My Dad's special day, usually hot and humid with a sprinkling of thunderstorms on the cusp of corn season, began what was for many years, a busy month with more than a dozen birthdays and a few anniversaries. Those of us with special days at the end of the month knew to celebrate at the beginning before the energy dissipated into "back-to-school" frenzy.
Today, as a strange cool snap settled into the Northeast on what would have been his 100th birthday, I ate an ear of corn and wondered what my Dad, an avid news follower, would have thought about today's headlines? I thought about how my Dad tried to be positive and hopeful even under tough circumstances. I thought about the unlikely moniker given him by his oldest grandchild as he woke up from one of his late afternoon "power naps."
I was thinking of my Dad when a message arrived about a restaurant at Grand Central Station. There was a picture and a note about needing to check out this place!
Here is where the story gets spine-tingly. The name of the restaurant, Cafe Grumpy, is an un usual name for a place to get food. Grumpy was also a very uncharacteristic name for my Dad who was usually smiling even during the hardest of times; yet, he wore the name proudly.
We all learned about plowing through challenging times from watching my Dad; but, today, I was reminded that we all touch the future in ways we cannot even imagine.
