Hello on Friday Morning.

Dear Friends,



It was a balmy 5.4 degrees on the north side of our house as I started to compose this early morning e-mail.



We had another fun day with our toddler grandson, Max, on Thursday. He has only a few more days left before his vacation is over. It will be sad to see him depart this weekend. I must say it is like having the energizer bunny with you 24 / 7. His father was exactly like his son. It is so cute at the end of the day with Max when his batteries start to wear down. His little body gets to the point where he stops running around, and he will sit calmly next to you as we watch the final kid’s television program of the day. Yes, I know that some parents try and keep the television off and create some family activity, but it is difficult when most toddler children have short attention spans.

Note – Max has touched every single object on the first floor, and in the basement which is at his eye level. Not a single object has been broken or destroyed. We do have a few tire tracks from some of his car toys on the family room television which is lower that the television in his own home.



Our Dalton friend stopped over after work and after his cardio workout to see Max since Max was crawling the last time that he saw him. We got to discussing if boy toddlers and girl toddlers are wired differently. His granddaughter just turned two years old around Thanksgiving. I asked him if his granddaughter was as active as Max at the 16 month old age. He said that his granddaughter wasn’t as active from what he observed as he watched Max. My Dalton friend did say that when his daughter was a toddler she got into everything. I would bet that her older brother had influenced her decision making.



I received an e-mail yesterday from an Irish Sister member about a benefit next Sunday at Patrick’s Pub from 12 PM to 6 PM for an Irish Band member’s two year old son who was just diagnosed with leukemia. The Irish American community is reaching out to the public to help support this fundraiser. I always feel so sad when I hear about children who have these life or death situations. It seems so unfair that they have to go through so much suffering. The Curley’s will try and make an appearance even though we are booked into three Christmas parties starting at noon, and going until about 6 PM.



Details -- 2 year old Jacob Daniels has been diagnosed with Leukemia. There will be a benefit at Patrick’s Pub Sunday December 19, 2010 from noon to 6 pm.

$15 dollar donation

The Benefit will feature a day filled with musical performances by some of Berkshire County's most talented acts including, Rakish Paddy, Mary Verdi, Satellite Shine, Rev. Tor, Andy Kelly and friends, Cam Collins, Shaun Callaghan and more! We are having a 50/50 Raffle and a Chinese Auction. Donated items include: Special Gift signed by James Taylor, 2 Canyon Ranch Spa Renewal Days, Luxury Spa Gift Basket and Gift Certificates to Friends Grille & Catering, Olde Forge, Ski Fanatics and more coming in.



Observation -- While reading the local obituaries on Thursday, I saw that a former south county educator passed away at age 72 after a brief illness. I first met this gentleman when I was a youth and high school soccer referee. With his mentoring help, I made it into the college refereeing ranks. I was always impressed what great shape that he was in even as he got older. He liked to jog several miles each day which helped him keep up with those speedy college soccer players. He was one of those guys who I thought would live for ever because of his good workout and healthy eating habits.

This is another example that “Life is a crapshoot.” You have to enjoy every moment that you are on this earth. Celebrate your life by surrounding yourself with family and friends. Enjoy your grandchildren every moment that you can like Linda and I are doing right now. Also, don’t sweat the little stuff because there are people like the little boy mentioned above who are dealing with life and death issues.



Linda is working on flights to see our two Kansas grandchildren and their parents during the mid January time frame. Since we get almost daily e-mail pictures from Kansas, we can easily see how fast that these two cherubs are growing up. We haven’t seen these two grandchildren since mid July. I did tell their parents that when I give Max a hug, I always have their two children in mind.



Linda had fun at her BONCO gathering last night. I always ask her if she picked up any gossip from her lady friends. The host’s son, who is a friend of son Kevin, has a new girl friend. He had a long term relationship with another girl that we all thought would turn into a marriage. Well, it didn’t happen. His new girl friend is a Lee High Wildcat. I don’t know her, but I think that she is from a Lee family that I knew growing up in the town.



I got myself in trouble the other day when I announced pre-maturely that one of Kevin’s friends was engaged. The engagement is official now. The boy’s Mom called Linda yesterday, and said that the engaged couple has set a date for the summer wedding. The couple doesn’t want to drag out a whole year of planning, and arranging things. If this wedding turns out to be like his twin brother’s was, it will be another fun weekend.



Observation – I got to thinking about Marilyn Edwards whose husband abandoned her as she was dying of breast cancer. I thought that part of the marriage vows said something about “for better or worse”. I thought that a married couple was supposed to stick together “in good times or bad times”. Maybe every couple should have a framed copy of their marriage vows hanging on a wall in their house. Maybe some people should talk to my parents who will have their 65th wedding anniversary on January 5, 2010, and ask them how their marriage vows have worked over these many years of being together.



I fell asleep watching the Celtic game last night. The ending must have been exciting because the Celtics won by one point.



Well, the Red Sox organization must have deep pockets. They paid almost $300 million dollars for two players who were signed to long term deals. I think that it is outrageous to pay people such large sums of money for playing a sport when a lot of communities across the nation are struggling to balance budgets as well as talking about layoffs or cutting services.



The temperature has dropped to one degree since I started this e-mail. It is difficult to imagine that the temperatures on Saturday will rise to the high 30’s with total sunshine. In the Berkshires, we are in for a round of freezing rain and just rain for Sunday and Monday.



Social Calendar – We were thinking of taking Max to an Irish American Christmas Dance at the Elk’s Club this evening, but we don’t know where a portable crib could be set up. The band starts playing about the same time that we have been putting our grandchild to bed. It looks like the Irish American Club members and their guests will have to party on without the Curley’s. Oh Darn!





I am going to grab that second cup of coffee before Max wakes up.

Yes, Max and I have been on the same napping schedule.

We both enjoyed a morning nap on Thursday. We tried an afternoon nap, but Max would have nothing to do with a nap.

Maybe this is why we both faded early on Thursday.



Have a great weekend.

Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad