New York 2025 -- Day 1

The neph and I went to New York last week to participate in the Macy's Parade. It did not disappoint.

This was a blitz of a visit.

First, transportation. The Lyft driver got to my house at 4:45. As I was putting my bag in her trunk, she went around the front to hitch up her front bumper with gaffer's tape. I asked her politely to please come to a complete stop at stop signs.

I took Mr. Salty with me as a companion on the plane. Housekeeping put him on my pillows every morning.

Our Lyft driver was a peach compared to our car service from JFK to our hotel. That guy scared me so often that I put my hands over my eyes multiple times. I did not hear him use his turn signal until we were somewhere around 125th.

The hotel was nice. It smelled exactly like Comme des Garcons' Avignon. So good.

We played pub quiz and ate dinner a few blocks from our hotel. The other teams were parties of 6. Our own modest goal was to not come in last. We tied for second to last :)

I had a cherry cola slurpie and found it delicious. Also some felafel and shishito peppers.

I believe that Honey Brains is no longer in business. I wonder why.

End of an Era

I passed by Dr. Wong's office yesterday on my way to the shoe repair to pick up my cowboy boots. Without so much as a howdy-do, our eye doctor has closed up shop. I told my friend and Pilates instructor, yesterday morning while I was working out. 

She went to the same doctor for her whole adult life. She cried. I think this is as much notice as Dr. Wong gave anybody. I hope that his retirement means that he has lots of time in which to see 1970s soul bands.

It Doesn't Get Much Better Than This

From November:

Yesterday was the monthly meeting of my Irish genealogy group. The topic was FindaGrave and other cemetery databases. One of our members showed us a database that you can use to find additional cemetery information that isn't in FindaGrave. For instance, if there was more than one person in a grave before it was moved to a different cemetery, the entry in the new grave might omit one of the names by mistake.

I was kicking the tires on this new (to me) database and not finding what I want. Because my own relatives aren't buried in this cemetery I looked up I don't have people buried in this area other than my grandparents, so I was looking up Colonel Somebody who is my friend's ancestor. 

Did not find.

Did not find.

Did not find.

Finally I used this search "col%" and it brought up Colonel Somebody Else. Or at least his leg. Then I looked up the circumstances of the amputation:

And then I started searching for amputated limb burial. Fascinating!

Michael O'Rourke lost his leg while following orders during his job on a steam ship. His employer claimed it was not liable for negligence caused by one of its employees. A leg was buried. During later removal of all buried persons out of the city limits they did an inventory of each grave. This is the reason that these index cards exist.

Back then, it cost as much to bury a limb as a whole person:

For a comprehensive article about why people had their limbs buried, enjoy this article from the Journal of Foot and Ankle Surgery.

Saturday Doings

It's Saturday. It's 8:30. I've made coffee, done two loads of laundry, started making two pots of stock for soup, fed the cat, made a smoothie for mrguy. Getting off to a good start before...

Vortex of Power meeting at 10:30. Each of these is 2 hours.

Work's been nuts. We put together a pop-up exhibit in honor of our 25th campus anniversary. I did an interview with local tv (super fun) for a forklift anniversary today. I did a live chat with forklift fans while simultaneously watching a video of myself talking about forklifts. Yesterday I did a last-minute interview with the Guardian UK about forklift anniversary. And in between those things I tried to do some actual work. I often feel as if I'm punching above my weight.

Tonight is a work party that I'm really looking forward to. Nothing is required of me, and I am grateful.

Tomorrow I have to prep everything for Thanksgiving in New York with the neph. 

Monday I have a doctor's appointment, then I go to the land of my birth to have the jewelry appraised. That will likely take most of the day due to traffic. 

The Lyft comes at 4:15. I already had the usual dream where I need a lot of change for the kiosk at the airport that lets me get to my gate. At some point when I'm navigating the kiosk I realize that I need my passport. It's at my mom's house, which is 17 minutes from the airport. I think I have enough time. I look for the passport and find it. I get there in time and make my flight.