Celtics ☘️ Sentinel

 Linda and I married - probably too young, in 1966, and we had two kids, Marc and Lisa. Money was short then, and we had to figure out a way to be able to get away and to give our offspring some experiences. The top two photos are of a camp I built - by myself, and without any power tools, and the a cre-and-a-quarter lakefront lot with 200 feet of sandy frontage . The cost to build the camp was roughly $800.00, and the lot lease was a "whopping" $150.00 per year. The remote lot was nine miles from the nearest paved road, and there was no electric power. None. Coolers, blocks of ice, an outhouse, propane lanterns, a wood stove, spring water and a battery-powered radio provided what we needed. It was simple perfection. The bottom two photos are of a trailer we owned at an ocean campground - starting in 1981 - right on the water - and "Russell's Lobster Shack" across the street where we would have the lobsterman cook his catch for pickup. Our first trailer cos...

 I remember it vividly. As a kid, I was in my basement conducting some new chemistry experiments, and a group of friends arrived - with one of them saying, "Tom's going to do better than any of us." It was uncharacteristic of my friend, Jack, to give me any such accolade, but I was pleasantly surprised. He died last year, and the rest of that small group have also left this earth. After 78 years, I am still here. As a runt of a kid, with some brain power - but little "conventional" drive - I envied most of my friends. I was a bit of a loner and not a diligent student. But I had a lot of interest in nature and the world around me. My home in Reading, Massachusetts was surrounded by woods, fields and a massive swamp. I loved the swamp! It teemed with life. I went to college, married and graduated as a chemical/plastics engineer. But it wasn't for me. After several years, I left to take a temporary job as a Massachusetts Game Warden - leased an acre of water fr...