First, I have an update on the mystery of the fate of the
Oneida, the yacht on which Grover Cleveland’s secret cancer surgery was
performed. As I blogged about a few weeks ago, somebody sent me a picture they
snapped last summer of a boat that looks an awful lot like the Oneida. It was
exciting to think that the Oneida was still out there, since its ultimate fate
is still unknown (to me, at least).
Well, this week I got an e-mail from somebody who thinks the
yacht in that picture is actually
the Cangarda (built in 1901) – and I think he’s right:
Drats, I was really hoping I’d found the Oneida.
On the home front, it’s been getting colder and colder in
Ulaanbaatar, but we’re adjusting. The other morning Allyson was getting ready
for work when she asked me what the weather was like outside. I said, “Not too bad:
four above.” (And that’s Farenheit, of course.) A couple weeks ago we went out
to dinner and walked home in a temperature of nine below. That was pretty cold.
And the simple act of walking is complicated by the fact
that the entire city is pretty much covered with a layer of ice, including the
sidewalks. At least the snow makes the open manholes easier to see.
