Wonder Drugs

So I go to see my physician, Dr. Louis Casale, yesterday, because the gout in my big toe was really starting to make me wince, and I hate to show the slightest bit of acknowledgement to pain.
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Casale wants me to take a pill every day to prevent gout, which I am reluctant to do because I'm leery of any side effects, but Casale says that the side effect of not taking the med is that I'll be afflicted with mind numbing gout again.
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The guy has a point.
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He gives me two prescriptions... one to take the immediate gout pain away, and the other to prevent it's recurrence.
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Drugs are a wonderful thing. Four pills later and my toe is fine, and I'm feeling freaking good all over. Dr. Casale is a brilliant man. I can't wait to start taking the rest of the pills.

The Joy of Giving

Ben Martin is coming by to pick up the Nanepashemet Telecom check for the golf foursome at the Windham Country Club. It's the fifth annual Golf Tournament fundraiser hosted to support the Merrimack College Football Team.
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The Merrimack Football Team is a charity that we have taken heart to, and you would too if you saw those deserving young men dedicated to driving their pointy ended ball into opposing end zones.
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Makes me tear up just thinking about it. I'm bringing some of my favorite customers to donate their golf game to this worthy cause.

Happy Birthday Caroline Bruett

Caroline Riley Bruett stepped onto the starting line for her position in the human race at 7:05PM last night, weighing in with a fighting weight of 8lbs. 9 0z.
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Give it hell Caroline! Looking forward to seeing you!

Return to Form

If you're like most of the other Peeps who frequent this Blog (for whatever mysterious/absurd reason), one of the first things that you do is check out my training log.
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It's pretty accurate.
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I really did miss half of June and all of July, due to throwing my back out while lugging the Tender over the mud flats when I got caught at low tide in Marblehead Harbor. By the time my back improved, my gout reoccurred in my right big toe.
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But did you see me whining and complaining all the time about all of the pain that I was in???? Pain that would incapacitate the vast majority of lesser men???? No, you didn't.... so once again I humbly assert my inherent superiority over the rest of you.
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Anyway, I finally broke the pattern and got on the Cybex late this afternoon. Worked up a good sweat and peddled seven miles. Maybe this stretch will get me to where I can get some runs in again.
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This time, I'm going to swear off drinking until I lose at least 20 lbs. That's no Lagavulin, no Dark and Stormies, no Guinness, no Jameson's, no Sam's. I know it sounds harsh, but I've made up my mind and there's no turning back.

Bud Collins said...

Swear off tennis, too. Please.

John Nestor said...

That's it "Buddy Boy" !!!!! I'll bet you a three pack of Penn Championship Extra Duty Felt Balls that I can kick your serve and volley ass. I'll do my talking on the court. Any time, any place.... provided it's two months from today.

Clean Gutters

Having splurged on a nice evening at the Johnson's house last night and fishing during the day with Katelyn, I resolved today to get some mundane chores done. Cleaning the gutters seemed to fit the bill. After all, they were so clogged with dirt and leaves that a number of plants had vigorously taken root.
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So I got out the ladders and with a little help from Jim Bob Peabody, then Tommy O, had the extension ladder moving right along across the roof ridge at the front of the house. Cleaned out the gutter, shot in a couple of supporting screws and caulked the gutter seams.
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So far, so good.
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When I got to the garage gutter, the complications kicked in.
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First I ran into a hornets nest and one of the little bastards stung me in my right bicep. God Damn, did that hurt, and it still is sore as hell.
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I sprayed the nest, but then the thunder and rain rolled in... a bit of a delay. When the rain stopped, the gutter cleaning proceeded without further incident..... until I got to the gutter at the back of the garage.
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Cleaned out that gutter, but the downspout is completely clogged and the gutter is coming off of the fascia board because of extensive rot.
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Now I have to remove the gutter, and take out the rotten fascia board. Can't wait to see what the roof joists look like. They are probably pulpy too.
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All I wanted to do was clean out the freaking gutters, now I have a sore arm and a semi-major maintenance project. And all of you pathetic peeps think it must be so cool to be me!!!

Fishing by Fright

The word around New Hampshire's Newfound Lake is that this five pound smallmouth bass was so distraught after seeing Tommy O on skis, that he floated to the surface belly up.
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Poor Fish. What a way to Go!

Week 31 - Nanepashemet Peeps of the Week

I broke down and let "Bud Collins" have the last word after all.
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A big part of being the Mountain of a Man that I am, is letting the little people have their say.
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A lesser man would have pummeled the hapless "Bud", but I have the God given ability to rise above it all.... be the bigger man.... turn the other cheek.
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The fact that Bud is a worthless, wiggling, wimpy, weenie doesn't give me the right to shut him down by taking the last word. That would be unsuitable on my part. So enjoy your last word, "Bud", you pathetic POS!!!!
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Speaking of unsuitable....... time for the insidious weekly selection.
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ANNOUNCING
Nanepashemet Peeps of the Week for the 31st week of 2008

Jeremy Johnson
Charlie Jellison
Jim Peabody
Jack Henderson
Manny Ramirez
Mike McLellan

Time to resume living and let living.

Mobile Capability

I bought an Internet Data card for my laptop from one of the carriers. ( I can't say which one, because I'm trying to work for a number of them, and I don't want to piss anyone off.)
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It works great. Sitting up here in Rockland, Maine at a remote site waiting for our subcontractors to show up, I have all the capabilities of my office in my F150 Ford Truck... except for laser printing.
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Technology is the Balls.

Tuna Lips said...

dialin' up some of that there internetted porn in the front seat of an F150. Sooooeeeee! I needs to get me some of dat!

Getting Under My Skin

I'm definitely done with Manny Ramirez. He gets paid millions of dollars to play a game, and decides not to hustle to first base. GET a GRIP!
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Speaking of out of control behavior, can you believe that "Bud Collins" dude????
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Thinking he can call me out and trying to get the last word in!!! ON THIS BLOG!!!!
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They don't call me the Crusher for nothing, as our "Buddy Boy" is about to find out.
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He's just lucky that I'm heading for that Maine job site for the next two days, and don't have the time to plan a suitable revenge.

Crusher Comeback

Years ago (i.e. before I was overweight and out of shape), I was a pretty good tennis player. I could beat all of my friends, some of whom were real good athletes. Then, like most things, I let it go with the pressures of family and career.
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But now I've played twice in the past week and a half.... and I even bought one of those Titanium new fangled, light weight rackets with the huge sweet spot.
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So this morning, it was the battle of the Tennis Titans as Stevie Lewis confronted The Crusher. Even though The Crusher lost (6-0, 6-0), it was an interesting match.
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Enjoy your victory Steve. Your glory will be short lived when I get my old serve back.

Bud Collins said...

Most people, when they get double bageled, have the good sense to sit quietly and reflect on how much they suck.

John Nestor said...

That's fine for you, Bud (if that is indeed your real name)... but I have a higher standard, and must remain man enough to give Lewis his temporary elation.

Bud Collins said...

Now the question remains, who will get the last word in. Backhand volley to Nanapashemet . . . . take up ping pong.

John Nestor said...

Advantage, Mr. Bud Light.

Bud Light.

Bud Collins said...

Net cord, will he get to it, yes! lob to the baseline . . . Manny is being villified for business reasons, not on principles.

Bragging Rights

My son Michael hasn't yet caught a Bluefin Tuna this year like his big brother, Ryan, but this is still one fine Striped Bass that he landed on Mark Vona's boat.
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Nice fish, Mike!

Obligations

I'm very conflicted today because it is a beautiful Saturday, suitable for fishing or anchoring at Brown's Island, but I still have some nagging details to take care of - both at Nanepashemet Telecom and at the Beverly Ave. homestead.
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We grilled the first of the tuna last night. It's hard to believe that food can taste that good. It has a consistency almost of beef and a rich flavor that has no resemblance to opening a can of tuna fish.
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We cooked it medium which is heresy to the sushi crowd, who would have you just lightly pass the flame over the tuna steak. But it was so damn good.
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We will be serving the fish out on our deck Tues evening to some important guests, so this was a nice trial run.
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So I think that I will sacrifice the fun things to do today and try to get my obligations out of the way. We'll catch up on the good times by Tues.

Tuna Lips said...

I take my straw chappie of to the young buck who tangled with the great blue beast, and, having what some might call a spitual bondage with things of the wild, the birds of the skies and the fish o' the sea, i am moved to speak in praising words. Youse never fergets the first tuna youse wrassle with. A man just a boy til he gets that there tuna. So says the Injuns my pappy sold moonshine to. After they had a few, they was full of that sorta wisdom. And injuns are deeplike with the spirits.

So says the One with Lips like Tuna.

Gotta bolt, some enterprisin' sorts are sellin' gas for three bucks a gallon down at the Gas n' Sip. Fellers porking up theyse company Amex card and takin' cash. Look like meth heads. Sweet.

Week 30 - Peeps of the Week

Funny how a tuna can screw up your work week. I was all set yesterday for a boring day of paperwork after spending Monday and Tues. on the Maine coast. Doing mundane research work and accounting is an activity that can be satisfying, but it definitely can't get done when adrenaline is surging thoughout your body.
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Even though I had nothing to do with catching the Bluefin..... running around getting ice, coolers and plastic bags to coincide with meeting the fish at the Richard Rockett Landing, then helping to butcher it..... All this contributed to well above the dosage of adrenaline I needed to screw up the mundane work.
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Speaking of mundane/adrenaline is a nice segway here.

ANNOUNCING....
Nanepashemet Peeps of the Week for the 30th week of 2008

Lauren Rathbone
Ryan Nestor
Tom Dellacamera
Sarah McCormack
Will Nestor
Susan Raich

Today was much calmer, and I got a lot more done.

Happy Birthday Becket Rathbone

The rumor is that Becket Rathbone made his entry into the world today.
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Welcome Becket. Happy to share the journey with you.
Plus you have a pretty cool name.

WhaleEye Lands Tuna

Ryan and Tom Dellacamera got it done out in Stellwagen this morning, bagging this 57" 125lb. Bluefin Tuna.
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The contents of his stomach revealed that he had been recently dining on a snack of 4" long sand eels. He must have thought that Ryan's squid rig looked like a more substantial meal.
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I thought I'd be doing boring paperwork this morning, but instead, there were fresh tuna steaks to butcher.
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Nice Fish.

Waylaid at Samoset

We never made it to Bar Harbor and Mt. Desert Island, Maine today.
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After Joanne and I went to the Rockland Coast Guard Tower site, I took her to lunch at the Samoset Hotel where I had previously stayed for an off-site meeting while I was working at General Dynamics.
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That was enough for her.
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We ran into Sarah McCormack from Marblehead, and Joanne decided that she would be staying poolside at the Samoset wth Sarah, rather than making the two hour trek north to Bar Harbor.
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Fine with me. The Samoset and Rockland are definitely a great destination.

Halfway Rock

Joanne bought me this great reproduction on canvas entitled "Becalmed at Halfway Rock" by Fitz Lane.
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The scene shows ships in the 1850's at Halfway Rock, an island outcropping equidistant from Gloucester to Boston and a few miles outside of Marblehead Harbor, which is the same place that we fish from now.
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We usually start our trips there to fish for mackerel and pollack to use for bait and we've seen a seal on a number of occasions sitting on the rock. And then there is the famous Halfway Rock game, where the winner is the one who consumes the most beers during the five mile trek out to the island.
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It is the landmark that we use leaving Marblehead Harbor for Stellwagen, and signaling the return from that run, which can be very uncomfortable in a rough chop.
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What is bizarrely weird is that Joanne had no idea that this scene was depicted just outside of Marblehead and is a favorite of ours, when she bought the artwork in North Conway. I had a hunch that this was Halfway and Ryan pointed it out last night at dinner. Then we checked for it online for the confirmation.
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Turns out that Fitz Lane painted a number of excellent, mid nineteenth century maritime secenes of the Gloucester and the New England coast, including Mt. Desert Island, Maine, which is our final destination for today.

Tuna Lips said...

Last night after a pile of crawdad's and some luke-warm Piel's i painted a spatter job on my BVDs that rivals anything yer missus picks out at a yard sale in Wherever, NH. I hungs it outside the double wide and Effy Tradwell (whom I pleasured at last years Yankee Wife swap) commented that I have "the stylings of a new age Jackson Pollack." A man fer all the seasonings, TL is.

Norman Carries the Torch

How great was it to watch Greg Norman play so competitively at the British Open Golf Championship?
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As a fellow old guy, I was thrilled to see the 53 yr. old finish in the top five.
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I'm thinking that the 50's are the new 28's.
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Although playing tennis with Ryan, Chris Crawford and Tyler Gill this morning convinced me that the 30's are still way better than the 50's.
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Nothing I can do about it. But nice going Norman.

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BTW, Chrissie Evert is still a Babe.

Annisquam Caution

(Click Map to Enlarge)

I'm considering aborting the Annisquam trip because of the threat of afternoon thunderstorms.

Years ago, we got caught in a squall when we were returning from the Annisquam by circling around Cape Ann. Certainly one of the most terrifying times in my life as a never ending series of ten foot swells threatened to engulf our 21' Mako.

The storm came out of nowhere and immediately the sea changed. If I didn't see it then, I wouldn't believe it now. I never got a chance to put on a life preserver because I was afraid to take my hands off of the wheel even for a second, and nobody else on the boat dared move either.

It was a series of huge waves that the bow had to hit dead on to avoid being swamped. UP, UP, UP then DOWN!!! Over and over again. It felt like we were on the rollercoaster at Canobie Lake Park... but the stakes were much higher.

Joanne found out the next day that a Coast Guard Cutter who was watching our progress was taking odds on when we would capsize. Not "if" but "when".

Ever since then, I've approached the ocean with the respect and knowledge that it has the ability to change and overwhelm you almost instantaneously.

It was terrifying and I had to use all of my superior boatman skills to keep the bow heading into huge swells. Clearly a lesser man would have lost his vessel in this swirling maelstrom, but obviously I prevailed.

Women Priests

So you heard about the three women in Boston who want to be ordained as priests.
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Who do they think they are anyway???
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Women aren't qualified to be Catholic Priests. They can't love God as well as men. They can't preach the Gospel as well as men. They can't distribute the Sacraments as well as men.
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It should be obvious to everyone.
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Just as the Pope and Cardinals are cleaning up the mess of all of the male Priests diddling with children, these pretentious women think that they are qualified to be Priests. I don't blame the Pope for excommunicating these sacrilegious bitches. They should go to Hell for thinking they are good enough to be Priests.
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By the Way, Pope.... Galileo was right. The Earth actually rotates the Sun. You were wrong on that one. But you're right on target with this one. Make sure that you keep these uppity women out of the Priesthood. Keep it pure.