Maybe summer has finally arrived. The Fourth of July weekend weather was simply outstanding………. Driving up Route 52 the other day I noticed that someone had left a boat and a trailer on one of the pull-offs on the mountain. The boat has been at its present location for nearly two weeks. I'm not knowledgeable about boats, but this particular one is about 15 feet long, appears to be in poor condition, and is on a small trailer that had at least one flat tire. Maybe the boat was "dumped" there — much the way people feel the need to discard an old mattress or television along the road rather than pay the few bucks to legally dispose of it at the town dump. Or perhaps, someone felt all the recent rain might have resulted in the entire valley flooding and wanted to be prepared; a modern day Noah if you will. Whatever the reason that someone left a boat and trailer along one of the most scenic roadways in the county, the boat looks completely out of place since there is not a suitable body of water for miles around……….Last week I wrote about the continued deterioration of the Nevele Hotel, including the once magnificent Nevele golf course. I described the nearly waist-high grass that was growing along the fence line on Route 209. Almost as soon as the Journal hit the newsstands, the grass was mowed all along the golf course fence. I'm not certain if the timing was anything more than coincidental. My article doesn't have that level of influence and I do not believe that the Nevele is somehow being resurrected. Whenever things get to this point, a sudden mowing is usually the result of hotel ownership being notified that they are in violation of some town code and continued failure to maintain the property might result in significant fines. Do the math. A couple of gallons of gas, a few bucks to pay whoever is left on the skeletal Nevele grounds crew, and you are in compliance with town code and avoid a hefty fine. It's just a shame that the Nevele ownership has allowed the property to reach this stage of ruin……….Professional golfer Phil Mickelson is often referred to as one of the nicest people on the P.G.A. tour. Recently, Mickelson's wife was diagnosed with breast cancer. Earlier this week reports came out that Mickelson's mother also has breast cancer. It is not a good time for the Michelsons. When Mickelson was playing in the U.S. Open a few weeks ago, held at Bethpage's (Long Island) famed Black Course, he was cheered and applauded by thousands of fans showing their support for him and his wife. Sports shows all over the country featured the story and many talked about Mickelson's bravery and fortitude in dealing with the situation. No doubt it was a touching story. No doubt Mickelson appreciated the fans support. But the news media made it seem like Mickelson's troubles were much more important because he is a world renowned professional athlete. No one wishes we could find a cure for cancer more than I do. But to imply that Mickelson's hardships are somehow more difficult than anyone else who is dealing with cancer is ridiculous……….The annual Wife Carrying World Championships were recently held in Finland. The winner of this event is the first man to carry his wife through the entire course which includes a sprint, a swimming pool, and some hurdles. The winner gets the weight of his wife in beer. There are a lot of comments that could be made here but the description of the event speaks for itself. However, if you are the least bit intrigued by this event, you should know that the annual North American Wife Carrying Championships will be held this October in Sunday River, Maine. The winner gets his wife's weight in Bud Light beer and a cash prize. I just can't imagine how someone would start that conversation with his wife……….The Times Herald Record reported earlier this week that a grant for almost $500,000 has been awarded to several Ulster County municipalities to streamline their highway departments. The Village of Ellenville and the Town of Wawarsing will both receive some monies. Other local municipalities are receiving grant monies to study consolidation of services between village and town. With the current economic situation facing Wawarsing and Ellenville, perhaps the Town Supervisor and Village Mayor could get together and discuss consolidating services such as the Town Highway and Village Street departments. Just an idea……….Los Angeles Dodgers manager Joe Torre recently commented that Dodgers outfielder Manny Ramirez, who recently returned from serving a 50 game suspension for using banned performance enhancing drugs, is a good guy who made a bad mistake. I'm a big Joe Torre fan, in large part because he helped the Yankees get four World Series rings, but isn't Manny Ramirez just another star athlete who cheated?..........Next they'll be portraying Michael Jackson not as a pervert but as a wonderful humanitarian whose gift of music gave so much to society……….We must remember that professional sports are, first and foremost, a business. Despite our loyalty and support of our favorite teams, to the owners the bottom line is the bottom line. How is it that the New York Red Bulls soccer team, with the financial support of Red Bull, maker of the widely popular energy drink, cannot field a winning soccer team? One of the richest teams, in the biggest market, the Red Bulls have a record of 2-13-4 and reside in last place in the M.L.S. standings. The New York Yankees are having a successful season, but they too have their sights only on the bottom line. Yankees ownership is completely content with television cameras showing hundreds of empty seats behind home plate and from first to third base. These are the most coveted and expensive seats at the new Yankee Stadium. The old stadium offered the Yankees a home field advantage as the best seats were always full and the fans loud. Hard to imagine that the Yankees have much of an advantage if the loudest fans are now located in the bleachers, several hundred feet from home plate……….My current high school principal is Tony DiMarco, former boys' basketball coach at Sugar Loaf, who perennially had his teams in post season competition. DiMarco remembers Ellenville coaching great Ken Ralph, whose Ellenville teams also made the playoffs on a regular basis. Sugar Loaf (Class D) and Ellenville (Class C) usually competed at the same sites in their playoff quests for a state title. I had no answer when DiMarco asked me how the Ellenville basketball program has been the last few years. DiMarco said, "Ellenville used to have great athletes." I remember. But over the 15 years or so those great Ellenville teams remain just that — a memory. Until next time…