Some Observations from the Hill
by H H "Hub" Brown

 Well, my 99th birthday has come and gone! What a party we had! There were about 130 people there, some of whom I had known and some of them I had to ask their names. Tony, Ag's niece's husband, had brought his electrical keyboard and played most of the time, the guests sang along with the music and the little kids romped and played. Jo Anne, Joe's daughter, served scalloped potatoes and ham and wine and beer for those that wanted it. Nicolas, Kim's husband, was busy taking shots as was the editor of The Community Press, perhaps he'll do a piece on the party.

 Nicolas often takes shots of some distinctive places and later uses them in some of his murals. I think his favorite paintings are where there is a blank wall and in the painting there will be a wall with a window and even a scene outdoors with trees and flowers. 

 All of the guests had brought cards and some had baked some fancy breads. Some of the cards had cash with them. My son, Jim's, card had a dollar a year with it. 

 I had relatives that had come from Colorado, New Mexico, Idaho, South Carolina, and a lot from nearer to home. I think everyone had a good time, I know most of them said they had.

 Yesterday, Nicolas showed me some pictures on his computer made from some shots he had taken last November when he had visited his ailing mother in France. A cousin of his had been restoring some of the old buildings, which had all been made of stone. There had been an old stone quarry and as they had taken stone out they had made rooms and a place of worship. During World War I when the French forces had to retreat form the Germans, the soldiers started using the grotto both for horses and men. All the old buildings are still scarred from rifle and cannon fire.

 I wonder if they put any horsemeat in pepperoni? We ate lunch in the airport in Syracuse on our way out to Minneapolis and they bought me a slice of pizza with pepperoni on it. I happened to glance up at the price list and when I saw what the price was I said, ‘Whoa! That can't be right." But when I said "Whoa" my swallower stopped. It seems some folks have no sense of honesty anymore. I know one thing for sure, prices out here are a lot higher than in New York. On our way to Wyalusing, Fritz and I stop in a little diner for breakfast. We get two eggs, bacon, toast, and coffee with a refill for two of us for $7.85. In Owego, in the Parkview, where we go most mornings for coffee which is 75¢ a cup but will all the refills you want.

 They have been in a state of drought here in Minnesota for some time now. They will get a little snow and then it will quit. Nicolas has all kinds of bird feeders here. Most of them are squirrel-proof. He also has a heated birdbath. There is a lone robin that comes everyday to tank up on that warm water. Small birds only dip three or four times but the robin would stay there, look around, and then scoop up a lot more water then fly away.

 Lucille and I are here at Kim's and Nicolas' for a few more days then we are off for my niece's place in St. Cloud, Florida.

 I have been trying to write this on Nicolas' computer, typing it as well as can be expected for my first experience on a laptop. Nicolas helped show me the buttons.
 Kim, my niece, is the one who thought it would be a good idea to put some old family pictures and some of my earlier stories into a book form. If you are interested in buying this collection of my stories ($20), please contact Kim at (952) 933-5573 or david @macalester.edu. You can see a copy at Parkview Hotel on Front Street in Owego. You can also order a CD of photos from the birthday party ($5). Kim is my sister's daughter and she is the designer at Macalester College. That is where Kofi Annan studied. He also held a running record there for a time. What is Macalester going to do now?