Arrival

MONEYPIT SUMMER 2005
SESSION 2: VERMONT
September 9-11, 2005

Welcome to the Mellotron Ranch for MONEYPIT Summer 2005 Session 2

Jerry had the welcome mat...or welcome placard, I guess...out for us. I was the first to arrive on September 9 to the Mellotron Ranch located on a dirt road in nowhere Vermont. Is it far off the beaten path? This part of the US doesn't even have a beaten path! But it's absolutely gorgeous territory, not far from Mt. Mansfield, Vermont's highest peak.

On the way up I went through Smuggler's Notch, which cuts a ton of time off the journey from Vermont's capital of Montpelier but gets into some tricky, twisty driving around some boulders. On the way out of the Notch I stopped to snag a photo of the nearby scenery and noticed a few trees had decided to close up shop for the summer and begin turning colors that New England is famous for in the autumn. It wouldn't be long from then that there'd be frost, and our Saturday night did get down around 40 degrees (that's probably about 4 degrees for everyone else in the world). Sitting out on the deck stargazing meant donning my coat, something I hadn't done since probably March or April. But that's what living in New England means---you get a bunch of seasons. And I wouldn't have it any other way.

It's always good to see Jerry and Mali Korb, and this weekend we'd be joined by Bernie Kornowicz (M400 #500) and Dave Schwartz (M400 #310) for the unveiling of newly restored #500. We'd seen Dave's wonderful machine earlier, and now it was Bernie's turn.

Bernie and friends from China

Bernie is into the martial arts and was recently in China for an exhibition. That's Bernie in the middle. He doesn't want to brag, but while in China he competed in an international martial arts tournament and took three gold medals in three events. In short: Don't mess with Bernie, and don't make fun of his sneakers (which are simple and sensible). :-)

I'm still trying to get Zhou Jing's phone number...that's her on the left in the above photo. Zhou Jing is a retired martial arts professional and former Chinese national champion. She took an early retirement at age 22 and is now enrolled in a traditional Chinese medical school. On the right is Yu Chenghui. He's a very high level martial artist and a famous kungfu movie and television star in China. He just finished filming a TV series called "7 Swords". He's also considered a national treasure.

Bernie brought along a DVD of the show in which he participated. Bernie performed some forms, there were various martial arts exhibitions of amazing stuff, and there was a stunning display of what can only be described as a living human sculpture with three people taking on a variety of precarious positions with most amazing control.

So when Bernie's not playing his Mellotron, you will find him practicing his forms. He's a very quiet, reserved fellow, in sharp contrast to the rest of us.

Jerry Korb and Your Webmaster
Jerry Korb, Ken Leonard

(No, Your Webmaster is really green in that picture--not feeling well that weekend--but missing a MONEYPIT wouldn't really be tolerated by proper members of Mellotron society.)

Dave Schwartz checks out Jerry's Mellotron M300
SCHWAAAAARRRRRTTTZZZZZ!!!!
Dave checks out Jerry's M300.

All of us arrived by Friday evening, and we relaxed with some chow and beer (a recurring theme). Following tradition Bernie would have to wait until the following day---or when Jerry was ready---for the unveiling of restored M400 #500. -->

I forget how many linear feet of 'tron we had. But it was enough.