Since my last report of 10/22/05: When I was in New York last month I had intended on visiting family and paying a courtesy call or two. Mother Nature had other plans. We awoke on Tuesday morning in Hazelton, Pa., after an all night rain to sleet mixed with rain. As we drove north to Scranton it turned completely to snow just north of there. Coming down from the mountains of Pa., to Binghamton back to rain / snow mix. We stopped for lunch just off I-81 on Route 12 in Binghamton and watched giant snowflakes fall. Back on the road as the road became covered as we moved north on N. Y. 12. Just north of Chenango Forks the road had only one track each way visible and it was snowing hard. The journey from Oxford to Norwich seemed to take a long time as we trudged along. It was snowing so heavy I never saw the commercial district south of town, only the McDonald's across the street from Mt. Hope cemetery came into view. Our turn was the first light past McDonald's which took us out to the east perimeter road of Norwich, past a car dealership on the right, which only had white cars for sale! Memories came to me of visiting an old Burlingame cemetery behind the dealership 4 years ago in March, 2001, in the snow, but in what was then deep snow, but not falling snow. At the corner we turned south, with 5-6 inches of snow on the ground, paused on the side while a fire truck came grinding by and then back east on some road, with a store on the corner. This road continued at a fairly steep climb, but we turned left at the next road just past the allegedly haunted house of the area. The story goes that from time to time one may see a person who looks like an old sea captain walking beside the road. Allegedly no picture on the walls of the house will hang straight. Anyway, after making the turn, I'm surprised to see folks following me, for I thought, don't follow me, I hardly know where I'm going! Around the curve into this little hollow we go, followed by a climb up a hill where I just take the middle of the road and keep slowly trudging upward. Top the hill, come down, pass a rather large lake on the left (White's pond?), then take a left at a farm - after which all landmarks disappear. I was to take the 2nd right after this turn to reach my cousin's house but shortly after turning, I had no idea where I was in relationship to anything else. Onward we go and I finally see a house and think of stopping. Thinking of stopping and actually stopping in such are two vastly different things, especially from one who rarely sees snow and even more rarely drives on such. Slide, slide we go. Heart in throat, but it only takes a little slide to do that. Gingerly we back out of stuck position and continue creeping what is now down hill until we come to a road that dead ins into ours from the right. I ask my wife which road that was, 1st or 2nd and neither of us can say. Still snowing quite hard, I stop to see if I can call my cousin. Alas no signal. Back in the car downhill we go again, but the twist this time is a down hill left curve, in which we slide again, same scenario. Out again we go down a couple hundred yards to see what I really didn't want to see - a down hill u-turn in the road, but creeping slowly we slide and make it through the turn. Down, down, down we go and then, oops, I know we've gone too far when I see the blacktop of Route 8. Looking to the left I see Holmesville and a lighted sign. I tell my wife, that I see a business ahead, that we'll just pull in there to find out where we are in relationship to my cousin's place and/or call him. Coming abreast the sign, it is not a business but a church sign. However, just a bit further on a lady is standing on her doorstep talking with a heating man in her yard. I stop dead in the road and state that I'm lost. Turned out she knows my cousin's wife and called her up. My cousin arrives shortly and we take another route to his house, not nearly as steep although he himself gets stuck at one point on the journey to their log house. We get there finally and are informed that they lost power about an hour before. The news from the power company is that most of the county is without power, for with most of the leaves still on the trees, many branches are breaking, trees uprooting onto power lines and that power won't be restored until 8 AM next day. Thankfully my cousin's home has a wood stove and sleeping in the loft of the house we are cozy until about 4 AM when it was time to stoke the fire once more. The previous evening was spent talking of family and friends, of times past, all to candle and lamp light. By morning most of the snow had stopped and we have about 7 inches to greet us. We got power back a little after 7 AM, arose, showered and got breakfast and were deciding what to do when the power went again. We were to stay another day but since my wife had to be in Toronto on Thursday, we didn't want to take a chance on getting stuck. Another cousin's husband had planned to see us Tuesday evening for supper but when the weather went bad on us we decided to have lunch on Wednesday together. My cousin had wanted to go to Fred's (a rather well known place south of Norwich) but upon calling them, found out they had no power. Since my cousin's daughter worked at a place in Sherburne, we decided to go there for lunch. We took the east bypass of Norwich until that came out on Route 12, above the pharmacy. Traveling as we did north on 12, brought back many memories. Memories of actual events I'd experienced, places and times my father or grandfather had spoken of and of such I'd read, compiled and placed on line these past 9 years. After lunch we went our separate ways, my cousin and his wife and the other cousin's husband to Norwich and my wife and I to the Cat's Meow in Sherburne. Four years ago on my visit to the area, I'd taken her a gift from there and knew it was a place she'd like to shop. For me, the fun thing was to run into a gentleman that actually knew some of my family and some of my family long departed. It turned out this gentleman's family had the farm in Upperville between Smyrna and Otselic just past Mr. Twist's store and a neighbor to my Dad's sister and her husband. He also knew my grandfather's brother who lived between Upperville and Otselic - so that too was a neat connection to find out about and speak of. While my visit there was short, much shorter than I wished it could be, I was still contented to be able to do so and started thinking about when I can visit again. I guess next time I'll shoot for warmer weather, when the chance of bad weather should be greatly diminished. Lastly, my wish to each of you is that you have a great Thanksgiving holiday, shared with friends and family, a day of remembering good times, looking also toward the future and what wonders it may hold. Tim Stowell