February 22, 2000                                                                                                                        

Before I continue my story, a short note on the absence of my writings the past few weeks…the day before Thanksgiving Ethan and I went into Webster to take my 84 year old Mom to the doctor; she was still living independently in her own home but we had become worried about her health.  We found her lying on the floor in her kitchen; she had fallen and was unable to move.  We called 911 and the truly outstanding team from West Webster Fire Dept. and Webster Police were there in less than 5 minutes to take her to the hospital.  It was determined that she had a mild heart attack and stroke, but she responded well to the care at RGH.  After a week, we had to find a nursing home to transfer her to, and thanks to Call Jane Seniors Consulting, she now is receiving wonderful care at Maplewood Nursing Home in Webster.   Call Jane provides services to assist in selecting home care, nursing home placement, etc.  They’re the best and I can’t image what we would have done without them. Mom’s doing pretty well; up and cruising around under her own power and making many new friends.  It’s been tough and we’re still working through “logistics”, but what matters most is that Mom is doing OK and is happy****************************

It was time to say good-bye to the sweet little lambs at the Cornell farm and head down to Owego before we lost the daylight.  Continuing our slow cruise down the Owego valley, we passed through the historic town of Berkshire. Settled by pioneers from Berkshire County, MA between 1789 and 1791 it’s a sleepy little hamlet with well-preserved homes and farms from days gone by.   It was a nice swoop down Route 38 to Owego, and we arrived around 5:00 to find quite a surprise.

The main street was blocked off, and we were greeted with an extraordinary sight…probably a couple of hundred custom Honda Gold Wing motorcycles.  And I mean CUSTOM.  Luxury liner bikes and trikes, most equipped with matching custom trailers.  Fantastic paint jobs, airbrushed scenes, sidecars, gleaming chrome.  We had stumbled onto a gathering of a Gold Wing Association, with bikes from all over the Northeast.  Motorcycles were lined up 5 wide and blocks long.  The best part was, this was a family event…families traveling with their kids, a lot of retired folks, and just “nice people”.    After getting over being awestricken, we decided that we’d better find a place to stay for the night.  There was a local police officer that was watching over the bikes, and generally having a wonderful time chatting with his home-town friends on the steps of one of the town buildings. 

We waited our turn in line to talk with him, and discovered that he was a semi-retired officer that likes to spend summers home in Owego, continuing his service to the community.  He was also a motorcycle owner and aficionado belonging to a club in Florida; a perfect person to oversee the safety of these treasures.    We asked where we might find a place to stay for the evening, and “Al” immediately picked up his radio and requested that the local dispatcher “find a hotel room for these nice folks from out of town for the night”.   Word came back that there was **one** room left in the entire area, at the Holiday Inn Express.  We also asked him for a recommendation for dinner; he didn’t even think twice…”Tony’s…best Italian food you’ll find anywhere”.  We thanked Al profusely, and made our way along the river to the hotel, about ½ mile from downtown.