A TIME FOR US FROM ROMEO AND JULIET

A TIME FOR US: CHRIS CORN & PIKE CREEK PAT

The numbers 3, 7 and 40 have a profoundly mystical significance in Judeo-Christian biblical numerology. Remember Noah? The Ark? The Deluge? Ol' Noah, supposedly, sailed his Arkboat around the mountain peaks of modern-day eastern Turkey while the heavens flooded the earth for 40 days and 40 nights!

Remember Moses? Ol' Moses led God's People out from Egyptian slavery to the Sinai Desert on the way to the Promised land! But one day Moses made a wrong turn...and God's People wandered around the Sinai, seemingly lost, for 40 years!

You probably don't remember the Prophet Balaam. Well, ol' Balaam tied his ass to a tree, then proceded to walk 40 miles (no comment!) Book of Numbers, chaps. 22-24.

What's my point (if any)? Simply this: Pat and I are so honored, so...turned on (uh, spiritually speaking) to have entered this iconic 40 Club back on August 13th! This is like...doing a 'biblical blog'. Sorta. Let's proceed!

We celebrated the 13th with morning Mass and an evening meal at the Dome out in Hockessin.
Then, Sat. the 15th we motored up to E. Islip to spend a few days with Kelly & Mike, Kim and Andy, Damien and Shannon. But first....

PART I -- ANNIVERSARY MEAL WITH THE 'GROWN-UPS'

Fancy Schmancy!

Hey, Pat! This is the life, huh girl!

Thanks, Tom and Grace, for a beautiful dinner and an even more beautiful evening together!

Thanks so much, Joe and Kathy!

(Special thanks to Joe for laughing at my sick humor)

Ah! The serendipity Stephens sisters! Thanks so much, Elizabeth!

The Stephens...'kids', about 60 years later!

Hey, guys, we shoulda been models or movie stars or somethin'. Oh well....

[Pat! Hang on to those take-home, leftovers. Mmmnnn!]

PART II -- KELLY AND MIKE'S HOME




We celebrated Sunday morning with a glorious buffet brunch at the Milk and Sugar Cafe' in Bay Shore.

Loved all of it!

......especially those veggie omlets on demand. Master Chef Grant prepared these delectables right next to our table.

Afterward, we all waddled back to Kelly and Mike's to 'rest up' ....for me, a 2 hour nap!

Ahhhh, youth!

Kim, why are you standing on the steps? You really want Andy to look up to you?

Mike and Kay! You were with us throughout! Thanks for your gift. Hey, your tenth is coming up in Oct.!

"Oh Damien! You're all mine! Just try, buddy, to get outta this neck hold!

-- Love, Shannnon

Kelly and dear friend, Wolfie!


Thanks so much, everybody, for the beautiful brunch!

PART III -- DOROTHY AND PAUL NIERMAN, YORKTOWN HGTS.


We ate our picnic dinner on the brow of a hill on the Boscobel Estate, overlooking the Hudson as it meandered its way thru the Catskills.

The West Point US Military Academy right across the River.

The view was so fantastic, it almost (I said

'almost') distracted me from the food!

Old folks havin' a good time together. With drinks!

The Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival performed for us at Boscobel that evening. "The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)"

A farcical rendition featuring brief skits from most of Shakespeare's plays.

Three guys did it all!

Here's a review:
"Back by popular demand! An irreverent, hilarious romp through the complete works of Shakespeare. 37 plays in 97 minutes. A side-splitting roller coaster ride, fun for everyone. 'If you like Shakespeare you'll like this show. If you hate Shakespeare, you'll love this show'" -- The Today Show

Wednesday we bid a fond farewell to Dorothy and Paul and made our way southwest. To home. Both of us, about 10 lbs. heavier thaN when we left Pike Creek 4 days earlier.

Sincere, heartfelt thanks to everyone who 'made our day'!
Now that's the way to celebrate a 40th anniversary! Can't wait for 50!

UN BEL DI VEDREMO! SI

DAY OF DESTINY

Dear Kelly, Kim and Mike - Forty years ago - December 5, 1968 - your mother and I met for the very first time! She was 29; I was 38. Seems like quite an age-spread, we know. But with your mother’s charm and serene, ‘other-worldly’ grace (and I might add, her physical beauty!) and my own immature, boy-priest mentality, we were actually close in age.

Since we both were only a few months removed from our past, previously cloistered lives (yes, with Vatican permission), we had few social contacts and even fewer social graces. Tom and Grace decided it would be ‘cute’ to invite us to dinner in their Bayside, Queens apartment. I arrived first. I must confess: as an ex-monk bachelor, I anticipated forking down a free home-cooked meal more than meeting Tom’s sister, Pat Stephens (there were lots of ex-nuns floating around back in the 60’s).

Anyway, Tom walked in the door with this gorgeous young woman! “Who is this ‘dream-thing’", I smiled to myself, "decked out in her gold dress and Jane Fonda boots? Guess Tom’s sister couldn’t make it tonight.” I’ll never forget Tom’s immortal words at that moment: “Chris, this is my sister, Pat!” Man! I went into a mild state of shock - Tom's very own sister, the most beautiful ex-nun I had ever seen! Wow! Then we all sat down to one of Grace’s great dinners and conversed politely the rest of the evening.

I can’t remember what we ate or what we said. I recall only my intense awareness .....of this ‘heavenly presence’ sitting next to me!

“And thus it came to pass"...mom and I were engaged on Valentine’s Day ‘69. Married on a steamy hot August 13th and honeymooned at the Pink Sands in Bermuda. Within 5 short years we were a sprawling, bawling family of five tucked away in the idyllic little village of "Seaford-by-the-Sea", Long Island. Why did all this happen to your mother and me? Luck? Chance? Happenstance? Blind destiny? Or, was it the Providence of a loving God, guiding us to this crossroad in our lives? You know what your mother and I believe. Once again, we’ll be celebrating December 5th at our favorite Delaware restaurant, the“Dome”, out in Hockessin. Another dinner celebration of our life together. The gold dress and Jane Fonda boots are long since gone. But the memory of that first evening dinner together, chez Tom and Grace, is still so strong within us. We have so much to be thankful for…..most especially, for the three of you!

BLUE RIDGE MOUNTAIN CAPER!

Pat and I just returned from our weekend caper.... over in yonder Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. One of our favorite scenic destinations (as you may well remember by the previous blogs we've inflicted......uh, shared ....
with you in times past).

Chris! Watch out for those deer ahead!

Huh? Oh, Pat. That's so sweet...you called me....'dear'!

Passing thru Emmits-

burg, MD, we decided to visit (once again) the Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton (1774-1821) Basilica at the foot of the Catoctin Mts.....no , we didn't stop by to visit their neighbor....Barack at Camp David.

If you remember, Elizabeth Seton was a married society gal from New York (1774-1821), widowed at age 30 with 5 young children to raise alone. After joining the Catholic Church, Elizabeth retired with her children to a donated farm in Emmits

burg, MD. Hard times for her and the kids, esp. the poverty. Soon, however, other dedicated young women joined her in community and founded the Daughters of Charity. From that tiny nucleus, today the Daughters number over 7,000 vowed religious. Master educators in high schools and colleges.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Ann_Seton

Hey, Pike Creek Pat! Let's hike down to yonder valley! It's only about 10 miles! C'mon, girl!

Sure, Chris! You hike. I'll drive the car down. See ya' later!

Hey, ol' man! You've been napping in that front seat for 2 hours. Move it!!

EPILOGUE: Once upon a time, many years ago.....when Kelly, Kim and Mike were working their way thru the throes of typical teenage self-assertion (uh, in-your-face confrontations)... one cold Winter nite I was expounding one of my "pearls of wisdom" at the family dinner table. In the corner of my parental eye, I caught the three of them rolling their eyes while faking gags and coughs over some assertion I had made. "Dear ol' dad" they finally blurted out at me, "your stories are so corny ....so...ugh!...cornball! Enuff already!"

Okay! As fate would have it, years later cyber blogs came along and I had to choose an apt pen name for my novice blog. "Aha, I thought to myself....why not follow up on the kids evaluation of my communication skills! By their own admission, I'm good at corn...I'll be the Cornmeister, master of trite, well-worn corn. Ever since, I've blogged up their email systems with plenty of down-home .....CORN! Retribution? Who? Me?





This is so inspira-

tional. Iconic corn!










CORN! BRING IT ON!

---THE END -- (WHAT ELSE!)

AN EXISTENTIAL MOMENT....

.....DOWN ON THE FARM! What farm! Okay....so it's only a little garden on our condo deck. Pat and I are celebrating the arrival of our very first tomato of the 2009 season. Thanks to Burpee Seeds and the elements. Come, take a look!



Left click pic for full succulent radiance! Then the return arrow to come back to the blog. Go ahead!










Notice the sisters Stephens pic gracing this bucolic setting.












More tomatoes. Just hangin' around.















And more tomatoes. Hey, Joe, keep an eye out for the crate of these red beauties Pat and I are sending for your next sauce jamboree.

The Chef!












We have two humming birds that stop by every hour on the hour to suck up sugar water. Magnificent! Each little guy hovers motionless in space, tiny wings afflutter....dipping his needle nose deep for a heavenly fix. Their names? Herb and Humphrey, of course.

We also have three resident cardinals: the reddest of red, show-off male accompanied by two plain jane female friends. He actually picks up a sunflower seed in his beak and feeds it to the girls....followed by a kiss. His name: "Cardinal Chris"!


Zinnias are our favorites. True to form we have a name for each. This guy is...Zorba!

I forgot to mention we have a titmouse or two with their tufted topnotches. And the golden finches along with their cousins, the purple finches. And a brace of clutsy mourning doves. No wonder we have to stock the feeders with pounds of sunflower seeds and niger thistle.
Hey, it's small price to pay for the entertainment.















This retirement gig is great fun....no such thing as "wasting time" when you're retired.

Live it up! The hell with the sciatica and the hemorrhoids and the....and the....(I forget what else). Bye!

[For now....]

WE KNOW THE SQUIRRELS BY NAME!

One of the reasons... we bought this Birch Pointe Condo back in '96 was the view! From our deck you could take in the whole panoramic view of lovely Pike Creek Valley and its meandering golf course below. Stretching for miles westward toward the Pennsylvania hill country.

Morning coffee on the deck put our day in focus.

That was then....

.....but as the years went on, Mother Nature began to have other plans.

A copse of adolescent trees stood

about 20 feet off our deck. Ever so gradually over the years these leafy

green guys grew to maturity. Higher

and higher until....







.....yes, until Pike Creek Valley

disappear

-ed from view. And a solid green leaf-wall reached to the very heavens. I felt like we were living in a treehouse. We even know all the squirrels by name. Hi, Rusty! Hey, Elmo! Beat it, Benny!
And you should see our other fine feathered friends in their feeding frenzy at the feeders. Cardinals, Gold Finches, Purple Finches, Tufted Titmice and more. We had to run out and buy a bird book, by gosh!

To this day Pat and I still have our tiffs about all this. She prefers her hearty green wall of leaves, the treehouse effect....I prefer my green valley. Now only a memory...ah yes, "How Green Was My Valley"!

A compromise was defintely in order. Of course, the wall of green remained. But we created our own valley, of sorts, with flowering plants, bird feeders and shrubs. All this, deckwise!

Pat dear! Now...don't forget to talk to the plants! And wave to all the pretty butterflies!

Chris...dear. Just drink your coffee and....(censored!)

Hey! Rollo!

Leave the birds

alone!!

Pat. Another coffee

....please.