Archive for July 25th, 2010

From New York City to the Adirondacks

Sunday, July 25th, 2010

A week ago tonight I was still recovering from my trip to the Bronx on Friday night. When I bought the Yankee tickets I didn’t realize how significant they would become the week of the game.  There was no way of knowing that the Yankee owner George Steinbrenner and long time public address announcer Bob Sheppard would both die a few days before the game.

Before the game started they had a tribute to both men. It was an experience that I could never truly relate to someone else. In short, you just had to be there. With just shy of 50,000 people in the stands the normal electricity before a game wasn’t there. Instead, the fans waited for the moment of silence before the game.

When everyone bowed their heads it was amazing when the only thing that could be heard was the flags with all the championship years on them flapping in the wind. Although the wind was fairly calm where I was sitting, you couldn’t miss the sound of the flapping flags above the stadium. Halfway through the few minutes of silence a train’s horn could be heard in the distance, but it wasn’t enough to take away from the message the flags were sending. It was almost as if the wind was taking something out of the stadium.  I would like to go on and on about it, but I’ll just leave it there so you can imagine it on your own.

Once the game got going the crowd was somewhat quiet, but there really wasn’t much to cheer for until the later innings. When Nick Swisher tied the game in the bottom of the 8th inning it electrified the crowd and things began to get back to normal.  After a stressful top of the 9th we all knew that we might be able to witness something that would be referred to as a Yankee Classic for years to come.

Once again Nick Swisher came through to get the job done. He ripped a single to right field which scored Curtis Granderson and the stadium erupted in celebration. The crowd remained standing and cheered for a solid 5 minutes after the game. It was something that I will never forget.

We walked briskly to the car once we got out onto the street and shortly after we were headed home. With the city lights quickly disappearing behind us we chit-chatted back and forth about the events that we witnessed over the last 6 hours. We all had a different perspective even though we witnessed the same exact thing.

Although it was a long ride home the energy kept us going until we arrived in town around 3am. I was happy to crawl under my covers and close my eyes on yet another great day in my life.

Once again I was fortunate enough to have experienced a memorable event with my family and friends. It made me realize how precious the good times that you spend with the people who are close to you become as life moves forward. Some of us are more fortunate than others in that manner.

I’ve always tried to do the things that bring happiness and fulfillment to my life. I can’t remember too many times when I did it by myself. If you can’t experience great things with other people it leaves an emptiness that isn’t necessary. That’s why I’m always careful while choosing the company that I keep.

I had to save this entry last night because the computer wasn’t cooperating. I decided I would come back to it today if I had the time.

I headed to Long Lake this morning to drop some books off at Hoss’s Country Corner. They called yesterday and told me they were interested in carrying the book. This gave me incentive to start my push for the end of the summer and early fall.

On the way home I stopped at Sporty’s Iron Duke Saloon in Minerva to drop off some more books. Sporty was glad to put the book behind the counter for me. He also informed me of our upcoming family get-together in late September.

It’s hard to believe that fall will be here in a few months. The days go too fast. My ride was peaceful today. I went at my own pace and enjoyed my own company. Although it would have been nice to socialize with someone along the way I was perfectly content being by myself. It gave me time to thing about everything, yet nothing at the same time.

When you’re in the north country it’s amazing how insignificant you can feel. When you’re surrounded my miles and miles of uninhabited land it gives you an appreciation for the finer things in life.

On my trip I stopped outside of Olmstedville to take a quick look at the elk farm on Alderbrook Road. I haven’t been by it in about 4 years so I didn’t know what to expect. The small pine trees that surround the farm had grown high enough to make visibility marginal at best. I could still see a few elk wandering around. One of them had a dandy of a rack. It felt good to see elk. The last elk I saw was in 2006 which was the last time I hunted them.

Although I don’t miss the drive across the country I do miss my annual elk hunting trip. I always looked forward to it every September, but for some reason every year it came too quickly. It seemed as if I was never prepared. I hope to return to the Rocky Mountains of southern Colorado some day, but for now I have many great memories that bring a smile to my face when I sit back and acknowledge them.

Today was a good trip. Me, the truck and bare pavement beneath the wheels……………..solitude. A quiet mind for a few hours without much of anything wandering around between my ears. It was something I needed and possibly something I will be doing more of in the coming weeks.

I’ve found happiness in many places, but the only place I’ve ever found true silence is in the woods. Fall is coming and I will go to the woods to sit and listen to the sounds of nature. You never know what you might hear or who might talk to you and that is why I return year after year.