John is Two: 7

Two Days with John

Now, we come to the "fun" part of our trip, where we get to spend 2 whole days with our Grandson and his Mommy (and Daddy when he gets home)!

We did many things during those two days. First and foremost we took 2 trips to the playground. Among other things, these trips showed how John has grown. From the uncertain little 1 year old on the left, to the confident, running 2 year old on the right!

And of course, once we climbed up the ladder, we had to go down the slide! If it was a small one, then it was "Whee, this is fun!" If it was the larger one, well, it is nice to have a Mommy along!

We also had a couple of trips to the library to read and check out books. And, of course, try out the John-sized furniture!

But, this was after all, after John's Birthday. And true to form, John spread out the present-opening over several days. Here he is, opening a present from his Great-Aunt Peggy!







And, of course, there was lots to do at home, including organizing several "trains" (for the benefit of his Pops?).

All in all, we had a fun time!

John is Two: 6

A Day in the Park and at "The Met"

The weather was so nice on Thursday, the 24th, that even though we were headed to the "Metropolitan Museum of Art" we had to take in Central Park in the spring. And so, after exiting the bus, we took a "detour" around the back of "The Met" and walked through Central Park.



We knew we were near the famous Conservatory Water where, according to E.B. White, Stuart Little raced in his boat. So, never having been there before, we found it, plus a few other interesting sites along the way.

The Oblisk the oldest man

made structure in the Park.

But, after a short time outside, we knew we were ready for the "inside." We have been to "The Met" twice before in recent years and so we are getting to the point where we can go in an be a little "choosy" as to what exhibits we want to see, without feeling as if we were missing something else. On this day, our first step, and in our opinion the most magnificent stop was at the display of feather clothes from Peru. It seems as how pre-Columbian peoples, mainly the Incas, used to use feathers from the birds of the Amazon as decoration on their clothing. These feathers were not just protrouding out from the cloth here and there, rather they were actually woven into the garmet in an intricate design pattern. Sorry, no pictures allowed in that exhibit and it was not important enough to rate a web page. In addition to the feather exhibits, of those exhibits still on display as of the middle of May 2008, we also saw the exhibit on Photography and later had lunch with the works of Jeff Koons on the roof. Among the exhibits we saw that are no longer there, we most enjoyed the one featuring Courbert, the pictures of the Olmsted parks by Freidlander, and the works by Poussin.

While eating lunch on the roof garden where I took this shot of the New York Skyline in the spring.





That evening, we got some time to just enjoy our grandson and all of the things he is into these days. Such as, lining up his shape blocks in a row. I tell you, the older he gets, the more his behavior reminds me of his mother's, and his aunt's behavior. His attention to detail, his organizing ability. Ah yes, human growth and development not out of a book, but live and in the flesh.


The day ended, particularly for Alice, as it began, with "story time." In the morning we had paused at the statue in Central Park where Hans Christian Anderson is pictured reading to a duck.


We ended with Alice reading to John.

John is Two: 5

It's Party Time!!!

Two years ago on this day, April 23, 2006, Alice & I got the surprise of our life when Kathy called to say that we were grandparents. Not that we weren't expecting it, it was just that John decided not to wait until the Doctors said he was ready, no sir, he came when he thought he was ready!

We went into Manhattan early in the day by Express Bus. We visited the American Folk Art Museum in mid-town. It was a small museum and we figured we could do it and still be at John's school for his party.

I must confess, of all the New York Museums I have been in, I thought this one was not worth the time/effort/trouble or money. Perhaps it was because of my mis-perceptions, perhaps it was because of the exhibit they were featuring.

Whatever, I went expecting to see a collection of weather vanes, primitive paintings, etc. and instead, I got two floors of something called "Dargerism." There were a few wooden sculptures a good craftsman, Asa Ames, including one that they had borrowed out of the collection of the Huntington Museum of Art, and one from the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller collection in Williamsburg, that I thought worthy of display. But most of their exhibit space, almost 2 floors worth, was turned over to an "artist" (I use the term reluctantly) who lived a hermit's life in Chicago, wrote a 15,000 page book that was never published, and then did "drawings" to illustrate it. The drawings were a combination of crude copies of American Comic Book characters, and a weird rendition of child figures, many of who were naked females with the male member drawn in. Anyway, they also had work by other "artists," some of who had promise and had done the traditional study thing, who had been "inspired" by this guy. Needless to say, I wasn't.

And so, I gratefully left the museum and went up to John's school and had a party!

Now, for a more complete shot of the party, I invite those of you reading to check out "my grandson's blog." Here he is the birthday boy with cupcake in hand, and his Mommy handing a cupcake to his friend Max.

After the party, we left and went home with Mommy and John on the Metro North train to Riverdale. Again, those of you who want to see a picture of the actual train ride, I direct you to John's blog.

John is Two: 4

New York: Financial Capital of the World

Note, I am falling behind, and thus this is the 3rd of 3 posts I am doing today.

From time to time, as it has been possible, Alice and I attend Annual meetings of various corporations that we have an interest in. This year, it just so happened, that our trip to New York coincided with the Annual Meeting of Citi Group. We knew from the pre-meeting mailings that unlike other meetings this one would be "interesting," and indeed it was. It was so interesting that no guests were allowed, and so Alice went by herself, and I walked around mid-town. We took the bus into town early that morning and found we were only a short blockand a half from the Hilton, where it was held. We walked over, found the meeting room, and then I left while Alice went in. While she sat there and listened to the various "debates", I roamed mid-town taking pictures.


Alice's meeting was right across the street from the Radio City Music Hall. However, it being early morning, nothing was going on there. As I gathered from the display boards outside, it no longer is a movie theater with a chorus line, but is more of a venue for various "cultural" and "political" forums. No, for me, the highlight of my time was getting to see the building where Kathy worked. She had been telling us for some time that it was not close to St. Patrick's, nor was it particularly close to Rockefeller Center where John's school was. I found out that day that she was certainly correct. It is quite a hike to both from here building. ( So as not to embarrass her, I did not go in.)

While I was doing this, Alice was "enjoying" the meeting.

After walking around a little more after the meeting, we took the bus back to the Riverdale Apartment. As we rode back, we got this tremendous view of both "old" Yankee Stadium, and its new "replacement" which is being built. I understand this is the last year to attend a game in "the house that Ruth built." But I also understand that tickets to the games are almost impossible to attain.

That evening, we had a nice family dinner and GrandMom and Pops got to watch John as he scooted around the apartment on his new bike. He wasn't using the pedals yet, but Pops helped him work on that concept.

Amtrak's Pennsylvanian

On to New York City

Note: I am falling behind so I will do several posts today.

We got up early the next morning, walked to the train station from our hotel, and boarded, Amtrak's Pennsylvanian for our trip to New York City.

For the most part, the trip was uneventful. Due to a couple of construction zones, we were 17 minutes late pulling into Harrisburg. But, hey, we ride the Cardinal, and for us 17 minutes late is positively on time. Plus, they had a nice "cushion" in Philadelphia, so that we left there on time and made it into New York City a bit early.

At New York's Penn Station we waited around for the train to Yonkers. While we waited, we got a dinner in the station's food court. We had debated about eating in one of the restaurants there, but then decided we didn't have time to eat without being rushed.

The Yonkers train left on time and arrived at Yonkers right on schedule. Kathy, John and E were all there to meet us. Apparently, John had been all excited about Pops and GrandMom coming to see him on the way to the station and while waiting for us. But once we got in the car, well, that was a different story.

However, once we got back to their apartment, he quickly warmed up to us and could barely contain himself as he showed us "his car."

Belmont Cty Ohio and Pittsburgh PA

On to Pittsburgh

We got up the next morning, Sunday, and went back out to Belmont and attended the 11:00 AM service at the little United Methodist Church there. It was a typical small-town service complete with the preacher coming in just before the service (she had had an earlier service in a neighboring town).

After the service we drove on to Pittsburgh. We did this for 2 reasons. First, we wanted to see Martha & Chris, and second, we had train tickets from Pittsburgh to NY for Monday.

The drive took barely more than an hour. We met Martha at the Phipps Conservatory. This meeting was nostalic because we were there to help Martha and Chris celebrate their anniversary, and not coincidentally, they had gotten married at Phipps.

Phipps had changed since last we were there, particularly at the front entrance. And, for the most part, the changes were positive. The front entrance is much better now than it was. A definite improvement.

They were more or less, between shows, however, they still had many beautiful displays. In addition to the flowers they had several glass sculptures

Chihuly sculpture in the entrance hall.

Most are the work of an artist, Dale Chihuly. They are part of what had been a big showing of his work during he previous year. They were, in my humble opinion, nothing short of spectacular. I am glad that Phipps has kept a few of the pieces as part of their permanent display.

After we finished at the Phipps, we had dinner with Martha, and then adjourned to her place where Chris, who had been on a field trip that day, joined us. We had the traditional "present opening."

Then we left our car with them, and Martha took us to our hotel.

Belmont Cty Ohio

Leaving Home

We finally got on the road April 19. I had originally wanted to go earlier, but sometimes getting this family organized to leave is a challenge. I had originally wanted to go through the Altoona -- Horseshoe Curve area since I have been through there several times on the train. But since we did not have time (we had tickets from Pittsburgh to New York for the 21st), I opted to go to Belmont County OH.

Belmont County Courthouse in St. Clairesville OH

Why Belmont County? Well, one of my ancesteros, David Rusk, my Great Great, Great, Great Grandfather (I think that is the proper number of "Greats") settled there in 1791. This makes him one of the earliest settlers for the area.

My main goal was to see what resources there might be in the county for doing further research. I also just wanted to see what the land was like. We stayed in St. Clairsville and went out to Belmont OH. I was not sure that he had settled in that area, but I thought it was a good place to start.

Abandoned Belmont National Bank Building, Belmont OH

I found a town that was very slowly dying. Like much of rural America, the people have left and no one seems to care. A leading Presidential Candidate can make derisive remarks about small towns, and no one gets all that upset. Anyway, we rode through the area and stopped at the Graveyard but found little of use for my research. Still, it was an interesting stop.

Black Horse Tavern, Morristown OH

On our way back to St. Clairesville we stopped at another "dying town," Morristown OH. However, this one, being the site of some of the earliest settlement, and filled with buildings from the "Federal Era" is at least attempting to remain viable. The tavern pictured above is now vacant. But it had been operating up until fairly recent times. So maybe there is hope.