Today is the 82nd anniversary of the day the “Long Island Express” came ashore on Long Island, New York. This is the storm that my grandparents’ generation always talked about when they talked about how bad hurricanes in New England could get.
Pretty damn bad.
Continue reading “Today in History: The Great New England Hurricane of 1938”
Yes. Yes they did.
One of the bloodiest battles of the Revolution was fought on the Field of Logan (as it used to be called) in July 1775 between Massachusetts militia and two British army regiments: The Royal Regiment of Foot, Light or ROFL Regiment; and the Western Tottenham Regiment of Foot, or WTF Regiment. They were supported by a battery of artillery known as the Twickenham and Sussex Artillery, or the TSA.
Continue reading “Did the Continental Army seize airports during the Revolutionary War?”
Today Geoff and I took a trip to South Weymouth, MA to visit Mount Hope Cemetery where his Civil War ancestor, Moses Beaulieu, is buried. Geoff has done a lot of research into Moses Beaulieu and recently discovered a photo of his headstone and rough location in the particular cemetery in South Weymouth.
Today is the anniversary of the death of John Wilkes Booth, the man who murdered President Abraham Lincoln. And it is also the anniversary of the surrender of the last large Confederate army in the field at Bennett Place, North Carolina. I assume that for the latter reason (although I have known at least a few people who argued it was for the former), today is also Confederate Memorial Day in Alabama, the state where I was born.
Continue reading “Some thoughts on Confederate Memorial Day”
In the April 2018 edition of Vanity Fair, there is an excellent article by William Langewiesche called “THE CLOCK IS TICKING”: INSIDE THE WORST U.S. MARITIME DISASTER IN DECADES. It is the best article I have yet read about the loss of the SS El Faro on October 1, 2015, after the ship sailed into Hurricane Joaquin. It was the worst American loss at sea since the 1983 sinking of the SS Marine Electric, which I wrote about here. Thirty-three people died, including 8 crew members from New England and five Polish shipyard workers.
Well, we were almost under the illusion that Spring was here, and then Winter decided to play a little prank on us. Not quite as spectacular as the big blizzard back in 1997, but still, very winter-like weather. Here in Winthrop the weather has switched back and forth quite a bit between rain, sleet and snow. Right now it is snowing, and has been since I got up this morning. I doubt much of it will stick, though, and that seems to be David Epstein’s assessment as well.
[130pm] Snow ends from NE CT into RI & NE MA next 1-3 hours, while snow gradually ends across BOS & SE MA thru 5 pm. pic.twitter.com/QQIqZEacbe
— NWS Boston (@NWSBoston) April 1, 2017
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Still, it is nice to see a beautiful winter landscape one last time before spring really arrives.
-Geoff
Even semi-regular visitors around here know that Geoff and I like old stuff. And by old stuff I mean antiques. We have a lot of them around the house. (To be fair we have a reasonable amount of old rocks too, but most of them are set into jewelry.) Some of the antiques we own come to us in rough shape. Some of it we’re good at restoring ourselves, but sometimes we need to involve a professional. Note that you’ll never see an antique piece of furniture painted “shabby chic” or with chalkboard paint in our home. NEVER.
But, you will see furniture with good bones get reupholstered. Reupholstery is part of restoration, sometimes the fabric on a piece isn’t original or is but is too badly damaged to salvage. That’s where a really good upholsterer comes in.
when temperatures have me in a near-constant sweat.
Clearly, when it comes to my ability to withstand temperatures, my French-Canadian side is dominant over the Portuguese side. I do much better in cooler weather than I do in hot weather. I start sweating when the temperatures go over 70, more or less. And today it is going to reach the mid-80s. Sigh.
Considering that this year is already well on its way to being the hottest year on record, I am not looking forward to whatever blistering temperatures we may get this summer. Not at all. At least it won’t be constant, like it used to be when I lived in Alabama. That’s one big advantage of New England.
– Geoff
Not much, but some. When I got out to Basil this morning, there was a couple of inches of snow on everything, so I had to clean off the car a bit before I drove to work. The roads weren’t that bad, all things considered. Not much of a storm really. The snow continued for a while, and was still coming down in heavy flakes after I had been at work for a few hours.
By the time I get home, I imagine much of it will be melted. Hopefully shoveling will be minimal. Ah, spring in New England.
-Geoff
The weather recently has been a lot warmer, for the most part. It feels like spring is already here. I have been able to wear shorts a few times. Already we are seeing blooms all over.
Just this past weekend, I was thinking about how I should probably go ahead and put away all of my snow shovels, ice melter, windshield scrapers, and other winter paraphernalia. I was also thinking about how I did not use the snowblower once this winter, after using it so much last winter.
Well. I should have realized that the weather in New England always has the last laugh, especially when it comes to winter.
Continue reading “And I almost put away all the winter stuff, too”
The Books are Taking Over... 