Summers in the Great White North are pretty short, so we tend to cram as much into them as we can. Oh, not the kind of stuff you hoity-toity city folks have, with your tea parties, debutant balls, charity galas, and cotillions. No, up here in real America, summers are filled with good clean fun, like Field Days and ethnic festivals where folks can get out there and expose as much of their doughy, pasty-white winter skin as is legally allowed to the sun, while drinking overpriced beer in plastic cups (which tends to lead to nasty hangovers exacerbated by second-degree sun poisoning and odd tan lines).
Two weeks ago, it was Memorial Day, with folks paradin’ about in pert near every town in the county (including Navarino, home of the world’s shortest parade; one guy drives his tractor across Route 20, and then everybody gets drunk). Last weekend we had out town’s field days (aka, the “Olde Home Days,” whose origins go back at least to the 1800s), which made it a real pain in the ass to drive through the village, what with all the damn people parading, milling back and forth between chicken barbeques, crap craft booths, riding on the rides, and, of course participating in the Duck Race (which, much to my sister’s disappointment, does not use real ducks). Oh, and plenty of fireworks to terrorize the dogs.
And this weekend, well, this is one of the bigguns in the area (perhaps second only to the Great NY State Fair week), as we have the Polish Festival, the Greek Festival, and the Balloon Festival all taking place in just three short days (or four; I think the Greeks get it going a day ahead of time).
At the Polish festival, you can eat sausage and pierogis, dance polkas, drink beer, and check out the Polish chicks (just take a moment to review the old polish ladies, ‘cuz that’s what they grow up to look like).
At the Greek festival, you can eat Gyros, dance the Syrtaki, drink ouzo (if you drink enough and squint, you can actually make sense of that goofy Greek alphabet), and check out the Greek chicks (same caveat as the Polish babes – and, yes, for the Greek dudes, too; they may start out looking like Adonis, but sooner or later they turn into fat bald guys wearing old man t-shirts with suspenders and leather sandals with white socks – like that famous Greek guy, Anthony Quinn, who was actually an Irish Mexican – go figure. Actually, sooner or later, I think that’s what all you ladies have to look forward to from us old guys – if we live long enough – but you love us anyway, don’t you?). :nod:
At the Balloon Festival, you can listen to has-been rock bands (this year’s headliners, .38 Special, plus the inexplicably popular in CNY has-been that never was, Benny Mardones), drink beer, and go for a balloon ride (or just watch them all take off and fly around, which is pretty cool, especially when you’ve been drinking beer out in the sun all day – and, yes, I know this from experience).
Much as Memorial Day marks the beginning of summer and Labor Day marks the end of summer, this weekend marks the end of the beginning of summer.
And right now, it’s the beginning of the end of the work week. Let’s get this over with already, for tonight, we party.
Na zdrowie!
Let me guess-Greek Festival, never on a Sunday.
NY Solar Jobs Act could create 20,000 jobs, add a whopping 39 cents a month to the average New Yorker’s utility bill.
Maggie Thatcher will not be meeting with Sarah Palin.
My dog, Lola, limps whenever she gets up after lying down. She holds her front paw off the ground and limps for a few seconds. Then she’s fine. The limp seems to be getting better but it’s been going on for a couple of months, so were are concerned.
My vet suggested we see an orthopedist which we did, yesterday. For $1016. we learned that Lola a a little arthritis at her elbow, no surgery is warranted, she should not run or jump for a month (other than leg irons I don’t know how we’d accomplish that) and she should take Rimadyl ( a pain med) and glucosimine.
Leona Helmsley’s dog, Trouble, to whom she left $12,000,000, has died. The remaining funds have reverted to Helmsley’s charitable trust.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110609/lf_nm_life/us_helmsley_dog_3
Wow. Trouble could have gone a doggie orthopedist more than 11,800 times.
I hope Lola is OK. Tell her my knee is killing me, if that’s any condolence (and I don’t even have any drugs – though it’s pretty easy to keep me from running and jumping).
Lola is fine. She probably injured that elbow and it either hasn’t completely healed or the resulting arthritis is the problem. Either way, the meds should help and at least there is no surgery. If it costs $1000 for an xray, I’d probably have to remortgage my house to afford the surgery (not that I wouldn’t do it if that were required).
As for your painful knee, PJ, ice does wonders for arthritic knees. I know all the doctors say heat, but ice is more effective.
Oh, no heat for me. Ice always makes it feel better. I assume it’s some sort of tendinitis or arthritis or something. Hurts like hell for a while, then it goes away. Though I suppose some day it’ll stop going away, and then they’ll have to put me down.
Agnes Obel – Between The Bars (Elliott Smith cover) iTunes Live From Paris EP by Girlie Action
Today’s top searches:
multiple boobs,
russian poster,
mono boob,
gypsy recipes,
bad boob jobs
I’m guessing this thing – :boobs: – is leading a lot of disappointed people her.
Not to mention re-posting their perverted little search terms.
Suckers (ooh, that’ll get a few here, too, I bet).
I used to always get the hot, then cold suggestions but I usually just stuck with the cold. That sounds like a good way to go with the heat wave back East.
I’m bartering myself out to see Agnes Obel at a small venue tonight. Kind of excited. :alc:
I had a comedian in a room full of 8 jokingly tell me to kill myself. He then kept saying “do it, do it, do it.” I got back at him at the end of the set by going to the bathroom, washing my hands, then shaking his hand. I’m sure a wet, congratulatory handshake pissed him off.
The wet fish handshake – good for you, Trav. Now knock off the “offing oneself” stuff. We go soon enough and we have lots to do before that time arrives. You are needed here with that big of heart of yours, so get busy. okay dokey?
___
Sorry to hear about Lola, sp. How old is she now? Seems like you just brought that pup home….
I’ve dropped a few shekels myself lately. My Vet at OSU Vet School told me that studies show fish oil helps doggies’ joints. Mlle SouSou is on a cocktail of things to help her ole joints. :pup:
I was just told I was too sophisticed for this job.
Last week’s RFK, Jr. appearance on Colbert if you missed it.
Takeaway not in his article, in 1960 when I lived in coal company housing (full disclosure: not as a coal mining family) in Holden, there were 151K unionized miners in West Virginia and now there are only 15K miners in the state, only half union.