If you missed me the last few days, it's because we scooted over to the coast in Maine for a couple of days - just a short get-away when the weather looked good.  It was, and we enjoyed every minute. However, we were really, really glad to get back home, after only a couple of nights away. 
     I had lots of emails when I got home. I had purposely left my laptop at home. Part of getting away was to break the pattern of being at my computer all the time. Fred took  his, but refrained from being on it except to check email; however, I hadn't bothered to remember my passwords, don't have them written down on a handy-dandy index card to take with me, or anything like that - so I was not able to check my email. I figured the world wouldn't stop if I missed reading and answering emails for a couple days. I knew it would mean a lot of catching up when I got home, but that's ok.
     One of the emails I found last night I got a big kick from. It was from Jack LaGue, in answer to a blog I'd written before we left - about water skiing and the old Sport-Yak the kids had years ago. Jack remembered those days and wrote the following:

Your recent blog post on water sports "back in the day" brought back a couple memories for me.

The first was getting up multiple water skiers.  We would try to find the youngest and lightest skiers available and then assemble all the skis, ropes and (gasp!) ski belts.  Since boats were not nearly as powerful back then... 75 hp was a lot... we would actually tie two boats together in line with a ski rope attached to a cleat on the bow of the second boat... once the second boat was on plane with the assistance of thulling power of the lead boat we would let go of the cleated rope... the lead boat would peel away and then follow the ski boat at a distance to pick up any skiers that fell.

I also vividly recall my first (and I think last) ride on the SportYak.  One of your boys [the Dimick boys] talked me into it.  The Sport-Yak was on the roof of your boathouse at the end away from the water... with a long rope attached to the bow and the other end attached to the stern of Raja that was out on the water... all lined up with the length of the boathouse  We yelled HIT IT! and Raja takes off... we go skidding across the boathouse roof picking up speed... when we get to the edge I recall seeing the water 8 feet below us and immediately thinking... "Ah man, this is going to hurt!"  We hit the water... pretty hard but the bow stays up and we keep going.  Crazy. 

Thanks for the memories.  And I hope this thing about the Sport-Yak skidding across the roof of the boathouse isn't new knowledge to you.

This was not news to me - but as I recall, I did have to put a stop to that particular dare-devil escapade. My father did some cussing that they'd break their necks, and warned it was wearing the coating off the roof of the boathouse; my poor mother couldn't watch and just left, shaking her head (probably wondering where she went wrong while raising her daughter). Although taking off in the Sport-Yak from the boathouse roof stopped (at least when I or their grandparents were around), jumping off the boathouse continued (photo, right) - a compromise, I suppose. I'll let you in on a secret - even Fred joined in jumping off the boathouse roof a few times.
Above, the old boathouse, with ladder forty years ago.


Today I had an email from Pam and Joe Hebert - it fit right in with the reminiscences Jack and I were having Here's a LINK. 

While searching the link for Elaine Blackman's essay, I came across this little story:


Art Linkletter used to say “Kids say the darndest things.” John Mors forwarded this thought “Only a grandmother would know.” It’s a cute story about a cup of tea that was made with cold water as remembered by a granddaughter.
“One day my Grandma was out, and my Grandpa was in charge of me. I was maybe 3 years old. Someone had given me a little tea set as a gift, and it was one of my favorite toys.
“Grandpa was in the living room engrossed in the evening news when I brought him a little cup of ‘tea,’ which was just water. After several cups of tea, my Grandma came home.
“My Grandpa made her wait in the living room to watch me bring him a cup of tea, because it was ‘just the cutest thing’!
“Grandma waited, and sure enough, here I came down the hall with a cup of tea for Grandpa, and she watched him drink it up. Then she said, (as only a grandma would know), ‘Did it ever occur to you that the only place she can reach to get water is the toilet’?”

     Thanks Jack, Pam and Joe - you've brightened my day and I hope a few others' as well!