliter, George Washburn, Jake Herzog, Marty Herzog, Harold Guest, Wally Guest, Lou Schenck, Jack Norray, Herb Bahrmann, Bob Donnelly, Dave Hodgetts, Allen Defazzo, Paul Nelson, Rich LaGrange, and not me.
On Dec. 14, the Old Men of the Mountain had their Christmas Party at Mrs. K’s in Middleburgh, and with the spread Patty puts out it is not necessary to order breakfast, but the OMOTM do.
The party includes live music but no Santa Claus. The OMOTM have played that character for so many years they know the role all too well.
This scribe is going to let the readers in on how the scribe obtains the information from which this report emanates. This scribe does not even pretend to collect information like a real reporter. In fact, the notes are rather skimpy, and, if ever found with no explanation, would make no sense at all. And at times some of it makes no sense to this scribe either.
Take, for example, Tuesday, the 14th notes, which are: Flipping eggs, cooking, pricing, how to swear, deliveries, masks, haying & animals, snake, hawks, deer, wallets, dogs, spread, Covid, S.S., musk, woody, planes, cars, and repair.
That’s it, no explanations — just notes. When doing the report, many other conversations come to mind for which notes were not taken but are interjected into the report anyway, along with a big dose of imagination, so here goes the column.
Bucket list
Somehow the question was asked about the “bucket list.” Not many even had a bucket list, but one OF had some things he would like to learn.
One of his fixations was how to flip eggs in a frying pan (or just food) like they do in restaurants or the show-offs on TV do. He would even like to learn how to flip a decent pancake, or even make pancakes like they create in a restaurant like the Country Café.
Those pancakes are as big as hub caps, and hang over the side of the plate. How do they do that? This OF wanted to know, not just know, but know how to flip them himself. The OF maintained his life would be complete if he were able to conquer this feat.
Another OF mentioned a relative of his that was a cook in the military and could crack four eggs at a time and not break a yoke, and when asked how he could do that the reply was, “You learn fast when cooking for 200 hungry guys who have just woken up.”
Price-gouging?
Oh, between this discussion and the one coming up, the OFs discussed pricing, and this scribe thinks most of us have seen the price of almost everything going up and being blamed on many things such as supply, workers, COVID, and whatever else, but many think there is a tad of gouging going on here because the prices are jumping not by 6 percent but 100 percent and then some.
Cuss words
The next topic was picking up swearing or learning to swear. This OF did not hear bad language at home but came in contact with this type of verbiage out behind the barn.
There is swearing and there is really swearing; the interjection of a cuss word at the appropriate time can be quite effective. To use foul language on a routine basis is just plain dumb.
Baling more than hay
Haying, as most know, is one of the basic jobs in farming, and there are some who still think brown milk comes from brown cows and have no idea how much work is involved in getting food to the table.
Haying today is a little different than haying in the past when the hay was cut, dried, and stored in shocks. The scythe is basically long gone.
When cutting and baling hay today there is one side effect that is hard to avoid. This side effect happens sometimes with animals that nest or give birth in the grass and they are not seen, and wind up going through the baler.
One OF mentioned that, while baling this year, he had baled up three fawns and this was unavoidable, but sad.
Another OF mentioned that many small critters have wound up in bales. Rabbits, mice by the dozen, snakes, young woodchucks, and birds came to mind.
One OF mentioned an experience that happened where the critter might better have gone through the baler than what eventually happened. The OF said that, right in front of the pickup of the baler, there was a snake, and the OF, of course, did not know it was there but a hawk did.
The OF said the hawk swooped right down in front of the baler and grabbed the snake and took it off to a tree in the hedgerow and began to eat it right then and there. Nature in full bloom.
This brought to mind another OF’s story about baling up critters. On this OF’s farm, they had a Case baier where it was necessary for two people to ride on the baler. One poked the wires through the hay and the one on the other side twisted the wire to bind up the bales.
This farmer had a young girl who lived not too far up the road come down to help on occasion. On one particular hot day, she was helping with the baling and was doing the twisting while the OF was pushing the wires through.
Suddenly this young lady started screaming, jumped off the baler and went running to the hedgerow, screaming her head off. The OF’s dad thought she was really hurt, stopped the tractor, and went running after the girl to see what was going on while the OF got off and ran around the back of the baler to go and help.
The OF said he then saw the problem. They had baled up a pretty good-sized snake that was protruding about six inches out of the bale, twisting back and forth, split tongue darting in and out, and right in the young girl’s face.
No wonder there was panic time. A hissing snake two inches from your nose would panic anybody. This is an incident that causes nightmares. Ah, farming ….
Those Old Men of the Mountain who were sure to make this breakfast at Mrs. K’s restaurant in Middleburgh were: Harold Guest, Glenn Patterson, Joe Rack, Roger Shafer, Rich LaGrange, Wally Guest, Paul Nelson, Mark Traver, Ken Parks, Otis Lawyer, Ted Feurer, Jake Lederman, Jake Herzog, Robie Osterman, George Washburn, Bill Lichliter, Lou Schenk, Jack Norray, Herb Bahrmann, Rev. Jay Francis, Bob Donnelly, Dave Hodgetts, Allen Defazzo, John Dabrvalskes, and me.
On Pearl Harbor day, Dec. 7, the Old Men of the Mountain met at Mrs. K’s restaurant in Middleburgh. Some of the OMOTM remember the day that would go down in “infamy.” This was the war to end all wars. The OMOTM said, “Yeah right!” to that one.
To the OFs, it seems like the world has been at war forever. The museums around the world are filled with war records, and war machines, from stones to trebuchets, to horses, and to tanks. Even the oceans could not escape the horror of war machines, from canoes to battleships. The OFs seem to have been involved in one way or another with all of these, even the stones.
The end times are predicted to end with the battle of Armageddon. One OF complained that he is at war all the time. The reason for this battle is, as the OF put it, “crappy wife.” Considering the source, one OF said, no wonder the wife is crappy — she has a right to be. See how easy it is to start a war.
The OFs talked about some of the other OFs who are missing because they are under the weather and the condition of how they are progressing with their recoveries. Those who knew said that, as far as the news of each one in this situation, the recoveries are coming along nicely, or as best as can be under present circumstances.
One OF said with all this COVID business, the hospital, or doctor’s office is not the place to be.
Another OF reported that one of his doctors (“One?” The medical profession is becoming so specialized that an individual has a group of doctors to take care of the OF) said that the hospital is no place to be; the doctor said he knew that because he works there.
What’s next?
The OFs discussed downsizing, leaving the home, and moving to senior housing or apartments, and how that is not an easy decision to make. One OF said that, to him, an apartment is not a home. To him, apartments are more like fancy hotel rooms.
But another OF said there comes a time when the body says this is the way to go.
Still another OF commented, “What do you think we had all those kids for? Those offspring cost a lot of money to bring up. We are going to move in with them and let them pay for us now.”
“Not me,” another replied, “Our kids were a ton of fun and we do not in any way want to be a burden to them. That is why we try to stay active and maintain our health.”
“Well you’re going to die from something, there is not a switch up our butt that we can just turn off when our life is over.”
“Nope,” the OF said, “But we can die in our sleep; that is the way we want to go.”
Of course, there is always one in the crowd and this one OF piped up, “He wants to be shot by a 30-year-old jealous lover.”
An OF jumped in on this one with a very true observation, “You OG! If a 30-year-old lover came in to shoot you, you would already be dead because you, you OF, you couldn’t handle a 30-year-old. It would kill you. That lover could save his bullet.”
This scribe thought, give me a break! Thank goodness the OFs went on to something else.
Well, the OFs did go to something else and this “something else” was what happens to your stuff when the OF kicks the bucket. The discussion with some of the OFs took on wills and irrevocable trusts.
The first thing one OF said is, “It is really necessary to know you can rely on the members of the trust to handle your affairs when you pass on. One rotten egg can spoil the whole thing.”
This OF said it was a good idea to have whoever draws up the trust be an elder law attorney, someone who knows the ins and outs of what is required when members of the trust are no longer here.
Another topic (thank goodness) that did not come up then but was darn close, was about what happens when we die and then where are we when we do? Whew.
Electric craze
The OFs discussed pricing again, and probably will discuss it again next week. The price of most everything is getting out of hand.
Gas, some of the OFs could understand. The OFs think the companies that manufacture petroleum are getting the prices up there so the OFs get used to it and are willing to pay the enormous high prices, so the petroleum companies can prepare for electric this and that.
The OFs think they will be able to sell fewer gallons and still make the same bucks.
The OFs want to know if this electric craze is the way to go. One OF thought there was more material in a battery than in an engine.
Then another OF said we can fix an engine to run for years but, when a battery is done, it is done, as far as he knows. Then one OF suggested it is possible to get an internal combustion engine to run on anything.
Willie Nelson has his buses run on grease from the kitchen. That ain’t so bad to have engines smell like bacon cooking when they are running.
One OF thought the way to go is magnetism, to which another OF told the first OF that he would have to improve his reading and get out of the comic-book section. But the OF reading comic books might have a point — think of Buck Rogers and Dick Tracy.
Those Old men of the Mountain who made it to Mrs. K’s in Middleburgh in their magnetic vehicles and stuck them on the parking meters were: Glenn Patterson, Mark Traver, Roger Shafer, Paul Nelson, Rich LaGrange, Jake Lederman, Ted Feurer, John Muller, Ed Goff, Paul Whitbeck, Ken Parks, Bill Lichliter, Robbie Osterman, George Washburn, Jake Herzog, Elwood Vanderbilt, Dave Hodgetts, Bob Donnelly, Lou Schenck, Jack Norray, Rev. Jay Francis, and me.
At the end of November, the Old Men of the Mountain met at the Chuck Wagon Diner in Princetown. When the OMOTM first went to the Chuck Wagon, there was not much activity in Princetown. Now there are quite a few businesses in that area along Route 7, most on the north side of the road.
Time is such a strange thing; it is all relative to what’s going on and, with the OFs, it can be a lot or nothing at all. In the relatively short time the OFs have been going to the Chuck Wagon, there have been many changes made in the area of Princetown.
All that is a lead-in to one of the conversations the OFs had at breakfast. This was: “What is old when it is relative to people.”
The OFs have discussed this before but this time the OFs are older, at least in the group discussing age, and the OFs in that group are older, but don’t know it.
Some of the plans talked about were pretty grandiose and this scribe does not think these plans they are making are going to happen just because of the ages of those in the group talking. It’s good that the OFs make plans for the future as if their bodies don’t ache and some have trouble walking.
An old adage that has been bantered around the OMOTM since day one is that the mind says one thing, and the body says another. One OF said he would rather have it that way than the other way around.
To go along with the age discussion, the OFs continued with items that make them feel old. Some items are the internet, smart phones, and vehicles that drive themselves, but most of all is the news that the OFs’ kids are retiring.
That is enough for the OFs to say they are not only out of the loop, but can’t even find the beginning knot.
One OF said even the habit of smoking when he was young was the thing to do; in the military, cigarettes were given to the guys to help calm them down.
Another OF said, “Like that was going to help.”
So much has gone on since the OFs were young but none really makes them feel old as when their kids start to retire, most at age 65. One OF commented that his kids are old enough to come to the OMOTM’s breakfasts.
Another OF offered that he thought he would never be this old. He thought that he would be pushing daisies years ago, and here he is still picking them.
One OF said that years ago DDT was going to kill us off, then it was the nuclear age and radiation going to do us all in; now it is climate change and pollution that is going to drive us all to the grave. What will it be next, an asteroid smashing into the planet and we will all go the way of the dinosaurs?
What the heck? For some reason, the OFs are still here.
Travel for some, not for others
Travel was another topic that fit in with getting old. The OFs discussed trips they plan on taking, but one OF said the trips are not like they used to be. The OF said he can’t get out and explore like he used to, or ride a bike.
See above: The body says no, the mind says let’s go.
“Nope, not going to happen,” the OF said, but to him it is nice to go someplace even if he just has to hang around and not do much exciting. Getting to meet different people, and away from the old homestead for a little while helps his mental and physical well-being a lot.
Some of the OFs have places to go to every year and they make plans in advance to continue going to wherever. Some say they plan to go to a different place every now and then, but all of them right now use commercial transportation; the days of driving themselves are gone, but they still like getting away.
From the internet comes an analogy of cars and OFs. If my body were a car, I would be trading it in for a newer model. I’ve got bumps, dents, scratches, and my headlights are out of focus. My gearbox is seizing up and it takes me hours to reach maximum speed. I overheat for no reason and every time I sneeze, cough, or laugh my radiator leaks or my exhaust backfires!
This is from one group of the OFs. There are other groups that are still young enough to go on hikes, take out their boats, fly their planes, go bowling, travel, and take walking tours.
Some of the OFs look at these OFs with a little envy in their eyes. The OFs with walkers and canes listen to the reports and stories the other OFs bring back from their traveling experiences and secretly wish they could tag along and do the same things.
The hunters, hikers, and the outdoor OFs report that many animals, once they have established their territory, return to it no matter what. The OFs said taking beavers and bears from the territory the animal has singled out for his or her space is not too good an idea because eventually the animal will find its way back.
Birds are particularly good at this, and one OF said even snakes have homing instincts. This OF says he knows because the OF caught a snake around the house, marked it and carried it two miles away to let it go. In three days, it was back, trying to go under the same steps as it was when the OF caught it.
The OFs young and old who made it to the Chuck Wagon Diner in Princetown were: Miner Stevens, Paul Nelson, Rich LaGrange, Jake Herzog, Roger Shafer, Wally Guest, Harold Guest, Jake Lederman, Bill Lichliter, Robie Osterman, Mark Traver, Glenn Patterson, Joe Rack, Russ Pokorny, Lou Schenck, Jack Norray, Herb Bahrmann, Mike Bahrmann, John Dabrvalskes, and me.
Tuesday, Nov. 23, The Old Men of the Mountain traveled to Schoharie again to have breakfast at the Country Café in that town. One OF commented on how it seems odd that a fried egg is a fried egg; there is not much that can be done with that.
“However,” the OF said, “The same fried egg seems to be different at each restaurant and also different at home.”
Another OF picked up on this and said that he is the first one up in the morning and makes his own breakfast. Generally it is very simple and most of the time he makes fried eggs over easy, and each time they seem to come out different, and taste different.
Why is that? The OFs’ replies were just a bunch of “duhs.”
“Maybe,” one OF ventured, “it is because all the eggs don’t come from the same chicken.”
Auction adventure
One OF regaled the table with a trip he made to the auction barn in Unadilla and what the experience was like. Apparently, to the OF and his wife, it turned into an experience, akin to an adventure.
The Unadilla auction barn holds livestock auctions every Wednesday and they also have monthly horse and tack auctions. The tack auction was what the OF described to us.
According to this OF, he and his wife remained until 1 a.m. when the auction was finished. The OF said there were very few people left at that time, but in the morning until early evening the place was packed.
The OF reported that tack was (for the most part) going quite cheap. It’s hard to tell how dried-out the leather is just by holding it up, unless, like the OF noted, the ones buying this tack were there during the viewing, but even then it is still iffy.
The OF also said there was one guy there (right up front) purchasing all the saddles no matter the condition. The OF thought that he might be taking them out West, or maybe he had a store, or for some other reason, because the OF said the guy even bought beat-up little pony saddles.
The report could go on but we will stop here with the last item he mentioned.
It seems this last item brought out was a big old draft horse, with one hind leg bigger than the other, and with only a handful of people left to bid on the poor animal, no one did. This scribe guesses they could save the horse for next month’s auction and bring it out first.
Actually, that may not be too good an idea because it might set the tone for the rest of the auction.
Vehicle evolution
The Old Men of the Mountain always thought they could take a lot and were tough guys. Not tough like “my dad can beat your dad” type tough, but could take cold weather, and work hard on hard jobs.
The OFs can remember when they were younger, driving old cars and trucks that were a little on the beat side.
Back in the good old days, money was scarce and it was necessary to purchase what the OF could afford and at the time it wasn’t much. Their vehicles might be wanting for condition, and a few holes in the floorboards were not uncommon. In the winter time, the snow and ice that made it past the muffler would blow through the holes right into the vehicle.
The OFs toughed it out — at least they had wheels.
Today you should hear them talk about their new trucks with the heated steering wheels, seats, and some with heated lumbar supports. These vehicles are even started from inside the house on a cold winter’s day. The discussion was on who had the most of the most.
One OF put it together quite nicely. The OF said, “I never thought I would be a wuss and now I am one.”
Another OF said he was in the same boat, and was out-wussing him, and he droned on about his new truck.
Now another OF piped up and threw out the ole monkey wrench, “What if something goes wrong and all the electronics go out, how are you guys going to stop or steer those fancy vehicles?”
This all may be covered some way but the OFs did not have a ready answer except that we are not just a group of shallow wusses. So there!
With all the electric this and electric that, everyone will be getting into their electric cars and suddenly find 20 cars with owners who will be shopping at Kohl’s and they all need to charge their batteries.
This OF understands that charging a battery is not like filling a gas tank, which takes just a few minutes.
One OF said, “Who goes first if there are only four or five charging stations, and there is a car at each one, and the owners are charging the vehicles while they are shopping in the store?”
Houston, we have a problem.
Another OF offered, “By the time we get to this point, we will either all be dead or at least over 115 years old. I doubt if this group of OFs has to worry about it.”
Condolences
The Old Men of the Mountain would like to offer our condolences to the family of Henry Witt Jr. who recently passed away at the age of 91.
In that vein, the service for Bill Bartholomew will be held at the Coltrain Funeral Home in Middleburgh on Saturday, Dec. 4, from 10:30 a.m. until noon with interment at the family plot in Breakabeen.
Present
The Old Men of the Mountain who made it to the Country Café in Schoharie were: Miner Stevens, Harold Guest, Mark Traver, Joe Rack, Roger Shafer, Wally Guest, Rich LaGrange, Russ Pokorny, George Washburn, Bill Lichliter, Robie Osterman, Jake Herzog, Bob Donnelly, Dave Hodgetts, Jamie Darrah, Lou Schenck, Jack Norray, Herb Bahrmann, John Dabrvalskes, and me.
This column with its report on the Old Men of the Mountain starts out like many conversations — with the weather. To keep up that tradition, today’s column will be no different.
Tuesday, Nov. 16, many of the OMOTM approached the Your Way Café, in Schoharie, looking at the cliffs at the end of Route 443 where it meets Route 30. Many of the OFs who arrived at the café around the same time commented on how beautiful the sunrise was with sunlight on top and dark shadows on the bottom.
The sun came up red in the beginning and then quickly changed to orange-red, and then just orange as the light crept down the mountain. This scribe told a couple of OFs as they entered the Your Way, “If I ever painted it like it was at first light no one would believe it.” The OFs agreed.
Once inside, the OFs were offering their normal greetings as other OFs filed in. Some of the conversation was discussion of the man and family of Bill Barthelomew who recently passed away, and that segued to inquiries of OFs who were in the hospital, or had just left and were home.
The OFs were genuinely concerned on how they were doing and anxious for their return to the breakfasts.
How that turned into a discussion of how much those pesky little fruit flies were this year, I will never understand. However, it seems all the OMOTM had problems with these little pests this summer.
Some used apple cider and vinegar to trap the little buggers, while others had their own remedies — some worked and some didn’t. One OF said that hanging a banana skin by the end where it was cut from the tree calls the fruit fly.
They are fruit flies after all. But then — what now? You have them in a bunch. How do you actually get rid of them? That was not mentioned. Every now and then, spray them with fly spray the OFs guessed.
One OF mentioned he purchased a sticky trap (trade name Dynatrap) that comes with 3-by-4 cards that are sticky on one side. This OF said that thing really works
You plug it in, a blue light comes on, and the light attracts the flies and soon they are trapped on the sticky card. One thing the OF said was that the card catches more than fruit flies.
It grabs regular flies and the occasional moth. This trap is chemical-free, and effective. When the card is no longer catching the pests, chuck it out and put in a new one.
Schoharie’s Nashville
The OFs talked about the park outside of Schoharie up on the hill where in the forties and fifties, and maybe even later, the good ole country boys would go with their banjos, guitars, fiddles, harmonicas, moonshine, beer, and some light bulbs and on Saturday night Nashville was no equal.
It was good ole country music by the good ole country boys, and all that could boogie danced the night away. At times, a fight or two would break out, and no one really knew the reason.
When the participants settled the disagreement, they would be back on the dance pavilion’s dance floor, dancing with the same ones they were just fighting with. Occasionally someone (who knew how to call) would form up squares for dancing and away they went.
These squares may have gotten rowdy at times, but all in fun. The OFs did not know if this type of amusement still goes on or not.
Way to go
Now to something completely different and, again, how it got started this scribe does not know, but it seemed to have started with the new higher toilets. Age creeps into a lot of things and now the OFs know it’s creeping up because it affects how they go to the bathroom.
It used to be that older people had problems getting up and out of chairs including getting off the john.
Then someone invented a riser and attached it to the toilet so it would elevate that older person. Apparently the plumbing industry saw the need and started building the higher toilets, and the contractors started installing grab bars so the older people could help themselves get off the john.
The OFs said, now that they own these higher toilets at home, when using the older-style lower toilets still found in public restrooms, they feel like they are sitting in a hole and do have trouble getting up, and they actually look around for grab bars.
Then one OF said that sitting on these higher toilets is “not the way to go.” This OF said your knees are supposed to be up and your back straight so everything is lined up and then it is not necessary to strain, especially if you have heart trouble.
The OF said the best thing to do is use the high commode with a stool so your knees are high. When it is time to get up, kick the stool out of the way and stand up. This OF said he still uses grab bars high or low.
This dialog on age reminded me that age is a relative term. All my relations keep reminding me how old I am.
The discussion went from the height of the john, to snow tires in one fell swoop. It was just necessary to be there and these Old Men of the Mountain were there: Joe Rack, Roger Shafer, Otis Lawyer, Glenn Patterson, Mark Traver, Harold Guest, Wally Guest, Miner Stevens, Bill Lichliter, Robie Osterman, Rich LaGrange, Marty Herzog, Jake Herzog, Paul Nelson, Henry Whipple, Lou Schenck, Jack Norray, Bob Donnelly, Dave Hodgetts, Herb Bahrmann, and me.
Once long ago, when this planet was first being formed, three old guys were pushed out of the cave so they would leave the ladies alone. These three guys grunted their displeasure and decided to hunt for something to eat.
For no particular reason, the hunting was easy and the three old guys had a good time and decided to do this more often. Soon other old guys saw the three go out and have a good time, so a few more put down their rocks from beating on other rocks to make dirt (because these guys were older than dirt) and joined in.
This group is still gathering today; though not the same guys, it is the same group. This scribe has often been asked how long, or when, did the Old Men of the Mountain begin.
This scribe hopes this answers that question and on this past Tuesday, Nov. 9, the Old Men of the Mountain met at Mrs. K’s restaurant in Middleburgh to keep up the tradition from having been kicked out of the cave by the women, to being kicked out of the house for the same reason.
Only now the OFs do not have to hunt for food, they just travel their round robin of hunting grounds where the food is prepared and brought to them.
Although many years have gone by, not much has changed: The OFs are still burning wood.
Some of the discussion on Tuesday morning was on the burning of wood. How much the OFs have or had on hand for the winter. How do the OFs feel the winter is going to go? What kind of wood do they burn?
That seems to be an ambiguous question, because most of the OFs know it is not a good idea to burn pine. This discussion seems to come up every year, but since the time in the cave, one would think the OFs had progressed more than that.
One OF, in a way, answered the question. Burning wood is more or less therapeutic and to this OF there is nothing like the aroma and the crackling of a wood fire on a cold and blustery winter’s night. But some of the OFs said they gave that up long ago; it is too much work.
Give them just a simple thermostat, a full tank of oil, and a furnace that works — and they are happy. If the OF is chilly, he just walks over and moves that ’stat up a degree.
Scribe’s challenge
This scribe is trying to report on what the OMOTM are doing, saying, traveling to or from, in or out of jail, anything different or unusual. However, for quite some time, the OGs are behaving themselves, and where they have been has already been reported on.
This makes the job of scribe a little more interesting because the scribe has to resort to older notes to see what happened and is still relevant.
Choosing an ice floe over assisted living
Going back in time, it was noted that assisted living was discussed, and was found not to be the best way to go. This scribe had a note scribbled “Ice Floe” and remembers what this was about.
Most of the OFs in that conversation thought at that time the Eskimos up north have the right idea. Place the old folks on an ice floe with enough food to last awhile and send them out to sea.
There the old folks would be able to make peace with their god, and prepare themselves for death. The ice floe would melt, and the old folks would be buried honorably at sea.
It would be, so the Eskimos thought, only their bodies would be offered to the sea. The gods already had their souls. This scribe does not know if any of this is right or not, but the OMOTM seemed to have some understanding of the ritual.
After checking with Google, it seems that this is a legend that is not entirely wrong. The common perception of taking Granny out to the nearest ice floe and setting her adrift is wrong. But yes, in the past, some Eskimos did kill old people when circumstances were sufficiently desperate.
The OFs would rather do this than go into a nursing home, or assisted living. This, if the scribe remembers correctly, brought out a few humms.
Most of the OFs are in some kind of pain or have another issue, but they never seem to complain. The pain of being left alone seems to be the worst and not many of the OFs look forward to that.
Wasn’t that a cherry dialogue to find? This scribe can see why it wasn’t reported when it was discussed.
No list, but desires fulfilled
Then a few weeks back, there was a note on “Bucket List.” It was found that not many of the OFs have such a list.
Some have the “I wished I did this or that” but not a desire to say “I am going to do this or that and call it a Bucket List.” The OFs think the term Bucket List is a new catch phrase for something many OFs have been doing for years.
Like saving up to go on an extended vacation in Hawaii or for some it would be Alaska. For one it was a desire to return to Normandy and the area where he served in World War II, and that “Bucket List” item (so to speak) was achieved.
Condolences
It is with deep regret that this scribe must report on another Old Man of the Mountain passing on to meet with the other Old Men of the Mountain on their Tuesday morning cloud. Bill Bartholomew has gone to join that crowd. And, like all the others, he will missed be greatly.
Those Old Men of the Mountain who made it to Mrs. K’s Restaurant in Middleburgh with their woulda, shoulda, coulda, in mind, but not necessarily a bucket were: Paul Nelson, Harold Guest, Mark Traver, Joe Rack, Ken Parks, Rich LaGrange, Glenn Patterson, Jim Guest (guest of Harold and Wally Guest), Wally Guest, Otis Lawyer, Marty Herzog, Robie Osterman, George Washburn, Bill Lichliter, Paul Whitbeck, Jake Herzog, Gerry Chartier, Rev. Jay Francis, Lou Schenck, Jack Norray, Elwood Vanderbilt, Bob Donnelly, Dave Hodgetts, John Dabrvalskes, Russ Pokorny, and me.
We are already into November and the older the Old Men of the Mountain get, the faster the time goes. For time itself, yet for things not exactly related to time, they seem to take forever.
It takes forever just to get things done and there doesn’t seem to be enough time. However, on Nov. 2, Election Day, the Old Men of the Mountain met at the Middleburgh Diner in Middleburgh.
As always, the OMOTM discussed old cars, old trucks, and old tractors. That’s because of the ages of this group. It was obvious that one OF was tickled with what he had accomplished with his old Massey-Ferguson tractors.
To do this, he had to use 2021 technology. This OF proudly showed how he has gotten his old machine to run, along with sound effects. The OF passed around his phone, which had a photo of the machine running in his garage. The OFs were impressed as each in turn looked at the phone to see the display.
A simple phone does a lot more now than just making phone calls. Attaching the name “phone” to these devices does not sound right. Of course they can, and are, used to make calls but it seems most of the time the new phones get used for something else.
The OFs can remember when the phones had operators and you could ask the operator to get the person you were calling. In the town of Esperance, New York, the operator could see out to the street from a large window in the telephone office.
When calling the garage, you would say (this is an actual number) 19 the house, or say 19 the garage, and the operator would do it, or the operator might say (actual stated conversation), “Milton is not there; I just saw him go into the tea room. I’ll dial that for you.”
Also the OFs remember the phone number for the doctor was 1, the phone number for Mexico (a local tavern) was 2, and the phone number for the artificial inseminator was 3. It was much simpler then.
Lots of bear and deer
The OFs have mentioned recently that bears are on the prowl. Tuesday morning again, bear sightings were reported, but added to it was the amount of healthy looking deer roaming around, not only in the woods, but in some of the OFs’ yards and fields.
There does seem to be more than normal. The OF’s sightings are mostly rural and Encon will, of course, bring us up to date on this situation.
One OF mentioned bears may be only around here; the OFs have no idea about the other tiers of the state. Maybe in some other areas the bears don’t appear and our region has them all.
Hollow Halloween
Halloween has come and gone, and there was no mention of it at the breakfast. Apparently not many (if any) of the OFs decorated for Halloween, or had any great influx of kids.
No one even mentioned decorations of others like they do at Christmas time. This scribe has seen a few cute decorations when he was out and about, some really clever.
Of course this scribe didn’t wander very far, Altamont and Voorheesville, and a little bit in Guilderland Center was about it. Fall decorations — that is another story.
Prices jump
The cost of living has been touched on at a couple of meetings, but just around the edges. However, at this meeting, it was discussed quite a bit.
To the OFs, it is getting out of hand in a hurry. One OF mentioned that prices are not just inching up but are jumping by leaps and bounds. Another OF thought it was supply and demand and likened to all those unloaded boats, and scarcity of truck drivers.
One OF mentioned he had to sell his plane because it was just too expensive to park it and maintain it, let alone supply the fuel to fly it.
Some of the OFs wondered who was paying the demurrage (a charge for detaining a ship, freight car, or truck) on the ships just parked offshore. Some thought it might just be like the railroad, or trailers left off to be loaded or unloaded. In those cases, it is the company that pays that fee, not the railroad.
It was thought that many hobbies of this type, like flying, boating, golf, even maybe fishing, will go by the wayside because it will become too expensive to maintain participation in them when on a fixed income. That will be a shame.
One OF mentioned how much harder he had to work now compared to just a couple of years ago as a truck driver, and that the pressure applied made the job not only physically more exhausting but unsafe.
Another OF who was just discharged from the hospital said that previously the care he received in the same hospital was good but that this time he compared it to being in hell. The OF attributed this to lack of help and overworked staff.
The OF mentioned some of the particulars as he saw them, but this scribe is not going to mention them because it may just be an OF grumbling because things were not like they were before, and he was just repeating what he was told by overworked employees.
The OFs keep asking, “Where has everybody gone?”
It seems just like a little while ago so many were unemployed it was making news as one OF put it. One other OF answered that it was just the news people, making news where there wasn’t any.
This OF said, if you wanted to work, there was work, and people looking for workers. That again the scribe does not know.
The scribe only knows what he reads in the paper like this media clip from The Miami Herald: Man married, sentenced on same day.
Then one OF capped it all up by saying he is so old he has been through all this before and there is no sense “bitchin’” about it; it tain’t gonna change, and it will all work out in the end.
The OF may be right, but in this case: Will the end be worth it? The older the OFs get, this can be said about many things.
The Old Men of the Mountain who made it to the Middleburgh Diner and showed up in their fancy cars and trucks and not their old tractors, with mismatched tires, only one fender, and no cowling (a removable metal covering that houses the engine) were: Paul Nelson, Harold Guest, Wally Guest, Marty Herzog, Bill Lichliter, George Washburn, Jake Herzog, Gerry Chartier, Russ Pokorny, Lou Schenck, Herb Bahrmann, Jack Norray, Paul Whitbeck, North Carolina guest Jay Williams, and me.
The Erie Canal in historic autumnal splendor was captured by John R. Williams in a painting commissioned by Ruth Easton. “Her husband says that every morning she has a cup of coffee and sits and shares time with the painting for about an hour and then starts her day. It hangs over their fireplace,” said Williams.
On a really miserable early Tuesday morning, Oct. 26, with rain, fog, wind, blowing leaves, puddled roads, and truck spray, the Old Men of the Mountain managed to make it safely to the Chuck Wagon Diner in Princetown for their Tuesday morning repast. To some of the OMOTM, it was comforting to spot the warm, greeting lights of the diner from the gloom of the morning’s weather.
Of course, because of the trip and the awful weather, the weather was an opening topic. The concern of the OMOTM was flooding and, if the rain keeps coming as it has, the Schoharie Creek, and the Mohawk River were concerns of the OFs. It was more the creek and, if it should overflow its banks again, one OF mentioned the valley of Schoharie would start to get a bad reputation for those thinking about moving there.
Another OF thought that, of all the planning that people do to try to outwit Mother Nature, they are up against a vulnerable foe. One OF said it looks like both coasts are being hammered by the ole gal just to show us who is in charge. Seems rain doesn’t fall. Raindrops.
One OF who was not a farmer asked what happens to all the corn that has turned brown and maybe soaked by the creek on the flats around Middleburgh, Schoharie, and up Route 30 towards Gilboa? A farmer told him that the value of the corn is in the kernel; the brown stalks are good for decoration.
If it is going to be silage corn, that is a different story. Silage corn was done long ago.
A completely unrelated-to-anything question was asked. What happens to emails that say they are sent, the computer says they are sent, and everything looks normal, but the recipient does not receive them?
Where do they go? Are they out there in electronic space looking for a home? Do they just go nowhere and disappear? The OFs are wondering.
Also, at the table Tuesday morning, the OFs discussed the Erie Canal. The OFs briefly mentioned a little history of the canal, which in the early 1800s took about 28 years to complete and was mostly dug by hand.
One OF said much of it was made deeper and wider during its lifetime. Another OF said that also over the years it was not quite as romantic as it now sounds. Little towns sprang up all along the canal and the canal in many sections was like a sewer.
Some of the OMOTM have taken trips on the canal. One OF mentioned he took a trip on the canal that was horse-drawn, as were the original barges on the canal.
This OF mentioned that, at the end where they turned to go back, the tow rope sagged and dragged along the grass, and snakes by the dozen slithered out of the grass and into the canal. The OF said after they turned around (which took a while) and started back, the rope did the same thing in the same place and then the snakes slithered back into the water.
The OFs wondered why the snakes did this. These snakes knew the barge was going to turn around and come back. Why not just hang around in the water for a bit, wait for the boat to go back, and then climb back in the grass?
The scribe says thank goodness the OFs don’t think like snakes. The OFs also assumed these were common black snakes, and according to their size the OF said he was pretty sure they were.
Another very interesting comment came from one of the OFs. He said that one of the OFs lives in a house that was built of stones that were rejected for use in the canal.
One OF knew that the Onesquethaw Reformed Church, on Tarrytown Road, was built from stones rejected for use in the canal. To check this information out, this scribe called the OF in question.
The OF confirmed that his house was, in fact, built of rejected stones from the canal, and so was the farmhouse across the street, and the houses around the corner just a bit down from him. The houses and the church can be seen from Clarksville, or off Route 32.
Make a turn on Tarrytown Road and there is a small cluster of these rejected-canal-stone structures not too far down or in from either direction.
One OF mentioned doing a commissioned painting for a couple who had shown a long-time interest in the Erie Canal. They sent definite instructions of when, where, and what was to be in the painting.
The painting was for the lady of the house, and she wanted the locale at Big Nose, and Little Nose. This is where the ancient Mohawk River and the glacier cut a pass through a granite spur of the Adirondacks, just west of Schenectady.
Thank goodness the artist knew where this was; it was to be painted as if it was fall and also be colorful with a horse-drawn barge with people. That is being very specific.
With all the talk about rocks, and rejected rocks, at one time for the lock at Sprakers, New York, there is part of that lock wall that is still remaining. A ride along the canal is interesting, fun, and educational.
The Old Men of the Mountain who were at the Chuck Wagon Diner were looking out the window at the unending change in the weather were: Rich LaGrange, Miner Stevens, Roger Shafer, Paul Nelson, Marty Herzog, Robie Osterman, Bill Lichliter, George Washburn, Jake Herzog, Glenn Patterson, Mark Traver, Joe Rack, Otis Lawyer, Bob Donnelly, Dave Hodgetts, Paul Whitbeck, Rev. Jay Francis, Harold Guest, Wally Guest, and me.
At Tuesday’s breakfast on Oct. 19, when the Old Men of the Mountain gathered at the Country Café in Schoharie, the OMOTM found out that the report on the goodness of the OMOTM who brought the raspberries to last week’s breakfast has an interesting ending.
It is now necessary to revisit the raspberry saga. The OMOTM who brought the raspberries also brought bags to put them in so the OFs could carry them home.
This scribe has noted on various occasions that many of the OFs carpool to the breakfast. Last Tuesday was no different. One carload left as usual after the breakfast and headed home.
One OF placed his raspberries in the bag supplied so that he could easily carry his berries. The OMOTM who was driving said that he would put his berries in the same bag because he would be dropping him off last and they both could use the same bag.
The driver did his normal thing and drove up to the last rider’s home and dropped him off. The last rider took his raspberries out of the bag and went into the house. The driver continued home and took the remaining bag of berries into his home and put them into the refrigerator.
The OF’s wife went to get the raspberries at supper time to use them and said to the OF, “What’s this? All we have is a couple cartons of some kind of animal food, not raspberries!”
The OF said (whatever you think) and related the story to the wife. Whether they thought it was funny is again (whatever you think).
Remember when leaving the restaurant the driver put his raspberries on top of those already in the bag? When dropping the rider off the rider took the berries on top. Guess who should have gotten the dog food. You are right.
Vacation treasure
There is an OMOTM who is taking off to his winter home in Florida on Monday. The OF mentioned that they have rented an Airbnb on the east coast in Key West, or Sebastian, Florida and they are going to scan for gold and collectibles from the wreck of the Nuestra Señora de Atocha, which went down not far from Key West.
There is a museum in Key West, the Fisher Museum, which holds many artifacts from that wreck. Another OF mentioned that he has been to that museum and it is fascinating. According to both OFs, after a storm there is still gold and silver washed up on shore from these wrecks. Wrecks (plural) because the OF renting the Airbnb said the Atocha had a sister ship that many surmise went down in the same storm.
One OF said this particular OF is going to be there with everybody else and their Geiger counters. Then another OF questioned if the workings of these things have changed because he understood the Geiger counters or metal detectors only detected ferrous items and gold and silver are non-ferrous.
The OFs thought the OF leaving would not be alone; it might be just like those who go to Herkimer and the Herkimer diamond mines hoping to find a Herkimer diamond, or those who travel out west, or up in the Adirondacks and go panning for gold.
The OFs thought it sounds like fun though and could be profitable; at least he will be doing it in jeans and T-shirt instead of a mackinaw, and mukluks.
Dearth of drivers
The OFs talked about their ages and jobs since it seems so many companies are looking for workers. “Hey, how about us?”
“Yeah,” one OF said, “we are willing to work but not really able.”
Truck drivers and school bus drivers seem to be desperately needed. Many of the OFs can and do still drive, but one OF mentioned that some OFs really don’t trust themselves in an emergency response to a busload of kids. For instance, what if one student gets sick while on the bus, or maybe the bus gets behind the wheel of a jack- knifing tractor trailer.
One OF carried the conversation a few steps further and commented that he thought, with such a demand for drivers, the employers are going to be taking the bottom of the barrel. They have already snatched onto what was left from before the pandemic and have taken the best of the worst.
This OF fears that there are going to be many drivers behind the wheel of these trucks that don’t even belong on the road with reins in their hands, let alone driving a truck of any kind. A good slogan for OFs or anyone with a driver’s license would be: Drive carefully. Ninety percent of all people are caused by accidents.
Dangers with birdseed
Again, the OFs talked about birds and animals that the OFs used to see, but lately are finding scarce, or not at all. That brought up a brief discussion on birds, and many birders and ornithologists say: Don’t feed the birds because they are finding much of the seed has chemicals on them that are harming the birds and their eggs.
One OF said, “This sounds like we are going back to the days of DDT. That stuff really worked on bugs, but was causing problems with the birds.”
The OFs wondered if the same type of problem was beginning to show itself.
“Strange things,” one OF mused. “Insects are very important to our ecology, but can carry some wicked diseases.”
Those OFs who accepted the invitation of the Country Café in Schoharie to have breakfast with them were: Glenn Patterson, Joe Rack, Mark Traver, Miner Stevens, Roger Shafer, Wally Guest, Harold Guest, Marty Herzog, Paul Nelson, Jake Lederman, Pete Whitbeck, Bill Lichliter, George Washburn, Robie Osterman, Jake Herzog, Duncan Bellinger, Gerry Chartier, Russ Pokorny, Warren Willsey, Rev. Jay Francis, Lou Schenck, Jack Norray, Elwood Vanderbilt, Bob Donnelly, John Dabravalskas, and me.