Brian's Move

This is being posted in March even though it was written in January. Some how it got lost in the memory bank.

Nervously waiting!

1/29/22

As anyone who knows me will confirm, I am not a patient person.  My patience is being tested because I’m waiting to hear from Brian and Anita on their drive from Austin to Granby, Massachusetts.  (I started practicing how to spell their new home state when they confirmed they were really going to move. Also, those who really know me will attest to the fact that I’m a lousy speller.  Comes from having Audio Discrimination Disfunction Syndrome — also known as APD — — Look it up.  It is a thing. It’s sort’a like having dyslexia only for hearing.).  Making the trip on the weekend when Boston and most of the east coast was getting slammed by the largest snow storm on record has just added to my anxiety.

They have been talking about leaving Texas for many years, going back to their first visit to Jackson Hole.  The cost of living and local politics soon made that location must less desirable.

Recent events made it very clear to them that they were no longer comfortable in their home state and Massachusetts looked promising because of Anita’s many friends there — she went to college there — and even with the reputation of being a high-tax state, the cost of living is actually very reasonable outside the greater Boston area.

Let’s back up and briefly discuss why they are uncomfortable.  Back when Brian was 19 he was shot at point blank range by a “skin head” neo-Nazi type who, along with his buddies, was waiting for a party in one of Brian’s friend’s home to break up because, horror of horrors!, it was integrated.  As Brian and several friends were leaving they were confronted by these future Trumpites.  One pointed his gun directly at a young Black girl and Brian jumped in front of her, taking a bullet in his upper intestinal area.  Surgery removed one foot of small intestine but couldn’t remove the bullet because it was lodged in a muscle very close to his spinal cord — he still has it.  He also has PTSD and has been in treatment BUT it took too long for him to be diagnosed. Going to war is not the only way to get PTSD.

The shooter was arrested BUT he made a plea deal and his “punishment” was to promise to leave Austin and return home to Waco.  Being the cynic that I am, I am sure the fact that his daddy was head of the Texas National Guard had a lot to do with him getting just a slap on the wrist.  Can you image what the sentence would have been for a Black boy shooting at a White girl!

I bring up this old story because it’s such a shining example of Texas justice.  Well, Anita just experienced her own miscarriage of justice.  Even though being in arrears for child support for FIVE years,  Anita’s ex took her to court saying he wanted custody.  His 2^nd ex-wife was willing to testify he really didn’t care about custody but he really needed Anita to pay him child support.  I should also mention this 2^nd marriage lasted six months.  This wife realized he had married her for her money.  What a guy!  After over 2 years of delays, counseling, arbitration, negotiations, etc., costing Anita a small fortune in attorney fees, etc., the judge took one look at her ex — a charming Brit living in Texas - and her - a Black woman - and awarded him child support. Even then her ex delayed signing the final agreement without stating what else he wanted. I’m sure the judge would argue that he had many other reasons other than race and I’d say they were all BS.

The good news is her eldest is in her second year at Temple in Philadelphia and her middle child received a athletic scholarship to play electronic games (who knew!) At Hartford University in Connecticut, only one hour from the new home.  Thanks to COVID he has been playing enough to now be ranked 5^th in the nation on 1 of the many E-games. The third one is still in high school and he doesn’t want to leave his friends so he does plan to stay with his father.

Then Brian and Anita found the final straw — the event that made them realize they needed to move.  While on a weekend in the country at an AirB&B they had a scare.  I still don’t know all the details but apparently Brian really feared they were going to be shot.  Having been there, done that, and not ever wanting it to happen again, they decided it was time to leave.

What little I do know about this incident makes me think of all the emails I’ve received showing “funny” No Trespassing signs.  What I see is someone notifying the world that they are willing, maybe even eager, to slaughter a fellow human being for the crime of stepping on their property, no matter the reason — car broke down, etc.  What ever happened to "southern hospitality"?

 If you don’t feel safe where you live why stay?!  Frankly it’s the same reason I ended my search for a cabin in the woods the day after the attempted treasonous coup — everywhere the real estate agents were taking me was in Trump country.  Once the neighbors got a look at my bumper stickers, I’d be a goner.  

I bet they’d really hate the one that reads “Ethics Matter”.

 In late October they went to Massachusetts to visit Anita’s friends and check out the area.  They decided they wanted to look for a home in western MA along the I-91 corridor.  

Anita and Brian with a MA state park in the background.  Fall foliage was just starting.

When they returned home they started making their plans.  Thanksgiving week they put their home on the market.  It was originally purchased new for around $143,000 in 2004.  After receiving several offers over the asking price of $499,000 they closed on January 25th and they left the state on the 27th.  

Through the wonders of the internet they had already found a home they really wanted.  With the help of a local MA real estate agent, they made a cash offer that was happily accepted.  Closing will be February 1^st.

The home is in Granby, population 6,000+, on a huge lot that backs up to the Mt. Holyoke State Park that is mountainous and full of hiking trails.  They were looking for a change in life style.  I’m pretty sure they found it.  The home and lot are much larger — more than double — than their Austin home.  There is a mother-in-law suite on the lower level — not really a basement.  The house is a split level and the lower level opens on to a patio and the huge backyard.  The plan is for Anita’s mom to join them later this year and, with her background in interior design, she’s excited about helping them update their new home.  There isn’t any AC but they will have a three-family shared well and their very own septic tank.  Anita has friends who live on the other side of the park.

If you’re wondering how they will ever find jobs in such a rural area — not to worry.  Again, the wonders . . . they will keep their jobs and continue working remotely.  Their first appointment at the house after closing is with the cable guy to install their internet, etc.  Should be able to return to work on the 2^nd.  Amazing.

The huge winter storm only slightly made them change their plans.  Instead of inching their way across Virginia on I-95 (slow is the constant and not weather related) they took I-81 and cut over to I-70 to go through western Pennsylvania.  Today they should cross the Hudson north of New York City.  

WHY HAVEN'T I HEARD FROM THEM!?

Finally!  I just got this showing them just after they got to see their new home for the first time in person.

What a relief to know they are safe and just an Amtrak ride away.

 

Winter at the Lake

On Tuesday, March 8th, I decided it was time for a change of scenery, so for the first time in ages I drove by myself to see Linda in WV.  What a boost to my driving confidence.  It had been so long since I had done any real highway driving that I was a bit nervous starting out.  I was also driving at the same time the truckers convoy was supposedly tying up traffic on the Belt Way.  This forced me to look for a different route.  

I did see the convoy as I neared Hagerstown MD but we were going in opposite directions.  The convoy was mostly cars and pickups with a few semi's without rigs but it was deliberately going below the speed limit so there was a very long backup behind them.  

 The good news is I did find a new route and it turned out to be better and something I'll continue to use in the future.  It's more scenic with less traffic and I can avoid the Beltway and 270.

The last 6 miles to Linda's are always the worst and even more so this trip because of all the snow the area has had.  Long stretches of road were down to gravel or dirt because the asphalt has been destroyed by the weather.

There's just something about the lake that instantly calms and relaxes me.  Just being there makes the hassle of the trip worth while.

Early Wednesday Morning

For once my trip was more than just my selfish desire to see Linda and enjoy the lake.  She actually needed my help with a major project she is beginning.  For those who may not know, she was a pioneer in using art therapy as a diagnostic tool.  She was also one of the first to earn a PhD in art therapy and has been a leader in her professional organization and a lobbyist in DC. For many years she and her psychiatric husband, Dr. Lou Tinnin, had a clinic in Morgantown that specialized in trauma therapy.  He was head of the psychiatric department at the WVU medical school.  They have several posts on You Tube.  Here's one -- an oldie but a goodie:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7Pu4bQg-mo&t=13s

Here's a description of her project:  She has about 20K images drawn by patients.  This is the largest such collection in the nation.  No other practitioner or institution has amassed this large a collection and word is out causing researchers from all over to want to be able to see it.

Speaking of all over.  There is a practitioner who lives in Ukraine and who came to the states and studied Lou and Linda's process.  Over the years they have stayed in touch.  Linda, naturally, was worried about her but found her in Finland.  She had been atttending a conference there when the invasion of her home country began.  She wasn't planning on returning but she wasn't actually certain what she was going to do.  At least she is safe.  But I digress. . .

Even though it was raining, Wednesday afternoon we drove into Morgantown -- crossing over the ridge and the higher we got it turned to snow.  Later we went to her storage facility and work space.  She's having to follow all HIPPA requirements because these are medical records.  Oaths must be administered to all working on this, the area must be secure at all times, etc.  I had flash backs to when I had to buildout and maintain two SCIF's (sensitive compartmented information facility) at my last law firm because two practice groups were dealing with highly classified government documents.

These are just a small portion of the rows and rows of folders full of drawings.

Even though each drawing is on a huge archival piece of paper (12" X 18"), to be accessible for research, they need to be put into an electronic data base while following all of the HIPPA rules.  A professor and 15 students from WVU are willing to volunteer their time to do the work, I got to help her develop the work flow.  I feel like Henry Ford coming up with the 1st assembly line.  Interesting how my law firm work came in handy.  Numbering protocols had to be established for each patient and test administered.  Just like a law firm’s client # - matter # format and the work flow is going to be very much like  document reviews where we had to put staff in warehouses full of thousands of documents and in some cases, hundreds of reviewers.  Now volunteers must assign these #’s to the patients’ files and drawings.  At no time will researchers have access to patient ID's.

Another volunteer is writing the software to create the data base.  A very robust sorting function is a must because of all the variables such as age, gender, types of tests administered, diagnosis, etc.  

What’s really complicating things is the need to not just take photos of each sheet front and back because case notes are on the back, but to edit each in a photo editing software before the image can be put into the data base. I’ve recommended a couple of free editing programs that don’t require everything going into the Cloud — a big HIPPA no-no.   I’ve also made recommendations on whether to shoot in raw or jpeg format and a whole bunch of other technical issues, mainly the steps needed to get from taking the photos to getting them into the data base.  Fun for me — a bit challenging for her.  Not in her comfort zone but she continues to amaze me — she’s a very fast learner.

Once the work flow is established, there is going to be a need to really train and monitor the volunteers doing the work.  I hope to return for the start-up of this process.  I want to see it in action.

More photos of the workspace.

          

Back at the lake Miss Molly Ivins was my bed buddy.  Wish you could hear her burr.  Lovely and soothing.

Linda has a good friend who is a retired musician from the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra who lives part of each year across the lake.  She is also a craftsman woodworker.  Everyone is still talking about the launch party she held for the launch of the boat she made.  She has spent the winter in Southern California learning to fly an ultra-light (she already had a pilot license) and make her own plane.  She's applied to the home owners association at the lake for permission to land on the lake.  Linda fears she just might decide to stay in CA because she would have more flying days available there.  Should she decide to stay I assume she'd put her lake house up for sale.  Hmmmmm?  Here's a photo of the house:

The stacked pallets are her dock.  Many owners have folding docks because back in the days when the lake froze over it wasn't unusual for ice flows in high winds to knock down docks.  Well, the lake hasn't frozen that deep in ages.  I can remember when we went ice skating on the lake.  That hasn't been possible for years.

Linda continues to have problems with her sceptic system (see blog post from 9/1/21) .  Friday morning 2 inspectors showed up. I have no idea who they work for and to protect their privacy let's just call them Daryl and his other brother Daryl (I hope you remember the 2nd Bob Newhart show called "Newhart").  You'll see the backside of one of them in the picture.  Be thankful you can't smell the tobacco smoke on him and the other Daryl.  It almost made me sick.

After making a huge hole in the ground and claiming they had fixed the problem I got a lesson in WV "bidnes".  Daryl #1 offered Linda a choice -- an invoice for $150 and she'd have to write a check OR she could just pay him $100 in cash.  Oh my.  Now I was highly skeptical of this entire scenario but Linda vouched for them and said she had known them for years and her regular handyman trusted them.  Oh well. . .

The weather reports were saying the lake was going to receive 10" or more of snow on Saturday.  I would have loved to stay and take some photos BUT it took days after the last snow storm for the road to the lake to be cleared.  The DC area was also predicted to get snow and I had appointments the following week I didn't want to miss, so it was time to leave.  through the wonders of bluetooth I was able to have Gaelic Storm help me get out of the mountains.  If you're not familiar with this group, it's a bar band out of San Francisco who came to notice when they appeared as the band in steerage in the movie Titanic.  They're still performing and I've been fortunate to see them twice at The Birchmere.

Well, the snow was pretty much a non-event in Alexandria but Linda says she got way more than 10" and has no idea when she'll be able to get back into Morgantown.

Still, I look forward to my next trip to the lake but good news I'll be spending this week getting ready to go see my son and daughter-in-law in Massachusetts.  Stay tuned!