An Unseemly Morning On The Lake

6:56

7:35

It''s 7:20 and I have been up for an hour, listening to the southeasterly wind sing, on a dreary, wet, depressing gray morning.  It's 41º out, the lake is choppy, and it's so ugly out that it makes me want to just curl up on my couch and forget about yoga, about going anywhere.

Sebe And Tom

Yesterday was mostly like this morning, windy, wet and overcast, not the kind of get out there and enjoy the weather kind of day.  I had a very different kind of morning, however, no yoga but a tour of the new Chautauqua Amphitheater, courtesy of Tom Becker, the former President of the Chautauqua Institution and Sebe Baggiano, current CFO.  Before we got into the complex, we had to don reflective vests, hard hats and glasses, just like everyone else who was working on the site.

View From The Front Of The Amphitheater (photo by CI)

It's an amazing construction site, with both an inside and outside element.  By the way, the white roof that many are complaining about is just the first layer.  At the moment, insulation, then plywood and finally a metal roof will be added.  Most of the floor is finished, with tons and tons of concrete, not only for the base but for all the seats.  This had to be done before the incredible scaffolding could be erected so that the workers could put a bead board ceiling on the inside.  It's an amazing complex of scaffolding, covering much of the inside.  We spent a good half hour walking up and down the stairs of the back of the Amp, three of four floors of rooms, with a great room in the back, named the Tom and Jane Becker Room, with an outdoor porch and view of the lake.  It's impressive.  Most impressive, however, was the 150 or more guys that work on this development, both inside and out.  As we walked through the various sections, we passed guys working on dry walling, electrical and plumbing and heating stuff, as well as everything else that might be part of a building like this.  I can see why it's a 40 million plus building.  We ended up in the first floor or basement, where the orchestra pit sits which, when needed, can be raised or lowered by a hydraulic lift.  The innards of any building of this size is so complicated and vast that it is hard to imagine the kind of planning that went into it, so that everything was available when needed and not before.  It's progressing well and should be finished on time.  It was an interesting way to spend the morning.

Photo Of Back Of CI

When I got home, I relaxed some, looked at the info on a new phone that I am getting, compliments of my son Tommy.  It's not the Cadillac like Evie's but it's more of a Volkswagen, my style, compact and efficient.  By 1:00, I was hungry so I had the leftover half of a Cuban from the previous nights dinner at the Viking Club.  I finished up my Wallander episode just as Evie was driving off to do more shopping, this time at Sam's Club, then stopping at the gym.  It was a good day to stay inside, either shopping, working out or visiting the Amphitheater.

A Choppy Lake

Since it was such a miserable evening, we decided to cheer it up with a Manhattan, cheese and crackers and an easy dinner, of a rice/tomato/feta cheese/spinach dish with leftover pork chops.

7:25

7:41

7:52

It was another amazing dusk, as we took photograph after photograph of the darkening sky often obscured by rain.  Dinner was great and we watched the most recent hilarious episode of Designated Survivor.  I know it's supposed to be a thriller like 24 but it's so silly and ridiculous that we enjoy it for the laughs.  We ended the night with another depressing Vice News which looked at the burgeoning drought in Somalia, affecting millions of children.  The world seems to be falling apart and little if anything is being done to remedy it.  It's hard to know where to begin.  So we don't.

7:47 pm

Maple Tree In Rain Through Window