It is one of the mysteries of our nature that a man, all unprepared, can receive a thunder-stroke like that and live. There is but one reasonable explanation of it. The intellect is stunned by the shock and but gropingly gathers the meaning of the words. The power to realize their full import is mercifully lacking. - Mark Twain's Autobiography (writing about his daughter Suzy Clemens' death).

I've read the autobiography many times; it is my favorite book by my favorite author. There are many sentences, paragraphs and anecdotes within it that resonate. This quote has been running through my mind for the past week. Last Saturday morning, we rushed my father to the hospital because we thought he was having a stroke. Turns out it was not a stroke, but instead he has a brain tumor called a meningioma.

It's very serious of course, but not quite as bad as it sounds at first -- it is not something that spread from somewhere else but instead it is something that he had had for many, many years, apparently a lot of people have them and they do not cause symptoms and do not need to be treated if they are not causing symptoms. It is not "in" his brain, but on the surface in the membrane. Also, at 85 he is in excellent health and has no other issues. So they were able to stabilize him with medication, his symptoms went away, and he came home from the hospital Tuesday (my birthday, certainly one I will never forget). He has a slight speech issue, although no worse than many people his age, and you would never know something was wrong with him.  A big victory happened yesterday -- my brother threw a reception for his daughter, who married her partner over the summer and my father did not want to miss it. And he didn't!

More campus construction -- this is the new school of business building.

I didn't post yesterday, but wanted to note that it would have been Mimmie's 108th birthday! I thought about her all day. I am working on turning A Visit with Mimmie into a kindle book...stay tuned.

2012 continues to dish out sad milestones. I found out that a friend and former co-worker Nancy died yesterday. She was about 67, I think. She had not been well for about the past 5 years. I last saw her in December 2010. She was a nice and gracious person, and was often my walking companion on the trek up State Street at lunch time. RIP Nancy. I'm sure there was a party waiting for you in heaven.

Added: Another great column.

No chance to post yesterday, but on Monday night I scanned some photos I took in 1997 on a visit to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty, on my 36th birthday. It seems like longer ago than 15 years, while eleven years ago seems like yesterday.

As always, I am contemplating how I can bring the herbs inside as soon as the frost threatens. It was a little crisp this morning, but no where near freezing yet. Bright blue September day. (Also the 17th anniversary of Howie's death...howzerdo or just "do.")

Offspring of Little Shop of Horrors have sprouted everywhere. This little guy was in the middle of the lawn. I dug it out in the hope of having an inside tomato plant.

Spent another four dollars for an amazon movie on roku -- this time, The Perfect Family. We chose it solely because of Kathleen Turner, whom we both like. She has aged a lot since I last saw one of her movies, and also gained some weight. Neither is a criticism; I admire her for aging naturally and gracefully. She is still lovely, although they did their best to make her appear frumpy, and she pulls it off. It was an OK movie I guess, but only because she is a good actress. Apart from that, the movie's message was Hollywood's understanding of Catholics: they are unhappy, unforgiving, unenlightened, vain -- oh, and by the way -- hypocrites too. Plus, there are no "cool" clergy. But it did have a happy ending, and her family loves one another. So it's all good. (Not really.)

Here in the real world, I'm very excited to build a lesson plan on Kateri Tekakwitha for the 4th/5th grade catechism class Bob and I are going to co-teach this year.

Staying in Castleton, so no barn duty this weekend. We took the dogs to the cemetery for a walk, and then to the local Stewart's for a treat. When Sophie was alive, that usually meant an eggwich. However, at the location in our village, there is a day time employee we call "the eggwich bitch." In all other Stewart''s I've every patronized, the associates bend over backwards to make customers happy. They keep the hot box full of eggwiches and burgers and the coffee fresh. But our eggwich bitch seems to hate making them, and resents all who want to buy one. They must sell the least volume in eggwiches of any shop in the chain. Today I see the sandwich board in the parking lot says eggwiches and coffee combos are fifty cents off. Must be the eggwich bitch is on vacation this week.

Added Sunday: this morning, again no eggwiches. I didn't plan to buy one, but some other customers were asking, and were told they were being made. But they left empty handed. The eggwich bitch was no where in sight, but it seems she has created an anti-eggwich work culture.

This week I had lunch at the Patroon Room with someone I hadn't seen in about 15 years. She asked me, kind of out of the blue, whether I find my job rewarding? The question took me by surprise. At the time I wondered if she was judging me. I was wearing a tie dye tee shirt and bright pink capri pants. I'm so not where I was when we were peers in class. I have a great memory, and 15 or 20 years ago still resonates on occasion, but actually seeing her again made that reflection all the more powerful. When we were both students, she was full time, GA supported. Doted on by the faculty. Hung out in study groups where they memorized every nuance of the literature in preparation for the comps. I was one class per semester, wearing a suit, running to class from Western Avenue where the bus dumped me out, often late if the class was 4:15 since my System Administration ball & chain did its level best to keep me inside the velvet trap, and off CDTA bus 10. I was invisible to most faculty, and truth be told, kind of liked it that way. Did my funded peers covet my situation? I always felt they disdained it. Or maybe they were just afraid of me.

The question was polite, it was a friendly conversation. We had a lot of fun gossiping. But I wondered, is she thinking how could I chuck the ladder and excitement to become a mellow, spacey hippie? I didn't think about it a lot before I said that I love teaching and that is the part of my job I find most rewarding. I told her the only downside is being an adjunct, but I don't worry about security at all. After ten years being fired seems unlikely, and even if it happened, I'd land on my feet.

Afterwards I thought about it some more, and wondered whether she was not asking me because she questions my motivation, but because she is soul searching her own choices and future. Clearly the stress of running fast takes its toll.

I thought about it some more and decided even when my "cohort" was hanging out in the study lounge and I was dragging my ball and chain to class, I was the hippie.

An quasi-unrelated aside: Now I figured everyone knows I am too young to have been a hippie. But yesterday, one of my students said to me while explaining a contemporary band and protest music: "you're from the sixties, you understand..." I didn't bother to correct him, didn't say "hey buddy, I am a decade too young to be 'from the sixties' except as a baby" -- but that took me by surprise too. LOL moment (in my head).

Added: A funny moment, the blast from the past and I were discussing a person we both know, and I summed it up suddenly: "he has little man syndrome." This so surprised and tickled her. She may have forgotten how fearless I am in my discourse.

As a result of this post, I was asked about a cost comparison. Both districts are in NYSED's similar schools category of "average need / resource capacity." In 2009-10 [the most recent year of data], districts in this category spent $18,262 per student (while all schools in NYS spent $19,921 / student). Similar schools spent $9,695 per general education student, and $26,949 per special education student (compared to $11,105 per general education student and $26,888 per special education student at all schools in NYS). The classification rate for students with special needs at similar schools was 12.3%, and at all NYS schools it was 13%. At Schodack: $18,715 / student total; $8,932 for general education; $26,067 for special education; 14.7% classification rate.

Now hang on to your hat...At OCS: $30,747 / student total; $15,495 general education; $40,128 special education; 17% classification rate. In terms of performance, all of Schodack's schools are in "good standing." At OCS, the high school, Bennett and Woodstock ES are in "good standing." The junior high and Phoenicia ES are labeled in need of improvement (year 1).

But the most shocking statistic to me is that Schodack's graduation rate was 95% for the cohort entering ninth grade in 2006; OCS had a grad rate of 81%, and so did not meet the aspirational goal set for students completing HS in 5 years (95%).

How's this for a punchline? (My mother loves this commercial):

I made french fries with some of those wonderful potatoes from the garden. (We had baked potatoes Monday night -- very versatile crop!) The french fries plus tomato sandwiches were dinner last night! Love the harvest...

I wanted to wait until I had my tax bills, pencil and calculator in hand before commenting. (They arrived Saturday but I wasn't home.) For OCS, it comes to a 2.7% increase over last year (slightly more than reported in the article.) For Schodack, it is an increase of 3.8% over last year (although overall the OCS bill is 56% higher than the one for Schodack). However neither is over the 2% tax cap. I must need to sharpen my pencil and get a new calculator. Or maybe this is "new math?"

The Schodack newsletter explains it this way: "the law requires school districts to use an eight-step formula to determine how much they can increase their tax levy by. As a result, most school districts can raise their tax levies by more than 2% and still be within the tax cap.The reason is the state’s formula allows exemptions for certain school expenditures that are outside a district’s control – such as contributions to the state retirement system – as well as allowances for growth in a community’s tax base. In Schodack CSD, the state allows the district to increase its tax levy by 2.47% and still be within the cap. The district decided to raise the tax levy by that amount to reduce the level of cuts that would be required to programs." 

OCS newsletter says "The Board of Education has adopted a budget that contains a ZERO percent increase to the tax levy. This does not mean that each individual tax bill will remain unchanged from last year."

But I am just being funny, not really expecting a comprehensible explanation. Reconciling the much-touted 2% with reality reminds me of Nineteen Eighty-Four.

Stealing a few minutes to write briefly about one of the things that has been pending. We watched the movie Bernie on roku via amazon (4 bucks). It is an entertaining and often funny movie, very clever. Shirley MacLaine, Jack Black, Matthew McConaughey were all great. But it left me feeling very unsettled afterwards. Again, a bit of the biopic hatchet job, although this time not of the title character, who was portrayed as the hero, very sympathetically. Instead, it was the ultimate of blaming the victim. Spoiler alert: is it really appropriate, tasteful or ethical (forget kind) to produce a movie that makes light of a 30-something charismatic man seducing (emotionally if not physically) and murdering an 81-year-old woman by shooting her four times in the back, and then stuffing her body in the freezer for nine months while he spends her money? This is acceptable and even hilarious because he was a nice, charming guy, she was a rich bitch and he donated some of her money to charity? And it is not like the events were ripped from far back in history -- this woman's immediate family is still living. (Reminded me of The Iron Lady in that single aspect.) News flash: the jury got it right. I feel guilty for enjoying the story (even though my laughter abruptly stopped at the murder).

 These are from the Samsonville garden. Best potatoes ever!

For regular tomatoes, in Castleton I grew Celebrity this year. They are great in containers -- plants didn't get too big, produced an abundance of medium-sized tomatoes perfect for salads, sandwiches and caprese. Thanks to Becker's for the recommendation -- two paws  up!

Bob drove the commissioner's SUV to Rochester today. Filled it up last night. Wow...

Lots of things to write, but very little time to devote. It will keep, or be forgotten, I suppose.

My weekend

And this was waiting for me -- it seems Little Shop of Horrors was quite busy too

I went swimming today! It's been a hot summer but I haven't done much swimming. There have been a lot of problems with the filter and I don't find it appetizing when the water isn't 1) warm and 2) crystal clear. So...closing the pool in 2-3 weeks so it was a treat.

Can it be classes only started on Monday? What a week this has been. Yesterday I barely had time to eat my Genisoy bar and yogurt and I had to drink my seltzer during class. Not easy making it to 7 on only 250 calories! But my classes are going well, at least. Toleration in particular was engaged and engaging last night. I kept them busy for three hours!

Another campus construction picture 

Tuesday they are closing Fuller Road around I-90 and Washington Avenue to install the second of two rotaries. The relocation of Washington Avenue due to the expansion of Nano is making the morning ride to campus a challenge.

Tired does not begin to capture how I feel. Two long days in a row -- quite a shock to my system after a leisurely nearly four months! Yesterday I was back on campus for my first day of classes. They went fine, although I wasn't my usual chipper self. Not sure the students noticed, though, so I guess I did fine. I took some photos of the construction, which is going on everywhere.

These are everywhere. The long stretches make it a hassle to access the buildings, to say the least. I have no idea what they are doing. I suppose it is in the plan (there is a big sign explaining the changes in the last photo, below, but I didn't bother to study it).

Today was Dolly's funeral. My suit sure has been getting a lot of use in 2012. It was heartbreaking. So many memories. The outpouring of support from the community was touching, the ride to the cemetery through West Shokan and over Peekamoose Mountain and the cemetery itself in Grahamsville were beautiful. The procession had a police escort, which was much appreciated. I can't imagine what her family is feeling. Not that I cannot identify with the emotional impact of a loved one's death, but being hit by a car is just awful. With my driving phobia and in-general automobile aversion -- well, there are no words. And then there were the media stories -- despicable.

I took this picture on the way home.

 We stopped at the Mountain Brauhaus -- such a good place!

Tomorrow is another long day on campus, so no snoozing until Friday. Then it's off to Samsonville. I have barn duty this weekend. A glimmer of good news, my mother reports that she is feeling a little better -- so our help appears to be working.

This is funny. Much appreciated the laugh today.

Last day before classes begin! I'm ready. I think. But what will I wear...?

I ordered flowers this morning. The woman who answered the phone could hardly understand me for some reason, but I wanted Dino & Florence, Janette & Ed, Gina & Bob and all the Giuliano family on the card. I had to spell every name several times - including "Ed" and "Bob." And, believe it or not, even "And."  I just hope the card doesn't wind up saying "Jane Al Forage Annette Hans End Amp Jenna Ask Bowl Ask Owl Too Gilligan Farming." I am only exaggerating a little with how ridiculous it was.

Rosie Posey. (One of the joys of my life.)

I had orientation for new students in our department yesterday, which was a first-time effort. It went well. I think it is a good idea. I left after lunch. The afternoon session was about doing library research, and then there was a dinner, and to be honest, I didn't feel like devoting any more than half a day.

Afterwards, we went to Albany Rural and St. Agnes Cemeteries (they are really one big cemetery with a fence dividing the Catholic part from the rest of the cemetery). They are so big that they have offices to look up graves and tell you where they are. Unfortunately the Albany Rural office is only open 9-12 on Saturday and the St. Agnes office is only open weekdays so I will have to go back. I hoped to visit Myrtle McSpirit's grave in Albany Rural and also see if Mimmie's brother Lawrence is buried in St. Agnes. 

So we drove around in both -- they are huge, especially the Albany Rural side. I'd been to St. Agnes twice before when the family members of friends died but I'd never been to Albany Rural before. We thought we would try to find President Chester Arthur's grave and maybe the Cherry Hill Van Rensselaers too. We couldn't find the Van Rensselaers but we did manage to locate Chester Arthur, since that one has signs directing you. It is really an amazing cemetery -- not only enormous but the monuments are incredible. From St. Agnes you can see the Hudson River. 

Afterwards I treated Bob to dinner etc. on Lark Street. There was a pub crawl going on for an adult kickball team. I didn't know adults played kickball (brings a shiver to my spine). The planned bar hopping seemed so contrived but the attendees seemed to enjoy it. Bob tried to convince me to get matching tattoos of a Beagle. I said no, of course. Twenty years ago I would have said yes -- and actually I probably would have been the one sales pitching him. Afterwards he said if he comes up with an idea like that again in the future, to get him some food, stat (he's been dieting). 

He had a chuckle this morning -- as we were leaving for church he noted his white shirt and dress pants and my tie dyed tee shirt and wrinkled cotton capris and said we are reminiscent of Darma and Greg (not that we ever watched the show, but we both understand the premise). As a result, I decided that it was best not to flash a peace sign to folks too far away to easily shake hands during Mass, as I probably would have if I was dressed less like a hippie. 

Today we took the dogs for a walk in Mountain View cemetery behind our house (I saw a deer in the old part) and are catching up on household tasks that get neglected when we go to Samsonville for several weekends in a row. Where does all that paper come from? Seems to spontaneously generate. May as well put a recycling bin right under the mail slot. I watered the garden and flowers and picked produce. Tomorrow I will finalize the plan for Tuesday's and Thursday's classes. Wednesday we will go to Dolly's funeral.  So sad. Hard to not dwell on the tragedy.

All day I planned to post some kind of a photo essay once I put the finishing touches on my syllabi, so as I was making my morning rounds, I took a bunch of pictures. I got the syllabi finished, and the first problem was that I couldn't find the USB cable to plug my phone into the PC. That isn't a hassle for one of two photos, because I just email them to myself. But for a bunch, that is a time-consuming pain.

I threw in the towel and emailed the photos. Then as I was preparing the get started, this transformed from a wonderful day into an absolutely terrible one. I learned a dear friend of my family whom I have known since I was born was hit by a car near her driveway, and died. As usual, the Freeman is outrageous. The article says no tickets have been issued, that it was an accident. Also that she walked into on-coming traffic and the state police are unsure whether she had Alzheimer's.

The road is a dangerous one -- among the reasons I am afraid of cars, I suspect. People drive like nuts on it, and on a Friday there is heavier than usual traffic, as people come from the NYC-metro area to the Catskills for the weekend. If she was near her mailbox, the driver would have had to go into the shoulder, which is quite wide, to hit her. And I know she did not have Alzheimer's. I cannot imagine her walking into 28

I've decided to post my photo essay after all. She loved gardening, flowers especially. RIP Dolly.

 

 There are tomatoes everywhere

 The beans are looking good

 Cucumbers are thriving

Zucchini plant looks good, but no fruit! WHY?

This hosta bed in all its glory borders the garden

 So, yes, there are plenty of bees

Scarlet runner beans have lovely flowers (but aren't as prolific as their less showy cousins)

 In general the flowers are fabulous this year

 The lone zinnia!

 The impatiens in the dog planters is thriving, although enveloped by tomatoes

 Basil is magnificent

 Have Basil will Travel is hanging in there

 Chives are thriving

 Catnip holds its own despite daily mauling from TB/TC

 I consider every year whether I can somehow bring the herb pot inside for the winter

I love this vinca vine

 Little Shop of Horrors has almost completely recovered!

It's a good thing we live life not knowing what's up ahead.

I've been meaning to share the link to my sister's painting for the Leaping Trout project.

While we were waiting for the academic integrity hearing to start or continue, we shared some ideas for making students aware of the severity of cheating, in an effort to discourage it, and so that fewer students wind up in this offending student's predicament. It seems we all find 1-2 cases of academic dishonesty per year. So I designed a True/False  "test" that I plan to use in all of my classes in 2012-13, to see if it helps. It carries zero credit -- but it is mandatory. I will require students to drop the class if they do not complete it with correct answers to every question, and I will give them unlimited attempts to get each one right.

Basically, there are three questions:

1) I have read the following information:

Academic Dishonesty is...
Conduct including, but not limited to, plagiarism, cheating, multiple submission, forgery, sabotage, unauthorized collaboration, falsification, bribery or use of purchased research service reports without appropriate notation; and theft, damage or misuse of library or computer resources. Attempts to commit such acts shall also constitute academic dishonesty. Students assume full responsibility for honesty in academic exercises.
http://www.albany.edu/studentconduct/prohibited_conduct.php

T: Excellent! Hopefully you will not be one of the 1-2 students I find violating academic integrity this year.
F: Go back, read it, and try again. Scores less than 100% correct are unacceptable.

Academic integrity hearing took just over an hour. It was quite an experience, one that I hope to never go through again. I have no idea why a student who is not innocent would want a hearing. The student did not deny the offenses, but argued 1) embarrassment and 2) ignorance of the rules. Her goal was not to change the outcome in either my class or the other professor's, but to avoid being expelled. I am not sure why she wants to stay and keep throwing money away, because her GPA is abysmal and I'm guessing she will be on probation this fall regardless, and kicked out in December anyway. But I suppose academic integrity violations would be a worse reason in terms of getting readmitted eventually. I don't know the outcome -- the decision is not made during the proceeding, but my suspicion is: she will be expelled. In her remarks, I didn't see even a glimmer that she has soul-searched and has now developed an appreciation for learning and the importance of education.

Being on campus was a little strange, but I was happy to go back before classes start. The crush of students will be enough of a shock on Tuesday, after my isolated, quiet summer.  Today it was not busy, but it turns out that my building is still a construction site. Furniture is packed into the hallways, floor is stripped down to concrete in places. There was an electrical burning smell everywhere. I asked, and was told it was normal and the heating system was being tested. At least my PC wasn't crashed, something I have been greeted by at the beginning of the semester more than once!

One positive outcome of the hearing, what they call the "referral" side (us) got to vent, commiserate and share ideas before it started and during the break in the proceedings. Campus may be crowded next week, but faculty will continue to work in (relative) isolation, amidst the chaos. It would be nice to have a chance for more dialogue on issues such as this.

I had a great but tiring weekend. An abundance of tomatoes were waiting when I got home. This morning I awakened to Bob calling out to me from the kitchen. Little Shop of Horrors had done something horrible -- tipped over! I ran outside and we managed to get it right side up -- I wasn't sure that would be possible, so what a relief. It didn't take out any other plants, but it did snap a few of its own branches. So it is a little wilted here and there, but otherwise seems to be OK.

I am nervously anticipating tomorrow's academic dishonesty hearing (what to wear?), but the salve is being excited to be asked to teach combined Grades 4/5 catechism this upcoming academic year! Had our first prep meeting last night -- what amazing materials we will be using! Much more generous than the university in that respect.

Otherwise...working away on syllabi etc. I've volunteered to attend the department's graduate student orientation on Saturday.  Yikes! The semester looms.

The lettuce has bolted and gone to seed, but the reward is these cute little flowers!

The garden is really producing. I have a tomato sandwich every day for lunch. Last night we had just-picked tomatoes, cucumbers and green beans for dinner (with grilled veggie burgers). And zucchini that we bought at a farm stand, because my plants haven't produced any (yet -- I hope).

Also -- my lone zinnia is blooming. I planed three packages of seeds and that's all that germinated! (I eventually planted marigolds in the spot). The zinnia is pink. I will post a picture eventually.

Off to Samsonville for another long weekend, full of friends visiting and barn work. Arrivederci!

Since I can't do Friday, the hearing is scheduled for Wednesday. This is a first; despite my (too) many occasions of discovering academic dishonesty, I have never had to appear at a hearing before. The reason for this is my policy -- if there was any doubt about the cheating, I wouldn't bother pursuing. So there was never an appeal.

I am not sure what to expect. Going with my friend to court a few weeks ago was a new experience. Any time I've had anything to do with the legal system, it has been eye-opening, disheartening, and all around unpleasant. This isn't exactly the same thing, of course. Still is going to be unpleasant, I suspect. What a lovely way to end the glorious summer (not) !

Later, unrelated: almost forgot! I dried some of the tomaccio tomatoes (AKA Little Shop of Horrors). That's their intended purpose. I've been growing them for three seasons, but this is the first time I've tried it. They seem to come out great! I washed them, put them on foil on a cookie sheet, salted them, and baked them for 3 hours at 200 degrees.

I'm past the bittersweet part of August and into the reality part -- which is writing syllabi and getting ready for the semester. Work email has spiked (because everyone else returns from whatever they have been doing wherever they have been). My building has been extensively renovated this summer, so after an absence of four (!) months, I am curious to see it. Yesterday a reminder of the more unpleasant aspects of college teaching hit me in the face. I received a meeting notice. I suspect it is mandatory, although I cannot be there. It is a hearing on Friday for one of the spring academic dishonesty cases.

Are you kidding me? Four days notice for a Friday (gasp!) meeting over the summer, no less? I have never had to attend a hearing before -- my evidence is always irrefutable so there is never any point. Even at that, I did not refer the case to the university level. I didn't even issue a penalty, since the student would have failed even without the dishonesty. But I did report the incident (as is required) and it turned out to be a second offense, so it was automatically referred (as is required).

I'm not sure whether the meeting is something new in the process (could be) or if the student has demanded it, as is her right. I ruminated about it -- too much, as usual tearing myself into pieces -- wondering why. This will be another planned three-day weekend in Samsonville, going down there on Thursday night. So a Friday morning meeting is out of the question. Friends of Bob are visiting (enough said, not my story or at least the part that is cannot be shared here).  Then, my mother recently learned she has two herniated discs in her back and she must rest if she wants to avoid back surgery (and of course she does). She was insistent that all the things she does (which is a lot; think couch potato, and now decide what is the opposite; look in the dictionary and there should be her picture) are not very strenuous and she is being careful. But we decided that is not so -- strenuous or not, caring for horses involves bending and twisting and reaching, even if the lifting is not super intense (though 50 pounds is not uncommon).

So my sister took charge, convinced Ma (not easy! But she comes out to the barn and supervises at all times, and we promised to do the care to her standards) and drafted a schedule, and all of us -- siblings, siblings-in-law and one or two in the next generation are taking turns with the barn work. We are doing it twice a day on a month by month basis, since the doctors said she may heal in 6-8 weeks. It could be more, which is OK with us, although she has a goal besides taking her beloved barn work back over -- to go riding at the end of September (which she is not openly sharing with anyone except my sister and me, so hopefully no-one else is reading this -- if you are, leave her alone! It is a very motivational goal in terms of her taking it easy now).

Since I live 75 miles away, I volunteered for the weekends, including Fridays or Mondays when they are three-day weekends. So in addition to planning to be in Samsonville and having friends visit, Friday is a barn chores day for me.  Naturally one of my amazing family would step up if I had to face the accused, and under normal circumstances I might have to ask them, but in this case it would also involve Bob rescheduling his vacation day and the friends changing their plans. Plus, why should a dishonest student be more important than my mother and her horses? So it's not happening. I do wonder, though, at the timing. Are the parents coming along? Maybe rolling it into a Saratoga vacation? That's a product of my fevered imagination of course -- but it is not exactly a secret how I feel about such foolishness.

Ma and Cinderella, a rescued thoroughbred race horse. Cindy sez: "Screw you racing fans!" (She also sez "Just in case you had the wrong impression, all you helpers could never replace Flo.")

Later:  Now this is funny. Ma is tougher than these Giants!

I intended to post this on Friday -- the beginning of one of our three-day weekends in Samsonville, but was too busy! I did spend a small amount of time on the computer, but what I was doing was the last part of the laptop rejuvenation, detecting the S'ville network, installing the printer, and I discovered on Thursday I'd left the software CDs there so that was still on the list. End result was complete success! The machine is like new.

We ate all these already, but when we arrived back home last night, there were many more waiting :-).

Among the things on my summer to do list, once higher priority tasks are accomplished, are to back up the files, re-format the laptop and take it back to factory default. I am finally getting around to it today ~ everything is now backed up to a flash drive, and I am nervously monitoring the progress of the recovery at this point. Wish me luck!

These pictures don't really capture how lush, vibrant, prolific and massive the tomato patch is this year.

Here is a recent Dear Abby letter that I found to be so funny (and as a cemetery trustee, quite plausible):

DEAR ABBY: My nephew "George" -- who dumped his wife and children for a barmaid -- died recently. He was dead broke, so my sister paid for his funeral. I didn't attend, but I was told that George's cremated remains were put in a whiskey bottle by the barmaid, and the bottle was going to be buried in my mother's grave. Why my sister, his siblings and his kids went along with this idea I'll never know. None of us were raised that way. I found out about it only after the service and put a stop to it. As far as I'm concerned, they could have buried him in a condom, but not in my mother's grave! Was I wrong to put a stop to this travesty? -- DISGUSTED UNCLE

(Abby's response was unremarkable and not worthy of posting.)