July started with the fact that the Islip firehouse was opened up to the members. Naturally, in the afternoon I went down to have coffee and use the computer, after I did an errand. On Thursday I went to the semi-monthly meeting at my American Legion post and learned that since I am the Homeland Security Officer, I am a part of the Executive Committee. The next day I went with Eileen for a walk along our usual route and after we got home, I got into the car and drove to the Islip Fire Department’s North House to check out the computer – mainly to change the wallpaper (put up a team photo of the New York Cubans). I then went to the new 7-11 at Sunrise Highway and Romaine Avenue where I bought a lotto ticket and a stress figure of a Minion from Despicable Me. While there I broke in the 7-11 app on my cell phone for $4.33 (the price of the Minion). The lotto ticket cost cannot go towards the points. Once I settled the app issue (I had trouble setting it up and the clerk was new and did not know exactly what to do) I headed out to the service road and had a jerk from Ohio pass me on the right and in front of me to get onto the expressway ramp. I finally made it to the main firehouse and had my coffee and used the computer. The computer camera that I had ordered online from Staples arrived on the 3rd and I successfully set it up on the screen. I also e/mailed my friend Charlie and we were able to have a virtual meeting. Our wives also joined us. But I will still have to practice more to get the hang of it.
We did not do anything special on the 4th of July other than a cookout and the usual walk. The big surprise came in the evening when the TV set blew out. It looks like after 11 years, we will have to replace it. We did not do anything special on the 4th of July other than a cookout and the usual walk. I finished chapters 16 and 17 from Helen of Pasadena and started number 18. In 16 she looks into Priam's Treasure and the Schliemann and Helen-Paris affairs and in 17 she is looking at downsized houses and then the memorial birthday Mass for Merritt. I also managed to finally get the video camera to work and Ellen & I had a Zoom meeting with her brother and our sister in law on the evening of the 4th, but I still have a lot to learn.
On the 5th I went over to the library to return the items that we had taken out earlier this year. The library is still closed for in house reading and other activities, but we can take things out online for now, with curbside pickup. Since there is no TV set, I also took down the London Underground jigsaw puzzle from the closet (I got it for Ellen for her birthday back in 1978). I did clear away a spot on the coffee table and started to put the puzzle together – by doing the edge pieces first, and then the Underground logo, and the title of the puzzle. Now I am working on the actual tube lines’ pieces. When I woke up on the 7th it looks like I caught a cold. There was some coughing but I can breathe easily so it does not look like COVID-19. In chapter 18 Helen learned that Annabeth Sturges and actress Olympia Sutton-Majors are lesbian lovers and in 19 Patrick got on the TV show and talked about Ancient Troy, and also announced that he was leaving for Moscow and the Pushkin Museum in 5 days.
By Wednesday the 8th I was still working on the London Underground puzzle on and off and finally got all of the tube lines’ parts put in. Now it’s the pieces with no writing. Ellen finally ordered our new TV set and I will pick it up tomorrow at the Bay Shore Best Buy. After Eileen and I went on our walk (we stopped for pix by the Wing School) and when we got home, I headed to the firehouse for coffee and to use the computer. I read chapter 20 from Helen of Pasadena and Aiden got accepted into the Los Angeles County for the Performing Arts, and Helen went to the upscale hair salon for the last time and met several of the other people who will be at the Benefit later that evening. I did pick up our new TV set at Best Buy on the 9th and when I got it home, Ellen and I managed to hook it up, despite Eileen's getting in the way. After lunch she and I went for a walk, and to kind of make it up to her for my yelling at her, we stopped at the usual 7-11 and she got a new Beanie Baby – and owl named Hoot, #81. I was originally going to get her a Sponge Bob zipper pull and I told her to put that back – one or the other. Sponge Bob is for another time. I was annoyed that she did not cover her nose with her mask while we were in the 7-11, since there were others there. At home I made headway with the London Underground jigsaw puzzle. All that remain are the pieces with no writing – only latitude and longitude lines. I also read chapter 21 and Helen was Patrick’s date at the Five School Benefit and Mitsy bid $250K for the grand item – two weeks with Patrick at Troy & Mycenae. It was at this benefit that that Patrick called her "Helen of Pasadena" for the first time - a play on Helen of Troy. I read all of chapter 22 and here it looks like Patrick scored twice with Helen, and then he left for Europe a day earlier to stop in London. On Sunday Ellen and I ordered, online, a new monitor, keyboard, and mouse from Dell and it will cost us about $160.00. I finished chapter 23 and Helen has been selected as executive producer of The Dirty Archaeologist. By the end of #23 we learn why Mitsy bid $250K at the auction for the two weeks with Patrick – so Helen and Aiden could use them. And she tells Helen why she did not pay for Aiden’s schooling – so she could do it herself by taking charge of the situation by selling the house and moving to a smaller one, getting a job and eventually a new man. She eventually did all of these. In the final chapter, #24, she leaves for Greece and Troy and hooks up with Patrick, and she found the new man in her life. On the 13th I finished Helen of Pasadena, and I had to find another book to read so I went to the Square Books LLC website and selected The Bright Lands by John Pram. I had also seen some self-help books and had made a list of 5 and will start with Get Your Shit Together by Sarah Knight. I ordered both of these from the Islip Library on their website. In the afternoon Eileen and I did our usual walk before I went to the firehouse to create a current Rescue Squad treasurer’s report and then print soap star photos for Eileen. Eileen and I did our usual walk to Wing School and home on Tuesday and Wednesday. I finally finished the London Underground jigsaw puzzle on the 14th. As I told my friends on social media, all it took was a good eye and a lot of perseverance. Our computer hardware was giving us trouble, as the monitor was showing shadows on the screen, and some of the letters were faded on the keyboard.
On the 13th we ordered a new monitor, keyboard and mouse from Dell. Over the next two days the items arrived on our porch and Ellen & I were able to successfully install the three items. On Thursday the Islip Library received two items I ordered online: a movie titled Overcomer, and a Rolling Stones CD, Bridges to Babylon, which I picked up When I got home, I watched Overcomer, and found it interesting. It is a Christian based film but also brought back memories of high school and how I wished I could have experienced the 4 years there if I could do it over. As for other books and media, while on the Internet I checked the St. John’s site and joined their book club. The book that they recommended to read is The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg. But I did read it already in early 2018 with the Pace University Book Club. The moderator did email me about the final chapter in this book in which a women blew all of her financial assets on gambling and wanted to sue the casinos. The chapter asked us if it was her own fault and are we ultimately responsible for our habits. The author says that we can change our habits and therefore are responsible for them. Eileen and I are still doing our usual walks to the Wing School and back. On the 18th after a lunch from Taco Bell we went for a walk to 7-11 to get the lotto ticket for that evening’s drawing, Eileen got herself a Sponge Bob zipper pull (actually Beany Baby #82). We then walked to Wingan Hauppauge Road to the Wing School and then home. It looks like I will need a new cell phone because the screen on my android is cracked, and I keep running out of data before the month is over. The best bet is a new cell phone, and also move up to an i-phone.
On Sunday, the 19th I checked out the Verizon and Apple websites to see what model should get myself. I also emailed my brother-in-law to see which models he and my sister-in-law have. He responded that they have an iPhone 8 and an iPhone 7. Either one would probably be a good choice for me. We skipped lunch because we were saving our appetites for dinner, since we decided to order out again, as we have been doing on Sundays for the last several weeks. Our favorite Asian restaurant is Mango Tango but it still has no eat-in or outdoor dining, only take out. I ordered dinner for the 3 of us online and then drove down to the restaurant to pick it up. In the afternoon Eileen and I did our usual walk but we also stopped at a garage (driveway) sale at a house 5 doors down from ours. Eileen got herself a Despicable Me minion figure and I got myself a Crosby Stills & Nash CD titled CSN.
On Monday I did some errands, and returned Overcomer and took out one of the books I ordered – Get Your Shit Together by Sarah Knight. I just started reading it on Monday evening and am in the first chapter (the chapters are quite long). So far Sarah compares people to the Three Chipmunks – Alvin, Simon and Theodore and what their faults are and how people who are guilty of them can do to fix their lives. To get our lives and shit together we have to strategize, focus and commit. To get our lives and shit together we have to strategize, focus and commit. She also talks about strategy, commitment and focusing. And that these are linked to the most important things that we need - keys, cell phone and wallet.
On the 22nd I went to Stop & Shop for lunch provisions and when I got out of the car, my mask broke. Luckily, I had another one in the console. After lunch I went with Eileen for a walk to Wing School but took Wallace Street instead of James Street back home. After the walk I drove to the North House to print pictures for Eileen. And there were other things to do like gassing up the CR-V and mailing a bill. After I printed the pictures I drove to the Brentwood Shell but their computer system was down and I could not get the $0.80 Stop & Shop discount until they rebooted. It would take at least 5 minutes to finish so I went to the East Islip station, after stopping in the Islip Terrace post office. At the Shell station I filled up the tank and got my $0.80 discount and bought a Kinder Joy egg filled with yogurt and a pearl diving Minion critter, that I put into the CR-V. I also went to the main house for coffee. I am still reading Get Your Shit Together and in chapter 2 Sarah tells us to manage time by avoiding procrastination and using prioritization. She says to list the things to do today and put the most important on the priority list. I finished chapter 2 on Thursday. Sarah talked about managing money and prioritizing your tasks. After lunch Eileen and I went for a walk along our usual route and nothing special happened. After we got home I drove to the West Islip Verizon store to get myself an Apple iPhone and ended up buying an Apple iPhone SE 2020. Now I am trying to learn how it works. After I bought the phone I came back to Islip and stopped at the North House to print 6 pictures for Eileen, and then went to the post office. The next stop was the firehouse for coffee and to use the computer. I also participated in the St. John’s University book club on the Internet through e/mail. They were talking about The Power of Habit. I contributed by talking about the last chapter where a women ruined her life by gambling, and that she unsuccessfully tried to sue the casinos for preying on her addiction. I told them that we are responsible for our choices, Casinos, tobacco companies, and makers of alcohol can advertise all they want, but it is our choice to abuse their products. On Friday I was up from habit and still trying to figure out how to work my iPhone. After breakfast I drove to East Islip Stop & Shop for the main shopping trip. On the way to the store my cousin phoned me to tell me that our uncle passed away. The 3 of us will have to go to the wake and funeral. After lunch I went back to the Verizon Store in West Islip and asked for help. Why was I not getting to my desktop? It turns out that I was pushing the home button at the bottom of the phone too hard. Once that was fixed I was able to adjust my settings. And thanks to videos it was not too hard. After that I came back to Islip and first stopped at the North House to print pictures for Eileen and then went to the main house for coffee and to use the computer. I was there for a while and then decided to come home and finish with the settings on the new iPhone. I started chapter 3 of Get Your Shit Together. It says that there are relationships and responsibilities, and we have to maintain these relationships. On Saturday, the 25th Eileen and I went for our usual walk and we got to talk with the lady with the pug mixes and when we got back I headed to the Islip Library to pick up the Eric Clapton Slowhand CD that I ordered. After the 4:30 Mass at St. Mary’s we had a cookout but ate in.
The next day after lunch I went to the firehouse to print some photos of soap opera stars for Eileen, and also a flow chart from Get Your Shit Together and the Rescue Squad’s treasurer’s report for me. After I dropped the papers off at home, I headed up to Kings Park for a walk and photo op. After parking at the firehouse, I walked down Main Street to Pulaski Road and took shots of the union office with the ad for security guard jobs, a handwritten sign in another shop about sheepdogs (us) taking care of sheep (others) and voting bad political leaders out. Then I walked back to the car and drove up Old Dock Road (actually a continuation of Pulaski Road north of Route 25A) to the Nissequogue River State Park - where the Nissequogue River empties into the Long Island Sound. This was also another photo op. After that I drove back to the village and then headed home. I read more of chapter 3 (Tough Shit) and got to page 183. Sarah talks about financial matters and trying to get ahead at work. And deaths still come in threes. On Saturday I learned that TV personality Regis Philbin and British guitar great Peter Green passed away. Then on Sunday I learned that Olivia de Haviland passed away at the age of 104. She was the last major cast member from Gone with the Wind. RIP to all three.
Besides getting used to my iPhone, on Tuesday the 28th we all went up to Avon, Connecticut for my uncle’s funeral (he was my mom’s brother). It took us about 3 hours to get to our hotel and then we headed to the Carmon Funeral Home. I got to give my condolences to my aunt and my cousin, and also got to talk with several of my relatives, as well as my aunt’s family members. After the wake, the 3 of us went to a restaurant called Max a Mia in another part of Avon. We ate outside under a tent and it was humid. I ordered a pizza and while it was good, it is not like what we get here on the Island. The next day we returned to the funeral parlor for the service, and then we went in a procession to the State Veterans Cemetery in Middletown for the burial. I managed to take several photos with my iPhone and uploaded then to Google Photos and my hard drive. Then most of us went to a nice lunch at Abigail’s Grille in Weatogue (a part of Simsbury). Ellen, Eileen and I left at around 5:45 and got home at around 8:25. It was good to see family but I wish that it were under better circumstances. On the 30th I finished Part 3 (titled Tough Shit) of Get Your Shit Together and this last part talks about taking care of your health and happiness: have a sound mind and body, organize tasks, and make yourself happy. Later on in the evening I finished the book. Part 4 (Deep Shit) says fear of failure is a major reason that we don’t have our shit together. As is perfectionism.
I ended July by beginning to read The Bright Lands by John Fram. I only got through the first chapters, which are designated by people's names. Joel Whitley has fled Bentley TX because he is gay and Bentley is ultra-conservative. His younger brother is in high school and is the star quarterback for the Bentley High School Bison.
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I started August with visits to the Growers Market and Taco Bell and ran into people with no masks in both places. At home I read more of The Bright Lands. Joel is back in Bentley and meets up with other people he knew before he left. After the Friday night football game his brother Dylan heads off with his girlfriend Bethany for a weekend trip. And on Saturday morning Joel and the family members are worried as to where Dylan is, since he did not come home. Joel checks out Dylan's room and finds a Movado watch and oxycodone. He also inquired from others about what they know about Dylan.
As with the prior months, Eileen and I have been going on walks to the Wing school along our usual route. Since the 1st was a Saturday, I went to the 4:30 Mass at St. Mary’s and on the way back I stopped by Town Hall to check out the cars on display. I managed to photograph 3 cars with my iPhone: a modified 1937 Ford sedan, a 1932 Ford roadster hot rod, and a 1933 Ford pickup.
Not much else really happened until the 4th when I went to the barbershop, Universal Cuts, on Islip Avenue in the mid-morning. Hopefully no more bad hair days for a while. When I got home, Ellen asked me to go to Stop & Shop for lunch provisions. On the way to the store and while I was inside, the rain and high winds from tropical storm Isaias hit Islip. I did not need an umbrella because with the winds, it would have been useless. I was able to visit the deli counter and a few other spots and (and treated myself to another Kinder Joy egg – with a Minion photographer figurine. He will go into the console in the CR-V with the diver Minion. When I got back and had lunch and listened to the branches coming down and the winds howling. No big branches fell on our property but there are a lot of small ones scattered around. When I came home from shopping I read more of The Bright Lands and reached page 111. Dylan is found dead by a creek on the Evers property, and Deputy Clark and Investigator Mayfield go to the high school and question KT Staler and Jamal Reynolds. On Facebook I learned that Lori is closing down her Nook & Cranny Gift Store. I am very upset as are quite a few other residents of Islip.
The next day I cleaned out a good part of the debris in the front yard and raked what is on the patio onto the grass so the landscaper can pick it up with his mowing machine next week. During the late morning I got to watch the last part of an exhibition basketball game from France: Strasbourg Illkirch-Graffenstaden Basket against Holon. Holon won by about 6 points. I kind of wanted SIG Strasbourg to win since I would probably like the city. After lunch Eileen and I went for a walk along our usual route and then I drove to the firehouse for coffee and to use the computer. Since Lori is closing Nook & Cranny, I walked over to the store to see if there is anything that I could get for Eileen, Ellen or me. I did see some cloth balls with faces on them. When I was going to pay for it, Lori said that I could have it, since it was for Eileen. That is now Beanie Baby #83 – and we named him Snowball. I also read more of The Bright Lands and Clark and Mayfield drive to the coast and look at the house they were supposed to have stayed in. It was too decrepit for any habitation so they suspect that the boys were lying.
On the 6th I read more of The Bright Lands, up to page 138. Clark and Mayfield interview Brittany about the prior weekend. However, since I had joined the St. John’s University Book Club, we all voted on another book, titled Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson with. They wanted the members to acquire the book by August 6th (which I did) and have the introduction and the first three chapters read by August 20th. I did start to read Just Mercy and am at the introduction, titled Higher Ground. Here Byron introduces himself and describes his going to Harvard law School, and then going to Georgia to help death row inmates who have no access to lawyers. I will put The Bright Lands on the back burner and return to it when I am finished with Just Mercy by October 1st and the club has its discussions.
On Friday I read more of Just Mercy. When he was a law school student Bryan went to the Georgia prison and met the prisoner, Henry. He promised that he would get him a competent lawyer and have him released. The guard was not too happy with the fact that he stayed with Henry for 3 hours instead of one, and he was a bit rough on him when cuffing him again. Bryan describes his growing up on the Delmarva Peninsula (Milton DE) and how his parents worked in chicken plants and at Dover AFB. Bryan also talks about how much the country spends on incarcerating people. And the for profit prisons who have so much to gain by having people sent to prison. In chapter 1, title Mockingbird, he relates how Judge Robert E. Lee Key called him about a prisoner on death row in Alabama named Walter McMillian. Judge Key told Bryan that he was wasting his time trying to help Walter. Bryan then talks about his going to the prison to meet with him. And that Walter is from Monroe County, the same county that Harper Lee is from.
On Friday Eileen and I went on a walk along our usual route, but once we got to Wingan Hauppauge Road, I let her lead us home which she did successfully. When we got home, I then went to the firehouse for coffee and to use the computer. When I was checking my Google e/mail I checked out one from Google, talking about a website that I had first created in 2013 and never developed further. So I decided why not develop it now. It’s a mini-biography of South Shore Billy, told in the 3rd person. Here is the URL https://sites.google.com/site/southshorebilly/home.
On Saturday the 8th I went to the Growers Market in the morning .and I got corn and tomatoes at the Terry’s Farm stand, and then bread and croissants at the bakery stand. Later in the afternoon I helped Ellen with pulling weeds and discarding debris from the winds Tropical Storm Isaias brought us. Since I did yard work in the afternoon, I was not able to go to the 4:30 Mass at St. Mary’s. But I did make it on Sunday morning at 9:30. In fact, I had not been to St. Mary’s on Sunday morning that I did not know that the second Sunday morning Mass was at 9:30 and not 9:00. Since I did not go to church on Saturday afternoon, after I finished the yard work I drove to the Town Hall parking lot where I got to photograph a 1934 Ford pickup and two shots of a 1937 Plymouth. One of them showed the NRA (National Recovery Act) sticker and the gasoline priority sticker in the windows.
I read more of Just Mercy and in the Mockingbird Stories (chapter 1) he describes Walter McMillian’s life as a sharecropper, limited education since he was more valuable in the fields than in school, and then his relative success as a lumber businessman. But he cannot get too successful because the white Alabamans would be quite angry. Walter had a wife and children but is also a womanizer. On Saturday the 8th I finished the first chapter. Walter was having a relationship with a young white woman named Karen Kelly, who was having trouble with her marriage. There would be a custody battle for the children. The chapter also talked about some white women who were murdered but they could never find the killers. It was the worst evil for a black man to have a relationship with a white woman. Then an inept sheriff from the neighboring county is starting to investigate the murders.
On Sunday afternoon after Mass and breakfast Eileen wanted to go for a walk, and I suggested that we going someplace else besides Wing School and Greenview Village. She mentioned a Beanie Babies so I said, why not Babylon where we can stop at Roe Roe’s Sweet Street. She agreed and we drove our usual route to the Municipal Lot and walked along Main Street to Carll Avenue, stopping in front of my favorite Babylon eatery - Fancy Lee Asian Fusion to take 2 photos (it is now back open for business) and then heading to Prospect Street where we admired the interesting architecture, and ended at our other Babylon favorite, Roe Roe’s Sweet Street. We walked back to Fire Island Avenue, and then back to Main Street to go to Roe Roe’s. Eileen raced to the counter and the gelato stand. We tasted some samples and then ordered small birthday cake flavored gelato for each of us. The masks presented a problem so we stood in a far corner away from everyone but Rosanne the owner asked if we could go outside since there is a bench there for us. I naturally obliged and we finished out there. Eileen had picked out Beanie Baby #84 – a dog in a pilot outfit named Skye. When we finished our gelato we went back inside and paid for everything. It came to $15.09 and I paid for it with my Chase debit card. We then said goodbye and walked back to the Municipal Lot along Deer Park Avenue. Once we got back into the car we headed back home along Route 231 and the Southern State Parkway.
Monday August 10th is a special anniversary for Ellen and me. In was on this day in 1984 that we moved into our house in Islip. That means both Ellen and I have lived at this house (36 years) longer that all of the other places that we each lived in combined. Eileen was not born until 5½ years later in 1990, so this is the only home that she has ever known.
On Tuesday (the 11th) and Wednesday (the 12th) I read more of Just Mercy, to chapter 2 titled Stand (after a Sly & the Family Stone song). Bryan went to Gadsden AL to investigate young black men incarcerated for traffic violations, and the fact that someone called the police on him when he arrived home to his apartment in Atlanta. He also met an elderly man at a church who told him to continue to fight for social justice. In chapter 3 (Trials and Tribulation) Walter McMillian is arrested on sodomy charges and then framed for murder on false charges. By the end of chapter 3 Walter is framed and taken to death row at the Holman Prison. At his trial in August 1988 an all-white jury convicts of murder despite illogical testimony.
After breakfast on Wednesday I watched channel 599 (the Cars Network) which featured a car show from Monterrey CA with Italian cars exclusively. After the show I wanted to check some Italian car manufacturers. I would love to own one, but they are either too expensive (Ferrari, Maserati, ALFA Romeo, or Lancia) or too small (Fiat). Later on I went to the North House to try and print pictures for Eileen. The Google Chrome browser took a while to open and Internet Explorer sucks. I finally got Chrome to download and tried to print the pictures. Only two came out satisfactorily because the printer is out of toner there. When I got home Eileen and I did go for a walk along the usual route – and it was hot and humid. After our walk I went to the firehouse for coffee and to use the computer. There was a motor vehicle accident on Commack Road but I stayed behind. Since the ready room is still being renovated I then went upstairs to watch the Islanders – Capitals game on TV and stayed for the first period. Then I headed home and listened to part of it on 1050 WEPN -AM radio in the car and watched the rest of the game at home. The Islanders came from behind in the 3rd period to win 4-2. I also watched part of the Mets – Nationals game and the Mets won 11-6.
On Thursday afternoon Ellen headed to Mary’s Manor in Inwood to meet her cousin so that they could clean out their cousin’s apartment there. She had moved to the nursing home in Far Rockaway in December 2019 and now the apartment in the assisted living facility has to be cleared out. Eileen and I could not join them so we headed to Oconee Diner where we ate inside in a booth instead of outside under a canopy. We wanted to get away from the humidity. We split a shrimp salad wrap and we each had a cup of matzo ball soup and a glass of iced tea. I paid for it ($29.87) with a debit card. Then we drove over to Nook & Cranny to participate in Lori’s liquidation sale. Eileen ended up with a Beanie Baby – Rocco the Raccoon - #85 in her collection. I got us a coffee cup saying, “home sweet home”. After I paid for the items we headed to Lindenhurst to check out the small railroad museum on Broadway in a small park called Irmisch Historical Park. When we stopped for a light in front of Babylon Town Hall someone in a Chevy SUV rear ended us. Luckily, I only hit the headrest, Eileen is OK, and we got a scratch on the rear bumper. I still took insurance info just in case. Then we headed to Irmisch Historical Park for a photo op of the caboose, stations house, freight house, and a third building outside the fence. It looks like graffiti “artists” had gotten to the caboose. We then headed home where I uploaded the pix to Facebook and the two Google Photos sites.
On Saturday the 15th I went to the Growers Market and got the usual stuff and later on there were some more errands and eventually went to Taco Bell to get a cheap lunch ($4.35) for Eileen and me. After lunch Eileen and I went for a walk to the Wing School. There was another garage sale at and the house we stopped earlier this month and we stopped there again. Eileen got herself a Christmas figure of one of the 101 Dalmatians pups and I got a pack of baseball cards – 1989 Topps. We altered our route a bit by going along Wallace Street instead of James Street on the way home. I went to the 4:30 Mass for Sunday and after Mass I stopped at the Town Hall Parking lot to take a photo of a 1939 Ford 2 door sedan. And since it was a Saturday that usually means a cookout. When I got home I started the fire for the cookout, but the charcoal is not igniting. I ended up putting a burger and 2 sausages into the microwave to finish cooking.
On Sunday I was up kind of late for me - 9:45 - but learned that we were without power since there was a storm last night and wires were down by Tex Court. Luckily, PSEG (Public Service Gas & Electric) crews were there working on the problem. I later went to the firehouse for coffee to watch some TV: the Mets and the Islanders. The Isles went into overtime against the Capitals and won 2-1, and the Mets eventually lost to the phillies 6-2. When I came home I watched the WNBA and Seattle neat Connecticut 95-72. I started chapter 4 of Just Mercy and Bryan set up an office in Montgomery to try and help death row inmates. But the state is not eager to help him. And Alabama is now the only state to allow a judge to overrule a jury’s verdict.
On Monday the 17th I finished chapter 4 of Just Mercy. Bryan tried unsuccessfully to stop the executions of three death row inmates: Horace, Dunkins, Michael Lindsey, and Herbert Richardson. Herbert was a Vietnam Veteran who followed a VA hospital nurse down to Dothan because he was smitten with her and concocted a plan to win her by having a bomb explode on her porch and he would rescue her. But it exploded when her niece picked it up, killing her. Because Herbert was a black Northerner, the case became a capital one. Bryan tried to get a stay of execution for Herbert, but no lick. At Herbert’s execution in August 1989, the hymn, “The Old Rugged Cross” was played – hence the chapter’s title. On Wednesday I started to read chapter 5 (On the Coming of John) of Just Mercy and while Walter McMillian is on death row, Bryan visits his family at their home and tries to confirm that Walter was nowhere near the cleaners. The next day, before I went to the Census Bureau, I finished chapter 5. Bryan got Darnell Houston released after being falsely jailed for perjury. He also spoke with the new district attorney Tom Chapman in hopes of getting Walter a new trial. He also filed an appeal to get Walter a new trial and then started to work on the brief that he had to present.
On Tuesday after Eileen and I went for a walk, I headed out to Farmingville to try for a photo op at Bald Hill – the Vietnam Veterans Memorial on County Road 83. So I headed east on Sunrise Highway to exit 52A and got onto Patchogue – Mt. Sinai Road (CR 83) but got off at the wrong exit and had to get back onto the county road. I made it to the memorial site and managed to take 8 photos of the obelisk and the park grounds. Then I headed home but first stopped at the 7-11 on Mount Sinai Road & Horseblock Road for a cup of coffee. Using my 7-11 app gave me a discount. Once I was home I uploaded the pix onto Google Photos and Facebook.
Since my neck and sinuses were still killing me, on Wednesday I went to Northwell Urgent Care at 2 PM. The physician’s assistant agreed that it may be stress, clogged ears & nose and probably inhaling some slightly toxic gas somewhere. Some medications were prescribed for me and I picked them up at the Islip Pharmacy. On Thursday, the 21st I was up a bit early since I had to be at the Census Bureau office over in Bay Shore by 11 am. Once there I got sworn in and given some materials that I will need as an enumerator, including an iPhone and got orientated by a man who is a member of the Manorville FD and also a Vietnam Era veteran like me. The sessions were over by 1 pm and I headed home for lunch. After lunch, Eileen and I went for a walk along our usual route and after we got home I went to the post office to mail some bills and then walked to Chase Bank to return some documents that I needed for the Census Bureau back to the vault. After watching some of the Yankees – Rays game at the firehouse I drove to Modell’s in Bay Shore to check out some bargains and treated myself to a New York Islanders shirt for $4.17. And in the evening, the Islanders beat the Capitals 4-0 to advance to the next round. I later headed to the library to pick up two CD’s- the Yardbirds and the Animals. As I was going back to the car I saw a lady put some mail into the mailbox by the library and I joked about trump and dejoy and their efforts to sabotage the USPS and the election. It turns out that she and her husband are also against trump. And we couldn't believe how stupid the people in the USA are, and how they were conned. It turns out that I know the lady from Facebook. On Thursday I finished chapter 5 of Just Mercy. Bryan got Darnell Houston released after being falsely jailed for perjury. He also spoke with the new district attorney Tom Chapman in hopes of getting Walter a new trial. He also filed an appeal to get Walter a new trial and then started to work on the brief that he had to present.
On Friday I went to the supermarket for the main shopping trip. Not long after I got home Ellen headed to Mary’s Manor to help her cousin Bob work on clearing out their cousin Charlotte’s apartment at Mary’s Manor in Inwood so I watched Eileen. We did our usual walk and then just relaxed around the house. In the evening I finished the first few modules on Census Bureau training. The session lasted 2½ hours.
On Saturday morning I went to the Growers Market for the usual purchases and later got lunch from Taco Bell. After lunch Eileen and I went for a walk along our usual route. Later in the afternoon I went to my fire company meeting at the captain’s house in Islip Terrace. Before the meeting I read chapter 6 of Just Mercy, titled Surely Doomed. Here Bryan goes back to Alabama after a grandmother calls him to say that her 14 year old grandson Charlie is in jail for murder. He had shot killed his mom’s boyfriend George who abused his mom and also mistreated him. George was a police officer and that did not sit well with the judge. Charlie was tried and convicted as an adult and sent to an adult jail where he was raped and beaten. He would not open up to Bryan due to PTSD. Later a white couple, Mr. & Mrs. Jennings from the Birmingham area. They took to Charlie and helped him and became his family. Mrs. Jennings said that we are “surely doomed” if we don’t help others.
Since I went to my fire company meeting on Saturday (the August company meeting has been held at a company officer’s house for the past several years) I did not go to the 4:30 Mass on Saturday afternoon, but instead on Sunday morning at 9:30. In the afternoon Eileen and I went for a walk, but not along our usual route. We drove to my American Legion post and parked there and then walked along Main Street to Nook & Cranny and said hello to the owner. Eileen hinted that she wanted to visit Sugared Up across the street so that is where we headed. The owner’s dad is in my fire company and I spoke with him the prior evening about how local businesses are hurting and I promised him that we would stop by on Sunday and give them some business. Eileen got Beanie Baby #86, a lion zipper pull named Regal, and we split a small bag of gummi candy. We then walked back to the Post and headed home. For dinner Ellen and I contacted Babylon Burger and ordered three lobster roll/BLT wraps for take-out. I drove over to the Village and picked them up. After Ellen and Eileen went to bed, I hit our computer and did some more training for the Census Bureau. On the New York sports front, the Brooklyn Nets got eliminated by the Toronto Raptors in 4 games, so it’s “wait ‘til next year” again in Brooklyn.
On Monday (23rd) and Tuesday (24th) Eileen and I went for a walk along our usual route. Around 6:45 on Monday I headed to the Chapey Funeral Home for the wake of a past post commander. The Post conducted a service for him, and I joined other Legionnaires in marching in and out of the chapel to salute his casket. Around 12:45 am on the 25th I did an hour more of training for the Census Bureau. When the actual 25th workday started I went to Stop & Shop for lunch provisions and after lunch headed to the bank to deposit a check for Eileen’s account. When I got home I updated the Just Mercy book report by adding chapter 7 (Justice Denied). Here Bryan gets an assistant named Michael O’Connor and they go visit Karen Kelly & Ralph Myers in their prisons, and Vicki Pittman’s twin aunts. Myers said that he was forced to falsely testify against Walter by Sheriff Tate. They also talk with Tate and DA Chapman about getting the files from Walter’s case as well as the Pittman murder case.
On Wednesday I stopped over at St. Mary’s to amend my life and then went to the firehouse for coffee and to talk with two of the older members. When I got home, I finished two more modules in the census training and have one more to go. There was a mutual aid fire call to Brentwood for a food truck on fire. I did not make any apparatus but did get the point for showing up. After lunch Eileen and I went for a walk along our usual route and when we came back I was able to get her to come with me to the Sisters of St. Joseph Maria Regina Convent in Brentwood. We walked around the grounds and took several photos. I also talked for a couple of minutes with one of the Sisters who had some pet cats. I also read chapter 8 of Just Mercy and Bryan talked about three recent teens who were sentenced to life without parole (Trina Garnett, Ian Manuel, and Antonio Nuñez) at the time of their offenses, and also talked about the 1945 execution of 14 year old George Stinney Jr. in South Carolina.
On Thursdays Eileen and I, along with Ellen sometimes, go out for lunch. On the 27th Eileen and I decided to go out to a diner, especially one we have not been to. I checked the Internet and decided on the Infinity Diner on Route 109. We headed west on Sunrise Highway and then northwest on Route 109. But with the angle of the road and the fact that the sign is not that visible, we rode past it. I thought about going to Amityville or Lindenhurst when we headed south on Route 110. But we got onto the Southern State to Route 109 and headed southeast. This time we were able to spot the diner on the opposite side and then made the U-turn. We soon were inside and the hostess brought us to a booth. While I did not bring my camera, I used the cell phone to take 5 photos altogether. As for lunch we each had iced tea, a cup of soup and shared a gyro platter. Then we headed along Straight Path to the Southern State to the East Islip Stop & Shop where I redeemed $1.75 in bottles and used it towards a Women’s Health magazine for Eileen. Once we came home Eileen and I went for a walk along our usual route.
During the main shopping trip to Stop & Shop on Friday the 28th I picked up another Kinder Joy egg, and this one also had a Minion scuba diver. Since it is a duplicate I gave it to Eileen. But it turns out that Ellen tossed out the Minion so I decided to go to the trash can and retrieved it and put it into the car console with the others. After lunch I headed to the Verizon store in West Islip to see what I was doing wrong since I could not download the Group-Me and Google apps. It turns out that I was using the wrong method, but the technician showed me how to get started and now I have those 2 apps on my iPhone. On the way back from West Islip the odometer on the CR-V hit 40,000 miles – on the Robert Moses Causeway between Montauk Highway and the LIRR overpass (sadly, not far from where a member of the Islip Fire Department had a fatal car accident) in 1995.
My friend Charlie e/mailed me on Friday telling me that he has a very enlarged prostate that it blocked his bladder. On Tuesday (September 1st) he is having Holmium Laser Enucleation of the Prostate and will spend a night in the hospital. As for me, I was quite a bit under the weather with stiff neck and pains in my sinuses. As of today (August 29th) I am feeling a bit better. My Yahoo e/mail had a notice from author Gretchen Rubin where she recommended a New York 1940 website https://1940s.nyc/map#13.69/40.7093/-73.99397. It shows all of the buildings in the 5 boroughs in 1940 based on the tax lot. Judging from what I saw, I think that 1940 NYC was a lot better place to live in than what we have now.
Sadly, on Saturday I learned that cancer took two prominent and talented people from us. The first was actor Chadwick Boseman passed away from colon cancer at 43 years old. I saw him in 42 and Black Panther and he was excellent. RIP, Chadwick. Then I saw that a writer from Greenville MS – Julia Reed – also passed away from cancer at the age of 59. She was a prominent writer for Garden and Gun magazine and wrote several books. Here death was described There were links to the Delta Democrat Times from Greenville so I opted to get news notices from the paper to learn what is happening in the birthplace of the blues. RIP Julia.
On Saturday morning I drove over to the Babylon American Legion post to get a grab & go breakfast, courtesy of State Senator Phil Boyle. It was a nice sized blueberry muffin, OJ, granola bar, and banana. I took it to the firehouse and ate everything except the banana, which I gave to Ellen. After breakfast I went to the Grower’s Market for the usual stuff. On the baseball front, I saw that the Mets beat the Yankees yesterday in a double header on Friday and on Saturday morning I watch part of a Korean Baseball Organization game – the NC Dinos against the SK Wyverns, 9-5. In the evening I had a capstone telephone with the Census Bureau to discuss training. I will start the enumerator position this Thursday (September 3rd). It will be hard to get back to working after enjoying retirement for 8 months.
I ended August by calling the Northwell Health practice at 260 Main Street and made an appointment for a visit there on September 8th at 2 pm. This doctor will be my new internist since both my original internist and I were based in Manhattan before we both retired. I went over to Nook & Cranny and said hello to the current owner Lori as well as the former owner, Arlene, who was surprised to see how Eileen has grown since she last saw Eileen as a toddler. Later on I watched a special on Channel 13 about Fred Rogers. Sadly, #3 of the famous deaths came today with retired Georgetown Basketball coach John Thompson Jr. RIP Coach. I am worried on who will be #4. I see that trump is still got a hold on stupid gullible people around the country and will bring us further down the path of destruction if he wins in November. But the tin heads cannot see what he is doing to the country.
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I started September by finishing some more training with the Census Bureau and should be starting as an enumerator this Thursday. After lunch, the 3 of us headed to Mary’s Manor in Inwood to take out some of Ellen’s cousin’s dolls, stuffed animals and holiday decorations that she had accumulated over the years and which we will donate to the Vietnam Veterans of America. Before we left I finished chapter 9 of Just Mercy (I’m Here is the title after a quote from a woman who was at the Selma March of 1965). In this chapter Walter gets a new hearing even though the judge and the prosecutor are not happy with that. Several witnesses recanted their false testimonies from the trial that resulted in Walter’s death sentence.
I picked up two CD’s from the library that I ordered – Grand Funk Live and Eric Burdon & the Animals 1964-1968. I started with the Animals and really like their work through 1966. After that Eric got into psychedelic music and while it was good, it could not compare to the blues of the earlier years. I also managed to enjoy videos of the 1939 hit You Crazy Moon, one version was sung by Bob Crosby another version was by Bea Wain. Both are good, but I liked Bea’s version better. Yes, the music of the Big Band Era was great.
Ellen went to Mary’s Manor to help her cousin Bob clean out the rest of the stuff in their cousin Charlotte’s former apartment. Among the items were a filing cabinet and a card table. Ellen and I will keep those since Charlotte won’t need them at the nursing home. But on Thursday the 3rd we all went to the nursing home in Far Rockaway to deliver three bags of clothing to Charlotte from her former apartment.
I read chapter 10 of Just Mercy (titled Mitigations) in which Bryan talks about the number of mentally ill people who are incarcerated and how that is causing problems for the prisoners as well as the prison staff. He described two mentally ill prisoners – George Daniel and Avery Jenkins who were sentenced to death but he worked to have them taken off death row and placed in mental institutions.
Then it looks like our dishwasher is on the fritz because screws fell out of sockets that held some parts together, and I tried to replace them and they don’t stay in. It looks like a call to Plesser is in the cards for a new one.
On Saturday the 5th on my iPhone I added apps for Penn State and Syracuse Universities’ sports. I had some from the New York City subways but their printing get jumbled and one was out of date: no 2nd Avenue addition and the M train was not going along 6th Avenue and Queens Boulevard to Forest Hills. I deleted that one.
On Sunday over the Labor Day weekend I went to the firehouse for coffee and the computer and then headed over to St. Mary’s for the 9:30 Mass, as I did not get a chance to go on Saturday afternoon. Just before 1 PM Eileen and I walked over to the Rusy Bohm Post for the annual picnic in the early afternoon and Ellen drove over and met us there. It was good to see the people from both the Post and the Auxiliary. Eileen and I enjoyed some typical picnic goodies. Unfortunately, Ellen does not like dark meat chicken so we brought that home with us to have for lunch later. One of the past commanders had been cleaning out his house and asked me if I would like some Mets memorabilia. I naturally said yes and came home with some yearbooks, and programs, as well as pictures.
I started to read chapter 11 of Just Mercy titled I’ll Fly Away. The judge from Baldwin County (John Norton) said that Ralph Myers did not perjure himself in the Walter McMillian trial and would not accept any more evidence. Bryan and his staff have received death threats for their work in defending Black people. The media still insists that Walter is guilty and a dangerous man, even publishing false stories about him. The chapter also says that the state of Alabama had used libel as a means to stop civil rights people and also the media, goes back to Governor Patterson, until the Sullivan vs. the New York Times Supreme Court case of the 1960’s.
On Saturday the 4th I went to Taco Bell to get lunch for Eileen and me. On the way out of the property I almost had a head on collision in the parking lot thanks to someone going against the one way traffic direction, and when I was turning onto Montauk Highway, I saw a schmuck in a BMW make a left onto Montauk Highway despite signs saying not to. There are no "No Entry" signs at the exit but the pavement is painted in arrows showing only one way to go. We seem to be producing stupid people who cannot read or interpret signs.
On the morning of the 8th I went to the firehouse for coffee and while there the ready room had fox noise on and it featured a speech by Joe Biden. One of trump worshiping members told the TV set to shut up because Joe did not know what he was talking about and insisted that trump is the greatest president and is doing a great job. Fox noise also had kealey mc-a-loony who kept praising trump. She is so fill of shit that the whites of her eyes turned brown. After coffee I headed over to the Rusy Bohm Post to help with the cleanup detail from the Sunday picnic. I sanitized 72 chairs that were outside for the picnic, and before I left to go home, I walked across Nassau Avenue over to the fire marshal’s office to drop off an envelope that had a check and letter. While there I said hello to a former Islip Fire Department member who had moved to East Islip. After lunch I went to the internist at 260 Main Street. The medical assistant took my blood pressure and ran an EKG which turned out well. After the doctor's visit I also went to the post office, the ATM at Chase Bank, and lastly Sugared Up and got a smiley face zipper pull that I put onto my EBG knapsack. The next day before I had coffee at the firehouse I stopped at the Northwell Health blood labs in Bay Shore to have blood drawn for tests against several possible illnesses. As of the 10th the jury is still out on how healthy I really am.
I also finished chapter 11 of Just Mercy. Bryan speaks with two members of the Alabama Bureau of Investigation who said that Walter could not have done the crime he was sentenced for. The Court of Criminal Appeals dismissed the conviction. And a new judge (Norton had retired) convened the court for a hearing and had Walter released from prison. Since the air was still tense in Monroeville – white people don’t like to admit that they are wrong with respect to blacks – Walter went to a hotel in Montgomery to stay for a while.
On Labor Day there was a trump boat rally in Lake Travis in Austin TX. The big boats did not follow safety and protocol and created huge wakes that swamped the smaller ones. Luckily, there were no fatalities but the trump people do look bad here. Trump is still disparaging veterans and military people. I cannot understand how people still believe in him. Maybe they don’t want to believe that they were conned. On Group Me I saw a poster that another Islip Fire Department member put up there about the people that Hillary, Joe Biden and President have no good words for (racists, deplorables), trump calls them Americans. So a real American hates immigrants and non-whites, gays, education, Muslims and other non-Christian religions, hates public transportation, loves gas guzzling pickup trucks, and treats women like shit.
Eileen and I have been checking out the diners in Suffolk County and trying to patronize them before any more shut down (one did in 2019 a few weeks after we went there). On Saturday the 12th we went to Peter’s Diner at 269 Broadway in Amityville. I used to see it every time I rode through Amityville on the LIRR, and also walked near it when I visited Cameta Camera, so I had to check it out. We each had iced tea and a bowl of seafood bisque, and then we split a grilled chicken wrap. We then crossed Broadway (Route 110) to visit Cameta Camera to about exchanging Eileen’s Olympus Camera for an easier to work Nikon or Canon Point & Shoot. But that would not happen since Cameta closed earlier this year. The owner retired and nobody else was willing to take it over. After that we headed back to Islip to check out some of the stores on Main Street that are closing or clinging to life. We parked in the firehouse lot and walked to Nook & Cranny but despite the 50% discounts, Lori had nothing that we could use. We then walked to Altamira and got a bar of handmade soap for the 3 of us and Eileen got a bobcat finger puppet that she named Bob. He is #87 in her Beanie Baby collection. We then walked to Sugared Up where we each had a small cup of ice cream before going back to the car and home. When we got home I uploaded the photos from Peter’s Diner and then I went to St. Mary’s. In the evening we had a cookout, but ate indoors.
I have been adding to my collection of Kinder Joy friends. After I gassed up the CR-V at East Islip Shell on Sunday the 13th, I got an egg with a cartoon type dog, which I put into the console. Then on Tuesday I went to East Islip Stop & Shop to get chili peppers and also another Kinder Joy egg. This one had the pearl diving Minion and since it’s a triplicate, I put him into the door handle with an octopus. As for the Minions, I downloaded their app onto my iPhone so I can be entertained. I learned that the Islip Library has been open for business since the 13th when I dropped off the Eric Burdon & the Animals CD.
In chapter 12 of Just Mercy (titled Mother, Mother) Bryan talks about mothers who are arrested and often sentenced to death for the deaths of newborns, even if still born. He described how in Alabama the sate used flimsy evidence to convict one woman of murdering her 7th child Timothy after it was born, already dead, while she was taking a bath. In Chapter 13, titled Recovery, Bryan tried to get Walter compensation for his wrongful conviction and incarceration. But no go. Bryan was awarded the Olaf Plame International Human Rights Award by Sweden and went to Stockholm to receive it. A Swedish television crew went to Alabama to interview Walter, who started a new business (junk cars) after being injured by a log at his prior trade. He broke down and cried when interviewed.
On Tuesday the 15th Ellen went to Plainview for an eye examination and that meant I watched Eileen. Sine I had to go to work in the afternoon we stayed at home and I watched television, and I saw that trump brokered a peace deal between Israel and the United Arab Emirates. Actually he just hosted it at the White House. I still worry that his followers will still cause him to be reelected. Still worried about the stupidity of so many Americans who think that trump is still our savior.
On September 16 it was my turn to go to the Long Island Optical Office in Hicksville. My eyes were examined and I have a bit of glaucoma, but otherwise I don’t need new glasses. When I got back home I had lunch and then did some errands before I went to the newly reopened Islip Library and was the first customer to use the rebuilt parking lot! Inside I took out a CD by a singer/guitarist from Kenya, J. S. Ondara, who was inspired by Bob Dylan. I did get to use the computer, but I first had to register and only had it for 30 minutes. When I came home Eileen and I went for a walk along the usual route and after that I updated the Just Mercy book report through chapter 13. I started to chapter 14 (Cruel and Unusual) while at the eye doctor. It tells about 13 year old Joe Sullivan was indicted for robbery and sexual assault in Pensacola. He was with two other boys who got off relatively easy. Joe was tired as an adult and sentenced to prison where he was raped and beaten. But there was no positive that he committed the sexual assault.
On Thursday the 17th I was on the way to one census case in North Bay Shore where I stopped at the 7-11 and got a small coffee with ½ and ½ with Mocha cream and got another Kinder Joy egg. This one had an iguana on waves. I put it in the console to the CR-V. While in the 7-11 I tasted my coffee after pulling my mask down. Then I went to the counter to pay, I realized that I lowered my mask when I got back into the car! In the evening my friend Charlie and his wife Debbie, and also Ellen and I, had a Zoom meeting from 7 PM until 9:37 PM. I thought that it would only be around an hour so I could go to the American Legion meeting. I texted the Post Commander to tell him what happened and sked if I could be excused. Charlie suggested that I should keep my mind busy so that there is less chance of Alzheimer’s Disease. Also, the mind exercises are fun.
After lunch on Friday I went to Northwell Urologists on Motor Parkway in Hauppauge. When I checked in they told me to pee into a cup but also wipe my member and pee first into the bowl and then into the cup. Naturally I forgot to do that because I never had to do that before – old habits die hard. The doctor examined me and I learned that he knows my former urologist from New York Urologist Associates, since she is now also associated with Northwell Health, but in Lynbrook. I will have to go for an MRI here in Islip at 622 Main Street.
Facebook had posts about trump and how his followers keep talking about the great things that he has done for the country but cannot name even one great one, or even a good one. After my visit to the urologist I drove back to Islip and parked in the firehouse lot to do some errands. I saw a fellow Islip Fire Department member and we agree that trump is dangerous and that the Department has people who cannot think for themselves and are too chicken to join the armed forces or apply to police departments. Also most work in “socialist” jobs like police forces, FDNY, LIRR, teaching, and in unions. How ironic. After I went to the post office I stopped at Nook & Cranny to talk with Lori and her daughter Michelle. I bought another stuffed snowball for $1.00, called Snowball II (Beanie Baby #88). It was originally for me but I let Eileen have it.
I read more of chapter 14 of Just Mercy. Bryan visited Joe Sullivan at a new correction facility in the Florida Panhandle and saw that he was in a wheelchair that was stuck inside a cage. The guards got him out so he and Bryan could talk. Bryan was going to work to get Joe either released or have his sentenced reduced. But the victim and one of the accomplished had both died in the years since the crime was committed. Joe described how the number of prisons has increased since the 1990’s, partly due to the profit motive. Also, poorer people are sentenced to long prison terms for relatively minor offenses. Ned Miller was sentenced to life without parole as an adolescent after he and a friend got into a fight with an older man and burned his trailer down and he died. Bryan also worked on the adolescents that were mentioned in chapter 8 (Trina Garnett, Ian Manuel, and Antonio Nuñez) to get their sentences reduced or get them freed. Bryan also discussed how adolescents are still not developed mentally and are easily influenced. I finished chapter 14 and Bryan argued Joe Sullivan’s case in front of the Supreme Court, saying that a life sentence without parole is cruel and unusual for an adolescent, I also started chapter 15 (Broken) and now Walter is suffering from dementia and is no longer able to run his business. He ended up in a nursing home in Montgomery.
I learned on MSNBC that Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg passed away on September 18th at the age of 87. The MSNBC announcers were talking about the memorial for her and the impact that she had on all of the country. A small woman with a big heart and big presence. RIP Justice Ginsburg. I saw on www.groupme.com that some of the super patriots in my own fire company almost cheered at her passing. I am worried that another trump appointee will mean reactionary decisions. Be back to the 19th century. Still cannot believe that people are still so stupid or conned to believe that trump cares for them or that he is doing a great job. On Saturday (9/19) Eileen and I went to lunch at the Holbrook Diner on Main Street – not far from Villa Lombardi where Ellen & I went at least once to an installation dinner with the Islip Fire Department. We each had iced tea, a cup of soup (chicken noodle and cream of broccoli) and split a Greek meat wrap – a gyro in a wrap. Came to $29.00 but Eileen is worth it. On Saturday afternoon I went to the 4:30 Mass and on the way home I stopped at the Town Hall parking lot and admired some old cars. I took pix of a 1936 and a 1934 Ford, as well as a 1957 Dual Ghia.
Eileen and I have continued our walks along the usual route and talking to the lady with the beagle mix dogs (I thought that they were both pug mixes, but instead beagle & pug and shar-pei & beagle, but both are cute no matter what breeds they are).
I read more of Just Mercy and finished chapter 15. Bryan talked about Jimmy Dill who was executed in 2009 for the death of a man whom he wounded in a drug deal but died nine months later due to poor medical care. The state of Alabama would not let him appeal, and poor legal help basically screwed him over. Jimmy was mentally challenged but the state would not consider it. Bryan told about how broken people like Jimmy were. And how the work made him broken. The chapter also talks about when Bryan met Rosa Parks and two other prominent civil rights ladies and how he just listened to them even when invited to speak. He ended the chapter by talking how just mercy can break the cycle of victimhood and victimization as well as retribution and suffering.
For dinner on Sunday we ordered from Babylon Burger – no more summer menu so it was regular burgers with bacon for Ellen & Eileen, and a regular one with avocado for me. Two days later Eileen and I drove to the firehouse to park and walk along Main Street. Our first stop was Nook & Cranny which is sadly closing at the end of this month. Eileen got a new tweed Teddy Bear named Tweed who is Beanie Baby #89, and Lori did not charge us anything. Probably because she wants to empty her shop, and the fact that we have been going to the store since Eileen was a baby. I also took two photos of Eileen with Lori before we left. It will be sad when the store closes, as it was an Islip institution for over 30 years. I also managed to register for the Dribble for a Cure as South4Billy. I also created a related Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation fundraiser and that I posted to Facebook. People have been donating for the cause.
I had been going out for a couple of hours on some days for the census bureau. On Wednesday the 23rd I stopped at the 7-11 on Saxon Avenue and got some coffee and another Kinder Joy egg, with a cowboy Minion that I put into the console.
The next day I got a call from a man who represented the St. John's Alumni relations office asking if I would like to be interviewed for the St. John’s University donor stories. I said of course. Now for them to call me. Later on for lunch Eileen and I went to the Main Street Diner on Main Street in Sayville where we each had iced tea and a cup of chicken noodle soup, and we split a souvlaki chicken wrap. Later on I finished reading Just Mercy. Chapter 16 (The Stonecatcher’s Song of Sorrow) tells about Bryan’s attempts and successes to get life without parole sentences for teens and relates the four hurdles Black Americans had to overcome: slavery, Jim Crow, KKK type terror, and convict labor. He also talked about getting two New Orleans men released from Angola for non-homicide crimes committed when they were teens. The Epilogue tells us that Walter McMillian passed away on September 11, 2013, He had been further disabled in his last years but was glad to be able to die on God’s schedule and not the state’s. Bryan said that just (fair) mercy made it possible for Walter to forgive and move on.
On Friday I went to the firehouse for coffee, and it looks like the ready room is now back in business. After I did some work for the census bureau I went to the basketball court behind Town Hall West to shoot some hoops and do some dribbling, but there was a sign that said that it was off limits thanks to COVID -19. I then headed to the firehouse for coffee and to try and inflate my basketball but could not figure how to get the mechanism working until one of my fire company members helped me out. I also spoke with some other members and they told me that people use the basketball courts anyway. But I am reluctant to clash with Town officials. And on Sundays the gates are locked to the high school/middle school grounds. About all I did on the last Sunday of September was go for a walk with Eileen and visit 7-11 for a Minion on a bicycle from Kinder Joy and a pumpkin coffee. Later on we learned that trump paid only $750 in taxes twice over the last 15 years. He must not be the great businessman his followers love him for.
On Monday the 28th, after Eileen and I got home after a walk I drove to the firehouse and stopped at Nook & Cranny and got another coffee cup (It said “Fantastic 40” which was meant for age but can also be a belated 40th anniversary gift), and another snowball – one with a handlebar mustache (for the CR-V). I also took two pix of Lori and Arlene – the original and the final owners. I then went to the firehouse for coffee, to listen to PBS News (including the BBC) and use the computer. The next day around 1:30 I drove to the Northwell Imaging building at 620 Main Street for my prostate MRI. As for the MRI, I hope that it went well. The jury is still out as of now. I then went to East Islip to get some Pudgie’s fried chicken and enjoyed a very late lunch (around 3:30) and watch some TV at the firehouse. When lunch was over I walked over to Nook & Cranny for the last time, since today was the last day that it was open to the public. This time I did not buy anything since there was nothing that we need. But I did enjoy some of the goodbye cake and took a photo of it. I will always remember the store, from its first location around the corner on Grant Avenue, buying various holiday decorations, stopping at the store when I was walking Baby Eileen and using the back room to change her diaper, adding to my coffee cup collection, and Eileen starting her Beanie baby collection there.
On Tuesday evening after dinner Ellen and I watched the trump-Biden debate and it was a shit show. Trump kept attacking Joe Biden’s family and personality, his son Beau, and accusing him of the mess that we are in now. Luckily most people I know on Facebook felt that Joe Biden came out ahead since he spoke to the nation – looking directly into the camera, while trump just looked at Joe. Joe has to win in November for the sake of our nation. I had made myself available for the census bureau on Wednesday afternoon but there were no cases. Instead I went to town to deposit a check at JP Morgan Chase and then walked to the library to pick up my next book for the SJU book club: Ibram Kendi’s How to be an Anti-Racist. Before that book became available I was reading Bob Schron’s Taking a Knee; Taking a Stand. I read the first few chapters and it talked about boxers Jack Johnson, and Joe Lewis, and track star Jesse Owens. Despite their accomplishments, Jim Crow America and racist media marginalized and demonized them. The next chapter talked about Jack Robinson and his feat in breaking the Major League Baseball color line in 1947 and how brave and courageous he was. The next chapter was about Bill Russell and Jim Brown and what they went through as members of the Boston Celtics and the Cleveland Browns. The following chapter was about Muhammad Ali and his standing up for what he believed in, as well as his feats in the ring. I will put this book on hold for now while I concentrate on Ibram Kendi’s book, since this one is for the book club. Later on I drove to the 7-11 on Nassau Avenue to get the lotto tickets for this Wednesday evening (September 30th) and Saturday (October 3rd). I also got another Kinder Joy egg - #14. It was another Minion skin diver - a quadruplicate. So when I got home I put it into the jar with the shells and gave the pearl diver to Eileen. Just after 6 I went to the Maple Street Dock to go out with the Islip Fire Department Marine Bureau for a meeting up with the Fire Island ferries. When I got to the dock, another member asked me if I really wanted to go out onto the bay since it was very windy and the Great South Bay was quite choppy – the meeting up with the ferry company was canceled but they would be out in the bay for a few hours practicing docking and a few other things. I decided to come home and with Ellen watched the Zoom meeting with Islip Town Planning Board regarding the proposed gas station at 2300 Sunrise Highway – not too far from the house. Several neighbors expressed their desire to not see it go through. I agree with them. It would be a traffic and safety nightmare. The Town has not made its final decision as of now.
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I began October with the usual walk with Eileen to the Wing Elementary School and then home. Since the 1st is a Thursday I went to the social meeting at my American Legion post and after the meeting I enjoyed two hot dogs and some beans. I had a mask on for almost the entire night except for a few minutes while eating. While I was on Facebook I managed to add a friend whom I remember from Guam who was a dependent (her dad was a major in the 43rd Bomber Wing) who was a bit eccentric like me. She was paying tribute to her dad in the Friends of SAC page on Facebook. We were friends and kept in touch for a few years and then lost contact. Glad to have her back in my circle after 40+ years.
I started to read How to be an Anti-Racist and learned that the author's parents met at the University of Illinois in 1970, and that both are from Queens. His dad is from Jamaica; his mom is from Far rockaway. I read a bit more of Taking a Knee, Taking a Stand and finished the chapter about the more recent Olympics (John Carlos and Tommy Smith) and read the chapter about Kareem Abdul Jabbar - his growing up in New York City, walking in on the 1964 Harlem Riots, and being at the 1967 Ali Summit, and his being one of the best basketball players in NBA & NCAA history. I have puut the book aside for know to concentrate on the reading for the St. John's University Book Club.
In in the next chapters of How to be an Anti-Racist Ibram talks about preacher Tom Skinner who captivated his parents and others at the University of Illinois in 1970 with liberation theology. Tom said that Jesus was not an establishment type but told us to proclaim liberation to the captives and give sight to the blind. He talked about his mom growing up in Georgia on a farm and moving north. He says that we are now in 2020 surrounded by racial equity. Chapter 2 is titled Dueling Consciousness and he talks about white versus non-white incarceration rates, especially for drug crimes. Also how Reagan’s administrations further divided the races He also cited W.E.B. DuBois and dueling consciousness – American and Black. He talked about his mom’s being a missionary in Liberia and the two parents joining Floyd Flakes church, Black self-reliance and its consequences and the progress the Black race has made. Chapter 3 (titled Power) is about Prince Henry and his starting the slave trade in the 15th century in Europe. He also mentions the 6 categories of races: Latinx, Asian, Indigenous, White, Black, Middle Eastern. He also talked about how Linnaeus classified the four races based on color (red, yellow, black, white) into a hierarchy. Naturally the white (Northern European, of course) were at the top and the blacks were at the bottom.
On Saturday the 3rd Eileen and I went to the Lindenhurst Diner on East Montauk Highway near Delaware Avenue. We each had iced tea and split a sriracha shrimp wrap, which was pretty good. We then walked across Montauk Highway to a strip mall with a comic books store – maybe some comic books or cartoon character figures? Not there so we crossed Delaware Avenue to the other strip mall with a 7-11. There were Beanie Babies there but I figured that a Minion squeeze figure would be better. Eileen got the one-eyed character. We then headed east to NY 231 and then the parkway to come home, where I uploaded the pix from the camera and the cell phone to the hard drive, Google Photos and Facebook. Then there was housework: I cleaned out the dust in the bathroom fan and vacuumed the room. Later on Ellen and I cleared out books from the wall units.
Since I helped Ellen around the house on Saturday I went to church on Sunday morning. But I forgot where and when it was (9:30 in the auditorium) Luckily I was able to find out where to go. Later on I helped Ellen with cleaning out the book cases and the garage and then went for a walk with Eileen along our usual route. When we got back drove into town and stopped at the Nassau Avenue 7-11 to get a pumpkin coffee and another Kinder Joy egg - #14. This was a model cockatoo. I had my coffee at the firehouse and hung around to watch TV and go on an alarm. When I got home I also watched the American Heroes Channel’s shows about the rise of Hitler and the Nazis. Eerily similar to today with trump. Later in the evening Ellen and I called my cousin Philip and spoke with him and his mom. Before I went to bed I watched the Japanese Baseball League on Channel 597 – Hokkaido Fighters versus the Soft Bank Hawks and the Hawks won 8-4. On Monday I saw that more people on the White House staff have tested positive. Stupid people in charge. But trumpers will not be swayed. Later in the morning the guys from Junkluggers came by and took out the broken love seat and several boxes of stuff that will be either donated or trashed. When the Junkluggers men left and I had lunch, Eileen and I went for a walk along the usual route. Around 1:30 Ellen took Eileen to the internist for her routine physical, and I drove to the firehouse. It looks like Eileen’s physical went OK, and she has lost 15 pounds – now we continue to aim for 115 pounds. While Ellen & Eileen were at the doctor’s office I was at the firehouse and went on two calls. When the calls were over I went for a walk to Oconee Diner and took pix there of the “skeleton crew” and also at the 9-11 Memorial at Town Hall. While I did not bring my camera, I was able to talk some pix with my iPhone at the two spots.
By the 6th I started chapter 4 (titled Biology) of Kendi’s book and he says that racist biology says that traits of races are genetic; anti-racists say it’s not genetic. He then talked about his 3rd grade class and the white teacher he had who played favorites with the 3 white kids in the class. After lunch and more TV Eileen and I went for a walk along our usual route. When we got home I took the car and stopped at 7-11 to get tomorrow night’s lotto ticket and also treat myself to another Kinder Joy egg - #15. The was a truck with a crocodile attachment inside and I put that into the CR-V console. I then had my coffee at the firehouse and had to listen to fox noise in the ready room until the other guys left. On Wednesday morning I dragged the items from the foyer onto the stoop so that the VVA truck could pick them up and then there was the usual: to the firehouse for coffee and after lunch a walk along the usual route with Eileen. In the evening Ellen and I watched the debate between Senator Harris and Vice President Pence and I still think that Senator Harris won the debate, and the fly did not help Pence much.
On Thursday after lunch we all drove to the Suffolk County Board of Elections in Yaphank so I could drop off our 3 ballots. When we got home I drove into town and parked at the firehouse to walk to Islip Pharmacy to get two prescriptions for Ellen, and then walked to the library to return 3 items and also use the computer for a ½ hour. I also looked at a book about the KKK in the 1920’s and I see a scary similarity to the pseudo-patriots of today (trumpsters) – deny science, don’t question the leaders, hate certain groups of people, blame everyone else, and pseudo-machoism. I then headed to the 7-11 at 3269 Sunrise Highway across from the Shell Station. I got myself a Kinder Joy egg snack with a Disney princess (Jasmine) in it - #16, which I gave to Eileen. Then when I came home I read the rest of chapter 4 of How to be an Anti-Racist. Kendi talks about biology and how writers said that blacks people were loathsome as far back as the 16th century. In the 1890’s they said that the weaker races –should either be extinct (Indigenous), be slaves (blacks), or assimilate with whites (Asians). There was the eugenics movement in the 20th century. By the start of the 21st century President Clinton said that we have a common humanity, and even Kenneth Ham said that the only race is the human race. Kendi says that we have to recognize the biological equality and that skin color is meaningless. He ends the chapter with his going to different schools near his home. I read chapter 5 (Ethnicity) and Kendi talks about immigrants and how recent African immigrants are generally doing quite well, as are black Caribbean immigrants, often at the expense of African Americans. The chapter also described how during the slave trade days that West Africans were more highly prized than those from Angola since the West Africans had to work harder to tame a less bountiful land. He also talked about the immigration restrictions against nonwhites and the wrong type of whites until 1965. I also read chapters 6 (Body) and 7 (Culture) Chapter 6 says that racists believe that certain racialized bodies are more prone to violence and animal like behavior than others while the anti-racist individualizes violent and non-violent behavior. Chapter 7 said that there is a racist tendency to impose a cultural hierarchy among racial groups, while the anti-racist rejects the cultural differences among groups. He talked about Ebonics and how it may have evolved from Africans in the Americas
Ellen and I watched more of MSNBC and the anchor people discussed the attempt by some right wing terrorists to kidnap the Governor of Michigan. Fox noise did not even talk about it but did say that they believe that the prior administration (President Obama and VP Biden) are crooked and subject to arrest. God save our country. Then we learned that one of the drugs that trump was given at Walter Reed Hospital is derived from aborted fetal tissue. So much for pro-life.
Like last week, two music greats passed away on the same day (October 6th), but at different ages: Eddie Van Halen at 65 and Johnny Nash at 80. RIP to both men.
On Saturdays Eileen and I usually go out for lunch. On the 11th we went to the Atlantis Diner on Montauk Highway near the junction of NY 231. We each had iced tea and split a chicken wrap. I also ordered cups of beef barley soup for each of us but Eileen did not like hers so I had hers as well. After lunch we drove over to Totten Place in Babylon Village and walked to Roe Roe’s Sweet Street to get some candy (caramel eggs for each of us) and Eileen got another Beanie Baby – a zipper pull lamb named Lilli (#90 in her collection). We then came home by way of NY 231 and the parkway. A little later in the afternoon I went to St. Mary’s for the 4:30 Mass and on the way home I stopped at Town Hall to photograph a 1928 Chevrolet.
Ellen and I are watching the Senate confirmation hearings for Amy Barrett. I don’t think that she is qualified for the Court after only 3 years on a bench elsewhere. Maybe trump wants her so she will vote to repeal the Affordable Care Act.
On Wednesday I went to over to my internist’s office for the follow-up visit. I got a pneumonia shot and the blood work seemed favorable but I do have to lose more weight. That means fewer carbs and sweets and also avoid goodies at the firehouse, and also do more walking. At around 4 PM I took Eileen to East Islip Lanes to bowl with her team – the Shooting Stars – after a 7 month hiatus. We then came home and I dropped her off and went to the 7-11 on Nassau Avenue to get the Lotto ticket for tonight and another Kinder Joy egg – a motorcycle, #17 in my collection. It’s in the CR-V console. I then had coffee at the firehouse and then walked to the library to pick up a DVD – The Handmaid’s Tale – and use the computer.
On the 15th I was up early but did not go anyplace since I had to watch Eileen while Ellen went to the lab for blood work. I was able to enjoy fried eggs, over easy since Ellen was gone and could not complain about the odor. After lunch Eileen and I took a ride in the Accord to Sunken Meadow State Park to get a nice walk in on the boardwalk. I brought my camera and was able to get some pix in. On the way home I also wanted to walk in the Kings Park hamlet but Eileen would not have any of it. I tried to bribe her with a Beanie Baby, and we stopped at the 7-11 on Pulaski Road. There were several Beanie Babies for sale as well as some other critters, and also Kinder Joy eggs. She decided on a Beanie Baby dog named Rubble (#91 in her collection), and then a Kinder Joy egg with a small Ariel (#18 in our collection) for her room. When we came home after our stop at 7-11 (there was no walk in Kings Park this time) I uploaded the photos to Google Photos and Facebook, as well as the hard drive. Since 2020 is St. John’s University’s 150th anniversary, they are celebrating on line and hopefully will also do it in person. On Thursday I updated my SJU account on their website and also wrote a memory (visiting the campus with Eileen on two occasions before the pandemic) and added a photo of her next to Spirit Rock.
The 3rd Thursday is my American Legion post’s business meeting and in the evening I went to the meeting (it was fairly short) and came straight home when it was over.
I watched The Handmaid’s Tale on Thursday and Friday and based on the Amy Coney Barrett confirmations, makes me worry that we will become a Republic of Gilead. For some happier entertainment, Ellen and I got to listen to Gustav Holst’s The Planets. For me, the Mars and Jupiter movements are the best of the 7 in the suite. .
I had another follow up visit on Friday the 16th, this time with Northwell Urology on Motor Parkway up in Hauppauge, where I learned that my prostate is a bit enlarged but based on the MRI, it’s OK otherwise.
Since Saturday is the day that I take Eileen to lunch with me, on October 17th we went to the Forum Diner at the western end of Bay Shore. We ordered an iced tea and Italian wedding soup for each of us, and we split a fajita chicken wrap. When we finished our meal I said that we have to go for a walk somewhere. It was in West Islip since it was a quick right turn down Montauk Highway. We soon parked at the West Islip firehouse and walked to Higbee Lane and northwards towards the junction with Udall Road. We eventually crossed Higbee Lane to visit a sports memorabilia store called Grand Slam, at the beginning of Udall Road. I was looking for maybe some small baseball or Pokémon figures. No luck. But I did buy a pack of fancy Topps 2020 baseball cards and the owner let me have a set of Pokémon cards free. I got the baseball cards, Eileen got the other set. We then walked back to the car and headed home, where I uploaded the and then headed to the 4:30 Mass at St. Mary’s. On the way back home I stopped at the Town Hall to check out the old cars and photographed a 1940 Chevrolet coupe. Later in the evening, the National Geographic network showed the effects of drug addiction in numerous countries. One of the drugs was krokodil (crocodile in Russian, transliterated) and the effects it has on its addicts. I am kind of glad that I don’t try to pursue too many friendships these days and have to face peer pressure.
Still seeing red states wanting trump for another 4 years. They insist that Joe Biden is corrupt and will bring on big government and take away their guns. Posts on Quora and Facebook cite trump’s accomplishments. Whatever he did do is overshadowed by our standing as a laughing stock in the world, his coddling up to dictators, the 220,000+ deaths from the COVID virus, and the threats to becoming more like Mussolini and Hitler. I am still worried that our country will be fooled again or fucked over again by the electoral college and we get 4 more years of trump. My friend Charlie e/mailed me to say that a friend & hockey teammate returned from Las Vegas and tested positive for the corona virus. They are in Ohio ,which is trump country, and naturally don’t take virus warnings seriously.
On Sunday Eileen and I went for a walk along the usual route. I also helped Ellen with preparing a rib roast for dinner, and to unwind I drove to the 7-11 in Oakdale and got myself another Kinder Joy egg. The figure was a kid with big hands who will knock targets over. It is #19 in the collection, and I put it into the CR-V console. I then went to the firehouse to check the oil and tire pressure on the CR-V (all OK) and went inside to have my coffee and enjoy the Kinder Joy candy and go to the ready room to watch the Jets lose game 6 (the Giants at least are now 1-5). Being a compulsive collector, I added #20 to my Kinder Egg collection - a robot like stegosaurus in Halloween black & orange later in the week.
The next day after lunch I went to the census bureau office on Pinelawn Road and returned the briefcase, ID card and iPhone. The 2020 census is officially over. I did get to talk with some other employees, including one who lives in Greenview Village. On Tuesday morning (the 20th) I took Eileen to the Northwell Lab near Southside Hospital so she could have blood drawn. Since she does not like needles, I had to hold her hands down while the technician drew blood. After lunch she and I went into town to go for a walk and visit the post office. We parked at the town hall lot and walked along Main Street to the post office and back, but also stopped at Sugared Up for some candy on the return. In the evening I learned that recording artist Spencer Davis passed away today at the age of 81. Loved his band, The Spencer Davis Group, which introduced Steve Winwood to the world.
I read chapter 8 (Behavior) of How to be an Anti-Racist. Kendi states that racists believe that behavior is according to race; the anti-racist believes that it’s up to the individual. In the rest of the chapter Kendi talked about his last days at Stonewall Jackson High School and going to Florida A&M. He also elaborated about aptitude tests and SAT’s. I also started chapter 9 (Color) where Kendi talks about how color of skin is like a caste system – light blacks over darker ones. And efforts of blacks to sometimes look non-black. He also talked about his freshman year at Florida A&M. In the rest of the chapter Kendi talked about the difference in color among blacks because of more white genes – lighter skinned blacks in greater favor than darker skinned blacks, going back as far as the 17th century when slavery was in force, into the 20th century after it was abolished in the Western World. Chapter 10 (White) talks about Kendi’s freshman year at FAMU and the 2000 election, Elijah Muhammad’s view of white people as devils, and about Malcom X. Kendi tries to discern between white racism’s march and the march of white people. He also elaborated on how whites benefited from racist policies He said that racist power has the most to lose from an equitable society. He pointed out how white supremacists refuse to acknowledge climate change, are against affirmative action which benefits white women the most, admire groups who started wars that killed over millions of white people. They blame nonwhites for their problems but the rich whites are the ones screwing them over. Chapter 11 (Black) begins with Kendi going into the office of Mizell Stewart, the editor of the Tallahassee Democrat to explain his anti-white essay. Then Stewart uses the n-word and racialized the bad blacks (the n’s). Kendi then describes Chris Rock’s descriptions of the n’s and that they are not equal to the black people.. Kendi points out that racism seemed to increase during the Obama administrations, and 59% of the blacks say that racism is the reason for their lagging the other groups. Later on in chapter 11 Kendi realized that blacks can be racists as well. It is still true that whites have more power but blacks do have some power and can do something about it. He talked about the 2004 election when the black Ohio Secretary of State helped swing the vote in the state towards Bush with some republican tricks. Kendi then talked about the history of anti-black racism starting in the 16th century. Black police officers can also be racist and anti-black. I also started chapter 12 (class) and Kendi describes his new apartment in the North Philadelphia ghetto and then that class racism is ripe among whites. Then the richer high class people create the behavioral norms which are supposedly superior to others (I once tried to be like the WASP’s but realized that it is futile and am content to be what I am. As a former EMT and firefighter I knew that I helped save lives, more than most of these people ever did).
On Saturday the 24th I took Eileen with me to the New Balance store at Smith Haven Mall so she could get herself a new pair of sneakers. Considering that there were a couple of people ahead of her, she behaved well and seemed to have made a few friends. I will go back for myself in a month or two. Then for lunch we drove to the Millennium Diner in Smithtown village, where we enjoyed iced tea, soup, and a shrimp salad wrap.
My birthday was the 26th and I headed to Stanley's Bakery in East Islip for some kind of cake or pie to celebrate but they were closed since the 26th was a Monday. I had to go back to Islip to check out the bank and while at the ATM I saw that Islip's bakery, Manhattan Sweets, was open so I headed over to get a pumpkin pie that the 3 of us enjoyed in the evening. And for a little gift for me, I stopped in Sugared Up and got a stuffed Minion - Carl - that I placed on the shelf in the bookcase by the computer. Even though he is not in Eileen's collection, he is #92 on the Beanie Babies list.
The next day the weather was warmer so Eileen and I went to Field 6 at Jones Beach where we walked to the East Bathhouse and back. I also got to photograph a new sculpture of a whale by the bathhouse. We then came back to Islip and parked at the American Legion post parking lot and walked to Sugared Up. I promised Eileen her own new Minion and this time she got Dave (#93 on the Beanie Baby list). He is smaller than Carl but he is hers exclusively. We also got some gummi candy to share.
For another birthday “present” I saw that Amy Barrett was confirmed by the Senate and sworn in that evening at the White House. We know whose side she will take in any dispute, especially if the election is involved. The next morning while I was having coffee at the firehouse the ex-chiefs rejoiced in the rush confirmation and swearing in. I may agree or disagree with her on some issues, but I do object to the way she was rushed into the Court to possibly be there to do trump’s bidding.
I ended October with a trip to the Growers Market and then to the firehouse for coffee, and while watching News 12 I learned that Sean Connery passed away at the age of 90. RIP, 007. After breakfast I went to the Islip Town recycling center and there was a trump motorcade heading the opposite way on Sunrise. Almost all of the vehicles were Jeeps for pickup trucks. When I got back Eileen and I went to lunch at the Hauppauge Palace Diner. We split a chicken wrap and we each had a cup of soup and iced tea. When we came home I dropped her off and went to the East Islip Shell and then the Oakdale 7-11. I got another Kinder Joy egg with a cowboy Minion (#21 in the collection) that I put into the CR-V.
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I began November with the annual memorial Mass at St. John’s University for the deceased of the SJU community – which includes alumni and was able to think to a few deceased alumni whom I knew. I first stopped at Mount St. Mary’s Cemetery and visited the mausoleum where both Mom & Dad and aunt & uncle are interred. I went to the campus but was told that the campus does not open until around 10:30. I decided to visit my old neighborhood, Queensboro Hill and maybe Flushing Meadow Park. I did not get to the park since the traffic would not let me, but I did ride around theCiti Field property and back to St. John’s. When I got back to the campus I was finally able to enter the campus and talk to a few people inside St. Thomas More Church before going for a walk around the Quadrangle to take photos. The Mass started at 11 am and I remembered some of my friends who also attended St. John’s but are no longer with us. When the Mass was over I headed back home.
The next day at 11 pm I participated in a Zoom webinar so hopefully I can have fewer problems when I try to have a Zoom met-up with Charlie this Friday. I read the rest of the Class chapter 12 of How to be an Anti-racist and Kendi compares white trash, the n’s, ghetto blacks, and upper classes. He also talked about the wealth gaps among whites, blacks, and Latinx. Kendi also describes how capitalism exploited poorer nations, especially those in Africa.
We are still following the presidential election. On Election Day evening Ellen and I were worried that trump was going to get re-elected. But Joe Biden gained some more blue states and soon had 253 electoral voted on Wednesday. We are hoping that when the votes are counted in 4 of the states – Pennsylvania, Georgia, Arizona, and Nevada, he will have well over 270. Joe is leading in these 4 sates but the last minute mail in votes are still not fully counted yet as of November 6th, so it is still too close to call. The trump people are still calling foul because they might lose. And inconsistency – count the votes where trump is losing, and not where he is ahead. Fox noise said that the Democrats are cheating. But if trump somehow wins, I will have lost faith in the intelligence of our countrymen. If trump loses, I will buy some Long Island wine and celebrate. At the firehouse while having coffee and I had to listen to the “patriots” complain that Joe Biden is going to win and beat the best president we ever had. Some of the members of my American Legion post are as right wing as those at the firehouse. But I still cannot understand how so many people voted for trump again when they saw what he was doing to the country and the people.
On the 5th the 3 of us went to a lampshade store in at the junction of Jericho Turnpike and Route 110 in South Huntington called Legend Lampshades. We got three shades – two for the bedroom and one for the TV room. They are not cheap – a real sticker shock, $75 each for the bedroom shades, and $150 for the one in the TV room. With tax it came to $293.28. We then came home and since we used the Accord to go to South Huntington, I took it with me to Dunkin Donuts to get coffee and a wrap which I took to the firehouse to eat as a very late lunch before washing and vacuuming the Accord and watching TV.
On Friday I do the main shopping trip and after breakfast I went to Stop & Shop After lunch and a nap Eileen asked to go for a walk with me and I said OK. Since it got cloudy and chilly since this morning we did the shorter route by going up Commack Road to Tex Court. At the one of the houses near Greenview Village there was a box on the lawn with free toys. Eileen got herself another Beanie Baby – a rhinoceros named Spike (#94 in the collection). When I was at Stop & Shop and also bought two Kinder Joy eggs. I opened up one of them firehouse while I had some coffee and watched TV. It is a Christmas stocking with some string, and right now it’s in the CR-V but will hang it on the ceramic Christmas tree in about 4 weeks (#22 in the collection).
At 11:25 am on November 7th, MSNBC announced that Joe Biden won the election and will be the 46th President of the United States. The super patriots are having hissy fits. After the 4:30 Mass I headed to Karp’s Liquor Store to buy some Duck Walk Vineyards Gatsby red to celebrate the win by Joe Biden over trump. Before dinner we had a Zoom meeting for 2 hours with my friend Charlie & his wife Debbie. Charlie told me that I did well despite the many setbacks and trial I had. I will have to agree. Sadly on Sunday game show host Alex Trebek passed away today at the age of 80 from pancreatic cancer. Jeopardy will not be the same without him. RIP Alex.
On Sunday I also opened up the other Kinder Joy egg and it is another Christmas ornament – a snowman. #23 is in the CR-V and will also go onto the ceramic Christmas tree in a few weeks.
Members of the Islip Fire Department are still unhappy with Joe Biden’s win, and are hoping that a recount will turn the results over to trump’s favor. Let’s hope not. One of the trumpers on Facebook (from Queensboro Hill) posted a pixel portrait of VP Elect Harris showing the black bad guys that she put behind bars in CA as attorney general. But isn’t that her job? And don’t trumpers hate “them”? The only reason they should be pissed is if they were white. Evangelicals still say trump is the Christian president. They want us to pray for the country because Joe Biden has been elected. As of the 10th the trumpers still insist on fraud, and while having coffee at the firehouse another member said that a fly-by-night news source announced that trump was awarded Pennsylvania. None of the mainstream sources, including fox and OAN have said that. But OAN has advertised a few trump rallies in DC and elsewhere over the next weekend (the 15th & 16th) and fox noise said that Joe Biden will undo trumps’ “accomplishments” and cause a financial disaster. I still am praying for our country.
Chapter 13 (Space) of How to be an Antiracist, is about Afro-American studies starting to be taught on campuses, like at the grad school – Temple University – that Kendi attended. He also mentioned the North Philly ghetto and the campus. He also cited black space as the inner city and the 3rd world and the white space (suburbs).
On November 10th our new Ethan Allen couch arrived while I was at the Post to help with a work detail – sweeping the party & gala room. Not bad of a job. Afterwards I had coffee and a roll and spoke with the other members. Most do not like Presidents Obama and Clinton, but love trump. When I came home and I brushed my teeth and then went to Hauppauge for my appointment with the endodontist. The crown is OK but I will have to see my regular dentist about a cavity and the tight space between two teeth. After lunch I did some errands, went to the Bay Shore Stop & Shop to redeem the bottles and get another Kinder Joy egg (#24, the Minion cowboy, a triplicate, which I gave to Eileen). I also went to the Islip Library to take out Weekend at Bernie’s and use the computer.
On Veterans Day at around 0945 I went to the Post for the Veterans Day ceremonies. We went to the Maragioglio Triangle for the first round – prayers, 9 gun salute, taps, raising the flag to full staff. Then we went to Town Hall West, the Post and Town Hall Veterans Memorial Park to do the same ceremony. When it was all over we went back to the Post and I had a snack and got to talk with some other members of the Post before I came home.
Later on Veterans Day I created a new Billy 2018 website, this time on www.wix.com since Webs.com was bought out and will be charging in 2021 for even the free sites and these will go the way of my Homestead sites. I cut & pasted the narratives and added pix from 2018. There was editing of grammar and spelling errors and rewording certain phrases. The name is Billy-2018 and the URL is https://cricketbilly8.wixsite.com/mysite.
The “patriots” are still insisting that trump will win. I really hope not. I am watching and reading at the news and it does look that there was never any voter fraud in PA, AZ, NV or GA. After all, the senator and congressmen were on the same ballots and nobody questioned those races.
I read more of the Space chapter of How to be an Antiracist and Kendi described the historically black colleges and universities (HBCU) versus the HWCU (historically white colleges & universities). At the end of the chapter Kendi talked about separate but equal when it came to black and white spaces, based on the 1896 Plessy vs. Ferguson Supreme Court decision and also when it was reversed in 1954.
On Saturday the 14th I went to the Grower’s Market in the morning and then to the firehouse for coffee. And on the evening of the 13th our Marine Unit’s fire boat went out into Great South bay and rescued a woman who fell overboard from her boat (congratulations to all those involved). And most of the crew were from my company! And while having coffee the boat’s pilot, came into the Ready Room while News 12 was talking about pandemic precautions. He thinks that it’s all bullshit and I told him that it is not a hoax. In the afternoon I went to the 4:30 Mass at St. Mary’s. The deacon read the parable of the 3 servants with talents. His sermon talked about using our gifts because we all have at least one. Also about going to a new job if you are not good at the one you have. He also cited the 5 W’s (and 1 H) from journalism to follow when writing: why, what, who, when, and where. The H is how. As for me, maybe I should do more writing since I am starting to enjoy it in retirement. I have my journal, 3 blogs, and this and two other biographies on the internet.
In chapter 14 (Gender) of How to be an Antiracist Kendi talked about roles of women and men, and the number of black single family households. Most of the time the head of the household is a woman. He said that it is better if there are two parents unless the other parent is violent or abusive. He also talked about sexism and its being intertwined with race. He also talked about the number of black children born to unwed mothers as well as about feminism and its rise. He also said that people believe that the black male is more dangerous the white man, black woman and white woman. In chapter 15 (Sexuality) Kendi talks about his new friends at Temple University – and his new male friend is gay. He does say that homophobes are usually also racists. He also talked about two female friends from Temple, Yaba and Kaila. Kendi also elaborated about gender and heterosexual and homosexual tendencies. He was raised to be a black patriarch and not a black feminist. He said that in 1965 the problem was “keeping the Negro ‘in his place’” meant only the male as the black woman was not seen as a threat. That led to submission of black women in most cases. During the 20th century married black women were having fewer babies but unmarried ladies were having more. Black feminism started to increase in the 1970’s. He mentioned the Clarence Thomas hearings and the defense of Anita Hill by feminists. He also talked about the gender racism and that black women make less than their white counterparts but is more likely to be incarcerated. Gender racism may be responsible for trump winning in 2016. Black men reinforce the “real men” notions. Whites produced gender racism of dangerous black men, less dangerous white men, then black women and the frail white woman.
On Sunday morning the National Geographic and the American Heroes Channel TV channels had series of shows about Hitler and the occult, his rise to power, and violence by his followers. Ellen and I believe that history repeats itself so we may have trump followers doing the same thing. Trump still has not conceded and insists that the election was stolen. I am worried that the 12th amendment may throw the election to the House of Representatives, and with one state/one vote and he would win a second term. Several other Islip Fire Department members still insist that trump can win since the disputed states have Democrat governors and the courts will prove fraud. I cannot argue with them so I did not bother to tell them that it’s horseshit. On Facebook another Islip FD said that mask wearers are fools, as does two other “super patriots”. This man also says that trump is his president and this is his USA. I am worried for this country thanks to trump’s mishandling of the COVID 19 pandemic and the hate that has come out. Also the economy has tanked and he still does not have a national health care plan.
The 16th was Ellen’s birthday so Eileen and I went to Manhattan Sweets bakery to get us a coffee cake. We walked to the bakery from the firehouse and when we were done there we walked across Main Street so I could check out JMJ Hair Salon. There are no steps to climb to get in so it should be fine for Ellen when she goes to any appointment there. We walked back to the firehouse and drove to 7-11 where I got a lotto ticket and Eileen got herself a new Beanie Baby: Minnie Mouse, #95. But since the 16th was a Monday we ordered dinner out from Vinnie’s Mulberry Street in East Islip on Sunday.
I started to write a short story, somewhat autobiographical. The main character, Bob DiLorenzo, speaks in a New York City accent and I managed to transcribe the Gotham accept into print. Here is an example: “’s a pleasure t’ meet ya . What part o’ Ireland are ya from?”. Bob is a fictional representation of me. But unlike the real me (mentioned as Bob’s cousin but we will never meet him), Bob was in the Army instead of the Air Force from 1971-1975 and extended his 3-year tour so he could go to Germany. But like his cousin, he got out early in 1975 due to a reduction in force. The story takes place in 1975 New York City and Bob is readjusting to his new civilian life after being stationed at Fort Benning and then a two-year tour in Germany. A few months after he got home, he is introduced to Patricia Flaherty, a friend of his friend’s fiancée. By their 3rd date they go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and then walk through Central Park. Bob ends up saving the life of a toddler in the Reservoir by the Gotham Bridge. I divided the story into chapters (verses) and have written up to when Bob, Pat and Bob’s dad get home from Manhattan and Bob plans a trip to Shea Stadium to see the Yankees. This is August 1975 and Yankee Stadium is closed for renovation, so it will be at Shea Stadium. When they do get home, Bob and Pat first relax and then walk to a Chinese restaurant on Main Street near the main post office. When they get back to the house, they watch a Yankee game with Bob’s dad. The next day was a Sunday and they head to the New 11 studios to get interviewed for what Bob did in Central Park, and then go for a walk to Tudor City and Bryant Park and get a few photo sessions in. And it looks like Bob has a new lady friend, and vice versa. Bob and Pat then come home and have dinner at Bob’s house. When he takes her home they kiss up a storm in Bob’s truck. On the last week of August, they go to Chinatown for dinner and another photo op. And afterwards they go to Bob's house for some real fun. Bob finally scores! And now they both know for certain that they were made for each other. And to have the story on the internet, I decided to delete the travels page from the Billy 2020 on www.wix.com and replace it with the short story. Here is the URL: https://route9x.wixsite.com/mysite/travels. However, as of the 28th, I still have to find a good title.
On Sunday morning the National Geographic and the American Heroes Channel TV channels had series of shows about Hitler and the occult, his rise to power, and violence by his followers. Ellen and I believe that history repeats itself so we may have trump followers doing the same thing. Trump still has not conceded and insists that the election was stolen. I am worried that the 12th amendment may throw the election to the House of Representatives, and with one state/one vote and he would win a second term. Several other Islip Fire Department members still insist that trump can win since the disputed states have Democrat governors and the courts will prove fraud. I cannot argue with them so I did not bother to tell them that it’s horseshit. On Facebook another Islip FD said that mask wearers are fools, as does two other “super patriots”. This man also says that trump is his president and this is his USA. I am worried for this country thanks to trump’s mishandling of the COVID 19 pandemic and the hate that has come out. Also the economy has tanked and he still does not have a national health care plan.
Monday the 16th was Ellen’s birthday. To celebrate by going out to dinner, we ordered out on Sunday because most restaurants are closed on Monday. Ellen is wary of eating in a restaurant so just like my birthday three weeks earlier, we ordered out and ate at home. This time we ordered from Vinny's Mulberry Street in East Islip. The next day, on her actual birthday Eileen and I went to Manhattan Sweets bakery to get us a coffee cake. To get some exercise, we walked there from the firehouse and when we were done there we walked across Main Street so I could check out JMJ Hair Salon. There are no steps to climb to get in so it should be fine for Ellen when she goes to any appointment there. We walked back to the firehouse and drove to 7-11 where I got a lotto ticket and Eileen got herself a new Beanie Baby: Minnie Mouse, #95.
On Thursday Eileen and I went for a walk through Greenview Village but we did the truncated route – up Commack Road to Tex Court and then home. We saw that the people at one of the houses still have trump flags and banners on the property, and the required pickup truck in the driveway. In the evening I was hoping to go to the semimonthly meeting at my American Legion post, even though the Thanksgiving dinner was cancelled. But to be certain I called the Post Commander and he confirmed that the meeting was cancelled as well. It turns out that someone got sick at the post a few days ago (?COVID-19?) everything is cancelled for a while.
I started to write a short story, somewhat autobiographical. The main character, Bob DiLorenzo, speaks in a New York City accent and I managed to transcribe the Gotham accept into print. Here is an example: “’s a pleasure t’ meet ya . What part o’ Ireland are ya from?”. Bob is a fictional representation of me. But unlike the real me (mentioned as Bob’s cousin but we will never meet him), Bob was in the Army instead of the Air Force from 1971-1975 and extended his 3-year tour so he could go to Germany. But like his cousin, he got out early in 1975 due to a reduction in force. The story takes place in 1975 New York City and Bob is readjusting to his new civilian life after being stationed at Fort Benning and then a two-year tour in Germany. A few months after he got home, he is introduced to Patricia Flaherty, a friend of his friend’s fiancée. By their 3rd date they go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and then walk through Central Park. Bob ends up saving the life of a toddler in the Reservoir by the Gotham Bridge. I divided the story into chapters (verses) and have written up to when Bob, Pat and Bob’s dad get home from Manhattan and Bob plans a trip to Shea Stadium to see the Yankees. This is August 1975 and Yankee Stadium is closed for renovation, so it will be at Shea Stadium. When they do get home, Bob and Pat first relax and then walk to a Chinese restaurant on Main Street near the main post office. When they get back to the house, they watch a Yankee game with Bob’s dad. The next day was a Sunday and they head to the New 11 studios to get interviewed for what Bob did in Central Park, and then go for a walk to Tudor City and Bryant Park and get a few photo sessions in. And it looks like Bob has a new lady friend, and vice versa. Bob and Pat then come home and have dinner at Bob’s house. When he takes her home they kiss up a storm in Bob’s truck. On the last week of August, they go to Chinatown for dinner and another photo op. And afterwards they go to Bob's house for some real fun. Bob finally scores! And now they both know for certain that they were made for each other. In the next verse Bob’s grandfather dies and they go to the wake and funeral. Bob’s aunt (and Bill’s mom) told him that Pat was a lovely girl and she should not let her get away. Later on Bob is accepted into the Hunter Bellevue School of Nursing; Pat gets a student visa and enrolls at Hunter College. At the end of 1975 Bob gives Pat his high school ring and the following month they go out to dinner with the parents of the little girl whom Bob rescued in August. In February he proposes to Pat in a Hansom cab in Central Park and she says yes, and they tie the knot in September. Now it’s school and work for both of them with some ball games tossed in. Both Pat and Bob graduate from Hunter in spring 1982 and move to Levittown. It ends with a daughter being born in January 1989. In early December I finally got myself a title – A New York Re-adjustment. You can find the entire story on the Internet here at this URL: https://route9x.wixsite.com/mysite/travels.
By Friday the 20th MSNBC is still trying to convince the trumpers that he lost and the election is over. But the people at the firehouse still cannot be convinced that trump lost. They are now watching news max instead of fox noise. I found News 12 more palatable. Later in the afternoon after a walk with Eileen along the truncated Greenview Village route, I took the CR-V to the Bay Shore Stop & Shop to get a lotto ticket for Saturday and also treated myself to another Kinder Joy egg - #25, who is a Marvel Comics heroine named Carol Danvers. I put her on a shelf in the book case. Then after gassing up the car I stopped at the firehouse to watch TV (MSNBC & News 12) and use the computer.
I am still reading Ibram Kendi's How to be an Antiracist, and recently finished the chapters about Gender, Sexuality and Failure. He talked about gay friends, sexism, gender racism, and the Jena 6 incident in Louisiana. In the Failure chapter 16 he talks about racist policymakers and what drives them to do what they do. He said racist policymakers drum up fear of antiracist policies through racist ideas even though the fears never come to pass. We have to fight for moral and mental change as a prerequisite for policy change to fight against growing fears and apathy. Kendi then started to talk about the Jena 6 in Louisiana, who were tried and sentenced to prison for assaulting white kids at the local high school. In the rest of chapter 16 he talked more about the demonstrations in favor of the Jena 6 and defined courage and cowardice with respect to racism and antiracism. In the Success chapter (#17) where Kendi describes the differences between institutional racism and individual racism. He gives steps to end racist policies. The last chapter, Survival, he talks about how he and his wife both beat cancer, and lists ways to eliminate racial inequity. He does not seem optimistic that racism will disappear from our world, but we can try.
On Saturday the 21st I was up kind of early and went to the last Growers market until next year unless I want to drive to Rockville Centre. Here at the Islip location there were no tomatoes or radishes, but I was able to get the other things that I usually buy. Around noon, Eileen and I drove up to Huntington to drop off a photo at my cousin Bob’s house. We talked for a while in the driveway, even though Eileen did not want to get out of the car. It turns out that Bob and his wife are not trump supporters either. After we left I was originally going to get lunch at Bubba’s Burrito Bar in Islip but it would take some time to get back to the South Shore and if there is a wait I don’t want Eileen to have a meltdown. So I originally suggested that we go to Relish in Kings Park. After I left Bob’s house we headed east on 25A until we had to stop for the light near Waterside Avenue, in front of a strip mall. I saw on the signs at the entrance that there is a Venus Greek Diner among the shops listed there and I asked Eileen if she would like to have lunch there instead. She said okay and soon we were seated. We each had soup (bean & chickpea for me, chicken orzo for Eileen), iced tea and then split a lamb gyro. After I paid for it we came home on the Sagtikos Parkway and eventually along Commack Road where some of the trump signs were still up. When we arrived home the plumber was working on our bathroom and I turned on MSNBC in the TV room. Ellen told me to change it to something neutral, which I did.
On Sunday Eileen and I went for a walk through Greenview Village but went the reverse way of the truncated route – through Tex Court first. Then we drove to Babylon and walked from the Municipal Lot to Deer Park Avenue & Main Street. But instead of Roe Roe’s we stopped at F & M Goods to see if there was anything worth getting. There were teddy bears but they were too large. Eileen finally got a coin purse and a tootsie roll pop. It came to $5.16 and she took $5 from her pocket book and I took the $0.16 from my pocket. Then we walked back to the car and drove along Route 231 and the Parkway. Later on Ellen and I ordered our anniversary dinner from The View. We used the website and ordered entrees for each of us. I asked that it be ready at 6 pm and when I got there a little bit early I got a surprise in that the kitchen never got the order. They told me that it would be ready in a few minutes. 30 minutes later it finally arrived. I was a bit annoyed. Anyway, since we have been going there since 1989, I will give them a pass this time.
During the “work week” I was detailed to do errands for the house: the Islip Terrace post office to mail three bills and then next door to 7-11 to get a lotto ticket for Wednesday, and a Kinder Joy egg - #25, a sloth on a tree (the new friend went into the wall unit). I then went to Islip Pharmacy so I could buy latex gloves and rubber tips for Ellen’s walker, and then to Manhattan Sweets Bakery to order a pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving. That was just for Monday. On Tuesday the 24th (Ellen and my 41st anniversary) our new dishwasher finally arrived. But I had to drive to the Target store in Central Islip to get a $25 gift card that is going to be our share a gift at St. Mary’s and then went to get a bottle of Long Island wine before stopping at Stop & Shop to redeem bottles and get lunch provisions. Then after lunch I went into town to deposit a check at Chase Bank. On Wednesday before lunch I headed out to the Islip Town Recycling Center to dispose of the 46 year old stereo.
Eileen and have done some walking, mostly through Greenview Village along our “truncated route” along Commack Road. On Wednesday we walked through Greenview Village but then went through the LIRR station parking lot to the Little Shop of Shamrocks to say hello to the owner, Linda, and get ourselves each a bag of Dairy Buttons. Then we walked back to Wingan Hauppauge Road and past the Wing School and home.
As for Thanksgiving Day, I watched some college basketball on TV and had a Zoom/Skype meeting with my brother in law and my nephews. Dinner was turkey for only the 3 of us. I also managed to watch parts of the Thanksgiving Day Parade and a re-broadcast of the Philadelphia Dog Show on TV.
On Black Friday I did the usual food shopping trip and in the late afternoon visited Little Shop of Shamrocks to get a stocking stuffer for our Christmas stocking that we will hang on the piano. It is a wooden sheep with Irish wool on it. That is for Ellen. I also got myself some Dairy Buttons for a quick snack. Besides Christmas gifts, I went to the Islip Library to take out another book, being that I finished How to be an Antiracist. It was an interesting book but I found it not easy reading as a novel or sports story would be. For my next book, not associated with the St. John’s University Book Club, I borrowed State by Melissa Isaacson. In the prologue and chapter 1 she described the state of women’s sports in schools prior to Title IX, as well as her 1979 Niles High School’s Championship team’s 25th anniversary. In the next chapters she described the conditions that the female athletes had to endure while at West Niles High School. She also talked about some her friends and teammates. I ended November by helping Ellen and Eileen put the Christmas decorations up in the living room.
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I started December by visiting Sugared Up to get something else for the Christmas stocking on the piano – a Smiley face zipper pull for Eileen. The clerk knows both of us so she tossed in a nice candy cane too gratis. But Eileen likes to snoop and she helped herself to the candy and took out the Irish sheep and Smiley. I put the zipper pull onto her tote bag as originally planned and we put the sheep into the China closet. But in the end, she wanted the zipper pull off of her tote bag and on her dresser where it became #96 on the Beanie Baby list as Happy the Emoji.
I also set up a new Billy 2021 website, but on www.site123.com. I found www.weebly.com too cumbersome and not user very friendly. The site on www.site123.com is https://5fc7e83e2f9c3.site123.me/.
I read more of State and Melissa Isaacson is now describing the girls basketball team tryouts, getting new uniforms, and then describing her teammates like Connie Erickson and Shirley Cohen. In the next chapter she elaborates about her time spent at a basketball camp in Iowa, and how her friend and teammate DD (Diane DiFrancesco) almost got kicked out of the camp. Missy then talked about her teammate Connie who got a job at Mister Donut and always came to class and practice smelling of cooking oil. Missy also described the attitude in the mid 1970’s about women in sports and some were considered lesbians. But she also cut her hair and after passing out in the school cafeteria one day a teacher came to her and called her “Son”, mistaking her for a boy. Then there was a teachers strike in Niles and her coach Arlene Mulder had to cross the picket line so tennis star Holly Bland would not forfeit her matches. The striking teachers taught outside under trees, and Holly did well enough in the tournament to gain recognition. Mrs. Mulder wondered if she would ever regain the lost friendships. Later in the book Missy describes her sophomore year in basketball and the season when they so far have lost their first 3 games. She praises her coach Arlene Mulder for her pushing them to be the best.
On Thursday evening (the 3rd) I was at the firehouse watching televisions and having coffee when the Chief came by to tell the guys in the ready room that the father in law of one of the members had just passed away from COVID – it was the Commander of my American Legion post. The next day I got a calling post from one of the vice-commanders announcing the Commander’s funeral arrangements. Everyone around Islip is heartbroken.
On Friday after lunch I went to the Islip Terrace post office to mail the stool sample to the Northwell laboratory and then went door to 7-11 to get a lotto ticket and another Joy Egg - #27 in the collection and it was another truck with the alligator. But in different colors. When I went to the firehouse to enjoy some coffee and watch television, mainly Investigation Discovery, the pseudo-patriots had news-max on at the other end of the ready room and the wacko congresswoman from Georgia was telling people to vote against Jon Ossuff and Reverend Warnock to stop socialism. OK – just shut down the military bases, end farm subsidies, and discontinue the TVA and you got your wish.
I read more of State and Melissa Isaacson is now describing the girls basketball team tryouts, getting new uniforms, and then describing her teammates like Connie Erickson and Shirley Cohen. In the next chapter she elaborates about her time spent at a basketball camp in Iowa, and how her friend and teammate DD (Diane DiFrancesco) almost got kicked out of the camp. Missy then talked about her teammate Connie who got a job at Mister Donut and always came to class and practice smelling of cooking oil. Missy also described the attitude in the mid 1970’s about women in sports and some were considered lesbians. But she also cut her hair and after passing out in the school cafeteria one day a teacher came to her and called her “Son”, mistaking her for a boy. Then there was a teachers strike in Niles and her coach Arlene Mulder had to cross the picket line so tennis star Holly Bland would not forfeit her matches. The striking teachers taught outside under trees, and Holly did well enough in the tournament to gain recognition. Mrs. Mulder wondered if she would ever regain the lost friendships. Later in the book Missy describes her sophomore year in basketball and the season when they so far have lost their first 3 games. She praises her coach Arlene Mulder for her pushing them to be the best. Later Missy talks about Mrs. Mulder’s requiring that her players also attend and watch the JV games before they play their own, and actually did bench two players who were late for the JV game. And the Niles West team started to win several games during her junior year. Once they made the post season Mrs. Mulder arranged to have the girls practice with the boys’ team. But after breakfast on Pearl Harbor Day I went to the Islip Library to return the Louisiana Red CD and also State. Somehow I could not get into it. I was hoping to take something else out but the library is closed for COVID cleanup. When I came home I checked out our book case and decided on So B. It by Sarah Weeks. By of the 7th I got through the first chapter where we meet Heidi and learn that her mother is handicapped. I read more and Heidi describes how her neighbor Bernadette almost raised her since Heidi’s mom is disabled and mentally challenged. Bernadette (or Dette) read to her and also taught her how to win at the slot machines at the back of a laundromat. Heidi also described how she and her mom came to meet Dette when Heidi was about a week old and Dette set them up in an apartment next to hers. But Bernadette has agoraphobia and it makes her never want to go outside. Heidi is being home schooled by Bernadette, and they have a neighbor downstairs named Zander whom Heidi feels talks too much and kills ants with his fingers. Heidi also tells us that ‘So B. It’ is her mama’ s name, as that is one of the few words that Mama can say and Bernadette gave the name to her – So (first name), B. (middle initial), and It as the surname. Heidi and Mama would go out to do some food shopping. Heidi did get to know people on the outside like the cashiers and librarians. She says that Mama does not look brain damaged just by looking at her. Later on Heidi kept trying to figure out what the word “soof”, one of the 23 word Mama can say, meant until Bernie told her that maybe she was not meant to know its meaning. Later Heidi also found an instamatic camera in the apartment and went out to have its film developed. There we 23 shots, taken at a Christmas party. Heidi showed the photos to ‘Dette. One of them showed a middle aged lady with a young woman, and they both a resemblance to Heidi. ‘Dette said that one of the ladies was Mama and the other lady was most likely Heidi’s grandmother. The photos were taken in Liberty NY. Now Heidi wondered how she and Mama wound up in Reno. Heidi tried to get Mama to tell her who soof is, and who the other person in the photo was. Heidi also finds the Christmas sweater worn by the other person in the photo. Then she and Bernie call Hilltop Home in Liberty NY but make no headway – calls are not returned, nor are mail inquiries. Heidi later persuaded Bernie to try and go outside, but she goes one step past the door and she faints. Zander and Heidi bring her inside and Zander tries to get her to come to. Now Heidi has a better opinion of Zander. Then when Bernie comes to Heidi and she talk about Hilltop House and Bernie promises to contact Thurman Hill. But Heidi knows that he will never respond so Heidi tells Bernie that she is going to Liberty herself to find out more. Bernie tries to tell her that flying is dangerous, so Heidi tells her that she will take a bus instead. Later she learns that it’s $313 round trip between Reno and Liberty so to get the money, Heidi played slot machines at the bus terminal and the laundromat and soon has enough. When she goes to the terminal, she cons a lady into buying the ticket for her since she is under age – 13 when the minimum age to travel alone is 15. Someone finally does buy the ticket for her and she goes back to the apartment to pack her suitcase. Heidi starts to argue with Bernie about leaving for New York. She told Bernie that she is not her mother and cannot stop her. But she finally does leave Reno, and with Bernie’s blessing. Heidi got onto the bus and soon met Alice Wilinsky and her 5 kittens, who are all going to a reunion in Salk Lake City. Heidi lies to her about her grandmother knowing Shirley Temple and that Shirley came to their house to bake with granny. Once Alice gets off in Salk Lake City Heidi continues alone towards New York. At the next bus stop in Cheyenne WY, she tries to call home and could not get through at first. She buys herself a cup of black coffee and tries again. Heidi is still on the bus and cannot reach Bernie because the lines are down. She also got nauseous while in Cheyenne and heaved into a trash can. Then she meets an 18 girl named Georgia Sweet who is going to New York City to study psychology at a university there. They strike up several conversations and discuss how you can read someone’s thoughts by their body language. Heidi and Georgia make it to New York and the Port Authority Bus Terminal, where someone picks her money out of her knapsack. She meets a new friend named Nancy who accompanies her to Monticello NY, and then she changes to a bus for Liberty. Once there she finally gets through to Bernie and tells her she was robbed. Heidi arrived in Liberty NY and goes to the ABC Cab Company to try and get to Hilltop Home. She won a ride to the Home by guessing the number of jelly beans in a jar (1,527) and once there goes inside a building and runs into a man sleeping at his desk. She meets a new friend named Nancy who accompanies her to Monticello NY, and then she changes to a bus for Liberty. Once there she finally gets through to Bernie and tells her she was robbed. Heidi arrived in Liberty NY and goes to the ABC Cab Company to try and get to Hilltop Home. She won a ride to the Home by guessing the number of jelly beans in a jar (1,527) and once there goes inside a building and runs into a man sleeping at his desk. Heidi soon meets Ruby Franklin, Thurman Hill and Ruby’s husband Sheriff Roy Franklin. Thurman does not want anything to do with Bernadette. Heidi was able to phone Bernie and talk to her, and then Sheriff Franklin spoke to Bernie and told her about Heidi’s ability to guess the correct results of coin tosses. Sheriff Roy tosses a coin and Heidi got all of them right. After that Sheriff Roy and Ruby take Heidi to their home for a meal and to dry off. I finished the book on the 29th. Heidi is staying with the Franklin’s and Ruby studied the photos that Heidi brought with her - Elliot, Thurman and Ruby were in some of them. Heidi later learns who her grandparents are and while in Liberty, her mother, Sophia, passed away. She eventually returned to Reno and enrolled in middle school and starts to live a normal life.
On the 30th I started to read The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett. The opening chapter takes place in Mallard, a black town in St. Landry Parish. The chapter described the founding of the town in 1847 by a master’s freed slave son, and how the town prospered since then. In 1954 the Vignes twins, Desiree and Stella, left Mallard and the daughter of one of them has returned. The story goes on to tell when the twins were in school until their mother pulls them out after sophomore year to start work – cleaning a rich white family’s house in Opelousas.
Ellen recommended that I read the last chapters of Fantasyland by Kurt Anderson. What I saw so far about guns and playing outdoorsmen seems to fit many of the people here whom I know. And most pickup truck and off road vehicle owners have them for image. Kurt Anderson spoke about the fantasy industry – re-enactment groups, movies and books about fantasy (like Game of Thrones), games to play war, reality shows like Keeping up with the Kardashians, and paramilitary groups that play soldier. The next chapter talked about Disney World and how so many adults go there to live in a fantasy world, and some live in a nearby city named Celebration which is a re-creation of what life was like a few generations ago. And who went for trump in 2016 when the rest of Orange County went for Hillary. Later Kurt Anderson talks about Fox News and talk radio and how it spreads lies and propaganda. Later on in the chapter Anderson describes how trump is geared for fantasy. He has his brain washed followers. He tells people what they want to hear and promises them everything. He is basically a 21st century P. T. Barnum. I read the rest of Fantasyland and Anderson asks what would America be like if certain events in history changed and we were more Catholic and cosmopolitan, and still British without the South. He says that the penchant for fantasy would be under control. We are the first Protestant built nation, and the first Enlightenment built nation and led to extreme individualism and the mix of 16th and 17th century religion with 17th and 18th century philosophy laid the groundwork to Fantasyland. We have been saying that the prior century was better than the current one – nostalgia. Entertainment grew during the 19th century in the US, and today we have a 24/7 collage of fantasy and fantastic reality. There was a balance fantasy and reality existed in a rough balance for 300 years. The post war prosperity had ended by 2000 for a good part of the country. With no more Cold War ended we needed a single enemy to satisfy many Americans. Anderson thing that the full Fantasyland came around 2000 when a majority of us were on the Internet. He also talked about the decline of religion here. More people are becoming agnostic or atheistic, but about 33% of the country takes the Bible literally. We are becoming more secular and no longer a City on the Hill. Anderson quoted Hannah Arendt when she described the rise of fascism - Gullibility in mob mentality, believing that everything was possible and nothing was true. The audience was ready to believe the worst no matter how false and leaders could make the masses believe almost anything. Anderson believes that we have tipped into permanent disarray and decline. He thinks that modern civilizations great principles of democracy, freedom and tolerance will guarantee good outcomes. He cited Carl Sagan who said that we are unable to distinguish between what is good and what is true and will slide back into superstition and darkness. The last age like this was the Middle Ages. Then we looked back to Ancient Rome and Greece. The ancient Greeks were soon were afraid to be on their own with no divine intervention. Maybe we are headed that way. Cultures had their golden ages but went back to murk and primitivism but he thinks we do have hope. We reduced violent crime, elected a Black president, came up with some good visual arts and reduced poverty worldwide. Reality based America must keep its zone large and attractive. We have to adopt a guiding principle – you’re entitled to your own opinions and fantasies, but not your own facts especially if fantastical facts hurt people. Call out the dangerously untrue and unreal and become less squishy. There is opposition to PC which is in the eye of the beholder. It will not be easy to make American reality based again. Teach kids to distinguish between true and untrue, wide and unwise, and right and wrong. We have to contain the worst tendencies of Trumpism and cut off it political economic fuel. He hopes that our recent decades were a phase. He hopes that we are now at peak Fantasyland and its downward from there.
On Saturday I got a call from the 3rd Vice Commander of the post telling me that several members of the post may have the Virus, and possibly caught it at November’s Night at the Races that I did not attend. Ellen has been telling me to stay away from American Legion and Islip Fire Department function that are indoors, because most members do not always wear masks. Later on Saturday I also got a calling post from the 1st Vice Commander announcing that the American Legion services for our Commander on Monday the 7th are cancelled but we can attend the wake as individuals. On Monday the 7th after a walk with Eileen I changed and went to the funeral home to attend our commander’s wake. Due to COVID, there were not a large crowd of people. I signed the book for the 3 of us and then greeted his widow, daughter and son in law. I sat where the group of chairs are, away from others, and mainly listened to what others had to say. Then I left and went to Islip Pharmacy to pick up something for Ellen, and then went to the firehouse for a quick cup of coffee. While in the ready room I was masked the entire time except for when drinking coffee and sat in the corner at least 10 feet from the other members. On the way out one of the other members told me that the Commander did have COVID and that is how he got pneumonia and passed away on the 3rd.
This month I decided to write a sequel to A New York Readjustment and began by setting up the outlines for chapters. This story will start in 1982 when both Bob and Pat graduate from their programs at Hunter College and start work at their respective jobs. Bob is hired by the Nassau County Medical Center in July. Pat is hired by the Levittown School District and starts her new job on September 1st, 1982. Later at parents night a couple of her students’ dads suggested that Bob join the Levittown Fire Department. But they still live in Flushing. Then there was the issues of coming home from the midnight to 8 shift in the morning rush hour. It’s time to move to Levittown. After doing all the necessary things, they moved into a house on Penny Lane in January 1983. In my own writings, I elaborated on the Readjustment’s sequel. Now Bob and Pat go on their first long distance vacation since their honeymoon – to Washington DC and Colonial Williamsburg. Of course the main historic sites are visited, and they treat themselves, their coworkers and Bob’s parents to some nice gifts from Merchants Square. I even did some research into Colonial Williamsburg and Nassau County fire departments to make the story more accurate. Pat also arranges for a member of her Hibernians division to teach Irish step dancing to some of the girls in her modern dance club. Later on the story reaches 1985 and both Pat and Bob are settled in with their careers, and luckily Bob has not yet had to go overseas with the Army yet. Bob will get deployed in 1991 for Desert Storm and in 1998 help with tend to the dead and injured at the Dar Es Salaam bombing. In late 1985 Bob took Pat for a laparoscopy and then a few months later, in February 1986, Pat learned that she was pregnant. But in May she miscarried and was quite down emotionally. Bob realized that Pat’s emotions are his first priority and promised to support her in any way he could. Pat went to her Hibernian hall on occasion and there learned of a miscarriage support group. The sequel also mentions Cousin Bill (me) joining the Islip Fire Department in June 1985. In 1986 Pat is back at her job, and they both follow the 1986 baseball post season, and visit Bob’s parents for Thanksgiving at their high rise. Then after school lets out for winter break, they go to Montreal for a nice vacation. When it’s 1987 Pat is active with the Hibernians where another member tells them about an adoption agency in Mineola that they should contact. They do that and the lawyer tells them what they will have to do if they want to become adoptive parents. Finally in 1988 and Pat is pregnant and they learn that it will be a girl arriving in January 1989 – Eileen Patricia. The next verse is Verse 10 – 1989 Post-Partum. Eileen Patricia is home and Bob & Pat are planning her christening. Who will be her godparents? Finally one of Bob’s paternal cousins and his wife agree. I wrote more of Readjustment Sequel. We are still in 1989 and it’s the Memorial Day Parade, a Mets game, the Hibernians feis, and Pat returning to work. Bob arranges to have two twelve hours shifts over the weekend, counting as three shifts. And he is available to take care of Eileen during the day. In September they went to Steve’s Pier I for their 13th anniversary, with Eileen in tow. As an emergency room nurse Bob has had to deal with more drug overdoses. On Veterans Day 1989 the 3 of them go to ceremonies at the Levittown Library. They have Thanksgiving dinner at Bob’s parents’ home, and just before Christmas Bob and Pat go to see The Nutcracker at Lincoln Center. In January they celebrate Eileen’s 1st birthday, and in February Pat goes to Ellen’s baby shower, and in March Cousin Bill and Ellen welcome Eileen Theresa. I also added the honeymoon to Part I of the Readjustment Trilogy. During the 1976 Christmas holidays Bob and Pat go to Aruba, stay at the Concorde, and visit the beach and the capital city. In the Readjustment Sequel (Part II) Bob and Pat celebrate Pat’s 38th birthday at a restaurant in Freeport during April and the following month march in the Memorial Day Parade with their organizations and meet for the ceremonies at the Veterans Memorial Park. After the ceremonies they all go out to Long Island National Cemetery to visit the graves of Bob’s (and my) maternal grandparents. In July Bob and Pat go to a game at Yankee Stadium to see the Bronx Bombers lose 8-0. Then in August Desert Shield begins and Bob gets activated and will be deployed overseas. The story ends with the beginning of Desert Shield and Bob’s getting activated and ready for deployment. It will continue in Part III after I first do some research of Desert Storm and Desert Shield.
The Readjustment Sequel now has a description of the CVS test Pat went through at Mount Sinai Hospital, and I also edited a few other paragraphs.
Part III of the Readjustment Trilogy, titled Bobby DiLorenzo, RN, Major USAR is now in progress. So far, Bob got called up to active duty with the MEDDAC from Fort Drum and in November 1990 is getting ready to deploy. Before he goes overseas, Pat and Eileen fly to Syracuse and he drives down to meet them for a night or two together. It will be their last time together until March 1991. They stay in a hotel in downtown Syracuse, so they can walk around the city and have dinner at local restaurants. They also visit the Syracuse University campus. After three days they have to part until March while he goes overseas. Pat and Eileen go back to Levittown while Bob drives back to Fort Drum and then flies to Saudi Arabia a few days later.
On the feast day of St. Nicholas Eileen and I went for a walk along the truncated route, through Greenview Village. After we got back I drove up to Kings Park parked the car in the LIRR lot got in a walk along Route 25A to Pulaski Road and then to 1st Avenue before turning back. I brought my camera and took pix of some vacant/for rent stores along Main Street – similar to what’s happening in Islip. Before leaving I stopped in the Long Island Toy and Game Shop and got a Hatchem critter named Gwyneth, which really inflated before I put it into the console (on Monday I saw that it deflated, like a balloon, to a normal size). When I got home I gave the Gay 90’s snowball to Eileen. She named it Snowball III and is in her Beanie Baby collection, at #97.
On the 9th I went to ENT Allergies to have my ears looked out and while my hearing is OK, my right ear has eczema so that means a visit to the dermatologist. Later in the day Ellen got an e/mail from my cousin telling her that her day passed away today from prostate cancer at the age of 92. He was my godfather, and the last of my uncles. I now only have 4 aunts still living.
On Friday I drove up to the DMV in Hauppauge to renew my driver’s license. It set me back $110.50 but I need the license to drive legally here, and it’s going to be an enhanced license so I can perhaps drive to Montreal in the future when the pandemic is over and the border is open again. With the firehouse closed I had to stop at 7- 11 to get my fix of java. On the way home I stopped at the one on Route 111 & Beaver Dam Road for some coffee and also a Kinder Joy egg. This time it was the boy from The Incredibles and is #28 in my collection. It's in the console of the CR-V with one of the Minions. On the political front I am appalled that over 120 republican congressmen are supporting a petition from Texas attorney general Ken Paxton to nullify Joe Biden’s wins in PA, MI, GA & WI. It would be the end of democracy as we know it if the court does it. But later I saw emails from friends and news sites that the Supreme Court tossed out Paxton’s petition to nullify Joe Biden’s win in those 4 states. It looks like our democracy is saved. Around 3:30 on Sunday Eileen and I went for a walk to Town Hall by way of Greenview Village, stopping for photos at my American Legion Post before taking more at the Veterans Park and then the holiday decorations in front of the Town Hall and then 2 more across Nassau Avenue from the Post when we were heading back. Since I promised her a Beanie Baby if she cooperated, we stopped at 7-11 where she got Mickey Mouse (#98 in the Beanie Baby collection) and we split a Mister Good Bar candy bar. And then on the way home we went through Greenview Village again. In the evening the 3 of us ordered dinner from Vinny’s Mulberry Street - sea food for each of us. It set us back $79.00 for the 3 of us but it was worth it.
On Monday the 14th Ellen sent me on errands – Chase Bank to visit the ATM and return items to the vault, the post office to mail bills and also buy stamps and a money order and get the lotto ticket at 7-11. I went to the Islip Terrace post office since the 7-11 is next door and I just have to park the car once. After lunch I went to Stop & Shop to get more lunch provisions, especially because we will most likely get hit by a snowstorm on Wednesday. During the rest of the day I watched CNN, which televised the electors casting their votes for President. Joe Biden is definitely the President Elect and will be the 46th President of the United States next month. I also learned that William Barr resigned at Attorney General. We did get snow on the 16th. When Eileen and I left for bowling on Wednesday afternoon it started to snow and by midnight we got what looks like 4 inches. The next morning I shoveled a path in the driveway from the garage to the curb, and also the walkway to the stoop and the stoop itself. In the afternoon some of the guys from the Islip Fire Department came by to finish my driveway and walkway. They were taking care of the senior members. On the 18th Ellen and I checked out the LL Bean website and ordered some items for each of us. I got a pair of jeans, a long sleeved tee shirt and a long sleeved polo shirt. The shirts are forest green and will arrive in January. At around 4:30 I drove over to the 7-11 at Nassau Avenue and treated myself to a coffee with light cream, and a Kinder Joy egg – the Incredible Hulk , #29 in my collection. It’s in the CR-V console. I then went to the firehouse to enjoy my coffee and snack and go through the Engine 2 mail box to discard all the junk mail. On Saturday the 19th Eileen and I drove to Taco Bell to get lunch from the drive up window. The next day I managed to adjust the time in the clock radio on the armoire but could not get the CD feature to work. I got out my mother in law’s old boom box and brought it into the bedroom and plugged it in, and it worked, allowing me to listen to the Oscar Peterson Trio’s Bursting CD and also some Crosby Stills & Nash. After lunch I watched women’s basketball on TV: Syracuse vs. Boston College , Mississippi State vs, Central Arkansas. Syracuse (83-70) and Mississippi State (72-49) each won. The NBA Channel also re-broadcast the Milwaukee Bucks - Dallas Mavericks game from the 14th. In the end Dallas won 128-112 and Giannis was not able to help that much. Later in the evening, around 6:30, Ellen and I were able to have a successful Zoom meeting with my friend Charlie and his wife Debbie. To test the video mode of my computer camera, Ellen and I each made videos of our reading the first 11 lines of T. S. Eliot’s The Waste Land.
On Monday we enjoyed the Winter Solstice and I was busy with errands. I returned some items at the library and also paid the Visa bill at Chase Bank. I also went to Islip Terrace to visit the 7-11 at 56 Lowell Avenue to get the Wednesday lotto ticket. I went inside to get the lotto ticket but the computer was down, but I did get a Kinder Joy egg and #30 in my collection. It’s a black panther, and I put it into the book case and gave Caroline Danvers to Eileen. I had to get the lotto ticket at the 7-11 on Sunrise Highway. The next day I had to transfer $13,000 from savings to checking to pay off Visa and other vendors, and also the property taxes. We are being taxed out of existence. After lunch on Wednesday I went out on some errands: the post office, the bank, Manhattan Sweets Bakery to buy some sugar cookies and a pumpkin pie, Karp’s Liquor Store to get two bottles of red wine – New York State varieties, and the Islip Library to pick up another Oscar Peterson CD.
I spent a good part of Christmas Eve watching TV and then going to the 4 pm Christmas Mass at St. Mary's. The church building was at capacity when I arrived so I went to the auditorium which is larger and was less crowded. On Christmas Day I was able to get a Zoom meeting in with brother in law and sister in law as well as my three nephews, but I had to use my iPhone camera because the video camera on the computer would not work. I also watched part of the Brooklyn Nets – Boston Celtics game and the Nets won 123-95. On Boxing Day Eileen and I did a walk through Greenview Village and returned along the truncated route, and then I went to St. Mary’s to amend my life. After that I went to the 7-11 at 197 East Main Street to get the lottery ticket and another Kinder Joy egg - #31 in my collection, the Minion pearl diver which I later put on top of the desk in the computer room. I went to the 4:30 Mass and then to the firehouse to check the Engine 2 mailbox and have a cup of coffee. When I got home I watched a show on the MLB Channel that paid tribute to the 6 Hall of Fame members whom we lost in 2020, and then on CNN I watched a show about the First Ladies, featuring Michelle Obama and then Jackie Kennedy – two great ladies.
For the rest of 2020, from the 27th to New Year’s Eve it was mostly walks with Eileen through Greenview Village, finishing reading So B. It and starting The Vanishing Half, and writing Part III of my short story, titled Bobby DiLorenzo, RN, Major USAR. Among the other things I did was check the oil level and tire pressure on our two cars and take the Accord for a run to Oakdale to photograph what was once Dowling College, and then and then went to the 7-11 on Montauk High way for a small coffee and another Kinder Joy egg - #32, the Minion photographer, which I put it into the CR-V. I stopped another time at the Nassau Avenue 7-11 for a lotto ticket and also bought a Minion zipper pull for my fire company briefcase. The year ended with a visit to the dermatologist and getting a few things for our private New Year’s Eve party.
See everyone in 2021!!!!