Three Rivers - Six Dams

Spicket River Falls Dam - Methuen, MA

 

Spicket River Dam at Methuen Memorial Music Hall - Methuen, MA

Merrimack River at the Great Stone Dam - Lawrence, MA

Shawsheen River at the Balmoral Dam - Andover, MA

Shawsheen River at the Stevens Street Dam - Andover, MA

 

 















Shawsheen River at the Ballardvale Dam - Andover, MA

Industrial Sculpture - Part I - The Skeleton

The Only Way Out

Sometimes, the only way out of something is to get into it. Take income tax preparation, for example. You can procrastinate all you want, but sooner or later you need to get it done. If you wait, you add time and misery to the process and still have to complete it in the long run. To get out of it, you need to get into it - do them sooner and avoid weeks or months of aggravation and frustration.

Winter is another example. Every time I hear someone complain about winter, I wonder why not embrace the season and participate? Ski, hike, snowshoe, skate, walk, explore. Winter transforms familiar places into new vistas and experiences. A sight you've seen a hundred times before looks entirely different when coated with a dusting of snow. Dress properly - pay attention to the weather and your surroundings and meet winter on its own terms.

So, get into it - embrace it - and you run it, instead of it running you. To get out of it, get into it !

        

Which End Is Up ?

Awhile ago, I was lying on a friend's floor and looked up at a world map mounted on the wall. From my vantage point, South was up and North was down - as opposed to the way most maps and globes are oriented. It struck me that our sense of up and down and direction are more a part of cultural bias than any galactic or universal reality. My friend actually went so far as to permanently reposition his map with the South Pole at the top - much the same as it may appear from outer space  - or not.

There is a significant mindset difference in identifying things as 'backwards' as opposed to 'reversed'. Take a moment to reverse the way you look at your world and see where it leads you. Here's a video to help get you started - "The Known Universe"

Nostalgia

With 2010 hours old, it's time to replace last year's calendars with some new ones from the supply I've been amassing for the last month or two. Every November, I start collecting new calendars from the local hardware, tire, and Asian grocery stores, as well as those that arrive without request in the mail.

I can't say exactly why, but I always enjoy the connection to the past when putting up my new date trackers. My guess is that businesses have been handing out calendars for at least a couple of hundred years, much the same as they do now. Calendars also show up in a number of older films, often spinning in tight spirals denoting a rapid reversal in elapsed time. Other times, they are a handy device to orient the viewer to an earlier time than the present.

Maybe it's nostalgia, maybe not, but my I value my relationship to things gone by, as well as an anticipation of future prospects - kind of a simple, but tangible way to get a sense of time and place. Happy New Year.

Speaking Of BLT's

I keep two lists posted on the inside of one my kitchen cabinet doors. One is labeled 'Great Food Combos'; the other is 'Fake Food That Tastes Good'. The first list details what, over the years, have emerged as seemingly perfect combinations of taste, texture, and visual appeal. While very far from complete, the list includes the following:

• BLT's - bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwiches on toasted, preferably whole wheat, bread with mayonnaise
• Hot Fudge Sundaes - complete with homemade fudge sauce and warm, freshly roasted, salted pecans
• Campbell's Tomato Soup and a grilled Vermont cheddar cheese sandwich
• A hot dog (frankfurter) on a grilled roll with Raye's mustard, relish, and freshly prepared horseradish
• Pepperoni pizza with and ice cold Foxon Park birch beer

You'll no doubt note that these are not gourmet, up-scale meals. True enough. But, they very well meet the qualifying conditions outlined above for sensory perfection.

The second list needs a bit of explanation. Over the years, artificial flavors, colors, additives, preservatives, and so forth have supplanted what was once the 'real thing' in many prepared foods. However, this doesn't mean that they can't and don't taste good. Again, it's far from complete, but what's on the list so far are:

• My-T-Fine butterscotch pudding - make butterscotch pudding from scratch and you'll know what I mean
• Banana Popsicles - flavor by Monsanto?
• Fanta Grape and Orange sodas - nothing close to grapes nor oranges, but they sure refresh and go down easily

Let me know what's on your lists.

Balance And Equilibrium

You know that expression about too much of a good thing? It's true. There is a fine, but well defined line between enjoyment and overdoing it. As an example, imagine a great meal with good friends at a fine restaurant. Stop short of being fully satiated and you still hunger for another bite or sip. Your longing intensifies what you have already enjoyed and makes what has been good even better. The positive experience will linger indefinitely. Cross the line to consuming that extra bite or having too much to drink ... how you feel and what you remember is not so pleasant. All the flavors, camaraderie, and great surroundings fall away and you're left feeling stuffed or worse.

Equilibrium plays a part in another food related arena and has larger implications for life as a whole. There's no taste quite like well prepared bacon, but it's probably not the healthiest item you can put in your diet. Eat too much and you tamper with your well being - avoid it and you'd miss that perfect combination of taste, texture and visual appeal - the BLT. What I'm trying to say is that within reason, you've got to want to get up in the morning - if you can't look forward to what lies ahead, why bother? You just need to do it within rational boundaries - neither too little, nor too much. If you follow my line of thought, this rationale is an approach to daily living - neither too little, nor too much - know when you've had enough and when to stop. Just don't forget the mayonnaise.