The Weekend Trifecta

A new feature for veritablepastiche: the trifecta. A trifecta is generally described as a type of bet where, in order to win, the bettor must pick the top three finishers in the correct order. Here are this weekend’s top three:

• My Sweet Baboo, my mom and I went out to dinner on Saturday night. No particular reason, really – just an opportunity to get together, relax and let someone else do the cooking. We went to Zabroso, a restaurant in the village of Sherrill, east of here. The menu this weekend included a four-course feast of local products, all of which were creatively prepared and delicious. It was also a great trip down memory lane. My Dad grew up in Sherrill, where my grandfather worked for Oneida Silver. The restaurant is located in the Mansion House, the original home of the Oneida Community, and also was home to my Dad for a time when he was young and to my grandmother on a couple of different occasions. On the way in, we drove past the golf course, and saw that the memorial tree purchased by my generation to honor my late uncle is thriving; after dinner, we wandered around the community garden, sharing the evening air with a couple of fawns who quietly made their way across the lawn near the tree line. Friday would have been Mom and Dad’s 55th anniversary; to be at the Mansion House on Saturday seemed very fitting.

• Our garden journeys continued this weekend; Saturday, MSB and I were in our respective gardens weeding, planting irises, and for me, rehabilitating a garden which had not done as well as I had hoped in the past couple of years. We also dug out an old wild rose with roots as big as our arms, and moved into its place a young, vigorous wisteria which needed more structure than it was getting. Three wheelbarrows full of debris later, we were done; everything was watered in, and I even managed to get the front lawn mowed before exhaustion set in.

• Syracuse needs a new mayor, not only because the one we have has not lived up to his promise, but also because he’s done at the end of the year due to our two-term limitation. As a registered Democrat, my opinion is apparently a hot commodity in the primary. On Friday and again today, I had the opportunity to participate in telephone polls regarding the mayoral contest. I know to some folks this type of phone call is a distraction or intrusion, but I’d rather be asked for my opinion than be completely ignored. The questions were slightly different on each survey, but I hope I was consistent in the overall gist of things. One question asked in both surveys that I could answer without hesitation was, how likely am I to vote in the primary – absolutely will vote, likely will vote, may vote, not likely to vote, or will not vote. I can say for sure that I will be voting.

Time now to put this weekend to bed; tomorrow's likely to be another fun-filled day, and I don't want to miss any of it. I'll leave you with a short video that I got via email from my brother-in-(common)law, which clearly illustrates the value of perspective. It's about six minutes long, but worth sitting through it. Enjoy, and have a great week!