Re-enlisted in the Rockland Civil War Round Table

I did something last night I wasn't able to do fro the last decade, I re-enlisted in the Rockland Civil War Round Table. A decade ago, I was a very active participant in the Round Table, I even received a plaque acknowledging my contribution to Civil War history in Rockland County way back when! Unfortunately, I haven't been able to attend meetings because of the heavy work load on the job. I was unable to get home by 7:30 when the meetings started; or, if I did, I was too tired. 

Now that I'm free I am able to do some of the things I have enjoyed in the past. Last night I saw some familiar faces and renewed acquaintances. I even met a gentlemen who was a volunteer at the Historical Society of Rockland County. He read my manuscript on the histories of many of the Rockland men who served in the Civil War.

Last night's presentation by Tom Fox was pretty interesting, it was about a soldier from the 33rd New Jersey Infantry, Willie McGee,  who was a con man and wound up being awarded the medal of honor for something he didn't do. The speaker chronicled his life and how he got away with some outrageous behavior until he was lost track of in the mists of time. I hope to get more involved down the road. Right now, I'm just taking a back seat and soaking it all in, but those little gray cells are beginning to percolate!!!If you live in the Rockland County, Bergen County area and are interested in our history or the Civil War, I strongly suggest a visit to our Round Table. Our web site is Rockland Civil War Round Table

 Our meetings are at 7:30 PM on Wednesday nights at the American Legion Hall in Pearl River, NY 10965.

Thanks!

OH NO, Mr. Bill, I Forgot how to make Chicken Cutlets!!!

I could not believe what happened last night. Regina asked me to make chicken cutlets because she was working late. So I said ok! Now there was a time when I was a great Chicken Cutlet cook; however, last night was not a good effort. I hadn't done it in so long that I literally forgot what to do.

As I gathered the ingredients, I was pretty confident, after all everyone used to like them. In fact to this day, Chicken cutlets remain my favorite meal. So I assembled the ingredients, eggs, chicken, bread crumbs and 100% cold pressed virgin olive oil per my picky wife's request :-)

I heated up the oil, dumped the chicken cutlets in the egg wash and put them in the pan to fry. The only problem was I had forgotten that it was a two step process, first the egg wash THEN the bread crumbs. As a result, the bread crumbs kept sliding off the chicken as I was turning the breasts over. So I would take more bread crumbs and layer them on the chicken. While doing this, It dawned on me that I completely forgot I was supposed to smash the cutlets with a wooden mallet we had in the house to flatten them. Consequently the cutlets were a lot thicker than they should have been. Boy did I feel like a dope. Its been about 15 years since I last did them.  At least I remembered to lay them on a plate covered with paper towels and patted them dry to remove excess olive oil.

They were edible though, still tasty with a thick crust, most importantly not burnt. I consoled myself with the thought that at least she didn't have to cook them and it was a hot meal after coming in from a cold night.

The next time I do it, it will be a lot easier now that it has come back to me. :-)

The War Between The States Redux!!

After three months of job searching and errand running and lacklustre attempts at House Husbanding, I think I will try to get back into the scholarly pursuit of the American Civil War. The old job wore me out, down to a frazzle. In the past an old buddy of mine Christine L. rekindled my desire to get back into Civil War research after a similar period of exhaustion on the job. Also I lost a lot of enthusiasm for Civil War research when my long time Civil War buddy Roger Cary passed away from a bout with cancer. I've decided to retrench and see what if anything I can do to rekindle that flame of curiosity I once had on the subject.

To that end, I contacted another Civil War buff, I know who lives near Saratoga Springs to see if we can form an alliance because in my experience it is always a lot more fun when you know someone with whom you can share every discovery. I will try to help him out with his projects in between my job searches. Lance Ingmire is working on a history of the 95th New York Volunteers, a unit that I wrote s short blurb on back in the 70's so I am familiar with many of the guys in the unit. Moreover, assisting Lance, I decided to create a Yahoo Message board related specifically to the 95th to see if we can catch anyone out there who may possess written material from wartime by or about them.

  http://www.groups.yahoo.com/group/95thNYV/

Also I contacted Paul Martin and found out that the  Rockland County Civil War Round Table still exists. I used to be pretty active in it til work consumed everything. Will rejoin at the next meeting on February 6th.

Another Day, another Whatever!!

Let's see still looking for a job, no one wants a 64 year old former property manager except stupid computer programs that keep sending me job opportunities for Bank Tellers or Buyers of Women's fashions. I even got a note from a loan company that specializes in retirement loans. At least they got the age right. 

My daughter introduced me to a country singer named Tift Merritt. She's not bad, sort of like a younger Mary Chapin Carpenter. She will be going to a concert in the city to see her on her birthday. Hope she has a good time.

On other fronts, my wife is trying to train me into becoming a house husband. Boy this is tough work. I can't seem to do anything right  :-) At least I'm getting better with shopping lists except that sometimes I think i suffer from brain farts. The other day, while at Shop and Stop, I saw Entenmann's chocolate donuts. So I thought that this would be a nice surprise. Regina used to love them. I come home and she says, why did you buy these, I was making banana cake with chocolate icing? Oh well, I try.....and I sure have clean fingernails from the dishwashing too.

I'm not much at cooking, that will never happen, but at least I make a mean tuna salad. She even complimented me on how crunchy it was. Onions, celery, mayo and tuna. Even I can figure that one out!! And they say you can't teach an old dog new tricks!

Mixed Blessings dealing with NYS Labor Dept.

OK, so I'm laid off (reduction in force) and on unemployment. I have gone to a couple of NYS  Labor presentations, met with their people, who by the way, have all been fantastic. But when you wind up talking to their voice mail or working with their automated systems, I really get frustrated.

There is a young lady who is helping me that is in charge of helping Veterans find jobs. She is a Vet, herself so there is a kindred spirit thing going on here. I told her that I wanted to work again but not in the field that I was laid off from. I've had it not just with being a property manager, but also the insane 80 mile commute daily back and forth to New York City. The other day, I got a newsletter called Smart 2010 from the NYS Labor Department telling me about a bunch of property manager positions most of which were located in New York city. I emailed my connection at Tomorrow's Work Place and queried her as to why that happened when we had discussed my feelings about a new job.  Well it turns out that this Smart 2010 Newsletter is not so smart after all. It scans your resume, picks out key words and tells you what is available up to 25 miles from your zip code.

What am I looking for is a job related to purchasing in NORTH JERSEY. As a property manager, I gained extensive experience in biddding, sourcing and purchasing. I want a 9 to 5 job, not 24 by 7 recall which is what I was subject to in the past. Natalie sent me a list of keywords to use in the resume which the scanner would pick up and hopefully direct the right job my way. So I will retool my resume, tell her where to insert the new key words and keep my fingers crossed.

42nd Wedding Anniversary

Today is our 42nd Wedding anniversary! However due to  my recent layoff, Regina and I will not be showering each other with opulent gifts. Still looking for a job and still on unemployment. We will be exchanging small tokens of appreciation/affection and having a small dinner at a local favorite of ours, Lynch's Restaurant in Stony Point. So after 42  years we have three great kids and three grandchildren on the west coast. My daughter in law is always updating us on the most recent important event and lots of photos. It is hard to believe that its been that long. Seems just like yesterday that we were walking up the steps of St. Catherine of Genoa in Brooklyn.............

Rocco Smirks!!

Latest Photo of youngest grandchild Rocco!! Cute little guy. Looks like he has a joke on the world and not telling anyone.