FoJo Beans

When I came back to upstate New York, I started out as a coffee shop owner and barista.  (My reasoning, I knew I needed my good coffee every morning, and realized my business became a “fit” for Oxford.)  I enjoyed a good business for six years.

I left the shop, and a problem loomed….coffee…where do I find it?  Of course, I went back to the coffee shop for awhile, eventually bought it “buy the bag” there, but as America’s small business’ disappear, alas, so did the coffee shop.

Along comes Dan Joseph, and a great new idea.  Now, the Dans are no strangers.  They are the two most enjoyable people I have ever met, and their enthusiasm is contagious!

Welcome FoJo Beans!   Dan has certainly done his homework on coffee and, I must admit, he makes my head whirl when he tries to tell me about the C-series (huh?), etc.   I really think he needs to teach us not only Coffee 101, but advanced class to Coffee 201 is going to be a necessity.

Oh!  My favorite?  Indigo Moon.  I am in love with Indigo Moon.  I cannot even type Indigo Moon without swooning before it’s flavor.  I admit telling Dan, “if it were a man, then I am in love.”

Thank you, Dan, and FoJo Beans!  You are a sensation!

Copyright Importance!

As a photographer, I have learned, and experienced, the importance of seeking permission (as opposed to begging ignorance and forgiveness later).  

We, as photographers, and anywhere in the creative art field, work hard for our inspiration.  Inspiration flows, but for it to be robbed by another is sad, the “item” cannot be replaced.  When people take your work and just randomly copy it, whether it be at a retailer or online, it defeats the purpose.  We are designers.  We are lovers.

Please ask permission.  That’s all we want.  And recognition.

I had the opportunity to meet with a fellow photographer yesterday.  I had a grand glorious time. Not sure of his age, but probably in or around those “golden years.”  His office was filled of photos, cameras, etc.  My purpose was to buy a photograph he had taken (it will be used in a story here next week).  He edited and then generously offered it free of charge.  God bless the man, I had no intention of not paying.  His time is valuable.  His expertise evident.  His generosity, boundless.  I had such a good time listening to him, sharing, looking at his wonderful Italy pictures!

Thank you, Frank Speziale!

Elinor Pruitt Stewart

Well, I finished my little book, Letters of a Woman Homesteader.  Then I googled the author.  Very interesting, indeed!  I find it completely amazing that this little woman was so fabulously famous, and possibly didn’t know how famous she became (she died in 1933).  There is even a movie based on the book, Heartland (1979).  Even better news….you can read the book on http://www.gutenberg.org.  This online organization has books that are out of print, beyond patent, etc.  What a great resource!

Letters of a Woman Homesteader

I went to the library Saturday.  I try to go to different sections and choose different topics.  I love fiction novels, but also have a love of history.  So, I happened across “Letters of a Woman Homesteader,” by Elinore Pruitt Stewart.  This book was published in May 1914 and what a dear little book it is!  They are letters by Elinor Rupert to her dear former employer, a Mrs. Coney.  

I love Elinor’s wit and charm.  She is truly an adventuress!  She took her little 5 year old and went camping with the horse in Wyoming!  They didn’t pack sandwiches, she cut fishing poles and they caught fish and cooked them, along with potatoes for meals.  And it snowed overnight and she was lost!  

That’s only one of her adventures (I am on page 54).  I can understand why the library kept this book without “discarding.”  I hope, if they ever do “discard,” I will be told, I adore this little book and Elinor’s zest for life!  I highly recommend it!

The Journey of Life

We are born to die.  From the moment our body is conceived, it is one step closer to eternity.

I’ve been doing a lot of reading and reflecting over the last couple of years.  Watching friends die, whether by accident or health issues.  They fade, or suddenly become slammed out of our life, taken by our God of love and mercy.  Hands pat you on the back and say things like, “Well he/she is in a better place,” or “At least they aren’t suffering any longer.”  Or, my “favorite” is “maybe something tragic would have happened had they lived.”  Really? Isn’t death tragic enough?

The funeral, the flowers, the graveside marker is for those who visit the dead, not the one buried there. (With that in mind, let me tell you I do have my grave site and its on a hill, under the shade trees.  And, I’m donating my body to science, what better contribution can I make to this life than to aid those who will give life to others.  Not noble, but practical.)

I’ve been reading library book, “Women’s Diaries of the Westward Journey.”  This is a compilation of many books, an overview, if you please, of the trials, tribulations and (few) joys of the pioneer woman from the earliest days of the westward movement, the progress over the years.  Most impressive is that these women lived through death almost on a daily basis.  If you didn’t get dysentery, measles, or cholera and die, you met with accidents along the way.  A woman watched her husband get swept down the raging river while trying to cross with their possessions.  She had to keep going.  Babies, children, women and men died and they buried them in shallow graves and kept going, fear driving them.  There was no chance to look back and mourn their loss.

I just keep reading.  I keep watching life.  I keep thinking, “Breathe and enjoy the moment, Kath.  It’s all you’ve got.”

 

 

Captain Walter B. Boname

(Dr. Mary Boname is the writer and sister of Walt Boname. This is shared on my blog as a followup for those following the story, and others whom it will touch.)

 Captain Walter B. Boname

(February 29, 1956-February 4, 2013)

The Boname family received tragic news on Monday evening. Walter B. Boname, a native of Oxford, New  York, died tragically in an auto accident on Eleuthera, the Bahamas,  on the evening of February 4, 2013.

Walter was brought into the world on February 29, 1956 by his grandfather, Mat G. Boname, M.D. , a lifelong Oxford resident who practiced medicine in his Oxford home from 1926 until shortly before his death in 1996.

He is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Walter C. Boname, formerly of Oxford, NY, presently residing near Hershey,PA.  Walter was a 1974 Graduate of OACHS.  He studied marine biology at Southampton College in Long Island, NY. In 1980, Walter founded the Dreadnought Seafood Company in Oxford.  In the late 1980s, Walter moved with his family to the St. Lawrence River community of Clayton, NY and started Lindavue Adventures, a chartering and guiding service.  Walter was an avid outdoorsman, yachtsman,  fisherman and an accomplished water skier.

It is no surprise that Mr. Boname was beloved by so many.  He was a multi-talented, compassionate man with  a joie de vivre that was contagious.

He is survived by his wife Audrey Block Boname, his daughters, Holly Carolyn Boname, of Watertown, NY, Julia Elizabeth Boname of Rochester, NY, his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Walter C. Boname, his sister Linda Boname Mithaug and her husband, Derek, of Roseland, NJ,  his sister Dr. Mary E. Boname and her husband Ben Fazio, of Ringoes, NJ, nieces, Lauren Cirenza of Columbia, MD and Anna Cirenza of Boulder, CO, and a nephew, James R. Cirenza of Los Angeles, CA.

Walter was pre-deceased by a brother, David Alan Boname (March 28, 1958-April 1, 1958) and a sister, Elizabeth Boname (March 30, 1967-March 30, 1967).

For those wishing to offer condolences to the family, there is a viewing at Cummings Funeral Home in Clayton on Wednesday, the 13^th of February. A funeral will be held for Walter in Clayton, NY on February 14, 2013. Plans are currently underway for a celebration of Walter’s life in his hometown in the summer of 2013.  A graveside service at Riverside Cemetery in Oxford will be arranged at a future date .

In lieu of flowers, the Boname family asks you to help continue Walter’s legacy by sending donations to the “Kids To Camp Fund”: a summer environmental education camp.  Donations may be sent to NYSOGA Attention Craig Tryon 2365 Olanco Road, Marietta, NY 13110.

My friend, Walt

I received a phone call yesterday from Greg, a classmate.  He had news “that was not good.”  Our friend, Walt, was killed in aa car accident the day before while in the Bahamas.  No known details were provided, but the facebook world has been very active over Walt’s death and the impact his life made on all of us that he touched.  As I share these few memories that I have, tears roll down my face, for you are not here, or on the other end of facebook, to read them. 

I hear your hearty laugh as we sit in my kitchen, over Chinese or Roma’s.  I feel your strong hands on my aching shoulders.  I see you’d fallen asleep in front of “The Sound of Music.”  I see you entertaining everyone, walking through the door, big as life. Fish fries were my favorite, you could deep fry them to perfection, and there was never a bone.  (Caleb watched you and mastered that, you know.  You were a big influence on his life.  You led him to Southampton.   Sketchy memories, but they are memories.) 

You were the little boy that sat next to me in Kindergarten, and you were full of it, always.  In fact, I always sat as far away as my chair could take me at that little table.  I laugh now to think that over the years, we’d come back together and be close friends, brother and sister in our response to our lives.

You know, we were just talking in December about all of our life. 

Tim died just after Thanksgiving and you came down.  We comforted one another with words.  We supported each other through the long line as we waited to see our friend, Dianne, his widow.  We heard her say things like, “well, I had him for 37 years.”  Life seemed old suddenly. 

You planned a picnic for Mudge last summer.  It was a success and everyone there remembered (and those who couldn’t be there remembered) James. Tim was there, only briefly, they kept his condition quiet.  It was for Jim.

Doc Boname died when he was 93.  We could still hear his voice. I remember sitting at his big desk while he took out the oversized index card with “my file.”  He made up his own prescriptions for cough medicine (and others I’m sure).  The orange stuff was nasty, wasn’t it?   Fast forward about 30 years and there he was on (was it the cover?) of Time magazine, and an article on a study about people living with pain.  He’d suffered debilitating headaches for many years and kept right on going, living his life, continuing his practice.  He continued to see patients until insurance made it impossible for him, then bowed out.  How old was he when he stopped practicing medicine?  80s?  And his shirts still hang in your closet.  He continues to be your hero. 

And we talked about how you had the genes to be here at least as long as Grandpa. 

We talked about Joe, and Joe’s state of mind when he died in the car accident so many years ago. 

You were always careful, Walt.  But you couldn’t stop your time from coming. I really thought you’d outlive me, you’d take care of me at the end. 

I’m sorry Walt, you had so much life in you.  You loved absolutely everyone, and saw only their best.  You lived the way you wanted to live and loved every minute.  Sure life has its moments, but you never stopped believing in people and in the good that was in them, even if it was hidden by the cruelties that we get caught up in.

If there is memory there, I know you are at your ultimate joy.  We can’t escape, but we continue on.  We mourn here for you, you have moved onward.

Love you, Walt.

New Beginnings

Have moved here to WordPress, thanks to ralphiesportal.wordpress.com.  Thanks Ralphie, for your help. (Still working on it.)