Typical Day on the Road

November 2005

< - October - November - December - >

Nov. 1

Salem, Mass. Struck camp at Winter Island, which is closing its campground for the season, and drove into town to do a ton of laundry. The laundromat was only a block from Witch Village, so Zephyr went by to say howdy, and was put to work again, picking up trash for a couple of hours. (There was quite a cleanup to be done after the Halloween season.) He also discussed his own copious stock of ideas for haunted houses with the owner, who patiently listened.

Nov. 2

The second of our shows at Swampscott schools. Then we headed to Trader Joe's and Panera, where we spent a couple of hours catching up on Internet work. We were surrounded by a group of ladies (retired teachers, we gather) who were crocheting. They made some very funny comments that we couldn't help overhearing. ("I first tried crocheting 20 years ago after I quit smoking. My teacher took a look at what I'd done, and said, ‘Smoke!'")

Nov. 3

Two shows in Milton, Mass. We performed for elementary students at a middle school in a real theatre, and a rather excellent one at that. Then we moved in to the Quincy Library, where we've performed several times, and set up camp in the lobby, where there are plenty of tables, and where there is Wi-Fi access for computers.

Nov. 4

Braintree, MA

Hello! Borders and Panera (in other words we stayed busy in our "living rooms on the road".)

Nov. 5

Took a bicycle tour through Boston, which seems to be under construction all over town - but nonetheless has some good bicycle paths. The city was quite crowded today, and at one point we found ourselves in the middle of a farmers' market, and had to dismount and squeeze through a sardine-thick crowd clutching our bikes. One fellow passed by and commented, "Youse guys picked a helluva place to bring your bicycles by", and he certainly had a valid point. He also suggested that we carry the bikes through the crowd above our heads, but that didn't seem very practical.

Stopped for a while at the Museum of Science, which we'd visited previously, where we had lunch, took pictures of some "storm troopers" promoting the Star Wars exhibit, and listened to a fascinating presentation about Einstein's theory of relativity.

Continued riding, and near Boston Common we encountered two young men on bicycles with video cameras, one of them with the camera strapped to his hat. They were students making a documentary about bicyclists in Boston, and wanted to interview us, so we obliged.

Rode past the Old State House, then to Old North Church, built in 1723, which is the oldest active church building in Boston. Its real claim to fame, however, is that on an April night in 1775, it was used for military purposes, as lanterns were hung from it to send a signal warning about the movements of British troops ("One if by land, two if by sea") in connection with Paul Revere's ride. (No, he did not yell, "The British are coming" - everyone was British then. He yelled, "The regulars are out!'', which doesn't sound quite as memorable somehow.) Revere's house is also nearby.

Perfect time to take some pictures, right? Except - except - we couldn't find our camera!! With horror, we realized we must have left it at the Science Museum, either in the café, or even worse, on a platform near the bicycle racks outside. We rushed back to the Museum on our bikes like the kids in "E.T." It wasn't by the racks. While Zephyr tended the bikes, Dennis raced into the café, and Kimberly went to Lost and Found. The camera was in neither location, so Kimberly began filling out a form at Lost and Found while Dennis went out to ask Zephyr what details he remembered about the camera. As Dennis approached the bikes, he glanced at the brand spanking new 80-dollar handlebar bag with multiple compartments that Kimberly recently had bought in Salem, and noticed a bulge in the front. He unzipped the front compartment and - yup, there was the camera. Right where Kimberly had placed it before forgetting about it.

Having backtracked thus far, we decided to cancel the rest of our planned itinerary (it was already mid-afternoon) and stay at the Museum to attend a presentation by Doctors Without Borders, an organization that fights disease and starvation in heavily impoverished countries. Two of the doctor involved were there, and they displayed a special emergency nutrition bar that been developed for such purposes - it looks like a bar of soap, and is made mostly of wheat and oil, with nutrients added. They also had what appeared to be wristbands that are wrapped around the arms of children to gauge how severe their malnourishment is, and whether they merit immediate care.

We'd like to urge everyone to visit the Doctors Without Borders web site - NOW, while it's on your mind - and make a donation. Don't assume that you can't afford enough to save a dying child. You'd be surprised how little it takes to make a difference.

Nov. 6

Spent most of the day camped out at a Panera north of Boston. In fact, we were there at closing time, and consequently we saw the employees dump a ton of bread into plastic bags, apparently destined for the dumpster. This was disturbing, especially in light of all we heard yesterday about starving children. We have seen other Panera shops donate leftover bread to homeless shelters and the like, but it appears the practice is not consistent.

Nov. 7

Two performances at a school in Revere, Mass. Then we took a bicycle ride, with some rather steep hills, to a bike shop, where we purchased cargo racks for Kimberly's and Zephyr's bikes. (Dennis already has one.)

Nov. 8

The last of our after-school shows at a Swampscott school. Then we hopped on our bikes and took a ride through Marblehead and into Salem. Most of the route was an actual bicycle trail, with no vehicles to worry about. In Salem, we stopped at Witch Village to pick up our paychecks from Halloween, and Zephyr was quite excited about the large sum he collected. Dennis and Kimberly couldn't remember the last time they "clocked-in". We think it was about 8-10 years ago.

Nov. 9

Took a rather lengthy bike ride today, despite having a bit of rain and chilly weather to deal with. Started in Peabody, then went to Salem, then to Beverly, then back to Peabody where our van was parked. In Salem, we stopped at a bookstore because Zephyr wanted to show them a copy of his book and ask if they'd be interested in carrying it. But the owner said that in fact he was liquidating his stock and going out of business. We considered going to one of the museums in Salem that we haven't hit yet, but decided to continue our bike ride without delay because we were concerned about being caught in snow. So we said goodbye to this colorful city for the time being, another of many fascinating places that we've claimed a chunk of for our own.

Nov. 10

Landed in New Hampshire, where the state motto is "Live Free Or Die". (And if one is being offered a choice between those alternatives, it's an oxymoron, don't you think?) Visited Zephyr's friend Desiree, and we spent a good part of the day there. While the two of them were watching horror movies, Dennis and Kimberly managed to get some work done on computer.

In the evening, after doing our laundry, we decided to do something we hadn't done in a long time: we played a couple of games of billiards in a bowling alley. Kimberly won the first game and Dennis won the second; our level skill no doubt made it quite clear to everyone that we hadn't played in a long time.

Nov. 11

Veterans Day, and we just missed a parade as we pulled into downtown Manchester. We were meeting our friends who live in New Hampshire - Jeanne, Kiaya, Chris, Ashley and Desiree - at the SEE Science Museum. It's a facility designed especially for younger kids, but there were enough fun activities to keep us kids at heart busy for a while. (Interesting footnote: in the section dealing with space and flight, there was a painting honoring New Hampshire resident Christa McAuliffe, but there was no information given about her - not even her name was mentioned. She deserves better than this.) After a time, we decided to go have lunch and find something else to keep the kids occupied.

The museum, incidentally, features a most impressive model, constructed entirely of Legos, of The Millyard, the historic complex of which the building is a part. Looking at this model, you get a better idea of how extensive this section of town is than you do just by standing outside and glancing around; and you realize how dynamic this imposing expanse of quaint brick structures (looking as if it was constructed of giant Legos itself) must have been in its heyday

As we gather, The Millyard essentially WAS Manchester. It was established in the 1830's as a manufacturing center for the textile industry (the Amoskeag company), and it attracted several generations of immigrant workers from Europe before it closed down about a century later, leaving the city economically and otherwise depressed. But now The Millyard is thriving again (as Manchester itself seems to be) and it's once again home to businesses--a greater variety of businesses, including museums, including one called The Millyard Museum, which depicts the history of the complex itself. (Some interesting photos of the Millyard can be found here)

Nov. 12

Still in Manchester, NH. Spent most of the day officing at Panera, and the evening at Barnes & Noble. we've still been rather disappointed by the fabled New England fall foliage we haven't seen. But last night brought the first conspicuous frost we've detected, so maybe the leaves will take this as their cue.

Nov. 13

Manchester, NH. Took a bike ride downtown, had a brief workout at the YMCA and let Zephyr stop into a music store and spend a few minutes drooling over the guitars.

Nov. 14

Londonderry, NH. Performed at a school, our first show ever in New Hampshire - state number 44 (plus DC) and counting. This count represents the number of states that our company has performed in, not the number that we, the Goza Family have performed in personally. That number is about 40. (We used to engage other performers to do some of the touring for us, but that seems like an eternity ago.) But at least we personally have VISITED all of the lower 48.

On to Hampstead, where we picked up our mail and said goodbye to our friends whom we won't be seeing again for some time. Then on to Salem, NH. Stopped in at the Kinko's where we have spent so much office time in the past, and were sad to see the changes that have taken place. This (FedEx)Kinko's, like so many others, has begun charging a fee for customers to use their own laptops. we've seen this coming for some time, and we can't really blame them, we suppose, but we can't help feeling that the entire franchise has become somewhat less customer-friendly in several ways since joining forces with FedEx. We have fond memories of many long hours, including some very late ones, as Kinko's used to be almost always open around the clock and calendar. We'll never forget the Easter Sunday in St. Louis when we completed a very important project thanks to the accessibility of a Kinko's. But we don't see ourselves frequenting Fedinko's much in the future; it's the end of an era.

Nov. 15

Salem, NH. Zephyr spent a great deal of time at a guitar store trying out their stock. Our aspiring rock star is very definite that he wants to purchase one in the near future.

Dennis finally found a place willing to service our trailer axle, a service that is a month overdue. Turns out that we don't have to have the bearings re-packed as we did with our two other trailers. They have zerk fittings, so all we have to do is apply new grease periodically. What a relief!

Had an evening show at a school in Haverhill, Mass., where we performed 3 or 4 years ago. Then we started driving toward Schenectady, NY.

Nov. 16

Arrived in Schenectady and met up with our friend Kim, whom we knew in Sacramento, and with whom we met up on Cape Cod during the summer. (See August 18.) she's now attending graduate school in Buffalo, and well on the way to becoming the world's foremost authority on Huckleberry Finn. She drove all the way from Buffalo to Schenectady to see us, then drove right back. What a sweetheart!

Nov. 17

Morning show at a school in Port Murray, NJ, then off to Ramsey, for our umpteenth performance at the Library - we also had a show here back during the summer. This will be our last time to perform here for at least a year and a half. (We'll miss you next summer, Carol!) We had some friends at the show - the same ones who attended our performance in Hackettstown (see October 20) - and afterward we went out to dinner.

Nov. 18

Stopped in Tarrytown, NY for a workout at the YMCA, then continued driving up to Stamford, Ct. to visit our nephew and his fiancée. We're seeing the best fall foliage we've glimpsed yet this year, and in fact the only really colorful foliage we've seen at all. Tonight, we watched the French film "Diva", which Dennis recently found on DVD, and which he considers one of his all-time favorites. But the reaction from the rest of the group was mixed.

Nov. 19

Visiting our nephew and his girlfriend in Stamford, Ct. They went to a football game at West Point because Army was hosting their alma mater, Arkansas State University. (Army won.) Tonight we watched the film "Vanilla Sky", the first time we'd seen it, and we found it quite enjoyable - a science fiction film that you don't know is science fiction until the end.

Nov. 20

Said our goodbyes to our hosts and left Stamford, heading to New York.

Nov. 21

Crossed over Throg's Neck Bridge, passed through Queens, and headed down Long Island. Stopped at a movie theatre to watch "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" - which, like its three predecessors, does admirable service to the brilliant novel on which it's based. How blessed we are to live in a time when such stories as these are created!

Nov. 22

Spent this rainy day catching up on office work at a Panera on Long Island. This is the 42 nd anniversary of the assassination of President Kennedy, a leader who possessed a combination of intelligence, courage, determination, compassion, foresight and (lest we forget) tact that is all too rare.

Nov. 23

After making a brief visit to a YMCA in Queens, we took the Long Island Railway to Penn Station to do some walking around the Big Apple - and to see the inflation of the gargantuan balloons to be used in tomorrow's Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. We'd planned on coming back into town tomorrow to view the parade itself, but we changed our minds after plowing through such dense crowds all day today that we felt like grapes in a winepress. Still, we did have another good little stroll through Manhattan, and before catching our train back, we went into Macy's (which is just across the street from the station) and rested our tired feet while sipping coffee and tea in a little café overlooking one of the shopping floors where shoppers were having a go at the competitive sport of Christmas shopping. We also did some browsing ourselves, going to the top floor and working our way down to each one. We were impressed by the escalator, which retains the same weathered wooden railing that was installed ages ago.

Nov. 24

Thanksgiving Day. Since we cancelled our plans to head back into Manhattan, we went to plan B: a day of watching movies. Found a theatre on Long Island that was screening several films we were interested in seeing, and we burrowed in to watch three of them. First came "Zathura", a sort-of sequel to "Jumanji", which we rather enjoyed. But "Zathura" was not quite so enjoyable, although it had its moments. The highlight was the astronaut.

Next came "Derailed", a superb, disturbing thriller very much in the vein of Hitchcock. And finally, we watched "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" again, because we enjoyed it so much the first time, and there were so many little details we wanted to catch this time. It's hard, however, to take your eyes off Emma Watson, the phenomenally gifted young actress who portrays Hermione. The entire cast is exceptional, and many are seasoned veterans of British stage and screen, but we say she outshines them all. Unlike Daniel Radcliffe (another outstanding performer, in the role of Harry) many of her beats are rather subtle, instead of broad actions, but she infuses them with depth and credibility. What a future she has!

The movie also has an excellent Lord Voldemort, Ralph Fiennes; he was an equally detestable villain in "Schindler's List", and a very likable guy in "Quiz Show". (By the way, the article on Voldemort at wikipedia.org has an interesting feature on how the anagram of his name in "Chamber of Secrets" was handled in the translations of the novel into various other languages. Have a look - assuming you've already read the book! Otherwise, it will be a plot spoiler.)

We're already anticipating the next Harry Potter film!

Nov. 25

The day after Turkey Day, reputed to be the busiest shopping day of the year. We think it just might be, based on what we've seen here on Long Island. Last night, we passed by a Wal-Mart, and even though the temperature was below freezing, and the wind was absolutely lupine, people already were lined up outside to be first to pounce on the goodies when the store opened this morning. Today, we drove by the same location, and the shoppers-in-waiting were queued up by the dozens just for a chance to GET IN the store. We went as far away from the malls and major stores as we could, finding a Panera in Mineola, NY where we could hole up for the day and get some computer work done. (Mineola, by the way, is the home of Dover Publications, a publisher that Dennis is very fond of, because it publishes literary classics and other intellectually substantial books in thrift editions that sell for as little as a dollar each.)

Nov. 26

The day after the day after, and there was a post-apocalyptic scene in the parking lots this morning; after people completed their olympic shopping sprees yesterday, many of them opened their merchandise as soon as they got outside and discarded the packaging where they stood, leaving a monstrous mess for someone to clean up.

We returned to the Cross Island YMCA in Queens to spend the better part of an afternoon, since we hadn't had a good workout lately. It was an extremely busy facility, with kids everywhere doing swimming classes and martial arts classes and gymnastics classes, and their parents were crowded into the hallways watching them - this was not a very big building, but it was being put to very good use. We lifted weights, used some Nautilis machines, and would have gone swimming, but we noticed a cardio-kickboxing class was about to start, so we opted for that instead. We intended to stay in it about 15 minutes, and call it a day, but the teacher was such a good one that we ended up staying for an hour.

Nov. 27

Sunday in Paramus, N.J., and it's an even more post-apocalyptic scene than yesterday - not because the parking lots are littered, but because they're deserted. Almost none of the stores are open today, not even in the malls. At this time of year, we'd be astounded to see such a uniform closure on Sunday even in the deep South; but just across the river from New York City, it's positively eerie! This was, we later learned, because there is a county law under which no business is allowed to open on Sunday except those selling food.

Nov. 28

We filled up our tank when we saw gas for "only" $2.05! Then we started kicking ourselves when we found it in Midland Park, NJ (where we performed) for just $1.75. (No, the station had not closed down in the 80's). Welcome to New Jersey where they even pump it for you.

Zephyr is now on his way to becoming a rock-n-roll superstar. Well, at least he now owns his very own electric guitar, plus a small amp, etc. He bought it at a Guitar Center, a good place to buy musical gear, especially since they have outlets across the country, in case you need to have something repaired or replaced. And the staff is always very helpful. The two fellows who helped us with the guitar and its accessories were really super. The guitar Zephyr bought, by the way, is almost identical to one played by Jimi Hendrix. (Hendrix even used the right-handed version, even though he was a southpaw.)

Nov. 29

Performed in North Plainfield, NJ in the morning then dashed off to do another show at a school in Pennington. We're gradually recovering from the soreness after our big workout Saturday at the YMCA.

After just one day on the guitar Zephyr can already play one of his favorite Green Day songs. Looks like mom and dad won't be needing those ear plugs after all.

Nov. 30

We did a couple of shows in Moorestown, N.J., where we had the delight of working with 11 Deaf students. They all came to our pre-show workshop and learned parts in the show. What fun!

We have finished this tour of the state. It's amusing to recall how, when we first toured New Jersey 13 years ago, we had such a terrible time; we swore we'd never return. (It's a long, colorful story that we'll get around to writing about one of these days.) But after receiving several inquiries from the Garden State a few years ago, we decided to give it another chance, and we're very glad we did - outside of that first year, this state has been very good to us, and we've had nothing but pleasant experiences here. (Except for the driving, which is still a headache!)

< - October - November -December ->