Journal Entries
Exploring the jungles of Peru with the Squadron of Superheros (a dream)
Posted Feb 15, 2005
This was kind of a fun dream.
I looked up in the sky, and saw the Squadron of Superheros flying in a V formation, like ducks or Canadian geese. 
They called to me to join them on their expedition in to the jungles of South America. I put on my superhero suit, and flew up to join them. Soon we were at the mouth of whatever river came out of the jungle. We took our seats in a wide-bottomed boat, and passed the time
playing cards or drinking iced tea.
We did stop here and there en route so some of our members could get haircuts in sleepy little villages. One such place had a barber chair surrounded by a huge hole in the floor (The building seemed to be some kind of barn) so the hair could fall through into the basement.
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Latest reply: Feb 15, 2005
At 4:00 a.m., in a driving blizzard, I really didn't want to be on the roof scraping snow from my furnace vent. :-/
Posted Jan 23, 2005
I *thought* I had prepared pretty well for the big storm: I had done my Sunday laundry a day early, I had gotten my weekend swimming done,
and I had gone grocery shopping twice (carrying my groceries in my arms because the shopping baskets and carts were in use by other shoppers >cross>
.
So far, so good.
I settled in for the night, happy that the power was still on, and my furnace was doing its job. Outside the wind howled, blowing snow in drifts.
Then, at 4:00 in the morning, I knew something terrible had just happened. I got out of bed and checked the thermostat: yep, the furnace was not working, and the place was getting colder by the minute.
I did the usual diagnostic things: I replaced the fuse that governs the furnace. No improvement. I took the space heaters from their hiding places and set them up.
Then I took a big breath, grabbed the snowshovel, and headed outside. Probably about 12 inches had fallen by that point, but the wind was causing it to drift. I shovelled my front porch and sidewalk. Then I went into the road (which, mercifully, had been plowed within the last hour). I looked at my roof, but could not see the furnace vent, which is basically a smokestack. Okay, the snow had probably blocked off the opening, and the furnace automatically turned itself off. It could be a cold night...
I shovelled a path across my lawn, to the spot nearest where the vent ought to be, then went back inside to fish the 8-foot ladder from its hiding place behind the futon. 
I managed to get the ladder out the door, across the lawn, and against the side of the house.
Then, taking another big breath, I climbed to the top and used a rake to pull snow away from the furnace vent. Then I went back inside and pulled on the emergency lever that starts the furnace. Success! 
Boy, are my muscles gonna be sore today. 
Fortunately, my power has stayed on all through the blizzard.
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Latest reply: Jan 23, 2005
Christmas 2005: the hoops keep getting higher every year
Posted Dec 27, 2004
It's getting harder to do a good job of preparing for Christmas .
There were no major screwups this year, and yet I think a lot of the gifts I bought didn't work out all that well. (Some of them worked very well, though, I must admit.)
My mother was saying that she keeps wondering if this will be her last Christmas (She's 84, and had a small stroke this Fall).
The one who really loved Christmas this year was my ten-year-old nephew Sasha. I gave him the three "Star Wars" movies on widescreen DVD, and that pleased him. His parents gave him an air hockey layout that requires an entire room 
. That made him ecstatic. 
I am looking forward to New Year's Day, which I celebrate alone in a low-key way. I will, as usual, cook something special and complex, and go to a movie, and just keep a low profile.
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Latest reply: Dec 27, 2004
The leaning Tower of Pisa shows up in Downtown Boston (a dream)
Posted Dec 27, 2004
This was one of the more inexplicable dreams.
I dreamed that I went into Boston on a sightseeing trip with some friends. I suppose we started in the Copley Square area, and our plan was to mosey around individually, and then meet again in an hour at the leaning Tower of Pisa.
Okay, so the leaning Tower of Pisa isn't even *supposed* to be in Boston, but there it was, next to a modern office building. People would go inside and climb several stories so as to enjoy the view. 
The thing is, this Leaning Tower was only five stories tall, and wasn't especially big in diameter. I wonder if it has been shrinking as well as leaning all these years 
.
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Latest reply: Dec 27, 2004
My bike was stolen, so I couldn't get to the Boston Tea Party (Another weird dream)
Posted Dec 22, 2004
Last night, I dreamed that I had to ride my bicycle to Waltham for some kind of a function/get-together. I was going to bicycle from there back to Boston for the Boston Tea Party (in this case, a *real* tea party, involving the drinking of some tea ), then scoot on over to the swimming pool for some late-night swimming.
But, horrors!, when I got out of the Waltham engagement, my bicycle was missing (stolen, apparently), so I had to walk all the way back to Boston--or at least as far as the nearest bus stop, and one of the other two activities was going to have to be scrubbed.
I should have realized that it was a dream, since I can't ride a bicycle, not even a little bit. 
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Latest reply: Dec 22, 2004
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