This month the Romeo gang was invited to John Tweedie’s summer house in Mashpee (Cape Cod), MA. The regular gang said yes and made a commitment to go at last month’s lunch. Although the ride took most of us over two hours, it was well worth the trip. To ease the long ride, we car pooled. Ed D. and Mark R. in one car and Paul G. and Jim T. in another. The extra person in the car made the ride less tiresome and the mutual conversation was great.
Although, Jack T. provided the best directions, I wanted to confirm the different travel routes and used MapQuest for help. I tried to avoid going through Boston and use Route 128 to go around the city but Ed D. decided to try the expressway and Route 3 and we just breezed right through. However, when we got to Mashpee, we made a few wrong turns before finding the right one. No problem for Big Guys like us.
When Ed and I arrived, the others were already sitting comfortably on John’s Deck. In attendance were Jack Tweedie, Paul Girard, Jim Terlizzi, Ed Deshuytner and Mark Ryan. Ed and I quickly joined the party and John served drinks all around (Beer and Wine). We also brought our own drinks to have with lunch. Jack started the barbeque grill with a charcoal chimney that uses no lighter fluid. It made white hot coals in short order and Jack put on the burgers. However, Jim T. suggested that Jack get a Weber Grill like he has and have gas from the street piped right to it. What happened to the Boy Scout method with flint, rock and kindling? Some Romeos are getting too soft.
Jack cooked hotdogs and burgers on the grill and some with cheese. When done, he set up a buffet table in the sun room with salads, condiments, burgers, dogs, buns, utensils, and napkins. However, we all elected to eat outside on the mostly sunny deck. Most Romeos went back for seconds, since the sea air makes a MAN hungry.
Since I had seen Jack’s house more than twenty years ago, he had made a lot of changes and gave me the tour of the new additions. He added a second floor with master bedroom and large private bath. Downstairs he took down a wall and made a larger room. The changes were great improvements to an already nice house. His house is also on a corner lot and has a great view of the neighborhood. The beach is only a short 5 minute walk.
During and after lunch, the conversations were congenial and bounced around the table. Jim T. talked about his love/hate relationship with cable television regarding the services and cost (Comcast vs. Verizon). He also is a movie buff and orders a list of flicks from a local video shop. He first makes his selection from an online web site )RottenApples.com) that rates movies and gives brief descriptions. Recently he saw a movie called “Recount” with Kevin Spacey about the 2000 election. A discussion then broke out regards how Al Gore lost the election. I added a side note that the color of the current Massachusetts Ballot was Red for Democrats and Blue for Republicans, since I had voted at 8AM that morning. A look online at Google showed an article from the Boston Globe (Feb 6, 208) that explained the reason. Click to see …..
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/02/06/red_and_blue_trade_places_only_on_paper?s_campaign=8315
John T. also recently saw a movie by Woody Allen (Vicky Cristina Barcelona). He was laughing out load in the Lowell Theater while others were deadpan serious. He guessed that most didn’t understand Woody Allen’s dry humor.
Paul G. talked about his chipmunk problem, with hundreds of holes all over the lawn. He contacted a local agriculture coop and they gave him an off beat method that seems to work. He has got rid of a lot of chippys with this method. If interested, send the Grinch an email. Ed D. also talked about have-a-heart traps and rodents getting into his roof siding and digging through wood frame. Mark R. talked about feeding birds with the chippys and squirrels getting into feeder. Get me a shot gun brooooother rabbit !!!!!!!
Paul G. also talked about how he was selected for the grand jury for 3 months, 3 days per week, in Lowell. He explained that the grand jury heard a large selection of cases and decided whether they should go to trial. Some of the cases dealt with child abuse, attempted murder, and drugs. The courts are so over burdened with drug cases dealing with possession of marijuana that it has been recommended to make it legal but controlled.
Ed D. talked about last night’s 20/20 tv show dealing with the arrest in England of suspected terrorists making liquid bombs. The accused already had made their suicide video tapes and the last of the explosive parts was assembled and were ready to blow up another bunch of airplanes. Having a science and chemistry background, we all speculated that the liquids had to be peroxides with heavy amounts of sugar.
Jack T. explained that after retiring, he got a part–time job working for a company that tested homes for mold and mildew and later made suggestions for how to remediate the problem. One household that he visited had a wet basement, over hanging trees, was near a wetland and no ventilation and the owner wondered why they kept getting mold. He showed us sampling dishes and filters for doing tests and running cultures that could take a few weeks to process and get results.
Recently, his new boss who is also a private pilot was flying his plane to Florida. John T. hitched a ride on the trip which was planned to take about 8 hours with a few stops for gas. After running into a line of thunderstorms, they had to land in Georgia and spent two days there waiting for the storms to pass. That was the last time John would hitch a ride on a small plane.
Mark R. talked about going to Maine Maritime Academy when he was a young college student. He had hopes of graduating from MMA and receiving a merchant marine license as well as an ensign commission in the Navy. During his first year at MMA he went on a training cruise to South America including Brazil. The school operated an old WWII , 300 foot, refurbished hospital ship and during the training cruise he learned about deck work and navigation, engine room operation and galley work.
Although he made it through his first year, he was involved in an auto accident that curtailed his career at MMA and he ended up in the hospital for six months with severe injuries. Luckily he recovered and a year later chose a career in science education, obtaining a BS and MS degree. After 40 years teaching science at Medford HS, he retired 5 years ago. He now has a few hobbies that keep him busy.
The day passed by quickly as each of us told interesting stories. Before leaving, Jack T. suggested we take a short walk to see the beach and ocean view. He often walks around the neighborhood with a glass of wine and talks to his neighbors. If he is lucky, his wine glass gets refilled at each neighbor’s house. Jack also told us that some cottages were being converted into year round houses and the ones that were in need of repair, he called “take downs”. These would be demolished and new homes built in their place.
Ed D. and Paul G. stopped by one house near the beach and discussed the siding which looked like real cedar shingles but was actually imitation vinyl. Ed commented that his real estate agent said vinyl shingles add more resale value to a home since there is less maintenance.
When we got to the beach, we were in awe at the million dollar view. In the distance, Jack pointed out Martha’s Vineyard as well as Hyannis and Barnstable airports.
It was now time to leave. We thanked Jack for a great day and departed for home. We decided to try a new way and went via the Bourne Bridge, Rtes. 495, 24 and 93. With a few delays we made it home in about 2 hours.
You can see photos of the entire trip at the following link …… .
http://picasaweb.google.com/markryan312/RomeoLunch91608
Although, Jack T. provided the best directions, I wanted to confirm the different travel routes and used MapQuest for help. I tried to avoid going through Boston and use Route 128 to go around the city but Ed D. decided to try the expressway and Route 3 and we just breezed right through. However, when we got to Mashpee, we made a few wrong turns before finding the right one. No problem for Big Guys like us.
When Ed and I arrived, the others were already sitting comfortably on John’s Deck. In attendance were Jack Tweedie, Paul Girard, Jim Terlizzi, Ed Deshuytner and Mark Ryan. Ed and I quickly joined the party and John served drinks all around (Beer and Wine). We also brought our own drinks to have with lunch. Jack started the barbeque grill with a charcoal chimney that uses no lighter fluid. It made white hot coals in short order and Jack put on the burgers. However, Jim T. suggested that Jack get a Weber Grill like he has and have gas from the street piped right to it. What happened to the Boy Scout method with flint, rock and kindling? Some Romeos are getting too soft.
Jack cooked hotdogs and burgers on the grill and some with cheese. When done, he set up a buffet table in the sun room with salads, condiments, burgers, dogs, buns, utensils, and napkins. However, we all elected to eat outside on the mostly sunny deck. Most Romeos went back for seconds, since the sea air makes a MAN hungry.
Since I had seen Jack’s house more than twenty years ago, he had made a lot of changes and gave me the tour of the new additions. He added a second floor with master bedroom and large private bath. Downstairs he took down a wall and made a larger room. The changes were great improvements to an already nice house. His house is also on a corner lot and has a great view of the neighborhood. The beach is only a short 5 minute walk.
During and after lunch, the conversations were congenial and bounced around the table. Jim T. talked about his love/hate relationship with cable television regarding the services and cost (Comcast vs. Verizon). He also is a movie buff and orders a list of flicks from a local video shop. He first makes his selection from an online web site )RottenApples.com) that rates movies and gives brief descriptions. Recently he saw a movie called “Recount” with Kevin Spacey about the 2000 election. A discussion then broke out regards how Al Gore lost the election. I added a side note that the color of the current Massachusetts Ballot was Red for Democrats and Blue for Republicans, since I had voted at 8AM that morning. A look online at Google showed an article from the Boston Globe (Feb 6, 208) that explained the reason. Click to see …..
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/02/06/red_and_blue_trade_places_only_on_paper?s_campaign=8315
John T. also recently saw a movie by Woody Allen (Vicky Cristina Barcelona). He was laughing out load in the Lowell Theater while others were deadpan serious. He guessed that most didn’t understand Woody Allen’s dry humor.
Paul G. talked about his chipmunk problem, with hundreds of holes all over the lawn. He contacted a local agriculture coop and they gave him an off beat method that seems to work. He has got rid of a lot of chippys with this method. If interested, send the Grinch an email. Ed D. also talked about have-a-heart traps and rodents getting into his roof siding and digging through wood frame. Mark R. talked about feeding birds with the chippys and squirrels getting into feeder. Get me a shot gun brooooother rabbit !!!!!!!
Paul G. also talked about how he was selected for the grand jury for 3 months, 3 days per week, in Lowell. He explained that the grand jury heard a large selection of cases and decided whether they should go to trial. Some of the cases dealt with child abuse, attempted murder, and drugs. The courts are so over burdened with drug cases dealing with possession of marijuana that it has been recommended to make it legal but controlled.
Ed D. talked about last night’s 20/20 tv show dealing with the arrest in England of suspected terrorists making liquid bombs. The accused already had made their suicide video tapes and the last of the explosive parts was assembled and were ready to blow up another bunch of airplanes. Having a science and chemistry background, we all speculated that the liquids had to be peroxides with heavy amounts of sugar.
Jack T. explained that after retiring, he got a part–time job working for a company that tested homes for mold and mildew and later made suggestions for how to remediate the problem. One household that he visited had a wet basement, over hanging trees, was near a wetland and no ventilation and the owner wondered why they kept getting mold. He showed us sampling dishes and filters for doing tests and running cultures that could take a few weeks to process and get results.
Recently, his new boss who is also a private pilot was flying his plane to Florida. John T. hitched a ride on the trip which was planned to take about 8 hours with a few stops for gas. After running into a line of thunderstorms, they had to land in Georgia and spent two days there waiting for the storms to pass. That was the last time John would hitch a ride on a small plane.
Mark R. talked about going to Maine Maritime Academy when he was a young college student. He had hopes of graduating from MMA and receiving a merchant marine license as well as an ensign commission in the Navy. During his first year at MMA he went on a training cruise to South America including Brazil. The school operated an old WWII , 300 foot, refurbished hospital ship and during the training cruise he learned about deck work and navigation, engine room operation and galley work.
Although he made it through his first year, he was involved in an auto accident that curtailed his career at MMA and he ended up in the hospital for six months with severe injuries. Luckily he recovered and a year later chose a career in science education, obtaining a BS and MS degree. After 40 years teaching science at Medford HS, he retired 5 years ago. He now has a few hobbies that keep him busy.
The day passed by quickly as each of us told interesting stories. Before leaving, Jack T. suggested we take a short walk to see the beach and ocean view. He often walks around the neighborhood with a glass of wine and talks to his neighbors. If he is lucky, his wine glass gets refilled at each neighbor’s house. Jack also told us that some cottages were being converted into year round houses and the ones that were in need of repair, he called “take downs”. These would be demolished and new homes built in their place.
Ed D. and Paul G. stopped by one house near the beach and discussed the siding which looked like real cedar shingles but was actually imitation vinyl. Ed commented that his real estate agent said vinyl shingles add more resale value to a home since there is less maintenance.
When we got to the beach, we were in awe at the million dollar view. In the distance, Jack pointed out Martha’s Vineyard as well as Hyannis and Barnstable airports.
It was now time to leave. We thanked Jack for a great day and departed for home. We decided to try a new way and went via the Bourne Bridge, Rtes. 495, 24 and 93. With a few delays we made it home in about 2 hours.
You can see photos of the entire trip at the following link …… .
http://picasaweb.google.com/markryan312/RomeoLunch91608
