Do you remember this oldie, the “September Song?”
Read more: Frank Sinatra – September Song Lyrics | MetroLyrics second stanza goes like this:
“September, November
And these few precious days I’ll spend with you
These precious days I’ll spend with you”
Particularly in 2017 at age 80, all days are precious to me, so here goes spending distant, precious days with you; remote September days, via this post.
August was very hot, humid, very unusual, ha-ha! of course, since that is the norm here, much different from the Vestal, NY area where we came from.
Front view of Vestal, NY house, and foliage
Our house here features cherished, central air conditioning; walking out the door feels almost like stumbling into a wall. This too comes to an end and how I value not having to sit out on the stoop of a row house for some, more or less, fresh air. This is not uncommon for many in the triple cities area and Philadelphia, even closer to the ocean.
We went on our monthly trailer camping trip with the club to which we belong. These monthly trips are at area locations with campsites. 100 degrees and sticky, sweaty, humid air. Of course, no A/C on our trailer, so we rough it. I had difficulty in parking the trailer and punched a small hole in the side. When home I patched it with fiberglass and did my best matching the paint. Too bad, reduces resale value, but, oh, well, all part of the hobby.
Marge’s sister Pat, divorced now, is moving to Syracuse to restart her life and get a new degree at Syracuse University. Marge drove up and picked up her children, giving her time to get pack up and get the Penn Yan house ready to sell. I left in the middle of the week both to help with the packing and helping with the real move. Pat hired movers to take the large items and she and I finished packing smaller items, renting a mid-sized U-Haul truck and traveling to Syracuse.
Pontiac Station wagon
She drove her well-traveled Pontiac Station wagon and I drove the truck. It had power nothing – no A/C, power steering, brakes, or auto transmission. A bit of a challenge, but actually I did enjoy that part, brought back old skills.
We did get the truck to Syracuse, unloaded the boxes, and collapsed from exhaustion. Not really, but the work tired us. We got something to eat which helped. The Pontiac made the journey, but then, once there, would not restart. Changing a starter is not brain science, but to do it safely one should have a car jack and jack stands to safely hold the car up while changing out the old for a new starter. We had neither parts nor tools. So we decided not to try this, as time was running out; our priority was finishing the move. I believe she had AAA or some similar service come and change the starter. So, tritely phrased, “all’s well that ends well.” Pat had two air mattresses which we used to sleep on, though, as I think back, I believe hers had a leak and she ended up on the floor.
U-Haul truck
I returned the U-Haul, picked up my car and drove to Coopersburg. Marge drove to Syracuse with her nieces and nephew. The totality, to a great extent, was much activity for all, having driven back and forth several times. Family and a sense of unity were important to us all and we succeeded.
“Woodsman, Woodsman, spare that tree” Ecologically sound; however, any electric power company must trim the branches from those trees. These are then ground into wood chips so I asked for some of these chips from the trimming supervisor as part of my home improvement projects. Previously, I planted shrubs in the front, allowing sufficient space for future growth. Alas, the grass filled in the spaces, which I covered with plenty of the wood chip mulch. Good use for a waste product, as well as looking better already, and promoting future shrub growth. I enjoy completing hands-on projects such as this. I enjoy a sense of having some skills besides engineering and management, therefore showing to myself, perhaps others, that I am more than a desk jockey person.
I tripped, not the light fantastic, but a heavy Boeing passenger plane headed to Los Angeles to visit Southern California Edison. I, one of my engineers, and a field supervisor went to observe their construction methods. We came back with many good ideas and the journey was productive.
California having been reached, and business satisfactorily finished, what next; possibly, perchance, with some trials and tribulations a visit to the village of St. Francis, a.k.a. San Francisco. But no, I head to Sacramento where my Father-in-law, Col. Sutherland picks me up for a short trip to Vacaville (cow town). He and his wife Margaret own a home in an age restricted development there. I have always admired the Col. and looked forward to meeting him again. Fortuitously, just by coincidence, my other sister-in-law Anne ( on Marge’s side) and her husband Lee were also there. I don’t get to see them very often, so this was a mini-reunion, entirely unplanned and unexpected. It was a pleasant ending to my journey across the country.
August ended with some wonderful weather, following a rainy Friday. This was an opportunity not to be missed, spending time outdoors in gorgeous weather and adding more mulch to the shrubs in the front yard. Both girls are in school now in September, Ingrid is the editor of the eighth-grade yearbook, and both Louise and Ingrid are taking piano lessons again. Marge and Louise are fighting off colds, and, fingers crossed, I have managed to avoid this. Marge volunteers at our small local library and socializes with her friends in the area.
Summer ends on a fine note, in this review of our activities, rather unsophisticated, though our lifestyle suits us, we have activities we can all participate in, we enjoy our home, our family, (immediate and extended), our friends, and the Moravian Church we have been attending.
So, as I have recalled the cool cares and pleasant pleasures of a perhaps, insipid suburban life, I think it is appropriate to end with a few stanzas of a song. The style, now dated in 2017, suits the text, so farewell with some more help from Frank Sinatra:
55 Years Together 
Hi Robert, I know I try and get to your post the day of,… but as you know, life happens. No big deal, I/we were never big on campers…..my Dad used to say( and I learned/said it to) “my idea of camping out/roughing it is holiday inn. When in fact, we never had the money or ever stayed at a Holiday Inn…… Oh well, hope all is well, and life is treating you good.
Hi Alan, well to tell the truth Marge was not too enthused about the camping bit. she made me understand her point, that w were going to have other vacations than just being in a trailer, which was understandable and I agreed. In a way her idea of camping was to have a double bed, gas stove, furnace, and a shower at a minimum. Actually, with a bit of furniture doing double duty at times, that was what we had, even more so after we got rid of the Aristocrat. As for me, age adjusted, I a doing pretty well, all considered. I hope you guys are enjoying life and in good health too,
I don’t quite remember that time as well as you do Uncle Bob. I remember the split and moving on up to Syracuse, but other than that, I don’t recall very much.
I remember the move and your mother moving into, I think, an apartment not too far from S.U. I briefly dated a girl who lived in that general region. I think it was westcott street. I think she moved again, maybe a year later. I didn’t help with that, it was a local move. I think one of the reasons was that you were having some form of conflict with neighboring boys, maybe at school, something like that. Good to hear from you.
Thank you for enlightening me. How have you been doing?
Thanks again Scott for your comment. Of course, your Mom knows more about the years in Syracuse than I do, Marge and I just helped with the move from Pen Yan to Syracuse and of course were glad to do that. As for me, I am in relatively good health. Some things are not as good as they were once, but could be a lot worse. thanks for asking.