An Autumn Like Crispness In The Morning Air

7:00

7:05

It's 8:00 and Evie and I are sitting here drinking coffee.  I have a fleece on, Evie a couple of shirts.  It's neat to be cosy once again.  The 53º temperature has brought a foggy morning on the lake, along with an overcast sky.  A few fishermen are out, no skiers or jet skis just yet.  Correct that... our neighbors just flew by in their boat, pulling a skier.

Because we did not get started  early yesterday, we passed on kayaking and I remembered that we have the Chautauqua Institution three miles away.  I literally have not thought about it or its programs this summer.  So I checked out the speakers for the day and Erik Larson, one of my favorite writers was speaking at 10:45.  I quickly changed, got my bike and a bottle of water,  jumped in the car and drove to Chautauqua Shores,  just outside the grounds, parked my car and rode my bike to the gate, about five minutes.  If you are a local and have a library card, you can get a library pass, good for a couple of hours, long enough to sit outside the Amphitheater and listen to the lecture.

Writer Eric Larson

I sat outside on a bench and listened, as a packed Amphitheater listened carefully, occasionally roaring with laughter.  He spoke mostly about his new book, DEAD WAKE, about the torpedoing of the Lusitania in 1915.  I have yet to read it but want to after hearing him talk.  My favorite book by him, soon to be made into a film with Tom Hanks, is IN THE GARDEN OF BEASTS, set in Nazi Germany in the late 1930's.  His best line, bringing the most laughter, was when he talked about the title of his next book: KILLING BILL O'REILLY.

What most impressed me was how much he loved to do the research on his topic, and how long it took, usually a couple of years.  And, interestingly, his wife is his editor, the one he trusts most.  At first, they had to get over the confrontational nature of her correcting his writings.  Eventually, they worked it out by making sure he was not around when she read the draft.  I left about 10:15 and was home by 1:00, a great way to spend the morning.  I hope to go back a couple of more times, next Monday I hope, when Roger Cohen from the New York Times, one of my favorite columnists, speaks.

Evie was off to Lakewood to do some errands, something she does reluctantly.  I had soup and chicken salad for lunch, watched an episode of a new series I am beginning to like from the Sundance Channel called Deutschland, about a young East German soldier who is spying on the West Germans, the reverse of The Americans in a sense.  It's growing on me.

A Perfect Wednesday: Sun, Clouds, And Lake

It was a surprisingly cool afternoon, so I spent a good part of the afternoon inside reading until Evie got home, with a car packed with goodies and groceries.  We both then went out and enjoyed an hour on the dock reading and taking in the lake before Evie decided to cut the lawn.  I read while she mowed, helped move the chairs. When she finished, she jumped in the lake to cool off, the air by far cooler than the water.

The Chautauqua Belle Off Of Long Point

We then sat on the front porch for a good hour, listening to Potus, reading, and enjoying the waning of the day.  Around 7:45, Evie put together an easy dinner, a salmon salad and that was our dinner.  I have to say it's one of my favorite salads, great with leftover salmon.  We watched The Daily Show, two more to go alas, some other forgettable TV before going upstairs to read and sleep.