civilized ku # 2340-55 ~ RIP lives!

Patience is a virtue ~ Tannersville, NY - in the Catskill Park • click to embiggenRip Van Ocipede, Land of Rip, Cabin Fever ~ • click to embiggenPop Van Winkle, Hobo Rip, Contractor Rip ~ • click to embiggenI am the mountain, The Amazing MagicalRip, Mechanic Rip ~ • click to embiggenRip's Last Stop, Jerry Van Winkle/RWV Tie Dye, Clowning Around with Rip ~ • click to embiggenWaking Up and Stepping Out, Rip Van Liberty, Lord of the Isle ~ • click to embiggenDuring our weekend in the Catskills, the wife and I saw a lot of stuff, but what we saw the most of was Rip Van Winkle in various guises. Those sighting were attributable to the fact that there 54 such Rips scattered about the northern Catskills - all part of the 3rd annual RIP LIVES! 2012 GALA & AUCTION.

For those of you not familiar with Rip Van Winkle, Rip is the amiable, somewhat hermetic, and most definitely work shirking character in Washington Irving's story of the same name. Long story short, Rip, while attempting to avoid his wife's nagging, wanders into the mountains (the Catskill Mountains) and discovers the source of thunder - a group of bearded men (the ghosts of Henry Hudson's - as in, Hudson River - crew) playing nine-pins. Rip starts drinking their liquor and falls fast asleep.

As it turns out, he sleeps for quite a few years, from roughly before the start of the Revolutionary War until after the war is over. When Rip returns home, high jinks and confusion are the order of the day.

In any event, during my trip in the mountains, my wife, unlike Rip's wife, didn't nag me one bit while I was driving around spotting Rip's and repeatedly stopping to make pictures, or, as she calls it, "dicking around".