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Archive for August, 2012

The New Levitt Pavilion

Friday, August 31, 2012 by:Todd Tracy

I clearly remember the day the band shell was put up. That was something. A new outdoor performance stage facility downtown. It was glorious, the new Levitt. I was just a little kid, probably the reason I remember so well.

This was before the new library was installed. The music was really loud, much louder than they allow these days. I was heavily influenced by music culture at a young age and the new Levitt was a part of that. All the older kids were really into going to rock shows then and that was a performance thing. I can’t specifically remember how old I was that day but I do remember being thoroughly impressed with the look of the stage and the acoustic properties of the shell.

I remember the excitement in the air with the first shows. The throngs of teenagers making their way up the hill(where library is now). The lights and the sounds were quite a spectacle for a youngster such as myself and my friends.

This weekend I’m heading over to the Blues Views and Barbeque Festival. Bob LeRose, owner of Bobby Q’s on Main Street, has a lot to do with making this show happen. I think these are the final post season performances before they start construction on the new new Levitt.

Six point something million dollars, wow, that is amazing. I can see from personal experience how a new Levitt Pavilion can compliment a town. It has the ability to reshape our cultural identity. It’s kind of funny how the grassy lawn is still the same as it was all those years ago. The plans are stunning. I’m glad Stuart McCarthy is involved with over-seeing this development.

Of particular interest is the treatment of the landscaping at water’s edge. I think it will be stunning to see a show there and Westport is lucky to have an outdoor performance stage in the heart of it’s town center. A rising tide lifts all ships. Levitt director Freda Walsh has totally kept the vision alive!!!

A Saab Story

Tuesday, August 28, 2012 by:Todd Tracy

59 Buick LaSabre (generic pic)

Ever driven a Saab? Well I had, once, years ago. It was wonderful, so wonderful that last year, a few weeks before hurricane Irene hit, I bought a new(new for me) used one.

I was so excited. Imagine me, a Saab owner. The whole idea was exhilarating. Downshifting into the corners. I imagined the Westport roads to be the Black Forest and the Merritt Parkway to be the Autobahn or the Autostrada(highway in Italy).

Some of my friends tried to talk me out of it, “It’s kind of an older model, what happens when you need expensive repairs?” they said.

Why were they trying to talk me out of it? Maybe they weren’t really my friends. “I can do all the work myself,” was my response.

My very first car(generic pic)

After all, I have owned and repaired many exotic vehicles: 73 Beetle–my first car–was a little rusted and didn’t last long. Then I got my first muscle car–a red 64 Cutlas Supreme, blew the engine after a month and sold it for scrap or paid them to take it way. My 59 Buick Lasabre was the ultimate in style–glorious wings–that car never worked but I worked on it in my Mother’s garage for over a year before selling it off to the demolition derby. The 54 Ford F-350 ran great. It had a Thunderbird motor and was an absolute mammoth, sold that to a friend, then bought it back, never worked right for me but was very cool to look at, sold it back. Volkswagon Dasher had a detached rear axle but soldiered on. Chevy Van—nuther story.

Iv’e owned and operated five or six motorcycles including my Moto Morini. That was killer but it had a dry racing clutch, at every stop light it would stall. I hadn’t much experience with vintage Italian racing bikes at that point. To be honest that bike was a little scary.

My 54 Ford was much cleaner

Finally, I settled into my Nissan pick up. That served me well. It wasn’t very sexy however, ooh–the modifications I did to that vehicle made it wholly un-recognizable.

It started off shiny black but I wanted it green like a park ranger’s vehicle, we painted it with special enamel paint. Problem was the green color I chose wasn’t like the paint chip and it turned out the strangest light green/blue anyone has ever seen.

So I continued with the modifications. The Japanese carburetor wasn’t working, it did this herky jerky thing every couple miles, totally annoying. So I decided to order an Italian carburetor and a custom built racing head(I had ruined the head(top half of the engine) while diagnosing the problem) and installed all that, only took nine months to rebuild the engine. My friend Greg actually got it working but I did all the work.

Moto Morini (generic pic)

When I finally rolled into Los Angeles with that truck it looked like something out of a Mad Max movie, flat black(rustoleum). In fact, I got paid just to have it on the set of a couple movies. I loved that truck, for some reason the engine exploded on the 405 freeway and it was time for my new LA ride. My 79 Beamer 320i. When I bought it at the used car lot near Venice Beach the honest salesman said, “your buying a dream,” that made me a little suspicious. My love for European performance was kindled even though the shocks or struts were so shot that it felt like it was galloping through Topanga Canyon.

64 Cutlas(generic pic)

Back to the Saab—I owned it—it worked. Then hurricane Irene hit. I was checking on properties at the beach and downtown. I was at Old Mill Beach at 10am the morning of the storm. Mine was the last car out of the parking lot as everyone else had evacuated. Water started rushing over the the lot, rolling surf over the whole Old Mill area. Time to leave…I hopped in my new car and sped toward downtown, making a left on Hillspoint, total mistake. Soundview drive at the height of the storm surge. Huge waves were pounding the seawall and thousands of gallons of saltwater were flying into the air and crashing down upon us(me and the car). There was a huge puddle and I raced right into it. Then I couldn’t see. Then another crashing wave. I had to get downtown to check on the sand bags at Bobby Q’s. The engine started sputtering. The light went on(engine light). OMG I had no choice but to gun it. The car roared back to life. Then I could see again, I was traveling through water(sea water), lots of it.

After the storm was over, none of the property owners were happy with me. WTF, I’m not God, I had done everything in my power to hold back the storm—but—everything was damaged. The Saab also, never worked right since.

Saab (generic pic)

I have spent the last year studying up on Saabs, apparently they are of the hardest of cars to work on. How hard could it be? It’s just a car! Take the alternator—just swap it out, right? Wrong. You have to drop the exhaust system and and some other parts just to get at it. I can’t even see the alternator. I would crawl under the car the to check out the sitch but no–it’s so low to the ground a human can’t fit.

To make a long story shorter—this week I found a mechanic that I trust. I don’t know why I trust him, I just do. Today I drop it off. He has worked on Saabs exclusively for 20 years. I am hoping and praying all will be well. Later this this week I get my baby back. There are car Gods and I have learned humility before them. You would think that because some of my friends are expert mechanics some of their skills would rub off, no skills don’t rub off. I wish I was a race car mechanic but I’m not.

A Good Road to Ride

Saturday, August 25, 2012 by:Todd Tracy

Rt. 53 over by the reservoir

Good spot for picnic

Now that CT. Rt. 53 has new asphalt riding is more enjoyable

Rainbow Lover

Monday, August 20, 2012 by:Todd Tracy

I was walking over the little bridge at Old Mill beach early this evening. That little house in the middle of the pond is amazing because it never changes, it just sits there like it always has and probably always will. The water rushes out of the pond very fast. Must have been some mill 100 years ago, 200 years ago. Looking out across the tidal pond the sky is big. Today, nearing sunset, it was all lit up with different colors; yellow, orange and blue. There was also a huge rainbow off to the right. The arc of colors looked like a dome over Sherwood Island. I wonder if all the strange weather we have been experiencing means that there will just be a lot more rainbows. Maybe there is a study that says we will be seeing a lot more of them as the climate changes.

I love rainbows. I realize, of course, that they are an optical illusion. A rainbow can not be approached because of the nature of the effect. The sun has to be directly opposite the piece of sky with water drops. One can only see a rainbow at a 42 degree angle from the direction opposite the sun. Because of this fact you will never find yourself coming up on one or traveling under.

When I see one, like I did today, I never think about the physics of it, it always conjures more of a mystical flavor of mind, or mythical. The very first myth that comes to mind the instant I see one is the pot of gold at rainbows end. The leprechaun and all that. That image seems to take hold, it’s impossible to shake. Then there is the song “Over the Rainbow”, Judy Garland’s performance is simply timeless.

But there are other things that come to mind when seeing a rainbow. You get the feeling, or at least I do, that there is magic in the land. All those colors just appearing out of nowhere–in perfect parts of a circle. It’s a miracle of light. You get the feeling that anything is possible. You know that anything is possible.

For human beings rainbows are an instant hit, like sex. Have you ever seen one and not pointed it out? For instance; if you were talking to someone and their back was to the rainbow would you be able to carry on talking without mentioning that there is a huge rainbow behind them? No, of course not, the first thing you would say is, “check out the rainbow right behind you over there.” The person will always turn around to look at it, always.

There are those times when life can seem magical and brimming with brilliant opportunities, such was the setting tonight– over by the beach.

50 Dutch Miles

Thursday, August 16, 2012 by:Todd Tracy

Growing up in Westport I didn’t give history much thought, my mind was elsewhere. With colonial styled homes in town….., let me put it another way; I was aware that there was a historical record of Westport but never thought it that cool.

In the back of my mind I had always thought of history as being there, waiting for me, it had a sort of static feel about it, when looking up things about Westport it can become dynamic very quickly for me these days however.

The last battle of the Pequot War playing out in Southport, this is where I find Europeans in Westport, as opposed to being just offshore, for the first time. They killed off the last warriors from the Pequot tribe over by the highway at exit 19. With that done they moved right in to the area. The Dutch were said to be some 30 miles to the south and expanding.

Carl-Stoveland---Dover-Stone-Church-Falls-

Sassacus the chief of the Pequot Indians escaped from the Southport battle with a small entourage and held up, some 50 walking miles away, at the Stone Church geological formation in Dover New York. He was captured by the Mohawk Indians and beheaded at the spot. His scalp along with those of his comrades was sent to the Governor of the Connecticut Colony.

If you get on I-95 at exit 19, going north to Bridgeport, just as you enter the actual highway traffic from the ramp, that is the approximate spot where Sassacus and the last warriors from his tribe held up in the swamp encircled by the British Colonists from the Hartford area that included Robert Ludlow in 1638.

Of course by 1640-41 Ludlow had bought the land comprising Westport from two different local Indian tribes, the Norwalke and the Unquowa. This was Dutch claimed territory!

Five factors prompted his decision to colonize the Westport area: 1. Dutch expansion northward from New Amsterdam was one of them. 2. Another was the southward expansion of the New Haven Colony. 3. The third being the area was so nice. 4. With the fight minded Pequots out of the way the Westport area would be perfect for a new colony, a derivative of the Hartford Colony which was an extension of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. 5. It helped that Ludlow had lost the election for the Governorship and was looking for a spot of his own.

The Dutch had previously, thanks in no small part to Explorer Adriaen Block’s discovery and subsequent mapping, set up shop on the Connecticut River in Hartford. But they had a differing style of colonization than that of the English. The Dutch way was to set up a fort or garrison as a center for trade. The English way was to move settlers into the area. The Dutch provided for settlers also and prospered at points along the Hudson River. Fort Hoop at Hartford didn’t work well because they didn’t move settlers in and they had been out-traded by English settlers further up The Connecticut River.

This gets us–in our armchair fashion–to the Treaty’s at Hartford. Everyone was there excepting for the Pequots because they had been extinguished, & the Dutch. 1638. It was a division of the Pequot’s land.

Technically the land was Dutch, they had discovered the CT River but the English had three towns surrounding the little Dutch Fort Hoop in what is now Hartford. By 1650 the Dutch were ready to leave CT. By 1654 they were gone.

In 1650 the Dutch agreed to give up Connecticut in exchange for a clear boundry with their New Amsterdam Colony. Ever wonder about that little jog in the CT map where Greenwich protrudes into New York State?

The reason is thus: Peter Stuyvesant the Director-General of New Amsterdam(New York City) went to Hartford to sign a Treaty with the English Colonists. The parties decided upon a fair boundary between New England and New Netherland, the Connecticut portions being fairly well settled by the English colonists at this point.

50 Dutch miles west along the coast from the mouth of the CT River at Old Saybrook lies the western edge of Greenwich bay. This is where they agreed upon the border, even bisecting Long Island at Oyster Bay across Nassau County. This agreement was not agreed upon by any of the parties back in Europe but worked on the ground until England took control of New York in 1664.

Continuing with our beg barrow and steal approach to history we have to get back to Roger Ludlow. Along with helping to conquer and settle the Westport area is also the author of a document which happens to be, arguably, the basis for The United States Constitution. It is called the Fundamental Orders. Composed by Roger Ludlow in 1639 it has a constitutional format. It is very concerned with the rights of the individual but also the laws to be obliged by in the Connecticut Colony. The secret ballot component is part of it. Voters-rights and what not.

Maps & Dutch Culture

Tuesday, August 14, 2012 by:Todd Tracy

The huts they built on the island where he and his crew camped that winter represent the first European settlement in the area. With the Tyger burned and sunken to the bottom of what would be upper New York Bay, he needed a new ship. Between January and April of 1614 they put together, from native oak, not only the first American built research vessel but also the first ship built to European specifications in North America, the Onrust(Restless: in Dutch). It is speculated that Adriaen enlisted the help of the local Lenape tribe for help with the timely construction. The ship was 44 feet long and could carry 16 tons.

Replica of Adrian Block's ship The Onrust

The Dutch were master ship builders then. They were also at the height of their cultural and trading dominance, the Golden Age. Just at that very time–the idea of a New Amsterdam was being hatched. Henry Hudson had mapped out the northeastern coastline and the North River in 1609, five years previously for the Dutch East India Company, though he didn’t venture into Long Island Sound. The Dutch were very concerned with obtaining beaver pelts from the surrounding countryside, this included Westport as part of it’s domain. The Algonquin speaking Norwalke Indians would have seen the approach of this ship(Block’s ship the Onrust).

Wasting no time, Adriaen Block set out that spring of 1614 on a mapping voyage. Up the East River, past the whirlpools at Hell Gate and into Lange Iylante Sound(Long Island Sound). At this moment in the spring of 1614 New Netherland was about to be claimed and named. Westport would always be influenced by Dutch culture from the moment Adriaen Block set eyes upon the islands and coastline of what he called Archipelago, but in different ways in which we will explain later. We call Cockenoe Island and Compo Beach. I am wondering and trying to figure out if and how far he made it up the Saugatuck River but as of yet am only able to confirm his voyage up the Housatonic River(River of Red Hills). He definitely went by Westport very slowly and mapped all the inlets and outlets. He made it all the way to Hartford on the CT River that spring. He finished off up the coast and dashed off for Holland in another boat to publish his map. It was now his territory to exploit for 3 years.

We are only concerned with Adrian Block as he is the first European to gaze upon Westport, as far as we can tell from the historical record. During the 1650′s New Amsterdam would experience major growth. The English were working their way south from Massachusetts. New Netherland was a problem for the English.

Dutch culture in Westport now:

At the time Nieuw Nederland was colonized by the Dutch, the early 1600′s, Westport was Indian Territory. Westport was smack dap in the middle of this new Dutch colony. It’s proximity to New Amsterdam was its centering factor. However the Dutch never settled Westport directly, the philosophy and culture were perfect for Westporters as interpreted by the English who moved right in. Actually, took over New Amstesterdam in 1664 and called it New York.

Amsterdam in 1614 was a new haven for artists and intellectuals. They were more refined than London, at the time, the University of Leyden was much more important than Oxford. A refuge for talent!

But the idea of liberty…to own a business…to make money and believe in whatever God was in their heart. These were Dutch ways, at the time. England was very concerned with the Anglican Church, the Dutch not so much.

To put it another way: The English and the Dutch were at war, with each other. The territory of Westport would swap hands during early settlement–a few times. New England just had more going for it than New Netherland. The Dutch needed to consolidate their holdings in the Americas and the beaver pelts weren’t paying their way.

The successes of the English New Haven Colony in 1639, though theocratic like Iran today, and the success of the Massachusetts Colony’s’ move to Hartford(open to any religion) and subsequently to Fairfield—all the way to Norwalke, should not be considered an overshadowing force upon the culture. The English were very influenced by the Dutch and these freedoms were being thought about in English circles.

This Dutch cultural hipness & inclusiveness, when contrasted with the indigenous culture is quite a contrast, this is called “first contact”. Roger Ludlow(from England) was pretty much first at the scene, Westport. Ludlow was from the inclusive branch of England. In 1641 Westport was pretty much locked in as a part of New England, though technically still New Netherland.

1758

Templeton (6lf21) & the first Westporter

Monday, August 13, 2012 by:Todd Tracy

The early to middle woodland periods correspond to about the time of Christ in Connecticut. We have to go back much further than that. We are going up the Shepaug River back a full ten thousand years. 40 miles up route 53 from Westport is the oldest site for human existance in the state, less than thirty miles as the crow flys. A fire pit dated to 10,200 years before present day.

The Paleo time in Connecticut’s pre-history was 13,000-10,000 years ago. Immediately following the final retreat North of the half mile thick Wisconsin Glacier, 13,000 years ago, human beings made their way across into North America. Coniferous forests took hold quickly. The weather was cool and moist.

You want to imagine huge mastodons and other big mammals like bison roaming North America, making their way to the North East behind the retreat of the ice sheet. Human beings following the big game to the newly carved landscape. The water level of the oceans was 300-400 feet lower, as a consequence the coastlines were 50 miles east, in some cases, of their present day locations.

Lake Connecticut, that beautiful blue green glacial out-wash in the location of present day Long Island Sound was fresh water up until 8000 years ago when sea levels had raised to 85 feet below their current position–salt water stated spilling into the lake creating Long Island Sound.

Things were beginning to warm up. We really only have non-perishable evidence from a site like the Templeton (6lf21) site in Washington CT, along the Shepaug River, because of the acidity of the region. The beauty of this archaeological site is that it is pure; it has the oldest evidence of human activity in CT, it provides radiocarbon dates to(10,190 ( before present day)), it provides good examples of stone work, showing lots of local stone being used for tool making, such as spears, it has remained sealed over the millennia.

The Paleo Indians of Connecticut were a hearty stock of hunter-gatherers. They might have hunted the big game of North America to extinction, the dates are correlated.

Imagine being the first person to walk into Westport maybe 11,500 years ago. You had followed and killed a mastodon over by Staten Island a week before and now had ventured north along the coast and found a beautiful spot by a river that let out into Lake Connecticut.

You would move on quickly after a brief stay, constantly on the move, with your tribe following the large mammals.

It was a brand new world, the ice sheet had scraped 65 feet off the top of the crust. Plants and animals quickly reclaimed the land and humans were not far behind. The Paleo Indians were to die out from this region 7000 years ago because of further climate change. The big game was gone and the plant life was changing. It was getting warmer in Westport. It was the early archaic period now. Long Island Sound combined with the ocean. It is not known if the Paleo Indians were able to adapt to a more sedentary warmer climate but their culture ceased to exist in the North East 7000 years ago.

Robot lands at Mars–Big Questions

Wednesday, August 8, 2012 by:Todd Tracy

Ray Bradbury, who recently passed away, was a science fiction writer. In the late 40′s he wrote The Martian Chronicles. The compiled collection of shorts tell a future history of man’s attempts at the colonization of Mars. His account of the native Martians and their efforts at hampering the Earthlings objectives hold symbolic truth today.

Our robot, “Curiosity”, has successfully landed upon the arid dusty surface as of Monday morning, dust partially obscuring the view as seen from the first picture downloaded by NASA.

One of the new robot’s most important missions is to look for signs of life. In the coming weeks the data will be sorted and released and–for once and for all–we will know about the organic make up and geological history of that place so like Earth but so very different. Curiosity is a roving laboratory with multiple missions and a rather large skill set. With all the experience from the last two robots they(NASA) really know what they are after….

The ultimate open ended question: Are we alone in the universe?

That question could be answered very soon. Whatever the answer–we need the data. We now have a substantial scientific laboratory on Mars. With the sand and dust making the first picture a little blurry I couldn’t help but to think about Martians trying to thwart our efforts.

Ray Bradbury, being such an influence on my views on Mars, more as it relates to humanity, not as much as a scientist like Isaac Asimov but more like Hemingway or Steinbeck, writes very down to earth science fiction. That’s what is so intellectually luxuriant about Bradbury’s brand of fiction. It is related on an emotional level set in a future effected by science. The book is set in man’s need to explore, not only the realms of outer space but the depths of the mind also.

What if the Martians didn’t want to be observed? The book poses many curious scenarios in which man is confronted with his humanity. Is a maned journey to the red planet in the offing? Is it technically feasible? With the successful landing of our newest automated robot I would suspect a trip for people is becoming more and more in favor.

First picture of mars yesterday obscured by dust

All of these big questions about Martians were asked by H.G. Wells in his 1898 thriller novel, War of the Worlds, in which the Martians send robots to earth.

I consider Wells to have an even greater perspective and impact on my Mars thinking. Bradbury and Wells’ books being 50 years apart help for the ideas to marinate and give science a chance to catch up.

Remember when NASA made the announcement that they had proof of life on Mars? Late 90′s, I remember clearly, they had finally gotten around to studying the Martian meteorite when, lo-&-behold, it was holding life-like fossilized structures in it’s interior. That has since been debunked–for lack of evidence, so NASA is real sure to get it right this time.

I would say Mars is only behind the sun and the moon in the running for symbolic meaning. With one’s own eyes clearly it is discernibly red. Without getting into astrology–it’s a symbol that has a lot of meaning for people. Mars is the God of war in Roman mythology.

From the first fly-by of Mariner4 (a spacecraft consisting of an octagonal magnesium frame, in 1965 it captured the first images of another planet ever returned from deep space; their depiction of a cratered, seemingly dead world largely changed the view of the scientific community of life on the planet Mars)–to our new “Curiosity” a within reach new frontier.

Face on Mars Photo: NASA

The face on Mars along with the pyramidal structures have always captivated imagination. For years those pictures offered proof of life but with recent photos from a different angle showed the face to be just an anomaly of light upon a mountain top. The pyramids aren’t looking like themselves either.

This whole search for life on Mars-thing conjures up so many scenarios it will be sad to put them to rest once the facts come in.

For instance: What if they discover life never existed on Mars?

Well that would be just a total bummer because the speculation would be over. If that was the case we would always have IO to dream about. IO is the innermost of the four Galilean moons of the planet Jupiter

Page 1 of 212

The Green

Archive for August, 2012

The New Levitt Pavilion

A Saab Story

A Good Road to Ride

Rainbow Lover

50 Dutch Miles

Maps & Dutch Culture

Templeton (6lf21) & the first Westporter

Imagine being the first person to walk into Westport maybe 11,500 years ago. You had followed and killed a mastodon over by Staten Island a week before and now had ventured north along the coast and found a beautiful spot by a river that let out into Lake Connecticut.

Robot lands at Mars–Big Questions

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