String Cheese Incident

String Cheese Incident
Red Rocks Amphitheatre
Denver, CO
July 23, 2017


"Is this your first incident?" my friend asked me.  It took me a moment to figure out what she was asking me.

"Yea, I've heard this group on the radio and I don't really know their work but I liked what I heard." And so did the 8200 other people who attended this concert.

Unlike so many other people, listening to music does not stir me to dance.  At this concert, there appeared to be only two people who were not dancing: the old man on oxygen and with a cane and me.  Unlike everyone else, I just wanted to sit and listen.  And watch the kaleidoscope light show that was projected on a 40 foot circular screen behind the musicians.

My Millennium Goals

My Millennium Goals

In January 2000, I set a goal: every year, a new country, a new state and a new town/city in Pennsylvania.  Here's how I am doing:

2000- Ireland, British Virgin Islands;  NC, Berwyn, Pa

2001-  Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe,  New Mexico, Elewyn,PA

2002- Peru (The Amazon River), Ecuador (Galapagos Islands); Oregon,  Liverpool, PA

2003- Sri Lanka, Maldives, Belize; South Carolina; Quarryville, PA

2004- Panama; Washington; Peach Dam, PA

2005- Viet Nam and Cambodia, Turks and Cacaos, Iceland; Wyoming; Oxford, PA

2006- Mongolia and Aruba; Georgia,   Tylersville, PA

2007- Antarctic, Argentina, Poland, Czech Republic;  Alaska,Utah;Erie, PA

2008- South Korea, Morocco, Greece; VT,NH; Raystown Lake, PA

2009 Bermuda; NE; Centralia, PA

2010- Egypt;  OK,AR, Akron, PA

2011-  Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala; Colyer Lake, PA

2012- Austria; SD, Phoenixville, PA

2013- Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Russia, Latvia,  Haiti; Churchville, PA

2014- Jamaica;  Nevada;Souderton, PA

2015- Australia, Fiji, New Zealand; Milford, PA

2016- Tanzania and Puerto Rico;  ID and MT,  Ephrate, PA

2017- Nepal, Bhutan; West Chester, PA

2018-   Jersery, Wales,   Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Exton, PA

2019- Jordon, Israel, Palestine, Indonesia, Bangladesh,  Mississippi, 

The Triathlete

The Triathlete

Vicki Murphy-Kendall

Boulder Triathalon

Boulder, CO

July 23, 2017

Vicki has been a competitive athlete for 20 years. Mostly she runs.  But the last ten years, she also competed nationally and internationally in triathlon competitions.  She was in a race last year in Philadelphia and a fellow competitor clipped her during the bike race.  She fell, was knock unconscious and had to be rushed to the hospital.

She had a concussion and bruised body.  She spent six months in physical therapy.  She had vertigo for months.  She had to forfeit a competition in Mexico.  And her confidence was shaken.  So it was a big deal when she announced to us that she was going to compete again in a triathlon in Boulder.

I flew out to Colorado to watch the event.  The day before the race, we drove the 17 mile bike course.  It started at 5800' in elevation and went up to 6500'. It was brutal.   The water temperature was 50F which required a wet suit for most of the competitors.  But the running event didn't concern Vicki at all.  "That's where I am my best.  I can run.  I feel most in control with I run," she told us. "I finish with running.  That will be good."

She was up and out of the house by 5:30 AM to get to the race course and prepare for her 7:50 AM start time. Arnie, her husband, joined her.  Then Mike, KT and I meandered to the finish line by 10:15 AM,  just a little bit before Vicki thought she would finish.  "It shouldn't take me more than 2 1/2 hours.  That's my usual time," she assured us.

Lots of athletes were just starting the run when we arrived but we were sure we were going to see Vicki finish in just a few moments. Then it was 10:30 and there was no sign of Vickie.  There were no more people running out of the start chute so we just knew she had to be coming along soon.  We waited in great anticipation. it was 10:45 and still no Vickie.

As I let my gaze wander around the event, I saw a competitor hobbling on the other side of the road.  I thought it was Vicki and I strained my eyes to see.  But a truck drove by and blocked my view.  When I could see her again, it was clear she was in distress. She was limping and walking.  And she was just starting the race. I wanted to cry.

KT and I walked up the course to find her but she got away from us. We speculated that she was suffering from heat stroke in this 90F weather. At any moment, I expected to see her on a golf cart, being brought to the medical clinic. I really wanted to cry for her.

I stayed in one spot and KT went ahead to see if she could find Vicki.  After ten minutes, KT called me. "She's on her way.  She just passed me." That was a huge relief.

After a few minutes, I could see her bright pink shirt running towards me.

"Vickie, you only have 1500 steps left," I shouted out to her and she waved her arms in excitement.

As she got closer to me, I asked, "Are we going to walk together or are you going to run it in?"

"I'm going to run it.  I had a leg cramp. But I'm OK. I'm going to run it in." And she did as best she could.  I met up with her a few minutes later and she was thrilled.  She had come in first place in her age group.  All of the other competitors did not finish the race.

"I'm the only one who finished.  That's why I won," she said, almost apologetic.

"Vicki," I said to her, "Shut the hell up.  You are 72 and you completed a damn triathlon. Take your first place medal and shut up."

FACEBOOK POSTING:

She finished 1st in her age group. This old bitch can run, swim and bike. Congratulations Vickie Murphy Kendall, a triathlon athlete.

VICKI'S FOLLOW UP EMAIL TO US:
Bridget and KT,

Have been having a hard time getting on line here but finally have.

You guys are just too much.

The love and interest you have in me touched me deeply.  Seeing you at the Tri  (on the running part) when you saw I was in trouble made me feel so loved.  It is not always easy for me to feel loved...not sure why...but you guys.....are just too wonderful.

Thank you so much.

I love you both....

Vicki

2000

2000
Springfield, PA

My age: 44- 45

School- I took hand drumming at the Main Line Night School in Ardmore, PA.  I sucked at drumming.

Work-  Principal- Springfield High School Springfield High School, Springfield, PA.  There are 1200 students and 100 staff members.   This was my first academic year here.

Music

• I looked at the top 100 songs of the year and did not recognize one song or most of the artists.
• I listened mostly to world music at this time.
• Both Sides Now by Joni Mitchell was released.  Her voice is much deeper after years and years and years of smoking.  And she orchestrated this rendition.  I love it.
• I would go to Border's Book Store on a regular basis and just walk around the store and listen to music.
• I gutted a closet in my bedroom and made that area my music center.  I would sit in there and just listen to multiple CDs throughout the evening.  I liked to examine the album cover, read the lyrics and discover the contributing musicians.

Movies

• Crouching Tiger- I usually don't like action films but this movie held my attention.
• Cast Away- Even in a movie where he doesn't speak, Tom Hanks can hold my attention
• Meet The Parents- This was a fun, mindless movie.
• Chicken Run- I cheered for the chickens.
• Perfect Storm- I could never work on a fishing boat.
• Erin Brochovich- Thank god for people with courage and conviction.
• Best in Show- OMG, this movie was so fucking funny.
• Chocolat- I love Johnnie Depp.

Travels- I set a goal for the new millennium: each year, a new country, a new state and a new town in PA.

• Ireland
• New Mexico 
• Peach Bottom, PA
• California- I brought in the new year and the new millennium in San Francisco.

News events

• After some very shady events at the polls in Florida, Bush was declared the winner of the presidential election.  However, the Supreme Court had to intervene and make a decision (and the wrong decision bin my opinion).
• We all braced for Y2K  and all the computer disaster that would bring but nothing happened.

Family and friends

• o   My dad was diagnosed with lung cancer, the asbestos kind.  He think he contacted it from the battle ships when he was in the Navy.  His first round of chemo was brutal and just about killed him.
• I had to drive to Albany, NY on a few occasions to check on my great aunt who was 87, lived alone and was slipping in her mental capacities.  But she was unwilling to move out of her house.
• i hate to be a crybaby but it took too long for me to adjust to writing 2000.
• o   August (Gus) Christopher Kelly, my nephew, Brian’s son son was born in March
• o   I rented a castle in Tipperary, Ireland and invited my family to join me for the week. Sixteen of us went.  We rented a bus and hired a driver and we saw so much of Ireland in a week that I don’t think we missed anything.

Sierra Nevada Brewery

Sierra Nevada Brewery
California
Winter 2017

The first time I drank a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale was September 9, 1996.  It was my sister's 40th birthday party and it was the day I never wanted to drink a Budweiser again.  I loved this new beer.  And I have become a beer snob ever since.

So, it was high on my bucket list to go to this brewery some day. I knew it was in California but I was never sure where it was in relation to my California friends.  When Sam suggested we take a three-hour drive from San Jose, to go there I was thrilled.  I could hardly wait.

We got a late start and did not pull in to town until late evening.  By this time, the place was packed.  And just as we pulled in to the parking lot, Sam got a phone call from a man who was struggling with their relationship.  This was going to be a potentially long call.  So I got out of the car and told Sam to join me when she finished the call.

The place was packed even tough it was a week night.  But it didn't seem as if anyone was going home any time soon.  Every table was taken as was every seat at the bar.  I stood at the end of the bar, hoping to grab the attention of a bartender but was having no damn luck.  Finally, a seat opened up and I jumped on it.  A bartender came over and I ordered 8 samples.  These samples came in 2oz glasses and each beer was delicious.

I quickly drank the 8 beers and sat at the bar for a bit.  Sam was still on the phone.  It was impossible to talk to the bartender because he was so busy.  And I couldn't even talk to the people sitting on either side of me because it was so noisy.

After 15 minutes, I left.  There was nothing more for me to do.  I went back to the car and Sam was just getting off the phone.

"What? You're finished", she wanted to know.

"Yea, I had 8 beers but it was too crowded," I tell her. "It was really noisy and packed. Let's go."

She couldn't believe it but then neither could I .  I wanted to go here for so long but this place is so popular, that it is no longer the type of brewery I like to visit.  I like to sit at the bar and meet the beer master and talk about beers.  But this place is just too big, too popular, too well-known to satisfy my needs.  But I am still glad I visited here and crossed another thing off my bucket list.

The Beatles- My Favorite Songs

• The Beatles
• My Favorite Songs

I was in an interview for a high school principal's position.  A group of students were interviewing me.  One of them asked me, "Name the greatest band of all times."  I said "The Beatles, they changed the music industry and has had the greatest impaction music ever since."  I don't think they agreed with me and I didn't get the job.  But I do think the Beatles have influenced music like no other band in history.

When I was in grade school, I hung out with a friend who was three years older than me.  She was an only child and her father bought her every Beatles album on the market.  We would listen to this music for hours at a time. I thought I knew every song they ever released.  But today, as I compiled this list, I found songs that I either never heard or don't remember.  Now, I have to go back to those songs and listen to them for hours and I may have to update this list at some point.

• 
  
• A Day In The Life
• All My Loving
• All You Need Is Love
• And I Love Her
• Any Time At All
• Baby You're A Rich Man
• Blackbird
• Can't Buy Me Love
• Carry That Weight
• Come Together
• Day Tripper
• Do You Want To Know A Secret
• Don't Let Me Down
• Don't Pass Me By
• Eight Days A Week
• Eleanor Rigby
• From Me To You
• Get Back
• Girl
• Got To Get You Into My Life
• Help!
• Here Comes The Sun
• Here, There And Everywhere
• Hey Jude
• I Call Your Name
• I Feel Fine
• I Saw Her Standing There
• I Should Have Known Better
• I Wanna Be Your Man
• I Want To Hold Your Hand
• I'll Follow The Sun
• I'm A Loser
• I'm Down
• I'm Happy Just To Dance With You
• I'm Looking Through You
• I've Just Seen A Face
• If I Fell
• In My Life
• It Won't Be Long
• It's Only Love
• Julia
• Lady Madonna
• Let It Be
• Lovely Rita
• Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds
• Michelle
• Mr Moonlight
• No Reply
• Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)
• Nowhere Man
• Oh! Darling
• Paperback Writer
• Penny Lane
• Please Mister Postman
• Please Please Me
• PS I Love You
• Rain
• Revolution
• Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
• She Loves You
• She Said She Said
• She's A Woman
• She's Leaving Home
• The Fool On The Hill
• The Long And Winding Road
• The Word
• There's A Place
• Things We Said Today
• Think For Yourself
• This Boy
• Ticket To Ride
• Till There Was You
• We Can Work It Out
• Within You Without You
• Words Of Love
• Yesterday
• You Can't Do That
• You Really Got A Hold On Me
• You Won't See Me
• You're Going To Lose That Girl
• You've Got To Hide Your Love Away

Christmas Bird Counts

Christmas Bird Counts


The Audubon Society sponsors this counts every year around Christmas time, hence the name.  A knowledgeable birder and a group of wanna be birders team up and count birds all over the country. these counts serve as a guideline on bird migrations, flux in populations, disease speculations, etc.

I've done four Bird Counts and they were all so different.

Chesapeake Bay Area- there were just two of us on this count, the expert and me. He knew everything and I knew nothing.  He spotted and counted and I recorded his findings.  It was bitter cold and we met at 6:30 AM.  We worked for about five hours and I was beat.  My arthritis kicked in and I was stiff as a board.  We stopped for lunch around 11:30.  I went home after that.  He went and hooked up with another group.

San Francisco- I talked my friend, Sam, in going to this event.  There was one bird expert and seven or eight female birding enthusiasts.  The had guide books and small binoculars. They spotted the birds and debated the species.  But the bird expect had the final call on classification. We walked all over Fisherman's Wharf and counted pigeons, sparrows, and crows. Apparently, I jaywalked too much for their California souls.  They complained to Sam and concluded, "she must be from the east coast the way she just walks out in the middle of the street."

Bermuda- there was one expert and his young daughter, an elderly British couple and me. I was so excited to be with this group because I had seen lots of unusual birds the day before and I was hoping to find out what I saw. The birder was outstanding.  The British couple brought a picnic basket with them and we stopped to have tea.  The little girl was motivated to spot as many birds as possible and I just enjoyed every one's company.  I had been traveling by myself for the last three days so it was fun to be in this very civilized activity.

Reading, PA- there was the expert and four couples, who were out for a fun morning, and me.  Mostly, the expert saw the birds and counted them.  We nodded in agreement with everything he said. Someone took notes but I wasn't sure who was doing that.  I just know it wasn't me.  And the rest of us just chatted each other up.  It was such compatible group that the birds became secondary to the conversations at hand.

Every November, I search out dates and locations of that year's counts.  I vow to join one of the groups.  But then, time slips by and I miss the event.  Maybe this year, I'll make it again.  I hope so.  They are lots of fun.

Locked Out

Locked Out

Cecil County, MD

Winter 2017

This site served as a homeless tent village for a number of years.  When I first visited this place three years ago, there were only 10 tents.  Last year, maybe 40 people lived here. I used to come here and bring my old socks, sheets, a cot, folding chairs and any of my hundreds of things I no longer needed.   Everything was snatched up gleefully and gratefully. Last year, the village population got so big that it became a problem for the county.  So the county commissioners put up a big fence and gave the people notice that they would be locked out in the near future.  However, they offered no alternative to the homeless situation.  So these people had to abandon their tents and all of their belongings, in mid-winter, and find another place to live.  I wonder where they went.

Favorite Plays

FAVORITE PLAYS

I don't go to the theatre as often as I would like but I do love to go to plays.  When I go to NYC, I usually stand in the 1/2 price line and see whatever is available.  I've been to London several times and just go directly to the theatre to see what I want.  When I see a play in Philly, it has already had a long Broadway run and I pay full price which is still about 1/2 of what I would have paid if I saw it on Broadway.

Here are my favorites:

Runaways- I loved this storyline so much that I begged and begged the musical director ,at the high school where I was the principal, to consider this play for our high school students to perform.  The story is dark and would have been pushing the comfort of the audience.  But I insisted.  I thought the dialogue spoke to and for so many, too many of my students.  He finally agreed to produce the show.  But I never got to see the production as I left the school district by the time he found the courage to do this play.

Le Miserables- I've seen this play in NYC, London and Philadelphia.  I love it every time I see it.  The story never gets old and the songs are just as moving, every time I hear them.

Beautiful- I would have never thought that Carol King's story could be so damn interesting but I was and the music was wonderful.

Chess- I saw this play while the cold war was still alive and kicking.  The music was great but the storyline was filled with suspense.

Lion King- while the story line was OK, i loved the puppetry.

The Book of Mormons- OMG, this story was so damn funny.  I didn't find it to be disrespectful towards Mormons but I can see why they may be defensive about this portrayal of them. And at the risk of being disrespectful towards them, I'd recommend this play to everyone.  It is just so damn funny.

Starlight Express- I saw this play in London and loved the set.  A train roared through the theatre.

My Mother, the Artist

My Mother, the Artist
Jacqueline F. Kelly
April 12, 1927-May 9, 1998
Moore College of Art '49
Philadelphia, PA

My mother started painting and taking art classes as a girl. She painted her first nude when she was only 13. She received a full scholarship to Moore College of Art and graduated in the Class of 49. She worked as a textile designer in NYC until she became pregnant. Then she didn't paint again until she was 50. At that time, we sent her back to graduate school but she disliked the pressure of working for grades. After a course or two, she left Moore and started taking painting lessons again at the Wayne Art Center until she was 70. She died just a few weeks after she turned 71. There may be as many as 150 of her finished or unfinished paintings in her portfolio.

The Divine Miss M

TheDivine Miss M

Bette Milder

A Philadelphia Stage

June 2015

I've seen Bette Midler several times and she is always enjoyable.  She is not as bold and vulgar as her younger age but she is still just as funny.  So I saw her on this night with two of my sisters and my brother-in-law.  Most of us in the audience were older.  There were not as many gay men as there used to be in her crowd.  The back-up singers did more of the dancing than she did.  But it was still fun.

But as I sat there and listened to her, I had a moment of regret.  It is so unusual for me to have any regret.  But I thought of a moment, maybe 20 years ago when I was sitting on my mother's porch and she told me that Bette was coming to Philadelphia and she wanted to go see her.  And so did I .  And do did my sister-in-law.  And so did my two nieces who were 20. And so did my sister. And so we made plans to go, three generations of us.  We were going to go together.    But for some stupid reason, the plan never came to fruition. We didn't go.  Now, my mother is gone.  My nieces are no longer interested in her and an opportunity was missed and as I watched her catch her breath between songs, I had regret.

She's Gone Home

She's Gone Home
Texting Each Other
May 13, 2017


                                                       9:30 AM

Me: Yesterday, your mom wanted water from your home.  She didn't like the taste of the water in the hospice house.  Can you bring her some today?

Doug: Yea, we finally got it right over to her.


                                                      11:44 AM

Doug: Send your thoughts. You got to see her be her yesterday. She doesn't have much time left.  She isn't aware of anything around her anymore.  We love you.

                                                       12:10 PM

Doug: She's gone home.  She's okay.

RIP Darcy Chamberlain

March 28,1959 - May 13, 2017

Visiting with The Millennials

Visiting with The Millennials
Seattle, Washington
September 2017


I went to Seattles for a week to visit with my niece and her husband. They are about 34.  They just had their first child and their lifestyle is so damn different from mine.

• They take Ubers everywhere.  I rarely take a taxi so I never think about taxis or Uber as an option.
• 
  
• An Amazon package comes to their house every day. And Steve works for Amazon.
• 
  
• Alexis controls their lighting, the volume of their music, alarm clocks, song lists, temperature updates, phone call dialing, etc.
• 
  
• They visit lots of breweries and are familiar with the food truck schedules for each brewery

• They order out a lot of food which they order on line and sit back and wait as Alixis plays their favorite song playlist. Within the hour, the hot food arrives. With some sort of APP, they can order from any restaurant, whether that restaurant has delivery service or not.
• 
  
• They don't have a TV but they have a large projection screen that they hook up to their computer and then stream a movie from their Prime account or Netflix or Hulu or HBO.
• 
  
• They use Snapchat, Spotify and the iCloud.
• 
  
• They have an expensive Polaroid camera.  I remember when we finally got rid of those damn     things.  
• 
  
• They are buying vinyl albums for the first time.  Why?  Those things get so scratchy and then they skip.
• 
  
• One evening Heather mentioned that she needed to buy diapers by tomorrow or she would be too low for comfort.  The next morning, the diapers arrived at the door.  I didn't even see either of them order the diapers.
• 
  
• Their phones have about 70 APPS on them and they dont seem to have a storage problem. They use the ICLOUD.  I have 15 APPS and I have to make space for storage all the time.