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December 6, 1996
Happy Birthday, Billy.
I'm not in Groton driving Elizabeth to piano. Kevin called and left a message on my voice mail offering to pick the kids up himself if I didn't want to confront the weather. I left him a message from my car phone saying I'm on the road and it's taking too long owing to a tractor trailer having spun out at 125/133/114 triangle. We eventually spoke live at which point I was on I495 driving about 25 mph still trying to make a brave attempt to pick up the kids. I told him I was gonna turn back at the next exit. Which I did. This is way more than the inch of snow the radio weather kept telling me about. And it's heavy wet snow. Pretty but unpleasant. So here I am snug in my condo with the demented orange wacko and my computer spending some quality time.
Yesterday at the Honda Barn I read several chapters of Wild America an account of a 1953 trip by Roger Tory Peterson and James Fisher around the perimeter of the US (and part of Canada) in search of "wild" America. It's fun to see what the state of environmentalism, wildlife refuges, birdwatching, Audubon films, etc. was in the 50's and compare it to today. I wonder if Peterson understood how much he had to do with the changes ... Anyway, I love how Fisher gets all excited about all these new North American species he's adding to his life list. He gushes in such a British way. They went to Rhode Island but didn't spend nearly enough time there and the only bird they mention is a cormorant on the Jamestown bridge. They drove up Bellevue to look at the mansions - wild mansions? wild rich people? I never would've thunk to look for wild America on Bellevue Ave but hey they're the wildlife experts and this was the 50's. Maybe Sachuest Point hadn't been discovered by the white man yet :-) Maybe the Narragannsetts were keeping the whole wild Rhode Island secret...:-) Naw, the 50's wasn't that long ago!
The snow is supposed to taper off soon but I think I'm going to stay in with a nice hot cup of herbal tea (maybe Bengal Spice) tonight and worry about digging the car out tomorrow morning.