SOL26 July 28: Mop, Mopped, and Still Mopping

 I'm writing with the SOL Community today. 

It was yesterday, but they were predicting it for today even though the skies had been overcast and the air smelled like after football practice. I even checked Accuweather and the storms seemed to be rolling to the north. Then, it started to rain and to thunder and there was more rain mixed with hail and even more rain. Cars, roads, small bridges, power, and the internet were all lost; yet, miraculously, no lives were lost in this third "Storm of the Century" in 10 days! My issues can all be fixed with a mop. 

I headed into the basement, cautiously,

After not finding water the last two times

I was really feeling optimistic, so I went,

Barefooted, with a tiny flashlight scanning

Finding just what I expected, the need for my mop.

I returned with boots and mopped. 

I flopped into bed, dreaming of mops. 

The power is back and it's raining again,

I am on a break, but I have been mopping. 

Grateful that's all I need!

July 26: Remarkably Bright Creatures

Most of the time, films do not capture the magic of a well written novel; however. as I sobbed and grabbed another tissue, I remembered powerful science and skillful actors make a wonderful story incredible.

 

Cephalopod science was not woven into the biology classes of my youth, but the idea of octopuses unscrewing jars, recognizing people, and planning escapes hit me hard. My emotional reaction may have indeed been aggravated but the fact that I had grilled octopus for lunch!  In my defense, it had been years since I had that delicacy and it will be a long while before beans are not my protein of choice.  

Remarkably Bright Creatures earned four Oscar Nominations and is currently on Netlix if you, like me, didn't catch it in theaters. 

July 26: Musical Bliss

I've been experimenting with water colors this summer and listening to a wide range of music; yet, it's clear that creating fabulous art and making wonderful music sit outside of my skill set. 

I sat in this perfectly acoustical room at Lincoln Center last night listening to a wonderful concert where music written by Debussy and others filled my senses and soul.  It was one of those nights when we were so immersed in something so wonderful that time and space stood still and yet disappeared. I was left thinking about the power of a conductor to bring an orchestra together.

Eun Sun Kim Conducts Poulenc

She waved, pointed and flared knowing each

Violini, cello, French horn's note n

Neded to be merged into a chorus 

Supporting that magnificent flutist whose sound

Still reverberates in my head along with images of a

Mesmerized crowd whose intense focus was on 

Capturing the moments of musical bliss.

July 25: Celebrate Today

I wish I could live every day in gratitude

Without worries for the next problem, issue,

Grateful for the small moments where a 

Fairy Princess leans in for a feathery hug, a

Precocious Tween realizes he's taller, a

Conversation might be frozen in time, a

Summer breeze is set on repeat, a

Wrinkle is just a marker of time, a

Checkmate call results in a full-body smile, a

Celebration of living is unending, 

Today, I am going to try.

July 24: Celebrate

Birthdays, are a time to celebrate and also to reflect on memories and to anticipate the future, 

One of my grands, with sparkle galore,

Is no longer so little, in fact she's four!

Not long ago, she was a tiny bundle of love

Now she's a strong, determined gift from above.

She's already making her mark in the world

With glitter, ruffles and energy unfurled.

Her future is as bright as the sun is on this day,

She's forging ahead on her birthday.

She's already come a long way from preemie size,

I treasure each day 'cause time flies. 

It's also the birthday of a special cousin to me,

Kind, supportive, he's a main branch on my tree! 

It's no surprise they share this special date 

Their leaves are bright, they are reasons to celebrate.

SOL26 July 21: Bye Lettuce

I'm sharing a little bit of my life with the Slice of Life Community today, Like everyone, I have been avoiding some foods lately!

Looked longingly at heads piled high,

Wanted to grab them, but let out a sigh,

88 cents called me, I grabbed pricier food,

Thoughts of chef salad and BLTs collude,

$4 zucchini, $7 chard,

Can be cooked, raw is barred.

Not a chance for a salad bowl,

Bye bargain lettuce and bankroll.

Ethical ELA: July 20: Excessive GIfts

On this last day of Ethical ELA Open Write, Glenda asks us to write a clerihew form poem which is four lines long with rhymes at the end of lines one and two as well as three and four. Typically these poetic forms are about a person. I am taking a bit of poetic liberty and writing about a "gifted thing." 

When the gift is grandiose, excessive, or appears extreme,

It likely is illegal, has problems, or perhaps is part of a scheme!

You can't buy love or respect with money, planes, or diamond rings,

Sooner or later your may discover someone is trying to pull your strings! 

Ethical ELA: July 19: Waves

In  today's Ethical ELA prompt, Glenda Funk asks us to  consider looking at various definitions of wave. She suggests we could explore the human wave gesture or a beach memory. My wave poem is different, but based on my experiences driving through a day of intense rain yesterday!

Local forecast was dire, red flag waving ominously,

Yet, I waved, to my neighbor, bravely securing an umbrella,

I patted the coffee, water bottle as the wipers waved

Slowly, in anticipation for the first wave ahead where a 

Deluge would deter them from trying to wave away gallons

Flowing from waves of furious clouds before the

Thruway would disappear in waves of tears beating on cars 

As if they were kettle drums, as waves of terror gripped my

Soul knowing the destination was worth wavering through 

Waves of rain attempting to power wash everything in its path

SOL26: Still Learning

Today, I'm sharing a small, wonderful slice of life even though my heart is heavy with concerns for the precarious state of our world.  

Over the years, I have attended many universities and earned multiple degrees. I've learned to play checkers, Canasta, croquet and even pickle-ball. Yet, I somehow missed learning to play chess. I am pretty sure the husband taught the kids to play while I was either doing dishes or laundry and was too exhausted to add anything to my short-term memory storage facility. There was an after school club that met right next to my classroom for years and I thought about going, but there was always paperwork or lesson plans calling.

So when a grandchild did not accept my I do not play statement and exclaimed, "I'll teach you right now," I swallowed my fear that this was going to be hard and allowed an eight year old to teach me the basics. It was pretty hard, at first, and those horses who hop and jump as if they were real stallions cost me my first game pretty fast. The second game lasted a bit longer until I got shredded by that queen whose wrath I underestimated! 

I found myself later that night checking out chess basics and creating my own study guide before wasting an evening on the porch playing an online version ONLY so I can be a better competitor for someone who was in pull ups not that long ago. I'm still listening, growing, and still learning!  

July 13 In My Opinion

This is a post that shares my opinion about current events in our country. I acknowledge there are differing opinions. This is mine. 

I haven't shared my writing for a while as I have grappled with (in my opinion) one concerning news report after another resulting in a cascade of paralyzing fear for our future. Brutal bombs, baseless arrests, belligerent statements, and bloodcurdling accusations bombarding the consciousness at a pace that precludes response (in my opinion). 

Yet, the arrests, deportations, and murders of people, like Lorenzo Salqado Arauio in Texas last week and someone in Maine today,, who have not done anything wrong other than working and living in this country at this time is quietly escalating across the country (in my opinion). The targeted people are predominately darker skinned and Spanish speaking (in my opinion). Frankly, it was hard to celebrate the milestone birthday as this tragedy (in my opinion) unfolds upending lives and destroying the American Dream that has shaped my heritage. 

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness

July 4: American Experiment

Birthdays, are a time to celebrate and also to reflect on memories and to anticipate the future. As we sweltered on the eve of our nation's birthday, I thought about a Godson who arrived just before the fireworks and is now celebrating adulthood.  I thought about his great-grandmother, a real firecracker, whose watermelon and blueberry infused day was often spent swimming and picnicking. I thought about the Bi-Centennial when I spent the day on The Mall before and an evening watching fireworks at Lincoln's feet. I also reflected on fireworks from a window at Hershey Medical Center where my uncle fought for life and hauling all kinds of treasures from the Stormville Flea Market. 

Locally, the heat dome has impacted many picnics and outdoor activities this year. Political strife also clouds many celebrations and provides an ongoing worries. There is also a clear reminder, this year, of the caution of George Washington, Ben Franklin, and even Abe Lincoln who were concerned about, and warned us to protect, the American Experiment. Our future as a country has been and will be determined by its people. Something about his time of year and birthdays seems to be a reminder we are stronger as a complex and diverse nation, infused from the beginning by brave outsiders arriving whether or not they were /are welcomed! 

Indigenous, immigrant, eager,

On boats, planes, foot, excited, 

Some penniless, escaping,

Seeking freedom, new lives

Some against their will,

We all pursue

American

Dreams

Not one

Rather, many,

Same, different,

Wanting a chance to

Earn, learn, live without fear

To participate, celebrate,

The American Experiment 

SOL26: June 30: What Were They Thinking?

I am sharing as part of the TWT Slice of Life community today.  

It's summer and it's NJ warm, not Arizona hot. I thought I had dressed appropriately for the doctor appointment in a skort and white tee. I wore my sandals because shoes would be extra weight on the scale. The waiting room was packed with the humans who either had the same Monday morning time slot, were shipped in from the Jersey Shore, or were serious about trying to fool the scale! They wore bikini tops and shorts that just grazed the parts you should keep covered. I tried not to stare. I tried to be jealous of their weight loss strategies. I tried to rationalize they were going to have to get undressed anyway!  I really do not know what they were thinking? 

As I went through a old photos (my June project), I found photo evidence of Queenie, my Grandfather's pet fox from the era when my Mother was a young girl!  I had heard reference to the "pet" and now I have photo-evidence of such a critter. I did check with AI, and it would appear it is now illegal to own one in most states. They are wild animals with high energy and will (according to Google) mark their territory and attack for protection if you know what I mean. Yet, here are photos of my mother (the little one) and her sister, and my grandfather, Gerow, with Queenie!  Seriously, what were they thinking?

I thought about all the other what were they thinking moments just today, like what were they thinking with that Reflecting Pool mess and what were they thinking when they rented MSG for a wedding decoy (wedding)? Then, I thought about how my Grandmother and my Mother would have been appalled that I wore a skort and plastic sandals (even if they were Oofoss) to a doctor appointment! Perhaps, many of us could use a reminder to think about the impact of our decisions. 

June 29: Questions

This month, I have been plowing through family photographs and memorabilia. I am left with questions about people who are no longer earth-side. 

Like this clearly formal wedding portrait from my Aunt Helen's wedding in about 1947. The men, including my dad, are wearing topcoats! Did she somehow "hit the lottery" because the farm had recently been sold even though others had no money for college? Did she have a much better secretarial job than I thought? Did Uncle David, the groom, fund the fancy wedding? 

Like this signed 9 X 12 picture from the 1984 Mondale-Ferraro presidential ticket! I did remember The Aunts were big time Kennedy supporters with memorial ash trays and other trinkets around the apartment. I realized the Irish-Catholic-young-good-looking-Camelot pull there. However, I missed the financial and clear support of this political ticket with a female in the VP seat! Clearly and happily ahead of their times! Was it the common Orange County country roots or the shared Brooklyn-Queens life? I am proud of my Aunt Lora for pushing respect for women in all the Houses of Washington even 40 years ago!                                                                                                                      

Now, so many more questions

Now, I can only wonder and imagine,

Now, there are no answers.

June 28: Hikes, Bikes, and Swims, too

My memory was that my own children spent a good chunk of their free time care-giving for grandparents and helping with chores around the house in the days before they explored working on their own. As I have been going through the photo memories that I have, I have decided they really had pretty good, if not wild and crazy or extravagant childhoods!  

Evidence to support my claim begins with planned or even unplanned hikes often spurred by Uncle Vince with cousins where paths were explored and laughter filled the woods. More than once, to be honest, we were unsure of our way out of the maze of black diamond and triangle labeled trails, if not totally lost! This image (Uncle Vince, Tony, me, Aunt Barbara, Della) was likely taken from a person who was far ahead of the rest on the hike with a camera! 

Sometimes, we hiked on magical trails where the wonders of nature were abundant and the majesty of the earth was everywhere. More than once we swam in Bash Bish Falls even if you were not supposed to do so!  More than once, I held my breath as we hiked or even mountain biked on steep and windy trails where the views were almost worth the work and worry.

My photos would suggest there were lots more afternoons spent with nature than at amusement parks and in restaurants!  I wish we had taken you on trips to explore at bit of the world while we could have done so. I also wish I had known then, how fleeting and wonderful those days would be in the chapters of our story. Yet, there was more time spent together doing-outdoors-activities than my now fleeting and tear-stained memories might suggest. There were smiles and there was laughter in our family as well as love. 

If I am honest, it may have been those early hikes and camping trips with Vince, Barbara and their growing family, before we had children, which shaped our parenting in a quiet manner. In those days, before my job was Mom, I might even have, one time, had a trunk full of Twinkies and been remembered, forever, as The Goody Queen.  (Sometimes, the memories are so powerful you really do not need pictures)

Keep them busy and outdoors may have been the plan, even if we never articulated it! Perhaps, I may even be remembered as an OK parent! 

Hikes, bikes, swims, laughs, smiles,

There really were more than I remembered!

Seeds planted at Cranberry Lake

June 27: Cousins

One of the emerging themes from this month long picture dive is the role of cousins in shaping our lives.. We put enormous energy into our jobs and maintaining our lives; yet, we are all replaceable at work, but not to our families. I could fill this page with endless pictures that represent poignant moments between family members, especially cousins!

Like the image of my cousin and I in the bamboo art exhibit finding a moment of happiness after my Dad's passing upended our long planned trip.  Or the image of my cousin and I at his son's wedding where our "Irish roots" were clearly smiling!

Or  image of these cousins sharing a tender moment with their cousin, a flower girl, at another cousins's wedding even if one of them was heading across the pond in mere hours for a semester abroad! 

Or celebrating another cousin's wedding crowding into the photo booth because they were having a rare and special moment together! Or, just sharing a moment and pleasing a parent after sharing the excitement on some, probably football or soccer or lacrosse field!  Over time, the complex demands of merging careers and families and distance usually grows, but so does the love.

Grateful

For cousins

Who share our

Stories, roots, in a

Way no other can do! 

Inspiring, encouraging, all that might be, 

Even when we are far apart for

Long stretches of space and time, held together

Deep roots, strong branches, sinewy genetics, lifelong awareness, familial love.

June 25: Celebrate

The last week in June is a big one for celebrations like last night's send off for high school graduates filled with all the mixed emotions of joy, pride, and realization of the potential of a new chapter that began as they flipped their tassels. Those celebrating will not remember the words of any of the speeches, but they will remember how they felt nervous and happy and unsure and excited by the future as they celebrated. I focused, as best as I could, on that joyous celebration while acknowledging the potential for our world standing on those risers! 

My mind did wander, at one point to a similar late June evening, just three years ago when the graduate's sister stood on those same risers and to that time years ago when my daughter graduated from high school in a similar ceremony where friends also gathered to celebrate their stories that were really just beginning. I also remembered watching the graduate's mother celebrate her high school graduation and remembered the illicit while sandals I wore to my own, long ago, while acknowledging the Lion King, Circle of Life moment! 

Celebrate 

The chapters

Along the journey.

June 24: I Barely Knew Them

I'm plowing through old photographs this month and realize there are some relatives I barely knew.

Like my Dad's oldest sibling, Uncle Phil (Philip) who had already left the farm for Northwestern University before my father was born. He worked as an engineer for  NYC Transit and lived in a small brick house with his wife, Aunt Nettie. They had no children, but shared their narrow home in Brooklyn with a disabled niece. I think we visited twice and remember the smell of his cigar filled the house and made me feel sick. They shared boxes of chocolate candies wrapped in foil. When I was in high school, he spent several months before he died in a NYC hospital ward. My mother asked me to write a note to put in a card to send each day. After he passed, someone found a note gifting me with his black, side-mirror-less, rear-mirror-less, and radio-less 1954 Ford sedan. I had just gotten my license and part of me felt like the luckiest person in the world as I decorated it with big flower stickers as if I was a real hippy. Even then, I knew I really did nothing to deserve that gift. 

Like my Dad's second oldest sibling, Uncle George who had also left for the Army (I think) before that last child arrived. He married Aunt Madelyn and settled in his hometown working in the infamous NY State prison of Sing Sing. I remember going to their very modern (to me) ranch home one time, but I was young and have no idea why we were there! They had one child, my cousin Sheila, and spent their retirement playing golf and raising her children in Florida. Through stories, I know my uncle thrived for many years after much of his intestine was removed and outlived two pacemakers! After my son was born, I found my son's given name was Uncle George's middle name. Coincidentally, they were gifts from God.                                                                        Uncle George, Sheila Jimmy and baby

SOL26: June 23: Semi-quincentennial

 

I'm sharing with the Slice of Life Community today. Lately, news of the Reflecting Pool has me remembering the 200th Birthday celebration,

In the days after dinosaurs roamed and before cell phones, I lived just over the Potomac when our nation was celebrating its 200th birthday. (I realize writing this confirms any doubt that I am aged to perfection!) 

We left our car parked along a side street somewhere in Virginia and walked, I think, over the bridge to visit hoards of food, craft, and trinket vendors who were hawking their wares along the Reflecting Pool. I must admit I never noticed if it was clean or dirty, but I remember the reflection of the Washington Monument was perfectly centered in the enormous pond. 

As the sun prepared to set that day, there was music.  Perhaps it was a band, but maybe it was piped over loudspeakers. The nation was, at that moment, in a peaceful state of affairs after the decade of Vietnam and the Watergate Scandal. While the economy was struggling and there were few jobs to be had, I think we were optimistic. (Perhaps that was young love?) We watched the fireworks at Lincoln's feet filled and walked home. 

I wish I wanted to go back and visit for the semi-quincentennial. 

June 23: Changing Directions

 When I started this month-long-journey through a box of photos from family, I thought I would quickly scan and toss. I started remembering people and places, while reaching sad dead-ends when I could not identify so many leaves from my family tree. I am now sure that even in this AI infused information age, if we do not write down our stories, they will be lost! 

These are my Mother's people and her words are as important as the images. I did have to use Google to determine that Guilford 1916 (upper image) was likely the seaside town of Guilford, Conn. It is the Quick family and the tall young man in the back would become my Grandfather. I'm left to wonder what this struggling family was doing all dressed up so far from their rural NYS farm? A wedding? A funeral? A vacation seems unlikely?

Thankfully, the lower photo is labeled Grandma (Great-Grandma to me), Grandpa (Great to me), Aunt Evie, Uncle Sam, and Uncle Percy. I never knew any of them, but I do know that Percy was an early lineman for the local electric company, Central Hudson. When my daughter was doing a summer internship there, she learned from a wall honoring him that he had invented safety protector used long ago at the top of electric poles!

On the back of the page in perfect script, my mother wrote, "1912, Margaretsville," which would indicate my maternal Grandmother's hometown. Here's where it gets squirrely. My mother writes, "(her) Grandma, Grandma Patten and Dominic?" I think this might be my grandmother's half brother but all this is sending me down the genealogy rabbit hole, where all this is headed. There is no way this project is going to be done in a month! Sigh. 

J

June 22: Call of the Sea

This month, I am capturing old photos that are important in sustaining the memories of people who have shaped the complex image of family in a way that combines both images and stories.

It was a wonderful long weekend in Vero Beach, where they had already established a retirement community and an enviable circle of support. It had been bitter cold back in NY, but shorts and tee-shirts were THE garb there! Over dinner, there were tales of relentless golf matches and planning for an upcoming Valentine's Day Party. They celebrated every event because they all matter. 

The smell of the sea and signs for seafood were everywhere and yet it was the familiar pull of family that filled the weekend with joy. I had seen pictures and I had heard tales of their place at the sea, but I had no idea they spent the entire weekend on the edge of the sea where the rhythm and healing power of the waves were steps away. I ventured into the sea even if it was February as they watched!  

It was my only trip to their Place at the Sea as Barbara would be taken by a horrid strain of the flu not long after. Yet, Vincent has continued to hear the Call of the Sea and find retirement love and warmth in the warm breezes and salty air. While I never made it back, I still can hear the Call of the Sea and I've carried the reminder that every birthday and significant matters and deserves its moment to shine.

June 22: Saving Memories

Today's Ethical ELA Host, Leilya, has the most wonderful bionic line as it says she "lives in Ponchatoula, LA, a small town celebrated for its strawberries." Today's prompt asks us to write a poem about a souvenir, whether it is real or imagined. It may be something you bought, something you remember, something emotional or invisible, or something unexpectedly small but meaningful.

Pink sands of Jobson's Cove, 

Gale force winds of the Cliffs of Mohr, 

Innumerable Limone di Siracusa, 

Drenching and deafening Gullfoss,

Endless switchbacks of Bright Angel Trail,

Beside memories of the Ionian Sea,

Powerful reminders.

Yes, that one picture could use to be straightened!

June 20: Ethical ELA: Just a Dream

 

Today's Ethic ELA asks us to write a poem about your perfect getaway or escape. It may be real or imagined, near or far away, luxurious or wonderfully simple. It may be a place from memory, hope, or longing. My space is just a dream, fashioned from memories of finding peace and happiness at the sea.  They arrive with smiles, knapsacks, Stepping out of busy lives,  Returning from beyond, Grabbing coffee, sitting briefly Before the sea calls to them, too. Returning sun-kissed, windblown Momentarily carefree, to share On the porch after sunset,  Over tea, in the swing, On indefinite walks, at sunrise, Over elaborate sandcastles On a rainy night, sunny morning, Momentarily sharing my dream Returning to the salty memories, life Before pressures, busy live, sweet memories Grabbing a towel for one last dip before Returning to share memories, dreams Stepping slowly, back to the sea They leave my dream.

June 20: To Tony From Kitty

This one was crumpled and torn, I honestly wasn't sure who it was or when it was taken. Was this at a train station where a really confident young woman was waiting? Her smile seems to say, "I know what I am doing!" 

I love her dress which suggests a late 1920's time frame (I think). I stared at the photo, like several I uncovered this week, and realized the love letter on the back told me this photo was a "selfie" type photo from a young women, smitten with a young man. She likely had someone take it for her in order to give it to her beau, Tony!  

I am enthralled by her choice of the word "from," perhaps because the word "love" had yet to be uttered in describing their relationship! 

Kitty lived and worked in Brooklyn and He lived in the far-away borough of the Bronx! In time they would marry and become parents of three; she would become my other mother.

The look of young love

Eager, hopeful, excited

Has not changed a bit

 

June 19: That Safety Bucket

A long time ago, back when car seats were mandated in NYS but not nationwide, we were gifted the "latest and safest" infant car seat by a Car and Driver neighbor/reporter who was reviewing this giant bucket! It was bulky by today's standards and there was no way anyone was taking this monster out of a car to run into a store! I smile thinking of those new, car seats that turn into strollers with a click and would fit inside this big-old-thing!

Yet, it seemed safe and it seemed to offer a newborn side to side protection. To be honest, it barely fit in my compact Dasher with the other car seat for the toddler sister! But, the state-of-the-art 3-point harness did seem to be a positive change and so I shoved my baby into it until that harness no longer fit! 

I decided to share the picture as a reminder that I really did try to be safe and follow guidelines even if I did put my babies to bed on their bellies and I did have bumpers on their cribs until they took them apart to escape! The little one in the bucket was a master at escaping, but I did try to keep him safe!  That is another story!

 

June 18: Hunger

 

Deep in the Depression, my Grandfather, Gerow, built this playhouse in the yard. It immediately became a special place for his children as well as the neighbors!

I wonder if this was a time when there was little work for a welder and jack-of-all trades who could fix almost anything in spite of limited education ? I wonder if he was bored of if he always had a plan to sell it? 

As the story goes, for a few magical months, Natalie, about 5, Lucille, about 10, and Mary Etta, about 15 created a lifetime of memories there. As my mother who was too young to grasp the hunger and poverty of the day told the story many years later, they all were heartbroken when the little house was sold. 

As I reflect on the story, I suspect there is a whole lot more to the story! I suspect the  building and selling was about hunger. Those were hard times and clearly, my Grandfather in the background, was much thinner than in later years when I knew him! There was not always enough food is the one thing they all agreed upon.

I'm also grateful my mother wrote under the picture, "Don't I feel proud of my playhouse, 1936!" 

Hunger

Parents do hard things

To put food on the table 

Quiet the rumbling

June 17: Suit Over Food!

Long ago, in the days before electricity, he left school perhaps after 3rd grade to help his dad in the family business delivering ice to apartments in NYC. He was a man of all trades over the years painting apartments, plowing snow, and picking up refuse in the years after the ice business was no longer needed. 

While I do not have the pictures, he was a handsome devil when he married my mother-in-law, strong and proud of his Italian heritage. Their city lifestyle suited the family for many years, but after another son arrived their apartment was cramped and the Bronx was under stress. Their move to the country town of Poughkeepsie must have been an incredible change; yet, in ways that seem to be symbolic of adapting to change, he reinvented himself to do bank security. 

He was already retired when my daughter appeared on the scene, and jumped at the chance to take her to the magical McDonalds where there were "Happy Meals" and an indoor playground! While that was not the usual fare for my "crunchy-healthy-eating-child," I saw the delight in his eyes and always bit my tongue. I also knew there were sweets on the empty kitchen chair that all the grands consumed when there! 

Perhaps my favorite story was from his latter years when his words were fewer and yet packed a punch. When my son turned 13 and growing like a weed while eating us out of house and home, we asked Grandpa if he had any messages for us as parents of a teen. He responded quickly as if the thought was already to emerge, "I'd rather buy him a suit of clothes than feed 'em!"  THIS was long before the current crazy food price inflation!

Anthony could be gruff, at times, but his heart was in the right place. He'd be mighty proud of all those children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren who carry his name into the future and share his ability to adapt the the many changes life has to offer, including the littlest ones who are already eating their parents out of house and home. 

 

1 child, 3 daughters-in-law, 7/9 grandchildren