Stonewall 1st Cousins
Here she is! Kathy Rooney Humes…. my lifetime friend. We played Rebels and Yankees with the neighborhood kids together, went to school from kindergarten through high school together, I was there when she broke her leg….. twice, I introduced her to her husband, we traveled together with my children to England and rented a barge in a canal together and now we were going to hang out in Vermont together. She has heard every episode of my chaotic personal life and I’m sure that I have heard much of her’s. None of that on this mini vacation….. it was chill time.
Mindy, Hawkeye and Kathy
The girls had instant connections…. they were both hairdressers so both had the ability to have instant and comfortable conversation. We spent time with Mr and Mrs Hawkeye and time apart. He’s a lucky husband and I’m a lucky cousin.
Jan Hates Nose Hair
Jan is pretty much a clean cut well groomed liker. That brings up the question of why she’s hanging with me! My eyebrows break Western, my ears crave fuzz and my nose develops aliens slowly winding down and intermingling with my mustache! Luckily I was hanging out with a hairdresser on this day and she agreed to make me ‘presentable’.
I sent this picture of the finished grooming to Jan. The response? “Stop It!”
Before and After
Looks pretty much the same to me but I felt better and it no longer itched when I had to put the mask on.
The Latchis Hotel Theatre
In downtown Brattleboro you will find the Latchis Theatre. Built about 1941 the Latchis family were friends of the Von Trapp family after they came to the states post World War II. They performed at the theatre/hotel for several months.
Kathy and I decided to take in a movie. While the theatre was great the movie stunk the place up. It was no Sound of Music. The popcorn was also popped in 1941.
It was kinda a continuation of our check in. Mindy had reserved three rooms. When we arrived they had set us up in a suite of three rooms. That is…..three rooms…. two bedrooms and a sitting room…. which had no bed….. but it was three rooms. We attempted to convey the problem of having a room with no bed…. with difficulty. Evidently part of the problem was that because it was booked through Expedia the hotel becomes somewhat lost in the shuffle. I don’t understand that but it became about a 45 minute ordeal which we handled with as good a humor as possible. Finally we were squared away and Kathy and I headed up to our two queen size bed room. I opened the door… the bed was unmade, the bathroom was still in disarray and the tip was still on the counter. I went back downstairs and looked politely at the same desk manager. There was concern in her eyes….. I explained the problem calmly…. I promise. She said, “well I didn’t work this weekend.” That made it all clear to me.
” Well that means you’re going to get the suite.” Yes the very same suite we all began with. The no bed three room suite. Imagine….. we may have been in the same rooms the Von Trapp’s stayed in as they warmed up their vocal chords prior to a performance. I thought about bursting into song. But then I thought that I didn’t want the walls to come tumbling down.
As I left the desk manager I thanked her for the new rooms. She asked me if I would let Mrs. Trimmer know that she was afraid they she may have been billed twice for her room. Ah….. yes…. I’d be overjoyed to do that!
None of That was a Distraction!
Cuz we were with family. And there were no roots or rocks or mud or rain or intense heat or ridiculous ups or perilous downs. It was Tina and Mindy and Kathy and Hawkeye and Defib and for the time being walking down a sidewalk was just fine with me. “Hike on”.
Wanderings With Wayne 