Misha

Monday night May 25th, I helped our 12 year old German Shepard up to the second floor where our bedroom is. She’d been slowly losing use of her back legs. She’d only needed encouragement, but tonight, never help up the stairs before. At the top of the stairs, Misha takes, as was her habit, a long drink of water from a bowl in the bedroom. With each swallow, a gentle spurt of water would spray from the side of her mouth out onto the floor. I knock gently on the bathroom door, and tell my wife, “Teri, I think it's finally time we put down Misha.” After a moment of silence, she replies, “Can we see how she does in the morning?” Neither of us wanted to end her life. Back in 2014, after I’d lost the best job I’d ever had, or ever will have, Teri heard that Jerry from Hopeful Tails Dog Rescue had rescued some dogs from a dog mill, and one of them was a German Shepard. She wanted this dog, and Elena wanted the dog too. She, a non dog loving person, wanted to train the dog. The adoption fee was $500.00. I thought we didn’t have it to spare. Teri was still at United Water making a really good salary, but our income had been cut by about 40%. I didn’t think it was a good idea, so we got the dog.

It was a bright sunny May day when I walked out the backdoor of our home alone with this tiny, little dog, with big paws. In the house was Teri’s mom’s dog, Bandi, and the first dog we got after we adopted the girls, Athena. I walked outside on that day twelve years ago with all three dogs. Looking at this new dog, negotiating climbing down the stairs, had no name. I thought she looked just like a bear, so yes, I started to call her Bear. Then Teri came home, and she didn’t like the name. Nancy came to see the dog with her, The girls came home from school, we all threw around names. Every so often I’d say, “Bear”, Sometimes I’d even say,”Look a bear!” (None of that last bit actually happened, except for me calling the dog Bear, and Teri not liking it.) Nancy found out that in most Russian fairy tales featuring animals, the bears were mostly called Misha. It was a bit too close to our first dog Mosha, but she looked like a bear, and we’d had the girls only five years by then, and it just seemed to fit, so the Bear became Misha. In those early years, it was Athena’s house, but as Misha got bigger, and after a few fights, none life-threatening, it was Misha’s house. Misha was a bully, and a coward. She’d let Bandi, a small 30lb dog buffalo her. We took her over to my mother's house when the movie company was filming at the house. She met my mom’s two retrievers, and pee’d on her own tail, she had it so far between her legs. Once there she was so frantic to leave he bit up my mom’s door knob. She crunched it up like it was made of plastic.

With me, she was so sweet, and gentle. She’d give me this look of complete trust, and openness. She’d prefer to walk around behind me, if possible instead of walking in front of me. If I went outside to do yard work, she’d follow. Sometimes when I’d mow the lawn, she’d follow, at least until she got bored. She’d then find one of her favorite balls, and drop it in front of the mower expecting me to stop working, and throw it. If I was near the pool, she’d drop the ball in the water expecting me to stop what I was doing, get it, and throw it for her to chase. She loved going for walks. I never walked her as much as I should have. Whenever we’d take her to the vet, we’d take out the leash, and she, being of one mind set, would expect to go on a walk. She’d walk around the side yard, then head to the road, and finally up the driveway to the car. At the vet,, she’d walk around the grass sniffing, enjoying herself. I’d walk her across the tar to the building, at some point when the door opened, she’d realize this was the vets office, and freeze,refusing to go a step further.

Over the last year or so she’d lay on the couch, and when she wanted attention, she'd flop her head down on the couch next to you making sure to get your attention. She felt she was being very clear about what she wanted. Closer to the end, she started to whine. Teri, or I’d give her attention, it just would never be enough. Sometimes I’d yell at her in frustration, I’m sorry now that I did. Without fail most every night just as Teri and I settled down after dinner to watch TV, Misha, and Cassie would decide, like two six year old children, it was time to rough house. Misha still loved to chase her ball near the end. If I tossed or gently kicked it just past her or right in front of her, she get it. If it went too far past her, she’d look at me with the look, ‘do you really expect me to go get that?’ and just walk away. The outside stairs to the deck, I built, and for some reason those were the ones she started having problems with. I think it is because the final step is just a few inches above the stone walkway. She’d dance around, do a stutter step, and depending on her level of frustration, she’d whine. It was a bit heart breaking. I’d go out to help her in. I’d take the leash with me. In the beginning, she thought she was going on a walk. I put the leash around her neck, and picked her up. I don’t know if her pride or her hips were hurt when I picked her up. Eventually when she saw the leash she’d run away into the yard. For an old dog, she was quick. Her final defense to being picked up was she’d sit down, and refuse to get back up. On May 26th, the day after Memorial Day, and the night I helped her up the second floor stairs, I’m at work. Teri calls, and says Misha fell, and maybe I’m right it is time. The vet says we can bring her in at 3:15. I have lunch at 1:15, so I come home for lunch. I make a sandwich and I have chips with it. I throw one to Misha figuring, why not. I throw her chips every so often to her to spend some time with her.

When it is time to leave I slip the leash over her head, and we go for a quick walk around the property. She lets me pick her up and put her in the car. Everyone seems to be there to see her go. I think to myself there are too many people here, but in the end I reflect that she was that loved. At the vets office, she manages to slide/fall out of the car, still landing on her feet. I walk her around the parking lot like usual, then make my way to the door. She walks in the door and we wait in the waiting room, then into the larger of the exam rooms. THe other room is where we had to put down Athena, it is not a place I want to be. The vet comes in, and tries to put Misha on the examining table, she’s not happy there, and tries to get off. A blanket covers the table. It is low to the ground. Misha is given a sedative that seems to take forever to take effect. During that time she manages to get off the table onto the floor. A few minutes later the vet comes in, shaves a part of her back leg, and inserts an IV. She pushes a pink liquid through it. A moment later she places her stethoscope on Misha’s side and says "She's gone.” It’s quiet, it’s peaceful. It seems so wrong what we had to do. She was so full of life, and if her hips hadn’t given out she should still be with us. That night I walked into the bedroom. Cassie has been lost all day. Misha’s bed is on the floor. We put it there in case Cassie needs to smell it. I read dogs tell time by smell. As the smell fades, they mark time. Mornings are so different now. I don’t have to keep the two dogs separated as I let them out. There is no pile of pills to sort out. At night the couch is empty, and I lay down and fall asleep watching TV. There is no rough housing of two dogs. A week has passed, and Teri picked up Misha’s ashes. She left it for the time being on the kitchen table, I pet it going by. I notice Teri is doing the same thing.

KJ's Mini, Replaying Risky Business, KJ goes to Tennesse Chopping wood

How many of you people under, I guess thirty years old remember an actor named Tom Cruise? No not the guy who ruined The Mission Impossible series, the guy who stared as a football player, or even better the guy who was Joel Goodson, the richt kid in Chicago who one day just said "fuck it" and went on an adventure. The one scene I'm thinking about, and all the people of my age remember it. The song that is over laid on the screen is a Bob Secagar song, don't remember which one. I think the scene is an archway in the house, Tom slides into without his pants, can you air sing? I know air guitar, and air drumming... well let's just say there is.Ole Tom slides into the scene in white socks, and his tightey whities. Obviously this is before the ultra cool Tom Cruise, you know when he was a better actor, and seemed like more of a regular guy. Well KJ decided to reenact the scene sans (is that Latin again, no I think it French) his tightey whites(diaper). A little background is required first, I guess. He has started potty training. So on this occasion he peed in his diaper. He undresses in the front living room(does that make us sound rich? I could have said parlor, now that would have made us sound like the rich landed gentry, wannabe, I’ve always strived for).and walks into the family room. Teri sees him and being Italian, she asks in American Italian where his clothes are. In other words she yells, “Why are you naked, where are your clothes?!!” He says, “I peed”. She is now confronted with the possible dilemma , where did he pee, and is this something she will have to clean up. She asks him and he points toward the front living room, oh hell, I want to call it the parlor. Teri can deal with a lot from her favorite people in the world, dogs.Cleaning up human issues is another story. She walks into the parlor, and asks him where he peed. Thank God, he points to his diaper atop his pile of clothes. After he points out where he peed, he seems to pose ala Joel Goodson in Risky Business sans diaper. Translated into English he stands like Joel Goodson from Risky Business in the archway of our home without any clothes on. I like the first version best. I’m sent a text by Teri with pictures. I tell her I’m going to include this in the blog with pictures. She reminds me that is a very bad idea. When it dawns on me why I erase the pictures. Years ago it would have been a funny picture, now it’s child porn.

KJ left for Tennessee with his mom a few days ago. Teri is devastated because she is losing her best friend. She has always said, “As much as he is a pain in the ass, I just love him”. I tried to cheer her up and sent her a video this morning of him looking for her a year ago calling her name. She texted back, I smiled, now I’m sad. I hope the move will be temporary, and Amanda and him will be back before the summer is over. Amanda wants to make a new life with the father of her baby down there.

If KJ stayed in New York this blog might be just about him eventually. About two weeks ago Teri found someone. Or maybe it was Nancy who had an electric Mini Cooper toy car they were getting rid of. All it needed was a new battery. Teri ordered one and KJ got several times to drive it in the back yard. It’s supposed to go with him eventually.

Back in the Nyack house I got a fireplace built. It was small, sometimes smoky, but always warm, and welcoming. I was younger than I am now, and I could swing an ax with the best suburbanite around. I wind the ax up over my head and slam it into a choice piece of prospective firewood, splitting it with one chop. Only on the big pieces did I bury the ax in the wood, and not split it in two. That was then. We moved to Congers over twenty years ago, and I’ve wanted to rehabilitate the fireplace in the front living room, you know the parlor. I’ve dreamed of sitting on a couch, or a comfy wing chair, my legs stretched out, my toes warmed by a crackling fire. It’ll happen one day. I even saved some wood from some trees on the north side of the house that swayed ominously in strong winds. One day I went out to split it all up, in what I thought was going to be a job of a couple of hours. I'm older, slower, and I tire easier now, but I had no doubt I’d be splitting some wood. After twenty minutes, quite a few stuck axes in small pieces of wood, and only a handful split,

I gave up, and invited Nastia, and Sean over to do it. I know you're thinking Nastia on a humid day, after she’s eaten, and is constipated might weigh a hundred and five pounds. You can’t secretly invite one person over to split wood, and not bring comic relief. They come over, I think, and after an attempt or two Sean succeeds. Nastia wants to do it. She unfortunately can only get the ax stuck in the wood. I call a halt, and put a severed bit of wood back onto its whole and tell Nastia to take a whack at it. She obliges and swings the ax knocking the piece of wood away from where I placed it. Nastia jumps up and down like she thinks she finally split a piece of wood off. I’m taking a video thinking she is in on the joke, she wasn’t. She thought she’d split it. I stopped the video before I realized she didn’t know, and missed her great expression.

Walking the lake, first dates, and a bowling story

I half jokingly quit talking to my friend the other day when I was griping that I am feeling old. He quipped, “Well Joe, we're almost 70.” That cold bastard!! Up until recently I’ve fought the good fight about getting old. You know, telling myself all of those things previous old people have said. Then one day they turn around and old age has caught up to them, and the grim reaper is now chasing them. And now being old they don’t run, they limp getting away. I’m still gonna fight, I’m gonna make the grim reaper run the race. Without an end to life, is there any reason to run the race? It’s like me working. There are several reasons why at 68 I still do, like not wanting to end my final days dirt poor is one. One reason is, actually there are two. The first one is what will I do with my days, if I don’t work, and the second is… ah, hell old age made me forget what the second one is. I had to go back and correct some typos, and while doing that, I remembered, now damn it, it’s gone again. Every time I had a day off during the winter I sat and watched TV. That is enough of a reason to get up, and go to work. That might be the second reason, if it wasn’t the first one just worded differently.

My daughter, Nastia, you know the one who moved out, the one who is loving the freedom so much that if she and Sean broke up she’d find some way to still not move back, yeah that one. We spend every Saturday between about noon, and 4 PM hanging out together. We did miss a couple of Saturdays in March, one when I went to Tampa Florida to watch a couple of ball games. I’ll write about it sometime, and the next weekend because I wanted to give her some space in case she needed it. During the four hours we spend together I usually have some shopping to do. I eat salad for lunch at work, so I pick it up. I also upgraded the dog food we feed the dogs hoping Misha will hang in there a little longer. Next month we will have her for 12 years. I remember Teri was still working at United Water, and I’d lost my job. I felt like I’d never get another one at the time. Misha has a hip problem, and we're counting the days, weeks, whatever time she has left. It’s not fun watching her slowly get worse. After Nastia and I shop, we go to lunch, or maybe we eat first. We rarely go anywhere expensive. Panera might be the most expensive. When the weather is nice, like it has been lately we’ll walk around Conger’s Lake. I introduced my daughter to walking the railroad tracks on our first trip around the lake this year,because the trail is closed on the western side of the lake. How the freak long does it take to fix some boards in the walkway? Does New York State run the lake too? Every time we get to the closed section of the trail, I start to contemplate jumping over the rail into the marshy black soil where, what we used to call skunk cabbage has started to grow. We called it that, because when you broke it, it smelled like a skunk. As I hoist myself over the rail am I going to get one of my feet stuck, and go over head first, or even worse get my foot stuck and just hang there? I gently swing one leg over the rail, then slip myself into position trying not to castrate myself while looking for a toe hold with my dangling foot. I jam the tip of my sneaker into the fence. Both hands hold tight to the rail, though the sureness of my grip is not what it used to be. With my toe wedged in the fence, I slide my other foot over the rail and try to stick the landing like an over the hill gymnast on the uneven parallel bars. The first time we went over Nastia asked me to catch her. Since then, she doesn’t have the time to wait for me to get over the fence. We pick this area of the trail for a second reason. A big old tree has fallen and crushed the fence separating the park from the tracks. To make up for the old man's act of going over the rail I do a vigorous climb onto the tree and risk life and limb to prove I’m not dead yet. With Nastia’s protestations falling on deaf ears, well not literally deaf yet. I have a doctor’s note saying I’m not. I can just imagine the one time I fall and break my neck Nastia will have to tell the paramedics that her father wanted to prove he’s still got it. They’ll have to put that on my grave stone. Joe Muller died because he thought he still had it. Went bowling this past Wednesday. It was unusually hot Monday, Tuesday, with Wednesday topping 85. Nastia and Sean arrive at the bowling alley with Elena in tow. Nastia has on a pair of shorts, and a light, flowing top. I see it and say to her why did you wear that, you’ll be freezing, they have the air on. She replies, “I’ll be alright.” I warned her, my job is done. Elena, has again come to the bowling alley with Sean, and Nasatia. I’m glad they are spending time together. The front desk tells us we can start to warm up, and take our practice throws. I go to get my ball , Nastia is ahead of me. She leans over to pick up her ball. I lean over to grab my bowling ball. I’m looking at something that she should not be showing. I say, “Nastia, you're going to have to pick up your ball a lot quicker with that top you're wearing.” She looks down and realizes that it is not the proper top to be bending over in. She goes, “I’ll be alright.” For the next few times she needs to lean over to pick up the ball, she kind of squats. I’m watching her do this from the seats and, I’m sorry, I have to laugh a bit. She’s 27, and should have known better. I ask her sister if she’d mind going to get her sister another shirt, and or a bra to wear. She has no problem doing that, except Nastia says,”I’ll be alright’ After a few frames of the game, and her doing her curtsies, she gets tired of it, and asks her sister to get her some different clothes. At the start of the second game the girls are again safe and sound behind the protection of a bra, and a long shirt, sorta dress thing. We won both games and are back in the hunt for a trophy.

Last Saturday Nastia, and Sean accompanied Elena, and a guy she knows from work Seth on what a normal person would call a double date. Elena said it wasn’t.

They went to a Korean place in Jersey for dinner. I ask Nastia to sneak a picture of the two of them together at dinner. She says it’ll be tough, but she’ll try. I’m at the movies when the picture arrives. I ask her what drugs Elena is on, jokingly. She replies, “weed” I guess she is or was at that point nervous. When I ask Elena how it was, I get the usual story that the food was good, they had a good time. When someone, usually Teri, asks Elena if she is going out with Seth again, Elena makes a vomiting sound. Maybe she likes Seth, but she will never admit to her weakness. She insults him in every way you can imagine at work. Supposedly he does the same back to her. I hope they get past their mutual defenses and can have some fun together. Elena has two faces. The public defensive face. The one where she’ll be telling the dogs to get away from her, she hates them and the other one where she is friendly, and yes sweet, a real charmer. I think if she ever gets past her fist face she’d make a great mom. She’d be fierce. She’d never let her kids be bullied. They’d always know she’d be there for them, they’d feel safe. It’d be great being one of her children.

When the weather is nice, and ignoring signs.

After the recent snow storms the following couple of weeks, like in the past, after a major snow storm, the weather turned cold, now, ah, that’s understating where the temperature went. Over the next two weeks on some days the high was in the teens. On other days it was a warm high in the upper twenties. This went on for, like I said, a couple of weeks. The calendar turns from February to the bi-polar month of March. You know what I’m talking about. Several days into March, and the weather has turned mild, the snow is melting, and visions of Spring are popping into your head. Spring is early, and wonderful. After a few days, even in this global warming world, you expect the warmth of 40 odd degrees to suddenly drop back to the 20s, and 30s. March is in a loving mood, so she kicks it up a notch,and suddenly over a weekend your looking at some really wonderful weather. Nastia asks me, after we've had lunch if I want to go for a walk around Conger’s lake.I’m tired, I’m now old, if you look at my new license photo, but the belt is tight, I’ve gained 12 lbs since November, and I can't wear sweaters in July, so I tell her let’s go.

Me at 68, and 21. I park the car at Rick’s Club, we run across the street and go to our left,talking as we walk around the park. It’s a brisk 2.1 or 2.3 mile trek around the park. The weather is warm, with a slight chill from the ice that still lies thick on its surface. We walk around the small pools on the path, and take big steps over shallow streams running from piles of snow across the black cracked tar towards the lake. We talk about nothing, and everything. Out of the forest into the parking lot past the swing sets where I taught them to jump off the swings while the swings were at their highest point. The path continues south around the lake to the dam on Gilcrest Road. At the dam, the town has placed a sign saying the path is closed. Like any good New Yorker, we ignore the sign figuring we can just turn back if there is a place we can’t cross. Three quarters of the way around a second sign appears. Mind you since we passed the first sign people have been coming from the other direction. No one seemed to be disturbed they had to turn back. We pass downed trees that fell during some of the recent storms crashing into and flattening the silver fence that blocks the park from the railroad tracks.In 20/20 hindsite, I did see a runner pass us, and unnoticed to me, I think he came back in the opposite direction I only vaguely remember him going by. This second sign blocks the path, and it is roped off with caution or police tape. We walk up to the sign, and look beyond it, the path curving out of site. I get the brilliant idea we can hop off the path, and walk the tracks back to the car, saving us walking the most likely mile, and a half back to the car.

The first spot I look at, the drop from the path is minor, but the ground is wet. I don’t want to walk the last of our walk in wet sneakers. The next spot, the ground is dry, but the drop is deeper. Nastia is all for the detour. She is all gung ho swinging her legs over the fence rail, Somewhere between leading the charge and being the first to drop over the rail, she pulls a I’ll go first, after you. I swing my legs over the rail, find an edge to jam my toes into. Once I’m set I jump down holding onto the rail. I’m surprised at several things. First, it further down than it looked, second I didn’t fall, and third, I was able to swing my legs over the rail, and not make a fool of myself. Nastia is ready,but she gets a case of the yipps. I slide my arm around her waist, and she sits on my upper arm, and is gently placed on the ground.The next fun thing is climbing the tree that crashed on the chain link fence. I walk up the trunk, surprising myself, again, I’m not falling off it and breaking my neck. As a kid I did this all the time.Unfortunately I’m not that kid anymore, even though I try to be. Nastia, the girl who in the past complained there were no trees to climb, struggles, and continually is scared I’ll break my neck. We reach the tracks,and start to walk toward the road. I tell her how when I was a kid, I’d walk the tracks, and this one time a train came by. My friend and I thought we’d be sucked in because of how fast the train was going, so we hung on for dear life. After a moment or two I notice no pressure, and stand up. My friend still holds on for dear life.After the train passes, my friend looks at me, feels a bit foolish, and says, why didn’t you tell me! Nastia walks on the tracks, I walk on the side telling her the ties are spaced irregularly, and to make it difficult to walk. The ties are sunk in the rock base, so it really isn’t true. I occasionally look over my shoulder for a train thinking about that scene in ‘Stand by me’ where they are crossing the rail bridge, and a train comes. Yes, I’m being overly dramatic,but that’s what happens when you get older, and nothing is black, and white any more. A train does come down the track,and yes we are not sucked into it. Nastia moves off the track, and we continue down the tracks. The train going in the opposite direction, a mere few feet away. The fifteen year old Joe would not worry about the smell of the diesel in the air,or the slight possibility the train could derail and flatten us without a warning.The 68 year old Joe does. The train passes,we survive uncrushed, with minimal damage to our lungs. Nastia talks to her sister oh her phone, while we walk telling her the adventure we're on, and how she thought rightfully we'd get upset if they were walking the tracks. We reach Lake road, and civilization, turning right towards Rick's Club.

Not one, but two Big Snow storms, Elena's mood, and my birthday.

When I was a kid snow storms were a regular event. The day after Thanksgiving you’d start to wonder if it was going to be a white Christmas. We’d get the first snow in the middle of December, and if we were lucky, depending on your view point, mine being a kid, we’d have a white Christmas, and even a snow day or two during the winter. I remember one day it was cold and snowing while we were at school. When we got home, my mom met us with hot chocolate, and I think chocolate chip cookies. The next time it was cold and snowy I anticipated the same hot chocolate, and cookies and was very disappointed it didn’t happen.

Now with all of that background, over the past fifty-sixty years major snowstorms have become unusual. Even snow is not a guarantee each year. This year, I checked a lot of volcanic ash has flown into the atmosphere. And as all of you nuclear winter atomic war, end of the civilization types know ash in the atmosphere reflects sunlight cooling the ground, so we are having a real winter. The snow started around 6 in the morning, I’d gotten up to let the dogs out. It was a weekend, so I went back to bed. When I got up we had a lot more than I expected in the few hours that had passed. Several times during the day I went out and shoveled the walkway. Each time the path seemed to get a little narrower as the snow piles near it got higher. Nastia doesn’t live here anymore so she didn’t help. Elena was asleep until the afternoon, and she has been in a mood often lately, so I didn’t ask for her help. The final total was in the range of 10”. One of the biggest snow storms in recent history. As I mentioned earlier, Elena has been in a mood. I’m told it’s her period, but I thought that only lasted a week, not a month. Then like a sunrise her mood changed, and she was one of the most pleasant people to be around. She’d go out of her way to pat the dogs. No more”I hate them, get away from me stupid” to the dogs. It was like the night before someone left a pod next to her bed (reference to the movie, “Invasion of the Body Snatchers" the original from 1956, not the two remakes 1978, and 2007) Elena was very pleasant to be around. We even cooked dinner together one night. I was making, I think, chicken cutlets and she helped. It was fun.

I turned 68 just recently. Each birthday gets me closer and closer to, well, you know, the end of the line. My mom is going to be 92 in June. Recently my best friend Mike lost his wife, and my daughter’s boyfriend, Sean, lost his dad. I look at Teri, and wonder if she’ll bury me, or if I’ll bury her. Will I live a long life like my mother or will I die young like my father at 66. I’m scared to death that one of us will have a stroke, and the other will have to take care of them instead of us spending a month in Italy living like natives. Three years ago, I got my snow blower fixed thinking we were going to get snow. For the next three years we got very little snow. It was easier to shovel, than get the snow blower out. I’d start it every so often, but over the last year or so I convinced myself that global warming had made snow storms largely a thing of the past. That is until recently. The snow started around six in the morning, it was a weekend, I’m not sure if it was Saturday or Sunday. I got up to let the dogs out. On the deck there was a light spotty covering of large fluffy snow flakes. This storm had been predicted for over a week. In addition, extra cold temperatures were added in. I always thought with cold weather, the air would dry out and you couldn’t have snow. Plus we were always in the area of the lighter accumulation. The weather forecaster predicted 4-8 inches. When it was all said and done we topped ten inches. Good for…, but not to shovel.

I took my first day off in a long while to see my daughters use their Ifly gift certificates, but some time between being given as a gift, several years ago, and now they were misplaced. Teri was a little pissed, but she wanted them to go flying so she purchased two more ,and scheduled their flight time for 2:30 this past Wednesday. We, Teri, and I got up early. I’mtold this is what old people do, so I;m going to work on sleeping in when I get old,and retire. Elena slept over Sean, and Nastia’s apartment. She usually gets up late on her days off from work, so I forgot she was not home.

We head out to a mid morning breakfast after Teri has a spot removed from inside her month at the dentist. She can’t eat anything solid, so she has a milk shake, I have French Toast, Nastia, like Nastia does, ordered an egg, and some bacon. She ate some of the egg,and some of the bacon. Elena ordered sausages, and Nastia had one. We were going to arrive very early at IFly. After a few missed turns on that legendary Route 4. We arrived at a comfortable 15 minutes early. We check in, The girls get their flight suits, Elena dark blue, Nastia light blue.

They wait their turn in a short line. The instructor showed an older couple, relatively speaking, maybe in their thirties how to fly. Ahead of them a couple of kids in their teen boys, their target market, I’d guess waited ahead of them. When it is their turn, at the door, they raise their arms over their head and lean into the maybe twenty foot wide tube. The instructor standing on a rope net guides them in and holds them as they lift off. They fly about four, five feet high learning to control how they move. For their second flight the instructor grabs their suit on the back, and on the leg, and both fly around the tube. The girls pay for a third flight that they, and the instructor flight up to around sixteen feet high. They are very nice, but it is expensive from my point of view. It’s now Monday February 23rd 3036 8:38 in the morning. I’m sitting at the dining room table, when on a normal day,I’d be at work going over my emails, while eating my oat meal. I scheduled chocolate for today. Yes, I’m that way. I control all the unimportant and irrelevant things in my life. I’m not at work because we are getting another snow storm. I didn’t believe we were going to get the first snow storm, and I didn’t believe we were going to get this one. So for both my snow blower isn't working. I shovelled the first storm going out several times so it wasn’t bad. I felt good doing it, and didn’t overdo it. As my wife continues to remind me, I’m not a young man any longer. My reply to that is, I live by my mother’s rule for living. If I can do it, I’m goingtodo it.Iwill not overdo it, and I will take my time.

This morning I got up at 6:45to let the dogs out, and shovel a walkway for Misha because she is old and has hip problems. I finished out back, went around to the front and did the steps. At the bottom of the steps, I look over to the cars, the wind picks up, blows more snow in my face, and suddenly I’m done.Thirty years ago I’d shovell out the cars,and gone out to deliver my milk route, like my father taught me. I choose my mother’s way and decide not to over do it and go inside. It’ll be there later in the day.

The Flash, and the new bowling ball. long ride to Chester PA.

Nastia convinced Sean to buy a new bowling ball, and almost as soon as he did, hers started to chip around the finger holes. As she always does, she looks to her little finger on her right hand and magically a bowling ball is purchased.

The ball is ordered before Christmas, and we are off from bowling for two weeks. She isn’t able to pick it up before we go back to bowling, so her little finger asks the people at the desk if they are able to open the door and get the ball for us. As luck would have it, the ball was paid for, and they have the keys. She bowls well that night with her new ball helping to overcome the poor games I bowl, and Sean not being there. The following week, Sean is not there again, and I hurt my back. She absolutely shines by single handedly overcoming the handicaps, and securing another five points. It is January, and we are in the race for a trophy.

There is this thing women do when they want to take off their bra, or a shirt that is under another shirt, that all men find amazing, and oh so interesting. We all stop what we are doing and just watch in amazement. A woman can take her arms out of her shirt, move them all around under the shirt and out of one of the arms pops a bra, or an unwanted shirt. No fuss, no muss, no flashing the crowd. The same can’t be said for women, or at least my daughter doing the reverse. At the beginning of bowling I watched my daughter take her arms out of her shirt, and a few moments later a shirt popped out one of her sleeves. She said she was too warm. I’ve given up telling her she should go to the ladies room to do that. She always would say, “I’m not flashing anyone”, and she hasn’t. At the end of bowling she wanted to reverse the removal of the shirt, and put the undershirt back on. The outer shirt is a Beatles shirt that doesn’t fit me anymore. She takes the former undershirt, puts it under the Beatles shirt, pulls her arms out of their sleeves, and I can see this is not going to end well. So, yes, like any modern person I pick up my phone, and start taking a video, instead of warning her. After she has flashed her bra to a good number of the bowlers near her, and she has come to that realization, she bids a hasty retreat, dropping the undershirt, putting her arms back in their sleeves, and quickly pulling down her shirt. She commented that the guy on the lane near us, who is about her age was staring, and must have gotten a good view. Maybe now she’ll go to the ladies room. Elena calls from work, and announces she will be home late. She says she has to drop off a car in Chester, and it will be about three hours before she will be home. Teri, and I both think, and say, “Chester,NY is not three hours away.” I bet you thought the same thing. Teri texts her for clarification, It turns out she is driving a car out to Chester PA. Now her job occasionally does this. Elena started as a courier, and they had her driving all over ZGod’s creation. At first we didn’t realize this was happening. At dinner she’d announce work had her drive down to Carlstadt NJ to a warehouse to pick up parts. We would be impressed, and glad we didn’t know about it before she went. This trip to Chester PA, that lovely little town south of Philadelphia PA. right on the Delaware River takes her, lets just say she comes waltzing back into the house sometime around 10PM,anounces she is going into work late tomorrow, so don’t wake her up. We get the usual details from her. I’ll write them down right here…. Something about someone driving either with her to pick up a car, or she followed someone to drop off a car. Well I guess it really doesn’t matter, she got home safe.

It's the same old song once again

This weekend has seemed like a reunion tour for a great old band. The original band was a two person group, and it thought it was going to be that way forever. Then something magical happened, and it changed. It became the most unlikely foursome. They put together some amazing memories over the following fifteen years. The original twosome knew the band would one day break up. They knew it would be a sad day, but also a day they would feel very proud to have ushered the two other members out into their own adventure. The first to leave was Nastia. Though she only moved down the road, it’s still a long way away when you know you’ll only see her when she comes over to wash laundry, or accepts a dinner invitation. The younger one, Elena, the one you thought would never leave, experienced the thrill of being out on her own when she slept over at her sister’s place. Now she talks about what she needs to do to move out, and how to get to that point. When she finally leaves it will be as sad as when her sister left.

It’s only been a couple of weeks Nastia has been gone. To me the house is emptier than it’s been in a long time. When we first adopted them the questions were how are we going to find the time to fit them into our lives. The question after fifteen years is what are we going to be doing with all of the empty time, and space. I’m not looking forward to it. When Karl left in 1979. when I was a kid, it never occurred to me the feeling in the house had changed. I just remember I got my own bedroom for the first time. When Ruth left, I registered a slight change in the vibe of the house, but it wasn’t huge. Then Eric left. My Dad died, and I left a few months later. Suddenly my mom had a completely empty house. Again I don’t know how she did it, and it barely occurred to me what a seismic change it was.

This weekend Sean spent his time with his father. Nastia came over for dinner on Friday. The four of us sat around the table talking, and joking like no time had passed since the last time we did it. Maybe it would have been the same if Sean were here, but to me at least it was special. It was the band back together for one last time. Maybe the last time, you never know. During the talk at dinner it got very loud. I mentioned maybe it was time to play the quiet game. No one must have heard me, because the conversation kept on going. On this night playing the quiet game would have been a crime.

Tonight the four of us went with Nancy to the movies. We saw Avatar- Fire, and Ice. I know Elena enjoyed it. She sat forward in her seat, like she does when she is really into a movie. When a bad guy died, she gave a pulled fist gesture. You know what I’m talking about. You make a fist, hold it at about a 45 degree angle about shoulder high, like pulling a chain, you yank it down to about belt level, more or less. Well future people that’s what cool people would do in 2026 anyway. Yeah, it is silly, just as all the ‘cool’ things you do now will look silly in a very few years. And yes, I remember kids saying groovy, and yes, I wore bell bottom pants. I won’t even get into what they were, and I’m not going to explain elephant pants either. On the way home from the movies tonight I was going to offer to make pizzafreet tomorrow morning. I’ve talked about it before, you may remember it is fried pizza dough, but I felt I was pushing the reunion tour a bit much. I’ll save it for another day when a second reunion tour magically happens.

A branch fell off the tree!

Friday, December 19th, near the end of the day, Teri calls to tell me a big branch fell off the tree in the backyard, and the dogs can go out the back door. I figured it was another of those tree branches I’d have to put under my arm and put my back into to pull it away from the house until I had the time to cut it up. What was the big deal? A week earlier we’d had a tree guy in to cut down several trees and to trim the tree that the branch fell off.

It’s December and I got home after dark. My first hint of what awaited me was looking into the black of the backyard, I saw a tree, where there wasn’t one. I don’t think I had to push through the side gate near the garage, but beyond that I encountered a forest blocking me from going much further. I pulled out the chainsaw

that hadn't been started since some pine trees fell down on the other side of my fence a few years ago. I’d even forgotten how to start it. I wasn’t confident it’d start. Through some miracle it started. I cut my way toward the back steps. I paused long enough to stop and talk to Teri about what was needed in the backyard. She said she wasn’t home when it happened, and Cassie is suffering from PTSD from her car accident and is scared. Both dogs literally got the crap scared out of them when the tree came down.

The branch covered the yard from the pool to the deck at the back door. The new tree I saw from the road was a branch off the main branch: it stood over the mud room, almost to the second floor window. I rough cut the wood with the idea of clearing the branches and getting most of the yard back as

soon as possible. I called my tree guy to let him know what had happened, and asked him to call me back to take down the part of the branch hanging over the mud room, and near the back of the house. A few years ago I’d have taken the branch apart myself, but my wife insists I need to realize I’m older, and I brake easier. If the tree guy hadn’t returned my call on Saturday, I’d have cut the tree branch up. I ran out of chain oil, and couldn't find the container, so I stopped. The tree guy showed up Saturday, which is good, because the chain saw didn’t want to start and I was reduced to an electric demo saw and smaller branches. The tree guy said sometimes after a cut like he did last week, the wind is less blocked and exposes weak spots in other trees. I didn’t care one way or the other. I was glad it didn’t kill anyone, and the hit to the house was mostly minor.

Well, she's moved out.

Sean and Nastia have been looking for an apartment since the late summer when they went to I think their first apartment, the German cockroach palace in Nyack. They saw three, four places in Pearl River, the apartment complex on Main Street being the best. They looked at a couple of places in Nyack, talked about going to Orange County because they’d seen everything in Rockland. They were turned down for the apartment complex in Pearl River, and another place in Stony Point off the corner of Main and Rt 9W A couple of weeks ago they were told there is a place available above Rick’s Club American down the street. They went on their own, and I don’t know if that is the reason they decided this was the place for them. I was happy for them, but in the back of my mind I was dreading moving out day.

Moving out day was Sunday, December 21st. It was still very windy from Friday when a huge tree branch came down from the neighbor's tree, and just missed our house. Sean bought a friend and his sister to help move. Being inexperienced, they filled the rental truck with the dressers and when they brought down the mattress, there was no place to put it without restacking the dressers. It didn’t take too much time to complete the move. They spent the rest of the day setting up the apartment. Before the move, Teri and I tried to get them to buy a Murphy bead. For all of you not in the know, a Murphy bed is a bed on springs that when not in use you can pick it up from the end and it goes against the wall and looks like a cabinet. The other dumb, yes dumb thing they did was they decided not to take the bed frame, so the box spring is on the floor where who knows what will be crawling around at night. I’m not saying the restaurant has rats, mice,and German Cockroaches, but remember the cockroach palace in Nyack. Their first night in the apartment was Sunday. Our house was a little quiet, and a little empty for me. I think both Teri, and I shed a quiet tear, because nothing will be the same after this. On Monday, Elena went over after dinner to help put together a table to put Sean, and Nastia’s 65” flat screen TV on. Sean won it from Goodyear Tires for selling tires. Who says there is no God. As I’ve always said, he’s got a wicked sense of humor. In that apartment the screen will be so close they’ll have to move their heads left to right to watch the TV, while Teri, and I have this itty bitty 55” screen to watch in our huge Living Room. I told Teri, I’d switch out the set for ours, they’d never notice, and maybe thank us for the lack of neck strains. I hope this works out for them and they live happily ever after.

Cassie part 2

Adendium- (Hey using that latin post from years ago again!!) She came home on Tuesday afternoon. THe sky threatened snow while it rained lightly. I wasn't sure they had a leash for Cassie, so I went to a local pet supply place and paid $17.00 for a pretty leash.

The Nurse went over instructions about Cassie’s medicines, three in total. One for pain, one to keep her calm, and a third to help her liver repair itself. The Doctor, a nice person went over what had been done to Cassie and how she should spend the next week. Her biggest health concern, that kept her in overnight was air leaking into her chest cavity from her lungs that could stop her from breathing. She needs to stay calm at home, and not run around. Difficult with Misha, the bully. My fear bringing her home alone is that she would pull her collar, run into traffic, and do another Lake road, but this time her luck would have run out. To my surprise, she jumps right into the car, crisis averted. On the ride home I see her out of the corner of my right eye looking out of the side window, then I look back again, maybe a moment later, and she is gone. Then I look back again, she is on the seat looking out the rear window. It’s like she is a ghost in my car. It’s raining, and gloomy, dark even for an early December afternoon. She moves so quietly I feel her superpower has been revealed to me. I pull into the driveway, open the door guarding against her darting out of the car to freedom again. I realize I feel like she really doesn’t need us until now. She calmly steps down out of the car. The drugs she is on must be really good. We enter the gate and take a walk around the yard. Even in her drugged up state she checks out all of the repairs I’ve done to the gate. She stops at the part of the where her latest escape happened. I believe I hear her call this tunnel Harry (Another Great Escape reference). We walk into the house where we are greeted by an excited Misha, who has moped around for the last two days. She is all excited and she will eventually take a nip out of Cassie. As the night proceeds we have to put Misha on a lush to let Cassie find a place to lay down and heal. This will go on for a week.

Cassie and ‘The Great Escape’

The title is light hearted, but this entry is less so. I still couldn’t resist though. We got Cassie about two years ago in late February. She is a great jumper, and Teri and I always joked that one day in her excitement while barking at something on the other side of the fence, she’d jump over it. We never took her for a tunneler. Now in ‘The Great Escape’ there are at least two characters who are tunnelers, but I’m going to ignore both Charles Bronson, and a Scottish actor played by Angus Lennie, called Ives, and I’m going to go with Steve MsQueen. If you’ve seen the movie, and it is well worth watching you see Steve McQueen, and yes he is the original Steve McQueen, not that guy who won an oscar or something for directing, and is fast forgotten. In ‘The Great Escape’ Steve McQueen, the original has been discovered by the Germans and they are in pursuit. Steve is super cool on his stolen motor cycle jumping the barbed wire barrier. He jumps the first barrier, it’s amazing, but the Germans are closing in and he might not make it. He has to turn around, they are on both sides of him, until he spins out and crashes into the barbed wire. This is another reason I don't want Elena to get a motorcycle. She doesn’t need to crash into barbed wire. When Steve McQueen, the original, crashes into the barbed wire, the Germans capture him, and return him to Stalag Luft 3. Fun fact ‘The Great Escape’ really happened, but the motorcycle chase didn’t. What does this have to do what Cassie you ask? Well I have watched her sitting on the back porch looking out into the yard. I thought it was to see if any squirrels or birds, whatever, have decided to invade her territory. What I believe now is she is looking at the fence, looking for holes, and weakness, like Steve McQueen, the original did when he first arrived at the camp. She tunneled out from under the gate, sort of like Steve McQueen, the original did when he trys to escape earlier in the movie. Cassie manages to get out and do a do a Steve McQueen, the original, minus the motorcycle, and she run like the wind, having a ball. While we, the sudo Germans chased her in vain. At least until she decided that she’d had enough, and came back home to Stalag Luft 3. She did this several times. I’ve been involved in at least three of these chases.

The last chase was today, or maybe the most recent, I don’t know. I’m at work, just leaving a meeting when I see Teri has called three times. I call her back, Cassie has gotten out again. This is after I’ve replaced the entire gate on the North side of the house. I drive home, meeting Teri with KJ looking for Cassie. KJ in his car seat, not yet able to be seen from the window calling out Cassie’s name. I go home, open the gate hoping Cassie will decide to come home. Her usual route has been centered in and around South Harrison, and a little east on Rockland ave, near the rail road tracks. This time she is on South Conger Ave, further west. She runs real fast when she sees someone who she knows calling her name. For her, it’s a game. She heads several times toward busy Lake Road, only to come back. She discovers the open field of the old Conger’s Elementary School. On one of these runs she decides to run toward Lake Road, my nightmare. Some poor lady in a BMW is heading east on Lake hitting her and launching her around thirty feet into the other lane. I’m not hopeful at this point. SHe lands in the other land and slides under an oncoming car. The driver driving slowly manages to stop. He backs up as I give him hand directions. Cassie is yelping, and I don’t know if I can pick her up. Traffic is backing up. I slide her out from under the car feeling her belly to see if it is safe to pick her up. I pick her up thinking maybe it’s only her leg, maybe it’s broken. I wave the drive on and step to the side of the road. Cassie clutched in my arms. Teri is on Grant Ave, a one way street, so she has to come around to get to me. As I stand there waiting for Teri, the woman in the BMW comes over. Tears are streaming down her face, she is apologizing, “Oh, I’m so sorry.” I tell her it is alright,and not her fault. She says she knows this but she is sorry. I immediately take a dislike to her. I need to forgive her, but she doesn’t need it. Teri pulls up and we start to race to the vet in Valley Cottage. Teri insists we call them. A young girl answers the phone. When we tell her what has happened, she tells us to go to an emergency hospital, and almost hangs up on us. We head toward Nanuet, and you might remember how I have talked about God, and his wicked sense of humor with me. We pull up behind an ancient woman in a moderately new car, maybe it was expensive, I don’t remember. What I do remember is she is going maybe thirty when she is going down hill. I know Teri will not pass her. Cassie, feeling a little better, has pulled from my arms and is laying on the floor of the car’s backseat, underneath KJ’s feet. I’m sitting in the back seat too. I look down at the seat and I see blood. For the life of me I can’t remember seeing any on Cassie. My fingers are bloody, but I don’t remember where the blood could have come from on Cassie. When I pulled her from under the second car, I guess she clawed me. I have two cuts on my pinkie, and ring finger, and one was dripping on the seat. I never felt them happening. At the vet they do $1,874.00 worth of tests. They discover she has an issue with her lungs, and air is filling up her chest which could kill her, if nothing is done. She is staying overnight which adds another $3,000.00 to the bill. I got a call, and they had to withdraw some air from her chest, so in case they need to put in a chest tube, they request a prepayment which ups the $3,000.00 to $4,900.00. We will wait for a call when we can pick her up. It might be tomorrow, it might not. Nastia, and Sean have gone over to see her. I don’t want to. I feel it would be too sad, and it would bring back memories of Cody. She was fine one day, but not eating. We bring her to the vet, and they say her kidneys are shot, and we have to put her down. But she was just fine yesterday. She was happy, friendly, herself. And here I am dredging up memories of her making me sadder. At least Cassie will be fine, they say.

Halloween Parade, Ring worm, and still hunting for that apartment

Halloween Parade, Ring worm, and still hunting for that apartment

Teri, Nancy, and I went to the Nyack Halloween parade. It was mostly the usual things. All three of us bought folding chairs with us. Everytime I think about the folding chairs, I smile how everyone looked at me as if I’d grown a third eye when I first bought one to the parade. I was so uncomfortable about it, I offered the chair to an older woman who looked like she could use it. For the last several years chairs have gone from a luxury to a necessity/ luxury. I could stand for the entire parade, but I don’t want to, and I’d pay for it later. It was cold, and the jacket I bought with me turned out to not be an unnecessary excess. Nastia, and Sean went somewhere. Either to a casino upstate or to a friend of Sean’s, who is also upstate. So they didn’t go. Elena, she might have just said, “I don’t want to go.” She worked, it was a Saturday, at 6, and she’d just gotten home at maybe the time we were leaving. I think the highlight of her evening was having Ramin delivered to the house from a noodle shop in Nanuet. Some time in August or maybe September Nastia had a spot on her arm that looked like a bug bite. She scratched it and it scabbed over. No moe thought was put into it until one Saturday afternoon her, and I are having lunch at Panera, and I see this circle on her arm where the scab was. I the distant reaches of my mind, I remember reading the book ‘Old Yeller’, and in it Travis got a case of ring worm on his stomach, I think. It’s been more than forty years since I might have read it. I remark to Nastia, in that off hand way I do, “What’s going on with your arm?” Before I know what I have said, I say, “It looks like ring worm.” She gets all freaked out, and wants to go to Immediate Medical care. I was raised like Travis in ‘Old Yeller’. Spit on it, rub some dirt on it, and go back to playing. I’ve tried to evolve since then, but if it don’t hurt, leave it alone. Well she was all freaked out about it, most likely because I called it ring worm. So after lunch we head over to Immediate Medical care. I am such a loving, and caring person, I leave her there to go get gas. When I return she is just finishing up the form on her phone. Most of the people before us have been seen, so our wait is not long. We are escorted to a room. I ask Nastia if she wants me to come along. She gives a most definite yes, and I follow. The medical tech comes in, asks questions to Nastia. I try to stay out of the conversation to give her freedom to answer, and to give her a chance to act like an adult, and handle something on her own that will come up again.

The Doctor arrives, and she asks some more questions. She says it looks like ring worm, and takes some blood to be sure. Who knew Travis all these years later. The Doctor asks if she has had skin to skin contact with anyone since the bit mark. Ring worm is highly contagious. Nastia stumbles a little in her answer, so I can’t resist stepping in to say “Yes, Nastia, you’ve had skin to skin with your boyfriend, you live with him. Oh boy what an enlightened parent I am (say that with sarcasm, because I needed to show how enlightened I am) The Doctor says she will put in a prescription for the spot as soon as the blood work comes back. Now how does a 21st century person get ring worm? Beats me, but with all of these anti-vaxing people willing to risk their children's health on disproven voodoo science, I guess ring worm is the least of their worries.

Tasha's wedding and the car show

Tasha’s wedding and the car show

The two last things that happened in that very busy August were Tasha getting married, and Caliper Tire’s car show. Tasha and her fiance decided to have two weddings. The fist, a traditional wedding to honor the traditions of her family, and the second to have an American style wedding, well soft of. I was asked to take a Thursday off in August way back in the Spring. Me being me decided not to worry about it then because it is in the future, and I do not live in the future. Yes, I did remember to get the day off in plenty of time, and I’d also agreed to rent a room down in Jersey to stay over after the second wedding, because it was going to be late when it is over. The first wedding, on a Thursday, started early in the day. I’m writing this after the fact, and I’m not totally sure, but it was some time around 9AM or so we showed up. We milled around with all of these brightly dressed people for a while until breakfast is served. I don’t know what I ate, but I’m told it is vegetarian. We find seats in the middle off to the left. Originally we were seated on the aisle, but Teri didn’t feel comfortable there. When the ceremony startsed, a group of men dressed in brightly colored clothes men walk down the center aisle toward the podium in the front of the room. I could almost picture the groom arriving from another village to celebrate the coming wedding.

The bride would arrive in the same manner. There were goings on between the two in the front of the room I couldn’t hear. I believe there was a game they played, and maybe a dance, I really don’t remember. The bride to be left and changed. When she came back, she was greet by matching rows of sparking fireworks like fountains on either side of the aisle. They were married, and again, I think there was a dance, they did. We were then invited to a feast of many different dishes, some I think I might have recognized. Teri, Nancy, and I sampled a little of everything. By early afternoon we were heading home. That Saturday we headed back to the same country club to their version of ‘An American Wedding’ . We were seated in a small outdoor court yard. The weather was perfect for the ceremony. This time the groom, and his groom’s men brightly colored clothing was replaced with black suits. The bride walked down the aisle in a beautiful white wedding dress. A woman performed the ceremony, and again they were man, and wife.

We went into a hall for the cocktail hour with what seemed an unlimited number of food stations. Definitely more than one person could visit without getting full, and not eating dinner. The three of us wandered around separately, coming back to report what interesting stations we’d found. Trying to not fill up there was difficult. I could have been happy if this was all the food they offered. After an hour we went into the main dining hall, and sat down. The bride, and groom were introduced, some speeches were made, and at that point I expected to get up and share the brides, and grooms fist dance together as man, and wife, but this is a Tamal version of an American wedding. Soooo, the wedding party comes out. First the grooms, then the bride, or maybe the reverse, I don’t know, but dancing there was a lot. They danced, and danced these choreographed dances they’d obviously spent a lot of time on. The music was too loud, and it’s not because I’m getting old I say that. Everyone said that. The bridal party put on a great show, then dessert came out. After that I was tired, and the party was coming to an end. We took the shuttle back to the motel and it was the end of a nice night. The next morning Teri says, “Hey lets go out to breakfast. If only the Red Barn was close to here.” She checks, and it is twenty minutes away. We have a very good breakfast, than head home. The caliber Tire car show

Caliber Tire decided to have a car show on Labor Day weekend. I thought maybe I should have been asked if I wanted to bring the Mustang over to the show. So I was very pleased when Sean and Nastia asked if they could take the car over to the show. It was another wonderful late August, early September day. Not too hot, sunny, just really nice to be out. I went with Nastia to the show to see what was there and to take a picture of the Mustang in it’s first show. No prizes were awarded, the Mustang wouldn’t have won, but some gift bags, and discount coupons were handed out. I stayed a short while, and left. It’d be interesting to see how many coupons have been redeemed since the show.

KJ goes to the beach

It was Labor day, I believe, the weather was global warmingly pleasant, so someone got the idea to go to the beach. Since it was not really ‘the summer’ anymore because as we all know summer starts on Memorial Day, and ends on Labor Day, Teri says, “Hey, lets all go to Rye beach in Westchester. I looked it up on line, as we were leaving, good preplaning, on my part, and all I got were bad reviews. Parking is expensive, the bathrooms are disgusting, it costs a lot to get onto the beach. There was nothing good about the place, and we all should go to Orchard Beach in the Bronx, a couple of miles south of there.

I mentioned these ‘facts’ as we headed toward what promised to be an expensive day, at an awful beach, in an expensive area code.

As the headline read, it was going to be KJ’s first beach day. He was going to go to Sea Side, but his mom had a reason to cancel, I don’t remember. She came along,as did Nancy, Teri, Elena, and I believe Sean was the only one who had to work. In my past life as a milk man, been there, done that, so I felt for him, until I forgot he was working. Like I said, been there, done that, time to enjoy the advantages of working at a 8-5 Monday through Friday job, with Labor Day off.

We got to the beach, before the parking opened. I thought this was the first of many awful things to happen. Then everything changed, they opened parking, and instead of $25.00, parking was $10.00. We get out of the car, walk past the gorgeous pool, and find the rest rooms. I grit my teeth, and walk in expecting to see wallboard torn off the walls, and gaping holes. It is a cool, late summer morning, I walked into the overly air conditioned, still spotless bathroom. I am even able to adjust the air so it is not so cold. The beach did not open until 10, so we waited around the ticket booths talking, looking out at teh beach watching the life guards do late season and yes I willingly accepted the senior discount on my beach pass even though I didn’t ask for it. And yes, it was $10.

The beach never really filled up even as the weather got warmer. KJ was afraid of the whistles the lifeguards used early in the day to run life saving drills. He went into the water at the beach for the first time with his mother, Nastia, and Elena. I watched from the shore in my comfy chair, sipping my water, yes, I’ve had to get mostly away from Diet Pepsi. I keep telling people I started drinking it when it was the health alternative, so I’m safe. Yeah, I know it doesn’t work like that. Sometime after one in the afternoon I went for a walk to see what was around the area. I walked to the end of the Boardwalk where a restaurant and an open dance club were. Prices in the restaurant were above what I’d want to spend. The food truck was the only other alternative, and the food turned out to be very good. Nastia, and Elena joined Teri, and I to eat hot dogs, and french fries, sitting on a bench overlooking the beach with its little waves, on that bright beautiful sunny day. We didn’t stay late, and made it home early.

And finally to the beach we go.

And finally to the beach we go. I started this edition of the blog on August 26th because we were going to the beach for the first time this year. Actually I was going to the beach for the first time this year. Everytime I turned around it seemed Nastia, and Sean were heading to the beach.

We went to the usual Sea Side in New Jersey. We got there early enough, but it was a Sunday late in the season, so the beach was a little crowded. More so than usual. It was also a little windy, so when I set up Elena’s tent, the wind pushed it a little close to some people next to us. I was struggling with everything, and I was going to move the tent, then I think Teri called me and someone else, Nastia, or Elena took over setting it up. When I look over the people are gone, sorry, I was going to move it. I set up my chair, umbrella, cooler, all the necessaries. After the tent Nastia and Elene unfold a sheet, push the edges into the sand and run into the water. I’m still setting up.

Sometime in the distant past I promised Nastia I’d go into the water. As I walked to the water with her leading me, I thought about the last time I’d been into the ocean above my ankles. I remember my mom taking me into the water when I was a little kid, and I couldn’t touch the sand. I knew I’d been in the water after that, but I honestly couldn’t remember. So I ball parked it at about 35-40 years. I walk deeper and deeper into the water. I’m waist deep looking at Nastia, she is still holding my hand like if she lets go, I’ll run back to the beach or a wave will sweep me away.

A wave comes and I ride it floating above it. Nastia says I should duck under it, and let it go over. I’m not ready to put my head into the ocean yet. THe next wave comes, it’s bigger, and starts to push me towards the beach. I let go of Nastia’s hand so I didn't pull her along with me. I brace myself with my right leg firmly planted in the sand thinking I can…but I can’t. As I’m rolling in the surf, it feels like everyone on the beach is looking at me laughing at that fat old man who thought he could resist the ocean, so after rolling what seems like the length of a football field, I pop up like nothing has happened, listening for the audience laughter, there was none. No one noticed except Nastia, and I. I could feel a sting on my knee, but I refused to look at it. Nastia came towards the shore a bit and encouraged me back in the water. On the next wave I ducked under it. I don’t know how long I was out here, but I was tired when I came out. I enjoyed the water, but had little or no interest to go back in later in the day.

Last year for lunch we went to a very good, but expensive place to have lunch. This year we went to a Mexican restaurant where we could sit outside. In the real world the dinner would have been expensive. At the beach it was reasonably priced. Teri and I stayed longer than the others with us. It was relaxing sitting there on the boardwalk watching the world go by talking to Teri. I went into the restaurant to use the bathroom before going back to the beach, and at the bar sat Elena. I’ve seen her at a bar before, but this kind of made me want to tell her to get herself out of this place, and how dare you, you know all of that parent stuff. I just smiled at her, maybe I asked her what she was drinking. I think I told her not to have too much, or maybe that was Teri. Either way she didn’t drink too much. A few hours later we packed up our vast camp and decamped, As the Left head of three headed giant said in the Holy Grail "They buggered off!", and the Third Head replied "So they have! they scampered”