Hide and Seek

Hide and seek, another great game. Tag.. we got a purebred Irish Setter, proven by his 3 names, Kerry Kilkenny McBride.. he used to play hide and seek too, but, he always, always won. He cheated, I know it. One day, Mom  saw him eat his own poop, so, she gave him to the mailman. Irony?

Junior High.. started in 6th grade that year.. I began the first day, and then developed Whooping Cough the following day. I was out of school about a month from that. Nope, we had no vaccine for that yet,either. I got the mumps, the next yr, you guessed it. S

Then , I fell in love. 7th grade, Gary R. I thought he was it.. I wrote him a note.. professed my love... he passed it around amongst his friends. So, I hated him, lol. Next! Sometime in between, I had the measles and German Measles, nope, we did not have vaccines for this yet We did have and get Small Pox vaccines.  I had to have it 3 times, as my body kept rejecting it. They decided I was already immune. Whew!

Now, for the really fun part. I became a woman. yep, my friend came to visit while I was using the bathroom, and I screamed at my mother.. "MOOOOOMMMMMMYYYYYYYY hurry, I am dying!!!!!!!" I guess I should tell you, that when they had " that movie" at school, my parents did not think I should go. When I found the douche bag in the bathroom, I was told it was an ear syringe. I found the sanitary napkins... my mother explained those were bandages, and I said." Mommy, that would be for a really big boo boo!" She agreed they were for big boo boos, lol. Now, I am dying on the toilet, and she is crying. I am not sure. is she crying because I am dying, or because she did not have THE CHAT with me, or let me see that movie, or because she lied to me about the bandages I was about to get introduced to. Hmmm.

Diana on right, Juliette on left, myself in the middle.

One of my favorite pictures ever. Diana, Juliette, and I standing in backgrund

Juliette ( right) and I with my rag curlers

So, I did not die. So, OK, good, and now... here comes DA boobs, here comes DA boobs. I went from the training bra to a 34 DD like instantly.. ouch. My mother, very well endowed herself, took me to the Dr and asked.." Can you make it stop?" He smiled, and shook his head, and asked her" Was anyone able to stop you:?" hahahahahahah  Now, at the age of 13, boys either went just plain stupid, to really stupid. I think my smart father did too. He would say, " If you get any bigger, we will have to buy 2 Boller hats, and tie them together to make your bra. If you get any bigger, we will have to go to the sports store, buy some tents and tie them together" . Yay, Dad... Wondering why I went to the baggy sweaters?

Mommy, mother of 6, and her Bosom

When I turned 14, I wanted this bathing suit I saw so badly. It was a monokini. My father warned me, " You won't wear it, baby girl." I insisted I would too, and I did. Once. The boys would stand around the edge of the pool as I climbed out, and the Life Guards kept making me sit under the life guard chairs.. No more.

I covered up. I wore some baggy sweaters a lot. I did join the mini skirt revolution, but, the rest of me would be a mystery. My high school history teacher, was Mr Baldwin. He asked me one day, " Durkin, why do you cover up that great body of yours?" Now , remember, this was the good ole days, we did not concern ourselves with perverts, or pedophiles... I did reply, however " because, I do  not care to have dirty old men looking at me. " He grinned. Mr Baldwin, I fund out many years later is the father of Alec, Daniel, William, and Stephen. Yep, them. 

He was also the football coach. One time I took my sister Juliette to a dance at the school gym. Mr. Baldwin was one of the chaperones. He questioned why Juliette was there, since she was a year younger and there were rules... Juliette took off and ran, out the door, and out into the parking lot. Mr Baldwin took off after her. 30 mins later, he came back.. huffing and puffing... and said...gasping voice.. " I could not catch her! She ran so fast, and leaped over hedges, and garbage cans like a gazelle! I need her on the track team!" Maybe I should have told you, Juliette is about 6 ft tall. I am 5 ft 5".  Mr. Baldwin was a bit stocky and not very tall. He was a good man, though. He passed away in the early 1980's.

I was a good student, excelled in English, disliked Math. Algebra? You gotta be kidding me.. I failed the first semester, totally. My father was a mathematical genius. He took me under his wing, and taught me how to do the equations " his way", I aced the next test. Then the unexpected, I failed the next, even with all the correct answers. My father called to speak with the teacher, and was told, she needs to do it " my way". My father asked for a consult. The teacher did not see the error of " his ways", until my father picked him up by the collar. I got the A.  I still can't do algebra.  I just thank God that I did not have the New Math children have to do today, and that my Daddy loved me.



Next, was my second love of my life, aka Howie G. The feeling must have been mutual, as when I would pass by his house, he and his brother would throw eggs at my friends and I. 10th grade. He showed up at a party I was at one night, and he played the guitar for me. He then leaned in and said. " Take off your shirt." He nearly wore the guitar, as I left the room.


I dated a few guys, once or twice, and never felt the " zing".  During a dance at school one night, I was stopped by a very tall, blond haired guy named Tom, who said he loved watching me dance, and could he please buy me a soda.  Yes.. yes you may... I was 16, he was 18 and we fell in love. 


He was already enrolled in college in Syracuse, NY, so before long we had to say a " temporary " farewell, through all the tears that go with the parting. He called me, and I called him, and he came home for a visit, and then asked if we should date others, since the distance was so far. We had just bought a hot, fresh  pizza from Dick and Dora's, and I smiled as I got out of the car, opened the pizza box, and slapped him in the face with the entire pie. He flew back to college the next day, sent me a dozen roses, apologized and asked me to marry him. I told him I would think about it, when he came back home next time.  


 I celebrated my 17th birthday, and accepted Tom's proposal. Tom's parents loved me, and suggested we wait until he had graduated, but, that strong " teen" love won them over.  I promised my parents we would wait to get married, until he graduated college. He was a good guy, they liked him a lot, and the fact that he was studying to be an architect, did impress them, somewhat.. I was still their baby though. 

Surprisingly, my parents actually let me fly up to visit with him at college. Tom's parents, were driving up, and there was to be a " regatta", rowing competition, and Tom was on the school's crew.The plan was they would drive home and bring me back to my parents, safe and sound.  I had never flown before, and I was afraid the entire time.  The look on Tom's face when he saw me come through the door of his dorm room in my faux fur white coat and matching hat, made it worth while. He proudly showed me off to his college buddies. We had an awesome time, and while we did become intimate, I stopped him short of " going ALL the way." He made me feel beautiful, and more comfortable with my body image. I did not feel I had to ' bag it all up".  While he was in classes, I strolled through the campus, and enjoyed the glances and howls I received from the guys. 

My friends and I were what at that time were the "collegiates", the college bound 'good" girls. We were the friendly outgoing type, but, considered more reserved, and yes, maybe more " refined", some would even say " snobs", although, most of us were not in the " affluent" segment of our area. This was the late 60's, the beginning of the " hippie", " flower child" segment of our time. This was the first time girls tried to go braless, and were removed from class until they returned with a bra. We had our " nerd" group, which consisted of techies,  the guys that ran the camera departments, and were on the " math" competitions, etc.  Then there were " the hoods", bad ass types, more in fashion that the acts. They wore the leather jackets, and jeans, pointy boots. Somewhere along the line, Juliette became a hood. She was the " wild child" of our family.  We did not hang out in the same circles any longer.

I applied for college in my senior year, my daddy applied for the loan to help pay for it. I was accepted and the loan was approved. I was planning to go to Farmingdale College, as it was close to home, and I did not have a need to live on campus. My daddy was proud, as he was always attending classes, and my older sister did not choose to go to college. She married Joey S, a nice Italian " boy", who was a gifted carpenter, and seemed to be doing well.

My " collegiate" friends and I  decided to start our own sorority,  as we did not fit in with the " stuck up " rich girls", the cheerleaders, and the high school group known as the  " Chiefettes" in our school. The Chiefettes were " cheerleaders" who did the dance routines, like the famous Rockettes from NY Radio City Music Hall, and I actually had the " audacity" to try out for this group. I nearly fell out when I succeeded, and I did get my uniform made, and participated for the junior year. I quit before my senior year when they told us, that even though we bought the material, and paid to have it made, they wanted us to do a fund raiser to pay for them by going door to door selling candy. Daddy was furious over the " principle " , and let me know I was not going to do that. I didn't, and I had to quit the team.

We had to apply for a sorority charter, and I do not know the path we took to get that done, but, we got a sorority started , Kappa Beta Pi.  I was a member of the Pen Pal Club, and we wrote letters to our GI's overseas. My Pen Pal came to visit me, when he got out of service. It was awesome, and made us feel really good about our mission when he told us how much our letters meant to the soldiers. This was during the Viet Nam War, and we all know how awful it was for these brave guys fighting in this unpopular war, especially when they returned home.  



Tom and I were going strong, talking on the phone, him coming home for visits whenever he had a break. Then, along came Al, and here came trouble.

For now, let me say, Arty had just moved into my neighborhood from a local town, and we became friends.  I was still the " inhibited' type, when a guy would look at me I would walk by with my head up and never look back. Some thought I was " stuck up", while the opposite was true. I had no idea at that time that I was beautiful, or had a good body. I sometimes thought later in life, it was God's way of stopping me from being a "slut", LOL. ( If I knew then what I know now! Well, I might have dressed differently, but, I still would not have been ''easy", that is not my way.)  Other times he tried to talk to me, and eventually we talked. He wanted to go out with me, but, I was " engaged", and not interested in him that way, but we became friends, and I introduced him to my friend Joanne M, and later on Lorraine, who dated him for a while.

One evening I was passing by Arty's home, when " this guy" stepped out of his house, and Arty called to me to introduce me to  Al, a long time friend of his from his former town of Roosevelt, NY. I looked up and saw the bluest eyes I had ever seen, and just before I took my hands out of my pockets, I slipped off my engagement ring!!! Trouble!!!! 

More another day.


 
 




 

Massapequa Life . Part II

Yes, I am an ole broad. When I talk about my youth, it was a long time ago, and there are 18 yrs for me to recall, from, um, well, whatever 63-18 yrs ago, OK?

So, after the sharks..I just want you all to know, I wish, I wish with all of my heart and soul, that my grandchildren could have been raised like we were. Without all this technology, and visual over stimulation, the drugs, the sex scandals and horrors, the video games giving kids points for killing other people, or our police force. When all of this was not glorified. We had RESPECT, and morals.

I believe a lot of this is from too much technology, and alas,  it is also from my generation, as adults, who suddenly decided we needed 2 incomes, and left our children either in the hands of strangers, or in the hands of video games, TV, movies, and the Internet. . . unchecked and unsupervised. They are not being schooled in manners, respect, morals, and family values.

Been to a restaurant lately, where there are families dining out? Have you noticed, they are not talking to each other at all? From the father, to the toddler, they are all holding tablets and phones, and communicating with everyone and anyone, except each other. It is horrifying.

Yep, exactly.

Know what I use my cell phone for? EMERGENCIES... the end.

Now, back to the past, my past, the long ago 63-18 and more past.

Elementary School, Unqua.. our town was based on Indian grounds, so, we have a lot of Indian names, some were tribes of the area. I loved school, after the first day. I was never sure, never understood how the other children my class, magically knew to go lay down for a rest on the mats, when the teacher turned off the lights. The first day:? I was on the rocking horse, and observed this phenomenon, with my child's eyes. Then the teacher came and snatched me off the horse, and sounding a tad bit mean and angry, told me about the resting, as if I felt sleepy after that!

It got better, lol.  I was a nice girl and a smart girl, and I learned my lessons well. There was a boy in another class, that came up to me on the play ground after lunch one day, and kissed me.  I punched him. Told you, I was smart.

First grade.

 Laurie M is in the front row on the left. She wanted to play naked Dr one day at her house, I thought not. I even ratted her out.  Karen is the blond in the front row, one of my BFF, and married the future Pastor Bob.. I never would have foreseen that! Second row, second girl in, with the pigtails, Phyllis C.  Phyllis was an only girl in an Italian family with big brothers, the baby in the family. She was a bit shy, and somehow we became awesome friends.

I am sad to say, that her parents moved into a new home several towns away when we were 13. I think Phyllis was too sad about this. She was killed by a train on an overpass a few months later, my friend, who would get off her bike when we had to cross tracks, look both ways a hundred times, and run like the wind to get across fast. killed by a train on a overpass? I could not believe it.

That was my first funeral. My older sister, Diana, escorted me into the funeral parlor. There was a closed casket viewing. Her mother was up front in a wheel chair, as she had a mini stroke upon learning of her baby girl's death. The picture on the casket, was of Phyllis in her Communion dress and veil. I could barely walk up the aisle, when suddenly, her mother turned and saw me. She stood up and said.." Valerie is here!!! Phyllis, get up Valerie is here!!! Get up and say hi to your friend!" That was the last thing I remember from that day... I fainted.

One girl over from Phyllis, is me. Yes, I was cute.

Time moved on. my parents took us on a lot of trips, most of them short one day trips. We had a lot of stuff available to us on Long Island, and it was a short hop on the Long Island Rail Road to Manhattan, which is a tiny rock most people assume is the sum total of NYC.  Then there are THOSE people, who think the entire state of NY is NYC. NY is a big state, my friends.

NYC is composed of 5 boroughs: New York City is considered the county seat of these five counties: New York County (Manhattan), Kings County (Brooklyn), Bronx County (The Bronx), Richmond County (Staten Island), and Queens County (Queens). Manhattan is a mere 23 square miles. NY State is over 19000 square miles.

Tiny red dot on the head of Long Island, is NYC. NYC? 

NYC is truly the city that never sleeps. Day or night, it bustles, and you can find an eatery open around the clock. The museums are awesome, from the Museum of Natural History ( Dinosaurs long before any Jurassic Park)  which houses the Hayden Planetarium, as well, to the Museum of Modern Art, the Guggenheim,  there are more than 32 museums.

The buildings and skyscrapers, that were once the tallest in the world... like the Empire State Building, towering up at 102 stories. I remember being on the observation deck, which is surrounded by open glass, and hugging the wall of the building. I fear heights!! Daddy saying, but, come just look... Um, no, I'm good.

Central park. Greenwich Village.. Carnegie Deli ( Pastrami baby!! Knishes!!!) I remember coming to Florida, and ordering a pound of Pastrami, when I noticed them cutting some square meat with zero fat on it.. Um, I do not know what that is, but, it ain't Pastrami!!! Put it back where it came from. Knishes? Non existent here, and what is up with that yellow mustard? Brown mustard, Spicy brown mustard, Deli mustard, I mean, seriously?


This is how it's done.. 

Knish

Knishes, are a filled pastry, normally a savory treat. These are the Potato Knishes, filling is mashed potatoes, sauteed onions which were browned slightly in Schmaltz ( rendered chicken fat) a little salt and pepper. Us New Yorkers know it is best served with a little BROWN/ Deli Mustard and a pinch of salt.

Coney Island Knish

Pastrami on Rye, Oh My

Not square, and a layer of fat

 OK, I need to stop that, as I need about $300 for RT airfare, and another $50 just for my lunch. I am drooling.


We had amusement parks all over too, between NY and NJ, were not lacking. Coney Island, in its day.. oh yeah buddy. The Wonder Wheel and the Cyclone roller coaster. There was a Steeplechase, Carousel type horses, that rode a track, all around the tops of buildings. Nathan's... ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh the best fries and Hot Dogs EVAH! Wait, not entirely true, those hot dog vendors got me every time.  Rockefeller Center , the Rockettes, and the ice skating, Macy's Day Parade and Times Square!! Let us not forget the famous Bronx Zoo! When I moved here to FL 25 yrs ago, I took the family to the zoo for a farewell to some of my childhood memories. Even the modern graffiti on the boulders, did not dry up my tears.

We had real cameras. No cell phones, we talked to each other out loud. No symbols of smiley faces, we smiled IN person, and meant it. Our parents held our hands. Every trip we took, my dad would point out sites and history along the way. We took trips to the Catskill Mountains, and stayed at a cabin, a few times. I think our biggest "would be" vacation, was the time they planned to take us to Niagara Falls and Canada. They rented  a cabin for a week. We stayed one day.


My sister Diana, broke out with Chicken Pox on the way up.. I was next the following day, my parents did not even unpack, we turned back and they came home,with the rest of us breaking out in age order.
 Do you know what happened next? A Chicken Pox Party.. all of your neighbor friends and lil ones, came to visit to get contaminated, yes sir. We had no vaccine for that yet, so, it was thought since you became immune from having it, bring it on! Then, after the party, we all sat on the couch that had the scratchy material, and rubbed our backs on it. Boy,that was an itch to reckon with.  Guess what? Their BAAAAACK! Yes, rather than give the kids the vaccine that is now available, ant+vaxers are having the Chicken Pox Parties. 

When they started giving out the Polio vaccine, they put it on a sugar cube, and ate it. I mean, who wouldn't want that? I wanted a second dose.

Movies...Saturday matinees at the Pequa Movie Theater, which has been closed for many years now. My parents would drop us all off on Saturday, and I am pretty darned sure, they went home for a lil something something.😉

Movies.. Premature Burial. The Blob. During the showing of the Blob, right when the movie shows the people in the movie theater watching a film, and the Blob absorbs the projectionist, and begins to oooze out of the booth, the Pequa  turned off the film and left the lights out in the theater. I had to leave the area, sit outside in the lobby, sobbying, awaiting my parents to return. 13 Ghosts with the glasses to choose to see the ghosts, or not. Duuuuhhhh Duhhhhhhhhhhh go the ghosts, Freaked me out! Most of the time, I used the non seeing side of the glasses. Juliette, would hide behind our chimney at home, and go Duhhhhhhhhh Duhhhhhh, and I would cry and tell on her. Yeah, I was a goody two shoes rat. She just reminded me of this last nite on Facebook.  Did I mention, I was quite a scardey cat? ( Was, um, still am to some degree. I did see the original 13 Ghosts on TV a few years ago, and I laughed at how riddiculously it was not scarey)

Diana, my big sister, earned her Evil Witch title because sometimes she was outright mean to us little sisters.  We had our bedrooms on the second story of our house, and in our room, there was also the " attic", which consisted of a crawl space with a little wooden door. Diana told us it was inhabited by a witch.. and when we would peek in to see the witch, she would make creepy sounds and voices behind us, and well, it kinda freaked us out.

The Beatle's movie, A Hard Day's Night, came into the Pequa, and it ended up sold out, however my sister Juliette and I were up front when the doors opened. The crowd pushed so hard, my sister was pushed right through that glass front and nearly trampled. We still went to see the movie, and she was OK. Thank God.


Let me not to forget to tell you we also had the Massapequa Drive In and Zoo!!

Load up the car, with kids, chairs, snacks, drinks ( or use the concession stand, but, with 6 kids, not so much).. Have station wagon will travel. The Zoo was right there, so, on special nights, we did both. My sister and I used to sneak into the zoo some afternoons, and feed the animals. We would tell the employees we worked there..We believed we pulled that off pretty well. One day I had the really bright idea of climbing the little enclosure into the Monkey Mountain. I did, however, the monkeys realized I was not an employee, nor was I a monkey, that those lil guys ran me off in a fast, and not very polite manner. We stopped playing employees. Anyone remember the Sandy Becker Show? Was one of my favorite TV shows. He occasionally came out to do his show at the Zoo.

The Monkey House

All American Drive In.. is still in Massapequa, and is a total icon and one of my favorite memories. My dad liked to take us there weekly for a treat. Right around that time, if you spent under $1.00 for the food, you did not pay the sales tax they had just initiated. My Daddy was a very smart man. There were 8 of us to buy food for. We each had a dollar in our hand. ordered a hamburger, fries, and a drink, NO sales tax, and change . Yep, smart man. I am like my Daddy. smart. I am like my mother, mush pot loving hot mess. LOL

Loving Long Island
 
How about I finish up my rant about my really, really good childhood in the next blog?

Shop Ebay with me

Massapequa Life in the Day

Evelyn, my gorgeous mother

William, my tall, handsome father

Growing up in the 50's and 60's, to me as I look back, was like living in Pleasantville, the movie town. I was born in Astoria General Hospital,Queens, NY, in 1952, to parents that wanted me. They had a 5 yr old daughter already, my big sister Diana, aka the evil witch. Diana was not too happy about my arrival, so, my parents settled that by having another girl a year later, followed by a brother, another sister, and then the baby brother.

If, before I was born, I had been shown videos of prospective parents, like the ones on dating sights, extolling their virtues and what they are looking for in a child, I could not have chosen better than the parents God chose for me. I was blessed from the beginning. They adored me, they adored all 6 of us, even though it was well known by my siblings,I was their favorite. LOL.



 Back in the day, most of our mothers did not have jobs outside of the home. Most of them had the job of being a housewife and mother. We all know that means mom was doing a hole lot more than just loving on us. According to an article from 2012 "If a stay-at-home mom was ever handed a pink slip, dad would have to hire a nanny, a driver, a cook, a janitor, a psychologist, a laundry-machine operator, and a myriad of other professionals for the odd jobs moms do on a daily basis. A Salary.com calculation found that after all the various duties are added up, stay-at-home moms put in 94.7 hours in a typical workweek, and it would cost $112,962 a year to replace her. For working moms, the extra 57.9 hours a week of work they put in is worth $66,979."
http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Articles/2012/05/04/What-Are-Stay-at-Home-Moms-Really-Worth

I am guessing with inflation, that number is a good bit higher for 2016.

My father was a wounded veteran, Irish, and Catholic when my mother first met him at a VA facility she was working at. My mother was a Jewish woman, born to immigrants from Hungary and Germany. She was the eldest of 2 sisters and 2 brothers. My mother did not finish school, but, went out to work to help the family.

Here is MY version of how they met at the VA: My father comes into the facility in his uniform, having just recovered from a shrapnel injury that left some very deep scars in his shoulder and upper chest.  ( Story within a story: Daddy was injured overseas during World War II. He was picked up unconscious with the shrapnel embedded in his shoulder and chest, by a German Ambulance. He woke up during the ride to " someplace' , and seeing the German uniforms, jumped up fighting. He then heard them speaking in French/English, and they explained they were not German, just in " disguise" to get him to safety and a hospital. Whew!")

This 6 ft 2", dark haired , blue eyed, handsome GI, spots my would be mother, and takes the first step when she goes to the water fountain. He saunters up to her, and places his hands on the wall behind the fountain, corralling her there, and initiates conversation and a promise of a date. Ahhhhh, how romantic. She could not resist his charms, and I would have to say, he obviously liked hers:)

Mommy and Daddy's wedding

My mother converted to Catholic, before marrying my father. I asked her once how it was so easy for her to change from Jewish to Catholic. She replied:" There are very few differences between the two religions, mainly the Jews are still waiting for the savior to come, and did not accept that Jesus was the son of God and our savior. I figured, that if the savior had not come, during the Holocaust when the Jews needed him most, then surely he had already come'"  Good answer, and all of her children were raised Catholic.

The evil witch, OK my sister Diana came along within the first year.  My father was a highly educated man, who never stopped learning. He began his career in Engineering, working for Sperry Gyroscope, and then Grumman Aerospace. As the Chief Test Conductor there, he played a major role in out LEM project and success.

Mommy did not learn to drive, and was, like most, a stay at home mom, and wife. Growing up with an entire neighborhood, where the mothers all watched out for each other's children, and knew all of our names, and where we lived.. well.. how great is that?

No one freaked out if you were "missing", as they all knew we were in one of our friends' home, and that we were safe and being fed if needed. What the neighbors had, we had. We never had a care about walking around the block, going to the park, or even going into the near by woods, to explore and walk the trails.

We had no fear, as it was not KNOWN or heard of for someone being a pedophile, or drug addicts. It was a " kinder and gentler" time.. boy   I wish my grandchildren were living in such a time!!

We learned respect, too. Unless told otherwise, my neighbors were Mr and Mrs, and while we did not live in the south, we said MR and MRS, yes Mrs.. ( not Ma'am-), we did not know what a Bully was,
( well, there was Butch on  Our Gang). and  had no clue as to what " body shaming " was. 

The Gang. Butch to the right of Spanky..

We played OUTSIDE. There were no video games, there were no cell phones, computers,  or other electronic distractions. We had our bodies, our feet,  and our imaginations. We had Barbie dolls, but, there were no prebuilt furniture, or houses. Barbie did not have a car  We made that stuff, oh, yeah. We would spend HOURS making the house, shoe boxes, match boxes, whatever boxes. we made the furniture all day long.

Just when we would be done, Mom  would say.. Dinner time.. and we would be like what??????? Start all over the next day. I guess that is why so many Barbie dolls still had all their hair, and boxes, so, they could become collector's items today. ( Not my Barbies.. oh no. When the Ken doll came out, Barbie partied hard.. did not make it out of my preteen years intact, at all, if you know what I mean. Wink) (( Karen, one of my best friends ever, knows exactly what I mean. )) Karen went on to marry Bob L, a manage at McDonald's, and then she  become a preacher's wife when Bob became a minister, that took a while to absorb in my head, LOL!!!

We had a TV, a small black and white at first, but, it was in my parent's room, and we would all gather in there for the Ed Sullivan Show, or such. Our first air conditioner , a window unit, was in their room, but, on hot nights, we could all pile up in there too.

My parents bought their first home in a new development, and it was a 2 story home with 2 bathrooms and a basement, for 13000 dollars in 1953. Yes, that is thirteen thousand dollars. The lot was probably a quarter acre or bigger, plenty of room. Over the years they renovated the basement, so, half of it was a den. They also added onto the back of the house, extending the kitchen and dining area. They sold that house when all the children left for their own families to begin, around 1975, for $38000. If you bought it today.... wait for it........ $426,573!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Nothing different about it today... this is what it looked like then, this is what it looks like now:

I just cried with happy memories. Well loved home, with so much love within those walls.

We always had a back yard above the ground pool Daddy got to be a big man ( no body shaming), but would get in the pool with us and say, " Hey , you with the tusks, outta the pool!"  Then there were NY winters!!

The only mother of 6 that had movie star hair even in the pool

Daddy, myself in his arms ( told you I was his favorite) Juliette in the rear, Billy on the Right, and MoMo to my left

Snow, oh yeah! We loved the snow as kids... the deeper the better. Yes, we loved school too, but, snow day ... we could play out there all day, snow suit, mittens, and our rubber boots... We all had second pairs, and would come in all blue lipped, and wet, snow in our boots, toes turning white, while Mommy would just smile and help us pull them off. We would hang or place all that near the radiators, yep we had those " back in the day", or by the furnace in the basement, and slip into the dry ones, and back out the door.  We played outside so much, our neighbor's daughter was told one time' " Don't play with them so much, they wear out your sneakers too fast." Well, yeah, that is what PF flyers are for! So, you can run faster, and jump higher, and use them for brakes on your bikes and the swings. Hello?

The snow plow day was a big favorite, as when they came through making mountains of snow on the sidewalks and driveways, Daddy had to shovel it out, to be able to get out  of the driveway and make the sidewalks and our front steps, walkable pathways. That left all the snow on either side of the driveway, huge hills of it. So, when you have 2 opposing hills, what do you do? You make snow forts!!!!! Oh , yeah, hole in the top, and hole to get in, pack that snow down, and then.... snow ball fights with the neighbors, oh, yeah.

We got so good about it, we would make our snowballs the day before, and put them under the gutter drains, so, the dripping water would make...... ICE BALLS!!! We, meaning my fort members, we never shared out winning recipe with the boysssssssssss , ewwwww!! So, we could not throw as hard, but... if we landed one, oh, you knew it, yeah buddy.. !!! Thwapp! Take that Jackie Werewolf, Frankie Frankenstein, and Gary the Inside Out Man! There is more where that came from!

In the summer, there was Spud, Red Light Green Light, Hopscotch, Rover come on over, Giant Step.. we played until the street lights came on , or your mother screamed for you. Sometimes, we just took whatever friends were with us home, too, after all we did not hear their mother call them. My mother would look around the dinner table and say, "Do I know you?".. giggling friend would say" Yes, Mrs Durkin!" She would laugh and say, " No problem, I will just throw another potato in the pot!" Yep, that is how she rolled.

TOBAY Beach, Jones Beach, Fire Island.. all at our doorsteps.

 

Mommy, Juliette, Billy, and Maureen ( MoMo) This may have been the day I went missing Notice how worried my mother is.

One day at TOBAY Beach, Juliette and I were doing our body surfing over the low waves. We had walked straight out from where our parents parked the blanket. The tide kept shifting the sand, and when we were done playing, we headed back, we thought, straight back to the blanket, only, that was not OUR blanket, and those were not OUR parents, so, we set off to find them. Juliette may have been a year younger, but, she was the more aggressive, adventurous type than I was. ( I was just prettier and smarter. duh?)

Well,  some time later a concerned beach goer notices we looked lost, and I would not answer her, but, Juliette ( aka the Wind of War) agreed we may have been a little bit lost, so, the lady took us to the life guard, and I stood at the sand dune near him, and would not let him put me on his high in the sky stand, but, Juliette did. He whistled for attention, meanwhile, I wandered off again, across dunes, and a road... Some other beach goers, spotted me, and I simply said, I am ok just hungry and thirsty. ( Priorities for survival in the dessert dunes). They gave me a  sandwich, and a drink from their cooler, and I then those sneaky people took me to another Life Guard. 4 weeks later ( an hour or so), my father found me.

He hugged me so tight, I thought I would die.. part of that was my heart pounding , joyous I was where I belonged. He brought me back to my mother, who was crying. I think she said. " Don't ever do that again!", but, I only heard" OMG I am so glad to have my baby girl back!).

Daddy would often carry us out in the ocean, 2 at a time, swimming to a sand bar, then stand on it and show us how big the ocean is. When I got older, and saw " Jaws" for the first time, I thought to myself, " Hey.. sharks, sandbars.. um, were they other siblings that were fish bait, and was he trying to attract another one with us?", no way, I am his favorite. Still, Jaws kept me out of the water, pretty much, unless it is a nice clear pool, or shallow water, surrounded by other people who can get eaten first!

We were Massapequans. We have history!   http://massapequastories.com/

To be continued... 

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Tuesday Mornings Meals on Wheels

Tuesday mornings I volunteer as one of the cooks for  Meals On Wheels, at my church. We are an awesome group. A few months ago, the main chapter for Tampa Bay, wanted us to give up our " clients", so they could take over more clients.

Now, mind you. they have a professional chef, an entire building with kitchen, and volunteers to prepare a LOT of meals 5 days a week. The organization gets funded for this process, at this facility, and the only paid staff is the chef.

Our group does not assembly line cook, and our drivers are all volunteers, as well. The  MOW of Tampa, wanted our drivers to go pick up meals daily in the main facility, a lengthy drive, and of course more expense to them. Much of our food, is donated by church members in our community, and some is purchased by the head cook of the day, and reimbursed by MOW national. Our group can receive up to 2.50 a meal in funding, which is supposed to be paid by our clients when they can. 30% can, the other 70% do not or cannot. We do not spend $2.50 a meal, so, we do not ask for more than we spend. Our group usually can prepare 50 meals for $50-$70.00.  The Tampa facility collects from MOW org, $4.50 per meal, whether the clients pay or not.  It's a business. We are a ministry. Yeah, we rock.

There are 19 churches in my area that participate in our group, serving about 200 plus meals a day, to those who have applied for the service, and cannot get out to purchase food, or possibly cannot prepare a hot meal. 4 churches per day, make the food, so, we only have 1 day a week of service per church, serving about 40-60 meals per day, 5 days a week, with 6 or so volunteers in the kitchen, and 5 drivers. The Tampa group prepares about 700 meals per day.

We LOVE what we do, we feel it is our ministry, and our group has a fellowship to gather each week, choosing a meal , purchasing the foods, and serving it hot.  Our food not only looks awesome, it TASTES awesome, and our clients LOVE us. We LOVE them.

We did not want to become part of the mass production lines, and in fact, this move would have left our cooks, without a mission. They would not need us. No way. Fortunately, there was a vote.. you guessed it, we voted NO! So, we go on, and are grateful for that.

Today, we prepared Ham and Spaghetti Pie... they had mixed vegetables, and dinner roll on the side. We prepared a fresh fruit salad, and they also got a dessert bag full of goodies.  (Recipe in this blog.)

Make NO mistake, they do an great job, and provide a much needed, and appreciated service, at the Tampa facility. Still... Them>>>

2 of " Their" meals

 

Not us, but, LIKE us, lol church MOW cooks

Sample of 1 of our church meals. We also give them either green or fruit salad

The 2 pics of typical local church meals we deliver. I know which one I prefer.. So, we are delighted to be able to continue with our mission, with passion and commitment. Our clients are happy as well.

I use a tool called My Kitchen Calculator to convert my recipes to our larger volumes:
http://www.mykitchencalculator.com/recipeconverter.html


This recipe for Spaghetti-Ham Pie, by Janna Hammond, is from Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School Cookbook, one of the cookbooks created at FamilyCookbookProject.com. We help families or individuals create heirloom cookbook treasures.

Contributor:	Janna Hammond Added: Sunday, June 16, 2013
Category:	Main Dishes
Ingredients:	6 oz spaghetti, uncooked  ( we break the spaghetti into thirds before we cook it.) 4 cloves garlic minced 2½ tablespoon olive oil ¼ cup flour ¼ teaspoon salt ⅛ teaspoon pepper ¾ cup half-and-half 1½ cup milk ¼ to ½ cup chopped cooked ham ¼ cup Parmesan cheese, grated, divided ( we used Pecorino, fresh grated)
Directions:	Cook spaghetti according to package directions; drain. Set aside. Cook garlic in olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat, stirring constantly, 5 minutes. Stir in flour, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute. Gradually add half-and-half and milk; cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thickened and bubbly. Stir in spaghetti. Spoon half of spaghetti mixture into a lightly grease 9-inch pie plate; sprinkle with ham and 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese. Top with remaining spaghetti mixture, and sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese. Bake at 425° for 15 to 20 minutes or until lightly browned. Serves 6

To learn more about Meals on Wheels, click here:   http://www.mealsonwheelsamerica.org/national

TV Commercials and It's a Dog's Life

Have you ever seen a TV commercial for a new medication, and listen or read all the potential side effects? Like one that is for migraines, that can cause headaches and blurred vision? ( Isn't that a migraine?" How about one that can cause death?  My favorite is , If you are allergic to this medication, or any medication containing this medication, stop taking immediately. How did you know you were allergic until you tried it?  If it causes death, is that immediate enough? Things that make you go hmmm....

Another pet peeve of mine is.. why, I ask WHY.... do they advertise restaurants with delicious you have to have it NOW food at 10 pm and beyond, if the restaurant is not open at that hour? I mean, now I a starving, and drooling , and angry at the restaurant that caused this. Right? Seriously? Who would not be craving Lobster and a good juicy steak at midnight?

How about all of the commercials letting you know that if YOU or a loved one have died from...( insert the disease here), you may be entitled to substantial compensation. Um, what?  There is a new settlement :"If you're developed ovarian cancer from talcum powder,, " etc,,,don't you all wonder, how do they prove you used it? How did  they know back when we slathered that stuff all over our bodies, including all of our babies bottoms, this would cause cancer?
I 
There are some really good commercials, too. A recent one airing on current television, is for  Heartworm prevention, and has the dogs hiding in camouflage, such as a plant surrounding his body! Cracks me up!  I remember the dogs, but, I have no idea at this moment what brand of treatment the commercial is for. Go figure.
(update, I found the commercial. Heartguard! Inserting You tube video here:)



Speaking of dogs, my dear husband decided when I retired last year, that I should have a companion, ergo, a dog.  So, off we go the the local animal control shelter, formerly known as the " pound", on the first Saturday of the month. They have a " First Saturday Celebration" , oddly, on the first Saturday of the month, drawing in a lot of people with  pets that are " ready to go", at a substantially reduced fee.

I live in an " Active Adult Community",  a manufactured home community, formerly known as a Senior Citizen Park, also formerly called a mobile home park. Rolling my eyes. We are restricted to having one pet per household, and that pet is not supposed to weigh more than 20 pounds. ( Yes, because a 20 pound dog will make me feel secure, or as my husband would say, that is not even a whole dog.)

None the less, we are searching for the holy grail of small dogs, and a Chihuahua is definitely not my favorite dog. ( ok, I do not like them, they are under your feet and yipping all the time). There were a lot of big dogs, really big dogs,  and a lot of Pit Bull types, etc. Small breeds, not so much. I saw one with these HUGE eyes, and a ball of fur that kept watching me walk back and forth. Big eyes.

I finally take a look at him closer, and read the information on his kennel. " Ferdinand" is a Pekingese, found as a stray, he is 13 yrs old , has sclera of the eyes so, he is nearly blind, and he has hip dysplasia, so, he is nearly crippled. I go UGH,  he is old! ( I am old.) Ugh, he can't see well. ( neither can I). He can barely walk he has bad hips. ( Snap! me too!)  He is severely underweight, and can feel his ribs ( um, never mind, we won't discuss that comparison to me.)  Guess who we took home?

The adoption process was easy. they were amazed anyone was taking this little guy home. As he was a senior dog, he had a reduced fee, and as I was a senior human, I rec'd a reduced fee... so, the fee was $5. As we left, we were paraded up and down the fair booths, in the walk of honor, for taking home the oldest dog ever. Cool.

Well, the poor guy's hair was so badly matted, he could not even walk up or down the steps to the house, and the bad hips did not help.  So, first order of loving him, was to the groomer and get him shaved and cleaned up.

He looks like a puppy

First Saturday love at first sight

Shaved.. naked, thin, and crippled up

                           


Well, from day one, I realized that at  some point in his former life, he has been spoiled.  The second I went to the stove, there he was. He would alert me as soon as the timer went off that dinner was done. I also knew he deserved the best chance to live a bit better than he would have on his own, or worse yet, left to die in the shelter. So, his new Mommy chose to make his dog food, added a senior vitamin with glucosamine, coconut oil,  and to go ahead and give him some of ours now and then.

He loved us from the first day, too, although he could not jump up on the couch, or in our bed, we helped him up, however he could not sleep with us, or sit too long on the furniture. I made hm a " pet bed", but, he preferred to sleep either on a blanket nearby, or on the hard floor near an air conditioner vent, even on the vent itself. He began to be a " new" dog.

Look Mom, my ribs are not showing!

Puppy? or Senior Citizen?

He filled in nicely, going from the 7 pounds I brought him home at,  to 10 pounds of fluffy cuteness. He could RUN up and down our steps to go outside. He stood up straight and proud. Our neighbors asked me 3 weeks after we brought him into our home, where did the first dog go, and were amazed this was that dog! We continued to groom hm, and I bathed him in between. He was very " mean" during grooming, as it caused pain. I took him to Pet Smart for a 3rd grooming, only to be told, he was not welcome back there EVER again. What? LOL

Lion cut? Seriously?

We tried another groomer, and was called back 10 minutes after dropping him off, to come get Cujo. Oh, boy. Kicked out of another groomer's. Geeze, we are blackballed from grooming. I bought a razor.. that did NOT work out... he would not sit still, I had no idea what I was doing, left him near bald on half his body, and totally unscathed on the rest. I surrendered my razor. I think my husband uses it as a trimmer on his beard occasionally. Good Boy! LOL

Ferdinand was with us for 2 yrs, and he was beginning now to be in constant pain. He cried and moaned most of the time. He continued to eat, but each move, or laying down hurt. I could not bear it any longer, as he had no quality of life, and my keeping him was becoming pure selfishness on my part.

I did research on euthanasia, and was assured by other pet owners, that this was the best option, and humane thing to do for a 15 yo dog that was in pain all the time.

Reluctantly, my husband and I came to terms, and brought him to the Humane Society to be euthanized. They were very compassionate and gentle with him, and us. I could not bear to watch the procedure or stay with him while he passed, so, my big, brave, loving husband promised to stay with him. I left that room hysterical, and had to go outside to sit, as my crying was upsetting children, whose pets were in for vet care, and did not need to know my purpose.

Mac  was gone only 5 mins at most, and when he came out to me, I snapped " Why are you here, you are supposed to be with Ferdinand!" He gently wrapped his arms around me, then took my hand and said " Baby, after you kissed him, and left, the tech inserted a needle, and told me it will not be long, as he is so small. Ferdinand licked my face as I held him in my arms, and just went to sleep. The tech checked, and he had passed away. Two minutes, that is all it took."  He then led me to the car, where I remained inconsolable for the next 2 days.  Then I finally made peace with myself, as he reminded me we gave him 2 good years he would not have had without us.

RIP my friend. I loved you.

One week later, my dear beloved husband decided, I needed a companion." Look for another dog." Enter a real life Cujo named Corkie, and another day's blog.

I know what I did last year- I went to Hell

I have already posted about some of last year, but, surely we all realize, that was not my entire year. As I had said, it was a pretty good year.

Mac and I went on a cruise to Cozumel and Grand Cayman in February. This was a gift from Mike and Pam for Christmas. I booked online with Carnival out of the Port of Tampa on the Paradise. Despite some rough weather, we had a great time.

Personally, I do not care if we leave the ship or not, as long as I can do shows, and eat my way from one end of the ship to the other, it is all good. We did  go on a Best of the Cayman's Tour via bus, and I will say.. I was not impressed with the island. Hotels and condos block all of the beach views, and those Caymanians do not live a wealthy life.. enough said about that part. The tour did take us to the turtle farm, where they raise turtles for the meat, and that was interesting. I also enjoyed the Tortuga Rum Cake factory, offering samples of which I partook of like 20... yep, buzzed!

Dress up night

Yes, there is a Hell... Grand Cayman

Natural sulphur formations, hence Hell.

Not us

Cozumel

To show you that the weather was sometimes fierce. I present you with the dancing straws from our drinks on board.
Cozumel was cool, but, unfortunately we had to stay in port, due the the weather the catamaran to the beach would have been too dangerous... Next time.

In March 2015 we celebrated the birth of Amelia Grace, born to my son Brian and his now lovely wife Esther. Esther had 2 children by a previous marriage, great children. Chris is the teen, high school athlete, and Riley, the dance queen. Love those grands. Brian has a child from his previous marriage, Seth, who is grown and living in Oregon. Seth was my first grandchild of the now 21 between my husband of 9 years, and my former marriage. Love them babies!!

Amelia's arrival was fairly uneventful, and she was beautiful from the beginning, and the glow of love between that family is something you can see, as well as feel.

No, that is not all.. I am a Grandma, remember? Bwhahahahahah!!

Baby shower. Laura, Esther, Myself, Jennifer

Great baby shower hosted by a friend of Esther and Brian. Laura and Jennifer are my twin daughters, and Laura is just a few months pregnant.

They are over the moon with their new creation. Brian is beyond the moon, even a year later, lol.

Riley and baby sister 

Big brother CJ is awesome with his new sister

How quick, turn around, turn around!

Brian and Esther were engaged already, but it would seem this little gift from God gave them the kick start to planning the wedding I posted about a few days ago.  Look at that face, I just wanna grab those cheeks, and why is it that chubby thighs look so good on babies, and on me.. definitely not so much?

Brian turned 44 that March, and his brother Michael became 43. The are nearly exactly 1 year apart. I recall being in the postpartum unit at the hospital in NY, breathing a sigh of relief after my first pregnancy was culminated with the birth of a 10 pound 1 oz healthy baby boy. I was all of 18 yo. Whew!

A man was taking his wife and baby home, and as they waved bye to me, he said" See you next year!" I said" oh no you will not!" I was there a year later, and they were no where in sight. I delivered Mike, who weighed in at 10 pounds 11 ounces, and whew!

I brought Michael home on Brian's first birthday, and he did not like his present, at all. Over the years, these 2 were pretty inseparable!!! They are still best friends, I am so proud of them.

Well, bottom line is, when they turned 44 and 43, I was 62 and decided they needed to start lying about their ages. They were getting old and I wasn't, LOL to that.

Brian and Michael


 

September was Jacob Anthony's arrival, discussed in another blog. Another sweet miracle.

Thanksgiving was at Mike and Pam's home again. Love that meal.. There was, of course turkey, stuffing and dressing, as most of in the KNOW, KNOW, stuffing goes in the bird. Yes, I said it, that is why it is called stuffing.. you STUFF it up both ends of that bad boy. This is a symbiotic relationship, where both the stuffing benefits from the turkey juices, and the stuffing moistens and flavors the bird from within. There I said it.. Let it be written, Let it be done!
I " made" the mashed potatoes. Yeah, that's right. I do not peel potatoes any more, since the magic of fresh mashed potatoes available most everywhere in a bag. I went to the store ( GFS), and purchased this marvel of modern genius, and added a bit of butter, and a bit of salt and pepper, so, I can say I made the mashed potatoes... 5 pounds of them. So, there!

Laura made ( bought the ingredients, and I made it, LOL ) the green bean casserole. There were dinner rolls, gravy, cranberry sauce... oh yeah baby.


Halloween Annual Party at my son's home, and with grand design .. partied at Mike's new home with about 100 of his friends, and family. Always a blast!

Hosts Mike, Pam, and son Nick the Joker

Myself and Mike

Daughter Laura and I , Cat People

Son Brian and Esther.. before the wedding

Laura and her date hahahah

Leopards... oh my

They know how to party!!

Next we have the Ugly Sweater party , a week before Christmas.. Smaller crowd, still big fun.

Pam and Cindy Lou Who??

Mike and Nick

White Elephant Gift

Olaf, as himself

I made Pecan Cheese Ring with Strawberry Preserves 

 Recipe is on another day's blog. YUMMY!