Sunday

I'm making 2 Daughter of the Day.  As I may have mentioned earlier, and on Twitter, this is the time frame that she and I were in Italy a year ago.  The first few days were in the coastal town of Salerno.  According to the calendars on my wall, this was a rest day (after a couple of day-trips to Pompei and the Isle of Capri).  Here we are with the obligatory selfie on a park bench near the Salerno waterfront.

 Cycling season may be over for me.  @bcbison and I had planned to do the DeWitt ride yesterday, but we passed on the trip due to a rainy morning forecast.  I may do a couple more mid-day rides, but my enthusiasm has pretty well vanished, so the rowing machine may be the fitness program of choice for the next several months.

I sat at an outside table for 2nd Coffee with my pal Terry O and his wife Linda this AM.  (Hey to Dr. Sarah if you are reading this to verify that your Dad made the blog!)  He was talking about this barn theater that they had attended on Friday night up near Maquoketa.  Some folks have taken the back-to-the-roots concept and applied it to a musical venue for, generally, new music (I think).  Here'a photo from their website, www.codfishhollowbarnstormers.

The website references many singers/groups who have played at the barn.  Gotta admit.  I didn't recognize one name.  What does that say about the LtPC?  Its a BYOB set-up for alcohol, which sounds like a good plan.  Vendors for food.  Interesting concept.  Terry said that my pal Bill and spouse Teresa were at the show as well.  Pretty sure I'll stick with the ambiance of the MCSC.

In kind of the same vein, the local paper picked-up a story in today's edition about some non-mechanized farming operations out in upstate New York.  I'm sure that type of endeavor goes on in many places throughout the country.  Use of horse rather than tractors.  No chemicals.  Here is a link to the AP story.  http://www.pressherald.com/2014/09/19/horse-power-making-a-comeback/  There's a regional monthly tabloid here called The Radish, that caters toward sustainable farming and the like. http://radishmagazine.com/about.php

It is interesting the choices that people make about life style.  Having worked on a farm throughout my youth, there was never a time that I thought "getting back to my roots" was a path that I wanted to pursue.  Shovel enough manure and getting back to basic farming sounds a little less bucolic.  But people get attracted to the road less travelled.  Good for them.  And the same for those aspiring musicians.  I hope they all can be successful enough to pay their bills, create opportunities for their off-spring, and otherwise add to their communities.  I will stick with the urban conveniences of paved roads, coffee shops and mid-to-top-shelf vino.

Putting this up just so that I don't forget.  It's the 24's paint-scheme for the race today in New Hampshire.  Very unusual, but out there to make a statement for the AARP Drive to End Hunger that sponsor's the car.  AARP makes a big effort in September for this goal, and the 24 car is a good place to catch eyeballs.
A cynic might compare this to NBA, college, and NFL teams that modify uniform designs for different games or anniversaries/celebrations/special-dates.  An ulterior reason is always to sell more collector jersey's.  In NASCAR, they're always selling collector model dye-casts of the race cars.  (For the record, my only such car is on the mantle at Harvest Path.)

(The paint-scheme didn't help in the race.  He cut a tire with about 10 laps down while running 6th and went into the wall.  Finished deep in the pack.)

Another busy week in my future.  25 days until the next tax deadline.  And many other side projects with closer due dates.  Unfortunately, stress is a constant by-product of this life-style I call mine.

Thanks for reading.

BCOT