Phish Plays Hometown Benefit

Vermont's Phab Phour played a benefit concert last night at the Champlain Valley Fairground to raise money for flood victims after Tropical Storm Irene trashed everyone's homes and wrecked all our covered bridges.

The show was spectacular, but who would have expected anything less from the band's first Vermont gig since Coventry -- the one Phish show everyone would rather forget?

We have seen the various members of the band play locally (even, in some cases, at the Fairground), but this was certainly special. A feeling of homecoming filled the air -- and of people doing good. It's nice to live in a place that produced the single best band in the history of music -- and that's my unbiased opinion.

Keep up the good work, Phish!

Great Pumpkin -- Race Report

Halloween and Autumn came early this year in South Berwick, Maine in the form of the PumpkinMan Half-Ironman. Despite the fall theme, and although triathlon organizers -- who ran a perfectly tight ship (all present agreed that it was one of the best organized races) -- decorated the race site with pumpkins, corn stalks, and fall colors, the entire weekend sure felt like summer.

For me, the whole PumpkinMan experience began on a run in June when prolific triathletes Marty and Kristen Courcelle (pronounced "Core-selly" by the Finish line announcer at the Pumpkin) talked me into signing up. Never have I trained in three sports like this year, so it felt good to taper all week long and then head up to Maine where our group of 5 Pumpkin-Mates (Lauren Cady and Alison Aiken -- two more elite triathletes -- rounded out the team) rented a beach house in nearby York Beach. We arrived a couple days prior to race day and found the coast of Maine to be in off-season mode. Still -- with Kristen serving as tour-guide (since she knows the area) -- these lead-up days were all about lobster, soft-serve ice cream, sitting on the beach, and catching rays.

But wait, you say. You thought this was a Race Report. Well, I guess you found me out: I just use these race events as excuses to take mini-vacations. And with summer lingering this year in coastal Maine, we were definitely in summer vacation mode... until Sunday morning. We got up at 3:45 -- yes, that's three-four-five A.M. -- and arrived at the race site before 6 to pick up timing chips, set up our transition areas (known to triathletes as "T-Zones"), and stretch out. After a concise pre-race meeting (did I mention that the organizers did everything right?), there was a moment of silence honoring those who lost their lives in the 9-11 attacks ten years ago and the national anthem. Everyone was ready... except Mother Nature.

It has been a long summer, and Ma Nature had a little trouble waking up; Knight's Pond, where our 1.2-mile swim was to be held, was blanketed by thick fog, so we couldn't see the swim buoys. There was a half-hour delay, before they finally fired off the start cannon. Alison and Kristen started in the same wave, but the rest of us started separately. After the swim was an unofficial "fourth" leg -- the PumpkinMan Hill Climb. Between the pond and the T-zone was a 200-meter hill that was timed as if it were another leg. The winner of the hill climb won a special prize (not sure what the prize was, but anyway...). On the course I got to see Howard and Jill several times (thanks for the critiques of my transitions, Dad) and Heather and her mom. It was great to have fan support at a faraway event. I've ridden 56 miles before once and 50 miles several times, but never in a race setting (to give you an idea of the "settings" in which I trained, during one of my long training rides I stopped for a Rueben; on another, I had an ice cream and cookie sandwich). I enjoyed getting in packs with coneheads riding $5000 bikes and leap-frogging with them. Also, I will add that, despite being a half-ironman neophyte, the little camp-stool I brought for my transitions was the envy of the entire T-zone.

By the time the race was over, our Pumpkin-Mates had amazing results. 5 Mates, 5 Personal Records (I can claim this since it was my first half). Kristen made the podium in her age group -- amazing. It was just a spectacular race for all. Heather brought gluten-free brownies for Alison at the finish -- a gesture that Alison can't stop talking about. The weekend was so perfect, that Alison and I stayed an extra night and watched the New England Patriots post an excellent first week victory for the 2011 NFL season. Then we arrived home to find that I won a raffle for Phish tickets at the Fairgrounds Tuesday night.

I have often heard about the results of hard work and training paying off. I didn't realize that hard training affected professional football, rock and roll, and weather. If I had known, I would have trained for a half-ironman a long time ago.

Irene Strands Old Friend in Richmond

Craig Leach, who I have known since about age 4, was in the neighborhood over the weekend. He seemed very relieved that Hurricane Irene was leaving his home and family in South Carolina well enough alone while we hiked Camel's Hump (photo above left) and had a cookout with more old friends the Bensons.

It wasn't until Sunday that the reality of the situation began to set in: Irene was going to hit Craig dead-on while he was visiting Vermont. First, his flight was canceled on Sunday. Then, on Monday, he couldn't even get out of my road (photo above right). The longer he stayed in Vermont, the more stuck he became!

We made the most of the situation. In keeping with the recommendations of local, state, and federal agencies, we stocked up on alcohol prior to the storm. Craig also helped us split and stack half of our winter firewood supply (photo below) -- and, by all indications, seemed to enjoy doing it. He finally made it home to his family on Tuesday, but not before we enjoyed the much-needed opportunity to catch up!

Before I sign off on this post about hurricanes and best friends, I do want to say two things. One, I wish the best to those people who are still struggling to clean up and dig themselves out after this unbelievable storm. Everyone is contributing in their own ways, and this is very good to see. Second, I want to mention Craig's brother Shane, who passed away this spring. I am thinking of Shane's family, and we will all miss him.


For more Irene photos, check out Ask Oscar

My Wife the Runner

This morning I swam, biked, and ran the Shelburne Triathlon sprint Number Four in hopes of qualifying for the US Age Group National Championships next summer. I entered under the incorrect understanding that I needed to finish in the top third of my age group in order to qualify (which I did, placing 3rd out of 9), but in reality I had to be in the top 10 percent. (Had I known this, I probably wouldn't have entered!)

Anyway, while I was off trying to qualify, my wife Alison was out for a jog back and forth over the bike and run courses. I joined her for an additional 11 miles after my race (which I barely managed). Anyway, all told, Ali ran 26.21 miles in 3 hours and 36 minutes -- eclipsing her best official marathon time by over 8 minutes and running in a Boston-qualifying time!

Question: who goes out and runs a marathon on a Saturday morning? And who does so in a Boston qualifying time?

Answer: Apparently, my wife the runner.

New Breakfast Habits

I am not one to change my morning breakfast habits. Which is why, for 35 years (or whenever it is I got off the Gerber's), I have been eating Wheaties or Cheerios with milk and banana slices every morning. Sound boring? Tedious? I beg to differ; if it tastes good, why change?

[Important note: There are two exceptions to the above paragraph. 1) In moments of weakness, my mother did allow us to get sweetened cereals -- usually Alpha-bits (because it was educational) or, on extremely rare occasions, Fruity Pebbles, which we would go through in one sitting. And 2) when I was 8 years-old, I did eat Rice Krispies for 5 months because Kellogg's ran a promotion whereby kids could earn points by saving box tops and sending them in for cash. I earned 5 whole dollars though this deal... and haven't really eaten many Rice Krispies since.]

As I have learned more about food, where it comes from, and how it is made, however, I have slowly been making changes. For example, not really wanting to eat beef from feedlots where they feed grass-eating cows a diet of corn and antibiotics, I have been getting most of my beef from local farms that graze their cows in fields. I have been buying bread from local bakeries, rather than in supermarkets. One baker -- Red Hen -- even makes a bread with wheat grown in Vermont! Who knew?

Changing up breakfast, however, is not something to take lightly. A creature of habit, I have grown into my morning routine. Besides, what could be healthier and more wholesome than Wheaties, the breakfast of champions, or Cheerios, the toasted whole grain oat cereal? After months of denial, I finally studied the nutrition information of my two breakfast staples. The number two ingredient in Cheerios is corn starch. And not just corn starch... modified corn starch. Meanwhile, farther down on the Wheaties ingredient list (behind sugar) is corn syrup. Without getting into a rant about the mass quantities of corn being produced in America (so much that only subsidies from the federal government make it profitable and so much that they're putting it in my cereal and calling it Wheaties and in my automobile at the gas pump!), if I wanted corn for breakfast, I'd buy Corn Flakes!

So I have introduced new breakfast options. First, I worked with oatmeal, sweetened with honey and cinammon and spruced up with fruit. Pretty good, but I don't like having to cook in the morning. So now I'm onto granola mixed by my local bakery. There are different nuts, seeds, and raisins in there. It's not Wheaties, but it's good. But I also know where everything in my garnola came from, and it is what it is.

There are no double-agent foods hiding in my granola only to be revealed later.

The Birds of Richmond

Last weekend, Ali and I went for a tour of southern New England. After a leisurely morning, we headed to Rumney, NH for an afternoon of rock climbing before catching the Alison Krauss concert at Meadowbrook Pavilion in Gilford. Comments: Rumney is a great spot. And Alison is just as good as ever. Saturday, we headed south to Bristol, RI for Karl Bahrenburg and Nicole Guercia's wedding. Comments: the wedding was spectacular and everyone I saw had an awesome time. Best wishes to K & N! Also, I will note that on our way out of town the following morning, Ali and I had breakfast at The Corner Cafe in Newport. I had some sort of Portuguese sweet bread French toast mixed with egg and peppers -- amazing. Ali had an omelette that blew her mind. It was the best breakfast I have had in awhile. Finally, Sunday, we continued to West Hartford, CT where we had lunch with family and met the newest member of the McKain family: Ben. Comment: kid toys have officially displaced the dog toy area in the McKain family room. It was great to see everyone, and a nice time was had by all.

But the trip report is not what today's post is about. Rather, I wanted to relay the experience that we had back in Richmond before we departed on the big southern New England swing. Wanting our dogs to have had at least a little physical activity before the dog-sitter arrived that evening, we took them for a walk to the river before we left. The walk contained the usual: nice views of Camel's Hump, plenty of dog running and ruckus, and a meander past the cornfields on our street. As we approached the river, however, I had a first-time Vermont experience: a single bald eagle emerged from the river and coasted over us. It only had to beat its wings once as it glided through the air. It checked us out, glanced at the dogs, and headed upstream.

The Bahrenburg family has some tight relationships with birds, so it came as no surprise to me to see such a beautiful creature as we left on Karl and Nicole's wedding weekend. But what did it mean? Was that eagle going to look after us on our travels? Was it going to keep an eye on the house and dogs? I left on Friday completely confident of both. As we drove away from home I knew we were in for a great weekend.

I was right.

Term Limits

This is not a political blog.

However, I have followed the debt crisis in Washington. But I'm not going to write about that. What I am going to write about are the people who were debating it. "It" in this case refers to the fact that we can't spend more money than we have and the fact that we need to raise more to spend more. So... the big question that in my opinion was never answered: why were we debating?

I'll tell you how to solve this -- and every other problem -- in Washington. First, some history: neither George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, nor James Monroe chose to seek third terms as President. Clearly, they saw the wisdom of term limits. Franklin D. Roosevelt was the only president to break George Washington's precendent, and then Harry Truman quickly commissioned a study of presidential term limits. Congress quickly followed the commission's recommendations, amending the Constitution to limit presidents to two terms.

They did not go far enough. Senators and Representatives should also be limited. Congresspeople, beware: I am gunning for you! No more should senators be able to "outlast" a president. Let's get some good, healthy turnover down there on Capitol Hill! Serving in Congress shouldn't be a career; it should be a community service stint. These clowns spend half of their terms partying, half campaigning, and the other half sounding off like John Belushi in Animal House ("did we back down when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? No!"). Do you question my math? Notice no Congresspeople did either.

The debt ceiling debate was really just a symptom of a larger problem, which is that we put these people in Congress for life. Let's put a revolving door in the Capitol Building and start running some new blood in there. Limit Reps to two 4-year terms and Senators to two 6-years.

Any candidate who makes congressional term limits their top priority -- regardless of any of his or her other politics -- gets my vote.