A Week Of Granddaughter's Birthdays (Forte)

Hayden

Marisa

7:10

Unfortunately, we were unable to be with our granddaughter, Hayden, who turned fourteen, and Marisa, who turned 12 this past week.  It's hard to believe these two lovely young girls are growing up so quickly.  They are usually here at the lake in August so we can celebrate together, but this year, all of us went to Topsail, NC instead.  So, happy birthday, wish we could have been with you both.

As for the morning, I slept in until 7:00, woke to an overcast sky, a quiet lake, and 63º. Thunderstorms were forecast for the past night but we did not get any rain, as it hit Buffalo with heavy rains and winds, 5 to 6 inches in some areas, causing flooding and loss of electricity.  We were lucky to avoid the storm but need some rain.  We still may get some later in the day.

Yesterday morning, I went to the Chautauqua Institution to hear two lectures, one by Timothy Snyder, the author of BLOODLINES: EUROPE BETWEEN STALIN AND HITLER.  He spoke mostly about the Ukraine, how what happens there will be pivotal in US/European Union and Russian relations.  The Russia takeover of Crimea, an outrageous imperialistic act, the first abrogation of international laws since 1945 in Europe, creates huge problems for the European Union.  He thinks the Russian goal is to destroy the Union, which they see as a threat.  The US should be supporting the various governmental and legal structures in Ukraine with loads of money and stay away from giving them arms. In fact, he would rather see the money the EU is giving Greece go to the Ukraine.  The second speaker was Anthony Doerr, the author of the Pulitzer Prize winning book, ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE.  He actually grew up in Cleveland, went to University School, my school's bitter rival.  He was interesting, talking mostly about his mindset, interest in everything, a dilettante and how that led to his novel.  It was amazing to hear how one thought or discovery led to a beginning to his novel, to research which lasted for 11 years before he was ready to start writing.  The story about a young blind girl in France and a young Nazi soldier, living in Germany, seem an unlikely combination until we read the book.

I was home around 1:30 and Evie had been out, working in the yard, especially the garden, trying to keep it in shape despite the abundance of weeds.  It was a very warm afternoon, so that working in the sun was a chore.  Once that was done, I came out after lunch, to work on weeding our walks and Evie decided to relax after weeding, and cut the grass, thinking it was going to rain. It didn't.

Main Street

Bikers

The Hogs

We both finished around 5:00, took a swim, and got dressed to go to Motor Mayhem in Jamestown. We parked down in the Riverside parking lot, just off of Main Street, and walked up the hill to the Mayhem.  Main and Third were closed off, so we could walk in the middle of the street with hundreds if not thousands of Jamestown residents, ogling the cars, mostly from the 1950's.  Both sides of Main and Third were lined with cars, their owners sitting in chairs on the sidewalk, ready to talk about their babies.  We were both shocked, even awed by the size of some of the sedans from the 1950's, seeming as long as a gunboat.  We took a brief respite to hear our favorite band, Smackdab give a short outdoor concert and had a beer at the Wine Cellar.  We then walked down to the Ice Skating Center, where all the motor cycles were parked, hogs of all sizes, and listened to another good band at a second venue.  It was an interesting but also depressing night, to see all the local Jamestown citizenry, many unhealthy and unwealthy, quite a contrast to my morning at the Chautauqua Institution.

1962 Buick Electra

1956 Chevy

1952 Cadillac

1966 Mercury Comet, Our First Car

We had enough  of the crowds by 8:00 and tried to find a seat at the neat bar in Gialy's, a new restaurant that has taken over the old Town Club but there were no seats, so we walked down to our favorite restaurant, Forte, where a couple of patrons moved over so we could have seats.  We had the steak, salad, potato, and beer special for 12 bucks and were happy campers.

We struck up a conversation with a guy sitting next to me, who happened to be the brother in law of the bartender.  He was an interesting guy.  He had just driven over 6000 miles from Florida, to Texas, to Sturgis, South Dakota, where he was part of the huge motorcycle rally held there each year in August.  A town of 7000 people is inundated with over a million bikers each year.  I cannot even imagine it.  He stayed at a campground called Buffalo Chips, with 250.000 other bikers.
The campground had a venue for various great bands like John Fogarty from Credence, Def Leopard, and Lynyrd Skynyrd.  He obviously loved it.  When we talked a bit more, we found out he was a recently retired policemen from New York city, burned out from the constant pressure of dealing with felons.  He said he started to think the worst of everyone he encountered and knew it was time to retire.  He is off for home today, Ormond, Florida, just outside of Daytona Beach.  He reminded both of us of Louie C.K.  All he had to do was put on a black tee shirt.  It was great fun talking to him.  Evie struck up a conversation with a gal sitting next to her, who happened to live in Jamestown but owns a hair salon in Lakewood.  She had just finished working on her home and needed a break, like a Manhattan and a good dinner.  Obviously it was another good night.

Enjoying Forte's Bar, With Rob, A Retired Cop From NYC

We are off to a meeting about the lake's health, the possibility of a new sewer system surrounding the lake, at the Village Casino in Bemus Point at 9:00.  We wonder how much it will cost us.