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Showing posts from November 21, 2021

Back to the "Deep South" in Duluth GA

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I get a kick out of hearing the term "Deep South" in 2026. It is a crazy incredibly outdated label. I think maybe I should start saying the "Deep Northeast". I am a Yankee. My family came over on the Mayflower and moved to Upstate NY via Connecticut. Terms used in the revolutionary and Civil war days are generally inappropriate. My family is all but totally out of NY State now. I find the term "deep south" to be of the same thinking that the movie "Heidi" is what contemporary Europe is like. Watching the fireworks in Rochester, NY from the back yard of a house in the city made it look like a real war zone. It is a long drive between Berkshire, NY and Duluth, GA. Most of the 35K miles on the truck were spent in between. I drove the truck about 3k miles in 2-1/2 weeks. It was great to spend time on the farm. It was good to make some progress on needed repairs and improvements. I also felt good about making some new friends up there. I will be...

Thanksgiving vacation 2021

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We are back from our Thanksgiving vacation 2021. We spent most of the time in Ireland and then to cap it off we participated in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. It was 7 hotels different hotels in 8 days. We spent one night on the plane of course. I drove 1300 km in Ireland and North Ireland, concentrating on what side of the road I should be on and uttering my self-talk -- "Lefts are easy. Rights are hard". The Parade People ask us... "How did you get the opportunity to walk in the Macy's day parade?" It was in the works for a few months. Angie works at Macy's and they sent out a corporate email canvassing for volunteers. She applied and then again applied for me being a family member. We were eventualy approved for the role we asked for --"Banner Carrier". Neither one of us have any parade experience, nor band, nor theatrical, nor anything to do with "entertainment". We thought being in this incredibly iconic American event ...