Oh,no Mr Bill...not the yellow pad!

 Twenty, thirty or more no one really counted how many were at the table. It was always full, loud and happy.

And then, the yellow pad appeared. I never knew how long it took Bill to fill that thing up, but every year the speech got longer. And, the food was getting cold. Sean, Michael and I tried to help speed him up, but it never worked. To be honest , I think it was a great game that we all played and enjoyed. A Thanksgiving without the speech just didn't seem right. It still doesn't. So here I am doing one without a pad.
Bill, Dolores(Zsa Zsa), Herby, brothers,sisters, uncles, aunts,and all the rest of us agree, Bill and Aggie you are the best! In a brave new world where the nuclear family is a thing of the past, you not only kept yours alive and thriving but brought so many others into your hearts and home. Grace and I know how hard it is to keep everyone so tight even as they spread over the continent. It's a big part of what makes our Roman family so important to us. They accepted us just as you did and like you haven't forgotten.

Today the only question is, what are the things you cherish most and give thanks for? You have the answer. Family and those you know should have been family. I feel lucky, because I have you among that group...luckier still, because the group continues to grow. Enjoy the day, that is what Thanksgiving is about.

Ballpark Fashion

 Sometimes you really get lucky! At a time when you think you're at a low point something fantastic happens. I didn't become Bill's friend I was adopted into his entire huge loving family. My girl's became part of it and today with thousands' of miles between all of us the bonds of care, hope and love remain.

The little cry baby in the middle was a lot happier several years later as I took pictures on her wedding day. But this is going to be a slightly different story.

Bill, Sean and myself were sitting, sipping and chatting about the latest unusual event in the Brewer family. For some reason or another Mo had called her Mother from work in dire straits. Her outfit was wrong! WTF that meant eluded all three of us, but Bill being available was sent with a new frock to make someone happy.

After hearing this story, Sean and I nearly fell off our stools. Some talk of enablement and princess hood followed, with poor Bill taking a beating.

Over the next couple of days I recited this story more than once. Finally concocting a plan. I was taking Kim to the airport to return to her Mother. Along the way was a thrift shop, Morgie's. In we go to select the perfect ensemble for an aspiring princess. Stunning, if I do say so! Purple print pregnancy pants, silver pumps and the most gorgeous top to accentuate the look!

With a hand-printed label, "Ball park fashion, for those who only wear the very best", foil wrap and designer bag step one is complete.

Now to make the delivery. Taking my friend and co-worker,Frank as an inside delivery man I drive to Mo's place of employment. Guess who's parked outside? Bill! He spots us and simply starts shaking his head, knowing that something bad is coming his way. Frank makes a successful delivery, using the name of our UPS driver that happens to live next door to Mo.

The guard calls her to pick up her package and unknowing she takes it back to her work area. Still unsuspecting she opens the package in front of all of her co-workers. To use a republicanism...oops!

Bill hears the story on the way home, denies plausibility and digs the hole a bit deeper. Aggie is given a rehash at home, poor Bill still denying knowledge. He makes a mistake, when Mo leaves the room(not) he spills the beans! Oops all over again.

Laughter is, was and always will be part of this Family that I am an adopted, if wayward part of...miss you all.

Of mice and Sid

When you are in your early twenties and move to a new location making new friends seems difficult. But, one or two very successful pregnancies later, your kids are introducing you to an ever expanding group of people, their new friends, the parents of, etc. Baby sitters are found and their parents, one becomes your taxman. Another in line to be your undertaker, Sid. 

There were three Lisa's in the neighborhood and our two knew all of them. Sid and Betty were the parents of one of the three and a nice friendship developed. Betty was a nurse, Sid an undertaker...seemed to have everything covered.  So when my back went out the first time and I laid there twitching on the floor, does Mary Ellen call the nurse? Right! Hi Sid, how's things? Since the ambulance service in Danvers was connected to the largest undertaker in  town, the outcome was, three undertakers and a cop or two get me into an ambulance and ship me to the hospital. I don't remember Sid visiting me, he most likely got lost coming in the front way!

One of Sids' projects was a boat. Since he had a barn he was able to build his own watercraft over a long period of time. More than  a few laughs were had about the Titanic. Completion was accomplished and the boat launched...and pulled back out, quickly. Seems the seams leaked. Caulking, etc and a second launch was more successfully completed. He never was able to put a large enough engine in it so that the boat would glide over the tops of the waves. The Titanic ended up as a big conversation piece in the barn. 

Along with the barn came a large house on a stone foundation. This was typical construction for older New England homes as it utilized what was available, plenty of rock. It did allow field mice an easy access and kept the cat and dog occupied. One Sunday the four of us were having a nice dinner, when out of the corner of her eye Mary Ellen spotted small mouse. Mice didn't bother her, so between all of us we cornered the poor creature under the bureau. Three of did, not Sid. After a capture and release we asked Sid why after all of the things that he normally encounters that a mouse would bother him? Answer: His patients do NOT move!

On one occasion I went with him to make an out of state pick up. The weather was truly awful and driving was something I've always been comfortable with. He told some funny stories up and back...undertaker humor, a bit strange! But that trip wasn't as strange as wall papering an undertaker's parlor with flocked wallpaper, the place ended up looking like a bordello, but they liked it and we got paid!

Sid and Betty's marriage ended shortly and another friendship with it. Too bad! I still have the memories though, good luck Sid, good luck Betty.

The Grand Plan

 ...I messed it up!

Let's back it up a bit. My father (Max to all of us) had a ritual. He would come home from work and sit on the front stoop having a smoke and perhaps a beer or two "chillin'"...long before that was an acceptable term. He chatted with all the other folks on their way home, including two sisters that lived up  the street, Brenda and Mary Ellen. As a matter of fact he had chosen one for me...unbeknown  to them or me!

I got out of the Navy 9/1/61 and had arrived home later that day. The next day was my birthday and I was trying to figure where on earth my stuff was going to go. After all there were ten other siblings already living there. I hear Max yelling from downstairs to come down. A peek out the window and I'm on my way downstairs for my birthday present. The posted picture kind of gives the rest of the story away. We were married the next June and lived happily until it broke. Things do happen that are not part of your plan, sometimes you shouldn't do so much planning. Not one of us resembles ourselves as in this picture...good! Laughter is the best way to view it, both then and now.

The best line...I married the sister that my father did NOT choose! He was wrong, our friendship has worked out pretty well over all this time. Grace, Brenda, Elizabeth and Mary Ellen were once called the "Murphy" girls by one guest at a wedding. Grace and her Italian roots laughed just as hard as the others. The good memories last and so do good friendships. We hope that there will be another party or two in the future...or brunch on Christmas morning.

Why is that celery pink?

...or, what the hell is rhubarb? You eat it? Why? How? 

When we left the south and moved to Everett there was a patch of this pink "growth" in our back yard right up against the fence. I didn't have a clue and since I was a kid I tried to remove it. Mother said no! I'll make a pie. OK, I like pie. Not this time, rhubarb the cat may have been funny, but rhubarb the pie was simply over the top treacle! Sweet, cloying, gelatinous...awful! Sometime later I was told that it mixed well with strawberries...another of my favorites. So my question remains the same...WHY?

Buon Natale!

The previous year, Grace and I lived out part of our dream, an entire summer in Rome. Our prior visits had taken us to the spot we now call home. Our hearts will always be in the Campo even if we are not.

Now, as Christmas approaches we are landing, unannounced, for a holiday visit with our friends/Famiglia Romani! No one knows that we are coming and we can only hope that our carefully planned, surprise visit will go as planned.

The taxi takes us to the Hotel Campo dei Fiori, where we check in and leave our bags. We have rented an apartment from them for this trip, but they too are a bit confused by our plans. They didn't realize that we had amici in the Campo. Explanations over, bags being delivered we take  a winding back way into the Campo so that we can arrive unsuspected by our friends. To this day nothing I've heard has has been more pleasing to me than my name being slowly and softly being uttered by sonia as she first recognized me. Grace was grabbed, hugged and our names called through the Campo...Grace and Max!!! They are here! We were home!

And, yes it worked just as we hoped it would. I now know how a conquering hero feels when he returns to his homeland. It is something that everyone should get to feel, even if, like me,you are not exactly a conquering hero type.
Two of our friends had lost their fathers over the last year and they thought our arrival would help them through the first Christmas without their loved ones. I wish we could have been able to do more, but our just being there seemed to suffice. They did more for us than we can ever make understood.

The invitation to Christmas with Lina, Giulia, Alessandro and family was the ultimate compliment. Food, friends and a glorious roof-top view...our first Christmas in Rome! Maybe there is something more to look forward to, and I certainly hope so, but this was sublime!

We had another couple spend New Years with us so that they didn't need to make the trek home and back, permitting them a night on the town. And Antonio for dinner. Grace in the cucina ordering us about, all the food straight from the Campo just outside our door, simply the best!

Location, location, location! A cry we hear so often. It may be part of our dream, but Amici, amici, amici is truly our thought! We will not be physically there this year, but, as ever our thoughts, hearts and minds will!

Buon Natale a tutti! Tanti auguri!

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