Michael Louis Scott June 1997 to Date
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Note: <888> 02/28/04 Saturday 4:10 P.M.: I took a short nap. I also ate a piece of apple pie after the soup. I guess there is not much going on. I am just having a lazy relaxing Saturday afternoon at home. There is really no point going out and dealing with the busier activity downtown, since I am quite comfortable here at the moment. I have spent so many years downtown, I am not the least bit curious as to what the normal activity is of the weekend shoppers versus the week day shoppers. Basically, as far as I can tell, there are so many people in this area whom live in more remote sections that like in the old days in farming communities, they enjoy their Saturdays downtown shopping, since when one lives up in back country Greenwich or Banksville, New York or even up in the boon docks of Bedford, New York, they begin to feel sort of isolated in their rural splendor, so like the farmers of old days, they come to town to see what their more urban cousins are up too, and of course all of the local merchants know it, and they are eagerly lining their pockets to pay their rent which mostly goes back to a bunch of New York City real estate tycoons, whom can afford to employ highly paid workers in New York, whom can afford to move out here in the country and shop at the so called Company stores. Thus it is a never ending cycle of urban suburban commerce that never seems to end, and of course the quaint country folk that sell gasoline to the big City slickers are obviously living more comfortably than many of their urban cousins seem to realize. I basically realized when my family first moved here in 1961, and because we enjoyed outdoor sports, we joined the Greenwich Country Club, and many times I saw that the earlier names on the Greenwich Country Club trophy plaques back in the 1920s were those of the Rockefeller family winning various trophies that this was a one horse company town or what one would more simply call an Exxon company town. At the moment, I do not feel like going through the routine of cleaning up just to go out and buy gasoline. However, despite the fact that the Rockefellers over advertised themselves, other long term residents in the country actually owned the real estate where the oil was pumped from, so those families were also some of the original partners in Exxon, and they more than likely since they were more traditional and conservative were able to retain their wealth from the oil producing properties and never felt any reason to cater to big city slickers whom were out to fleece them. Thus although the Rocks made a few dollars off of oil, more than likely other families are also involved in the oil business and more than likely the families that knew how to transport the oil probably made some money too, since if you can not get your product to market, you are not going to be making any money. Thus from what I know we could just simply declare Irvine, Texas a sister village to Greenwich, Connecticut, so when they decide to come up here in the warmer weather, they would not have to adjust to the discomfort of dealing with an inhospitable business community. Of course from what I know, winter is probably not over yet, since more than likely the mid 50s temperature of the next few days are just a teaser. The warmer weather makes me want to sit back and relax, but at the moment I am not just yet turning on my air conditioner. CIO Note: <888> 02/28/04 Saturday 2:15 P.M.: I heated and ate a 18.8 ounce can of Campbell's New England clam chowder, which I had with about 40 small cut Arnold garlic and herb croutons. I ate the soup with a glass of iced tea. I checked my mail. I will now put the computer on standby, and I will take a nap. CIO Note: <888> 02/28/04 Saturday 1:30 P.M.: Actually the Caribbean nautical chart map was drawn in 1886 with updates to 1967, and it is in black and white, not like the more current nautical charts at Land Fall Navigation nearby, so more than likely when it was new after 1967, it cost less than $10, since that is all I paid for a coast of Maine chart about ten years ago. However, it is sort of a novelty, since it was located in this town, and people lost interest in it. More than likely the original owners used it on some adventure and once they got down there, they "Went Native", and they probably never returned to tell their story at the Explorers Club in Manhattan, which I once found an apartment two doors away from for a art gallery operator in Manhattan with the restaurant La Galoue in between which was much favored by the Duke of Windsor and his small group of friends. The apartment at East 70th Street just east of Madison Avenue on the south side of the street back in 1974 was about $350 a month for a second story main floor front studio about 30 feet by 30 feet with small kitchenette and bathroom in a prosperous neighborhood close to the Frick and other art orientated activities. Alas, I just found it for a friend, I never rented it myself, so I do not have rent control on it. However, I did meet up with the friend in Nantucket in 1975, and he told me was going to sublet it, while he worked at a gallery near the Pompadou center in Paris. So possibly the friend still has the lease on that apartment. I would think one would be foolish to have given it up, considering what Manhattan real estate prices are today. It also had about 11 foot high ceiling with a fireplace and big bay windows. Basically, it was one of those well maintained brownstones in an expensive neighborhood. The gallery operator had me attend a nearby gallery opening with a prominent New York politicians like retired governor W. Averell Harriman, which gallery was across the street from the Austrian consulate to the United Nations, so more than likely I have already touched base with a certain group of established New York democrats considering, one of my roommates at Lake Forest College was Robert Wagner's stepson, and another classmate at Taft's father was deputy mayor of New York, so more than likely any contacts I had with the New York political establishment were at the highest level, and it is the nature of Franklin Roosevelt's advisors such as W. Averell Harriman, they were independently wealthy, and were known at the dollar a year men in his administration. Thus having done my time in New York around various political groups alas, I was never paid, so alas I am one of those forgotten dollar a year people left out to pasture in Connecticut. CIO Note: <888> 02/28/04 Saturday 12:55 P.M.: I did research, a piece of glass 28" by 41" single thickness costs $24.25 http://www.miror.com/windows.asp , a black wooden framed 28" by 41" by .75" by .75" basic black frame would cost about $50 The Frame Shop 28" by 41" black frame , mat board would cost about $10, the Caribbean Map would probably cost $20 to $100 if one could find about a 50 year old map, and hooks and wire would cost $3 and mounting and framing would cost about $50, so conservatively my Caribbean framed map would cost with tax and shipping would cost $200 to $300 on today's market prices, so at a $20 cost to me, it is sort of amusing that no one bought it for the last six months for $40 at the Greenwich Hospital Thrift. I guess it is not most people's taste in decorative arts, but they frequently are willing to spend much more money on vacationing in such locations. CIO Note: <888> 02/28/04 Saturday 11:05 A.M.: I was up at 7 A.M., and I ate breakfast of oatmeal, toast with strawberry jam, orange juice, vitamins, supplements, and coffee. I relaxed a bit. Today is suppose to be warmer, but I think I would rather go out later in the day, since the Big Bucks movers and shakers always seem to hog the downtown area on Saturday mornings. When my family first returned to Greenwich, Connecticut in 1961, the average house cost less than $50,000 which was much the same price of houses anywhere else in the country. A great many houses at the time in Greenwich were less than $25,000. However, since we are a bedroom community near the New York City area, the highly paid corporate and financial types from Manhattan tend to drive up the real estate prices, so now the average price of a house is close to a million dollars. Thus there has been an over 2000% inflation rate in the price of housing in this community in 43 years. Still certain items like Social Security have only risen 2% to 3% per year, so people whom are dependant on less inflationary sources of income have become financially squeezed. In my particular case whenever I get a Cost of Living Increase from Social Security, other financial benefits and supplements are decreased, so in reality in 20 years I have never had a cost of living increase. Basically the United States government is suppose to have Economists, but it seems that they are more prone towards generating inflation to reduce the actual value of the United States Government debt. Thus besides being the largest not for profit tax collectors in the country, they are also the largest cause of economic net worth loss in the country, which indeed could be considered another unfair tax. However, as the real estate becomes more expensive the local municipal government is also able to increase local property taxes on the long term residents. However, there are a great many of the voting public whom do not actually own property and actually have very little net worth in the homes since they are mortgaged. Still they assume because of their numbers they can ease out the long term tax payers because of their numbers. This is not a practical solution, since a great many of the long term tax payers also happen to volunteer their services to this community where they have lived a long time, and they also seem to have professional backgrounds having lived and worked in this area for a long time. Thus when new arrivals whom are programmed on other experiences from living in other areas will frequently find that the old guard are more reserve about the speculative nature of the new arrivals business and politics in this area. To put it simply, just because one can afford to buy a cup of coffee at Starbucks and relax in town, it does not mean one represents the town or that one has any influence in the town in terms of the way the town is run or governed. Since a great many former residents whom worked for the town still have relatives here and since a great many of the same former residents are dependent on pensions from the town, quite a few highly trained professionals work behind the scenes in this town to maintain the financial integrity of the town, so that the long term conservative financial obligations are met by the town government. Thus a great many town administrators are not highly paid, but they have skills and knowledge of the community that represents the continuity of the town of Greenwich as it administers its financial obligations. Much could be said about other financial institutions in this community, since they frequently represent individuals whom may not be seen frequently in the downtown area of Greenwich, which is actually a very small part area wise of the entire town. Thus unless one sells dresses, you will probably not get rich networking on Greenwich Avenue. Still since the town is well known for having a certain level of financial prosperity, a great many people frequently spend time here trying to cultivate business contacts in their locations of business which frequently are less costly to operate. In other words people whom come here to shop in the Silk Stocking district are not here because they think it is cheaper. Even the financially frugal crowd at the Greenwich Hospital Thrift shop which has to pay over $6,000 a month in rent find bargains or they would not be there. Since I do not know anything about women's clothing, I would imagine with the expensive women's clothing shops here in Greenwich, there is also expensive high price clothing in the thrift shops, which people seek out for the lower prices of used clothing. In a town like Greenwich with so many families, it is frequently the case that the skinny women whom are well dressed, once they get married and have children start to put on weight, and they also tend to have less money because they have families, so this rather large group in town delights in finding clothes in the thrift shops, and they frequently donate their clothes from when they were thinner, so that the young skinny women just starting out can occasionally find bargains that they normally would not be able to afford. Of course just because one dresses in expensive clothes, it does not mean that one has any more money. Basically, I do not dress up better myself, because my better clothes are a bit dated, and they tend not to fit me with the extra weight having gone from 145 pounds to 205 pounds. However, I still keep them around in case I ever manage to lose weight again. I have a suit that would fit me at my current weight, but there is no point in wearing it, since I would not have anymore money, which people whom wear suits are generally expected to have a little extra spending money. Also on cold days, when one spends a lot of time outside, suits tend not to be too warm. Thus if one can not afford the cost of coffee at Starbucks, there is no point in wearing a suit to be warm and comfortable inside. Basically, the only people I see wearing suits here are the professionals in the offices, and it is the nature of their services that to deal with them tends to cost money. Of course on Saturday mornings in a town like Greenwich a lot of the professional suit crowd goes downtown, and they tend to wear khakis and a sweater of whatever looks more democratic. However, it is the nature of their persona that they still exercise the same level of influence despite the fact they are not in their business attire. However, once they retire and they do not have the high levels of income coming into their financial reserves, they tend to be more democratic, once they gain the viewpoint of what their other retired associates are doing with their spare time. In other words if one is going clam digging at Tod's Point, I would not try wearing your Wing Tips. Thus the formal nature of Greenwich as it is presented in the media is not the usual case, since a great many people also have to do maintenance themselves, and when they pursue such past times, they tend to wear more informal attire. In other words, just because someone has paint on their clothes does not mean they are financially hard up, and it could mean they are fortunate enough to own property that they can afford to paint and maintain. Well dressed people walking around downtown whom do not seem to be local residents and whom do not seem to have any general purpose here, more than likely are enjoying the local ambience trying to make connections with the business community. However, since my family is pretty much the original business family in this area, I tend to let the Bank of New York take care of business while I fiddle with my hobbies. CIO End of Scott's Notes week of 02/27/04: Note: <888> 02/27/04 Friday 10:45 P.M.: I relaxed a bit. I will now send out my weekly notes. I will then shut down the computer, and I will go to bed. It is suppose to be warmer the next few days, so I will try to continue to be on a daytime schedule. I have appointments on next Tuesday and Thursdays during the daytime. Well stay warm. The Texas democratic party is once again sending me email against the Republican party http://www.funsnap.com/1/bushgirl.swf . Unfortunately it is the nature of the role of commander and chief that the current President if I am not mistaken President Bush could exercise executive privilege and send a lot of Texas government employees to some more sober place like Prudhoe Bay, Alaska to find out what freezing Yankees already know. It is the nature of private money on private property, that the owners can exercise their own judgment as to what they do with their property. I recently read in a four month old Time magazine that Canada has more energy than Saudi Arabia, so more than likely since the Queen of England is also the Queen of Canada that her subjects are still relative warm inside up north. The people in Texas have been south for so long with their canaries in their warm homes that they will find out that the canaries were originally used by the Germans that brought them here to detect natural methane gas buildups in coal mines. From what I know about coal miners, I would rather not mess with them, unless of course one remembers that John Harvard's father was a coal miner. Basically the people down in Texas whom stay there too much of the time are so hot so much of the time that they frequently forget that there is more to this world than bar room beer humor, particularly as they get older and they might need the services of more expert people up north. When one speaks English, it is the nature of the English speaking language that the people speaking English tend to get smarter the further north one goes. Ultimately, for the 10 cent Canadian dime award, what is on the reverse side of the Canadian dime opposite Queen Elizabeth II's engraving. It looks to be some sort of sailing craft. More than likely the real vessel exists somewhere in the world. On the United States dime we still have parsley on the reverse side of our dime with Franklin the coal miner on the front side. Basically, I guess one could stay and eat parsley in the United States of America or try sailing where the Canadians found bounty, but from what I hear tell, it is a much harder life there. I heard reports on the New York media that Canadians still eat moose stew, which might not be as enjoyable to the tenderloin crowd down around the Rio Grande. Next time someone in Texas wants people up north to "Remember the Alamo", one better remember that those people whom fought and died there still have relatives living in this country, and more than likely they are as formidable as their relatives, and I am not talking about the actors in the movie of the same name. Well from what I can tell up north, we probably could make money selling beer in Texas in the summer, since more than likely not too many of the ingredients for beer are available in large quantity in Texas. I also seem to remember that our local cablevision company in Connecticut use to show pictures of quaint farm people down in Texas doing the Texas "Two Step". Basically I guess the sidewalks get so hot in Texas in the summer where they can afford cement, that they are what one would call down there Tender Foots. It is much the opposite up north that the cold cement tends to make one more sure footed until one slips on black ice. Basically, the Texans seem to spend too much time watching Ted Turner's bar room gossip from Atlanta, and if they ever ran out of batteries for their remote controls on their big screen television and had to lift a book to find out something else than what they learned in grade school, they might be surprised that it is still a big world out there, much larger than Texas. Basically, it is my viewpoint, that the whole internet is nothing but a bunch of frustrated writers in India letting off their creative energies on the World. We all know that India tends to be a frugal country, so there is not much money in trying to shake down India unless one wants more curry in one's rice. Basically curry in the hot climate of Texas would help the individuals not feel the heat. During the hot summers here, I recommend a few dashes of curry in tomato juice for relief from the heat. Since we never hear much from India, I would imagine they are saving their energies for producing tea. Well stay warm. CIO Note: <888> 02/27/04 Friday 9:20 P.M.: I went back out after the last message. I went downtown, and I walked the entire length of Greenwich Avenue, and I sat out at various locations. I stopped by CVS, and I bought a white Djeep disposable lighter for $1.89 plus .11 tax for $2 total. I noticed that this Sunday for next week's sale items, they will have 100 bag packages of Lipton orange pekoe tea on sale. I have noticed during my walks that regularly on Fridays that someone or a number of individuals throw American Online CDs on the street at the top of Greenwich Avenue around the Pickwick Plaza. I suppose if one could find out whom does it, one could fine them for littering. I completed my walk, and I used the bathroom in the senior center. I then drove down by the waterfront. I next went by the Greenwich Library. I was told they have a copy of the National Geographic with the Greenwich, Connecticut story at the reference desk, if one can not find it in general circulation. I then returned home. I made and ate my usual salad www.geocities.com/mikelscott/salad.htm , but this time I used a tin of King Oscar sardines instead of tuna fish. For the cheddar cheese portion, I used Stop and Shop Vermont extra sharp cheddar cheese. I also used all of the other regular ingredients. I had the salad with iced tea. I opened up the new white Djeep lighter to have available for use. I use them since they last four times as long as a Bic lighter, and they also seem to work in the very cold weather and in the wind, if one shields them. However, it is the nature of butane lighters, when they get very cold below freezing, they tend not to be as strong. I suppose that is why many people still prefer Zippo lighters with Ronson lighter fluid, but unfortunately cold steel lighters in one's pocket might be seen as a security threat since they would set off metal detectors unlike plastic lighters. CIO Note: <888> 02/27/04 Friday 2:40 P.M.: I went out after the last message. I went by Putnam Trust Bank of New York on Mason Street. I then went by the Greenwich Hospital Thrift Shop. Everything is still half price. I bought for half price for $20 a 28 inch by 41 inch framed map of the Caribbean from Guadeloupe to Trinidad with about a one inch thick wooden frame around it, and it is framed in glass. I then returned home. I used a triple nail OOK hook, and I hung it beneath the framed tapestry of the Unicorn to the right side of the bathroom door. One can only see it when the bathroom door is closed. I moved the Audubon print of the Great Blue Heron to beneath the mirror on the bathroom door hallway side. I moved the Moulin Rouge painting to above the white framed mirror above the white bureau in the bedroom. I cleaned the glass on the Caribbean map. I will now go back out again. It is a nice day as far as I can tell. CIO Note: <888> 02/27/04 Friday 12:45 P.M.: I made and ate my homemade onion soup www.geocities.com/mikelscott/onionsoup.htm which was quite enjoyable. I used one three inch yellow Spanish onion and one two inch diameter red Bermuda onion along with all of the other usual ingredients. I had the soup with a glass of iced tea. I also had a piece of apple pie. I will now shut down the computer, and I will go out shortly as soon as I dress warmly. Even though it is warmer out at 38 degrees Fahrenheit, I still wear two pairs of cotton long underwear, since I tend to spend a bit more time outside walking around than just dashing from a car to a shop. CIO Note: <888> 02/27/04 Friday 11:25 A.M.: I showered and cleaned up. I threw out the paper and garbage from the bathroom. I picked up my mail. CIO Note: <888> 02/27/04 Friday 9:40 A.M.: I chatted with a relative at 11 P.M. last night. I was up at 5:30 A.M. this morning. I chatted with a friend. I ate breakfast of oatmeal, toast with strawberry jam, orange juice, vitamins, supplements, and coffee. Since Saturday and Sunday might be warmer with temperatures up to 50 degrees Fahrenheit, I decided to do my house cleaning today instead of Saturday. I just finished house cleaning and watering the plants. I used CVS cleaner with bleach instead of Lysol Island Breeze cleaner, so the apartment smells a bit like bleach. I listened to Radio 107.6 FM with my Emerson Wireless headphones. I am now recharging the Radio Shack nickel cadmium rechargeable batteries, and they should be charged at 4:30 P.M.. The other pair of freshly charged batteries is in the Emerson wireless headphones. I threw out the garbage. CIO Download 3.07 Mb. Share with your friends:
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