Dancing With G*d

View from my dining room window this morning.

I had an ethereal morning today. Studying Psalm 46 with a cup of strong, dark coffee with the music of Mozart's Mass in C-minor and later Brahms German Requiem played in the background.

It was a perfect way to spend a gray, rainy morning.

(To be continued).

Meriden Markham Fly-In

2018 Fly-In Flyer

A few years ago, I attended the Fly-In at the Meriden CT Markham Airport. This year I had the opportunity to return and this time be accompanied by my son, Richard.

Earlier in the morning, I had my doubts that the 4th Annual Fly-In would be held due to rain and gray sky. But by the afternoon, the weather brightened up. So we decided to swing by and see if it had gone ahead as scheduled.

Aerial view approaching from the north (note different runway number).

We arrived close to 2 pm when the event was scheduled to end at 3 pm. All the food vendors were closed and packing up. But a few planes were left and a helicopter was circling, giving rides (don't know the fee).

By the time we arrived, the weather had turned very favorable.
(View looking North).

A helicopter was giving rides (we assumed for a fee).

In addition to the food vendors, there were a handful of craft vendors, a portable stage for performers, drones (they were done by our arrival), an ultralight craft, several small planes on the tarmac (including the Civil Air Patrol), some antique cars. [Two photos below courtesy of www.myrecordjournal.com].

We did get to see a US Army Black Hawk helicopter closeup and watch it take-off (that was kind of exciting) and then do a low fly-by.

Army Black Hawk helicopter. Richard is at right in gray t-shirt.

Black Hawk fly-by.

After the Fly-In, we had lunch. Richard was in the mood for Oriental, so we drove back to West Hartford for our favorite, Black Bamboo.

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Links:

http://ricketwrite.blogspot.com/2015/10/meriden-fly-in.html

http://www.meridenmarkham.com
http://meridenmarkham.com/flyin.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sikorsky_UH-60_Black_Hawk
http://myblackbamboo.com/site/Home.html
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Written Wednesday 31 October 2018.

Sound Tigers Home Opener

Opening Weekend flyer.

At the Milford Oyster Festival, Richard won a pair of (free) tickets to a game of our choice for Opening Weekend for the Sound Tigers, an AHL hockey team and farm team for the NHL New York Islanders.

In the past, we attended opening day in order to obtain the magnetic schedule. This year, however, that was not an option since this promotion was not offered (to our disappointment). Nonetheless, we decided it best to attend the literal home opener despite the early start time (1 p.m. vs 7:30 pm or 3 p.m.)

My free ticket.

As usual, we arrived early so we could watch from behind the net the Tigers warm-up skate. We parked on the street in order to save a few bucks and were delighted to note that one of the long-time concessionaires, the beer man, parked right behind us. We enjoyed seeing this familiar face again and chatting with him (both before and after the game). We also were glad to see another familiar face as we entered the Arena. Don't know his name but he is now in charge of all the security screeners and ticket takers.

Sound Tigers seating plan at Webster Bank Arena.

The free tickets were pretty good. We had our choice of several center ice sections (but not the center). The regular box office price for Section 104 is listed as $31 (!). Despite the promotional draw of free backpacks to the first 2,500 kids (14 and under)-they were surprisingly impressive- and an impressive list of school groups, the announced attendance was only 4272. Another continuing tradition we were glad to see/hear was the singing of the Star Spangled Banner (the national anthem) by the Fairfield County Children's Choir.

Richard during warm-ups. Note the Sound Tigers practice jersey.

Another familiar face was the official scorer (who sits right at the ice by the net). He's been doing this for decades and we enjoyed seeing him again.

Sound Tigers warming up.

As far as the game was concerned, the Tigers lived up to their heritage of being the NY Islanders farm team. They scored first but soon after, allowed their opponent to tie. After taking the lead 3-1 in the middle of the second period, they faded and allowed three unanswered goals, the winning goal coming with only a minute left to play. They lost 4-3.

Courtesy of SoundtTgers.com

While we were disappointed with (but not surprised by) the loss, we were glad that we attended. The free tickets were a blessing.  Attending a live sporting event can be expensive. Purchasing an internet season package is about the same as the cost of a single game. Ironically, we found ourselves watching the replays on the scoreboard as well as when the action was in corners out of our view. Throw in excessively loud sound, mediocre and expensive refreshments, and cramped seating and one has good reason to stay home and view via cable TV or the internet.

If the past if a predictor, we will probably not return to Bridgeport this season for another game. If we attend any games it will likely be when the Tigers visit Hartford.

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Links:

http://ricketwrite.blogspot.com/2018/08/milford-oyster-festival.html

http://www.soundtigers.com/
https://theahl.com/
https://www.nhl.com

http://ricketwrite.blogspot.com/2016/10/go-sound-tigers.html
http://www.websterbankarena.com/
https://www.singfccc.org
https://www.nhl.com/islanders/
https://theahl.com/stats/game-summary/1018382
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Written Wednesday 31 October 2018

Dog Day

Flyer promoting the Fidelco  fund raiser.

My son, Richard, and I volunteered to help at this fundraiser for Fidelco Guide Dogs. We were on the afternoon shift and were responsible for the garbage cans and ice buckets. We received neat t-shirts and were fed lunch (pulled pork or chicken sandwiches, macaroni, corn bread, coleslaw, cookies, and soda (or water).

Group photo of volunteers. Richard and I are on the left.

The weather defied the forecasters and turned out pretty decent (especially for the motorcyclists). At first, there wasn't much to do. But then when the riders returned and started to eat, Richard and I were busy (mostly with the trash-thee was a shortage of ice).

The real work was at the end  during cleanup. Lots of walking back and forth to the dumpster. And then we helped put away the tables and chairs, stacking the chairs on storage racks (whew!). There was plenty of leftovers (of food and drink); so we were able to enjoy some of the food later in the week.

It was fun to see the motorcycles, and the dogs. A good, worthwhile charity. Glad to help.

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Links:

https://www.fidelco.org/
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Written Saturday 10 November 2018