ON MY WAY

Well, the journey has begun.  Like Bilbo I am on my way to an adventure, but unlike that diminutive hero I am unlikely to encounter any dragons to slay nor elvish lords to outwit.  And one meets so few dwarves these days.  But I do have my pocket-handkerchief.

I have never flown from this little airport in Trenton before.

It's very small with just a few gates, serviced by these A319 commuter jets.  This picture is from the second floor café and bar which is, as you see, right over the boarding area, and where the food (but not the coffee) is surprisingly good.


 

WEIGHT - UPDATE

I have finally crossed the 248 lb barrier this morning!  I am now 30 pounds from where I started this latest bout with my waistline in January.  Now I just have to maintain a little discipline as I start my trip, since I'll not be using my Nutrisystem program meals for the duration.  I still need to be able to, with a straight face, tell the helicopter pilot in Ketchikan that I am under 250 pounds.

PROSECUTOR DE LA RIONDA SHOULD BE FIRED

Let’s assume for a moment that the situation when Trayvon Martin was shot was exactly as George Zimmerman described it.  There was a fight and Zimmerman was losing.  The key point was that the fight arose from an encounter that was initiated by Zimmerman.  Had Zimmerman not, in violation of Neighborhood Watch rules and in direct disobedience to his superior’s order, followed and engaged Martin, there would have been no fight for Zimmerman to lose.  Unless we are to believe that Martin approached and attacked Zimmerman, then we have to understand that it was Zimmerman who made the encounter happen. 

If you look at it from Martin’s point of view, he is being followed and hassled for no good reason by some big white dude.  Zimmerman has no uniform, has no badge or insignia to identify him as a member of Neighborhood Watch (for the very good reason that such encounters are to be avoided), and Martin has no way of knowing that he is not the target of some random bully.  Once begun by Zimmerman, one can picture how the encounter degenerates from words to blows, and Martin apparently is the better street fighter, which is how Zimmerman ends up on his back.  But it is Martin who has ‘stood his ground’ against the assault by an unknown, larger opponent.  Zimmerman may in fact have been in fear for his life at the point where he shot Martin, but was only in that situation because he forced it to happen.  That De La Rionda could not convey that simple point to the jury betrays massive incompetence.

VERMONT

My cousin George Hall holds a reunion for various members of his parent's families, the Halls and the Mitchells.  To him I'm a Mitchell, being the grandson of his mother's sister.  A number of members are from the local area, and his reunion coincides with the local high-school reunion so he can get better attendance.

The reunion is at what was his parent's farm outside South Rygate, near Groton.  The (unpaved) road leading up the hill is actually known as Hall Road.  Here are some shots in and around South Ryegate and Groton.

Hall Road

Groton looking East

Groton looking West

North side of S. Ryegate

S. Ryegate looking North

It's very pretty country. This area is on the eastern side of VT, along the border with NH. The border is defined by the Connecticut River, which may sound odd at first, but remember the border between NJ and PA is the Delaware.

NH mountains from US 305 in VT

Connecticut River

 The Connecticut river isn't all that wide, and in one place is crossed by a covered bridge.

According to the historical marker, this is the longest wooden bridge in the US, and the longest two-span covered bridge in the world.  The fourth bridge at this site, it was built in 1866, and has been toll-free since 1943.  It's referred to as the Cornish - Windsor bridge, from the two towns it connects.

OBSERVATIONS ON A 4th OF JULY

I agree with this 'Born Loser' cartoon, so yesterday I visited the 'Welcome America' party on the Ben Franklin Parkway.  I've never been to this event before; normally we would go to the firework show held on the Delaware, 'cause you can see that from both sides of the river, but I'm going to Vermont this weekend so was going to miss that.

There is a very big crowd.  It's quite the carnival atmosphere, with bible-thumping haranguers, veteran support groups, insurance salesmen, and of course food vendors.  Plus a lot of 'gypsies' running around with a stack of coolers selling water and soda.  Lots of cheese steaks, but no falafel (I looked).  They are saying this morning that there were at least half a million just in the parkway area.  There were also several large video screens around where people could watch the entertainment close up.  I was actually kind of tickled when I saw people seated around these screens, because it reminded me of folks in their living rooms, but without the air conditioning.

Now, I don't actually like crowds, and the musical entertainment was aimed, frankly, at a younger audience.  Plus the trees lining the parkway would restrict the best fireworks viewing, so I walked West along Spring Garden into the Powelton Village neighborhood.  At 34th there was a great block party going on.  The DJ had a huge set of speakers.  How big?  They wouldn't have fit in my van.  I took a video.  I'm sorry there's no sound, but my little digital camera only captures images.  And anyway I've learned not to listen too closely to some rap lyrics.

 

I've always associated line dances with folks in cowboy hats and boots, but it's fun to watch at any time and to any good beat.

One thing I noticed as I wandered around this neighborhood was that there were no bars.  I grew up in a similar residential area in Trenton, and there was a bar on  practically every corner.  There were occasional stores where you cold buy beer along with other goods, but no bars.  Strange. 

In any event I got to meet and do a little partying with a lot of different people, since this wasn't the only block party going on.  All in all, I walked over four & a half miles.  By 9PM I had staked out a good viewing location on the Southwest side of the museum, where there were no trees to block the view.  Most of the people around me were Philly locals, but there was one group of young ladies from China.  Now we couldn't hear the sound system from this spot, but I thought there would be people streaming the show.  It was a huge surprise that in that whole sea of smartphones (and the occasional tablet) no-one was listening to the show.

 

 

But it didn't matter.  The firework show was awesome.  You could feel the airbursts pulsing through your chest a fraction of a second after the firework blossomed in the sky.  There really is nothing better than being there.

One final thought.  Humans are PIGS!  The amount of trash left behind was simply ridiculous.  The detritus included all the bottles and cans, of course, but there were flip-flops, blankets, hats, and the occasional quarter.  The strangest item I noticed was a child's safety seat.  It took an army of sanitation workers (on holiday overtime, no less) all night to clean up so the parkway would open for Friday's business-day traffic.