When Andrew was 13 I let him drive my car on our lawn, all of about 10 feet and at 0 miles per hour. This was his first time behind the wheel, and when you are 13, this is pretty cool, now that Andrew is 17 and with a license of his own, well you know. But Andrew learned to drive in Florida where a speed bump is a mountain. The rolling hills of Connecticut seem to require continuing education classes for young drivers.
Friday, July 31, 2009
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Henry Kissinger's Blueberries and Something About Mary
Who knows if the story is true, but in Kent CT at the old Kent Girl's School there is a fabulous patch of blueberries that supposedly were transplanted there by Henry Kissinger. The story is that when Kissinger moved to Kent there was a large area of blueberries on his property. Not wanting the berries and not wanting to destroy them, he payed to transplant them to the school property. Makes a nice story. No matter how they got there, the berries are now lovingly cared for and open to the public at no cost. Nice to be able to gorge on berries for weeks and then be able to open your freezer all winter for a bag of berries. By the way, I could probably be shot just for divulging the location of this secret patch.
Sclafani's
I probably should not divulge this secret either but possibly the best cheese steak and/or cheeseburger in 100 miles comes from a red school bus. Sclafani's on Route 7 in New Milford, CT. That nice boy, Andrew, had a loaded chili, cheese steak, a fine choice.
If you go to the youtube page of this video, there is a location marker that shows exactly where to find this culinary treasure. (unless the marker is mis-located to throw you off.)
If you go to the youtube page of this video, there is a location marker that shows exactly where to find this culinary treasure. (unless the marker is mis-located to throw you off.)
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
And then came Andrew
He's a nice boy, a nice boy. My cousin Jackie's son Andrew came to visit for about 2 weeks, 17 years old, nice boy. Not sure if it was good or bad, but he made great video with his different views. NOTHING was scripted or planned.
It was a beautiful morning.
Did I mention, he is a nice boy?
And oh yeah, there are lots of Andrew videos for the next couple weeks.
It was a beautiful morning.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Jogging's not so bad
Rain and driving. Could be worse. Rain, driving and taking a video while driving. Or maybe rain and jogging.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
The Shirt off My Back
Today was one of the most poignant days in my life. Last night I got to Sarasota and stopped in briefly to see my Grandmother before going to my cousin's house to sleep. At about 6 am, after only 4 or so hours, I woke up and went back to her nursing home with the intention of staying with her until she had passed away. My aunts and uncle have been coming and going and taking care of her for years and made the decision at the beginning of the week to remove all of her medications. After 97 years, she had seen enough and done enough with us for all of us to know what she wanted for her care.
As the morning wore on, relatives came and went, hospice workers came and offered any comfort they could and at one point the medical staff indicated that we should prepare for her imminent passing. My cousin Alan, who was driving down from Tallahassee, had not yet arrived and I called to find out where he was and when he might arrive. Alan is a few years younger than me and we always had a good relationship when growing up, we see each other not too often now, solely due to geographic distance. When Alan arrived, it somehow quickly became clear that he and I would stay with our Grandmother until the end. Late in the day he and I ran out for a bite of dinner before everyone else left for the night. We had bought an iPhone Scrabble app and were planning on spending the night playing and hopefully reminiscing about our Grandmother.
I could write so much about the next 2 days Alan and I spent together, it was for me a bonding moment. You can't choose your family but you can choose your friends and I hope I can call Alan both. Lets see if he feels that way after our trip to Tibet.
This may be the single video that forced "Marshmallows" on the world.
Oh, and our Grandmother stayed with us for another 2 days, I know Alan wrote a story about the journey, perhaps he'll let me share it here.
As the morning wore on, relatives came and went, hospice workers came and offered any comfort they could and at one point the medical staff indicated that we should prepare for her imminent passing. My cousin Alan, who was driving down from Tallahassee, had not yet arrived and I called to find out where he was and when he might arrive. Alan is a few years younger than me and we always had a good relationship when growing up, we see each other not too often now, solely due to geographic distance. When Alan arrived, it somehow quickly became clear that he and I would stay with our Grandmother until the end. Late in the day he and I ran out for a bite of dinner before everyone else left for the night. We had bought an iPhone Scrabble app and were planning on spending the night playing and hopefully reminiscing about our Grandmother.
I could write so much about the next 2 days Alan and I spent together, it was for me a bonding moment. You can't choose your family but you can choose your friends and I hope I can call Alan both. Lets see if he feels that way after our trip to Tibet.
This may be the single video that forced "Marshmallows" on the world.
Oh, and our Grandmother stayed with us for another 2 days, I know Alan wrote a story about the journey, perhaps he'll let me share it here.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Raining in Sarasota
It's been a tough day, at about noon, I decided that I should fly down to see my 97 year old Grandmother who is not doing well. Found a flight from LGA directly to Sarasota where my Grandmother, aunt, uncle and various cousins live. Got to the airport in New York to find every single flight to anywhere either canceled or delayed to the point that you knew it was going to be cancelled. Rain on the east coast, west coast, central states and everywhere in between had devastated the entire air system.
Having traveled for many many years, I fortunately knew my options so I begged and groveled my way onto the only flight that actually existed, going to Tampa. Using my handy dandy phone I booked a rent-a-car and made it to Tampa, then drove to Sarasota at about midnight. My relatives had all told me that I could not get into my Grandmother's nursing home after 10 pm, as they lock all the doors. But hey, what are locked doors for? I just showed up (and probably should not reveal this) but know that electric sliding doors, like you see at the grocery store are not really locked unless they are locked. They are rather, just turned off so as not to open. I pushed my way into the nursing home by manhandling the doors and had a brief visit with my sleeping grandmother. The staff could not have been more pleasant or supportive telling me that I could come at any time day or night and stay as long as I wished. Because I had already woken my cousin once at about midnight, I figured I should not stay too long and left to drive the few miles to their house. Noah had nothing on Connecticut this spring and early summer so I was happy to be in nice warm, dry Florida. Right.
Having traveled for many many years, I fortunately knew my options so I begged and groveled my way onto the only flight that actually existed, going to Tampa. Using my handy dandy phone I booked a rent-a-car and made it to Tampa, then drove to Sarasota at about midnight. My relatives had all told me that I could not get into my Grandmother's nursing home after 10 pm, as they lock all the doors. But hey, what are locked doors for? I just showed up (and probably should not reveal this) but know that electric sliding doors, like you see at the grocery store are not really locked unless they are locked. They are rather, just turned off so as not to open. I pushed my way into the nursing home by manhandling the doors and had a brief visit with my sleeping grandmother. The staff could not have been more pleasant or supportive telling me that I could come at any time day or night and stay as long as I wished. Because I had already woken my cousin once at about midnight, I figured I should not stay too long and left to drive the few miles to their house. Noah had nothing on Connecticut this spring and early summer so I was happy to be in nice warm, dry Florida. Right.
Monday, July 6, 2009
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