Happy 50th Paula!

Happy Birthday Paula!  I thought it might be a good idea to put 50 years in perspective with some of the other great things that are 50:  Domino's Pizza, Etch a Sketch, Flintstones, Andy Griffith TV show, Green Eggs and Ham! 

Fifty years ago, another Olympics was wrapping up in Squaw Valley and it was the first televised Olympics.  Apparently this was the scene of the "original" Miracle on Ice.  ABC paid a pittance for the rights after the other networks declined.  Isn't that something?

Ray Charles recorded his version of Georgia on My Mind in 1960 which brought him great reward.  JFK won the Democratic nomination for President which placed him permanently and squarely into the history books.  The Family Circus cartoon debuted Feb 29 1960 along with Paula.

Paula was born on Leap Year Day which was a Monday in 1960:  "Monday's child is fair of face..." (Me too!). I imagine it looked pretty much like it does today outside when Mom and Dad brought her home to the house on Olive Street to 3 older siblings.  I think we moved to Dennison Road that year also. Now look how far we've come!

 

Yep--scary isn't it?

Here's a little bit of fun.  These are not very high resolution pictures because I took them off one of the DVDs but I thought they were a lot of fun.

 

I don't know if anyone else remembers fishing here.  My recollection is that this creek access was near the Thruway entrance off Rte 5 or 20 past Sunset Bay.  I only have a memory of going there once but maybe it was more often.  I guess it was one of Dad's efforts to get us out of the house for a while.  I remember this culotte outfit--very hot for the day.  Anyhow, the reason I put this up was NOT to humiliate myself but to point out to my favorite daughter that she did not come by her good looks by accident. I must have done more fishing than you'd think.  Dad used to take us out once in a great while--another place was over by Clothiers I think.  And there was that time I caught the fish in Gloucester (wish I could find that picture).  That's me--all about the great outdoors!

And we all recognize Judy....or is that Ryan Patrick?????  I think I even remember that bunny suit!  Wow.  Enjoy the little trip into the past. 

We have had a week filled with joy and with grief.  Jim's cousin's son hung himself over the weekend.  Although they were able to get him to the hospital (ironically the same hospital Amy was air lifted to) they were not able to revive him sufficiently.  He was declared brain dead and I imagine this meant the family had to make that awful final decision to let him go.  They don't seem to know if he was experimenting with a "game" or if he had some other intention.  He was only 13 so unpredictability is part of the package I think.  We went to Pennsylvania and watched his parents, grandparents and great grandmother bury him.  Such loss is unspeakable. 

As is so often typical in such situations, mourners found themselves comforted by his parents instead of the other way around.  This is an amazing phenomenon to me.  Perhaps it's a coping mechanism for the grief stricken family to be able to wrap themselves around others and offer comfort and hope.  It gives them a function during a time when no sense can be made of your surroundings and loss.  If so, that's a blessing from God.

And speaking of blessings, Jim' niece gave birth this weekend to a baby boy!  A new leaf on the tree.  Gotta love it.  I think I have mentioned the great balance present in the universe and this is a perfect example. 

The events of the weekend also serve as a reminder to tell those we love how we feel.  Every day.  Every chance you get.  Love you all!

Happy Valentine's Day!!

One gets snipped, the other gets permit. Who's who?

Happy Birthday Ryan P

 

We hope your 16th birthday does not include someone else's finger in your mouth!  

Slideshow for you

For anyone who hasn't had enough basketball so far this winter, here are are few pictures from Ryan's recent games-- mostly from last night's senior recognition.  

Bling Provenance

The root beer ring is one of my most cherished bits of history.  It was given to me by Nanny Ryan (at least that's the story I remember).  It might be hard to tell by this picture, but it's small-- a child's ring. Must be I used to wear it once in a while as a child because I recall it got lost once and we all looked feverishly for it--it was recovered by miracle in the sandbox!   For the longest time I had it on my charm bracelet.  One day I realized I did not wear that bracelet very often but I missed wearing the ring so I had it resized.  They couldn't get it very much bigger but now it does fit on my pinky. 

Oddly, the stone itself seems too big for the setting so it is my guess that this may have been Nanny Ryan's ring to wear at one time.  I don't know what the stone is, but it could represent the January birthstone garnet.  Nanny Ryan was born January 7 so that's the story I'm going to stick with.

Apparently at one time there were poetic verses to go with each month's birthstone:

By her who in January was born

No gem save garnets shall be worn

They will ensure her constancy

True friendship and fidelity.

We didn't get to know Nanny Ryan very well but I like to think she was a good friend as well as a constant in other lives.  Another little piece of bling that I treasure is this pin.  It was once part of a set which also included a ring (long gone).  Nanny Ryan gave me this pin and that's a memory I have of my own.  It's the only thing I can remember her giving me.  I don't think it has more than sentimental value but I like to wear it especially around Valentine's Day and it's very precious to me. 

Is this the one you're looking for?

I am still very upset about this. I was not prepared to hear that news. Unfortunately, Bruce ended up consoling me. I feel really bad about that. I am also very glad that Patty Anne and I went to see them this summer.

I also remember loosing the boot at Burt and Jean's and Dad being furious!

I also remember Burt "destroying" fireworks that had been confiscated. (I think this must have been done on July 4, but I think that New Year's Eve was also a prime time)

Here is the obituary:

http://observertoday.com/page/content.detail/id/535696.html?nav=5008

This is one of my personal favorites.

"Here comes the judge" (from my wedding, too)