We Lutherans Rock!!!

Yesterday in Church, toward the end of the service, came the usual announcements.  Except they weren't just the usual announcements of groups that would be meeting that week and calls for sign up for various things.  This week our pastor was pleased to announce that the ELCA (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, my own particular brand of Lutheran) had chosen as the presiding Bishop of our Church, our denomination, a woman, Elizabeth Eaton.

Okay, now I was sitting up straight and listening with really full attention.  While the ELCA has had women pastors and local bishops for some time now, selecting a woman to run the whole thing and to speak for us as a group -- well, it's kind of like the Berlin Wall falling. To hear that she was Harvard trained, which means she may have known Krister Stendhal, the head of the Harvard Divinity School who attended the church I went to in Cambridge during my Harvard days, that was icing on the cake.  Change and tradition both.

But Pastor wasn't finished yet.  Not only had my church put a woman in charge, it had passed -- by overwhelming votes -- a series of resolutions calling on member churches and their members to advocate for gun control measures that would require universal background checks, measures to stop gun trafficking and require reporting of lost or stolen guns, and measures that sought support for same gender couples and their families and measures that sought comprehensive immigration reform with a path to residency and citizenship.  Way to go, folks.

This is most certainly not the conservative Lutheran Church I grew up in and I am so glad of it.  We've come a long way, baby.  As our pastor said with a big grin on her face, We rock!!

End of a Time Warp

Tomorrow is the last day for Quinn's.  Truly the end of an era.  Or as I prefer to call it, a time warp.
Quinn's is a restaurant in Beacon, NY.  Walking into it was like stepping back into the 50s or 60s.  Classic diner configuration with booths and a counter and the colors were the reds, browns and creams that go with that.

I was introduced to Quinn's shortly after Kit and Nate moved to Beacon and it became our go to place for breakfast or anything else that came close to that time frame.  It was the place where all the real locals hung out, young and old alike, talking, reading newspapers and solving all the problems of their worlds.  Kids were welcome and I believe we were still counting Fiona's age in days when she first went there.  Of course, she and we all kept coming back.  As she grew up she met everyone there.  When she began her studies of the counter stools and how they revolve, she would work her way methodically down the row, spinning each and every one.  Patrons who were seated would even get up to let her test out their stool and its ability to spin.

When Sandy was on her way and there was talk of closing the bridges in the area, I abandoned Long Island and headed for Beacon and Quinn's because Quinn's had a tradition of staying open no matter what.  Whatever the storm, the snow, even the hurricane, Quinn's was open for those who were out dealing with the storm or were out of electricity or supplies or anything else for that matter.  Quinn's was sort of like the little engine that could.  I wound up staying for the 10 days it took LIPA to get my electricity back, so I had a good few occasions to stop by Quinn's.  The day I walked in and our favorite waitress said: You don't need a menu, do you? I felt like I'd become an honorary local.

Yesterday morning, Kit and I had planned a last visit to Quinn's.  It worked out to be after a music class for Fiona and several other toddlers.  We had planned to meet one other mother and kid at the restaurant, but before we knew it the whole class of kids and mothers were coming too.  Even the teacher came.  And a couple of fathers refused to be left out and also joined in.  Typical Beacon.  Typical Quinn's.  Need I say that it was great and a good time was had by all?

I will miss the pancakes (too many sorts and varieties to mention), the homemade bread and the French toast it became, the endless coffee, the memories of the talks and the celebrations, the wonderful assortment of folks you could find at Quinn's on any given day, but most of all I'm going to miss our waitress who made sure I knew where the polling place was so I could get my vote in despite Sandy and the amazing owner and cook who needed to check to see if I really liked the cheddar and sausage pancakes.  Yes, ma'am, I really, really liked them.

Finally

It took several more days to finish all the nits and nats and to cart off the debris but at long last the repairs

and/or renovations to the Amagansett house are done.  I am reveling in not having workmen in and out of the house and, perhaps most of all, not having to get people back to complete anything more.  Actually, I am only complaining about the inevitable side effects of having work done on a house.  They did a good job as far as I can see.  I am sure that  - now that I've said that -- the next person in the door will point out something that I overlooked.  I guess that's what handymen are for.  Now if only I could find one.  Just in case, you understand.

Rescue

Last weekend, Kit and Nate and Fiona joined me to enjoy the new deck and get in as much beach time as possible.  The beach time effort took us to Atlantic Beach in East Hampton on one morning.  Most of the time it was about sand and waves and sun and good times.  Then at one point I noticed our nearby lifeguard standing at attention staring out to a point way beyond the usual swimmers.

Following the gaze, I saw two lifeguards swimming fast and straight toward that point.  When I say fast, I mean that I don't think Michael Phelps could have bettered their time.  Not in that water.  It was the most efficient Australian crawl I have ever seen.  A bit farther down the beach were two more lifeguards on the same mission.  In the surf were more lifeguards paying out the ropes towed by the swimmers.  And way out there was a woman who was not going to get back without help.

The swimmers arrive and there are now four swimmers surrounding her and making sure she knows that she's going to make it.  Now the ropes are being reeled back and the group moves slowly back to the beach.  EMT trucks are already on the beach waiting.

The best part is that as soon as they reached the beach the woman was able to get up and walk toward the rest of the rescue group.  Lifeguards and, in fact, the whole beach broke into applause.

Wow!  Nothing like realizing that it's a really big ocean out there.  REALLY big.  And being so glad that there are so many strong, well trained folks with the abilities to help us.  And sometimes save us.

Renovation Continued ...

Well, the deck didn't get done the day it was promised.  But it did get done - functionally, that is - a few hours before Team Burke Smith arrived.  That doesn't mean it's actually done, of course.  The work continued on Friday and Saturday and will continue on Monday.  Every time I make out a punch list, work does get done on it.  But somehow, when I check on it at the end of the day, the punch list doesn't seem to be much shorter.

Things have improved,  though.  The deck chairs and tables are back on the deck.  Which means that the living room has room and the indoor furniture has now been rearranged and the place is now actually a pretty nice living room.  There may be light at the end of the tunnel, but I'm not counting on it yet.

Don't Do It

If you are contemplating any kind of home renovation work, I have just one piece of advice.  Don't do it.  I know, I know -- sometimes things just need to be done.  That's pretty much the situation here at Amagansett.  After a good number of years, the deck needed to be redone and the sliding window/doors were pretty beat up and needed replacement, too.  So I looked for a builder who had a good reputation and found one that seemed promising.  He said he could do the job in two weeks and that sounded even better.  Of course, since I have dealt with contractors in the past, I mentally added on a week or two to the estimate.

Well, it is now nearly six weeks and I am so ready to get these guys out of my house.  The doors, I freely admit, are done and are a great improvement.  That makes the house usable.  But not the deck.  There's enough of it there for me to walk on the finished part (if, of course, you don't consider railings part of a deck).  I can even put out a rocking chair and the view is great with none of those silly railings in the way.  Witness my meetings with my deer neighbors.

The problems are that during the day I have guys carrying decking and rails and equipment through my living room and bedroom.  Add the general noise of tools and there's still not much getting done on any given day.  Their explanation is that it's a long drive to get to my place (they knew the location before they started) and the weather has been really hot.  I pointed out that if they had finished the work anywhere near the estimated time, they wouldn't have been working in that weather.  I also pointed out that on the same day they "couldn't work", there were two guys fixing my septic tank system.  My logic may be fine, but it's not getting the project done.  So I resorted to an ultimatum.  I have family coming to visit and they have a two year old.  I can't have them come with a deck without complete railings.  They have promised to work miracles and have it done for my company.  They're out there right now sawing and hammering.

to be continued ....

My Neighbors

I have learned that sitting out on the back deck as the day cools down in the late afternoon is a good idea.  Not only does it actually get cooler so that sitting outside is now a pleasure, but one also gets to meet the neighbors.

The first neighbor to put in an appearance was a young doe who gave new meaning to the name for the ground cover behind the house.  It's known as deer feed and it certainly is.  She stayed for quite a while, moving on slowly.

Yesterday, there was the usual aerial display -- mocking birds bravely chasing off a crow easily twice as big as both of them together; seagulls of course; a few swallows cruising for mosquitos; and finches.  This time there was also a rabbit, larger than the ones I'm used to from the horse farm and differently colored to blend with the browns and beiges out here.  He alternately scooted through the dunes at quite a good pace or stopped absolutely still, waiting to confirm that it was okay to check out the edibles. 

Then came the star of the show, a young buck with velvet still on his antlers.  Could have been Bambi in person.  The doe had stayed at a distance, on the far side of most of the scrubby jack pines that form lines between the house and the dunes.  This guy came much closer, starting out on the near side of those pines and moving in from there.  He actually came up onto the dune (the one the house is built backing into [if you can follow that]) so that he and I were basically on eye level with each other.  He posed beautifully and apparently found the house interesting because he and I stared at each other for a long time.  It's kind of nice when the neighbors drop by to welcome you to the neighborhood.