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Two of my favorite places on this planet are Portsmouth, NH (which I think you all know), and San Francisco, CA.  Both wonderful places to be for any reason – both of which share the ability to host beautiful sunsets.  I was lucky to snap both shots featured in today’s post, and as I was going through the archives…each reminded me of the other.  One taken along the shores of Prescott Park, the other taken from the Mark Hopkins hotel.

A very happy Thanksgiving to all!  I hope you get a chance to enjoy some good food and some quality time with those who are near and dear.

Sunday River’s New Campaign

Newry, ME — With every new ski season comes a new campaign to generate interest in the sport and its respected resorts. This year Sunday River will promote their resort with an intricately designed image on their websites, clothing, stickers, etc. Sunday River wanted to stay away from the current fad of bright and loud patterns that are reminiscent of the eighties, and go in a totally new direction. The resort wanted their new campaign to be prominently featured amongst complex, intricate designs created by the Native Americans. So, Sunday River went out and hired a group of Native American artisans, the Aryan Nation.

“Listen,” begins a distressed Sunday River executive, “we totally fucked up and we know it. We wanted to hire some Native Americans, but who the hell knows even knows an actual Native American person? We needed to find out how to locate some, so we went online to search them. Originally, we all agreed that Cherokees were pretty badass and that we should contact them, but every time we Googled them, we kept getting results for websites about jeeps. After that didn’t work, we then typed in ‘true Americans’, and that’s how we found the Aryan Nation’s website. We just assumed that ‘true Americans’ meant ‘Native Americans’, and you’ve got to admit that Aryan Nation does sound like a Native American reservation. Honestly, we didn’t know that we were hiring ignorant assholes. We just thought that we were getting some Indians.”

On the behalf of the Aryan Nation, Roger Whiteback, chief propaganda designer, states his brotherhood’s side of the story. “First of all, me and my partner, Stan Whiteface, were super-duper excited to do the Sunday River project. What they did was send us a rough sketch of what they wanted. Their original sketch was this picture of a weird image that had about four arms extended from the center, and within that image were the words ‘We Support White Powder’. So, I went to work on the background image first. I couldn’t make out what the hell that thing was supposed to be, but when I started to squint at it, it made sense. It was just a poorly drawn swastika. Well, I beefed it up a bit, and made it into one of the best swastikas I’ve ever designed. They got mad about that because later on, after we finished the project, they told me it was actually a snowflake and not a swastika. Then there was the incident with their slogan in the forefront of their sketch: ‘We Support White Powder’. They got all pissed when I took the letter ‘d’ out of ‘Powder’. Seriously? They hired the Aryan Nation, of course we’re gonna think ‘We Support White Powder’ is a typo, ya know?”

After experiencing a rough economic patch, Boyne has admitted that they’re unable to financially support a new campaign, and if they want to continue to promote their ski resort, then the Aryan’s finished product will have to suffice.

A Boyne spokesperson further explains their company’s stance. “We’re in the middle of a financial dilemma here and a racial controversy, but we’re just going to have to lean on the old proverb that ‘All publicity is good publicity’. Yes we accidentally employed the Aryan Nation, but it was for a very brief moment in time. We’re willing to admit that we had a brief exchange, but we don’t want people to think we’ve been rubbing elbows so hard with the Aryans that their lynching arms are bruised.”

To help put Sunday River back into the good graces of its loyal guests, and also distance themselves from white supremacy, Boyne employed a Jewish publicist to put a positive spin on the “We Support White Power” campaign, and prove that if a Jew could work for Sunday River, then their logo can’t possibly stem back to the days of the Nazis.

“Alright,” begins the Jewish publicist, Sal Steinberg, finally, after fifteens minutes of pleading for someone to turn the heat up at Sunday River’s press conference. “You’ll notice the words ‘We Support White Powder’ in the middle of this here sticker. Last winter was pretty tough financially, and there wasn’t enough money to put into a second campaign, but we did have enough money for a case of Whiteout. If you put your face a few inches away you’ll clearly notice that each sticker has squeezed in a Whiteout letter ‘d’ to make the word ‘Powder’. This makes each one unique and a collector’s item. Now, let’s talk about that background symbol. Since when did a windmill-esque image, on an axis, with four arms that eventually bend at a ninety degree angle, automatically mean it’s a swastika? We just thought it’d be fun to stray away from the traditional idea that a snowflake is a fancy, doily-looking object. We just took a simple, stripped down image to use instead. Everyone uses the fancy snowflake image, and as everyone knows, no two snowflakes are the same. So, we believe a snowflake like ours could definitely exist.” He’s right, it did exist. In East Germany.

Later that night, a waitress at the Matterhorn Ski Bar overheard the Jewish publicist, in a nasally voice, saying the following (right before he left a meager eight percent tip), “I’m so nauseous right now. I can’t believe I said those things for money. I feel like one of those prostitutes, you know? The ones with the ungodly clothing and diseases. I hate myself. I’m going to have nightmares for weeks now about Moses chasing me with a pitchfork. My poor mother would never forgive me for getting involved with those Nazi lovers. I just want to go back to my condo in Miami.”

After dumping the body of the young woman who overheard the publicist, Boyne and Sunday River executives were hoping that the explanation of the logo would help the controversy blow over, but certain groups took notice. One of those groups, the Ku Klux Klan, overheard the conference, and one of their leaders had this to say, “As you’ve probably guessed, we are ecstatic that Sunday River surfaced their true feelings and beliefs. We finally have a safe place to go on a skiing vacation now. A place where we’ll be accepted in our hood and robes. It’s not easy going out in public when you dress like us. You have no idea how painful it is to be constantly judged and ostracized everywhere you go, just because of who you are. It doesn’t matter now though, because in Bethel, they tell it like it is. White Power all the way! Hell, they even support the Confederacy. I mean, they must support the Confederacy if they put a statue of a faggy Union soldier, on Bethel’s Main St., smack-dab between a homo flower store and a God damn taco shop! I love it! Reminds me of the good ol’ days in Montgomery, Alabama.”

After a private meeting, executives of Boyne and Sunday River held another press conference. “We have finally come up with a way to prove that we aren’t racist, and that we don’t support White Power,” exclaims a representative of Sunday River, who regularly quotes the movie Blazing Saddles. “Our superiors at Boyne Realty are currently installing a border length wall to stop racist people like the Aryan Nation and the KKK from entering Maine. We originally had the idea to build the wall years ago to keep out Massholes, and now it’s finally about to become a reality. Aside from those three groups, other people wishing to come to Bethel are still more than welcome and may enter from New Hampshire, because Canada will obviously be completely walled off. However, due to the wall being several miles wide, it was incidentally built on top of Gorham, New Hampshire, so people will instead have to go through the wall’s border patrol located in Berlin. Now, I know some people are worried, but as long as people have their papers in order, they’ll be fine. Everyone’s really friendly at the Berlin Wall.”

You may have noticed a new header on the blog here today. It’s a photograph of an actual found curve!

These trees are out in the field by the house in Northwood where I grew up. I used to “ride” them when I was little.

Back when the place belonged to my great-grandparents, my Uncle Walt had his garage out there. A wire ran from the road to the garage, and these three trees happened to grow up and around it. Must have been at least 60 years ago.

Now, as my Dad said when I took this picture last weekend, they’re as big as tontons (like is Star Wars? See pic below.) Thy are very mysterious to me still and I love them.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

A river seems a magic thing. A magic, moving,
living part of the very earth itself.
- Laura Gilpin

Before each Thanksgiving Dinner we all hold hands around the table and each of us (usually 20 or more) say what we are thankful for. When you have all four of your children, each of their significant others and all eight grandchildren, plus any friends who are not able to be with their families on this day, in one room together that says it all!

Another wonderful thing to be thankful for happen yesterday; we re-connected with an exchange student from Japan who spent her senior year with us in 1986 and then returned to Japan. Candy is married, since 1990, to a U.S. Navy man she met in Japan, living with her husband and two children in San Diego. We hope to never lose touch again!

May all of you have something special to be thankful for this coming Thanksgiving Day!
K

The Neighbors Take a Surry Ride

After losing much over the past 3 years, I have learned to be constantly thankful for what I have. Each day I am thankful for:

*Being able to get out of bed because my body works!
*My eyesight, good hearing and a lucid mind (for the most part, it works pretty well!)
*My children – I’ve always been amazed that I have such great kids
*Enough money to live on – I am not hungry and have plenty of clean water to drink
*A car that runs and money to put gas in it
*Decent housing and a fabulous landlord, which means I won’t have to move again for a while
*My camera and computer, so I can earn a living
*Friends who care
*The wonderful answer to prayer that I live where I live and am surrounded by such beauty each day.

And there is so much more.
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving day, whether you are alone or with a loving family, you too have much to be thankful for.

It’s the day before Thanksgiving and the city is deserted.

That’s what happens when you live in a college town- every holiday the streets get eerily quiet and empty. The early mist didn’t really help alivate the sketchy feeling either.

I’ll be heading up to New Hampshire later today to enjoy a nice holiday out of the city. But it seems like everyone is out of the city, leaving the streets looking like skeletal remains of a once large and bustling city. I had a whole street to myself today – one of the busiest shopping streets had no one on it. Yes, I was walking down it at 9:00am, but usually that street is packed with tourists, students and locals doing last minute shopping trips and more recently, getting a head start on their Christmas shopping.

But today was not one of those days. The grey mist that covered the city made the lack of people more noticable along with the many empty store fronts that are popping up.

It was creepy and peaceful all at the same time.

I found myself walking slower, and not rushing towards my destination for one of the first times this semester. When I finally made it, I chose a place close to the window to watch people walking slowly up and down the street, enjoying the emptiness of the city.

The bustling city left yesterday, the remains of the city are left. So I’m leaving the empty city for the quiet emptiness of the mountains of NH.

I’m writing to wish you all an early happy Thanksgiving. This is really my absolute favourite holiday, & it always has been. I hope everyone enjoys themselves, gets stuffed on native New England foods, sees all of their family & friends, & appreciates this beautiful life for what it is. I will not be writing for a few days due to traveling, but I hope you keep poking around in my old entries anyway. I’m sure there’s got to be one that you missed a few months ago!

So like I said, enjoy yourselves. & thank you. I’m thankful for every single one of you, & for the opportunity to gratuitously bombard you with my opinions day after day (you seem to kind of like it…)

Happy Thanksgiving

My squirrels are crazy…and bold! Once all the seed they can steal from the birds is gone they come looking for more – even if it means coming inside!

Heading to the food source

Hello..I need more seeds…

Don’t worry honey, I’ll find a way in..(his wife is in the background)

I see how this door opens…

I sit next to the slider most of the day while working on my laptop at the kitchen table 
and when I hear the scratching at the door this is what I see.

Maybe I could train them to fill the feeders for me.

Since it’s nearly Thanksgiving and the fall is well underway, I thought I’d take a moment to remember a warmer time of year….the elusive New Hampshire summer.  Along with the warm weather comes beautiful gardens throughout the city – with the gardens at Prescott Park probably being the most visited of the City.

With a New England winter right around the corner, it’s good to remember how beautiful the summer is in this great place.

Last year for the first and only time during my quarter century on this earth I didn’t celebrate Thanksgiving. The fourth Thursday in November came and went without any turkey consumed or football watched. As far as I was concerned Thanksgiving never took place in 2008.

Now my disavowing Thanksgiving last year was completely out of left field since celebrating the fall harvest has always ranked #1 on my list of “Holidays That Rock!” For as long as I can remember I have looked forward to Thanksgiving Day even more than Hanukkah, which may seem hard to believe, but if you put everything wonderful that Thanksgiving has to offer up against Hanukkah it’s no comparison in my book.

I love virtually every aspect of what Thanksgiving has to offer including the delicious abundance of food, the bringing together of family and friends and the tradition of reflecting on what I’m thankful for.

Growing up without much of an extended family meant that Thanksgiving was spent mostly with close friends. My family has hosted many Thanksgiving Days at our house, which is a situation that I enjoy slightly more than the alternative since I feel an extra sense of pride in how everything turns out and the fact that people are enjoying themselves.

However, this satisfaction as well as my ability to spend Turkey Day with family and friends was lost last year when I lived in Hanover, New Hampshire. Since the team was forced to schedule a game in close proximity to the holiday we weren’t able to allow our players to go home. Therefore, the staff arrived at the office on Thanksgiving morning and worked until practice that afternoon before breaking in the early evening to get ready for the team’s Thanksgiving dinner at a nearby restaurant.

However, since Barbara was flying into Boston’s Logan Airport late that night to visit for the weekend, I wouldn’t have been at the dinner very long before I needed to leave and pick her up so I decided not to attend.

This turned out to be an enormous mistake as I spent the evening alone in my apartment. To make matters worse I sat watching the movie “Matchstick Men” on the floor of my bedroom, not consuming turkey or even that Lean Cuisine frozen dinner that is supposed to be a Thanksgiving knock off, but rather eating a California Pizza Kitchen BBQ Chicken Pizza.

As if my holiday solitude wasn’t enough I nearly broke down when my parents called to check in on me after their meal. Without knowing the extent of my longing to be there with them I barely held back tears as my Mom joyfully described the events of her day. After we got off the phone I remember sitting in darkness feeling alone and thinking about my family and Thanksgivings past until it was time to leave for the airport.

When Barbara finally got in the car, just after midnight on the fourth Friday in November, Thanksgiving was over and I wouldn’t get to see my favorite holiday for another 364 days. Although I was happy not to be alone anymore thanks to Barbara’s presence, it didn’t alleviate my sadness from not celebrating Thanksgiving.

I was upset about missing Thanksgiving for a number of reasons including not getting to indulge in my Mom’s pumpkin chocolate chip bread, missing my Dad give his customary “special occasion” speech before dinner and watching football with my brother. However, I also knew that there was a larger reason for my disappointment looming in the pit of my stomach.

While I always enjoyed Thanksgiving growing up it took not being able to participate in the day the way I wanted to for me realize exactly why it’s important to me. To me Thanksgiving offers stability. Like clockwork year after year it’s always going to be there on the fourth Thursday of November waiting for you, your family and friends to define and enjoy it in a way that is significant.

You see Thanksgiving is our opportunity to think about everything that is important to us in our lives, and realize all the joy and prosperity around us through quiet or open reflection on what we are thankful for. In my case it took not having this opportunity, and lamenting the consequences, to realize that what I am most thankful for this Thanksgiving is simply that there is a day like Thanksgiving to bring us together.

So hopefully I have learned from last year’s disappointment and this year’s realizations enough to ensure that I never miss Thanksgiving again because a year without celebrating this wonderful holiday was one too many for me.

We at Hatter & Beanz have thought of something interesting and, even though our idea may not be so unique it’s something for those who may be less fortunate or those that may have been hit hard by the economic downfall.  

So readers, as we give thanks for our families, our friends and the roofs over our heads we have built for you a list of soup kitchens and shelters and services in each of the 50 states. (Oh by the way, we personally checked each reference).

So here’s how this is going down, we’re going to sort this by state, and right now our goal is to list one or two organizations by per state for this year. At Christmas, we’ll add one or two more, per state.

Alabama

1 – Rose Of Sharon Soup Kitchen – 2412 Memorial PKWY NW – Huntsville, AL 35810 Ph: (256) 536-2970

2 – Anniston Soup Bowl – 1516 Moore Avenue – Anniston, AL  36201 – Ph: (256) 236-6794

Alaska

1 – Downtown Soup Kitchen – 434 East 4^th AVE – Anchorage, AK 99501 – Ph: (907) 277-4302

2 – Food Pantry of Palmer – 7805 East Palmer Wasilla HWY – Palmer, AK 99645 – Ph:  (907) 745-3635

Arizona

1 – Vista Colina Family Shelter – 1050 W. Mountain View Rd. – Phoenix, AZ 8501 -  Ph: (602) 944- 0960

2 – Gospel Rescue Mission – 1130 West Miracle Mile – Tucson, AZ 85705 – Ph: (520) 740-1501

Arkansas

1 – Food Bank of North Central Arkansas – 14215 Highway 5 South – Norfork, AR 72658 – Ph: (870) 499-7565

2 – Johnny’s Food Bank – 312 Church Street – Lake Village, AR 71653 – (870) 265 -2601

California

1 – TLC Soup Kitchen – 3904 High Street – Sacramento, CA 95838 – Ph: (916) 759-1806

2 – Hospitality Kitchen – 821 East 6^th Street – Los Angeles, CA 90013

Colorado

1 – Denver Rescue Mission – 1130 Park Ave West- Denver, CO 80205 – Ph: (303) 297-1815

2 – Soup Kitchen Inc. – 1675 Larimer Street – Denver, CO 80205 – Ph: (303) 629-6383

Connecticut

1 – Torrington Soup Kitchen – Trinity Church, 220 Prospect Street – Torrington, CT 06790 – Ph: (860) 482-0130

2 – Covenant Soup Kitchen – 220 Valley Street – Willimantic, CT 06226 – Ph: (860) 423-1643

Delaware

1 – Food Bank of Delaware – 1041 Mattlind Way – Milford, DE 19963 – Ph: (302) 424-3301

2 – Acorn, Inc. – 1607 Todds Lane – Wilmington, DE 190802 – Ph: (302) 762-4226

Florida

1 – Homestead Soup Kitchen – 105 Southwest 3^rd Ave – Homestead, FL 33090 – Ph: (305) 245-7448

2 – Bread of the Mighty – 325 Northeast 10^th Ave – Gainesville, FL 32601 – Ph: (352) 395-6570

Georgia

1 – Albany Rescue Mission – 604 North Monroe Street – Albany, GA 31701 – Ph: (229) 435-7615

2 – Feed America – 102 East 14^th Ave – Cordele, GA 31015 – Ph: (229) 273-0227

Hawaii

1 – Office of Social Ministry – 100 Kinoole Street – Hilo, HI 96720 Ph: (808) 935-3794

Idaho

1 – The Soup Kitchen – 301 South BLVD – Idaho Falls, ID 83401 Ph: (208) 557-5750

2 – St. Maries Food Bank – 416 Main Ave – Saint Mares, ID 83861 Ph: (208) 245-9090

Illinois

1 – Midwest Food Bank – 1703 So. Veterans PKWY – Bloomington, IL 61701 Ph: (309) 663-5350

2 – Cornucopia Food Pantry – 402 Market Street – Rockford, IL 61107 – Ph: (815) 962-1380

Indiana

1 – Backstreet Mission – 215 So Westplex Ave. – Bloomington, IN 47404 – Ph: (812) 333-6360

2 – Wells County Food Bank – 1254 So. Main Street – Bluffton, IN 46714- Ph: (260) 827-0053

Iowa

1 – Community of Concern – 203 North US Highway 71 – Carroll, IA 51401 – Ph: (712) 792-5150

2 – Mapleton Food Bank – 315 Main Street – Mapleton, IA 51034 – Ph: (712) 881-1128

Kansas

1 – Genesis – 350 So. Range Ave. – Colby, KS 67701 – Ph: (785) 460-7930

2 – Christian Food Bank – 111 West 4^th Street – Pratt, KS 67124 – Ph: (620) 672-5150

Kentucky

1 – God’s Pantry Food Bank – 1685 Jaggie Fox Way – Lexington, KY 40511 – Ph: (859)255-6592

2 – New Hope Food Bank – 880 J.T. Riggs Road – New Hope, KY 40052 – Ph: (502) 549-6015

Louisiana

1 – Food for Families – 245 Illinois Street – Delhi, LA 71232 – Ph: (318) 878-3869

2 – God’s Food Box – 711 Mahlon Street – Deridder, LA 70634 – Ph: (337) 463-4449

Maine

1 – Good Shepherd Food Bank – 3121 Hotel Road – Auburn, ME 04210 – Ph: (207) 782-3554

2 – Winthrop Food Pantry – 15 High Street – Winthrop, ME 04364

Maryland

1 – Movable Feast – 2620 Wilkins Ave – Baltimore, MD 21223 – Ph: (410) 327-3420

2 – Abundant Life Church – 110 Front Street – Pocomoke City, MD 21851 – Ph: (410) 957-4206

Massachusetts

1 – Beverly Bootstraps – 371 Cabot Street – Beverly, MA 01915 – Ph: (978) 927-1651

2 – Merrimack Valley Food Bank – 735 Broadway – Lowell, MA 01854 – Ph: (978) 454-7272

Michigan

1 – American Saucery – 10750 Capital St – Oak Park, MI 48237 – Ph: (248) 544-9485

2 – Manna Food Project – 8791McBride Park – Harbor Springs, MI – Ph: (231) 347-8852

Minnesota

1 – Fare for All – 8501 54^th Ave North – Minneapolis, MN 55428 – Ph: (763) 450-3860

2 – Pastor Paul’s Mission – 100 Oliver Ave North – Minneapolis, MN 55411 – Ph: (612) 521-4665

Mississippi

1 – Hartland Hands – 385 Stateline Road East – Southaven, MS 38671 – Ph: (662) 280-5365

2 – PBM Ministries – 639 Second South Street – Woodville, MS 39669 – Ph: (601) 888-3880

Missouri

1 – Arnold Food Pantry – 23 Village Plaza – Arnold, MO 63010 – Ph: (636) 467-5959

2 – Holy Spirit – 3128 Parkwood Lane – Maryland Heights, MO 63043 – Ph: (314) 739-9796

Montana

1 – Give Away House – 1058 2^nd Street North – Harve, MT 59501 – Ph: (406) 265-7741

2 – Sagebrush Food Pantry – 669 Park Ave – Shelby, MT 59474 – Ph: (406) 424-8287

Nebraska

1 – Arapahoe Area Food Pantry – 210 7^th Street – Arapahoe, NE 68922 – Ph: (308) 962-7296

2 – Western Nebraska Food Bank – 825 Hickory Street – Sidney, NE 69162 – Ph: (308) 254-1095

Nevada

1 – Food For Thought – 3579 US Highway 50 – East Carson City, NV 89029 – Ph: (775) 883-1011

2 – Colorado River Food Bank – 1575 South Casino Drive – Laughlin, NV 89410 – Ph: (775) 782-3711

New Hampshire

1 – Nashua Soup Kitchen & Shelter – 42 Chestnut Street – Nashua, NH 03061 – Ph: (603) 889-7770

2 – Sonshine Soup Kitchen – 4 Crustal Ave #4 – Derry, NH 03038 – Ph: (603) 437-2833

New Jersey

1 – Extra Helping – 31 Evans Terminal – Hillside, NJ 07205 – Ph: (908) 355-3663

2 – Interfaith Food Pantry – 540 West Hanover Ave – Morristown, NJ 07960 – Ph: (973) 538-8049

New Mexico

1 – The Food Depot – 1222 Silver Road – Santa Fe, NM 87507 – Ph: (505) 471-1633

2 – Los Alamos Community Food Bank – 77 Loma Vista St – Los Alomos, NM 87544

New York

1 – Masbia Soup Kitchen – 4114 14^th Ave – Brooklyn, NY 11219 – Ph: (718) 972-4446

2 – Project Hospitality – 100 Park Ave. – Staten Island, NY 10302 – Ph: (718) 448-1544

North Carolina

1 – Good Shepherd Ministries – 811 Martin Street – Wilmington, NC 28401 – Ph: (910) 763-4424

2 – Hallelujah Soup Kitchen – 1904 South Wilmington Street – Raleigh, NC 27603 – Ph: (919) 899-6498

North Dakota

1 – Amen Food Pantry – 1100 3^rd Ave West – Dickinson, ND 58601 – Ph: (701) 483-4344

2 – Carrington’s Daily Bread – 875 Main Street – Carrington, ND 58421 – Ph: (701) 652-2333

Ohio

1 – Zion Soup Kitchen – 2716 West 14^th Street – Cleveland, OH 44113 – Ph: (216) 861-2371

2 – From Darkness to Light – 1925 Stanford Road – Twinsburg, OH 44087 – Ph: (216) 744-7408

Oklahoma

1 – Salvation Army – 1306 SW Ave E – Lawton, OK 73501 – Ph: (580) 355-1802

2 – Ardmore Soup Kitchen – 2207 Ridgeway Street – Ardmore, OK 73401 – Ph: (580) 226-2870

Oregon

1 – Lebanon Soup Kitchen – 170 East Grant Street – Lebanon, OR 97355 – Ph: (541) 451-7667

2 – St. Mary’s Soup Kitchen – 820 Ellsworth Street SW – Albany, OR 97321 – Ph: (541) 926-8562

Pennsylvania

1 – Jubilee Kitchen – 2005 Wyandotte Street – Pittsburgh, PA 15219 – Ph: (412) 261-5417

2 – East Liberty Soup Kitchen – 1091 Pittsburgh Road – Valencia, PA 16059 – Ph: (724) 898-3503

Rhode Island

1 – Fall River Soup Kitchen – 783 Slade Street – Fall River, MA 02724 – Ph: (508) 324-1323

South Carolina

1 – Project Host Soup Kitchen – 525 So. Academy Street – Greenville, SC 29601 – Ph: (864) 235-3403

2 – The Soup Kitchen – 573 Meeting Street – Charleston, SC 29403 – Ph: (843) 723-2726

Tennessee

1 – Loaves & Fishes Soup Kitchen – 215 Foster Street – Clarksville, TN 37043 – Ph: (931) 645-9020

2 – Manna Day Ministry – 1186 Ft. Campbell Blvd. – Clarksville, TN 37042 – Ph: (931) 648-1324

Texas

1 – Star of Hope Homeless Shelter – 419 Dowling Street – Houston, TX 77003 – Ph: (713) 748-0700

2 – New Hope Housing, Inc. – 320 Hamilton Street – Houston, TX 77002 – Ph: (713) 223-1995

Utah

1 – Manila Food Pantry – 93 North 1 West – Manila, UT 84046 – Ph: (435) 784-3993

Virginia

1 –Central Virginia Food Bank – 1415 Rhoadmiller Street – Richmond, VA 23220 – Ph: (804) 521-2500

Washington

1 – University Street Ministries – 4740 University Way NE – Seattle, WA 98105 – Ph: (206) 522-4366

West Virginia

1 – Soup Kitchen of Greater Wheeling – 1610 Eoff Street – Wheeling, WV 26003 – Ph: (304) 233-2992

Wisconsin

1 – McCarthy-Hall Kitchen – 1100 Douglas Ave – Racine, WI 53402 – Ph: (262) 634-9336

Wyoming

1 – Community Soup Kitchen – 633 Bridger Ave – Rock Springs, WY 82901 – Ph: (307) 382-7383

Have A Happy & Safe Thanksgiving Holiday !!!!

-Hatter & Beanz

Keene – The Academy for Professional Real Estate Training announced the following individuals have completed real estate courses approved by the New Hampshire Real Estate Commission.

The Academy conducted a New Hampshire Real Estate Commission approved course on Property Management graduates of the class were: Jennifer Andrus, George M. Booth, Sharon B. Cargill, Howard S. Dicey, T. Michael Grenier, Kevin B. Hampsey, Carol L. Ives, Rita H. Johnson, Kimberly J. Knox, Lejla Kurevija, Emily K. Lagerberg, Mary Larsen, Athanasios Leristis, William A. Maxwell, Laurence R. Saunders, Virginia E. Wilson and Bonnie Wilson-Bowes

The Academy conducted a New Hampshire Real Estate Commission approved Pre-Licensing Course graduates of the class were: Patti M. Anderson, David M. Durrell and Catherine Smith.

Dick Thackston was the instructor for both courses. Thackston is licensed to teach both continuing education and pre-licensing programs in the state of New Hampshire; he is also a licensed real estate broker in the states of New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Vermont.

This is a reprint of the First of a Two Part Story By Bob Mionske

Broken Ghost Bike Memorial

Susanne Kibler-Hacker, 42, a highly experienced cyclist, is the coordinator for New Hampshire’s ride-to-work days at her office. The morning of October 15, 2009, she was riding her bike to work. She never arrived. She was wearing a reflective fluorescent vest, but a driver still hit her from behind. Kibler-Hacker, who survived the collision, was listed in serious condition at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center. Although New Hampshire has the best safe passing law in the nation, the driver was not cited for violating that law, or any other. Instead, police issued the driver a warning to exercise due care.

Greg & Alex Bruehler of San Antonio

Gregory and Alexandra Bruehler were no strangers to adversity. On August 25, 2007, they had been driving in San Antonio with their daughter, Kylie and Gregory’s mother when they were hit head-on by a driver who lost control of her truck. Gregory, “Alex,” and Kylie were airlifted to a hospital; his mother did not survive the collision. The police report identified the other driver as erratic. The Bruehler’s fought back against their injuries, through two grueling years of rehabilitation. On October, 1, 2009, their struggle through recovery ended, when another driver lost control of his truck, hitting them from behind while they were riding their tandem outside Helotes, Texas. Alex was killed instantly; Gregory was airlifted to a hospital, where he died an hour later. Their daughter Kylie, age seven, was not riding with them this time, and was orphaned. The heart-wrenching photo of Kylie at the funeral service told the story more eloquently than any words could convey.

Jerome Featherman photo courtesy of The Sahuarita Sun

Jerome Featherman, 84, had been a cyclist for 10 years. He rode regularly, always taking care to wear his reflective vest and helmet, and only riding where there was a bicycle lane. Despite Featherman’s care in taking these precautions, it was not enough. On September 3, 2009, a driver who did not meet his own duty of care entered the bicycle lane, striking Featherman from behind. Featherman, one month shy of his 85th birthday, was killed. The driver, who police determined was not impaired, was fined a total of $254 for the collision that ended Featherman’s life.

Ed Farrar Wenatchee Valley Velo

Dr. Ed Farrar is well-known and widely-loved in the Wenatchee Valley, Washington. He helped found the Wenatchee Valley Velo cycling club, but these days, he is also known as the father of Team Garmin-Slipstream sprinting phenomenon Tyler Farrar. An orthopedic surgeon specializing in spinal injuries, Dr. Farrar freely gave of himself to help others. On October 22, 2008, he was on his daily morning ride before work. As he was riding an uphill road in Wenatchee, a security guard driving downhill dropped the clipboard he had apparently been reading onto the floor of his vehicle, and as he reached to retrieve it, veered across the road, hitting Dr. Farrar head on. Dr. Farrar survived, but sustained a serious spinal injury; Dr. Farrar, who helped so many others with spinal cord injuries, is now a paraplegic. The driver who put Dr. Farrar in a wheelchair was fined $250 for negligent driving in the second degree.

David K Dillion

David Dillon was a Lieutenant with the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office in Lawrence, Kansas, and an avid cyclist. The morning of June 28, 2008, Dillon was riding just outside of Eudora when a driver hit Dillon from behind; Dillon, 44, was killed. The driver, who had been simultaneously distracted by his radio and his cell phone, was charged with unsafe passing, following too closely, and failure to wear a seat belt.

Tim O'Donnell Portland Velo

It was the noon hour on June 9, 2007. Tim O’Donnell was riding with four other riders from his club, Portland Velo, outside of Portland, Oregon. As the cyclists approached the junction with a road on their left, O’Donnell prepared to turn left. At that moment, a driver who had been following the cyclists accelerated to pass. She hit O’Donnell as he was beginning to turn. O’Donnell, 66, was killed. The driver was fined a total of $1,115 for driving on a suspended license, careless driving, and passing in a no passing zone.

Each of these cyclists, and untold thousands more, had something in common—something besides the bond of their common love of cycling. In each instance, the cyclist was seriously injured or killed by a negligent driver, and in each instance, our system of justice let them down. The negligent drivers who ran them down were charged with minor violations of the law, let off with a warning, or even not charged at all.

“It appeared to be an accident.”

That’s what the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office called the collision that took the lives of Gregory and Alexandra Bruehler. But unwittingly, he was speaking on behalf of the entire indifferent system, in response to each of these collisions, when he excused the driver who killed them with the magic word “accident.” The message, repeated hundreds of times in hundreds of different cases, was clear—if you intentionally harm somebody, we might prosecute you, but if you just happen to be very careless with lethal machinery, and lives are lost, well, who could blame you? It’s just an accident.

Lloyd Clark photo courtesy of ILOG CPLEX Team

And that attitude is emblematic of a widespread misunderstanding of the word “accident.” Many people use the word to mean an event for which nobody is at fault. For example, when cyclist Lloyd Clarke was killed by a negligent driver who violated the law by turning left against Clarke’s right of way, Captain Steve Kelly of the Washoe County Sheriff’s Department said, “It was an unfortunate accident in which no one should be blamed.”

It’s no wonder, then, that many cyclists object to the use of the word “accident” in describing collisions, because they too believe that “accident” means nobody was at fault. So one thing that needs to be cleared up is this mistaken notion. The word “accident” does not mean that nobody was at fault. Except for the occasional Act of God, most “accidents” are the result of at least one person’s negligence; somebody is almost always at fault. “Accident” is actually used as a means to distinguish between collisions that are unintentional (in other words, collisions that are “accidental”) and collisions that are intentional—what we call assault with a deadly weapon, or attempted homicide or even homicide. Nobody—especially nobody in law enforcement or the justice system—should be confusing the unintentional nature of accidental collisions with an absence of fault.

And once we understand that somebody is always at fault in the vast majority of accidents, we can start to question why negligent drivers who injure and kill are rarely, if ever, charged with an offense reflecting the severity of the harm they have caused.

In each of the cases discussed above, and thousands of others just like them, cyclists who were injured or killed by negligent drivers were denied justice. In each case, the reason was different. Sometimes the police themselves decided “it was just an accident,” and either failed to press charges that were available, or refused to press any charges at all. And sometimes, the state was to blame, for failing to enact appropriate laws.

Take the Oregon legislature, for example. There is no vehicular homicide law in Oregon, so when a motorist driving on a suspended license violated the law and killed Tim O’Donnell, there were no appropriate laws available to charge the driver with. And although apologists for negligent drivers are fond of saying “it was just an accident,” it’s no accident that Oregon has no vehicular homicide law. For 30 years—from 1941 until 1971—there was a vehicular homicide law on the books in Oregon. In 1971, the legislature made extensive revisions to the vehicle code, and in the process, eliminated the crime of vehicular homicide. Okay, well, that was the choice the legislature made nearly 30 years ago, but things are different now, right? Wrong. This year, Portland bicycle attorney Ray Thomas worked with Tim O’Donnell’s widow and the Bicycle Transportation Alliance to get a vehicular homicide bill introduced in the legislature. It died in committee. To this day, Oregon’s legislators think “it’s just an unfortunate accident in which no one should be blamed” when a negligent driver violates the law and kills another human being.

Auaumn Growhowski of Lebanon PA

And this is true of the legislatures in most states. In June of 2007, a drunk driver blew through a flashing, closing railroad crossing, killing a 19-year-old woman named Autumn Grohowski, who was riding her bike home on a summer evening. The District Attorney in that case declined to bring vehicular homicide charges against the driver, because the driver was not solely at fault in the crash—Autumn had started her turn onto a bike path prematurely, in order to evade two young men who had been following her. As she was preparing to turn, she was hit and mortally injured by the drunk driver—and under Pennsylvania law, because the District Attorney could not prove that the drunk driver was solely at fault, he could not prosecute the driver for vehicular homicide. In response to Autumn’s story, I received a heartfelt letter from a prosecutor in Texas, which speaks to the problem facing many prosecutors:

As an assistant DA and a cyclist, it is with a heavy heart that I read your article and an equally heavy heart that I must author this comment. The facts of this case are as tragic as they come from beginning to end. I could tell from the beginning where it was going and what the reactions of your readers would be. Unfortunately, the blame for the lack of justice in this case is not falling on the shoulders of those who are to blame.
I promise you all that the assistant DA in Autumn’s case delayed 6 weeks in filing the charges because he was trying to find a way to make the intoxicated manslaughter charge stick. If he is anything like the prosecutors here in Texas, telling Autumn’s family that it wasn’t going to work was one of the hardest things he had ever done … So where should the blame fall?

… First, the legislatures. They have made these cases so hard to prove. We have had a similar case pending here, where the victim was a cyclist from our office, that has been on going for over four years. It has gone through appeal after appeal and gone to jury trial twice. The defendant was finally convicted of the slightly lesser charge of failure to stop and render aid. The fact is, it is almost impossible to prove that intoxication was the cause when there are so many other factors when it comes to vehicular offenses and so many similar incidents where alcohol is not even involved.

In most states, the bar has been set so high for prosecutions that anything short of intentionally hitting somebody, driving recklessly, or driving impaired will be shrugged off as an “accident,” worth at most a ticket for a minor violation. And this means that the bar has also been set very, very low for driver competence. The result is there are few, if any, legal consequences for injuring or killing somebody due to negligent driving, even when the injury or death is the result of the negligent driver’s violation of a traffic law.

This near-total failure to hold drivers accountable for their negligence may be due to a common belief that those injured or killed by negligent drivers will find justice in the civil courts. Unfortunately, far too often, the victims of negligence find no justice there either. There are several reasons for this. First, the minimum liability insurance requirements are set so low by the state legislatures that many drivers are “underinsured” for anything more than a minor collision. This means that even if the driver’s insurance company compensates you up to the policy limits, these limits would usually may be inadequate to cover the damages for your injuries in most car-on-bike crashes.

But what about the often-discussed “take the driver’s home and everything he’s got” approach to justice? Have you ever heard the saying, “you can’t get blood from a turnip”? The fact is, most people don’t have significant assets—if they “own” a home, it is in reality the mortgage company’s asset, in which the “homeowner” has some equity. For most people, the next largest asset is their car, which is often owned by the bank. And the returns keep diminishing from there. And even if you wanted to pursue those diminishing returns, the bankruptcy laws will protect at least some of the negligent driver’s assets. And all of that assumes that the driver has insurance, and assets, to begin with. It also assumes that there’s some amount of money that CAN compensate you and your survivors for your loss. Finally, it assumes that you yourself were in no way negligent—an issue the insurance companies are expert at exploiting. The bottom line is that shifting all legal consequences to the civil justice system is just another form of justice denied.

The result of this lack of accountability is that there is no real legal deterrence for negligent driving, and no real justice for the victims of negligent drivers. This lack of legal support for cyclists (and pedestrians) leaves them legally vulnerable on the road, just as they are physically vulnerable on the road. And this legal vulnerability that we place on cyclists undermines all other efforts to promote cycling—a fact the Dutch readily grasped when they established a law that assigns a rebuttable presumption of liability to the driver in any car-on-bike collision.

Comparing cyclist safety in the Netherlands and here, it is clear which society continues to enable negligent drivers who injure and kill. On June 19, 2009, Texas Governor Rick Perry vetoed a law that would have required drivers to pass cyclists with a minimum three-foot safe passing distance. Commenting on his veto, Governor Perry said:

“While I am in favor of measures that make our roads safer for everyone, this bill contradicts much of the current statute and places the liability and responsibility on the operator of a motor vehicle when encountering one of these vulnerable road users. In addition, an operator of a motor vehicle is already subject to penalties when he or she is at fault for causing a collision or operating recklessly, whether it is against a ‘vulnerable user’ or not.”

Two months later, as the parents of seven-year-old Kylie Bruehler lay dead on a Texas road, Bexar County Sheriff’s investigators concluded that they would not likely file charges against the driver who ran them down, because it did not appear that he had broken any laws.

It was just an accident.

(Research and drafting provided by Rick Bernardi, J.D.)

Wow! It’s now less than two months that  I have been Blogging daily (excluding a day here and there) and I continue to be grateful for the wonderful growth in readership. Sincere thanks to all of you for your support!!!

There are still six days remaining in November and you’ve blown away the remarkable number of “views” I received in October. November has given us three awesome events and birthday parties for four of our eight grandchildren!
Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!

I promise that all of you who email me for autographed books for holiday gifts will receive them within a week of your orders!

Yesterday I didn’t have a birthday picture of Dominic to post. Now I do! Dominic, Happy Eleventh Birthday!

Dominic cutting his cake (11/22/09)

Last December the northeast had a horrific ice storm and the electricity was off for 8 days at my place. I had just moved in and although there was a spot in the basement for a wood stove, I didn’t have one.

So due to the kindness of my landlord and neighbors, I didn’t freeze, but I sure was cold. Inside my house the temp. hovered around 38-40 degrees. In fact one day it “warmed up” enough that I opened the windows because it was warmer outside.

The new fire brick

So I made it my quest to find a wood stove before the next winter arrived.
I also don’t have much money, so a used one was what I hoped for and I ended up with a good size “All Nighter”, but it was missing most of the fire bricks inside.

I was told that it could be run without the bricks, but if the fire was too hot the sides could warp so I got some bricks just to be safe.

A Little Fire

The bricks just set in along the sides and it’s not difficult to do if the bricks are the correct size and if there are not old bricks, broken off and stuck to the sides already! That was my problem.

So someone came out and put them in for me. I don’t know for sure, and information online is hard to find, but a friend bought a new stove and had to burn on a low temp for 40 hours to “cure” the bricks so I will do the same just to be safe.

I just found lots of helpful info at the UNH Cooperative Extension site, so go there if you have questions about heating with a wood stove.

Harbor Place got a special visitor today, Theodore Too of the TV show Theodore Tugboat.  The rather adorable tugboat must be a hit with kids, as while I was snapping this shot I heard a very happy camper excited to see it from his parents car as they were driving by.  Stop by to check it out…

Meanwhile, I took a shot of the main entrance to Harbor Place…where you’ll find local firms Wiggin & Nourie as well as the new home of the Portsmouth Museum of Fine Art.  I hope to have another post up soon from my recent visit to the PMFA.

It’s almost difficult to imagine that divorces were once all but an unknown concept. When people got married it was a true commitment to each other for the rest of their lives. It truly made marriages something special, as you knew that there was real devotion and love there, knowing as the couple did that this was a lifetime union.

http://ezinearticles.com/?New-Hampshire-Divorce-Records&id=1324351

Devido à alguns problemas externos fiquei sem poder atualizar o blog.

A propósito neste sábado (21/11/2009) saiu a última “fornada” de pintinhos New Hampshire, que aliás agora é a nossa única raça.

Também estamos vendendo ovos, em pequena quantidade. Quem estiver interessado por favor nos comunique através do e-mail (galinhasderacas@hotmail.com) ou na área CONTATO, na barra inicial do blog.

Marker Text:

Leonard Weeks settled here in 1658 on 33 acres of land which he left to his son Samuel, who built the house about 1710. The bricks were made on the premises. Hand hewn oak beams support the 18-inch thick walls, which were cracked by the earthquake of 1755. Occupied by the family over 250 years, it is considered the oldest native brick house in New Hampshire.

This Marker was erected in 1976 and is located on the north side of NH 33, about a half mile west of its junction with NH 151.

 Aerial view, marker location (1) and the Week’s House.

The story of the Weeks house is also the story of the settling of Greenland, NH.  A large tract of land here was originally given to  Capt. Francis Champernowne, British Nobleman between 1640 and 1644.  The original land grants for New Hampshire and Maine were given to Mason and Georges, repevtively and New Hampshire first settled by Thompson and Hilton and. Champernowne was a young boy at the time, but Georges married one of his relatives back in England, and was probably influenced by him to eventually come to New England. (Capt. Francis Champernowne: The Dutch conquest of Acadie p89.)

Champernowne was very loyal to King Charles I who was having some problems keeping his royal subjects in line.  There was a Civil War going on back in England. The two main factions were the Royalists that believed in the Divine Right of King’s, and the Parliamentarians that believed in a more representative Commonwealth – this included the Puritans, many of which were in early New England.

As a result, he was busy captaining a ship and harassing Massachusetts Bay colony trade in the Madeira Isles (off the coast of Portugal) for much of the 1640s.

In his absence he hired an agent to take care of his holdings.  Additional land grants were given to him as well, and the one in 1655 is the most important for this story:

“In 1655 the town made to him a further grant of three hundred and seventy-five acres of `marsh, meadow, and upland.` This grant was laid out in the same year, and was referred to in conveyances of land in Greenland for more than half a century as Champernowne’s "new farm."  …

He lived on his Greenland farm until the month of July, 1657, when he conveyed it to Valentine Hill, upon some agreement with Hill to satisfy a claim of Captain White, and for other considerations. Hill immediately conveyed the farm to Thomas Clarke and William Paddy, merchants of Boston.”

Capt. Francis Champernowne: The Dutch conquest of Acadie p109-111

And so he sold his land in 1657 and moved to Maine where he also had land that had been originally given to his father.  He died there in 1686.

Leonard Weeks originally came to New Hampshire around 1648 at the age of 15 on one of Champernowne’s ships, and worked the farm land for him.  In 1556 recieved his first land grant in Greenland.  Seems our new land owner liked to cuss as well, he was the first person in Greenland ever tried at the county court in Portsmouth in 1660, charged with:

"Swareing by god & Callinge John Hall of Greenland ould dogg & ould Slave &  that he would knocke him in the head: this is testifid by Thomas Peverley & Joseph Attkinson."

It cost him 10 shillings.  That’ll teach him!

He married and had eight children here, and expanded his land holdings further. Near the end of his days, he bequeathed his property to his second son Samuel Weeks and died a year later in 1707.

Samuel Weeks was a Captain of the Greenland militia, Selectman, and filled many other important city functions for Greenland.  He built the Weeks House around 1710…

…and this is what it looks like today (click to enlarge) November, 2009. It’s still a private residence.  He died in 1746 but left a beautiful and lasting representation of the early settlers of New Hampshire.  Visit the Weeks Brick House web site, and the Greenland Weeks Public Library for all your Greenland History needs.

The marker notes: “Hand hewn oak beams support the 18-inch thick walls, which were cracked by the earthquake of 1755.”  I can’t let a tidbit like this go by without checking into it.  The Massachusetts Historical Society has some information.

At about 4:30 in the morning on 18 November 1755, a strong earthquake rocked the New England area. Observers reported damage to chimneys, brick buildings, and stone walls in coastal communities from Portland, Maine to south of Boston, Massachusetts. Chimneys were also damaged as far away as Springfield, Massachusetts, and New Haven, Connecticut. The earthquake was felt at Halifax, Nova Scotia, to the northeast, Lake Champlain to the northwest, and Winyah, South Carolina to the southwest. The crew of ship in deep water about 70 leagues east of Boston thought it had run aground and only realized it had felt an earthquake when it arrived at Boston later that same day.

Find out here.

In addition to the fantastic event in Stratham this past weekend we also attended three Birthday Parties. We celebrated with Christina, Sal Jr’s significant other; Christopher, Sal Jr’s oldest son (sixteen); and with Dominic, Cynthia’s youngest (his sister was on the 11/09/09 Blog with her sweet-sixteen).

Christina and Christopher are shown below in a cell phone photo. I’ll have to put Dominic on tomorrow, after Sal uploads a picture from his camera.

We have Thanksgiving weekend off, thankfully (no pun intended), after having events and birthdays for the last three weekends. Then two more weekend events before we break until after the New Year. These last two events will make eight in the last ten weeks!

I’ll talk about the next two events, in Milford, NH and Manchester, NH after Thanksgiving. Meanwhile, continue to email if you want to purchase books directly.
K

Christina and Christopher (11/21/09)