Wednesday


9
Jan 13

My great-grandfather’s war

This is the 68th anniversary of the day my great-grandfather was wounded in Belgium. His time in Europe was brief. His service has been something of a mystery to his family for decades. Now I’ve cobbled it together, somewhat.

Tonice

That’s my great-grandfather, circa 1944, with his oldest, my grandfather.

Because my great-grandfather always changed the subject about his time in the war the entire family learned as much about his experience in the war at his funeral as anytime in his life. His quiet choice means this brief bit of history focuses on the unit(s) rather than the personal.

He was attached to some element of the 137th Infantry Regiment. Without knowing which battalion or which company he was a part of this can only be a regimental overview with some movements down to the company level.

If you click the pins (which run from Dec. 6 to Jan. 11.) in sequence you can get an approximate sense of where he was. It features time near the border of France and Germany, Christmas in Metz and then Belgium during the Bulge, specifically at Villers-la-Bonne-Eau. All of the markers are rough estimations and meant only to be illustrative. Their placements are derived from the unit history, found here and here. The lightly edited text and photographs found with the pins are from the same unit history. The summary accompanying the final pin is derived from this unit overview. Any errors would be mine alone.

Click the links either above or below the map to see the entire presentation in a new tab of your browser.

View Tonice in the Bulge in a larger map
View Tonice in the Bulge in a larger map

A note of gratitude: None of this research would have been possible without the help of the Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs. Finding his discharge papers allowed me to figure out what unit he served in. That document was uncovered by the persistent and passionate help of Ms. Peggy Marquart, who was almost as emotional about the find as I was.


2
Jan 13

I actually thought about making a montage

I opened a box that was delivered sometime in September. Inside was a new Gatorskin for my bicycle. So I flipped the frame, pulled on the rear quick release, spun the tire out of the chain and dug for a tire lever.

levers

I have red tire levers, and they get a bit grimy because everything about my bike seems to get dirty. There’s a smear of grease on the hook that got there who knows how. There are nice deep grooves in the plastic at the hook from sliding around the frame, pulling the bead and freeing the tube.

I did all of that today, too. I took out this massive looking Gatorskin and wrapped it around the back wheel. That wheel has been sporting a trainer tire — which has no tread and is designed to spin on a silver drum — since my big crash. Since it is time to ride again the trainer came off. The new Gatorskin, designed to defeat pebbles and glass and things, went on.

I haven’t changed a tire in months, but it comes back to you. Just like, well, you know.

So I put the tube in the tire and mount it all to the wheel. Pick up the chain, set the wheel into the forkend, wedge it through the brakes and double check the chain. All of this felt like a bad sports montage in a Disney movie, the kind where the character is on the way to a significant personal achievement.

Spin the wheel and we’re one step closer to riding again.

Spin the wheel and notice an unusual noise.

After a bit I notice the chain is rubbing on the derailleur. This is peculiar. More work, examining other derailleurs in the house, a furrowing of the brow. Some online research, which was unusually unhelpful. A big, long sigh.

I have to go to the local bike shop, where we can all laugh at my simple questions. Load up the car, drive over there:

hours

Of course.

Cycling insists on teaching me patience.


26
Dec 12

Hockey night in America

We had a white Christmas. There is video and everything!

We went with the in-laws for pizza tonight. Pepe’s is the best I’ve ever had, and it never disappoints:

Pepe's

Then we saw hockey. They took a perfectly good facility, with a leaky roof, and put water on the floor. Then they utter several Harry Potter incantations and the stuff turns into ice with lots of colorful markings beneath the surface.

And then these guys slide around, shuffling back and forth a hard rubber disk with sticks that on occasion break. Occasionally they would pummel each other into the plexiglass that surrounded the rink. One fight was cheered on by the many in attendance.

David Ullstrom, of Sweden, made the hometown proud with three assists. Switzerland’s Nino Niederreiter, on the left, poured in two goals:

Ullstrom

Cameron Talbot weathered 24 shots. It was the four that got by him that were of the greatest concern:

Talbot

On the other end Kevin Poulin controlled the crease, allowing two goals early in the third period, but the visiting Whale rally ended there:

Poulin

The Sound Tigers added on an empty net goal by Ullstrom with one second left in the game to skate to a 5-2 victory.

And I’m beginning to shake the cold I’ve had since Sunday. So there’s that, too.


19
Dec 12

A week of ornaments

Some of our favorites …

Santa

What are your favorite ornaments?


12
Dec 12

There is far too much food here

We had dinner at The Olde Pink House last night.

PinkHouse

We made it to Savannah just in time to change clothes and walk over from our hotel to the restaurant. The Yankee had the almond encrusted tilapia. I had the crispy duck. Also, try the she crab soup, and definitely enjoy the praline basket with vanilla bean ice cream, berries and chocolate sauce for dessert.

We did not see Mr. Habersham. James Habersham Jr., an important financial player during the Revolutionary War, built the house in the late-1700s. He’s said to be one of the spirits in the house, straightening things up, helping people to tables (according to the ghost tour folklore) and so on.

There are videos on YouTube. There are always videos on YouTube.

On the subject of food, we had a late breakfast at Clary’s, which we always visit:

Clary's

For the first time in all of our visits here over the years Ms. Maggie wasn’t working.

I don’t take pictures every visit, but I do this one when I remember:

Yankee at Clary's

This is our first visit to Clary’s, more than seven years ago.

Here’s another visit, just five years ago. You’ll notice the paintings change, but the paint doesn’t. And that green orb lamp is still in the background.

We’ll go back again tomorrow.

It has rained on us most of the day. And it has been cold. I left my camera behind, so all of my shots from the day were on my phone. We visited the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, where we saw the most involved nativity scene ever — rabbits, ducks, sheep, lambs, Optimus a pink turtle, floating angels from central casting, dogs and cats. You had to look hard to find the Optimus Prime. We shopped. We enjoyed the day without any plan whatsoever, which is an unusually rare experience, but altogether lovely.

We took the ferry across the channel of the Savannah River to see the gingerbread houses on display at the Westin. There were almost 100 there, including some amazing work.

Here are a few of them, many floating in an ethereal cotton cloud city. The winner is in here, as are most of the houses that will take home ribbons. At the end you’ll find my favorite, The Yankee’s favorite and the hotel general manager’s favorite. Of course it was a giant replica of their hotel, so it was a ringer:

For dinner we drove through the rain out to Tybee Island and ate at a sleepy little crab shack called The Crab Shack, which we’ve never seen sleepy before. We watched the wind blow on the windows and stared at the giant Christmas tree lights floating out in the water. It was topped by a tremendous yellow light crab, who no doubt was incensed by our eating his delicious actual crab brethren.

CrabShack

Tomorrow the rain will be gone. It’ll just be a bit colder. We’ll have no plan and a great time, same as today.