We have learned as
we have traveled
the road of life, that
there are many, many things
which we simply cannot
explain.
And last week’s column is
one of those things. Needless
to say, the column that appeared
in the paper was not
exactly the same column that
we wrote.
Somewhere between our
pushing the send button on
our computer and the printing
of the paper, the column
was substantially transformed.
We suspect, although we are
not certain, that the transformation
was directly related to
a misalignment of the earth,
moon, stars and several other
galaxies.
Nonetheless, we do apology
to anyone who may still be
wondering why on earth we
were talking about not liking
to cook. And, should anyone
have a burning desire to read
last week’s column in its entirety,
please let us know and
we will be more than happy
to send a copy out via e-mail.
We must admit that we think
it would have made more
sense had the second half of
the column been preceded
by the first half of the column.
Of course, we could be wrong
about that. We have been
known to discover that there
are times when something
seems perfectly clear to us
and yet makes absolutely no
sense to anyone else.
We also wish to apology to
the members of the Literary
Discussion Group as part of
what was missing from last
week’s column was the announcement
of their upcoming
meeting.
Thus we note that the
next meeting of the Literary
Discussion Group, sponsored
by the Women’s Club of
Cooperstown, will be held on
Thursday, January 28 at 2:30
p.m. at the Village of Cooperstown
Library. The book for
discussion will be ``Postmortem’’
by Patricia Cornwall. This
discussion, which is open to
the public, will be led by Pat
Wilson.
And, of course, last week’s
column is but one thing we
have encountered of late that
we cannot explain.
For example, on our way
home from Ohio we stopped
in Jamestown, New York, for
lunch. Since we had no idea as
to the size of Jamestown, our
friend Linda asked the waitress
how many people lived in
Jamestown.
After a bit of thought, the
waitress replied that she
thought it was three million.
That number seemed a tad
high to us.
Consequently, when we
got home we looked up
the population of Jamestown.
It is just under 30,000.
That information, of
course, left us wondering
whether the waitress had
no concept of how many
people three million might
be or if it just seemed to
her that Jamestown was
a big place and thus must
have three million people
living there. Either way, we
can’t explain it.
Nor can we explain a
notice that we received in the
mail that we had been given a
gift subscription to Smithsonian
Magazine from Harriette
Treloar.
Not only do we already have
a subscription of our own to
Smithsonian Magazine, we
have never heard of Harriette
Treloar and have no idea who
she might be. We called the
magazine in hopes of getting
some clarification. Unfortunately,
they seemed to be as
clueless as we were.
And finally, we cannot
explain how complicated
we think the Netflix system
of DVD rental must be. Once
again this year, as we have
done in previous years, we are
partaking of the Cabin Fever
Film Series by renting this
year’s movies through Netflix
and then watching them from
the relative comfort of our
cabin, as it were.
Unfortunately, ``The Heiress,’’
which was one of the
movies, was not available
from the usual Netflix location
and thus had to be sent
from another location which
would require, we were told,
a delay of three to five days.
We thought such a delay
was odd for Netflix but when
the movie finally arrived, we
realized it had been sent from
Honolulu, Hawaii.
We were stunned, although
we don’t quite know why, that
Netflix was able to track down
the movie in Hawaii and ship
it to us.
Of course, what we really
don’t understand is why
Netflix did not track down
and send with the movie any
of what we assume would
be balmy Hawaiian weather.
Quite frankly, we think we
would have enjoyed that even
more than the movie.
In closing, we recently
encountered from one of our
Facebook friends a quote
from the president’s State of
the Union address in which he
said ``Saying no to everything
is good short term politics but
it is not leadership.’’
And while we would not
disagree with the statement,
we also wonder if the
converse, ``Saying yes to
everything is good short term
politics but it is not leadership,’’
is also true. It quite
reminds us of the old saying:
``There are two sides to every
story,’’ which we have chosen
as this week’s quote.
PLEASE NOTE: Comments regarding
this column may be made by mail at 105
Pioneer Street, Cooperstown, NY 13326,
by telephone at 607-547-8124 or by email
at cellsworth1@stny.rr.com.
Columns
In These Otsego Hills: No ... we can’t explain it
- Columns
-
-
In These Otsego Hills: The losses are adding up ...
It is with sadness that we note the passing of long time friend, and distantrelative, Jane Patrick. Over the years we have worked with Jane in a number of organizations including Women’s Club and the Community Advisory Committee at Bassett. And, of course, in later years we joined her, along with the other Dinner Belles, for any number of delicious meals. But we do think that our favorite memory that we shared with Jane was when we discovered, having both married Cooperstown natives, that we shared Cooperstown Christmas plans.
Continued ... -
Up On Hawthorn Hill: Bird Feeder?
Bird feeder is a relative term. At least that is the case around here. A few mornings ago we spotted the first rabbit to visit the feeders. Normally, all we see during the winter are rabbit tracks crisscrossing the gardens.
Continued ... -
From Fly Creek: Cheers for the Blue Rabbit!
My handwriting’s always been an embarrassment. Way back in elementary school, while most of the others were developing a clear, sometimes graceful hand (especially the girls), my penmanship showed no improvement.
Continued ... -
In These Otsego Hills: This and that ...
We have found the weather so far this year to be on the unusual side. And while we have no problem with the fact that we have received very little snow, we are of the opinion that what we have had instead is not particularly to our liking either. In fact, we are very hesitant to venture out much as we live in fear that the rain will turn to mixed precipitation which will freeze into a sheet of ice. And we are definitely opposed to encountering a sheet of ice underfoot. In fact, we are so hesitant that we now have taken to canceling our participation in events based on what just might be a dubious forecast.
Continued ... -
Book Notes: Feinstein’s latest is sheer enjoyment
Most people who follow sports have probably heard of John Feinstein. As a nationally known author, sportswriter, pundit and broadcaster, he has brought a unique angle to sports journalism. His groundbreaking book on Bobby Knight’s 1986-87 Indiana University basketball team, “A Season on the Brink,” still resonates today as an all-time classic.
Continued ... -
Book Notes: No Trekkie should miss Shatner’s books
It would be hard to find a television phenomenon as popular as “Star Trek.” Even though it was only on television for three seasons and 79 episodes (1966-69) it attracted viewers and devotees that still follow it passionately 45 years later. The fanatical supportspawned several movies and television spinoffs. Star Trek conventions continue to this day. There has never been anything like it.
Continued ... -
Up on Hawthorn Hill: Making sense of things
A book I have been reading investigates the various ways over time that we have made sense of the world. It carries the reader through to the present via several seminal classical texts and ultimately aims to suggest a strategy for “ finding meaning in a secular age.”
Continued ... -
In These Otsego Hills: ‘Property must be secured or liberty cannot exist.’ − John Adams
Last week we were asked if we would be interested in previewing a documentary, “The Empire State Divide,”produced by the Foundation for Land & Liberty. And we were more than happy to do so as we understood the documentary dealt with the problems that continue to face family farms.
Continued ... -
From Fly Creek: Now wait a minute!
On the ninth day of Christmas, driving down Cooperstown’s Eagle Street, I saw something astounding! No, not “nineladies dancing, eight maids a-milking, seven swans” etc. I saw one jogger jogging. And puffing on a cigarette.
Continued ... -
In These Otsego Hills: Goals of the past and goals of the future
We have long subscribed to the concept that we are always more successful if we, number one, set a goal and then, number two, meet it. And this was our thinking when we decided before Christmas to watch at least part of every college football bowl game. It was perhaps an odd, if not completely nonsensical, goal.
Continued ... -
In These Otsego Hills: Not to our liking ...
It is with sadness that we note the recent death of Steve Nagel. The son-inlaw of our late husband’s cousins, Alice and Harvey Eckler of Fly Creek, Steve was married to the Ecklers’ oldest daughter, Gail. We had the pleasure of spending Christmas Eve with the Nagels and the Ecklers in Fly Creek, greatly enjoying the delicious food and delightful conversation.
Continued ... -
Up on Hawthorn Hill: Of birds and faith
I watch birds quite a bit. Every five days or so I send in a report to Cornell as partof its annual Project Feeder Watch program. The data, collected from volunteers from all over the country, enables scientists to track population trends. I would spend quite a bit of time checking out the visitors to our feeders anyway. Participating in the feeder program makes a personal pleasure that much more meaningful. It is rare that aesthetical and scientific endeavors work in tandem.
Continued ... -
Book Notes: Biography captures the real Stephen Colbert
It would be hard to find a comedian as unique as Stephen Colbert. As the host of “The Colbert Report” on Comedy Central he hasmanaged to leave his mark on the nation’s consciousness in both a serious and humorous sort of way. His unusual wit has allowed him to become American icon. It would be difficult to find another entertainer quite like him.
Continued ... -
From Fly Creek: Christmas and varied blessings
I’m still astounded! The last farmers’ market before Christmas, I was sitting up front, directly under the ceiling heater, shmoozing with the hoi-polloi. (That’s an awkward linguistic mix,but let’s let it go.) As I sipped my hot coffee, a gloved hand came to rest on my shoulder and a warm voice said, “Merry Christmas, Jim.” I looked to my left—it was Santa Claus!
Continued ... -
In These Otsego Hills: Always a learning experience ...
We must admit that we thoroughly enjoyed our 2011 Christmas celebration. We partook of Christmas Eve dinner at the home of Alice and Harvey Eckler of Fly Creek and Christmas Day dinner at the home of Sandy and Al Bullard of Milford. We had our usual Christmas Day brunch at home on Pioneer Street, although we must admit it was a tad bit later than usual as, what we enjoyed most about Christmas, namely our granddaughter Abby, took a great deal of time opening her Christmas presents.
Continued ... -
In These Otsego Hills: Coming up ... 2012
Difficult as it seems, 2011 is fast coming to an end. And it is always our hope that as a year draws to a close, the issues which have been in the forefront during the year will be resolved. Unfortunately, we suspect that will not be the case this year. Instead, we are fairly certain that many of the issues that plagued this year, will continue to plague next year. Thus we will find ourselves still musing about the same issues we have spent time with already. And while we have not come toany conclusions about many of the issues, we do think they would all likely benefit from both sides thinking critically about perspective, risk assessment and possible solutions.
Continued ... -
Up on Hawthorn Hill: Circularity
When she was a puppy my dog Gabby would run in what I described then as “circles of joy.” She celebrated her15th birthday a few weeks ago and despite the inevitable frailties that old age imposes upon all of us, she is doing pretty well.
Continued ... -
Book Notes: Grisham doesn’t disappoint
John Grisham is one of this country’s most popular authors. Every time he publishes a book it’s an instant best-seller. He appeared on the scene about 20 years ago with his tense legal thrillers, “A Time to Kill” and “The Firm,”and hasn’t stopped producing top-notch novels since.
Continued ... -
From Fly Creek: Still singing, beyond our hearing
This column from Christmas 2001 still speaks deeply to me, and perhaps will to you, too. Take it, please, as my Christmas gift.
Continued ... -
In These Otsego Hills: The 2011 Cooperstown Carol
Since 1984, with the exception of one year, 1999, we have looked forward at the end of the year to going through all the issues of the paper in order to glean those news items which have been worthy of note throughout the year and which should make their way into our annual Cooperstown Carol.
Continued ...
-
In These Otsego Hills: The losses are adding up ...
