North River Pontoon Boat Cruise

Kezia leads a North River Pontoon Boat Tour. Photo by Greg Derr.

June 9 - Kezia arranged for a historical cruise for this Sunday afternoon by way of the North & South Rivers Watershed Association. There were nine of us on board. Mainly the tour was about the 24 shipyards that built wooden ships from the 1645 -1871. We took off from Mary's that is now called Roht Marine. Their restaurant was buzzing. The river was loaded with boats from The Spit and as far west as you could see or sea.

My wife abandoned me for Colorado, so Kezia invited me along to fill my time.

There were over 1,000 ships launched. One was the Columbia that gave its name to a river in Oregon. Another was the Beaver. In 1773 Sam Adams and a bunch of his friends threw its load of tea from England into Boston Harbor. Some were built for the whalers in Nantucket and New Bedford. There was even mention of Tom Egan's favorite war, the King Philip's War, that affected Scituate, Norwell, Rehoboth, Deerfield and Medfield. It ended in Rhode Island. King Philip was the son of Massasoit and had a regal bearing, so the Pilgrims made fun of him and called him King Philp. His Wampanoag name was Metacomet. But you knew that.

It took 57 acres of trees and 2,000 oak trees to build one ship. This factoid is from Nathaniel Philbrick's book The Hurricane's Eye.

Today was the most beautiful day we have had yet this year. Kezia told me to bring warm clothes but they were not needed. I brought a drink to hydrate me in a special container. And NO, wise ass person, it was not Coca Cola laced with Pussers Rum from Tortola.

Captain Bill has a long history with boat tours that handle five hundred people in Boston Harbour so the North River was not a big challenge for him. We were cruising right along. We stopped once to pick up a floating plastic bottle with a swimming pool skimmer. Nice touch.

Our tour director mentioned that in the 1600s to 1800s rivers were the way people got around. No one thought about 128 or Route 3 until 1957.

The above paragraph jogged my memory of building an indoor pool on the river in 1976 and being held up by archaeologists who were sifting through the sand and gravel. I asked what they were doing and one of them explained that 5,000 years ago the Wampanoag camped on the north side, built their fires, and kept the southern sun on their faces. I said, "Wow, 500 years!" He said, "No, dummy. 5,000 years." He shoveled one shovel full of sand into a screen and there were seven arrowheads in the screen. I have a spearhead that is 8,300 years old. Whoa!  Good spelling word arcilojist whatever.

The house they discovered while extending the airport in Marshfield ten years ago turned up 11,000 artifacts. Some of them are 8,000 years old. Four jets are housed in Marshfield. You can fly by yourself to Chicago for only $20,000. And that is the truth.

Along for the ride was photographer Greg Derr from The Quincy Patriot Ledger. He is also a birder. He has actually banded owls and osprey. He says osprey stink. One of the screech owls he banded at Daniel Webster Wildlife Sanctuary ended up in Montana. The osprey stand just west of the Route 3A bridge is named after its residents. Ozzie & Harriet Osprey. Old people, please explain this connection to the younger folk who don’t remember the 1950-60 TV show. First episode on TV: 1952. It pushed family values, whatever that means.

Kezia did a perfect job with props and notes. She was not stumped, not even once, by the many questions asked her. Her favorite place on the river is Couch Beach next to Blueberry Island. It is kind of obvious. Yes we talked about the book The Red House, of course. That is the oldest continually lived in house in New England. One of the daughters who grew up there in Two Mile wrote it.

Wish you were there.  I am sure that there will be an article with photos in the Ledger, so save it for us por favor.

To register for a Pontoon Boat tour (Kezia only leads a few per year, but NSRWA runs the trips every weekend), visit https://www.nsrwa.org/events/?customize_changeset_uuid=

Article from the Ledger:
https://www.patriotledger.com/entertainmentlife/20190629/back-in-time-with-north-river-pontoon-perspective?fbclid=IwAR0Yx7TUMyqWeo1Zz5Xepzap8Oqigel-3TxToQqnfBr6CoHf3u9gLGKM9nQ

Just The Facts

52 Sleeps in sunny warm Mexico this winter. Febrero y Marza 2019. Sandy packed me 19 short-sleeve dress shirts.

Sandy y Bob. 52 years married. A coincidence? Engaged for five years also. Never mind.

On the TV show "Dragnet," 1967-1970, Jack Webb playing Detective Joe Friday, while getting the information on whatever recent crime was committed, would always cut to the chase. When questioning the witnesses, he'd demand: “ just the facts.” One of his TV detective partners ended up on MASH as the first Colonel Henry. A free carnita to you if you know his real name.

We started out in Punta Maroma on the south coast of the Yucatan. Isla Mujeres was next, followed by Puerto Juarez, then to Isla Holbox on the Gulfo Mexico. Then it was back to Isla Mujeres. This is my confession. Whoops! I just slid back to my former religion. Lo siento.

Sandy and I stayed at eight different hotels. I know, I know, but we like to do that.

The startling facts are that we ate at 54 restaurants. We tried 19 different new ones. Well, we have been traveling Quintana Roo for 34 years. Of the 19 new ones, we would do only four again. We ate out 187 times. Sorry we can’t join you for dinner this first week back.


Olivias, Mogagua, Lolas, Javis’s, La Esquina (the corner), North Garden, Rubens, El Veradero, and Chlitos topped the list for more than once.

"How was the weather?" you ask. Hot! It rained only two days. Twice it rained at night, but it did not affect us. Many Mexican people walk with sombrillas to keep out the sun. As always, the ocean water was warm and blue. Holbox was the warmest ocean water we have EVER experienced. I always bring my swimming pool thermometer, but because it always registers 82, I left it home this time.

I cannot read on the playa. There is too much to see. But someway, somehow I read eleven and one half books.

The Captain's Wife
Three years at sea, 1830, from New York to Manila and back, by way of Cape Horn and Elba, where Napoleon is buried. Madera wine originally came from Madera because they let it sit in the sun for longer than usual and it changed the flavor. Only Don Salmond knows this.

Casey Stengel     
Manager of the NYY from 1950-1960. He was hit by a taxi in Kenmore Square and hospitalized. That is why he walked like he did. One year for Christmas, his wife bought him an ashtray. He was born in Kansas City and that is why they called him ...

Dear Bob and Sue     
A couple do ALL 59 National Parks. They did Bright Angel Trail in the Grand Canyon and stayed at Phantom Ranch.

Indian Givers
How South and North America affected Europe, especially the potato impact. Who knew? Tomatoes  tobacco, tequila, topkapi. Thanks Barb!

Sea of Glory    
Yup. Nathaniel Philbrick again. Mayflower, In the Heart of the Sea, blah blah blah, Last Stand, Bunker Hill, Pulitzer Prize, National Book Award, yada yada yada. He lives on Nantucket. Thanks Tomas!

Stranger in the Woods   
A twenty year old leaves his car in the Maine woods and disappears for the next twenty seven years. YCMTS up      Thanks Eileen!

Hey Buddy!      
Buddy Holly from a great perspective. Where were you on February 3, 1959? The day the music died. With his first big check, he bought new pews for his church.

Louis L'Amour 
His life. Prize fighter, shipped out on a freighter, writer.

Black Flags, Blue Waters       
Pirates of the Caribbean. Good stuff. Gracias Tomaso!

History of Wolves    
OK OK it was a novel and she didn’t marry the guy.

Arthur Garfunkel       
Way too much poetry but an interesting life. Like a bridge over ...

True Heroes of Texas Music
Texas musician legends like Willie, like Janis, Barbara Mandrell, Lyle. Like Waylon, Buddy, Freddy, George Jones. Like Flaco …… Sorry I overheard many "like" millennials talking on the beach. What is with the tattoos and nose rings and cigarettes? Did you get your TRAMP stamp before or after you found out what they were called? Wow, that thong bathing suit must hurt.

A friend asks, “Why would you get a tattoo on a part of your body that you can’t see?" But can I please look closer at the one between your breasts?

Oh and by the way, sixty year old guy, your fashion statement ball cap is on backwards. Jack ass.

Speaking of Dopey. Can you name Snow White's seven dwarves? And who came up with her name?

Eleven folks joined us, probably for fear that our marriage would disintegrate with so much time alone together, Tom y Eileen, Annie y Dennis, Dave y Robin, three jogis from past retreats Janis, Illene and Nancy, and of course Marnie y Steve. We just missed Navy Seabee friends Janice and Fat Jack. Disintegrate is a good spelling word. Thanks Google.


We have made some friends in Mexico: Javis y Marla, Ariel y Bonnie from Alberta and Vera Cruz, Anna y Spartacus  from es-Spain, Oswaldo, Ruben, Jon Carlo from Madagascar, David, David and David, Romel y Joanna, Nick y Dianna  from Minnesota, Jessica y Anibal from Chiapas, Ken y Debbie from Indiana, Alberto from Barthalona (he owns Mogagua), Luis y Mary Theresa from France and Mexico City (they own Colores de Verano - the colors of summer - Hotel), Victor, Hortensia y Mauricio, Jorge, Jorge and Jorge, Victor again (he was in the movie from 1960 called "The Magnifico Seven,") Edgar, Martin from Quebec, Spanish Maria at PTO Morelos, Santa from Cleveland and the North Pole, Santiago, Salvatore, Mildred, Anna y Juan Carlos, Luis y Manual from PTO Morelos, Pedro, Carlos, Diego, Mosquito, Paeaso, El Penguino, Robin y Nayomi from Milano, Estavan, Rubin a second time, Nina y Nora Switzerland, Gaston, Ruffino, Enrique y Guadalupe and Jose, Laura Dumm “Lola" Oregon, Maria, Lior y Yuron Israel, Karen, Ricardo, Elvis from Villadolid (Bia doe leed), Gilbert, Margarita, Melania y Chucho Spain y Mexico City, Jesus, Lia y Mia Texas, Clara, Dino Puerto Vallarta, Lupita, Renee, Mario and Mario two, William Francis Giarmo, Ophelia, Alberto, Roberto, Victor (a different one), Joe from Detroit, Lilia Robles who owned hotel Na Balam for 30 years, Jan her friend married Stevie Ray Vaughan, Andrea from Saskatoon, Marvin, Susan, Loy, Polo of Mangos, Claudia, Armando, Fernando y Brenda from Argentina, but it seems EVERYONE is from Argentina, Monci from Merida, Donna y George from Michigan, Bruce y Marjorie from Maine, Axel, Lilia from Cuarnevaca, Aloy, Phillipe, Sonney from India, Maria, Iris, Braulio from Cancun no problemo ... even his Mom can’t pronounce his name, Irving, Nancy, queen of the Carnival 2018, Rafael owner of the Cuban Restaurante El Veradero, Luis (aha! we saw you with your boyfriend dancing at Face Bar Cantina), Lucia, Norma, Robert sells honey, Jesus, Pablo not Cruise or Escobar, Alexander, Milton 15 year old waiter at Javis (HAH v's), Lea May and the Mexican maestro from Isla Holbox who makes mandolas out of driftwood and played with the Russian symphony but chose to live on a Mexican island for forty years that did not have electricity until 1984. I probably missed some.

Fascinating places  … fascinating people.

For all or friends and familia and jogis who have shared this paradise with us, NAMASTE.

--

“What do you do there?" my good friend asks. 

The restaurants are fabulous. The choices are incredible. Peruvian, French, Eatalian from Milano, Sardinian from Sardinia. Mexican? Yes. Cuban. Fish? Well Isla and Holbox are fishing villages. Mediterranean? You bet. People watching is simply astounding. Especially on the main calle on Isla. The United States is behind on some things. The main street on Isla, Hidalgo, has no vehicular traffic. All the electrical wires and telephone wires are buried. Christmas lights abound.

Musica. "Is there musica?" Oh my god! Cantinas, street music, classical Spanish guitars, flamenco, Ventures instrumentals,  Cuban, Cumbia from Colombia. Jimmy Buffet and of course Bob Marley.

“Yah but ... what about cost?" Well dinner generally costs $10-$20 per meal for two including drinks. A stiff margarita is four dollars compared to El Serape's $16. Cervezas are $1.30 to $ 2.50 compared to $5-$6 dollars U.S. One night we went totally against my rules and ate from the street vendors. Dinner set us back $5.25. Our Sicily trip cost us more than fifty two days in Mexico for only nine days. One year Florida at nine days cost us more than five weeks in Mexico. Good bye Florida.

One of our friends is having a knee operation and asked Sandy to buy the pain meds in Mexico. In the United States they were $600. In Mexico they cost $18. NO This is not a typo.

My 10,200 cans and bottles, cleaned off Marshfield streets in 2018, paid for almost all of our meals in Mexico.

"How do you sum up your experience?"  Great food, warmth, blue skies, blue water, no shoes, no coats. Eleven friends joining you at various intervals. It keeps the marriage fresh. Friends. The ones that joined us and the ones we have made.

Men of Color to Arms

In the 1860 Unites States census there were one thousand nine hundred and seventy three negro males in Massachusetts.

You probably have heard of the 54th Massachusetts Infantry. They trained in Readsville. They fought and died at Fort Wagner in Chesapeake Bay during our Civil War. There was a movie that starred Matthew Broderick. It was called Glory.  It just did not make sense that he should play the white colonel of the 54th, Robert Gould Shaw. All I could think of was his role as Ferris Bueller. "Danke schoen, darling danka shane."  "Bueller? Bueller?"

Although the Infantry was raised in Boston, many of the men volunteered from different states, especially Pennsylvania and Ohio. More black men came from New Bedford than signed up from Boston. White infantry men were paid $14 per month. But black men were only paid $11 per month, and they had to pay for their uniforms. Most blacks were freed men but there were also some runaways.

Check out Augustus Saint-Gaudens huge bronze relief on Tremont Street, on the north side of the Boston Common. Two hundred black men were still alive but were not chosen for the negro faces in the relief. Boston men were who were not veterans. It was unveiled in 1897. It is quite beautiful.

The most stunning fact to me in Douglas R. Egerton's book Thunder at the Gates  is the fact that there were FOUR MILLION slaves in the South at the start of the Civil war. Well, George had 347 at Mount Vernon alone. Jefferson had a bunch. In the song “Ben McCulloch" Steve Earle sings, as a Texas southern white infantryman, “I don’t know what I'm fightin' for, I ain’t never owned a slave."

The last veteran of the 54th died in 1940.

Ultramarathons

This photo was taken at Elephant's Trunk in the Western States 100. Professional photographers were stationed at the end of a section of trail that is flat rock, and looks like an elephant's trunk from the air.

Salesman, smoker, tennis player. Started running to get fit. Dropped 43 pounds. Started in 1972 maybe. Ran for 23 years. Ran over 54,000 miles.

24,901 miles is the circumference of the earth.

I was out running a six miler by myself, at the corner of Webster Street and Careswell, late on a gloomy Saturday, when a runner pulled up alongside of me and asked if I was “doing Falmouth.” 

"How long is Falmouth?" I asked. 

I ran Falmouth on the Cape. Running that race was the exact moment I became hooked on running.

I was a slow -- embarrassing for all my efforts -- marathoner at 3:30 - 4 hours. Two NYC, 8 Bostons, some others. Embarrassing is an excellent spelling word. Excellent ain’t bad either.

Decided to try 50 milers and did better. Makes total sense, right? Eight hour finishes. Ran in Maine at the college that Joshua Chamberlain, one of the heroes of Gettysburg, taught at. Bowdoin. His wife found out he had joined the Union by reading the newspaper. 

Decided to try 24-hour track ultras and found my calling. Makes total sense, right? Came in third in Rutland Vermont on my first attempt, and came in sixth in Framingham Massachusetts. Probably because no one else thought it was a good idea. 

Note: You cannot get lost in a 24 hour track race. Someone said, “You must feel really good after a 100 mile run, and you must sleep really well.” No! Number 5. You feel like you were hit by a truck is the correct answer.

My first 100 was Vermont in 1990. I ran with Roger Welch's friend for the first 70 miles, but got lost -- alone on the trail -- three times at night with just me and my flashlight … but I finished. One  NY woman remarked, “Right at this moment my friends are at the opera in NYC and I am here.” They hang little green lights in the trees and bushes along the course. You become very religious in praying to see the next one. They schedule the VT 100 during full moons.

The Marshfield Road Runners of Massachusetts took notice. We only did marathons up till then. Marathons and bike riding. I started the trail running ultras. Eventually most of the Marshfield Road Runners took part in the 50’s and 100 milers at Vermont. Mary Kate Shea completed a 50 by doing a cartwheel over the finish line. Now she handles all the elite foreign runners for the BAA. Spelling again: elite -- good one.

Roger and I formed an “Ultra Running Society." You could get in only by running 50 miles within the particular race cut- time. One guy finished a half hour late and we barred him. He is in Heaven now, laughing at this dumb e-mail. Amazingly, we all still have our original knees and hips. Finish WS one minute late and you are not acknowledged.

We had some really good runners in our small club. Roger Welch did 144 miles in 24 hours in a NYC track race. Rich Boretti did 21 hours at Western States. Tom Donovan did 17 Bostons. Mike Coleman switched to race cars.

I met Rich Busa at a 50 miler in Essex Junction Vermont. He was 60 and it was his very first 50 miler. I was 44. We stayed at the same B & B. We also have stayed friends for 30 years. He is kind of an interesting fellow. It took me 5 years to learn that he had won the Silver Star for Valor in Korea. He was a left-handed pitcher in a Texas league, and -- oh yeah -- he won 17 snowshoe races from Syracuse to Alaska . . .  but now back to me. Only kidding. We had coffee in Marlboro last Saturday. He is still sharp as a tack, still married to his original esposa. Me too. In October he will be 90 years old. He has a Korea sticker on his vehicle. People are always coming up to him and thanking him for his service. Little do they know what a hero he actually was, and still is, to all of us who know him. He still goes to VT 100 to work the aid stations for 24-30 hours. That is nearly as hard as running 100 miles. Recently a 22 year old female collapsed into tears at Bill's Place around 80 miles in. She just could not go on. Her feet were loaded with huge blisters and her knees were killing her. Rich consoled her, and told he she had many years running ahead of her, and she would improve and finish.

Two DNFs (did not finish) at Western States 100 Mile Trail Race. I was pulled out at the Rucky Chucky River crossing for dizziness, by the clean up crew, who were on horseback. I did this with the support of my family. We stayed at the Super 8 in Truckee California. My daughter Kezia said, “Dad, if this is the Super 8, I would hate to see the Regular 8."
  
Not far west of the cowboy town of Truckee, named after a local Indian chief, is where the famous Donner/Reed covered wagon Party in 1846-47 became snowbound and stranded. Out of the Sierras, not that far away, is the San Joaquin Valley where there are palm trees growing. In October the tractor trailer rig drivers can be seen putting on tire chains to help them get over the mountain. The Lake Tahoe area gets some serious weather.

WS was originally a horse race on a mule trail. Watch out for cougars. But the second time, four years later, I was ready. I had done my 8th Boston as a training run and it was a breeze. Weight down to my high school football days. Brought three experienced runners with me. Rich Busa would run with me from Forest Hills mile 70 to the end. Elephant's Trunk, feeling good. At Robinson Flat, I still felt strong. Red Star Ridge -- nice. I made my worst running decision ever in my running life at mile 55. No blisters, more than half the race complete. In only 15 more miles I would have a handler to run with me. He couldn’t be a mule for me, but he could think for me and encourage me. In a 100 mile race your thinking becomes difficult. Your fingers swell. Don’t wear your rings. You will lose ALL your toenails no matter what. Even your nipples hurt. The 100-120 degree heat  in the canyons heat was over. The snow  at 8,800 feet was only at the start at Squaw Valley. No more painful down hills. You actually pray for uphills. The downhills kill your quads. The hardest part was over and I stopped. I just stopped. 

Currently only 3% of the entrants get accepted into the Western States 100. Crazy! Only 4 % qualify for the Boston Marathon. One million 400 thousand water cups are ordered for the BAA marathon this year. Only 1% are ultra marathoners.

I then decided on a total whim after a wedding in Springfield Massachusetts to run home from the base of Mount Greylock, the highest mountain in Massachusetts, across the whole state, to Marshfield on the coast where we live. I ran by myself. No GPS, no cell phones, no brains. My wife Sandy would try to find me and meet me with food and drink along the way. We used a road map. It took three days and four hours before I ran into the Atlantic Ocean at Fieldston. It was Halloween time, and I only ran from 7am to 5 pm per day because of the darkness. Some would say it was a bonehead decision. All are correct. The Springfield marriage did not last. We are still going strong after 52 years.

The Magnificent Seven  movie, 1960. In the movie someone asked one of the stars, Steve McQueen, why he did a another bonehead thing in the movie. His response was, “It seemed like a good idea at the time."

In Mexico, on a small island last Febrero, I met for the first time, Alexandro, at his store on Calle Hidalgo. He played a child in that movie in Cuernavaca, south of Mexico City, way back when. The name of his shop is Ek Balam. He asked me how old I was. That happens a lot lately. Usually asked to me by old men. Comparing themselves to me? I don’t know for sure. I’m 74 now. I have outlived everyone in my familia except my great uncle George Washington Bacon and his esposa, Georgina.

Do not worry. There was an article recently in a Heath magazine that equated miles run to longevity. Do the math. I will make it to age 147.

ycmtstuff u

Robert Francis Bacon  AKA 
Roberto Francisco Tocino    
Junio  siete  2019