by Judy Handley | Aug 3, 2019 | 2019 Life Logs |
2019 Life Logs, Day 215: The Last American Colony
Date: Saturday, August 3, 2019
Weather: Another Sunny Day; High 86, Low 70 degrees F
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
I got a late start this morning on my continued process of installing the drip irrigation system in my garden. Instead of getting up early, I opted to sleep-in and move slowly once I did get up. And unfortunately, even when I did get going, I didn’t get too far on the project. I just didn’t have the strength in my hands to put the tiny parts together and I’m not sure why. On other days, I haven’t had this issue. So, I’ll try again on another day. When I came in for a late lunch break, I saw a text from friend Olivia White saying she and Terry were going to a 4:30 pm Woods Hole Film Festival viewing of a documentary about Puerto Rico called The Last American Colony. That sounded a lot more interesting than continuing to be frustrated with the irrigation system, so I responded that I would love to go with them. We met at a bike path parking lot and took the trolley to Woods Hole to avoid the lack of parking there. We got there early enough to stop and get an ice cream. Terry insisted on paying my bus fare and paying for my ice cream. Thank you, thank you! Reinforced with our ice cream treat, we got in line for the film. I had not read anything about it, so I was not sure what to expect. The film started with a shot from above of the vortex of Hurricane Maria. This immediately brought back painful memories and caught my attention. Then Juan Segarra was introduced and the rest of the film was his personal narrative. Juan was born and raised in Puerto Rico but attended high school at Phillips Andover here in New England and then went on to Harvard at the height of the Vietnam war. While at Harvard he decided that he will willing to die for his beliefs that Puerto Rico should gain independence from the United States. He joined Puerto Rico’s Los Macheteros to fight for freedom. I was introduced, for the first time, to the century long history of Puerto Ricans struggling to maintain their cultural identity while fighting to regain control of their country that had become a territory of the United States at the turn of the century. Los Macheteros waged a violent struggle and Juan Segarra was often at the center of this. He eventually ended up in prison and was eventually freed by President Clinton. 
His narrative was both informative and very moving. He no longer promotes violence but still believes that Puerto Rico needs to gain independence from the United States. He was in attendance at this afternoon’s viewing and after the film, he and two of the film makers engaged in a Q & A with audience members. I am still reeling from how much I learned about Puerto Rico through the 90-minute film and from the fact that I knew so little to begin with. And so glad Olivia sent me a text letting me know about this event.
Tonight my thoughts are with the people of El Paso and their sister city across the border, Juárez . . . and especially with the families of the 20 people murdered and the 26 people who were injured in a mass shooting in El Paso today. El Paso has been so proud of their status as a safe city. But today someone came into their community from outside and shattered that status. I do not believe that assault weapons should ever, for any reason, be in the hands of anyone not on active duty in the military. How do we ever reach a consensus on this and impose sane gun laws making assault weapons illegal for the general public?
by Judy Handley | Aug 2, 2019 | 2019 Life Logs |
2019 Life Logs, Day 214: Friday ‘Free and Easy’
Date: Friday, August 2, 2019
Weather: More Sun and Heat; High 87, Low 65 degrees F
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
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This was Friday ‘free and easy’ style. When Mark and I sailed with a rally through Indonesia, the coordinators planned all sorts of wonderful activities for each of the islands we visited. But some days were designated as ‘free and easy’, and that was my day today with the Goldpebbles. Ollie and Jonah managed to do almost nothing and really enjoyed that for most of the day. Jonah did spend a couple of hours searching for the best soccer goalie gloves on my phone and finally found the pair he wanted to order—exactly the same pair he has now in a different color and larger size. But he really enjoyed the search. Sam completed a project he has been working on for me. Earlier he scraped and sanded the parts of the bike rack on the back of my car and today he spray-painted the parts with a couple of primer coats and then two coats of industrial-grade paint. This was a paid project and allowed him to make the final bit of money he needed to make. He was a very happy kiddo when the project was completed making him the new owner of Google phone. Ollie started to get bored with doing nothing in the afternoon, but our mid-afternoon trip to the beach solved that. We arrived at Menauhant at 3:30 and at 4:30 Heather showed up to celebrate the end of the week with Sam, Jonah, and Ollie. I left before Jed arrived, but in the meantime, the boys were enjoying having beach time with momma. On to the weekend.
by Judy Handley | Aug 1, 2019 | 2019 Life Logs |
2019 Life Logs, Day 213: It’s August Already
Date: Thursday, August 1, 2019
Weather: Mostly Sunny and Hot; High 91, Low 64 degrees F
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
The calendar tells me it is August 1, but I’m having trouble believing that. Summer always goes too fast, but this summer seems to be moving in fast forward mode. Today was the last swim lesson for Sam and Jonah as they are both in camps next week. Sam goes away to a week-long Scout camp on Sunday and Jonah starts a 9 to 3 soccer day camp on Monday. Ollie and I will attend the last week of swim lessons and go to the grand finale swim meet next Friday. Ollie doesn’t think he wants to participate, but he does want to go to cheer on his friends. The following week we are back together with no commitments and then the Goldstones head to Maine for 10 days or so, and the plan is for Sam to head north a few days before the whole family. By the time they get home, there will just be a couple of days plus Labor Day weekend left before the first day of school. So, the focus each day going forward is to fully enjoy every minute of every summer school vacation day left.
Today was a delightful beach day. Ollie moved from his Beginner class status to Intermediate and held his own in a class with Jonah and Joey. Sam’s last Junior Life Saving class today was an interesting one. They jumped into the channel that connects the ocean to Bourne’s Pond and fought the fast-moving current while practicing lifesaving maneuvers. Everyone on the beach made their way to the channel to watch the ‘show’. Sam’s class ended at noon and then the boys played together on the beach and in the water until 1 pm when we headed home for lunch. At his request, I returned to the beach with Ollie after lunch. He just wasn’t ready to come home, but Sam and Jonah chose to stay home to read and listen to music. On Fridays there are no swim lessons, so tomorrow we will spend the morning at home and go to the beach in the afternoon to meet Heather and Jed at the end of their work week. We met on a few afternoons at the end of last summer and everyone really enjoyed those late afternoon beach trips.
by Judy Handley | Jul 31, 2019 | 2019 Life Logs |
2019 Life Logs, Day 212: Marathon Beach Day
Date: Wednesday, July 31, 2019
Weather: Sunny and Hot; High 86, Low 68 degrees F
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
Today was a marathon beach day. I headed to Menauhant Beach with the Goldpebbles and neighbor Joey Keefe for swim lessons that began at 10 am and we returned home at 4 pm. Hours of fun in sun. Joey’s mom, Melissa, joined us later in the morning and after lessons we celebrated by buying ice cream from the traveling ice cream truck that visits all of Falmouth’s beaches. Anticipating that this would be an all-day affair, we packed a lunch and stayed for the afternoon. We walked from Menauhant Beach to the Menauhant Yacht Club to greet the arrival of the small sailboats that were towed there from the Waquoit Bay Yacht Club for an afternoon race. Joey’s sister and ‘adopted’ sister of the Goldpebbles, Molly, was in one of the boats, as were Jonah’s good friends Kayden Holt and Lillie Karl. None of us had ever been at the Menauhant Yacht Club, so this was a fun adventure for all.
Tonight I watched the second night of Democratic debates. Maybe my impression is colored by my admiration of our State Senator Elizabeth Warren. But at the end of the two nights, I think she was the clear winner. We’ll see how that translates in terms of support and polls. I must admit that tonight’s debate made me a bit nervous with candidates going after each other, whereas last night’s debate was much more positive. There are so many good candidates and it is very early in the process, so we will just have to see where things lead.
by Judy Handley | Jul 30, 2019 | 2019 Life Logs |
2019 Life Logs, Day 211: Coco’s Birthday and Goldpebble Beach Fun
Date: Tuesday, July 30, 2019
Weather: Sunny and Hot; High 91, Low 71 degrees F
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
I heard the ding on my early this morning that told me I had a text message. I didn’t get up to check right away, but when I did, I found that Justin had sent a couple of photos of Coco opening her birthday present from me . . . a new pair of roller skates. I got her a pair a couple of years ago which she has outgrown. But she hasn’t outgrown her love of roller skating, thus today’s gift. I also got to talk briefly to Coco to wish her a happy birthday, but it was brief because I had to get to the Goldstones and Coco’s birthday party was beginning. It was 9 am here, but 2 pm there. We signed off hoping to have a Skype call later in the day.
Today was another swim lesson morning at Menauhant Beach and we stayed a little beyond swim lesson time as the boys were having a great time playing with friends. It was a beautiful summer day—perfect beach weather. When we got home, there was barely time to get showers and lunch before Jonah and I had to take off for his weekly guitar lesson. When we returned, the boys sent Happy Birthday texts to Coco and then we had a quick a Skype call. At the end of the call, we watched as Coco went out into what we would call the backyard of her grandparents’ home (what the English call the ‘garden’), and Sam exclaimed at the beauty. I admit with envy that Phil and Margaret’s ‘garden’ is one of the most beautiful I have ever seen. Lucky Ziggy and Coco that get to enjoy that beauty every summer.
The morning and early afternoon at the beach today was absolutely perfect. Each of the boys had a great swim lesson and they got to play with friends. I always love watching the ‘jump the river’ competitions on the beach and today all three boys got to ride on the rescue board. And Sam and Joey Keefe from next door excavated parts of large concrete posts from the swim area. Tomorrow we are planning to pack a lunch and be prepared to spend more time at the beach if conditions are the same. Watched the Democratic Debate tonight. I’ll reserve comment on that until after the second debate tomorrow night.
