Looking before you leap!

One of the things I have started to do is clear away all the brush that has built up along the foundation so I can repoint the stonework before winter sets in.


There is a nice garden in the front of the house that is mostly filled with perennials I will keep. The rest of the house was overgrown with every kind of weed that grows in Northern New York State and they have had the entire year to grow and cultivate.
~
Devin went out last week and bought a Gas Powered Weed-Waker to help do the job. Of course he bought one like he bought his T.V.... Devin Sized! This thing looks quit normal in his hands, but it is longer than I am tall... In other words, in his hands it almost looks like a toy; in my hands: I look like the toy!!! ;)
~
So there I was, whacking and hacking, hacking and whacking; desperately trying to cut my way through six feet of brush and rocks along the side of the house... (by now my arms have gone from fatigued to numb) I was moving like a robot hoping to finish up before it got dark or rained simply because I was doing yard work.


Then, as I'm buzzing hard into some stubborn tree/weed; I see EYE's pEEking back at me!

BARRRRAP! OH NO!!! It's a baby Rabbit!

I LEAPED back and stumbled over the brush dropping the Waker on the ground...

Crap! I killed it!

What? ...it's still there staring at me just the way it was before and it hasn't moved?


Oh Man! It's Plastic! The eye's are glass!
~
I stopped for the night. No need to worry about the rain as it was getting dark by then anyway.



When you stop in to see us say "Hello!" to my new friend waiting for you at the front door.

I think I'm gonna name him "Gleebie". He is Homie after all!

:)

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obeedúid~

You can't make this up... AGAIN!

Well... We decided to turn the Pantry into The Laundry Room. (Having worked every day and night running the V'ville Laundromat for the past umpteen years I never wanna have to go back once we leave!)



To that end; I ripped off the mishmash clapboard/plywood/anything that you can find to fill a hole wall and removed the tarpaper in preparation for rolled insulation last week. Then I took up the piecemeal faux indian rug linoleum and then the black & white pattern you see here down to the oil paper base.

Lifting up the oilpaper I found that the original wood floor was lined with newspapers; dating the extension onto the original house to sometime in the fall of 1942.



Then up comes a perfectly preserved copy of the Sunday News Comics Pages from the week of September 27th, 1942!!!

~
...It is here that I must aside...

I have been a fan of Dick Tracy ever since I can remember. I used to read it every Sunday with my Dad. I will always remember "The Pouch"; one of Chester Gould's weirdest Villains was all wrinkly and covered with lose skin. He was a Jewel Thief by trade and would hide his ill-gotten goods in the folds of skin under his chin; to which he had somehow attached a snap style button that could hold the skin closed so no one would be the wiser that he had stolen goods hidden in the "pouch" in his neck. On my 13th Birthday Dick caught The Pouch and I was hooked for life!
~

So you can imagine how thrilled I was to see Tracy on the cover of the Sunday News just like it was during my 60's wannabe Childhood!



...and this is where things get WEIRD...

There I was reading away when "The Story within The Story" SMACKED ME in the face! (...This is an old school writing technique that even Poe used...)

Keeping in mind how this all started; take a close look at what happens in one of the center panels:



...cue the eeeerie music...



My sentiments EXCTLY Junior!



YOU JUST CAN'T MAKE THIS STUFF UP!



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The Gulf of Maine Bookstore & Chimney Farm.

Visited poet Gary Lawless at Chimney Farm today. Enjoyable conversation with bIRD, Gary and his wife Beth! ...headed home with some fresh garlic, some interesting books and a messa pictures!



bIRD chasing Butterflies @ Chimney Farm.



Gary and Beth's Bookstore in Brunswick Maine. Nice place, they even sell books of poetry by obscure poets from upstate N.Y...

...hmmmm, I wonder who they might be....

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Location:Maine Turnpike,Saco,United States

Crabcakes and Chowder for Dinner!

MMMMMM, you know you're jealous!






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A Poem for the ride.... Off to Maine this a.m. W/ the bIRD for the Sardine Fest

...into a small dark place:

I'm thinking of sardines again
How the world changes
How things get lost from our lexicon

Like Herring in a Barrel
Becomes
Like Sardines in a Can

They stopped using Barrels
Now
They no longer Can Sardines

In my hometown
At the local Methodist Church
Every Sunday night

We've been playing a version
Of Hide & Seek called "Sardines"
For as long as they've packed Fish in a Can

This year we had to explain what a Sardine is
Why when you pile into a small dark place
In some dusty hideaway where no one goes

It is like Fish packed tightly in a Can

When the thought occurred to me
What would we call this game
Without a reference point?

Can we find something new
That recovers our loss?

I'm thinking of sardines again
How the world changes
How things get lost from our lexicon.


obeeduid~
12/aug/10


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Location:County Road 201,Voorheesville,United States

Simultaneous epiphanies....

If you haven't heard yet, we found a House. With luck we will be taking the "Last Train To Clarksville" and moving in mid September! :)

~

So, I'm waking up the other day, into that sleeping lucid dream state... I was placing stones in the future back yard, building a fence for the dog etc...

And I am going through the hatch in the floor of the back porch down to where the Bilco door enters the cellar, and now I'm under the porch looking at the foundation to my right underneath the pantry....

And I am thinking that if there is a trapdoor here, maybe there is a trapdoor there under the Pantry?!!! ...perhaps to a Root Cellar ?

The alarm goes off and I get up and get dressed and head for the door to leave... And I meet Devin coming in from his job so I say "Hey! I just had this dream about the house, and I was under the porch and I am going through the hatch in the floor of the back porch down to where the Bilco door enters the cellar, blah, blah, blah, and now I'm under the porch looking at the foundation to my right underneath the pantry blah, blah, blah.... I'm thinking that if there is a trapdoor here, maybe there is a trapdoor there under the Pantry?!!! ...perhaps to a Root Cellar ?"

And Devin replies: "Yeeeah! That's where we can make the Beeer!"

To which I reply: "Yeeeah! That's where we can make the Beeer!"

My Son is a Genius!

obeedúid~
02/aug/10


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Location:S Main St,Voorheesville,United States

U

UGH! The title field took that U in and now won't let me type anything else in there!

Yeah, until the bugs get worked out or I find something that works better I will not be risking any other postings from the road.



The Facebook App's server went down too so unless we stop and I load things through Devo' Laptop it's a no go there too.

This is what I get for being ahead of the curve. NextGen next year may-haps things will be worked out better. Too bad. This thing is so promising! Driving and navigating (although those programs crash as well; and sometimes at the worst of times...) on the fly was overall invaluable!

Well, better post and log out before this thing crashes and I loose this too...

Taking a photo record as I go so I will blog our travels as James traveled from home. TTFN!


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Location:New Market Ct,Manassas,United States

Out of synced....

The iPad has not been synced since we left last week and I think this my be causing problems here. I tried several times to post photos yesterday, here and on Facebook but it only resulted in fail messages.... Hope today goes better!
~
ARGH! Now BlogPress is failing to create new documents so I have had to do an end around by opening an old draft and modifying that!!! Oh well, here I goes again!!!!
~






Put your nose to the grindstone Mark, work harder!






Crossing the Shannondoah River watershed the hard way ....







What, you didn't think I could do it???






This is only a tree, no really, well actually it looks like a root taking a drink!






Hurry up! Take the picture before the guard sees you!






Maybe if you push hard enough you'll actually brt somewhere...
NOT!

27/may10

Location:E Market St,Leesburg,United States

C&O part two...

We decided to forgo crossing today and followed James' route along the Potomac.
~
The next stop was Manocacy Aqueduct. James and Francis were stationed here before being sent to Edwards Ferry for theBattle of Balls Bluff. He was very impressed with the structure and I can see why. It was something of the 8th wonder in his day for construction and achievement.



We broke for lunch as soon as we arrived and this guy decided we might be on the menu! Devin was sitting where his head is and he only noticed him when he was about where his tail is!!!


In my estimation when he was fully stretched out he was somewhere between 5 and a half ft. and 6 ft. In length!!!
~
When lunch was over and we managed to remove ourselves from the menu we took in the site.




View from a distance as we approached.




From the Momocacy Riverbank looking Northwest.




Devin on the beginning of the Catwalk.



The Catwalk where Devin was standing.



Devin on the Catwalk above the River looking at something...



What Devin was looking at... Duh!




The Waterway, looking back the in the direction we came across.




If it were 1861 I would be up to my neck and treading water!
~
If you have been paying attention to the locations in the postings you will have noticed that we are now in Harpers Ferry. today we walk the streets of the town and vista the Arsenal. If we have time we should end up in Leesburg tomorrow night.
~
I'll try not to take so many pictures... NOT!

obeedúid~
26/may/10


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Location:KOA Campgrounds Rd,Harpers Ferry,United States

The C&O Canal Route.

We started the day in Poolsville where James wrote the majority of his letters during the fall and winter of1861 into the early months of spring.







This is the Poolsville Town Hall. Just across the street was a Gift Shop where I purchased a number of local history items. The owner Reva O. Hoewing reminded me of my "Little 'Ol Lady Fanclub" at Church; guess what, she is an elder in the Poolsville Methodist Church and they are looking for a Youth Pastor... It's not me really it isn't, they see me coming and just know! :)
~



Alright, this is just weird! AND Twilight Zone in a cool sorta way... Sometime along the way while I was transcribing the letters and decided to write a novel based on them, I was drawn to name the novel "A Westerly Gale." James was speaking to me again and I was obviously receiving!!!!
~


Our next stop was Edwards Ferry just south along the Potomac. James and Francis did Picket duty here during the month of December and James and Francis were a part of the "Union Unit" mentioned here on the sign. For the record: that "Unit" was "Units" and the 2nd New York State Militia was one of them. From what I know from James' letters they were the faint to distract the enemy, so the sign is wrong.



A Harpers Weekly Illustration of General Stones Division (including the 2nd NYSM) in October of 1861. According to James' letter the Division was engaged and took some minor casualties.


The view from shore looking South west towards Leesburg.



View from Edwards Ferry looking South across the Potomac River.




Devin in front of the Tender's House at Edwards Ferry with his feet in what would have been water in 1861.




The Towpath along the Canal. James and Francis walked this 35 miles along this route on the way home from a Christmas Leave to N.Y. In winter weather because they were tired of waiting for a Canal Bout to take them. they apparently made it back in 2 days and before the boat with their rucksacks arrived.

~




Next up, Whites Ferry; where James' cousin Jacob Glenn crossed during the Battle of Balls Bluff. More on this later when we cross over ourselves to the Battlefield....

obeedúid~
25/may/10


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Location:KOA Campgrounds Rd,Harpers Ferry,United States

Starting at the beginning: Castle Garden here we come!

As previously posted here; my Gilmour ancestors entered this country at Castle Garden. Some by way of Liverpool England and the rest via Moville, in Donegol, Ireland.



This is the Dock at Moville, the steps on the left hand side of the painting are where the majority of my Ancestors would have taken their last steps from Ireland onto a ship that would carry them to to America.


This is Castle Garden in it's heyday (later renamed Castle Clinton) where they took their first steps into America.
This was us yesterday at starting point the first leg of our journey:




Devin and Dad at the Gates! (Castle Garden/Clinton) Not only is this where our ancestors entered America, it is also where James and Francis were camped before going of to "'Ol Virginie".
~
We were intending to leave early yesterday; Around 3 a.m. but we weren't done packing until some time about 1:30a.m. so we slept in until 7:30. After a last stop at the V'ville Hannaford for some last minute snacks and Coffee we kissed Sarah goodbye gave her a couple of "quarters for laundry" and pulled out onto the road about 8:30.
~
On the road we found an app called "Trapster". In honor of our "departure for the South" we plugged in the "Hillbilly" voice. "dats won dem speed traps up dare yahear!"
~
Of the 50 some letters and documents I have inherited there was only one envelope. The address appeared to have been written to William Pollock 765 Florida street. On closer inspection it looked as if someone had corrected it to read 764. In the process of researching that portion of my GG-Grandmother's family I found that the number was really 769.


If you look closely you can see someone wrote in graphite "Old Script 4+4 pence. In it I found Revolutionary War Script issued in Philadelphia.

I had a pretty rough time finding first the location of the letter address and then the Church as well. It seems that Philadelphia changed it's street names twice during the later part of century 19th century. My former manager and fellow Civil War Buff Bill Hamm was very helpful in locating a site that let me find the renamed location @ this site: http://www.phillyhistory.org/HistoricStreets/default.aspx

By using this site I was able to determine that what was 769 Florida Street in 1861 is now 769 South 4th Street. And this is what it looks like today:


It's for sale and I'm in the market but I think it would be one heck of a commute. ...and somehow I don't think I would be able to walk home from Smitty's after a few Guinness' either!
~
The first document in chronological order is my GG Grand Parents Marraige Certificate.


The ceremony was preformed at the Westminster Presbyterian Church in Phila-delphia by Reverend Robert Watts. Watts was quite an interesting historical character and I will be working him into the novel.
~
Then Bill reconnected me with an old GoogleBook that I had downloaded but forgotten about and had not yet read: "The Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia." It was in PDF format so I searched it and this is what I found:







When I first Googled this location I noticed that there was an empty lot with a small side street running along side it named "Watts" Street named after ...you guessed it: the very same Rev. Robert Watts.

As I drove down it in "Street-View" Something strange happened! Things got all FUZZY-WEIRD but I kept on going where the arrow lead me... ("Go towards the light! Go towards the light!") all of a sudden: "POP!" I was back out of the Street again. So I scrolled around and "BLIP!" A building appeared where there wasn't one before!!!!
"Whoe whata virtual trip man!"

This is what things look like today:


This is what is left of Watts Street.


This is where the building was built over me...



The former location of The Westminster Presbyterian Church.
~
Off to Baltimore to walk the Riot Trail!
24/may/10
~
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obeedúid~

Location:S Main St,Voorheesville,United States