Bringing the Heat

This afternoon, the temperature was 96, so I modified Lucy's new mid-day walk regimen. To avoid the excessive heat, we just meandered around the complex a bit, up and down grassy hills and knolls, so she could have a potty break. 

But as we strolled, we were not impressed by this potentially record-setting heat. The sun's angle tinted the light golden, which seemed less threatening than those white-hot days of July. And it was considerably cooler in the shade, perhaps because we were coming off the unseasonably lower temperatures of last week. 

At any rate, the takeaway for me is that a late August heatwave just isn't that hot. But perhaps the more significant lesson is that as our planet warms, we will probably all become climate connoisseurs and our extreme weather expertise may well be a survival skill.

Hello?

"Is that what retirement is like?" asked a neighbor as I enthusiastically described my recent visit to the Udvar-Hazy museum. "Because, if so? I might need to get a little more serious about my planning!"

I laughed. "No, that was more of a summer vacation kind of a thing," I told him. "So far, retirement has been like, Where is everybody? I ran some errands today, and I was stunned by how empty stores were."

"I know what you mean," he agreed. "I worked from home today, and when I walked down to 7-11, it was like walking through a ghost town."

"I'm sure I'll figure it out," I said. "And? I'll let you know where I find everyone!"

In Their Footsteps Part 3

A tall man in a flannel shirt with long white hair and a closely cropped beard to match waved to us as we started toward the parking lot. We had been the last car in the last group of the day, and now we were the last visitors left on the site. Around us, volunteers and employees were collapsing canopies, folding chairs, and packing up bins.

The man who beckoned us was Bob, the quarry supervisor who had first spotted these fossils back in 1989. The location had been pumped out, and as the floor dried that April morning, a path of footprints appeared. The tracks held the water just long enough for Bob to alert the crew and inform his boss, the quarry owner.

These days Bob is a stone-writer, engraving monuments and other decorative pieces. "I'll never retire," he told us. "I love working and I love stone." He showed us the pages in notebook from the day he spotted the tracks. "I keep a record of everything," he confessed. "My truck has more than 250,000 miles on it, because I know everything I ever do with it." Then he reached in a basket and pulled out a small rock like the thousands in the pile behind him. "I engraved a tiny footprint on this," he showed us. "I give 'em to the kids who come. This is the last one, though. Guess I'll have to make a bunch more for next year."

Bob had been surrounded by other people the whole time we had been there, and we hadn't been able to get near him. Now, he seemed reluctant to let us go, the last guests of the year who would see his newspaper clippings and listen to his tale of the discovery. The rest of the crew was getting a little impatient, though, so we thanked him and headed back to the pickup.

In Their Footsteps: Part 2

And that's how we found ourselves in the backseat of a pickup truck at the end of a caravan of vehicles down to the bottom of the quarry. The water in the quarry bottom was a gorgeous clear green. "The lab tests said it was cleaner than the city water," a guide told us, "and you can see to the bottom at thirty feet. But those waterfalls," he grinned and gestured to streams cascading down the quarry face, "are only turned on once a year for this event."

We had less than thirty minutes on the site, but the experience did not disappoint. Enthusiastic quarrymen, volunteers, and geologists were on hand to curate the experience and answer any questions we might have. Many tracks were circled in blue chalk, and the staff would cheerfully spray them with water for a better view. There were also informational signs on sandwich boards. 

Through it all, we were gently reminded that we were guests on private property and a mining company owned the fossils. There was no expectation of preservation, either. "Oh, these will be visible another fifteen years or so," a guy in a yellow vest and quarry t-shirt told us. "After that? They'll probably either be blasted for rock or underwater." 

In their Footsteps: Part 1

"So I read about this place in Culpeper," Heidi's early morning dog-walking pal started, "and they have the largest collection of dinosaur footprints in the country." What followed seemed like a tall tale, and when Heidi repeated the details to me, I couldn't believe that in the many decades I've lived in Virginia, I'd never heard of Luck Stone Quarry. 

On an early April morning in 1989, a crew was preparing to blast a new layer of the 70-year-old quarry. As they pumped water over the floor, a quarryman noticed that as it evaporated, the little puddles left behind were actually footprints. The layer was made up of siltstone, which is essentially hardened mud, and further examination turned up hundreds of Triassic-era dino prints.

Despite the discovery's paleontological significance, the quarry remains private property to this day, although some of the prints are on display in the Smithsonian, the local history museum, and the mini-mall down the road. Once a year, however, the owners open the property to visitors, but only those who win a spot in a lottery.

"And I won!" Heidi's friend said. I never win anything, but I can bring a carload of people to see the dinosaur prints on Saturday!"

Get a Life, Lady!

I spent a couple hours most days this week helping my teacher friends get some of their first-week-back chores done. I set up a printer, helped with some LMS courses, hung pictures and posters, answered questions, gave advice, suggested first-day activities and room layout, and put up a bulletin board. It seemed a shame to let this skill set I've built over 30 years go to waste, especially when I knew how busy and overwhelming the first week back can be. Plus, I did love every bit of teaching; it was just that all the bits put together became more time-consuming than I was willing to sustain.

As I pitched in, I was moved by the genuine appreciation of those I was helping. Collectively, we spun a fantasy where I would be on call to lend a hand whenever necessary. We imagined that I might set up an office in one of the hall storage closets so that I could offer support on-demand, including encouragement and advice. Maybe I would even have a sign that said, "The Teacher Task-Rabbit is In," and a can for nickels.

"Can you imagine, though?" I laughed. "The new sixth graders would ask, "Who is that lady in the closet, and why is she always here?" And worst of all? They would be right!"

Novice Blunders

On my first day of running errands as a retiree, I was surprised to find Wegmans full of seniors lunching and shopping. It was almost as crowded as a weekend but with a slower vibe. Then, on the way home, I was stuck in traffic for 30 minutes when I took a two-lane road that goes right by a high school. It was dismissal time, and the backup was phenomenal as student drivers, parents, staff, buses, and non-school traffic tried converging on the narrow road. We were also impeded by a light at the t-junction ahead, so traffic only inched along during the green.

I have filed the experience under live and learn. Still, as I piloted my cart around meandering shoppers and then again as I drummed my fingers on the steering wheel, I did question whether this retirement situation is all it's cracked up to be.