Hello on Thursday Morning

Dear Friends,

It was another pleasant day in Tewksbury, and East Boston on Wednesday. The
most difficult time was when we had to say goodbye to Kyla, Kevin, and Max (and
the Brodeurs too).

As we headed west to the Berkshires, I was totally up the days which we spent
at the eastern end of the State. We stayed four nights at Kevin and Kyla's place
in East Boston, and then two nights at the Brodeurs in Tewksbury. If you are
wondering why we didn't stay the whole time in East Boston, that was due to the
availability of a bed. While Kevin and Kyla were at the hospital, we slept in
their bed. When they returned on this past Monday with Max, we had to give up
the bed. The room which we normally sleep in has been turned into a nursery, and
the other possible bedroom is a clothes closet. We could have slept in the
living room on a blow up mattress which is difficult for us old people, but it
could be used as a last resort.
Kyla keeps hinting that it might be time to purchase a house. Kevin likes the
convenience of living above his place of work. Grandma and Grandpa Curley are
staying out of this discussion.

We had some mid-afternoon sandwiches from "Dough" on Wednesday. Kevin and his
crew make some wonderful sandwiches. He has "Specials of the day" each and every
day, and we shared two of these epicurean delights. They were so yummy! You have
to order some food if you are in the area, or just visiting the Boston area.
The work on the renovated Maverick Square "T" stop is just about done. "Dough"
is located a few blocks from the "T" stop on the corner of Maverick and Border
Streets, and 1.1 miles from Logan Airport.

Kevin has a 70 person wedding gig this Saturday at the Winthrop Yacht Club.
The word of how good the food is at "Dough" is really starting to reach the
public.
Just before we left yesterday, a Priest stopped in for some food. I asked Kevin
what he ordered. Kevin said that the Priest always orders a grilled cheese. Even
grilled cheese is an epicurean delight at "Dough".

Sports -- My Red Sox won their contest last evening. The Yankees won their
contest which took place in the afternoon. The Sox do battle at 1:30 PM this
afternoon.

Social Calendar -- Linda wants to be totally left alone today. She does want to
eventually process (at Walmart) some baby pictures, and create a couple of
albums. Grandparents always carry a photo album to show off the grandchildren
when people ask how that they are doing.
I have a whole bunch of things to do around the house after I return to my
morning walk at the track.

Speaking of grandchildren, our other grandchild who lives in Kansas, Isabelle,
was introduced to those puzzles (metal, rope, wooden) that our son Michael likes
to do. Danielle said that she solved a puzzle the other day. She is not quite
two years old yet. Does she have a gift?

Politics-- Universal Health Care is taking a hit at those town meetings. Many
of the naysayers don't have all the facts, and their fears are based on rumors.
I am so glad that the President has not given up the fight. How can you say "No"
to the proposal until you know all the facts.
I ran into stuff like this when I was President of the Teachers' Union. As soon
as I heard a rumor that affected my "wall to wall" union members in the school
system, I tried to gather all the facts to dispel the rumor, or attack the
problem.
Even some of my own friends think that you are going to lose the Health Care
that we currently have through our places of employment, but the President says
that is not true. Even the seniors citizens think that they are going to lose
what they have. I think some of the drug companies are behind the push to leave
health care as it is right now. The fear mongers are doing a great job as seen
in those town meetings.

My sister is heading to the Finger Lakes today with a couple of friends. She
was the one who put a bug in my ear about how much fun that you can have in Wine
Country. We can't wait for a trip next summer.

Observation -- After watching Kevin and Kyla dealing with the birth of their
child, and how well they have handled parenting for those first few days since
they brought their newborn home, both Linda and I have been counting our lucky
stars. Our two boys have chosen wonderful women to spend the rest of their lives
with. They have produced two wonderful grandchildren. They are functioning on
their own. They have their lives, and we have our lives. Life is so good!

Our sons, and their wives, and their children have created a positive balance
between new life, and the difficult times which we are going through with my
aging parents.
Since my sister is on vacation, I have to pick up the slack of dealing with my
mother and father.
Yes, my mother and I will be having an alcoholic beverage or two at the nursing
home at some point today.

Supper -- I am going to fire up the crock pot as soon as I send this e-mail. I
have hankering for some country style spare ribs, and some corn on the cob from
our local farm stands to go along with the meat.

Have a great Thursday.
I know that Linda and I will have one too.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad