Monday, May 31, 2010
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Remembering Father's Day... and the men who made it great...
Hello my friends,
On the day that has been set aside to honor fathers… I will begin by remembering the men who shared in the birth of the man… and who shared in the birth of the woman… who shared in my birth…
I invite you my dear friends to do the same… about the great men in your life…
If we were lucky enough… truly lucky enough… there would be 3 men who we would come to know… and love… and who we would call at some very appropriate time in our lives… Pop... and Grandpa... and Daddy...
They were… I am most honored to say… true… “GIANTS”…
The first two… were handsome and graying gentlemen… who I’m sure most of us (like I did)… thought they were ancient from the very outset of our lives… but in hindsight… they were really quite young… and it was being in their presence and listening to their stories and their wisdom… that now places so many things in proper perspective… Pop (paternal) and Grandpa (maternal)… both… if you’re my age… were born in a year that began with 1800 and something… and they were GIANTS… yes they were the GIANTS on whose shoulders we all stand today… they were the GIANTS who would father the GREATEST generation… and therefore my friends… that makes us all… the luckiest generation… yes… we are very lucky indeed… I know that I have written some of these words before… they deserve repeating…
The first (paternal)… was born in La Plata, Argentina… in the Irish Colony there… my second (maternal) was born at 57 Clarkson Street, NYC… amongst the Irish Colony here… the first would sail the length of a perilous South Atlantic with a great-grandfather and great-grandmother who I would never know… back to County Westmeath, Ireland… and then at the very young age of 21… he would cross a cold and damp North Atlantic to arrive at Ellis Island on November 6, 1906… with only $8 in his pocket… he would go on to father six children… my Pop was the oldest… and grandfather and great-grandfather more cousins than I can count… I would come to truly admire and deeply appreciate what he had done long after he was gone…
The second would father 6 of his own… after becoming the step-father of 6… also at the age of 21… later in life he would become a recluse… he might have shut himself off from the world... but he did not shut the world off from himself... for in his quiet place he had his crystal radio set and his daily pile of newspapers… and of course he had his cigars and pipe tobacco… he was the first to tell me “to never smoke a cigarette… and that if I was going to enjoy a smoke… smoke real tobacco… ‘Smoke a Cigar!’”… he would also occasionally ask me to buy Guinness Stout and would not believe me when I told him at the age of 9 that I could not buy beer for him – “what kind of law is that?” he would ask… he would become my first history teacher… taught me my numbers by cheating me out of my pennies with his home made dice… I swear that Abbott and Costello got their dice routine from Grandpa… he was my very first “best friend”… and the “rest young man”… as he would always say… is “history”… and it was nostalgia too…
Number 3… was Daddy to begin with… and then became “Pop”… from the day when I called him that… and he told me he was honored to be called by that title…
Pop worked hard… and unfortunately he drank just as hard… he did not know that all of his examples were good ones… he worked two jobs to pay the rent and to pay for an annual vacation to Rockaway Park and later to Long Beach… and then he would change careers to pay two Catholic high school tuitions… and still later it would be the result of his heroism in the sands of North Africa, the mountains of Sicily, the hell that was Anzio and Salerno and the ultimate victory in France… that would help pay for a college education… as a child of a disabled veteran… yes indeed… today I will look upon his two Purple Hearts and his Silver Star …. and know once again, that I am (as you are too)… indeed… part of the “luckiest generation”…
I hope that these short remembrances get you to post your memories too… I hope that you will share your thoughts and your nostalgia also… but before I sign off… remember that these men gave us many great things… they gave us life… they gave us love… and they gave us the greatest gift of all… they gave us…
Peace…
Inwood Guy
On the day that has been set aside to honor fathers… I will begin by remembering the men who shared in the birth of the man… and who shared in the birth of the woman… who shared in my birth…
I invite you my dear friends to do the same… about the great men in your life…
If we were lucky enough… truly lucky enough… there would be 3 men who we would come to know… and love… and who we would call at some very appropriate time in our lives… Pop... and Grandpa... and Daddy...
They were… I am most honored to say… true… “GIANTS”…
The first two… were handsome and graying gentlemen… who I’m sure most of us (like I did)… thought they were ancient from the very outset of our lives… but in hindsight… they were really quite young… and it was being in their presence and listening to their stories and their wisdom… that now places so many things in proper perspective… Pop (paternal) and Grandpa (maternal)… both… if you’re my age… were born in a year that began with 1800 and something… and they were GIANTS… yes they were the GIANTS on whose shoulders we all stand today… they were the GIANTS who would father the GREATEST generation… and therefore my friends… that makes us all… the luckiest generation… yes… we are very lucky indeed… I know that I have written some of these words before… they deserve repeating…
The first (paternal)… was born in La Plata, Argentina… in the Irish Colony there… my second (maternal) was born at 57 Clarkson Street, NYC… amongst the Irish Colony here… the first would sail the length of a perilous South Atlantic with a great-grandfather and great-grandmother who I would never know… back to County Westmeath, Ireland… and then at the very young age of 21… he would cross a cold and damp North Atlantic to arrive at Ellis Island on November 6, 1906… with only $8 in his pocket… he would go on to father six children… my Pop was the oldest… and grandfather and great-grandfather more cousins than I can count… I would come to truly admire and deeply appreciate what he had done long after he was gone…
The second would father 6 of his own… after becoming the step-father of 6… also at the age of 21… later in life he would become a recluse… he might have shut himself off from the world... but he did not shut the world off from himself... for in his quiet place he had his crystal radio set and his daily pile of newspapers… and of course he had his cigars and pipe tobacco… he was the first to tell me “to never smoke a cigarette… and that if I was going to enjoy a smoke… smoke real tobacco… ‘Smoke a Cigar!’”… he would also occasionally ask me to buy Guinness Stout and would not believe me when I told him at the age of 9 that I could not buy beer for him – “what kind of law is that?” he would ask… he would become my first history teacher… taught me my numbers by cheating me out of my pennies with his home made dice… I swear that Abbott and Costello got their dice routine from Grandpa… he was my very first “best friend”… and the “rest young man”… as he would always say… is “history”… and it was nostalgia too…
Number 3… was Daddy to begin with… and then became “Pop”… from the day when I called him that… and he told me he was honored to be called by that title…
Pop worked hard… and unfortunately he drank just as hard… he did not know that all of his examples were good ones… he worked two jobs to pay the rent and to pay for an annual vacation to Rockaway Park and later to Long Beach… and then he would change careers to pay two Catholic high school tuitions… and still later it would be the result of his heroism in the sands of North Africa, the mountains of Sicily, the hell that was Anzio and Salerno and the ultimate victory in France… that would help pay for a college education… as a child of a disabled veteran… yes indeed… today I will look upon his two Purple Hearts and his Silver Star …. and know once again, that I am (as you are too)… indeed… part of the “luckiest generation”…
I hope that these short remembrances get you to post your memories too… I hope that you will share your thoughts and your nostalgia also… but before I sign off… remember that these men gave us many great things… they gave us life… they gave us love… and they gave us the greatest gift of all… they gave us…
Peace…
Inwood Guy
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Remembering Dad's... and "OUR INWOOD"...
Hello my friends...
I was sitting here thinking about our Fathers... I just read the posting that another dear friend has lost her Dad... I can remember Mr. Aiello from the old neighborhood... his fruit and vegetable stand was a nice place... he was also polite and friendly...
Over the years I have come to renew my friendship with Barbara... and see her brother Frank from time to time... and it's as though the years have never separated us in any way...
Well... you see... that's "OUR INWOOD"... showing itself once again...
I wish that I could make the pain of losing a Father go away for Barbara... but, we all know that, that is part of life... and we also know that we'll see our parents once again... in a much better place... and we'll all be young and carefree... and of course... we'll be at...
Peace,
Inwood Guy
I was sitting here thinking about our Fathers... I just read the posting that another dear friend has lost her Dad... I can remember Mr. Aiello from the old neighborhood... his fruit and vegetable stand was a nice place... he was also polite and friendly...
Over the years I have come to renew my friendship with Barbara... and see her brother Frank from time to time... and it's as though the years have never separated us in any way...
Well... you see... that's "OUR INWOOD"... showing itself once again...
I wish that I could make the pain of losing a Father go away for Barbara... but, we all know that, that is part of life... and we also know that we'll see our parents once again... in a much better place... and we'll all be young and carefree... and of course... we'll be at...
Peace,
Inwood Guy
Saturday, May 8, 2010
"Our Inwood".... revisited...
Hello my friends… I hope that you are well…
I wanted to post today… about finding “OUR INWOOD”… the reason is I have to confess… is because I became a bit melancholy… I’m not going to kid you… I miss the place… that’s why I blink, wink and nod about it whenever I can…
The thing about finding “OUR INWOOD” is that we can find it everywhere… it never leaves us… it is what we are… it is what we will always be… we will always see “OUR INWOOD” in almost everything that we experience…
I know that many of us see it in our children and if blessed our grandchildren… no matter where they live… no matter where we live… we see it in their laughter and we see it in their tears… we see it in their scout meetings… we see it in their little league games… we see it in their school plays… we see it in their grammar and high school graduations… we see it in their speech and conversations and we see it in their tribulations too… for when we witness all of these things it is simply “OUR INWOOD” repeating itself…
And with that… I leave you for this weekend in…
Peace,
Inwood Guy
I wanted to post today… about finding “OUR INWOOD”… the reason is I have to confess… is because I became a bit melancholy… I’m not going to kid you… I miss the place… that’s why I blink, wink and nod about it whenever I can…
The thing about finding “OUR INWOOD” is that we can find it everywhere… it never leaves us… it is what we are… it is what we will always be… we will always see “OUR INWOOD” in almost everything that we experience…
I know that many of us see it in our children and if blessed our grandchildren… no matter where they live… no matter where we live… we see it in their laughter and we see it in their tears… we see it in their scout meetings… we see it in their little league games… we see it in their school plays… we see it in their grammar and high school graduations… we see it in their speech and conversations and we see it in their tribulations too… for when we witness all of these things it is simply “OUR INWOOD” repeating itself…
And with that… I leave you for this weekend in…
Peace,
Inwood Guy
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