JFK Terminal 4
I drove Cris and a colleague to JFK last night. They will be teaching at Al Azhar University in Gaza for the next two weeks. I am a bit anxious about the whole thing, but it should be very interesting work for her. She arrived safely in Tel Aviv this morning and we’ll see if she can make it through the crossing into the strip. / I love airports, especially in the early evening.
Cornelius Krieghoff
My childhood was almost completely happy. There were very few times when I was troubled by much, but one thing that bothered me from time to time was my middle name. My sister’s is Louise, my brother’s is William and most of my friends had basic “normal” names. Carol Lee Thomas, Alan Jeffrey Radov, John Joseph Bowman Jr. (Oddly, I can’t remember Mike Hogan’s, but I am guessing it was probably Robert. In fact he might have been Robert Michael Hogan; named after his dad who was a famous University of Pittsburgh football player.) My middle name is Krieghoff. Maybe it was the proximity to the end of the second world war, but to me it just seemed weird. My mom’s maiden name was Krieghoff, and I guess she had reason to be proud enough of it to pass it along. It wasn’t until I was in my teens that I started to understand what a cool thing it was to be named after the most famous Canadian painter of the 19th Century. Read about him here.
I had known that he was buried in Chicago, and yesterday I called the Graceland Cemetery to find out exactly where. A lovely woman called Max gave me lots of information and since Cris and I are here for a couple of days I made the trek out there this morning.
It is interesting that in 1980 the trustees of Graceland paid for and erected a new stone for his site. Max walked me through the rather complicated directions to the section where he is buried (section g, resub, lot 178). Being directionally challenged, she gave me some landmark stones and once I spotted the one below, I knew I was in business.
I was told his stone was facing East, and after wandering around a bit I found it.
It is on the west side of the cemetery, just off Western Avenue.
Max had told me that he was laid to rest (what a funny phrase for being put into the ground in a wooden box) on 8 March, 1872.
Look, somebody (me) stuck a number 6 artists brush into the ground next to the stone (seemed more appropriate than flowers).
A very cool day. Something I have wanted to do for a long time. / Chicago is such a great city. Lots of amazing architecture.
Peter
Today I was in the Schenectady area shooting Erie Canal damage from the recent storms, and got the chance to stop by Union to visit Peter. Here he is talking to Cris. It is lovely to see him smile. / I’ll post some of the canal photos tomorrow.
Walk
Cris and the Pearl and I went up into the woods today. My sister Karen once told me what this ↑ little guy is called , but it didn’t stick with me. Any help, anyone? They are very delicate and tiny. / And due to all the recent rain, the fungi are everywhere.
I can’t remember seeing one like this ↑ before. It is very white.
Sox v Yankees
This is my great nephew and godson Crispin Duryee who is an avid Yankee fan.
He and his dad had planned to go see the Sox/Yankees game last night but Burr had a schedule conflict and couldn’t make it. I was more than happy to step in take him, and it was a blast. I hadn’t gone to a ballgame with an eight year old since Peter was little, and it definitely brought back memories.
It was a beautiful night for baseball and the Yanks/Sox rivalry meant for a crowd that was really into the game. Crispin is amazingly knowledgable about the Yankees and was fascinated by all the statistical information displayed on the new jumbotrons. He was a perfect companion at a game; never bored, always in tune with the action and unabashedly rooting for his team. The Sox won 9-4 which made me happy but was surely disappointing for him. We’ll see what happens tonight when Burnett goes up against Lester.
Tree Eyes Again
I am still seeing the eyes. I was thinking with all the wind from Irene that the one on the right would disappear, but the storm seems to be mostly past us and he (Alex named him Ramon) is still there. We started to have rain late yesterday and it has continued steadily since then. Some wind but nothing too severe. The tomato plants on the deck have fallen over a few times and it is very dark outside, but in all not a bad day. Peter and I may take the Pearl for a walk in a bit.
Woodman’s / Farnham’s
Peter goes back to Union soon, and today was a good day to drive out to Essex for some clams. We had visited Farnham’s in June and wanted to try Woodman’s. We left Pelham late morning and arrived in Essex just before 2.00. Woodman’s is the larger operation of the two and claim to be the originator of the fried clam. We ordered a large and waited about 5 minutes.
We went out back to the picnic tables and enjoyed the view and the clams. It soon became clear to us that we couldn’t just operate on memory to compare the two spots, so we hopped in the car and drove down the road to Farnhams. Ordered a small box there and sat at the outside tables.
Both places are a must visit for anyone who heads up that way, but for us the Farnham’s experience was better in all ways.
August Walk
Peter, Pearl, and I had a lovely late afternoon walk today. Goldenrod, cattails, and loosestrife.
It was breezy and cool, and the light was beautiful.
Lots of queen anne’s lace, too.
I’ve been on the go alot lately. Sorry for the lack of posts. / Last Wednesday we went to Fenway to see the Sox play Tampa. As often happens, we were only able to get two tickets for the three of us. Instead of messing with the scalpers, I make a small sign and stand on the corner of Yawkey Way and Brookline Avenue and hope for the best. It has always worked in the past, and Wednesday was no exception. Some guy walked past and just handed me this standing room only ticket. It was for the Budweiser Deck in right field and it was a great place to watch the game.
I stayed up here until the fourth and then Cris texted me to say that the seat next to her was still empty. So I moved down was able to sit in the shade with her and Peter in section 10 and see the end of the game from the nice new red seats. Sox lost 4-0 but it was still loads of fun. So thanks to the gentleman who made it all possible.
Saratoga
Last Friday my sister Karen and her husband Dick came up to go with us to the track at Saratoga. It was a beautiful day and after all the heat and humidity, it was a pleasure to sit in the grandstand and watch the horses run. Last year Cris, Peter, and I went and Pete was the big winner. I am not sure what his system is, but it seems to work as he came out about $60.00 ahead. This year, Dick’s friend Paul gave us some tips and they mostly worked. On mostly $1.00 or $2.00 bets, I ended the day up about $20.00. Peter chose not to follow Paul’s advice and again was the big winner, leaving the track with about $30.00 more than he came with.
I won a bit on the sixth race. Lots of fun.
Jon Crispin's Notebook 
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