Harleys, Cars, Girls & Guitars

Joe Maddon's Hometown

I was falling asleep on Interstate 80 after about two hours of driving through the mountains in Pennsylvania during my road trip to Illinois, so I hit the exit for coffee and donuts at Hazleton. 

"Why does the name of this town sound familiar?" I wondered. "Aha!"

The Chicago Tribune has published many an article about Joe Maddon's charity work in his hometown.

So, I decided to try to find some markers commemorating what must be Hazleton's most famous boy. I stopped at the Dunkin Donuts and asked the local boys for some guidance.

"Any signs or monuments for Maddon around town?"

They directed me to the high school. I found the sign in the pic there.

Madden has become quite the matinee idol in Chicago. He unexpectedly took the Cubs to the National League Championship Series last year, just short of making the World Series. He's a laid back 60s hippie. The young players on the team seem to idolize him as a father figure.

I attended a Cubs' game at Wrigley. When the Cubs were about to take the field, the PA announcer intoned:  "And now, let's hear it for Joe Maddon's Chicago Cubs!"

I wonder how long the honeymoon will last for Maddon in Chicago? Lou Piniella and Dusty Baker were celebrated as saviors who would end the curse, too. But, the media and the fans turned on both when they failed to deliver a championship.

For now, Maddon is riding high and pulling down $5 million a year in the most glamorous job in Chicago. A great life story for a boy from a small coal mining town in Pennsylvania.

I'm a small town boy... Watseka, Illinois, population 5,500. Hazleton boasts about 25,000 souls. Back when I was a kid, I would have considered that a big city.

Cross Country in an Old Pickup Truck

My 2011 Ford Ranger pickup truck's odometer read 101,240 when I departed Woodstock last week for a cross country trip to Chicago. My bicycle was strapped to its rack. 

I'm going to drive the damned thing until it dies! No car payment!

Next week, I go under the knife for exploratory surgery. The radiologist found a little spot on my CAT scan. Might be nothing. Might be cancer. I brought along my bicycle because I'm trying to get in the best possible shape for a quick recovery from my surgery.

My mom turns 90 this fall and my sister is also facing serious surgery. I wanted to take the trip home to see them while I can. It's a fact of life, now. Every time I see loved ones might be the last time.

I've always loved cross country driving. Myrna did too. Back when we owned the Ford Expedition, we routinely drove the big SUV to Chicago. I've driven just about all the major routes from the West to the East Coasts.

I took my time on the way to Chicago. Even stopped at Hazleton, PA, hometown of Joe Maddon, the Cubs' manager. (Hadn't really intended that. I was looking for a place to stretch my legs and...) Madden is a small town boy. 

The return trip turned into a relentless sprint. Hadn't planned it that way. I'd spent a night at the Super 8 in Brookville, PA on my way to Chicago. (Brookville is about halfway between NYC and Chicago. Here's an interesting webpage that calculates the halfway point between any two cities.) The prospect of another night in a Super 8 didn't appeal to me on the way home.

A lot of time to think during the 10 hours or so of driving in each direction.

I stopped in Detroit to visit a Facebook friend and take in a Tiger's baseball game. Saw a Cubs' game at Wrigley, too. 

I'm ready now to face the surgeon's knife. 

This was probably my last major cross country drive. I'm old. My eyes don't work so well any more. I suspect that the next trip home to Illinois will be for a funeral, and that doesn't leave time for dawdling. 

Back in the glory days when Myrna was still here, we drove to Chicago to sit in with A.C. Reed, the great bluesman, at Kingston Mines. Here's his tune about pickup trucks:

That was so long ago.

27 years ago, I flew out to Portland to fetch Myrna. We drove her old Dodge Dart all the way to Woodstock. What an adventure! Every day with Myrna was an adventure.

The odometer read 103,464 when I pulled into my driveway. 2,044 miles total!

I'm Out to Lunch

I'm taking an extended vacation from all forms of Internet connection and communication. I'll be back in a few days.

Garmin Edge 200 GPS Bicycle Computer

In retirement, I can't afford to buy all the electronic doodads that I want. So, it was a little bit of a thrill to buy a new GPS bicycle computer. Arrived in two days by mail from Amazon! 130 bucks.

I wasn't too clear on how the GPS ("Global Positioning System") works. So, it was a bit of a surprise to discover that access to the system of positioning satellites is free, i.e., does not demand a subscription. 

Here's a simple article explaining GPS. Below, one of the least annoying videos I could find that explains the GPS system:

The Garmin Edge 200 required very little setup. For some reason, the default menu language was French. Took me a little while to figure out how to get to the menu option to change that to English.

I immediately set out to try out my routine routes. On Saturday, I did my 10 mile route. On Sunday, the 15 mile route.

Mapping a route is incredibly simple with the Edge 200. Turn the thing on, wait for it to tell you it has linked with the GPS system, press "Start" and begin riding. You get three constant pieces of info... speed, distance traversed and time elapsed. The precision of a GPS system is beautiful.

The Edge 200 does not map in the way that a car GPS system does. A bicycle system that can pre-draw navigational maps costs about $400.

But you can connect the Edge via USB to your computer, then go to the garminconnect.com site to upload your rides to a mapping system.

Another USB device to charge! And, this is one that I use almost every day. That means clipping and unclipping the Edge 200 to the crappy mount that comes standard with the unit. No doubt, that mount will fall apart with heavy use. I've already ordered a sturdier mount.

I've got a mess of USB cables growing out of the back of my iMac.

It's not so easy to get lost nowadays. When you think of all the tech advances that have changed how we perceive reality, two really stand out to me... constant awareness of precise time and location.

I have a digital clock in every room in my house, not by intent, but because every electronic entertaining device or appliance has a built in digital clock. The clocks are all right on the money, too, since I set them to the wifi synchronized clock on my computer.

Now, with GPS, we also always know precisely where we stand on this earth. And, what direction we are moving in.

The Garmin Edge 200 is a fascinating device. 

Picasso Girl Sketch

I've always liked Picasso's disassembled women paintings. Here's my version of one of those paintings.

Yes, the eyes were on one side of her head and distended like headlights on a 50s Art Deco car.

New Classical Sheet Music... Bach and Chopin

I stopped in Sam Ash in suburban Jersey last week to buy a couple of books of sheet music that had been tempting me for some time. The first is the great college music student standard, J.S. Bach's Two and Three Part Inventions. 

This series of exercises is the standard text for learning correct piano fingering techniques. In my summer school sessions at the University of Illinois while I was still in high school, my piano teacher drilled me relentlessly on these pieces.

Completely different melodic lines in left and right hands. Fingering must be precise or these very short pieces fall apart. I have a classical compilation book that contains a few of these pieces. After six months of hacking away at three of these pieces, I have almost mastered one.

Mastering the entire collection of inventions will keep me busy for the rest of my days.

Here's Bach's own description of the purposes of these two and three part inventions:

Honest method, by which the amateurs of the keyboard – especially, however, those desirous of learning – are shown a clear way not only (1) to learn to play cleanly in two parts, but also, after further progress, (2) to handle three obligate parts correctly and well; and along with this not only to obtain good inventions (ideas) but to develop the same well; above all, however, to achieve a cantabile style in playing and at the same time acquire a strong foretaste of composition.

This book served as a nice little present for a retired grandpa. Don't we all like to buy something on Friday? At only seven bucks, it was a bargain.

I tend to get up at 3 or 4 a.m. One of the oddities of retirement. This is several hours before the political controversy starts for the day on the internet. So, I'm looking for positive things to do with my time. I feel like I've accomplished something when I start out my day with my classical practice. 

My other little present to myself, also purchased at Sam Ash, is this book of many of Chopin's Favorite Piano Works.

Chopin is my favorite classical piano composer. I wanted a big book of his standard pieces that included the Military Polonaise.

These pieces stretch my technique to the breaking point... which is my intention. I've been playing Chopin's Waltz in C Sharp Minor in my classical compilation. Here's a YouTube of a pretty Chinese girl, Yuja Wang, playing that piece:

Now, I have a ton of new pieces to explore, sight read (even if only one hand at a time) and think about adding to my tiny classical repertoire. A bargain at 17 bucks for the book!

I'll probably never play one of these classical pieces in public. (Well, I do play Chopin's Prelude in E Minor as a little mood setter before Mass.) That's not really the point.

I play classical piano for mental clarity, to promote a sense of peace and well-being, and for the simple satisfaction of conquering difficult pieces. My goals are entirely self defined.

And, I enjoy hearing my own interpretations of some of my favorite classical pieces.

Picnic in Grandpa's Back Yard

All three grandkids stopped by yesterday, a grand, hot summer day. I'm on grandpa vacation while my teacher daughter is off for the summer. No daily babysitting. So, I hadn't seen the kids in a few days.

That's a pic of the Peppa Pigs... my three year old girl's current YouTube favorite. The Peppa's are quite droll! Here they are, packing up, most likely to visit their grandparents.

I'm now the lonely old grandpa, waiting impatiently for the kids to stop by. I rushed home from Mass to put on the hamburgers and hot dogs. I finished most of the prep work before I attended church. Like my dad, I stood in the door and watched for my daughter and my grandchildren when they showed up late.

My one year old twins are moving out of the nursery into the big world outside. But, they are moving out slowly. They cautiously checked out the grass in my back yard. My three year old granddaughter will be ready for school soon. But, she still needs lots of mom and grandpa hugs to have the courage to navigate the world.

They'll need grandpa to nanny them for another four years. Then, everybody will be in school full time. Lately, it's occurred to me that I have to start planning for life after they all go off to school. Will I work again? 

By the time the kids are all off to school full time, I'll be 70 and I'll have been retired for 8 years. Is it possible to return to work in light of that?

I thought that the picnic in the backyard would be kinda rowdy, but it was too hot and the kids hadn't seen grandpa for a while. So, my daughter and I spent most of the day holding the kids and reassuring them. Which is OK by me. Grandpa got his hugs.

The toddler asked if I would teach her to play piano! How can I do that and make it fun for her so that she continues to play? 

For now, I'm deep in grandpa-ing. Next fall, the toddler will go to half day pre-school. She really needs the socializing with other kids, and the twins need to be able to do things on their own, without their sister lording it over them. I'll have all three grandkids half the day, and only the twins for half the day.

For the past three years, I've been enclosed in the nursery with the grandkids. A very quiet, slow and satisfying life.

The next four years will be their transition to school and social life. And, somewhere along that road, they'll need grandpa less.

And, what, then, will grandpa do?

A Quick Kitchen Sketch

In Jersey at the girlfriend's house for a few days. I produced this quick, skeletal sketch of her kitchen sink and window.

During my grandpa vacation, I'm hoping to produce a sketch every day!

Online Scam Aimed at Motorcycle Sellers

I put the Harley up for sale on craigslist a week or so ago. A potential buyer contacted me and asked me if I could tell him something more about the "history" of the bike. I thought I had described the bike adequately in the ad... you know, the usual stuff, mileage and service history, that I was the only owner, etc. But, I wanted to be helpful, so I answered with a few more bits of info. 

The next day, the potential buyer sent me the following e-mail message:

Hi again, Thanks for detailed and honest answer. I believe that the bike is in good shape. However, I'm interested in seeing a history report for your bike before I make you an offer. If you don't have one, I'd really appreciate it if you can get it from cyclevin.us because I'd like to pay you back if we make a deal, and they're a lot cheaper than carfax. I'd get it myself but I don't want to risk it being bad and just end up wasting my money. If everything is ok on the report, I would like to see the motorcycle tomorrow, If you are free. Hope to hear from you soon.

Something about that message seemed entirely too canned to me... especially that "honest answer" bit and his belief that "bike is in good shape."

So, I Googled the cyclevin.us site. I found numerous complaints of this sort.

Apparently, cyclevin.us is a phishing site with a pretty clever angle. The owner seems to scan craigslist motorcycle for sale ads all over the country. He then contacts sellers and plays out this song and dance about wanting a more detailed history of the bike.

The 25 bucks apparently just disappears into the scam artist's bank account.

My son-in-law, who sells a lot on line tells me I'm very lucky I didn't put a credit card down on this site. The site very likely is also involved in identity theft. It may also serve as a way to identify the location of cycles worth stealing.

This is the second time I put the Harley up for sale. The first time, in early spring, I received a flood of responses. But, I went down with the kidney stones and had two operations, leaving me unable to respond to anybody. Now that I've recovered and put the bike back up for sale, I'm getting very few responses.

Apparently, motorcycle buyers like to buy at the beginning of the season to get full use out of the motorcycle for an entire riding season.

A Little Floral Sketch

I knocked this out pretty quickly yesterday. A little Photoshopping did the trick.

Can you see how I used Photoshop here?