Blaupunkt AM_FM_SW Radio Discovered

 In early November I spent a couple of days exploring a couple of potential sites for further archeology  exploration in the Schodack NY area this spring. I also spent time in Columbia County in the Niverville area where I came across a garage sales three neighbors were putting on. I did a quick look , bought a small Ikea alarm clock still in it's wrapping . Then I spotted an automotive item. A relic from cars past I was familiar with. Selling for $ 2.00 a Blaupunkt VW car radio. Came out of a 1967 or 68 VW Karmen Ghia In remarkably good shape . I bought it. Later on in the week sold it to a repair and restoration shop in Oceanside area of Long Island. Made a $15.00 dollar profit. That's not this blog's point , however , I bought a memory.  My early work years after my Vega died a rather painful death of meltdown on Interstate 90. I needed a car fast and obtained a Karmen Ghia  at a reasonable price. Something to get me through till I could save up some real money. In those days I drove about 80 miles round trip to work and back. An unusual aspect of the car was the fact that the car radio had short wave reception capabilities. No one really pays attention to this part of the spectrum  anymore but it was once quite active with various overseas and USA stations. Now just so you know I have a thing about the news. I  have a mild addiction to the news. Growing up in a political family the news at dinner time was a big deal. One day I discovered the BBC on short wave. So part of my long morning commute became the news from London on the BBC world service. Most early mornings it came in quite well. This habit continues as I sometimes listen to BBC on my computer. Anyway , it is a minor memory but one that has a  certain independence to it. A rusted semi sports car , yellow , air cooled engine , little in the way of heat driving off in the early morning with a British voice saying this is London.

Andy Rooney : Goodby From Albany New York

Well.......Andy Rooney died last night. As I sip my morning coffee at my daughters home near Albany I do feel a sense of loss. Rooney came from Albany born January 14 , 1919. A few short months from the end of World War One. That is a long life. The thing is he seemed a man I knew though I didn't.  The fact that he grew up and was nurtured near from where I grew up probably makes me feel the kinship. I hope they lower the flags to half staff for atleast a day in the city.  But as I age and have gone in the last few years to more funerals that I care to count I feel older this morning because that World War Two generation that nurtured my generation has all most departed in total. There is a voice missing at the table this morning. A man I admired , read a couple of his books , listened to his commentaries. Now he is gone.

John Lennon's Tooth

 Yes......on 11/05/11 a tooth purported to be a former tooth of  John Lennon is going up for auction. It is up for auction at an auction house in Sweden. Speculation is it could fetch upwards of 15,000 dollars. This discolored tooth with cavities and all was the property of his former 60's era housekeeper. Being a potfinder archeologist of sorts I must say this fascinates me. I have sold a couple of finds over the years such as a ring found on AtlanticBeach on Long Island's south shore. But a tooth .....WHY ? Well .....various churches and religions have icons and purported body parts of saints. All sorts of claims are made for these items....being cured of a disease and the like by praying near them etc. To some ,  people of that era and other hangers on perhaps Lennon has taken on role of a modern type saint. I think that is atleast partially the answer. Something that brings back the vigor of youth and what it represented. Of course for some it might be a speculative investment. Lennon as a Rock & Roll saint appeals to me the most as an explanation. So it goes as society roles on.

Curse of The Mummy and ME

Well I have had to curtail some of my searching and digging this fall despite the excellent weather. I have developed an unusual health problem. I have a wart on my vocal cord which they originally thought was cancer. It comes from an unusual virus. My specialist at the Eye & Ear Infirmary in Manhattan has a theory as to why I have come down with this. My archeology hobby. It is a fact that if archeologists open a new tomb in The Roman Empire arena or Egypt Mummy Tombs they let it air out for atleast 24hrs because of latent bacteria {germs}that may line the walls. Many have heard of the Curse of the Mummy from the opening of King Tuts tomb circa 1923. One of the heads of the expedition died soon after , some diggers may have become ill. It may have come from germs inside the tomb or maybe not. It has become a legend anyway. So my various digs in the Moordener Kill George or into an old farmers landfill in my hometown of Schodack NY may have taken a toll. Or perhaps opening up old boxes stored away for years and all that dust that comes when one opens them to see the contents. Last summer I opened an old moldy looking suitcase discovered in the 06037 area of Connecticut. I am quite certain it had not been opened since circa 1948 or 1949. After breaking open the locks and using a screw driver to pry open the long closed case I received  a rush of old dust and musty odor in my face. For my trouble the contents inside were a balled up paper bag and an old  grocery list with such items as 2 packs of Philip Morris Commander cigarettes and something called a Bermuda Onion.written on it. Oh well. So , I will  not retire from being a  "potfinder" archeologist as the professionals call us amateurs. But perhaps an ounce of prevention next time. I have some more places to explore . Indiana Jones never had these problems but I never had to fight Nazis either. Be Seeing You.

Searching for Stone Tools Along The Moordener Kill Schodack N. Y.

This past summer some of my attention turned to the Moordener Kill stream in the Town of Schodack NY. I traveled along several parts of this ancient stream searching for the left overs  from the past. I found two stone pieces that may have been ancient stone tools. One was a piece of stone appx 16 inches wide by 12 inches long. One end appears to have been chipped away to somewhat of a point. This  might be used to hack away at a  carcass of a larger animal like a dear or even going back further a mammoth. I brought the piece to an avid collector of such items and James agreed that  it did appear to be a functional chipping  for use. i also found a stone about 7 inches wide by seven long. An all most perfect wedge shape. No sign of  chipping work the shape designed by nature. could have been used for a variety of  purposes.  The stone fits easily in the hand . These items were all found above the upper falls area near the Peters farm area. As has been shown in multiple histories this area was populated  by Native American tribes. I believe streams like The Moordener Kill were often used as hunting trails or used for an access route to nearby springs and branch tribes. It no doubt was also fishing territory especially in the more shallow areas.

In Praise of Brooklyn Atleast The DeKalb Area Anyway

 I was 20 yrs of age when I first stepped onto the streets of Brooklyn New York coming up the subway steps. I was visiting a friend while I was in the Christmas break from college. He was a Pratt Institute student engaged in the study of architecture. Both coming from small towns he was  a young man rapidly falling for the city he would make his home. I must say my first impression was not good. Still too much the country kid I was  somewhat stunned by the activity around be. From Grand Central Station to mid-town Manhattan to the crush of rush hour in the subways. It was early January 1971 probably in the later stages of   the { MAD MEN} era of the city. Brooklyn seemed  dark and run down in that first impression. The better days seemed behind this area....Dodgers gone west years earlier , perhaps a certain post 60's weariness had set in. Whatever. I spent the next four days getting to know Pratt and the surrounding area. To me it felt somewhat angry and depressive  and dark , a downward trend seemed apparent. This prelude now brings us to the same area only the year is 2011 on a warm early October Sunday not long ago. I was visiting the same said friend who made his home on DeKalb Avenue. Had dinner there with his family in his Brownstone. Afterwards , we took a drive in his new Prius , his 40 miles to the gallon new car. We drove around the area , there was activity galore all around the neighborhood. There was an outdoor October fest going on with long lines to get in , people in outdoor cafe's having dinner. People biking and walking and a young lady taking pictures with an old style box camera we engaged in conversation with. Some new buildings have been built in these past number of years since I first visited. A variety of people enjoying a beautiful fall evening. We also went past the new colosseum  being built to house the now New Jersey Nets. Pro sports to return to the area. I was and am impressed.  After our car ride over a glass of Applejack  I complimented Ron on having faith to buy here so many yrs ago.  It is a vibrant , comfortable , attractive place to hang your hat , to use an old phrase. Much different from my youthful first impression. Later on during my drive home that night I had a verse from the Bible come into my head. From Corinthians : Old things shall pass away. Behold all things are new.

Passing Through Kurt Vonnegut : Schenectady N. Y.

I grew up living in the shadow of three small cities. Albany , Schenectady and Troy ,New York. Three well know writers , atleast to some  spent time in these areas. Herman Melville author of Moby Dick lived for a couple of years near South Pearl Street in Albany. Andy Rooney of CBS Television grew up in Albany. For a short time Kurt Vonnegut , a prime author of my generation spent time in Schenectady. He worked for General Electric in the early 1950's during America's post war industrial empire years. A couple of Friday's ago I spent an over night in Schenectady. I was attending my nephews wedding. A highly staged affair that so many weddings now a days have become. It started at a large church across from Union college and ended up at the Glen Sanders Mansion  across the Mohawk River from Schenectady and near the old GE complex. As the evening wore on  and frankly perhaps one to many drinks and a noisy crowd I went out to sneak a cigarette. I am not supposed to smoke.  Anyway as I set out on their large patio area with the outdoor fire place burning and the people around me openly speculating about the cost , my mind went back to Vonnegut. Schenectady and the Tri - Cities area figured often in his novels. Though he sometimes changed the names. Player Piano being the book he used Schenectady and GE in metaphor form the most. For a moment I guess I became unstuck in time. I went from my present moment back to the boom yrs. The years when the USA was the major manufacturing country in the world. We had won a major war....our cities were not bombed out shells of themselves. Once everything General Electric made they made in Schenectady. From refrigerators to light bulbs. Those were the yrs that Vonnegut worked here. These yrs here and during World War Two were some of the foundations of what he was and taught through his writing. I admit he was a major influence on my thought processes. I believe from Vonnegut I learned about the danger of consolidated power.......Of arrogance whether from an educated elite , or people who inherent their wealth and think they were the ones that earned it. From political pols who live multiple lives to religious fanatics who do the same to the engineer who wants humans to behave more like math equations. I explored many of these concepts in my high school and early college yrs from this author. Schenectady is no longer the city it was. As a matter of fact I would say it is a shell of it's former self. GE is still here but only the turbine generator area is active along with some R&D and administrative functions. Most of the people he knew are long dead. Many pine away for those yrs. I remember fondly my early married life living in the stockade section of Schenectady. But I was just passing through , like Vonnegut. I was aroused from my daydream in the late evening by a bird across the nearby canal calling out as the last of the sun set. It was not a sweet tune like ....Poo Too Weet....it was a crow. CAW CAW CAW...........