Today’s entry is courtesy of Jeanine. She texted me this image with no explanation. Reverse triangulating from the three buildings I recognize (Empire State Building, Chrysler Building and the UN) I am fairly certain she was in Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Park. Update: Jeanine informs me that she was in Gantry Plaza State Park.
No sooner than she returned from visiting Maya in Seattle, Jeanine is off to NYC for the balance of the week. She will connect with her close friend Monica Frost, from Indianapolis. They are planning to see several broadway hits (Carol King Beautiful, Tina Turner, The Book of Mormon) while sampling the NYC food scene. I dropped her off at the train station on my way into work this morning. When she returns on Sunday, I will pick her up and then drive to the airport where I will embark on a week long visit to Costa Rica. Our work schedules have conspired against us doing a joint vacation this fall.
Followers of this blog are all too familiar with how much I hate my commute. In the Boston area, many companies have Columbus Day off which means that traffic today was extremely light. For this one solitary day I was enjoying life in the fast lane when the reflections of blue flashing lights in my rear view mirror sucked all joy from the moment. The officer who pulled me over said he clocked me at 83mph in a 55mph zone which sounded entirely accurate. I politely provided my license and registration and wondered how much the ticket was going to cost and what it would do to my insurance rates. When the officer returned, he gruffly returned my documents and a warning citation (for 56mph in a 55mph zone as determined by estimation). I will never know exactly what happened, but I got the feeling that there was some type of glitch with the radar gun and he was not able to use the reading. FWIW, at the moment he started chasing me, I was being passed by a car that had to be going 90mph.
Jeanine spent a long weekend visiting Maya in Seattle. The two enjoyed great food, a spa day, and communing with nature. I must admit that I was envious of their time together and wish I had joined Jeanine for the trip. Maya will be coming home for Thanksgiving and I am very much looking forward to seeing her then. She has finalized arrangements for her study abroad program and will spend the balance of the academic year in Amsterdam starting in January after she has completed her internship at Blue Origin.
A perfect day for soccer led to one of my team’s best games of the season. With a 2 goal lead at the 20 minute mark one of our players was red carded for swearing at the referee leaving us a man down for the remaining 70 minutes. The disadvantage forced us to play a much more disciplined and strategic game. We went on to win by a margin of 7-0 and I managed a nice assist. I took further advantage of the beautiful day to venture into western Massachusetts for some fall photography.
Fall foliage this year is as spectacular as any I can remember. I spent the entire day in New Hampshire taking in the glorious scenery and making the best of a mostly cloudy day. Be sure to click on the panoramic view to fully appreciate the beauty of Franconia Notch.
I dropped Jeanine off at the airport early this morning for a flight to Seattle where she will spend several days visiting with Maya. Maya has been interning with Blue Origin for some time now, helping to test sensors used on the outside of their spacecraft. Apparently she has also been doing a little blacksmithing as evidenced by the knife she fashioned from a horse shoe.
Jeanine hosted her book group at the house last night. Invited was Katharine Esty, the author of the book being discussed, Eightysomethings, and a member of her writer’s group. It never ceases to amaze me how good Jeanine is at bringing wonderful people together.
I love this time of year when fall colors are approaching peak intensity. This morning I put the drone up for an aerial view of the landscape surrounding our home. The thumb shaped field at the center-right of the photograph is the field behind our house and the reason we feel so immersed in nature. The colorful rectangular area to the left only became known to me when I started flying my drone; a real lesson in how perspective can change your view of everything. Click on the photo to see more detail.
I arrived at my dentist office at 8am today only to discover that I had cancelled my appointment for this time slot some time back (for reasons that escape me now). Fortunately, there was a cancellation and opening at 9am which left me with an hour to spend in downtown Lexington. After a light breakfast, I walked over to the Lexington Battle Green. It was here, on the morning of April 19, 1775, that “the first blood was spilt in the dispute with Great Britain,” as George Washington wrote in his diary. In this first skirmish, 77 Minutemen (local colonists who had volunteered to be first responders to military and other threats) faced British Regulars. Eight Minutemen lost their lives and 10 were wounded. Two British soldiers were also injured.
When one of my colleagues returned from his honeymoon, he found his desk covered in nuts and bolts and various other hardware. Such pranks are common around the office and it is only a matter of time before I become the target of one.
Jeanine and I celebrated our 29th wedding anniversary today! As has been the reality in our marriage we spent some of the day together and some of the day apart. Jeanine completed the 25 mile Ride for Food fund raiser while I played soccer this morning (beating Lexington 3-1). We then spent the afternoon and evening together relaxing over a tapas dinner out while discussing plans for our future. In years past, our conversation would have been centered on the kids but now we are more focused on how we plan to spend our remaining work and retirement years. Of all the big life decisions I have ever had to make, asking Jeanine to marry me is the smartest thing I have ever done. She is as smart and loving as she is beautiful and the only reason I have evolved into a half decent man.
With perfect conditions forecasted for the day, I ventured north to Franconia Notch only to find that I was probably a week early for optimal fall color. Even so, any day spent in the mountains is a day well spent. Weather and schedule permitting, I hope to make a return visit when peak color has arrived.
The Head of People Operations at Formlabs reached her 7 year anniversary with the company today. To celebrate, her staff threw her a surprise party which included two of her very favorite things, a petting zoo and a dipping bar (variety of foods that can be dipped). If you had told me when I started my career at Bell Labs some 40 years ago that cuddling of baby animals would one day be a component of work life, I would have thought you were nuts. That said, I think it is a wonderful development.
