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| BBHQ Boomer Essays: |
| Our Boomer-In-Charge here at BBHQ, Hershel Chicowitz, writes frequently about current events... from a boomer perspective. He is sometimes funny, sometimes provocative, sometimes a little of each. We hope you get a kick out of our Boomer Essays. |
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One of the challenges we face frequently at BBHQ deals with the issue of reclaiming our past. After all, BBHQ is all about nostalgia. But "You can't go back," they say. And of course, they are right. Each moment in life is unique; each memory is like none other. Life is the art of drawing without an eraser.
So why do we spend so much time restoring old buildings to their "original state"? Is it merely for educational purposes? I think not. I think it goes beyond that.
Anyway, that is what has been going on at the compound here at BBHQ for about a year. We have owned the compound since... since before Al Gore invented the Internet. The Mazdamobile is 22 1/2 years old; yet we owned the compound before I bought the Mazdamobile. (Everything around us is old; it's part of the culture.)
Mind you, we have no intention of restoring the compound to its "original state":
We think its original state is Virginia; but that's another story. We want to restore parts of it to the state they were in when we bought it. (Age, termites, and neglect have taken their toll.) We have made considerable enhancements to the compound. But some of the features of the house have been trampled upon.
When I was in the Boy Scouts, every summer we spent a week at the Beaumont Scout Reservation, in Amish country, about 40 miles east of Cleveland. We used the same campgrounds every year. Aside from being able to spot poison ivy at 20 feet, one of the important lessons we learned was to take care of our habitat, and always leave it in better condition than when we came. One year we leveled a large open space and made a baseball field. The next year we constructed a permanent 25-foot flagpole out of a tall tree.
In that spirit, we're working on landscaping at the compound this month. We want to make some improvements. But we also want to restore some of the original beauty (?) of the place. When we bought the compound, there was a huge ligustrum (I think that is what it is called) shrub on the far side of the garage. Unfortunately, the winter freeze of '91 killed him. Don't ask me why, but it took us a dozen years to replace him:
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I know... he has a long way to go.
There was a 20-foot tree near the end of the driveway... apparently with very shallow roots. A tropical storm in '80 threw him off-balance:
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(That's Princess's predecessor, RJ, standing in the driveway in the picture on the left, and, of course, Princess in the picture on the right.)
I did everything I could think of to save the tree. I tried to prop him up by parking my car with the front bumper up against the trunk. Not only did it not work, but it looked like I had missed the garage when I turned into the driveway and clobbered the tree. Anyway, we decided to replace him with a small palm tree... with deeper roots.
In the back yard I had installed a couple of posts and put up a hammock. Unfortunately my posts were not as sturdy as the flagpole we built back at Beaumont Camp; one of them failed the first time Princess and I used the hammock this spring. The post was buried so deep that I had to use all my powers and all my tools to remove it:
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However, I did not use much common sense. Make a note here, boys and girls: trying to remove a post that is buried in the ground with a chain saw is not an approved Boy Scout technique. It is a poor way to protect one's personal equipment for possible future use.
We have two large oak trees out back. Every now and then they need to be trimmed. A couple weeks ago we had to cut back some branches that were hanging out over the canal:
That, however, did not please Gary the Gator, a long-time resident of the canal:
We called the folks at nearby Busch Gardens and relocated Gary. The next time you go to Busch Gardens in Tampa, say hi to Gary for us; tell him we miss him.
Anyway, trimming back the tree brought us some new neighbors. Meet the Woodlawns:
Curtis the Cactus sits right next to the compound, near the Woodlawns in the back yard. However, I am not sure if Curtis adds to the appearance of the yard:
He is a bit awkward-looking. And in another month or so he will be too big to fit under the eaves. The decision on what to do with Gary the Gator was easy. Curtis presents a dilemma.
It is true; you can't go back. But restoring things adds to the beauty of life; it brings order to a disorderly world, and provides a sense of stability to an unstable environment.
Rekindle the memory; capture the feeling.
That's a good thing.
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The saga continues:
Our House - Part 1 |
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If you like what we're doing here at BBHQ, please help us by buying stuff through our link to Amazon.com:
| The BBHQ Album of the Month is "Old Friends Live on Stage (Deluxe Edition) (2 CD/1 DVD)," by Simon & Garfunkel. If you were fortunate enough to see them in concert last year, I do not have to sell you. The concert was terrific! This album collection includes 55 songs, plus their new recording, "Citizen of the Planet," and one of the songs sung by the Everly Brothers during the concert. The DVD was recorded during their concert in Madison Square Garden in 2003. For any S&G fan, this is a must have! But then, you knew that already, didn't you? |
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The BBHQ Book of the Month is
"Vinyl Highway," by
Dee Dee Phelps. You remember her as Dee Dee, of Dick and Dee Dee.
Together, they took a decade long ride on the rock and roll roller
coaster. It was a heck of a ride! Dick Clark, Quincy Jones, the Beach
Boys, Glenn Campbell, Dionne Warwick, Bobby Vinton... Dick and Dee Dee
rubbed shoulders with all of them. This is her "behind the scenes" story.
It's pretty cool.
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