Water Balloon Toss at Olivetrees 2013 Picnic.

It has been over a month since the Olive Trees Picnic. With the hacking of my site and my general tendency towards procrastination, I have not been able to post the pictures until now.

There were 42 readers and contributors who participated in the day, bringing food, drinks and joy. In the whiffle ball game, the visiting team, led by team captain, Gavin Ellis beat the home team 15 to 12.

The water balloon toss was a tie between the Frederick’s of Caroga Lake and the team of Gavin and Schuyler of Auburn.

The three legged race was won by the Cleveland’s of Elbridge (again). There have been rumors that they tie their legs together and walk around like that at home just to practice.

The wheel barrow race was won by the Watrobskis. There has been a formal complaint lodged with the national wheel barrow race commissioner stating that Chris, the parent of Ethan, carried him over the finish line, therefore disqualifying the team because the “down” participant did not have a hand on the ground at the time of the finish. Stay tuned for results of this protest.

Click here to enjoy images from the picnic.

This web-site has only really been up for a very short time and already it has been hacked twice. Now I will be the first to admit that I’m not very computer literate. I do not know what it means to be hacked, but the biggest thing I don’t understand why anyone would waste their time in the first place.

What does it accomplish? Where does one find the time in their lives is another question that puzzles me? I wish I was so bored that the only thing I had to do was cause mischief. I guess it is truly a sign that I am getting older that I feel my time is so precious. I can’t help but to wonder if one is that lacking of things to do why they don’t do something positive like plant a tree, go read to a relative that is confined in a hospital or nursing home, help out in a soup kitchen, or somehow use that time to make the world a better place. Granted, when I was younger I had kind of mischievous streak and I’m sure I created some needless problems, but…

Now of course I may have to consider that this could be someone’s job. Maybe I’m being hacked by the NSA in an attempt to keep me from revealing the truth,  that any level of government above that on the local level, if studied, would be considered superfluous. Maybe they are worried that through my web-site, I might organize all the people in the world to carry out a coup and rid themselves of all the parasites living like royalty on their tax dollars. Perhaps they fear that this web-site  would start a movement to end the government subsidy of the very corporate structure which creates 90% of the problems, such as war, pollution, and poverty while accumulating 99% of the wealth.

Seriously though, I just don’t understand why anyone would waste their valuable time on me and what I say. Maybe I’m more important than I think.

First of all, I have to say there is really no excuse for not publishing the next issue of Olive Trees. There has been plenty of content sent it. Many people have sent in donations to cover the cost. My only excuses are pretty poor but I’m going to give them anyway.

The first one is my old computer is slowly dying and so we have been forced to buy a new one. The operating system is Windows 8, which can only be compared to living in Montreal and trying to communicate with the natives using the French that was taught in high school. The learning curve is much greater than I could’ve imagined. “How hard can it be. A PC is a PC.”

My second excuse (the poorest) is that a wonderful friend volunteered to help me create this presence on the web. This has taken up all the time I really want to spend on the computer per week in the warm weather.

The third excuse is the weather itself. This is the excuse most New Yorkers rely on for procrastination. It has been hot and muggy. The grass is growing faster than I can mow it. I have a hard time keeping the weeds smaller than the vegetables I’m supposed to be growing. The office space where I normally prepare the magazine has become icky, sticky and smells like mold and mildew causing a great lack of desire in sitting there.

Anyway I am sorry if you sent things in and have yet to see them in print. Please come to the picnic on 8/3/13 and we can talk then and I promise a double issue in the near future. That is unless I can think of more excuses. ~ Ron

Hello my name is Ron Van Nostrand. For the purposes of the web site once you
know that all you have to do is add .com and you’re here. For some time  I’ve
resisted  being a presence on the internet, mostly because I would have to
define myself in some way.

I was reading an article in the Science of the mind this morning about “going
with the flow.” It stated that even dead fish go with the flow. The secret was
to ride on top of the current like a surfer rides a wave.  Following the course
of the wave, yet still being somewhat in control of the experience.

At this point a discussion began about how much easier it is to create
something new than replicating something that is already been done (unless you
have a 3-D printer.) It was then that I realized exactly who or what I am. I am
a “Sound Surfer.”

Originally this started by playing with a group of friends where we set loose
boundaries and let the music take us wherever it flowed. I am fortunate to
continue in this tradition as a member of the band “A Flock of Free Range
Children” and honored that they allow me to provide lyrical content in our
salute to our muse.

Now I have always been a bit concerned about spending a lot of time on
computers for health reasons and like video games web-surfing can be quite
addicting and prevent one from experiencing the beauty outside the back door
(or front door.) So I hope if you’re going to be on anyway you will join me.

Until we meet in cyber-space again just think of me as “The Sound Surfer,”
searching for the underlying rhythm of each of life’s wave in which to ride
through eternity.

Breath Deep, Seek Peace (a message brought to you by dolphins everywhere.)

Yours,
Ron Van Nostrand