Chapter 35

11/24/2004 

Ch 35 Buffalo Stampede                                                Hudson Valley Beasts                                

Day before Thanksgiving- busiest travel day of year-offered drive red Special Edition Civic down the Hudson Valley- I consider it another challenge and go, but stop along the way at Pete's house to visit.

My friends say "I don't have any friends" and they are right for the most part but have had some adventures with Pete for 40 years thru college and beyond. Room-mates, stealing kerosene lanterns from the manhole workers, sledding on cafeteria trays during sudden Syracuse snowstorms, being chased by the negro gangs in the city (serious injury & death averted), going down the chutie-chute (sneaking into hospital & jumping down circular escape slide till security caught up), hiking & tenting on highest mountain in NY Adirondacks & Catskills, rafting the Esopus Creek, motorcycling to Woodstock, etc. Pete got a BA in Political Science, then worked in a junk yard before joining the Marines. Purple Heart from Dong Ha. You can still see the crease of a Viet Cong  AK47 round off the side of his temple. IBM computer programmer for 30+ years till job out sourced to India. Met new grandson.

Shot this dual exposure of him eating apple in freshman dorm with Kodak Brownie camera before digital imaging was invented. Met on the way to freshman orientation & required placard cheering training for football games. By the way, if you didn't tip your beanie (required wearing) to the upper classmen then, you had to roll an orange across the football field with your nose at halftime of homecoming. Think both traditions have bitten the dust.

Anyway, there are Buffalo behind his house now. The one in the center started to charge me, so I hid behind the fence post. Turns out it had a calf it was protecting. Very cool beasts. I know not as cool as the western ones that aren't fenced in (Bob in Montana) .