The Gift

Difference between Surfers and Stand Up Paddlers:
You never heard a surfer say: "I'll just stay out there till my shorts dry"

Dear friend (thanks Sue!) gave me early B'day present of a wet suit (but it was a size too small for the ever expanding Drifter, so she's exchanging it) but I went out Friday, Saturday and Sunday in shorts and long sleeve shirt despite frigid waters.  Kinda choppy and gusty, but managed to stay dry on all trips.  Only problem was cold feet.  But gonna solve that with some thermal booties to go with the wet suit.

The waters I paddle just West of Gardiner's Island (in aerial photo) are the same that Frank frequented in his fishing boat out of Sag Harbor.  Spent a good deal of my time out there this weekend thinking of him and feeling somehow honored to be cruising along on his sea.  I think I'll always think of him when I'm out there, and raise my paddle high in salute.

Also watching Yankees in the playoffs as a kind of Hat Tip to Frank.  He was a true scholar of the game and knew a great deal of its history.  And a helluva whiffle ball pitcher. But my Mets loyalty is forcing me to suppress an inner satisfaction at the Bronx Bombers futility of the last two games.  And as for that blown call at 2nd with Cano and Infante on Sunday--yes, the call was wrong, but how many viewers thought so before the slow mo replay?  In real time it looked bang bang to me...and none of the announcers sounded surprised either till the telling details  revealed themselves only in digital review.

NY TIME'S SUNDAY CROSSWORD WAS TOO EASY.  WAS STILL ON MY FIRST CUP OF COFFEE WHEN ELLEN AND I FINISHED IT UP.  LAME THEME TOO (cause no challenge involved)

''[An] Indonesian Muslim turned welfare thug.''

—Mark Williams, national spokesman for the Tea Party Express, on President Obama

''He has no place in any station of government and we need to realize that he is an enemy of humanity.''

—Rep. Trent Franks (R-AZ), 

Can you imagine something like this being said about any other president? ...so please don't tell me that racism doesn't play a big role in all the Obama bashing.  

got nothing else today, so I'll continue to make my way through the alphabet and leave you with: 

D IS FOR:

dactylion	The tip of the middle finger
dactylonomy	Counting using one's fingers
decubitis	The act or attitude of lying down
defenestrate	To throw out of a window
dehisce	To burst open, as the pod of a plant
dentiloquent	Talking  through one's teeth
dephlogisticate	To make something fireproof
digamy	A second marriage after the death or divorce of a previous spouse
dippoldism	The act of beating or whipping school children
dompteuse	A woman who trains animals