Cloud Banks, Fog, With Mist Rising Over the Bemus Shore

6:14

6:41

Up around 6:00, to a sky that for some reason reminds me of a morning camping in Austria, perhaps it's the puffs of mist over the far hills, the chill in the air.  The sun is struggling to peer through the clouds to no avail.  The lake is a smooth slate of gray, It's 62 degrees, getting in the 80's later in the day.

I went to breakfast yesterday with Joe Johnson and Charlie Heinz.  It was Joe's first breakfast since  his return from Florida so it was good to see him.  He's always amusing and fun.  Both he and Charlie were reveling in the fact that the Board of the CI was meeting this weekend and neither of them had to go.  Like most, they hated Board meetings, boring and useless, a chance for the trustees to sound off about things they knew little if anything about. It reminded me of a quotation from THE WEEK magazine by John Kenneth Galbraith: " Meetings are indispensable when you don't want anything done." We also heard from Jane Conroe, who came in for breakfast with friends, that someone had driven off of the Stow pier that morning because of the heavy fog.  I did not hear a siren and stopped by on my way home but could see no evidence, at least at 9:00 of an accident.  The Post Journal, however, has a picture of the car being raised from the water; a sixty four year old man died, presumably from a medical conditions.  It happened at 5:46 AM

After breakfast, Evie and I headed to Lakewood, for yoga and a workout at the YMCA.  After yoga, I went to Ryder's Cup, as Evie did some shopping.  Later, she picked me up and we went straight home, to a lunch of cauliflower soup and macaroni salad.  It was really warm and humid outside, 88 degrees according to my weather station,  though we both wanted to work in the yard.  So, Evie did lots of weeding along the side of the house and I helped with the weeding and raked the yard again since last night's hail had dropped lots of twigs, branches and leaves on the lawn.  We both had quite a sweat when we were through and the gnats were really annoying, swarming around your face as you worked. Ah, Spring.

For dinner, we added mushrooms to last nights shrimp penne, and had an easy dinner.  We watched the movie A BETTER LIFE, a story of an illegal Mexican immigrant father and son in Los Angeles.  The lead actor, Demian Bechir, was up for the Academy Award for Best Actor in 2011.  The film helped you to sympathize with the immigrants especially the illegals, as all they want, for the most part, is a better life.  In this case, the father, a gardener, struggles to make a living, borrows money to buy a truck to help him go into business for himself.  The truck ends up getting stolen, by a fellow immigrant, who sells it to send money back to Mexico to help his family.  The father and son eventually break into a car lot, find the  truck, drive it away only to be stopped by the police.  The father is discovered to be illegal, is sent to a deportation center, and eventually is deported, leaving his 15 year old son behind.  The father's love for his son eventually softens the 'distain and hardness of his son,' who despises his father for his willingness to work at any job, act compassionately, and keep his dignity.  The film ends with the father and a group of fellow illegals, heading back north, across the desert, as they walk back to the States, to a 'better life.'  The film's depiction of the life of these illegals is chilling and puts you in their shoes.  It's hard to think about deporting illegals after seeing this film.

Later in the evening, we once again had violent thunder storms, a lighting show, and hail, with a half inch of rain according to my rain gauge this morning.  I wonder if our weather patterns will ever be the same.