A Passing

Last week, I attended a funeral mass for a neighbor, who was 82-years-old. Another member of the greatest generation to pass away. Ed was a husband, a father and a grandfather. He served in the Navy. By trade, he was an upholsterer…and a good one at that.

 

My oldest son, Matt, was the connection between Ed and myself. When Matt was young, he had a newspaper route and one of his customer’s was Ed. One day, years ago, Ed offered Matt a job working for him. It was a job, Matt couldn’t refuse and a friendship began that has lasted almost over 30 years. Ed actually taught Matt more than how to reupholster; he also taught him how to tie a necktie.

 

Occasionally, I would run into Ed and his wife, Betty at mass. Every time that I talked with them, I was always struck by their kindness and happiness. They were always upbeat and always inquired about my son, Matt. They would sing their praises about my son, and tell me how proud they were of him, as if he was their son. They actually treated Matt like their son and enjoyed when he would visit them with one of his little children in tow.

 

While greeting Betty before the service, between tears, all she could say was, “60 years of marriage. I don’t know what I will do now that he is gone.”

 

Sixty years of marriage is a long, long time. But then like my old 7^th grade teacher, Sr. Mary Johanna, said year ago pointing to a raid drop on one of the long windows in the classroom, “Our life is like that rain drop.” As I watched it slowly making its way down the glass, before I knew it, it was at the bottom. Its life journey was over.

 

To me, Ed was one of the last of his generation: the Greatest Generation. He was truly a good man, a religious man, a gentle man, as well as a gentleman. He will be deeply missed by Betty, his family and his friends.

 

But to echo what the others said – we are here to live our lives the way this wonderful man lived his and showed us how to live.

 

After the funeral, I sat on my upholstered furniture, the pieces that Ed re-upholstered, many years ago, thinking about Ed.  I sat there lovingly stroking the fabric, admiring the workmanship and finally all I could do was murmur -  “Thank you, Ed for this and much more…”

Old Forge, New York

If I lived in New York near the Adirondacks, I would definitely want to vacation there. Or even my own summer house.

While visiting my relatives in Utica, New York, for a few days, my cousin, a friend, and I drove up to Old Forge, New York, for the day. The day was hot and despite the heat, I still could appreciate the beauty of the area. Everywhere that I looked there were trees, mountains, lakes and more.

We parked and started to walk around the quaint little town. We walked in and out of the different boutique stores and eclectic shops. But my favorite store was the Old Forge Hardware Store. This store truly had everything from soup to nuts. The store was all on one floor and you could fine anything that you wanted and needed from camping, hiking, to fishing gear, You could also find camp dishes and  regular dishes and many amenities for a home, along with place mates, napkins, table cloths, glasses dishes, mugs, pots and pans, and more. There was every type of hardware. I came across three rooms that were filled with books and children’s toys. But my favorite area was the yarn and knitting books. I bought a few different skeins of yarn and a book to keep me busy with some knitting projects.

After visiting most of the shops, we ate lunch and then went to tour the Adirondack’s Museum. Unfortunately, it was closed because of a wedding. Maybe this was fortunate for us because we ended up taking a boat cruise on the lakes. We sat on the top deck for a two hour cruise of Old Forge. There are eight lakes in the Fulton Chain of Lakes that flows through Old Forge. Interesting, the lakes are named: 1^st Lake, 2^nd Lake, and 3rd, Lake, 4^th Lake, 5^th Lake, 6^th Lake, 7^th Lake, and 8^th Lake. Our cruise covered the first four lakes.

Along the landscape, were the houses and cabins, boat docks and boats filled the area. In the back ground were the Adirondack Mountains and they were amazing. The boat ride was calming and the view breath-taking. The sun was hot but there was a cool breeze. Along the way we saw Treasure Island, a small light house, the home of the former President Harrison, and many boaters and swimmers. Our cruise followed the old steamboat route through the Fulton Chain of Lakes. The day was perfect and beautiful. The trip mellowed me out making me wish that we covered the rest of the lakes.

Maybe that will be for another time. No, not maybe – I definitely will make the time to do another cruise on another visit.