by Roland D. Hallee

The drive from work in South China to my summer camp in Vassalboro is short – 4.7 miles, 10 minutes. But, along the way, I have made some observations that kind of make me think.

For instance, I came across a flock of turkeys in a field on the Nelson Road the other day and thought nothing of it. Then, it hit me.

There was a time, not too long ago, when the sight of a wild turkey was eye opening, generally causing me to stop the truck, get out and create a Kodak moment. Nowadays, I see turkeys and it’s just another sighting. Turkeys have become so common place that we don’t react like we used to.

As a matter of fact, in the last three days alone, I have almost collided with two that jumped out of the brush on the side of the road, and decided they had the right of way.

I guess you could apply the old saying, “Familiarity breeds contempt.” What used to be novel, is now irritating.

A mouse at work

On the morning of July 4, during my vacation, I was sitting on my deck with a cup of coffee, with a strong case of the thousand yard stare. I noticed some movement out of the corner of my eye, and saw a field mouse sitting on the barbecue pit. From there it  ran into the wood pile that is located nearby, and disappeared into its center. A few minutes later, it emerged, jumped onto the pit and proceeded to the hole of one of the cement blocks. It gazed around as if to make sure nothing was observing its movements, dropped its cargo of leaves and bark, and proceeded down the hole. It then popped its head back out of the hole, grabbed what was obviously nest-building material, and hauled them down the hole.

It then came out of the hole, ran back into the wood pile, and repeated the steps. I sat and watched it for approximately 10 minutes, and it must have made at least a dozen trips in that time frame. The appearance of the black lab on the scene caused the mouse to retreat to the wood pile for cover.

I went over to the barbecue pit and peered into the hole, and sure enough, the mouse was in the process of building a nest.

Fat cat

While sitting in my screen house one evening we heard some scrurrying around the fireplace. At first we summized that it was probably either a raccoon or skunk. Upon closer examination, we saw what is perhaps the fattest house cat I have ever seen. Apparently, during its nocturnal travels, the cat visits many camps and gobbles up whatever grub it can find.

Circle of Life

I was sitting on my couch one day, catching up on the some reading when, out of the corner of my eye, I saw an extremely quick movement outside through the glass, sliding doors. I put the reading material down just in time to see a cat haul a chipmunk out of the fire pit, and proudly pranced off with it in its mouth. Initially I was a little irritated that the cat couldn’t leave that little guy alone. My wife and I always get some pleasure watching the chipmunks go about their business, whether scrounging under the bird feeders for some discarded seeds, or playfully chasing each other around. Then I realized I had just witnessed nature’s circle of life in its purest form. It was the second time I witnessed something like that this summer.

Whether it’s turkeys, mice, or a common house cat, it’s simply amazing to watch Mother Nature’s creatures, large and small, go about their chores, foraging for their next meal, the hunter vs. the hunted, or preparing for winter, even in July.

Mozart: Abduction from the Seraglio – Ferenc Fricsay conducting the RIAS Orchestra and Chorus, various soloists; Audite 23 413, 2 CDs, recorded 1949.

Mozart’s most well known operas are Don Giovanni, The Magic Flute, Marriage of Figaro, and Cosi Fan Tutte, while the Abduction has

occupied a more minor position. To me, it could easily replace Don Giovanni, which I feel is long-winded and overrated. In fact, every aria and chorus in the whole opera has melodic appeal of a most engaging quality which the others, as great as they are, simply don’t sustain.

The plot centers on a seraglio or Turkish harem and  focusses on the rescue of one of three women who have been sold to a Sultan by pirates. But the tone of the opera is one of comedy and joy.

The performance is excellent on all levels- singing, playing, conducting, characterization, etc. And the 1949 performance, originally intended for broadcast on German radio, has been remastered for cd with the utmost clarity and presence. One could easily mistake it for a more recent recording. It is also still in print and reasonably priced through such Internet sites as the  Amazon vendors and the Berkshire Record Outlet.

One monarch once criticized the opera to Mozart as having too many notes; the composer replied, “It has as many notes as it needs.”

Franck: Redemption – Michel Plasson conducting Orchestre du Capitole de Toulouse with chorus and soloists; Musical Heritage Society S 160605, CD, recorded 1994.

This is one of the most beautiful pieces of music ever written. Scored for narrator, soloist, chorus and orchestra, it has the characteristics of a mass or oratorio of a devotional quality, similar to Verdi’s Requiem Mass, Beethoven Missa Solemnis and the Mozart Requiem, The composer Cesar Franck (1822-1890), after completing it in 1871, considered the work a tone poem, which is for orchestra, as is a symphony, but has the other label instead. The recording of the full score is the first one, unlike recordings of the opening Prelude which were the norm previously. It is also top-notch and still very much available.

Franck’s fame was  based on his gifts as an organist and he was the lead one at Saint Clotilde Church in Paris for at least 3 decades. His father recognized his musical gifts when  Franck was a boy but proved to be such an arrogant,  domineering jackass  even throughout his young adulthood that, when he was courting his future wife, her parents saw the situation with Papa and offered to let him stay with them; the reason being that they really liked him but understandably wanted to keep an eye on him and their daughter.

A suspense novel.

John Sandford: – Deadline; G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2014, 388 pages.

I have covered one or two thrillers by John Sandford that were centered around the uncannily brilliant Minneapolis/Saint Paul investigator Lucas Davenport the protagonist of the more than 25 novels of the Prey series. Deadline features Davenport’s colleague Virgil Flowers, who covers the upcountry Minnesota lakeside/sticks region. I have read one or two of the previous Flowers novels but didn’t find them   hanging around in my memory.

This title is different and significantly more exciting – I gulped it in three days! There are basically three different situations Flowers is confronting, a series of mysterious dognappings, a neighborhood meth lab and a very murderous local schoolboard stealing millions over a period of years. The crimes and perpetrators do overlap, mostly unwittingly, with the schoolboard providing the most narrative interest.

But enough of the hints. A must read!

by Debbie Walker

Last week I shared some southern sayings with you so…… this week I have collected northeastern sayings. I got some from friends, family and of course odd sites on the internet. I’ve been chuckling all week with all kinds of sayings and terms. Such as, “whole 9 yards” and “pleased as punch” that I will share with you another week. (I just love words!!) And remember some of this came from “Outa Staters”! Let me ask for forgiveness now, I never want to insult or embarrass you.

Here is what I believe are New England (?) words:

Leaf Peepers – people who come to New England to see fall foliage and are usually found driving 20 MPH when you are in a hurry.

Outa staters – anyone who wasn’t born here (probably the same in every state, just that some states are adamant about it).

Parlor – older term for living room.

Butts – cigarettes, especially what’s left thrown on the ground.

Clicker – remote control of TV,( usually controlled by male of home.)

Down cella – where the freezer is, otherwise known as basement.

Draw – it’s supposed to be pronounced “drawer” as in “It’s the top drawer of my dresser.”

“No-suh” – “I don’t believe it” or “No”

“Nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rockers” – can’t blame them!!!

“Cruisin’ for a brusin’- looking for trouble.

Right now I am wondering how many of you are wondering where I am really from, so I might have some you don’t recognize hopefully they are fun to read anyway!!!

“Cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey” – from the practice of piling cannon balls on a brass triangle (monkey) on a ship’s deck, if it’s cold enough the brass shrinks a bit and the balls roll off.

“Hoity-toity” – having or showing the insulting attitude of people who think they are better, smarter or more important than other people. (ya, right. NOT)

“The pot calling the kettle black” – a situation in which one person criticizes another for a fault they have themselves. (But never see it in themselves!!)

“Lie like a rug” – to lie constantly- dishonest.

“A day late and a dollar short” – missed an opportunity and been inexcusably unprepared for it or “too little, too late!”

“Piss-ah” – awesome, very good, used by one with small vocabulary!!

“Tin foil”- aluminum foil   At one time tin was involved but that was a long time ago.

“Wicked” – equivalent to ‘very’, only stronger.

“Soda” – Pop is your father, not a drink.

I have heard “Screwed, Blued and Tattooed” for years, I kind of thought it would turn out to be something harmless like freezing the balls off the brass monkey, well, sort of, kind of, NOT. Okay, here we go:

“Screwed”, yup it’s sexual intercourse

“Blued” means the blue tablet containing Mercury, treatment for syphilis (I really don’t think sex was very safe way back then. And that syphilis could be passed on by blood.)

“Tattooed” refers to the fact sailors were often marked as property of “their” Navy. (tattooing with same needles passed on syphilis). A well-used saying was “you’re one of us now you scurvy dog. No woman will have you, there’s no life left but the sea. You are screwed, blued and tattooed.

There is a machinist version for this saying also, I will add that another night. I am always open to sayings I may not have heard or read, if you have some pass them along!

Contact me at dwdaffy@yahoo.com, sub. line: Words   So for now : “Tootle-loo” (That’s a new one for me!!)