Hi Jerry, When my kids were much younger and we were living in VT, we went to Park Safari, just over the CA border. Thankfully we were in my dad's car. You drive through the park with your windows down and feed the girafees and others as you drive through. I was slimed by a buffalo. It was green, wet, and gross. I loved it!! The monkees have all been moved to their own area where one walks around on bridges to see them. They were doing too much damage to the cars. Janice and Butch will remember a trip through where they had a lot of scratches to their new car.

Dave and I went to Florida's Busch Gardens some years back. That's a beautiful park. We'll be in Williamsburg, VA in early Oct. There is a Busch Gardens there also.

How's your worm research going? Have you check it out at Symantec.com? That's a great place to read up on the actual and the hoax problems with the internet. I always check there before I forward any of those e-mails I get telling me about the latest destructive virus going around.

Howdy, Jerry. I haven't been to Canobie, but I have been to Splash Water Kingdom at Lake George. It is surprising how many crazy ways there are to end up getting really wet. I had a good time. Also, I have always heard that you should only go to a Wild Animal Park in someone else's car or a rental that has insurance and avoid having the monkeys peel the trim off of your car. This has been enough to keep me away, but I have gone on the monorail at the Bronx Zoo which traverses a wide open grassland with tigers and lions roaming free on all sides. Oooo baby, it's a wild world! Hey, have fun at Loudon! Do you wear your one piece race suit for these occasions?

Howdy.

Hi everyone..........note to Brian, the CDs are in the mail...........I have some of my house, etc. so you can cut them from the ones you post. I'm sure people would be more interested in the reunion pictures. I have a gret one of you and your wife, Peter. It was great meeting her and seeing you as well after all these years. I really liked meeting the "significant others" of all the classmates. I'm sure they felt a little out there, but some were interested in what their spouses did in high school. Take care, and have a nice week.

Welcome, Peter! Glad you stopped by in here. Back safe in Iowa? Just got a notice about a new medium risk worm (virus). Guess I'll have to get another update. And I'm glad to learn something about the potato harvest and how it's done. I'll be going to this Sunday's Winston Cup stock car race at New Hampshire International Speedway in Loudon (just north of Concord), and one of my tickets is available. If anyone knows of an interested party who could use the ticket and we can make connections, please let me know. I'm just getting the word out. Went to 100-year-old Canobie Lake Park on Saturday with a small group of the church youth. It's still a fun place for lots of people. Did any of you go there as kids? How about Benson's Wild Animal Park which doesn't exist anymore?

I have a lot of friends here who worked the harvest as teenagers. They tell of back breaking work that was the ony way to buy school clothes for the new year. Trucks used to drive around the neighborhoods and pick up the kids early in the morning and drop them back off at the end of the day. You got payed by the barrel-full.

Pat, I am glad that I asked and am very interested by the story. It is pretty unusual for a community to connect and support each other. I think so much is exchanged through shared work- most of it positive. Thanks!

Hi Richard, Yup it's true. I live in the historic times of the Potato Harvest. When Presque Isle High goes back into session mid Aug. they will only be in for about a month or so. Then there will be a month off for the harvest. Studies have shown over the last several years that very few students actually participate in the harvest but the "powers that be" insist that without these students they (farmers) would be unable to accomplish their harvest. Whatever. I imagine your friend was a hand picker. I've done that with my middle school students. jeez that is hard work and dirty. Now most of the farms are automated and one must be old enough to work on a harvester. A very large and dangerous piece of equipment. Our son Colin worked on a harvester one year and learned what real work is all about. He bought himself a nice Dell with the money and swore he'd never go back again. some town close everything down but we just close the high school. All the other schools open the 27th of August and go right on through til spring. Aren't you glad you asked? That's probably more information than you were looking for!

Hi Peter welcome to Blogger!!!! Nice to see my invitations are working~~~~~~~~~~

Hey Peter! I went to Niagara Falls but didn't take the Maid of the Mist boat. I really wish that I did, though! I am pretty impressed by miracles of nature and it kind of blew me away to see water that spans 4000 feet, dropping 175 (?) feet straight down. It's kind of like a little Grand Canyon that moves (a lot).
Hi Pat, My neighbor lived in Maine potato country when he was in high school and he said that they went to school for one month starting in August and then the schools closed for a month while potatos are harvested. Does that still happen? My neighbor says that it was hard work and that he wasn't that much help.

Hi everyone I'm new to this site. Will try to check in weekly but will be weakly most likely. My wife Barb,son Zack, and I stopped at Niagera Falls on the way home to Iowa. We rode the Maid of the Mist boat ;got wet ,but otherwise had a safe and uneventful trip home.