Hello on Sunday

Dear Friends,

The Irish Festival was wonderful. Toward the end of the evening for our group of about 30 people, hypothermia started to set in. Just kidding! The temperatures did start to drop when the partial sun went in, and the temperatures fell like a rock. Linda and I used the tactic of our pioneer ancestors of "bundling" to try and stay warm. That didn't work so we tried to find a vendor which sold hot coffee or hot chocolate. There was one, and the lines were huge, but Linda decided that it was worth the wait.
We were actually hungry at 6 PM so Linda went in line at the vendor who sold corned beef sandwiches. The guy before Linda got the last one. Oh Darn! They were selling the corned beef sandwiches with a dollop of cabbage on a bulky roll for $7. Luckily we had some for lunch which was hours before they sold out.

We heard some great bands in all three venues all day long. We arrived at the place a little too late to hear many songs from our local band Rakish Paddy. This was their first time performing at the event, but they are booked in for next year. Our bus was a "KidsZone" yellow school bus with no bathroom. As we were on Route 90, an extended cab truck went by and pulled up along side of our bus. All the people in the truck hoisted up beers and tooted their horn in a mocking way!
Some of us decided that next year, we are willing to pay extra for the trip, and ride in adult bus with a bathroom. When you are drinking beer (some of
us) from the moment you arrive at the festival from mid morning until the concert ends at 11:30 PM, it would have been nice to have a bathroom on the bus. We old timers have a tendency to use the facilities more often than we did when we were in our 30's.

They did say that anyone could sign up to volunteer to work the festival next year. As I read the restrictions, I decided that I would not be a good candidate. If you get caught drinking while working a shift, you will be fired with no questions asked. How could I volunteer serving beer at the beer stations if I couldn't taste the beer to make sure it is fresh and cold?

As predicted, my head hit the pillow about a minute after midnight. It took me less than two minutes for me to fall asleep.
Linda said that she wants to sleep until 10 AM today. I hope that none of her girlfriends call before that time. When you are in demand like Linda often is, that very seldom happens.

I didn't wear any Irish colors at the festival. I wore all Patriots' gear. I wanted to see if I could "get a rise" out of the Jets and Giants fans since the Festival is in the State of New York. I finally did get into a calm conversation with a seasoned ticket holder of the New York Jets. I told him that I wore the Patriot gear because I wanted to remind them that the Patriots are coming to avenge the loss to the Giants in the Super Bowl a few years ago. We also want to avenge the loss of last year's playoff game where the Jets sent the Patriots packing. It is a long season, and I hope my predictions come true.

I am going to overdose on football today. As I stated in a previous email, I will be having a party with myself in my "Man Cave" this afternoon as I definitely watch the 4:15 PM Patriot game which will be televised nationally.

I was reading a AARP newsletter, and there was an article about a one year old company called "Rent a Grandmother." This Los Angeles based company sends out 50 year old grandmas to care for children as well as adults. They are paid from $14 to $18 per hour. The women are usually college educated and often have spent their working years in education. I would have received a pretty good paycheck for the two days that I was babysitting Max. If Linda ever gets bored with retirement, she knows that she could get a job in a heartbeat.

We enjoy the retirement life so much that we will never be bored. We have trouble finding a day without a social engagement on it. We have a full social calendar next week starting on Monday.
If I didn't attend the Irish Festival yesterday, I would have been working with some of my UNICO brothers and sisters at the Melville Street Block Party (outside of the Catholic Youth Center and the Boys and Girls Club) slinging hamburgers and hotdogs for several hours.

There was another Air Show crash, but this time it was in West Virginia. 9 people had died from injuries in the crash at the Nevada Air Show. Oh Darn!

Politics -- The financial wizard, Warren Buffet, said that he pays less in taxes than his house maid. This doesn't seem fair to us middle class people who pay for the running of our Federal Government.

Well, it is time to skim the Sunday newspapers quietly. I like to do this before Linda wakes up. I then will decide on some appropriate food as I settle down and watch NFL football starting at 1 PM. For any of my email recipients who have no interest in sports of any kind, opening weekend of the NFL had the highest television viewer ratings than ever before. Some people are making big bucks off of sports, and it is not just the players of those sporting teams. When the New England Football team is one of the Fortune 500 companies, and they are worth money in the billion dollars plus range, you can't tell me that sports have no relevance in the scheme of things. Talking about jobs, just think how many people are employed each Sunday at the home team's stadium?

Have a great Sunday.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad