Lise and I did a quick weekend trip back to Pennsylvania
this weekend. Back to the Scrapple Nation. Where the only good artery is a
clogged artery. Where men are men and pigs are nervous.
We were in the North-central part of the state. What we from
Lebanon would refer to as “Upstate”. The area was initially settled in the
1700s by Yankees drifting down from New England. Beautiful area smack in the
Allegany Mountains. Chock full of hills, rivers, streams, trout, and plenty of
public property. And pretty much Trump country. Mining, manufacturing, and
timber jobs just are not there anymore. The poverty rate is a couple percentage
points above the national average and three points above the state average. These
deluded fools think that electing a bigoted bully as president will make
everything go back to the way it was in 1950. I’m fairly confident they’re
going to have a rude awakening in the next couple years.
We went back to help my sister Lynn close her upstate place
for the winter. I also brought back several of my deceased brother-in-law’s woodworking
tools. I’ve wanted to start woodworking for some time. I’m thinking back to a ninth grade woodshop
project that I never finished. It was a maple and black walnut chess board for
my Dad that just never quite got done. It’s a little late to finish that one
but there are lots of other projects I can think of. Now, once I’m finished teaching for the
semester, I’ll have the time and the equipment too. I already have some saws that
are fine for whacking at 2X 4s but these are a step up from there. Now I have
to produce something to justify hauling these things back from Pennsyltucky.
Ed's and Lise's Biggish Years 