The IAL

AUGUST 2011

August 1st found my mother at Midstate Hospital with a swallowing problem. She has experienced it throughout her life and thank goodness she was dilated and released after 4 days. On Wednesday August 3rd I visited a child hood sweetheart that I had not seen in over thirty years. The poor girl was placed into a nursing home for alzheimers before she turned 60. It was a sad, but precious visit. I held her hand, she spoke no words but there was a searching with her eyes into mine. While I whispered that she was always sweet and  beautiful, i received a range of facial expressions. The expressions ran from a blank empty stare, to raised eyebrows of concern and puzzlement, to a tiny smile combined with a firmer hand clasp. Her eyes went weary, I kissed her cheek and it felt like I was in slow motion moving to the door. I turned at the door and mouthed the words "I will be back" and blew a kiss, hoping that the message was received.
The next day after looking at new flat screen TV's (our old one had just died), Lesley and I went to lunch at a Long Horn steak house. While having my chopped sirloin with mashed and lots of gravy, we found ourselves watching a young man in military uniform having lunch with what appeared to be his 50 year old mother and his 3 to 4 year old daughter. It was obvious they were enjoying each other.I got our waitress and said please put their bill on my tab. We are big supporters of our troops, wounded warriors, Navy seals etc. We finished up our meal and paid both tabs. We walked past their table and shook the soldiers hand thanking him for his service, Les went to the ladies room, and I to the car. Lesley came out with the trio and the mother and Les were crying and hugging. The soldier was on his last day of leave and was handing his daughter to his mom for safe keeping until his next return. I shook his hand and thanked him again.
On Friday Aug 12th we went from my New Haven home to Southington Ct for a cook out with Ron Leclair our IAL web master and his family. Alex his son, and Rylee his daughter, are now true water babies. You can barely get them out of the pool for dinner. Mary Ann a very pretty lady and a good cook worked with Les inside while Ron and I cooked steaks outside.Wine and beer flowed freely. I love spending time with Ron, we have almost a thirty year friendship.
Saturday the 13th my sister Julie and my son's fiance Amie went kayaking right off the sea wall in front of the house and headed east out toward Light house and the pier. After a long trip they returned and my son Adam took Julie's kayak and he and Amie headed west toward a Quinnipiac River restaurant. Lesley and I drove to the restaurant and waited, and waited, and waited for them to join us. There are two forks out of Long Island Sound and they took the wrong one. We waited an hour longer than expected for them to get their bearings and finally row up to the right destination.

On monday the 15th Les and i drove to NYC to pick up Terrie Hall and her daughter Dana. Terrie was chosen by the CDC to be in the now famous anti smoking commercial. While Terrie was being filmed we took Dana and Brandon Carmichael my friend who lost his lower legs to Buergers Disease which was caused directly to his addiction to smoking on a tour of NYC. Brandon was also chosen by the CDC for its anti smoking campaign. The next day Brandon was being filmed we repeated the tour with Terrie. We saw South Sea Seaport, Trump Plaza, Steuben Glass, FAO Schwartz, Wall Street, China town, Little Italy, the Park Plaza, and  horse and carriage rides through Central Park. Thursday the girls had a craving for Lobster, so we went to City Lobster for a wonderful last supper.

On Monday August 22nd, Les and I drove to Old Orchard Beach Maine to see her sister Jackie and Husband Marty.The next 4 days were spent exploring Maine, going the beach, and playing golf (we don't keep score with them, they are still learning the game) Jackie tees up her ball on every shot, on the fairway, on the green (Marty pretends he doesn't see her doing it).

After leaving Maine we headed back to New Haven just in time to frantically board up the house in preparation for the impending Hurricane Irene.We did board up the house, because we directly face Long Island Sound and the winds were hitting 60 MPH. The mayor evacuated the area, but we being stubborn, fearless and not very bright decided to ride it out with 6 other neighbors. We held a two day Hurricane cocktail party on the front porch and only had to chase down a few chairs and a couple hundred tree branches. The Mayor of New Haven pulled into our drive way, to let me know that he had the entire area evacuated. I congratulated him and said "keep up the good work". He stormed off the porch. The next day he returned to show his disdain for us not abandoning ship.I offered him a bloody mary, and he stormed off in a huff.Two days later I removed the boarding from the windows and August 2011 was now in the history books. Bob