family and friends

As the song goes "Here's to good friends, tonight is kind of special..." I have recently reconnected with many friends over the past year through Facebook. Ironic in a way as a special person in our lives passed away this past week after a lengthy illness. Altho I didn't know him as well as I wish, Bumper and I had the good fortune to visit my wife's uncle, a pastor of many years, and his family a couple summers ago and had a great time, great meal and great swim. We also had the good fortune to have him and my uncle preside over our wedding with our then pastor.

As we get older we should remember our families and try to visit more, contact more, even just drop a note or email to say hi. It has been said that I am "too sensitive" and that I wear my heart too much on my sleeve. Maybe so but I feel that my upbringing was a good one and that my family is close-knit, getting together at holidays and the occasional cook out. As "good fortunes" go, we were able to cram up to 35 people into a 1 bed room bungalow on my Grandmother's 80th birthday and still be able to surprise her; talk about close-knit! We are so tight that strangers and new friends helped in surprising my mother for her recent birthday - and the size of the family had doubled at this point. For many years my Grandparents hosted Christmas and Thanksgiving with a table built from an extended dining table, a card table and piece of plywood extending from the dining room into the living room - and we kids STILL had to eat at the kids' table in the den.

My point of all this is just don't keep your memories reserved in a photo album. Remember the old memories and create new ones. Keep in contact with your loved ones and not-so loved ones and don't let time race past as we so often do. Take time to relax and enjoy their company, have family game night, shoot the breeze in the back yard looking at the clouds. Dance in the kitchen at Christmas, cook omelets with your kid and be the king of popcorn-making. Run beside your kid, teach him to ride a bike and let him teach you to fly. Play endless War card games or go canoeing with your grandfather or talk with your family about the time he painted his shoes white. Walk and hold hands with your wife and put up with your mother's tales of when you were young.  Heck, even play freeze tag in the back yard, no matter your age; you never know what you'll miss until it's gone.

RIP Uncle Gene

bumper

A child is a gift from God. Ain't it the truth.

people magazine 3/8/2012

The cover of this week's People magazine. Bought it but haven't read the article yet. Skimming through, the article looks good with a few nice quotes from Davy's former band mates as well as Maureen McCormick.

my count so far

9 weeks since my last cigarette
So far so good.
Probably spent the $270+ on bills
But that's the way it goes
At least I feel better

And now for the diet...

the purple rooster north attleboro

I wanted to like this resaurant. I really did. It was small, a hole in the wall type of place and I had heard some good things about it. They even have a gluten-free menu. The employees were nice if not that informative and the atmosphere was quiet; restaurant was clean and was tastefully decorated.

The problem was the food. I ordered one of the day's specials, the Greek Omelet with home fries and toast. The home fries were "okay" but the omelet tasted somewhat watered down, possibly from the tomatoes and there was no real "feta" taste. The gluten-free toast was excellent but I was never informed of the price difference. The whole experience left a bad taste in my mouth and very disappointed.

davy jones dies at 66 2/29/2012

Davy Jones dies at the age of 66

I had the chance to meet Mr Jones many years ago at Fanual Hall Boston during a book signing of his autobiography "They made a Monkee out of me". All I could muster after standing in line for three hours was a simple "hello" but it's still one of the hilights of my life.

While David Jones was and always will be known as the "cute" Monkee he was also an actor before and after. He perfomed in "Oliver!" as the Artful Dodger in his native England as well as on Broadway and also played the part of Ena Sharples' grand son in the English soap opera "Coronation Street". He had dreamed of being a jockey before his acting career and eventually fullfilled his dream later in life. He has always been able to joke about his image as seen in "The Brady Bunch Movie" (in a parody of his role in the original series opposite Maureen McCormick) and in an episode of "Boy Meets World" where he would reunite with Peter Tork and Mickey Dolenz.

My sympathies to his family and fans. I am thankful to have met him, if only for a very brief moment. David Jones will be missed. RIP

dare program 2012

Bumper graduated from the DARE program last night. I am truly proud.

Because DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) is no longer a state funded program it's up to the community - I applaud my town, the police department and the many fine sponsors for their continued support.