Still whacked by the flu... and now the snow!

Well as much as I feel better, I am still wiped-out with a stomach flu bug that I've been doing battle with on and off for the past week. I was really out of it on Monday and spent the better part of Tuesday writing and taking it slow. I am headed in the right direction now but feel knocked-down again tonight. And we just got about 8 inches of new snow - with a prediction of 6-20 more inches by tomorrow - so I will be moving very slow on Wednesday, too.

That said, after Di went skiing this afternoon in the snow, she came in and spent a few hours working on new pictures. (You can see some of her artistry on her facebook postings and more at her blogsite: cumulus)

So with her doing editing work, I found myself heading to my computer to pull up a few truly horrible pictures of me and my family from the teen wolf years. The first is a shot of the family from about 1969. I am the hulking mass in the coat next to my father wearing the brown tinted shades - a standard for me in those oh so glorious days of yesteryear. And, say, aren't my sisters stylish, too, in their late 60s gear?

Next comes a shot from the old family vacation home in Webster, Massachusetts at Lake Chargoggoaggmanchauggogoggchaubunagungamaugg. (And if you think I am making this up or simply reeling from a former drug-induced state, please visit: www.websterlakeassociation.com/ where you will find authentication.) At any rate, this lovely picture was taken in 1968 with my sister, Linda, my dear friend, Cathie, and my brother, Philip, performing one of his various comedy acts while I played "Alice's Restaurant" in the background.

One of my oldest friends, Ross, and I heard a folk singer rip Arlo's tune off after being at the Newport Folk Festival that year - and that song became a theme of mine throughout that wild and strange summer. If you want to get a feel for that era, check out these photo's from the Festival - it is a trip in the "way back" machine, for sure - but lots of fun: www.landyvision.com/photos/60s_artists/index.htm

The old "lake" cottage was a place beloved in our family - it had been purchased by my grandparents in the 30s - and many of our clan found themselves on an inexpensive and rustic honeymoon in that old barn. Church groups and family vacations, too. But when the family aged and moved all across the country - and taxes became too great - we had to sell off the old treasure...

Now, here's a treat: my brother, Phil, back in New College in Sarasota, Florida back in the day when he was a wildass poet. I am guessing this is in the late 70s but who really knows for sure?His future wife, Julie, is seated just below him and who knows the name of the babe seated next to him? They currently live in the Mission in San Francisco and we hope to visit them in May of this year after his duties as registrar are finished. They are both dear to my heart and I remember this look as if it were yesterday.

Finally... here's a picture from 1969 that I thought had been erased by time only to have another old high school friend send it - and post it - on Facebook. (This is a mixed blessing innovation, to be sure!) As the Vietnam War began to truly divide North Americans - and the student movement gained momentum - the October 15th "moratorium day" was an important event. All over the nation the goal was to pause and critically reflect on the whole nature of the war.

And at the conclusion of a day of conversation - and argument - in addition to study and lots of questions, there was a march through the center of our home town to speak out against the war. And guess who was at the head...?

Well, thanks be to God that Dianne takes beautiful pictures and that my flu bug will soon be over - but it was fun to find this shots - and humbling to post them. Here's one of my favorite tunes from that era...