OLYMPUS E-P1 PROJECT
... i drove out to east pond to wish the best of birthdays to my great friend, chuck ... for those of you not in the know, he and i taught together for twenty-eight years, much of that time across a hall from one another ... we were, to put it in very precise educational terms, the very best of teams ... we cared about kids, our core philosophies were in perfect synch, and, most important, we both believed that applied by a practiced master a little bit of good ol' b***s*** could go a long way towards making a bad day better or transforming otherwise dry subject matter into exciting fun ... neither of us ever thought that there could be too much laughter in a classroom ...
... chuck and ann live in the little house to the left in the picture, their front yard is east pond ... chuck is standing above one of our favorite spots, a tree trunk that lies on the muddy bottom of the pond ... often on a summer or fall evening we will swim out and stand atop the tree, which offers enough of a perch that we can relax with only our heads out of the water ... we'll solve a few of the world's problems, comment on the amount of algae in the water, rag about a certain state governor who we both believe never got past the title of the book "being a state governor for dummies" ... after a few minutes, however, we always come to talking about our girls, our lives, how both of us have been so very lucky for all that we have seen and done ... i think that this is the reason the tree ended up in this spot ...
OLYMPUS E-P1 PROJECT
... the ice is thick enough that a car could be driven across the lake, although a lack of snow and the recent rains followed by well-below freezing temperatures have made the surface so slippery that i imagine it would be a rather interesting experience ... it is frightening fun to hear the groans and great snapping cracking sounds as the surface of the lake adjusts itself to the wind and movement of the water below ...
OLYMPUS E-P1 PROJECT
... here huge fissures, possibly a result of the recent four days of unseasonably warm weather, have become resealed with clear ice ... a long time ago, when i was a child living in alaska, i fell through the ice on a pond while i was skating ... i still remember the cold, how it almost stopped my heart, and how absolutely afraid i was until my brother, he who remembered everything in the boy scout handbook, carefully worked his way on his belly to the edge of where i'd broken through the ice ... "just relax ... don't move around ... hold my hand ... there you go, i'm not going to let you sink" ... i knew he wouldn't, not ever, so, although i admit to worrying a bit that i was going to turn into a popsicle, i had no fear in me as we waited for some grown-ups to come help him pull me from the icy water ...
OLYMPUS E-P1 PROJECT
... although the truth of the matter is that in these times the residents of this state are defined as being those who can work the buttons of their smart phones while wearing mittens, i still believe that this picture portrays the characteristics of a "true mainer" ... ayuh, yessir, by gorry ...
OLYMPUS E-P1 PROJECT
... "hmmmm, so ... so, if i was to put some studs into my motorcycle tires ... wear my heavy boots ... i wonder if it would work" ... don't let my calm demeanor fool you, as chuck was taking this picture the wind chill was probably about 0°F ...