Poconos 2019

California Dreaming

It's official. I am retiring.  No more scary driving along cliffs, no more vertical hairpin turns, no more roads without guard rails.  After a few days at Yosemite, in the flat valley near Fresno on the way back to Annie's, I wondered out loud why they couldn't put a park there, and sell the views of fields of grass, with an occasional cow thrown in.

Once I did recover from the driving, though, Yosemite is pretty magnificent.  I kind of remember that Peter and Sean climbed up Half Dome. Say it ain't so.  Isn't looking at it from the parking lot good enough?

We were there three nights and did eight different hikes (from a book called Easy Hikes). We ended up at Big Trees Lodge in the southern part of the park, and we both thought the place had Grandma and Pop written all over it. White porch railings, battleship gray porch floors, old window panes.  Just wonderful.

We had gone to Yosemite to give Annie a little break from hosting her parents. She took us to a Friday night museum event in Oakland that was a lot of fun (with food trucks) and a very diverse crowd.  We also met up with some Peace Corps friends, and we all went to a Giants game on Fathers Day. Then, we got a sneak-peak at Doordash headquarters (very cool, lots of computers and free food and nice colleagues, with an emphasis on youth).  

I'm not the first person to notice that California is a little different, a bit of a trend setter.  For example, it was the first time I saw an animal relief station at an airport (SFO).  I can't imagine, don't really want to imagine, what it looks like inside.  Are there fire hydrants?  Also, I should just take a picture of the shoes we saw and post it. I think the economy is booming on just the different styles of footwear.  

A wonderful trip but we were happy to get home, even though the grass is long.  The garden survived our absence, thanks to Timmy scaring the groundhog(s?)  We have our best crop of strawberries - red all the way through, and have enough lettuce to feed all of Pittsfield.  Asparagus too. 

On the red-eye flight home, I woke up to see Mary watching Free Solo, the movie about Alex Honnold climbing the face of El Capitan without ropes.  Of course, we watched the whole thing again that night at home.  It was easier since we know he made it. Recommended watching even from someone so queasy about heights as me.  From the safety of your living room sofa.  It doesn't mean I'm not retired from scary driving though.

Joe got home on Saturday too, after a summer break in Portugal with Leonor's family.  Thomas has been there for the month of June and is picking up a few words in Portuguese, and his soccer skills have vastly improved. Lots of time at the beaches, which look spectacular and with friends and family. 

We talked to Margaret who had spent a week in Uruguay, and she got home just before the country shared a power outage with Argentina.  Otherwise, she might still be there.  Pretty nice country to get stuck in, though.

Mary's still struggling with her hand/arm issues.  The therapist said that the recovery was slow and setbacks followed signs of improvement.  Frustrating.

Other than that, can't go through June without thinking of Pop's birthday and their anniversary, as well as David and Paula's anniversary.  Nice memories.

Hope everyone is well, and thinking Poconos!  Love from up here.

Really?

The whole month of May without a weekly letter?  Inexcusable.  But still I have a thousand excuses: gardening, exercise, travel to DC, visitors, lifelong learning classes, Mary's operation.  Wait a minute, that's what the weekly letters are supposed to cover.  Two more comments on letter writing:  first I read a story about the lost art of letter writing and how we're communicating digitally with an emphasis on short and quick content.  Second, I just finished a short piece on Richard Holbrooke, the diplomat who negotiated the Dayton Peace Accords to end the war in Bosnia.  That article drew heavily on letters that Holbrooke wrote as a young Foreign service officer in Vietnam.  What will historians have to draw on in the future, without this kind of letter?  Tweets, I suppose, sadly.

Anyway, the letter has been on my list for some time, so here goes, finally.

What's on your coffee table?  Andrew sent along the picture here that goes a long way of summing up both our times (Muellar report) and his times (grandparenting and taking care of elderly parents.)  

This reminds me of one of my favorite parts of the Sunday NYTimes that asks authors to list what they have on their night stand.  Unfortunately, for me, my nightstand is filled with guilt, all those books and magazines I haven't read yet.  What does your reading table (by the bed or in front of your couch) say about you?  Send your photos to popsweeklyletter.bubba@blogger.com and we'll all get to see what you're up to, through your books and magazines.

Here in western Mass, our lives are still revolving around Mary's ongoing health (back, arm and hand issues) and I know she doesn't like to dwell on them.  Her second surgery to free up space on an impinged ulnar nerve in her elbow went well, but she was disappointed in the lack of immediate or even quick recovery.  Now, a few weeks later, she is starting to see signs of progress, but as doctors and other medical folks have told her, nerves take a long time to heal.  She has a good occupational therapist now and she is conscientiously doing weird exercises with foam blocks, silly putty and broom sticks (there's a Jeopardy clue, for you - what are tools to help you recover from nerve damage in your hands.)  

Speaking of Jeopardy, we did manage to catch a couple of recent shows of Jeopardy with James, including one where he almost lost (if not for a late daily double) and the one he did lose, to a Princeton graduate, I might add.  

 

Speaking of Princeton, we saw Peter handsomely regaled in his reunion jacket, and it looked like they had good weather for the P-rade and other festivities.

And, speaking of other festivities, we went to a noted bar/performance venue in Shirley Mass called Bull Run, and saw Sage Leger (Cara and Brian's daughter, John and Marilyn's granddaughter) as lead vocalist in her band do the opening for a New Orleans Blues Band.  Quite a performance, and we admired the 10th grade Sage carry off guitar and vocals for the band.  And, she had earlier in the day had a vocals recital.  What did I do with my youth?  Don't go there.

Earlier in the month, John and Marilyn had come north and stayed with us for a couple of days.  Johnny too is slowly recovering from his shoulder surgery.  They came up for another granddaughter's (Hayley, Heather's daughter) graduation from University of Rochester,  Hayley will do a year of medical research and is planning on applying to med school.  I ask myself the same question form the previous paragraph.

And, of course, speaking of Rochester, David called one night to ask about going in on a house in Indian Hill that was for sale.  Former owner?  Marvin Lewis, former coach of the Cincinnati Bengals.  

As hard as I am trying to find a transition, I can't, so I'll just head off in another direction: Washington, where we headed last week for our monthly check-in on children and one grandchild, before he is off to Portugal for the month of June.  He is growing up so quickly, with words now and much more sure-footed.  We had the joy of picking him up at day-care a few days, and didn't even mind the traffic going in and out of the city, since he regaled us with squeals of delight whenever he saw a piece of construction equipment.  We stayed with Margaret and Andrew, and it was nice to see Andrew with more free time, now that his classes are over.  Leonor made us dinner one night and we had a barbecue at Margaret and Andrew's another night.  We also had time to check in on friends, including the man from Libreville who helps set up our projects.   

We had hoped to see Peter and Janet on the way down, but Peter had a crunch day with legal filings and other assorted things that I am not sure I would ever be able to grasp.  (Aside, I am reading through the Muellar report myself - just finished volume 1 - and am amazed at all the lawyer details that are included.  Among other things, I should add.)

In between, we were able to get the garden up and running. That means compost and mulch hauling and raking out flower beds. We have added two rhododendrons and a dogwood tree to the yard; we have been eating asparagus, rhubarb pies, lettuce and we see strawberries on the way.  Optimism includes beans, tomatoes, carrots, beets, more lettuce, squash and cucumbers, if we can keep the groundhogs at a distance.  Timmy is helping with that as he comes over and is poised to hunt down the groundhog he calls Stubby; actually, they're all Stubby.  I've used bear spray, ammonia and moth balls in their holes. so it's an all-out shock and awe campaign.  I think we all know how this is going to end.  

Looking forward to this month, with trips to the Cape, California and northern Vermont.  July and August we plan on sticking close to home.

And happy birthdays, to Sean and Matthew and did I mention Mothers' Day came in the middle of all this excitement?  IF not, happy belated day, as we're still in the month-long festivities.

And that wraps it all up.  Love from up here.

       

May showers

Our new motto up here is April showers bring May showers.  Nothing but rain for the foreseeable future.  We had a brief wonderful hint at things to come with some warm weather around Easter, but now back to cold, a cruel fake out for the daffodils and flowering trees into blossoming early.  Faked me out, as it's back to warm woolies.  At least we haven't had a blizzard, like Andrew said they endured in Chicago last week.

When I talked to Andrew he said they were watching Elliot and Auden while their parents took Myles to Avengers: Endgame.  I'm wondering if anyone else in the family saw it this weekend?  Perhaps it broke the all-time box-office record for Dickson viewing on the first weekend, leaping ahead of Titanic or the Christmas that Almost Wasn't.

Speaking of Easter, we hit the road and headed to DC for the weekend.  It had been a while since we saw everyone, and as much as Thomas had changed into a little boy, we still recognized him.  Don't know if he recognized us, but he did pull out my favorite book shortly after we saw him.  It was not the Book of Common Prayer that he did open up during the Easter service, but something called Things that Go.  Mary continues to be amazed how boys are drawn to construction equipment, remembering Joe's fascination and Margaret and Annie's complete lack of interest.  Hence pne of the photos this week.  

We had as usual a great weekend, with Easter dinner of ham and salmon over at Margaret and Andrew's.  Melodie and Jeffrey joined us for dinner, and we got caught up on all things Mueller, and importantly, plans for Melodie's birthday party.

Margaret had just returned from a week in Guatemala where she met with current, former and prospective Fulbrighters.  She returned with suitcases loaded down with beautiful weavings.  Put Antigua on your list of places to visit.  Andrew is getting close to the end of his program in public health.  Today, by the way, is Leonor's last day at her work, and she is scouting around for a new job.  Not anyone's favorite periods in life.

Annie started her new job at Doordash last week.  While in DC, we took advantage and did our first order, of Asian food, which came quickly and ready to eat.  We have yet to try it in Pittsfield, as they just started, but we're looking for the right day.

David passed along an article he saw about a Princeton professor, aged 71, marrying a former student, aged 26, who was his thesis advisee and a valedictorian.  I remember seeing an article in the Alumni Weekly a few days prior about a new rule that passed the faculty senate prohibiting relationships between professors and their graduate students.  Wonder why they didn't include undergraduate students?  Anyway, he also mentioned they are in the painting the porch business this spring, keeping up another Dickson tradition.

We saw the photos of Peter's birthday with Johanna and Sean and Erin, including a "P" cake made by Erin.  And we saw other photos of Johanna with John Lennon's son who is one of her book clients.  Fantastic!

John Boyle is still going through the long recovery from his shoulder surgery.  He is going to physical therapy which is so painful it sets him back a few days each time.  The good news – only six more months. 

Speaking of surgeries, we're off to see the doctor this morning to try to figure out what the heck is going on with Mary's hands and arm, we think some unintended consequence from her January back surgery.  She had an electrical test and MRI last week, so hopefully will have a few answers and then a solution.  She is gaming through the pain, trying to get in exercise and even a little swimming.

I've started teaching a class at the life-long learning institute on international relations, and we're filling in days with French conversation groups, hiking and photography workshops, including one on phone cameras that was really interesting and helpful.  We're clearing out gardens and flower beds, did our annual brush burn, ordered compost and mulch.  Nice to be outside, with hints at some wonderful times on their way. 

We're also beginning to plan for the Poconos, after learning that we will be joined by Janie and her daughter Susan this year.   

That's the news from up here, with love.

Home again

It's like I never left.  Back home and easing back into my familiar routines.  That means of course my old eating patterns.  I have quickly put on six or seven pounds of what I had lost.  Oh well.  

This week, the ice went off the lake.  It snowed last week, but yesterday the temperature hit 69 degrees.  Walking around outside, in the warmth of the sun, was wonderful.  There was even a line at King Kone when we drove by around lunch time.  Still, it's hard to think of warm temperatures, so when we go outside we're still wearing sweatshirts and jackets until we realize how warm it is and how unnecessary they are.  We see photos of climes further south and see trees and flowers in bloom, and can't wait til we catch up.  To that end, Mary bought some tulips yesterday to help push the season along.

Timmy dropped by yesterday, back from his extended snowbird break to parts west and south.  He spent a few weeks in a beach hut hundreds of miles down the coast from San Diego.His extended drive back took him through Utah - Zion and Arches, a snow-bound Colorado, Michigan, Pennsylvania and home.   I can't help but add that he saw no signs of a border crisis when he drove back into the U.S.  A ten-minute wait, he said.  

In contrast, my wait through customs at JFK was a crisis.  Thousands of people queuing up in those turnstile aisles going back and forth, in the craziest of mazes.  It took half an hour just to reach the main hall, as the numbers of planes arriving left us in the hallways.  I think I'd still be there except the young woman in front of me told me to download the mobile passport app and sign up, so I could get in a shorter line (that was still a hundred yards long.)  Two hours, and I was in the shorter line.  

Anyway, Mary was still waiting when I emerged, if only she had recognized me.  My beard was removed the next morning.  We had a fun couple of days, walking the length of Manhattan, it seems.  We went to the Tenement Museum, and Lincoln Center, to the Strand bookstore, our favorite French restaurant for steak and frites, and the Hungarian pastry shop at 110th Street. And saw a movie called Transit that I slept through mostly.  I wish I could blame it on jet lag.

Other travel - we see Sean and Erin in South Africa, hitting all the wonderful spots there.  I was momentarily worried when I read the story of a lion mauling someone in Kruger Park, but figured it couldn't have been either of them when it turned out to be a rhino horn poacher.  Margaret spent this week in Guatemala for work.  She sent back several messages saying something to the effect that if she ever goes missing, you can probably find her in Antigua, the old capital of the country.  And, Joe returned from ten days of work in Amsterdam and Paris.  

Andrew and Lur headed out to Michigan for a couple of Claire's spring music concerts.  Sounds like Claire, who teaches band for all grades is juggling quite a range of talents with success.

Big news on the west coast this week.  Annie turned in her notice to GE, with the announcement of a new job at a company called DoorDash.  By coincidence, when I went to download the DoorDash app on my phone, they said that the launch date for DoorDash in Pittsfield was April 10.  So, we'll give it a try this week.  (One of the other volunteers in Gabon hails from Dayton Ohio and he says DoorDash is big out there.)

Big news in Daytona as well.  After living in months with pain, John had shoulder surgery to fix a rotator cuff.  He's looking at an extended recovery process, giving new meaning to baseball players who lose a season getting their shoulders repaired.  Not sure if John will be throwing the curve ball any time soon, but he did say he has no more shoulder pain, but the wound is slowly healing.

Mary, too, has no back pain from her January surgery, but has some residual problem with a nerve going down her arm and hands.  Very painful and she has some tests coming up to see what exactly is going on.

Other big news - we did our taxes.  And happily, we're getting a little back, even though we couldn't itemize this year.  

And,now that I'm home, we're looking ahead to the summer months - two family reunions, with the Dicksons in the Poconos and with the extended Collins family up here.  We're trying to put together a Peace Corps reunion of sorts and we've arranged to head to Portugal in October to walk a portion of the Camino de Santiago with foreign service friends.  Nice to plan and think ahead.

Happy birthdays to Johnny and to Peter.  Enjoy the days!  Anyone else??

The photo below is another reunion with the man who lived in my house in Lastourville in 1977-8, a 14-year-old student who had no place to stay.  I saw him after 40 years this year.  Wonderful.

Love from up here

What’s new?

Two photos tell a story here. Mary went down to Daytona to visit John and Marilyn for a week. Me, on the other hand, have been au village for three weeks now, plugging away on the pre-school class we're building. Progress is slow but moving along.

Mary's had her own slow progress as she continues to have nerve pain in her hands and arms. Her back is better, but....

This week was both the first day of spring and David's birthday. Hope it was the best birthday ever. I can see the temperatures on my phone and see warm weather all over. I remember David saying that both Matthew and Jeffrey were going to join him at an oval box making workshop in March. Hope it went well.

We see Thomas growing and enjoying extended visits from his Portuguese grandparents and he has even said the word "avo" Portuguese for grandma.

Margaret and Andrew have gone and come back from a brief vacation to Mexico. Annie had work on the east coast and came to keep Mary company for a few days. Akiba is Fang for merci. Annie had some legal questions that Peter helped her with. Another "akiba".

I saw a headline for an article in the Times about giving up on Facebook. I have been without access since getting here and I have to admit I miss it. That's where I get most of the family news and photos.

Hope everyone is happy, healthy and thriving. Love from over here

February's gone too

I really should get more regular about these.  Somehow, days fly by and then before you know it, four weeks have passed.  Sorry.

For us up here, the past few weeks have been an endless series of days changing plans, filing insurance claims, getting organized, purchasing stuff I think we need, and today, packing.  It won't all fit, so now I have to make decisions.  Do I leave the malaria pills or the mosquito net?  Just kidding, both of those are going, but maybe not the maple syrup and the frying pan.  Wait, they're pretty essential too.  Why am I taking used tennis balls?  Someone said they make great gifts for kids.  Oh well, I still have a few more days to stuff and repack.

In the middle of the month, Mary and I spent a week in DC, helping Joe take care of Thomas, while Leonor was in South Africa, on a long-planned trip with her Portuguese friends.  She did FaceTime every day, and one day, she looked out the window and saw elephants in the game park, so she turned the camera around.  Pretty exciting.  It was almost as exciting in DC with Thomas, taking him to the park, and reading books and wrestling and changing diapers and just plain spoiling him.  I have to say I am a little out of practice, and made a few mistakes (like giving him a roll in the grocery store right before dinner.)  Meal times were interesting as we watched him eat 4 hot dogs one night.  Where does it go?  I don't think I've ever eaten four hot dogs.  Of course, they were without rolls, but still.

While in DC we celebrated a birthday and Valentine's Day.  Annie was in town for the weekend, having scheduled work on the east coast.  So nice.  She filled us in on her ski trips to Lake Tahoe.  

And we caught up with Margaret and Andrew several times.  Andrew continues to be busy with his school research and course work, and Margaret remains busy at work; one of the countries in her portfolio is Venezuela!

Mary continues to convalesce and is careful to follow doctor's orders about driving, lifting, exercising.  But she is slowly on the mend, and next week starts physical and occupational therapy.  She's even gone in the water a few times, and swum 20 laps, more than probably many of us who have not had back surgery.  The back expert in Dundee has called a few times to check in and give reassuring advice.  

While down in DC, we learned that Mary's Aunt Mary passed away.  She had lived a full life, but spent the last three years suffering from dementia.  Very difficult, but her daughter gave her the gift of staying in her home for that time.  We were able to get back fro the funeral which was really a celebration of a full life.  Many of the extended Collins family gathered to pay respects to Mary but also to that generation of brothers and sisters whose life was filled with overcoming hardship, relying on each other and making the most of their close, happy bonds.  It was especially nice to see Patrick Boyle, who came up from Stonington for the funeral.

We've spoken a few times with John and Marilyn who are checking in on Mary's recovery.  John himself has had neck/shoulder issues and is also in recovery mode.  They are off to Arizona this week.  If they had gone this week, they might have seen Timmy, who headed out of the snowy northeast to go south and west and ended up in Flagstaff that we saw on the news had its heaviest snowfall ever, I think.  Last we checked though he was in LA and wearing flip flops.

Speaking of snow, David says Rochester/Fairport is on track for record snowfalls.  We even saw this week that the coldest Dicksons were those who lived in Princeton.   Facebook shows Donald and Everett growing fast, and can't wait to see them in person this summer at the Poconos! 

Today is the first game of spring training, for the Reds anyway.  That's a hopeful sign!  We also saw the daffodils and crocuses poking their heads out in DC, but they have had some snow so not sure if those early sprouts survived.  Still, we passed the official 2/3 of winter and spring is around the corner.

BTW, I had a whole paragraph on the Super Bowl, but Robert Kraft kind of spoiled that one.  I am beginning to get why people don't like the Patriots.

Hope you all are well and thriving.  Love from up here.