Nostalgia

At this time last year, I was basking in the warm sun and sand of Grand Cayman Island.  Sigh.  Right now this area is expecting snow, it's freezing and I can hear the wind howling outside. 

Last year at this time, my nephew hadn't graduated from college yet.  Now, he's been commissioned as an officer in the Navy and is living on his own in San Diego for the last six months.  

Before I go and get all weepy, the bright side is that I have off tomorrow, as I'm not ready to get back into the 9-5 grind again.

I thought too, I'd take advantage of the new layouts on here and catch up with my usual blogger buddies since I've been kind of lazy about this lately. 

Bittersweet Symphony

Today is bittersweet for two reasons. It's Father's Day and I'd really love to be able to spend the day with my dad. I think he'd be quite proud and interested in where I've been since he left this earth and where I am now, where I'll be in the future. Plus, I'm sure there was more he had to teach me, certainly more questions I would like to ask of him about his music, his art, his life. I'd like to watch him again in action sitting beside someone at the mall that he didn't know who was wearing a Sari or a turban or a yarmulke. He would ask questions, greet them in their native tongue and may ultimately get into a "discussion" on politics or religion. There was always a "discussion" at our house when the unknowing Jehovah's Witnesses or Mormon's would come to the door. My dad loved to debate religion, much to my mother's chagrin.

It's bittersweet secondly because today is the Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year. I love that it's officially summer. I love that it's the longest day of the year. But, summer seems to slip by so quickly and before I know it, all of a sudden, I'm smack dab in the middle of October staring down the face of winter. I love that the daylight will be sticking around as long as possible today before giving way to darkness. However, the days to follow the Summer Solstice mean each one is just one second less than the day before. It's almost like death, till we finally reach the true death when fall arrives and everything goes to sleep for the winter.

Every year I say I'm going to live each summer day to it's fullest. I'm going to spend every waking moment in the sunshine as a way to store it all up inside me so when the winter comes I have some left over to chase away the winter blues.

"Cause it's a bittersweet symphony, this life, Trying to make ends meet, Trying to find some money then you die, I'll take you down the only road I've ever been down
You know the one that takes you to the places, where all the veins meet yeah."

Time Travels

Tonight in my class we talked about Coney Island.  Not the Coney Island of today that is slowing being chipped away at by land developers, but this Coney Island:

This was the Coney Island that the working class man visited as an escape from the daily grind of his job and the city. This is the Coney Island I want to visit. I'm not exactly sure why. Maybe it's the innocence of the rides which were tame in comparison to today. Strangely, there was a "Human Zoo" where visitors would climb to the bottom of a ladder and would find themselves in a cage and were on display for other visitors who would feed them peanuts.

Certainly I would not care to put on one of the standard swimsuits for ladies which were made of wool and often weighed 15-20 lbs wet and would require ladies to use ropes to extract them from the ocean after a swim.

I remember my father talking about visiting Coney Island as a kid, but sadly I don't remember him telling me anything more about it.

Perhaps it's nostalgia or the desire to visit a simpler time. I'd love to jump into a time machine and visit Coney Island mid nineteenth century. Of course, I'm sure it would be just as great to return home.

Check out the new addition to my frequently read blogs....Ephemeral New York. Just a plethora of really cool information about a city I adore!

Dress Rehearsal

I think I think alot about death and dying. Perhaps too much. It is a subject that fascinates me and perhaps it has something to do with living in the cold north and coming out of the long, cold nights that makes me think about dying more often around this time of the year. I find that a lot of people die in the winter. It's like they lose hope. I'm thankful that I do not live in even further northern countries that have ten plus hours or more of darkness a day during the winter. 

My friend that I mentioned in my previous post has been away this week in Paris.  A very bittersweet trip to Paris.  I guess it's kind of a last hurrah and he knows that.  For me, this week has been sort of a dress rehearsal for things to come.  I have had no contact from him, no texting, no calls, no pictures posted on Facebook.  In a few days though, I will hear from him and there will be frenzied texting, much chattering on the phone and hopefully lots of pictures.  Sadly the day will come when it won't be a dress rehearsal and the phone and Facebook will remain silent.  But for today, I will enjoy the sunshine and the fact that he is still with us.

This weekend has been a tease for us at least in south central PA. The sun has been out all weekend, the temps are in the upper 50's. It's a hopeful sign. I haven't looked but I'm sure some of the early spring flowers are beginning to poke through. I can tell the days are getting longer. The snow has almost completely melted.  Days like these give me hope that the darkest days are behind us and good things are coming.  I am hopeful.

Real Life

The northeast is getting pummeled again with snow.  I was at work briefly this morning but they shut down and I was able to make it home to the comfy couch.  I was lucky to have missed the storm we had last weekend that dumped about a foot of snow on the ground as I was in Key West celebrating "someone's" 40th birthday.  We visited the usual sights on the island and had plenty of beverages to celebrate.  The weather was warm and sunny and while my friends at home got pounded with the first round of snow, I was planted firmly on the beach with Jimmy Buffett singing in my ear.  It was an absolute perfect day.

Getting home and back to the reality of snow and every day life, I learned that a close friend has been diagnosed with terminal cancer.  At last check in November the cancer was gone.  Two months later it has progress so far that it has infiltrated the bones.  I pray I can be of some comfort and support to my friend.  I cannot imagine life without this person.  I pray that if my friend does have to leave this earth it can be painlessly and peacefully though I'd rather just keep my friend here with me, but that seems unlikely. 

Modern Day Monk

One of my very creative friends just put her wares up on the Internet.  Please stop by, her work is wonderful!

Yes There Are Dumb Questions

I always find it amusing the kind of reaction I get from others when I tell people where I go on vacation. I don't think I've ever been anywhere truly exotic like Africa or Mumbai or Borneo. Since I've been back I've told many stories about our recent trip to the Caymans. Today was no different as I got some of the following comments:

"Are the people friendly?" Um, yes, they aren't spear-carrying tribal people that have never seen a "white man."
"Oh, the Caymans...where are they exactly?" Aren't you embarrassed to even ask that question?
"So, what are the Caymans known for?" Couldn't you quietly go off and Google that instead of asking that question?
"Do you have family there?" No, I do not go on vacation to visit family. That is not usually considered a vacation.

One question I didn't get after returning from this vacation that I have gotten on other vacations was "Why would go there?" Really? Why would you even ask that question? Isn't a better question why wouldn't you go (insert location here?)

Please take a look at the Flickr box in the upper corner of my page for some of the pics of the beautiful Caymans...and maybe you should keep your silly questions to yourself.

Grand Cayman, B.W.I.

The last picture I posted was just something I grabbed off the Internet. I knew it was somewhere off the coast of Grand Cayman island but I had no idea I'd actually get to the place in the photo.

My family, Brian and I set off on this journey to Grand Cayman Island on a very cold and dark Christmas morning. In just 4 short hours we were there in the warm sunshine. I also knew I was going to meet a fellow blogger that I had been chatting with for some four years or so, MarkD60.

Mark and his lovely wife were most gracious in making sure we saw some really great things and were invited into their home and circle of friends.

It have gotten quite lazy about blogging since the discovery of Facebook but have promised that I would update this site and continue to meet some really great people around the world that I'd otherwise would have never met.

Thanks Mark for making sure we had a lovely time on the island!



This is most of our crew in the waters (from the previous post) which happens to be Sandbar near Sting Ray City. It was so much fun to swim with these creatures. Yes, it's a bit startling to have them bump into you, but they're just trying to grab some food. They are quite gentle and no, there were no Steve Irwin incidents.