Christmas Day

It was a wonderful day.

I sat and watched my family get the dinner together. There was a lot of activity in the kitchen. I had never seen so many people moving back and forth, without running into each other.

At first we sat at the counter eating numerous appetizers which can ruin your appetite, but nobody seemed to mind.

For dinner, all 19 of us sat down at one table. Young Austen said the first grace and I said the second one. I thanked God for our great family, and told them Kitty always loved a party and she would have loved to have been here for this one. She has been gone six years.

Presents were opened, football games were watched on the big TV screen, and there was a lot of conversation.

As always, I enjoyed visiting with my grandchildren.

All in all it was a great day.

The Prank Played at the Irish Wake

In 1941, at my son Jack's Christening many old stories were told.

A favorite one was about the wake of a relative in Ireland. Back then, there were no funeral parlors or electricity. Wakes were held in people's homes. This particular relative had a humped back. The relatives had to tie the poor devil down with a rope to keep him in the casket.

My Uncle Bill got the bright idea of playing a trick during prayers. While the mourners were praying, someone locked the doors to the house and someone else cut the rope that was holding the relative in the casket. When the rope was cut, the dead relative popped up. People thought he had come back to life. Then someone blew out the candles. There was a lot of hollering and screaming and running toward the doors, which of course were locked.

Once everyone was told it was a joke, they all had a great laugh.

I thought the joke had gone too far. If I was there, I wouldn't have thought it was funny. People get heart attacks. People get strokes. Someone could have gotten hurt. If someone had a heart condition, it only takes a little bit of excitement.

How I Convinced My Mother to Buy her First Frigidaire

Many years ago before there were refrigerators, people would put a sign in their kitchen window to tell the ice man how many pounds of ice they needed for the ice box. If you wanted 25 pounds, you put the number 25 on the top of the card. The ice man would bring it in the house and put it in the box. It cost about 20-25 cents a day.

My mother would not buy a new refrigerator because she thought it was too expensive. The Hecht Company had a 6-foot refrigerator on sale for $99.50. The only way I could get Mom to buy the new refrigerator was to prove to her she was spending more money on the ice man than she would on the installments. I was 14 years old at the time.

This was great for me because if the ice man didn't deliver, I had to take my wagon to the ice house to get the ice. It was a ten minute walk to F Street NE.

Mom was very happy with the refrigerator. It kept everything evenly cold. Very few things had to be thrown away. With the ice box, it didn't keep everything cold correctly and you had to throw the food away.

That refrigerator lasted a long time. Eventually, my parents bought another house that had a refrigerator, and gave the first one to my brother Billy and his new wife Anna. After my mother died, my family got the refrigerator. We used it in the basement for a few years before it finally gave out.

Muscles through the Years

Kitty loved to take pictures of the different generations in similar poses, which her children enjoy doing just as much.

Starting from the bottom up, here are a collection of pictures - Kitty's brother Charles (@1940), my son Charlie(@1977), my grandson Kevin (@1991) with his younger brother Mike, and my son Charlie again with my granddaughter Kate(@1991). They are all showing off their muscles. Kit needs to find a picture of my grandson Dan for this collection.

Jack with "Blonde" hair

While I was away, Kitty had a professional portrait taken with Jack. The photographer thought it would be nice to change Jack's brown hair to blonde. Kitty had a fit. She told the photographer her son had brown hair, she was sending the picture to me, and how was I going to recognize my son with the wrong color hair. I didn't care what color hair Jack had in the picture. I was just happy to receive new pictures, but it really bothered Kitty.

I have come a long way

It seems so long ago. In July, 2006, I fell, broke my hip, and had a hip replacement operation. I was laid up for months. In January, I was able to take my first step. Each month, I got better. Now I am back to taking daily exercise classes, and I am walking as much as I can.

Dinners through the Years

There have been many happy occasions for family dinners. Here are some from the 1950s,early 70s, and present time.

My son Jack and grandson John

My family enjoys repeating pictures every generation. Here are pictures of my son Jack and grandson John in their high chairs with similar smiles and poses.

Honeymoon Pictures at Lake George

Here are pictures from the honeymoon Kitty and I enjoyed for a short time at Lake George in New York. As I mentioned earlier, Kitty and I changed our plans and went to New York City.

Pictures of Joe and Jack at About the Same Age

Our family enjoys comparing pictures of how everyone looked at the same age. Here is a picture of Jack at his college graduation at age 21, and one of Joe when he was about 24.

Thanksgiving Day

Just about the whole gang was gathered at Melissa and Stephen's house for Thanksgiving dinner. We were missing Elsie and Lila from Tallahassee, Kevin and Mike from Los Angeles, and Celie and young Charlie from Davidsonville. We had some additions. Stephen's brother Brad and his new wife Sam were at the table. It was a feast.

Dan, his girlfriend Paige and her 3 children joined us for dessert. Nora gave Paige's daughter Chloe a pink princess set with a tiara, shoes, and jewelery. Chloe was very proud of her new heels. I told her she looked like she had just arrived from Paris.

Everyone enjoyed seeing the children run around. Austen was busy playing with all of them.

John Eugenio was quite content sitting on many laps. Nora ordered bib and cap for me, which he is wearing in the picture.

All in all, it was a wonderful day. I had no trouble sleeping that night, as I went out like a light.

Botanical Gardens - December 8, 2007

It was an interesting day. Kit has Austen for the week-end. So we went downtown for the Christmas festivities. We ended up at the Botanical Gardens, which I had never visited, even though I worked across the street from the gardens for many years.

Austen had a wonderful time exploring the many plants in the jungle, the desert, Hawaii… Each room had a different theme. There were also several very large train sets to keep him amused.

Afterwards, we went to Crisfields for dinner. All in all, it was a very good day.

Thanksgiving Day

Just about the whole gang was gathered at Melissa and Stephen's house for Thanksgiving dinner. We were missing Elsie and Lila from Tallahassee, Kevin and Mike from Los Angeles, and Celie and young Charlie from Davidsonville. We had some additions. Stephen's brother Brad and his new wife Sam were at the table. It was a feast.

Dan, his girlfriend Paige and her 3 children joined us for dessert. Nora gave Paige's daughter Chloe a pink princess set with a tiara, shoes, and jewelery. Chloe was very proud of her new heels. I told her she looked like she had just arrived from Paris.

Everyone enjoyed seeing the children run around. Austen was busy playing with all of them.

John Eugenio was quite content sitting on many laps. Nora ordered bib and cap for me, which he is wearing in the picture.

All in all, it was a wonderful day. I had no trouble sleeping that night, as I went out like a light.

The National Shrine

Kit wanted to visit the National Shrine today to see our name etched on a column in the Crypt for the donation Kitty and I had made to the Building Fund in the 40s.

For $150, we had our names and Jack’s name etched in the stone. We put in Mohler for Kitty’s people. Kitty’s mother, Mrs. Mohler, was very pleased. She said “You have my name down there too.”

When the children were younger, we took many trips to the Shrine. Kit remembers pouting that her name wasn’t included. It was hard for her to understand she wasn’t born yet, nor was Nora, Elsie, Joe, or Charlie.

I stopped at the Shrine a lot during my working years. I would sit in the cafeteria and prepare reports. When different aunts would come to the Shrine for Mass, I would show them the stone. They were so happy. They all wanted to see it, as I was the first one in the family to do something like this.

I took my first digital picture today. Kit wanted me to take a picture of her standing by the inscription. It was a little hard holding onto the walker with one hand, while holding the camera with the other.

We saw a lot of the city as Kit ended up in different parts. She needs one of those things for the dashboard. Most of my children have one. I didn't mind getting lost as I enjoyed seeing the people on the street, the buildings, and all the construction that was going on.

Our family will be getting together for Thanksgiving at my granddaughter Melissa’s house. There should be about 20 people. I am looking forward to it.

My health is good

My oldest son Jack was very busy in October. We went to three doctor appointments. My teeth have been cleaned, checked out and are OK for awhile. We also went to the heart doctor for two appointments. My heart is fine. We are to return in six months.

October 20, 2007 - Austen's 1-year anniversary

Just a few days later, Kit and I headed out to Culpeper, Virginia to celebrate the one-year anniversary of Austen coming into Melissa and Stephen's family.

We had a wonderful dinner, cake, ice cream and presents for Austen.

Austen is pictured in the middle with his proud grandparents Nora and David.

October 18, 2007 - Lee's Memorial Service

It was a sad and happy time tonight. Kit and I went to Lee’s memorial service. Lee was Nora’s best friend's husband who died from complications from melanoma last Thursday. It was just a few months ago, he found out he had a serious illness.

I didn’t know Lee that well. I only knew him through Nora and Marge. After the service, I felt I knew him very well.

It was a very unusual and moving service. There was no minister or priest. Marge’s son Jim and his wife held the memorial in their home and Jim was the main speaker.

Jim proudly referred to Lee as Dad and said all his siblings were happy Marge had found a husband and they had found a father they never had. Jim described the wonderful character of Lee as a husband, father, grandfather, employee, friend, and as a man facing death. There were many tears and laughter.

Then Jim played a rock song on the stereo in a very loud tone in honor of his mother “Lay Your World on Me” by Ozzie Ozborne. Everyone received copies of the sheet music so they could read it as the song was playing. My grand daughter Melissa sang a beautiful song. Marge’s daughter Theresa sang a prayer. Then Marge’s grandchildren played many skits enacting funny stories from her life with Lee.

Jim’s wife Maureen and her family and friends prepared a feast for the reception. I had never seen so much food and so nicely prepared.

For dessert, a fellow brought over a fruit bouquet for me to pick out my own stick. I had never seen anything like it. It was something fit for a king. Kit told me that many people send fruit bouquets, instead of flowers.

I was very glad Kit and I drove out to Manassas for the service.