Is He Related?

Balls Bluff Virginia, the first battle for the 20th Massachusetts, which included Oliver Wendell Holmes and two sons of Paul Revere and many men from Harvard University . . . of which ninety three were killed over the course of four years. All the names are on white marble plaques at the beautiful Sanders Theatre in Cambridge. Look for them the next time you go to Christmas Revels.

Page 56.  The  Twentieth Massachusetts was intended to play a supporting roll in the second part of McClellan's original orders - to observe Leesburg and to see if McCall's march and Stone's demonstration convinced the Rebels to evacuate. As his regiment cooked a meager supper that evening across from Harrison Island, which was located in the Potomac approximately four hours north of Edwards Ferry, Colonel Lee did not know that a small reconnaissance party from Colonel Charles Deven's 15th Massachusetts was already in Virginia. Led by CAPTAIN NATHANIEL PHILBRICK.

I am currently reading the history of the 20th Massachusetts (Harvard' s Civil War) and I am finding it fascinating. In this battle at Balls Bluff, relatives of George Washington fought relatives of Paul Revere.

There is a Philbrick / Philbrook News letter by a guy from Palm Springs. There is no mention of OUR writer Nathaniel Philbrick of Nantucket yet in any of the 37 newsletters. I am guessing that he is not related to the Captain in the Balls Bluff fight.

by Robert F. Bacon  . . . "I was at Gettysburg with Thomas P. Egan all three days. I remember that our tent had a wood plank floor."

Footloose

--> Are you trying to downsize? Yeah, me too. I decided to check out my footwear.

 Shocking, isn't it?

Inventory says . . . twenty eight pair. Yes I was shocked also. When Tom & Jeanette Egan drove across country to Massachusetts from California everything they owned was in their Volkswagen Beetle. It must have included their footwear.

Here is my inventory list . . .

A just-like-new pair of black wing tips. I'll bet I have worn these less than ten times. Purchased at a Stetson shoe outlet in South Weymouth circa 1965. They are as heavy as a truck tire.  

2014 - 1965 = 49 years old.

One pair high green rubber boots.  ???

Two pair of steel toe work boots. One brown and one black. Used for chain sawing and wood splitting. One was a legacy gift.

Dancing shoes/boots, one pair, leather bottoms for smooth two-stepping and waltzing. High around the ankles for when you get kicked.

Rick Steves type brown walking tie shoes for serious walking vacations.

 An advertisement in Cowboy & Indian magazine said, "Ah was wearing these boots when I conceived my first child." Scary! Also quite a minds-eye picture. Was it next to his pickup at WalMart or the Golden Corral, or was it out in the desert? Never mind. TMI. I own three pair. Doesn't everyone?

• Brown cowboy boots purchased in Brockton Massachusetts in 1971.  

2014 - 1971 = 43 years young.

• Black pair purchased in Tijuana (it's in Mexico) in 1988.

• Green and red, my favorites, from Missoula Montana. The boot remover came with it. I don't remember the year but it was 25 vacations ago with Donovans and Zabeks.  Glacier National Park and Waterton in Can-e-dah. We saw our very first grizzly there.

One pair of brown loafers and one pair of white loafers (only kidding) . . . I mean black loafers. What did you wear as a teenager? I only wore loafers. Interesting name, loafers.

Black slip ons with rubber bottom for wet weather. Sort of like duck boots which I don't have any more. Make a note to buy some.

Tevas. Two pair. The old worn-out cracked ones I wear while driving home from a hot day on the job. The Cerris always call them Teeevas. I thought it was Tev-ahs. I called the company. The correct pronunciation is Teeevas. When we land in Mexico they are the very first things that I change into.

U.S.N. black dress shoes. I got them for free in 1963.  

2014 - 1963 = 51 years old.

How many times have I spit-shined them? Still perfect for formal stuff. Wore them with blue wool bell-bottoms. The pants came with 13 buttons on the front. 13 either signified the thirteen original states or thirteen chances for a girl to say no. Each button had an anchor imprinted on it. I still have the top (jumper) hanging in Garage Mahal with the stripes and hash marks and white piping.  

Green slip on walking shoes, a gift from my brother in law Brian.

Ice skates are footwear. I have had mine since I was fourteen.

2014 - 1959 = 55 years old.

Remember as a kid when you all held hands and skated in a line and then whipped it, which sent the last few people flying? Me neither.

One pair of deerskin-color work boots for appointments only so that I look like a workman who knows what he is selling.

Snow shoes. The name alone says they fit into this inventory. I use them two or three times a year.

White running shoes. I walk in them daily. When I ran, a pair of running shoes would last me 500 miles.

500 into 54,000 miles = 100 pr.

That is 2.3 pair per year for 23 years.

Slippers are shoes also. I have three pair. One has rubber bottoms for getting the mail or feeding the birds on rainy days. One pair was a gift.

One pair of purple Keds with red laces. Another footwear gift from Brian. I haven't worn them yet. Maybe when the rodeo comes to the Marshfield Fairgrounds, I will give them to one of the cowboy clowns.

So now you know every thing about my footwear.  Next up . . . tee shirts!

Thanks for listening. The fact that you were taking notes means that you were listening.    

Mil de gracias,    

Roberto

P.S.  Dad's New England Lime Company (Pfizer) steel-toed work boots are retired and hanging in Garage Mahal. I didn't count them in the 28 pair. I did not count the bronze baby shoes that Mom had made for me either. I wanted this to be factual. I would NEVER lie to you, mi amore.

These Modern Times

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Sandy wants to call home from Mexico next month, so I dialed 611 for Global Verizon. A nice young man named Fagan helped me out. It was simple, and for $35 Sandy can call Marshfield for 1,000 minutes during the month we are on Isla and Tulum. At the end of the transaction I asked where he was. I thought he had a southern accent. He replied, “Columbia South Carolina.”

I said, “Wow, over Christmas my neighbors’ family was here from Columbia, and I buy my concrete supplies from there, and have for over twenty years.” Small world.

My second order of business today was adjusting our car rental agreement for Mexico, that I handled poorly on the computer yesterday.

We have previously had great luck with Enterprise, so I tried to contact them again on the computer. Next thing I knew I was with CarTrawler, which was offering cars from Thrifty only. DO YOU KNOW THAT YOU HAVE TO BE 25 TO RENT FROM THRIFTY IN MEXICO? Most people know that, I think. But did you know that YOU CAN’T BE OVER 70? I didn't. So when you are over seventy, you better have younger traveling friends, as we do.

I thought that I would call Thrifty in the U.S. to straighten out my work from yesterday. So I went to Google and got their telephone number. Verizon charges a couple of bucks now for each number you ask for. I reached a law office. Tried again and reached Thrifty. Pressed 37 numbers before I reached Raul in Global  -- somewhere, and I assumed Mexico, maybe even Cancun. He needed my file number. I told him it was on the turned-off computer one floor up. He checked Thrifty's reservations but could not find mine. I hung up. I went upstairs turned the computer on, got the number. Went back downstairs and called, and pressed 37 buttons and finally reached Escolito. Neither Raul nor Escolito could help me. It was a little hard to understand them, with their Mexican accents. Or maybe Nicaraguan?

Escolito finally patched me through to CarTrawler. A young woman whom I could understand very well straightened and amended the whole reservation out. At the end, I thanked her and asked for her name. She replied, “Jola (pronounced Yell-ah).”

I asked, “Where are you working from?”

I nearly fell off the chair when she said POLAND. 

I replied, “Yaak sha -mush.”

She said, “Dubb-zah , dubb-zah.”

(sic) but it means, How are you? / I am good, I am good.

I think this double answering started when a Polish wife asked the husband if he wanted to have sex. He was so shocked he answered twice. I think that is how it started.

I asked if her family practiced the Polish tradition at Christmas of Wigilia. She said, "Of course." I told her that my wife was Polish American and so was I. And that both our grandmothers came from the old country to America by themselves and in their teens aboard steamships. Both came through Ellis Island in NYC. She was impressed. I told her the pierogi making story from Adams and she said she was making them at the same time. Wow!

I asked if she had been to the Unites States and she said, “Not yet.” I told her we wanted to visit Poland. She seemed surprised.

I gin-koo-yah’ed (thanked) her a couple of times and finally said goodbye.

Really really small world.

I simply thought you should know.        

gin-koo yah        

Bobby Lemanski