Who Woulda' Thought?!



Lake Ontario, hurricane Irene, and two wacko surfers.

Jon and I decided to take a car ride to the lake on Sunday and view the reported 10 foot waves created by hurricane Irene. Lake Ontario is only five minutes from my townhouse, so I figured if the weather got too bad, we could make a quick getaway, get to my place quick, and hang out in the basement.

Turns out the waves were at least ten feet high with wacko surfers out there in the water doing their thing. In fact one of the sufers had words printed on the back of his jacket that read, "Rochester Surfing Club". Who woulda' thought there was a surfing club in Rochester, NY? We don't have any surf, anywhere, except for this last Sunday, and that was due to hurricane Irene. They must practice in their jacuzzis or go out to Big Sur when they get a chance.

All I can say is those guys are crazier than I am, being out there in 10 foot plus waves. The wind was brutal. I was on the beach with my feet in the water taking pictures. There's no way I'd go any deeper than my ankles; not on a million dollar bet. No siree, Bob.  

My biggest thrill was waving to "lightly", a regular Horse Pucky reader and commentator, who lives across the lake, in Canada. Hey, lightly, I put a message in a bottle for you. Hope you got the note. If not, let me know. 

Hurricane Irene was kind to us in Rochester, NY. There was little rain, only 50 mph winds, and no damage. Viewing Mother Nature, at her most powerful, was awesome, breathtaking, and beautiful. It was a really cool experience.  

Horse Pucky Advice: Dish to Pass

Dear Horse Pucky,

My husband and I are invited to dinner at a couple's house this weekend. When I asked if we could bring a dish to pass, the hostess emphatically said, "No!" I feel really funny showing up empty handed. What should I do?

~Not Too Sure

Dear NTS,

First of all, I wouldn't have asked to bring a dish to pass. I suggest you purchase a nice bottle of their favorite wine to take to the house. If they don't drink, perhaps a lovely bouquet of flowers for the table would be nice. There are plenty of gorgeous summer flower bouquets available at local roadside stands.

Just remember, no means no.

On the other hand, if you were coming to my house for dinner, I'd have asked you to bring the whole dinner...and the wine...and the flowers.

~Horse Pucky

Rumble Seat

Holy moly! I was sitting on my swivel chair, in my office, when the chair started to vibrate. It started out feeling more like a quiver, then turned into a strong vibration.

The next thing I heard was a rattle. When I turned around to look where the noise was coming from, I saw my printer doing the shimmy shake on it's stand. The whole vibrating, rattle thing lasted about 10 seconds. If I wasn't so unnerved, I may have enjoyed the vibrating chair. "What the heck is going on?", I said outloud to the wall.

Across the computer screen was a wide yellow band with large black letters on the band that said, WEATHER ALERT, "There has been an earthquake in Virginia that has reached as far north as NY and D.C."  Now there's a real butt slapper for ya'. An earthquake in this area. Great.

This whole shake, rattle, and roll experience made me realize how important it is not to postpone things you enjoy doing, so I decided to go out and buy a vibrating chair.

Twisted Retoric

Ya gotta love those politicians and their twisted rhetoric. All the horse pucky they spew is enough to make you dizzy.

Unions, corporations, and the education industry are all major contributors to the political machine. Unfortunately, money talks. The chief players who influence public policy are the ones with the deepest pockets and unlimited funds.

Obama received *$24.5 million from individuals within the education industry who have a six figure plus income. We know who they are, and we know who they aren't. It's the superintendents of school districts, presidents of major universities, and their "yes" men. It's definitely not the teachers who are in the trenches all day.

The politicians claim it's a charitable, educational donation to help the students toward a better future through education. All I have to say to that is, "HORSE PUCKY"!!! Take that $24.5 million and put it toward more support staff for at risk students. Then maybe I'll start believing your claims for change; change that is supposed to better serve the people who voted you into office instead of listening to your twisted rhetoric.

* Figures from www.opensecrets.org

Sigma Delta Nu: Sisters of Devilish Nonsense

Class reunions bring out the best and the silliest in us. The beanie cap I'm wearing is something I saved from my high school days. Don't ask me why, 'cause I'm usually a tosser of all things not usable. I guess it's because I thought it would be fun if I showed up at my 50th class reunion with that silly looking cap. And it was; fun I mean.

I forgot what Sigma Delta Nu stood for and was reminded by one of my classmates that the Greek letters were the first letters of the phrase, Sisters of Devilish Nonsense. I should have known. I won't go any further with this, because what was said and done fifty years ago stays with the class of 1961. All I can tell you is, we had a lot of laughs mixed in with some very creative high jinks. I'll leave the rest to your imagination.

Swan Lake and Blue Moon

Swans on Irondequoit Bay at night in August.

This was such a gorgeous, balmy evening with a blue moon, white swans, and music playing from one of the local bars across the street from the bay area. Who needs to go on vacation with this kind of scenery a short drive from home! 

I'm getting to be like Randy, whose Daily Photo Project blog is featured to the right under "My Favorite Blogs". He takes his camera everywhere; I now take my camera everywhere.


There've been several instances when I wished I had my camera with me because I've missed a lot of great photo opportunities, which really infuriated me. My camera is now part of my ensemble. Thanks for the inspiration, Randy, and keeping my blood pressure under control.

Hope all of you enjoy the pics of beautiful upstate New York. This is a great time of year to be here.

Class of '61: 50th Class Reunion

Kathy, Bonnie, Pam, & Carol '61

This weekend was our 50th class reunion for the first graduating class of Eastridge High School. Yes, it was for the weekend; Friday and Saturday. Just remember the class of '61 does it for the whole weekend, not just one night.

It was a blast seeing my old high school chums. A few reminded me of all the nonsensical things we did when we were teens, most of which I was originally happy to forget; like the time I blew a whole in the ceiling during chemistry class, in our brand new school, because I mixed the wrong chemicals together. The hallways smelled like rotten eggs for months.

The most notable memory was the Section V Basketball Championship Eastridge won in 1961. There was one minute left in the game and Eastridge was one point behind. We all figured we had lost the game by one stinkin' point. Then out of nowhere, with five seconds remaining in the game and nothing to lose, Kenny Oberg lobbed a long ball from the opposite end of the court that went SWISH; the magical sound that signaled our big win. It was one of those spectacular moments we'll never forget.

Our class was unusual because we had no upper class men/women to follow. Why? Because construction was started on the new high school in 1958. There were only enough classrooms to accommodate a freshman class the first year. Additional classrooms were added each year to make room for the students coming in behind us. That's how our class became upper class men/women and subsequently the first graduating class. I guess you could say we were always seniors. As a result of  this, we were a tight knit class with 270 plus graduating in 1961.

Now the 18 year old senior class of  '61 has turned into 68 year old seniors from the school of hard knocks. The best part of all is we don't act like 68 year old seniors. Most of us don't even look like senior citizens. The rest of us don't give a horse pucky. That's what's nice about getting old; it's a great equailzer.

This is one of those events when we all became weekend teenagers and nobody cared. There were no curfews and no nagging parents. Collectively we turned the clock back and became 18 again, revisiting another era. Remember the Nixon-Kennedy debates and the song Blue Moon? If not, that's okay. Now you can Google the debates or listen to Blue Moon while reading this blog post.

It felt good to get back to my own roots. Roots I have somehow neglected to water and nourish regularly over the years. Moving, marriage, children, grandchildren, divorce, remarriage, death of loved ones, and busy schedules have all compromsied my root system. So, yeah, it was good to go back. It's been 50 years since I've seen most of my old high school friends, but we picked up right where we left off; with a strong support system I know is still there.

I love you, class of '61. Thanks for a fun weekend full of great memories. My roots are now nourished.

Happy 19th Birthday, Ivey



Happy 19th Birthday, Ivey!

When you see Ivey Knight today wish her a happy birthday.

In addition to being the Horse Pucky Queen, I'm also known as "Grammy" to three very beautiful grandchildren, of whom I am very proud. Today is a special day for the oldest grandchild, Ivey. It's her 19th birthday.

Like all grandparents, I can't believe where the time went. Are you really 19, Ivey? You have worked very hard to achieve success in school and in your work environment. It's with the utmost confidence in you that I say, it's time to spread your wings and fly and become the very best you can be. Your family has great faith in you.

Your birthday bash was wonderful last night with great food, enjoyable company, and a chance to connect with all that is profoundly important...family and good friends.

I wish you a day full of joy and beauty as you celebrate the gift of life. Have a super 19th birthday, my dear Ivey. I love you. ~Grammy aka The Horse Pucky Queen 

Horse Pucky Advice: To Ask or Not To Ask

Dear Horse Pucky,

My wife and I were going on a weekend trip around the NY State Finger Lakes region and realized the GPS was lost. We decided to wing-it as far as finding our way to various tourist spots and even some out ot the way places that were suggested to us by friends. Big mistake.

We started out fine, but ended up getting into one argument after another. I swear, the Mrs. has no sense of direction at all. She was my navigator and couldn't tell the difference between north, south, east, or west. So we got lost, I mean really lost. I wanted to stop and ask for directions at the local gas station and she said, "No, this is a real adventure."  

It was an adventure all right. It was a challenging experience to see how long our bladders would hold out and our stomaches could go empty. What would you have done? Asked for directions or not?

~Full Bladder with Empty Stomach

Dear FB,

Why didn't you stop at a gas station, use the rest room, then get a map ? Why did you make "The Mrs." your navigator if she has no sense of direction?

Just to let you know, I get really cranky if I don't eat, so I can identify with you.  On the other hand, I also like a sense of adventure, so I empathize with your wife. In either case, next time do a little planning, stop the arguing, and enjoy the day. Bloom where you are planted.

~Horse Pucky

Ahhh - Tranquility



Irondequoit Bay outlet feeds into Lake Ontario.  Irondequoit is the Seneca Indian word that means where the waters meet.

There's a secret cove where I go when I need some r & r. It's a beautiful place full of peace and tranquility except for an occassional boat or a single jet ski slowly making its way through the outlet out to the lake, but that's about it. Most of the time I'm joined by a family of ducks, a pair of swans, or a committee of seagulls.

Today the ducks joined me, but only for a short while. Mama duck was totally focused on teaching her offspring how to maneuver the series of  billows made by the offshore breeze. I watched, with amusement, the little feathered puff balls bobbing up and down in the water, like small children on a roller coaster ride for the first time.

It felt so good to take a break from all the running around I do, and the sadness of Bear being gone, and just allowing myself time alone with the beauty of nature and all it has to offer. Believe it or not, I haven't even felt like going out to the barn; I didn't feel like dealing with anything or anyone this week. Horse pucky just wasn't in the cards, both metaphorically speaking and literally.

Time to myself made me realize how much I appreciate living in such a beautiful area. Today I really savored it. Thank you, God.

Horse Pucky Advice: Black or Not

Dear Horse Pucky,

I'm going to a wedding next weekend and I have a cute little black dress I want to wear. All my friends are telling me that black is inappropriate to wear at a wedding especially in the summer time. I really don't feel like spending the money on a new dress, and I look great in black. What do you think?

~Sweet Sue from Kalamazoo

Dear Sue,

Wear the black dress and tell your friends to buzz off. Black is perfectly appropriate for weddings and funerals. You're covered no matter where you go; from the beginning to the end. I laud your practicality and good sense.

~Horse Pucky