By Chuck Wiser, I write the words to share what my eyes see and my heart feels
Despite no longer playing Wednesday morning golf at Serenity Hills in Friendship, nor needing gas at the reservation, we still ventured out and headed to Olean yesterday. The weather was rainy so nothing was planned for outside activities anyway. As we traveled through Olean and entered a “Round About” the car ahead of us, in the circle, stopped suddenly. The driver motioned a car from the side feeder “main road” to enter the Round About and go ahead of her. Had I not been sensible enough to have allowed a safe distance between us, as does not happen with all drivers sharing these driving “challenges,” it could have been a problem.
Continuing with the theme of traffic; driving, and the accompanying “right of way” issues, I continue to be concerned with the driving/riding patterns that are all too common in Wellsville. I have previously mentioned bike riding rules/laws and their all too frequent infringement on the sidewalks. I don’t recall if I ranted on the use of motorized bikes in this category, but now have to add a 3rd, albeit related component to the problem. I have recently noticed the riding of the “three-wheeler” bikes on the sidewalk. The other day I watched as a three-wheeler, being ridden on the sidewalk, approached a pair of walkers from behind, who wisely stepped aside to allow the pedaler to pedal on by. If it doesn’t bother Wellsville residents or law enforcement enough to do anything about it, then I guess it shouldn’t bother me just passing through. I guess common sense and safety alone dictate whether riders exercise caution and rules adherence.
As mentioned in a “special” to the Wellsville Sun Tuesday, the Genesse Valley Chorus (GVC) has resumed weekly practicing in preparation for their 2023 Fall/Winter concert season. Scheduled so far are a sing-out for the Association of the Blind Luncheon November 9th, and the main Winter Concert December 3rd. The chorus, led by President Alison Dickinson, greeted their new director, Andrea Harris. Ms. Harris is the vocal music director at Bolivar-Richburg Central School. The second semester of the GVC will be “team directed” due to planned activities and scheduling of each of the possible director candidates. The directing will be conducted, pun intended, by Ms. Harris, intermittently also scheduled with Norene Ferris and Dave Toot. The Spring performances will possibly include two Lenten concerts as well as the Spring Concert on May 19th, 2024, and possibly a performance at the Bolivar, NY Pioneer Days in late June.
The update on the bird migration can safely be carried over for at least another week. Despite Wive’s Tale lore, which I may also have repeated erroneously, suggesting that the hummingbirds have left the nest joining the few flocks of geese that I have heard honking on their way past as they head south. To satisfy my curiosity and thirst for knowledge, I checked out the migratory pattern of the “hummers.” It tuns out that they do not in fact piggyback on the geese in their migration but depart separately and in a different time frame. The hummingbirds it would seem, albeit I did not confirm this with research, might very well stick around a little longer if there are blossoming flowers to supply their nectar needs.
Since the hummingbirds typically winter in Mexico and Central America their journey is much greater than that of the geese, who only travel to our own southlands. Their travel patterns also vary based on longevity of daily flight, roosting (or not) habits and rate of travel.
Not being a law enforcement official, nor a Marijuana user, I find it difficult to understand what is or isn’t legal, if it’s in fact legal to have it, or use it, or where or when you can buy it or use it, for whatever purpose. I guess since I don’t, and don’t, it shouldn’t matter to me.
Recent postings in/on Facebook announce the beginning of the fall camping season. The Deer Run notices are special to us since that place holds a warm spot in our collective hearts and has re-opened after years of dormancy. October, and specifically Columbus Day weekend, held the most bittersweet memories of our camping days. The die-hard campers would not have closed up and winterized their campers, waiting as long as possible for that last, end-of-season camping adventure. Yes, you did want to make sure your propane tanks were full, as the nights did get a bit (or a lot) chilly despite the common daytime sunshine and warmth. Our local and Rochester area camping friends would come to camp and the nighttime campfires would culminate the daytime chores of preparing for the off-season, and, as a last step, the winterizing of the campers.
Is it just me or has there been an overabundance of spiders and the resultant cobwebs? Only one thing worse than walking through one of those nasty things, sight unseen, is wondering if it had harbored a spider lurking at the outer edges. No amount of rubbing or wiping can take that “in-your-face” feeling away very quickly.
I mentioned last week that I had heard the strains of a train whistle sound wafting on the winds over the Genesee River and that it was music to my ears. I may not have mentioned that last part, but it was. As it turns out, my assumption (at my wife’s suggestion) that it was a work vehicle was only minimally correct. Turns out that it was the Alstom Amtrak Acela train built at the Hornell Alstom facility, that was being pulled to Olean by the Western New York and Pennsylvania rail company. The train is destined be deployed in the Northeast Corridor in the future.
Many of us will occasionally go out and about for a casual sightseeing car ride around the area during certain times of the year. To me fall is a special time for doing that now in my adult life. In my youth the most memorable sightseeing ride would occur in the few weeks before Christmas as my mother would take us out for a nighttime ride to look at the houses all adorned with their Christmas/Seasonal lighting and decorations. Living a little closer to Olean, in Nile, NY, Olean was our destination of choice. That memorable ride is only a lead in to the beginning of this next topic as darkness typically hid the signage displaying the names, preventing reading. The topic inspired by a recent trip home from Olean via the back roads was triggered by the name of the road I traveled. If you haven’t been on the Pigtail Road, more-or-less between Belfast, Friendship, and Amity/Belmont, you can only guess the source of the name. Even driving the road, the many twists and turns make you wonder which one they meant. At the inspiration of that topic, I began trying to recall and categorize the source of the road names. Others of interest that come to mind would be “Hog Brook Road”; Cemetery Hill Road (for obvious reasons) and Diaper Hill.
Those given a person’s name are probably the most obvious. Not many of those names however, like Corbin Hill Road, Middaugh Hill Road in Amity/Friendship now known as County Route 31, still exist “officially”. Oddly enough, using your Garmin for travel instructions may very well still have the older designation by name and this can be confusing, especially to out-of-area drivers. Names assigned by geographic designation, like East Hill Road, do still exist. Old timers (like me and beyond) may now know and refer to some roads in conflict with reality. I use East Hill Road as an example. Many of us refer to the East Hill Road as being what is now called Rte. 31 when in fact there is also still formally an East Hill Road which intersects County Rte. 31 and goes toward Inavale (Wirt). Sticking with the Friendship/Nile area as that is where my “back road ventures” started and proliferated; East Notch Road, which was our actual mailing address, is now State Hwy. 275. The West Notch Road, depending on your age, was either what is now Rte. 40 or Rte. 1, each of which depart Nile headed South and or West.
As my former work colleague, turned college professor and friend Robert (Bob) Stahlman used to tell me as he mentored my career start in teaching; When you’ve said everything you planned to say, then admit it, shut up, and dismiss the class.
PS: If you wish to contact me directly, for comment or concern or suggestions, provided it is anatomically, physically possible, please feel free to email me at IM.Wiserdad@gmail.com
BTW: Feel free to copy/share/steal any poem I write and post unless specifically noted otherwise.
As Seasons Change
As seasons change some things are clear, When seen by all as they appear.
Change may occur but it may seem, As if awakened by a dream.
The moon and stars and earth revolve, The mysteries of change, to solve.
For each the cycle starts at birth, Which season welcomed you to earth?
When Winter yields its cold to Spring, New life in many forms it brings.
The flowers bloom when Spring rains fall, And sun filled days will warm us all.
Spring to Summer brings love filled days. Loves first embers become a blaze.
These Summer days are filled with joys, With children’s laughter’s gleeful noise.
When Summer fades it’s Autumn’s turn, Days grow short while home fires burn.
Autumn colors in their glory, Will leave a lasting memory.
When Winter comes, those cold clear nights, Let shadows fall by full moon’s light.
Fields swept by wind are now aglow, When blanketed by Winter’s snow.
As seasons changed some things were clear, When seen by all as they appeared.
Change had occurred but may have seemed, As if it happened in a dream.
