Continuing to have a great time in Florida. I slept fairly late--until 7:30 am--and got up to good, strong coffee. No sign of Larry until later, but that was fine. He got up and we chatted at the table, then I had an English muffin and blueberries for breakfast.
Before long, niece Joan and her husband, Jim, came and we sat and chatted for a bit. We then picked up one of the daughters, Terry, and took off for a restaurant on the beach. Had pizza, beer, and salad, and lots of good talk.
I'm in the hot place! Not hell, of course, but beautiful Cooper City, Florida. It's now 11:00 am and I just got on the laptop now. After I set it up, it demanded a "security key"--a password, that is--and Larry and I had some problem getting it to accept what was on the router. Zipped over to his daughter's house and got grandson, Anthony, a senior in high school, to come over and remedy the situation. He did, and here I am.
Spent Tuesday morning getting ready for my side trip, then drove to AC Airport. The trip to Ft. Lauderdale was horrendous, of course, but it was at least civilized, so I could get a glass of wine. Larry and two of his daughters, Elaine and Nancy, picked me up and we drove the twenty minutes to his home. I immediately went in to see Helen, who is a shadow of the plump, vibrant, wonderfully cheery person she used to be.
The house is large, nicely laid out, and has beautiful landscaping around it. Larry drove me around to the park nearby--lovely--and I can see why they like it here. Elaine and her family live less than a mile away, as do Nancy and the third daughter, Karen. Jeanne and hubby, Dr. Vic, live in Jacksonville and the two sons elsewhere in Florida.
My old neighbors and dear friends, Leslie and Dennis R., got here, as promised at 11:30 and picked me up. I took them to Heritage Restaurant nearby and we settled in to eat, talk, laugh, cry, and talk some more.
Les and Dennis suffered a tragedy twenty years ago when their oldest son, Anthony, suddenly died of a heart attack, with no warning. He was thirty, married, and had a fifteen-month-old daughter. The couple were devastated, of course, and it was very hard for Leslie, in particular. They have two other sons and several grandchildren. Both are now 75, although they don't look it. I feel a kinship with Leslie in some fundamental way, in light of the sad decline of my dear twin.
The R.s have a condo in Saratoga, Florida, as well as their house in Sunrise Bay, a few doors down from mine. They plan to go south on December first and stay until April. In truth, I would like to have an arrangement like that myself, but don't see how that could work out. I certainly don't want to move back yearly to Little Egg.
Anyway, Les and Dennis came in to chat after lunch and we sat and talked, reminiscing especially, about neighbors now gone: Judy, Marge, the Gibneys, and--the one that especially shocked me--Anne Mary Haynes. She had been their next-door neighbor, a rather eccentric spinster who had taught math for years. Like my friend, Jim, she had been only child, never married, and had virtually no relatives. She was a true hypochondriac, so I never expected her to die--sigh.
We said goodbye with smiles and hugs, vowing to keep in touch, and off they went. Darn, we all forgot to take pictures, but I hope to get back there again, if I can arrange it.
Walked 3.6 later in the afternoon and wow, that was enough for me. It was cold, windy, and just generally the weather I'm glad I escaped.
A few hours from now: FLORIDA!
Walked in the morning a bit more than three. After lunch, went to Bordentown, doing this and that. Took a short walk there, too, had dinner, then back to the frozen north.
For the first time here, I had trouble sleeping last night. Not sure why, unless it was because I'm nervous about my flight to Florida tomorrow. Maybe I'll nap today.
Quite a day yesterday. Walked 3.6 in the morning and, after a quick lunch, took off for Rancocas, where I was until after 6:00. Stopped at a diner--quintessentially Jersey--for dinner. I had stuffed peppers, which came with salad, mashed potatoes, and rice pudding. Portions were huge and I took home half.
Slept well, as I always have here. I'm not sure why that is, but hope it continues when I get back to Ventura.
Good grief, I've gained more than four pounds! According to the scale here, I'm up to 130.2. Of course, I can always equivocate by figuring it's not my home scale and it just can't be my nightly glass of wine and pretzels, can it? Hmm...I'll have to deal with this.
Speaking of dealing, I dealt with the Ocean County Clerk's Office re the trust I'm trying to set up. It took ages and confused the hell out of me, but I think it's okay. After, went to a notary to have it certified.
Walked in between raindrops in the morning, then did the same after lunch; I think totaled about four. Called Leslie and we switched their visit to Monday. That's okay--I'll still have time to pack for Florida, where I'm headed Tuesday. The plane (😰) to Fort Lauderdale doesn't leave Philly until 5:59 pm.
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I found a site for Ventnor historic photos and want to add it here, so I can refer to it later:
https://www.ventnorcity.org/historical-photos
Also want to save this, an account of the death of Harry Singley's Dad:
https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/pressofatlanticcity.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/2/ae/2ae2c4ad-8720-5231-b627-382d
Ventnor. Got there about 10:00 am and followed, more or less, my life line: First, the apartment on Newport Avenue, a ground-floor apartment I lived in until I was three (but was it 20 or 22 North?); the big house on Rosborough Avenue; and Aunt Maggie's and Uncle John's house on Monmouth. Took pictures of all, then turned to St. James.
Oh, sure, now it's called "Trinity Parish," being lumped in with others on Absecon Island, but it'll always be St. James to me. I was reconciled--finally--to having the rectory gone and to an extent, had even accepted the loss of the school. But the convent? That was the last auxiliary building and now there are several monstrosities--million dollar houses--in its place. What a shock; even though I knew it had happened, to see the change was distressing. I did have my picture taken at Monseigneur Moran's grave (the only one on Absecon Island, which my late husband helped to dig) and in front of the statue of the Blessed Virgin.
Walked 3.3 miles on the boardwalk and Atlantic Avenue and took pictures of what used to be the Ventnor City National Bank. That was the location of my first full-time job after high school and before I got married. There are two buildings, one now condos and the other housing a real estate agency.
Aside from all that, I had packed a lunch and ate it in the small park in front of the library. Years ago, when it was being built, I had paid to have Pat's and my names on a brick, which was with other in the park. I've seen it before and could swear it was correctly spelled, but what I saw yesterday was "Pat and Rosemary Byrne Molly." What? Now I wonder if the original had been damaged in some way--I noticed the wording on this one was not very clear--and they replaced it. I may or may not pursue this.
I intended to put pictures here, but my camera/laptop didn't cooperate. Will try to do so today.
Weight was down .03 at home to 141.6, with zero change at T.O.P.S. to 142.8. The meeting was a lot like a therapy session, with Lannie elabo...
