I Was Just Thinking

Posted on August 19, 2014August 19, 2014 by Dusty Roads

I still haven’t felt up to going out and about much which is a big reason I haven’t posted much this summer. I think in addition to “feeling poorly” that I’ve also been a little “down in the dumps”. I’ve been lazy. But I admit I perked up when my last two posts of Buddy got some attention. I thought sure I’d neglected things for so long that no one would be paying any attention.

That got me thinking about things that have been in the news lately. First of all was the Robin Williams Suicide. So so sad. Of course it brought out all of the well meaning people who want to use Robin’s death as a call to arms to prevent other suicides. I guess if it helps save someone else then that’s ok. But I feel more for the man and all the demons he has battled. I think his recent diagnosis of Parkinson’s may have been the last straw. He just didn’t have it in him to keep fighting. RIP Robin Williams. You have earned a rest.

And what’s up with Ferguson, Missouri? I missed the beginning of this disaster. I just turned on the news one night and thought I was watching riots in a 3rd world country, not right here in the good old US of A. Are we back to the Civil Rights days? I gather that a white police officer shot and killed a black teenager. The police officer is on paid suspension while his world is exploding. No matter what I read I can’t get a handle on what happened here. A call for a sick person and a call for a robbery. Someone says Brown (the teenager) attacked the officer but another account says the officer was in his cruiser when he fired the first shot. The teenager was unarmed. He was shot 6 times. It sounds terrible. It is tragic. But haven’t we gotten past the riots and looting? Black or white, that doesn’t help anyone.

Is the Market Basket saga news to anyone besides people in Massachusetts and New Hampshire? A family owned business fired it CEO and almost all of the employees of it’s chain of grocery stores (Market Basket) walk off the job. The chain is losing tens of thousands of dollars while this dispute rages but the rift in the family is so bitter that they can’t come to any agreement. I think they are in the 5th week of this battle. The ousted CEO has offered to buy the chain of stores but no one can come to an agreement and the strike goes on. I don’t know the inner dynamics but from the outside looking in it seems we have a case of biting the nose off to spite the face. No matter what, the family is not going to let the ousted cousin win. They’d rather bankrupt the business.

What a sad, sad state of affairs. 🙁

Of Furniture, Shingles and Life

Posted on July 12, 2014July 12, 2014 by Dusty Roads

I feel like I’m neglecting this page. 🙁 I’ve so little time/energy during the week. I felt much better this week than last. I had much more energy. I wonder if the crushing tiredness was more from the meds they had me on for shingles than the disease itself. It hasn’t been too painful. The nasty rash reminded me of poison ivy. It blistered and oozed but it didn’t really hurt like I expected it to. I had one bad day when my right side from my toes to my head throbbed like a toothache. I even had an earache in my right ear. But it was just one day and some extra strength Aleve took care of that in short order. Now the rash has scabbed over but I’m tormented by a strange kind of itchy feeling; like I have little creatures running around just under the skin. Can’t wait for my check up on Tuesday!

One thing I did decide was that I needed more comfortable furniture. My old sectional couch was just too lumpy and uncomfortable. So after almost 20 years it was consigned to the trash. Getting rid of furniture in the city is an adventure. You can’t leave it in the dumpster. You can put it by the road and the city will give you 24 hours to remove it. Cross your fingers a “picker” will grab it or you’re in big trouble.

I didn’t have those options because I couldn’t move the pieces out of the apartment by myself anyway. I felt like the moving commercial that Comcast runs where the guy calls all his friends for help and no one steps up. My friends and friends with trucks all managed to disappear this week. So I called “Got Junk” and they arrived right on time to take my old furniture and my money. But at least it was done. Now I had an empty living room until Saturday when my delivery would arrive.

I had some concerns when I was told my delivery was scheduled for 6:30 AM Saturday…I live in a condo. I’m sure my neighbors would be thrilled with the bumping and banging and loud voices from the movers at 6:30 in the morning on a weekend! Arguing, begging and threatening to cancel my order didn’t have any effect. My delivery time was still 6:30 am – 9:30 am.

On Saturday I rolled out of bed at 6:15 am and waited and waited and waited. At exactly 8 AM my doorbell rang. There were 4 movers and they had my love seat and chair in the unit in less than 10 minutes! Yes they banged and yes their voices were loud, but it was 8 am not 6:30 and it was quick!

I didn’t measure the room. I just figured a love seat was smaller than my old sectional. I was about to be surprised.

My new love seat turned out to be much larger than I planned but even though the furniture takes up more room than I expected, I love it and its sooooo comfy. I should have replaced that old sofa years ago! (PS Ignore the messy “office” in the background)

A Milestone

Posted on May 21, 2014May 21, 2014 by Dusty Roads

WOW! I finally did it! I published my 1000th post on aroundustyroads.com! I almost missed it too until a little notification from wordpress popped up to let me know.

The exact post was “Sky High in Gatlinburg”. That’s a real milestone.

Cheers!

Now I just have to do it all again. Thanks for coming along for the ride. 🙂

The Hopper

Posted on May 16, 2014May 16, 2014 by Dusty Roads

This is kind of cool..I love getting plugs for my blog. I opened up my email and there was this notice. I followed the link ans sure enough, there was my blog.

Hey there,I’m Maggie, a product manager at Hopper, a Boston-based travel startup. Hopper catalogs the best travel-related content on the web to help travelers find inspiration and advice from knowledgeable bloggers.I wanted to write you personally to let you know we recently featured your post about Gillette Castle State Park on Hopper!Click here to view it or to sign up to reach new readers.

Hopper wants to reward awesome bloggers like yourself with more and better exposure, so if you have any feedback or questions please reply directly to this email.

Thanks,

Maggie
Product Manager, Hopper
maggie@hopper.com

A Big Day for Massachusetts

Posted on April 22, 2014April 22, 2014 by Dusty Roads

Yesterday was a big day for Massachusetts. It was Patriots’ Day. It’s not named for the New England Patriots football team, but the other way around. It’s named for those men who fathered our nation, the minute men, the rag-tag revolutionaries that won the nation’s freedom. Patriot’s Day in Massachusetts commemorated the “shot heard ’round the world”. The Battles of Lexington and Concord which marked the start of the revolution.

A trip to the Concord Green at dawn is a trip back in history as the battle is reenacted with muskets and Red Coats. It doesn’t last long but as the smoke from the muskets roll over the watching visitors it’s easy to be transported back to that day in 1775.

Two more modern events also take place on Patriots’ Day in Massachusetts.

Since 1959 the Boston Red Sox have been scheduled to play at Fenway Park on Patriots’ Day.

But the other big event is the Boston Marathon. This is so big that some people call the day Marathon Monday. Yesterday was especially meaningful because it was the first anniversary of the Marathon Bombings. For many people it was a matter of pride to make sure this year’s running was successful, safe , special.

I was going to meet my friends and co-workers at Mile 13 in Wellesley to cheer on the runners. One of my co workers was running. What makes her run so amazing is that she has been struggling back from an injury that only a couple of months ago had her bed-ridden. I can’t quite wrap my head around what an accomplishment this is!

I ended up missing it. I had to get my business cell phone fixed so I was stuck at the T-Mobile store all afternoon. 🙁 Sadly I had to pull the plug on my phone. It had been struggling on life support for several months and it was just time. It was so far gone that it took forever to get the contents moved from my old phone to the new phone but finally I was back in action. Unfortunately by then most of the runners had crossed the finish line.