Day 21: Junior Superheroes

After working a few hours at school on costumes, I dug in at home to finish the chapter titled, "Junior Superheroes" and worked straight through till 9:00.  My friends in my writer's group, Penelope will be here tomorrow morning to critique my work.  Their perspectives are always so helpful.

When I interviewed Chris Nowicki, he called the student leaders "Junior Superheroes" and that certainly fits them.  They are at the heart of Quest. I think if the program continues after our retirement, it will be because of them.  It was hard to condense comments down to ten pages because they gave me so much valuable material, but I'll inject more of their stories into other chapters as we go along.

Day 20: Pre-arrival

Tomorrow the college students will be returning to begin a new semester.  The town has been very quiet and Temple Street has had little traffic for the past month.  They will be shocked to find that BJs is closed temporarily, but no doubt will find new haunts.  

Happily, I am no longer teaching EDU 105.  Although I enjoyed the interactions with the students very much, the demands of the course were too much on top of teaching at FHS.  I would not be doing this 366 Project or writing a book if I was still working there.  Almost all of my creativity had been squeezed out of me by the time I retired.  Nevertheless, I am very grateful because my life would have been very different if I had not enrolled in Fredonia State 45 years ago!  

Day 19: Pesky critters

I spent most of the day writing and transcribing interviews, but we were able to escape for a long walk despite the frigid temperature.  Paddy decided he needed some fresh air too so I let him out.  Every ten minutes I called for him, but he would not come.  Finally, I went out and followed his footsteps around the house and there he was, under the back deck.  But he wasn't alone.  The neighbor's black cat was with him.  I guess they were having a few beers.

Three deer visited too.  The photogenic one gets up on his hind legs and tips the bird feeder to lick the seed.

Day 18: Old friends

Another fire in downtown Fredonia tonight, but fortunately BJs and the block were saved.  It's not a place that I've patronized, but going to BJ's has been a rite of passage for many of Fredonia's youths and college students.

I was totally unaware of the fire because our book club was meeting at my friend Rachel's house.  That's like the over 60 version of BJs.  Every month we read a book and meet at a different member's home.  Thoughtful discussion, wine, lots of laughter, and rich desserts fill the evening rather than beer and loud music.  Among our group, some have been friends for forty years, like Rachel and me.  Although we are mostly retired teachers and nurses, our perspectives and viewpoints are quite different.  Some of the books have had a powerful impact on us, others are lighter fare.  It's rare when we all agree on a book, but that's ok because we agree to disagree.

Tonight we discussed Messenger: The Legacy of Mattie Stepanek and The Bachelor Brother's Bed and Breakfast, two vastly different, but valuable books.

Day 17: Colliding Fronts

We walked this afternoon during the couple hours of sunshine and 55 degree temperatures that were squeezed in between the ferocious rains of the morning and the brutal wind storm that came this evening.  

In between I did an interview with Annie.  She was very helpful and I will be able to use many of her reflections on Quest.  The most valuable comment she made was that Quest is really about the people.  It's a family of whose members may not be related, but we are certainly connected by our love of the outdoors and each other. 

This is a really happy time.  There's lots to do, maybe too much at times.  The blog, exercise, musical, photography and, oh yeah, finish writing a book.   I sit at the computer until my eyes hurt to write about the importance of nature in our lives! 

Day 16: Dad's birthday

Today would have been my dad's 86th birthday.  He's been gone since October, 1996, and we still miss him and mom.  He did not like having his picture taken so I have only a few photos of the two of us.  Actually, he posed more often with the giant fish he caught.  One of my favorites pictures was taken when I was just a few months old when we were living on the corner of Center  and Leverett Streets.  Years later, Steve and I bought our first house on the opposite corner of the same streets.

I'm sure our parents would be very proud of how well their five children and ten grandchildren are doing. It's a shame they did not live past their early 70s.  Their health issues have certainly been motivations for us to take better care of ourselves.

My mother is gorgeous and beaming with Dad and their young family in the second photo.  My brother Mike is riding on Dad's shoulder and I am trying to escape, as always.  I've heard it was taken on a visit back to Staten Island, but that's not certain.  I've set it with some of my favorite travel artifacts: candlesticks from Sweden, a giraffe made in Ethiopia that we bought near the Leaning Tower of Pisa and a rug from a suk in Morocco.

Day 15: Iceless

Lake Erie should be covered in ice in January, but this year the change in the jet stream has kept our area abnormally warm.  On this bright sunny day, we walked the beach at Point Gratiot.  A few brave gulls floated on the lake's calm surface.  Farther north on Lake Boulevard, hundreds of geese and gulls basked in the sun or bathed in the lake like it was spring.

Revising and editing is so difficult and slow and I don't like sitting inside in front of the computer so much of the day.  Can I possibly make my deadline of April 1?  I don't know.