The rest of the whirlwind tour

I have not covered Stephanie and Jon's wedding to the extent I should have, however I did lose all of the photos I took, and I will just let that story and that wonderful time ride for now.

While I went to the states to help them celebrate, I also took three weeks to do it, and made a whirlwind tour of Massachusetts and New York while I was at it. I did not spend as much time as usual with Fran's family in Dunkirk, but I then used the time to visit with other friends that I had not seen in far too long, and also to catch up with some friends I visit regularly.

After two nights at Stephanie and Jon's apartment in Boston, mainly sleeping away jet lag, and investigating the nearby Whole Foods store, a chain I remembered from visiting New Mexico more than a decade ago, I headed west.

My first stop was a lunch break with my dear friends Marge and Ted Fedak. Ted always claimed to be my Dutch Uncle, and indeed he was. He was my father's friend who was never afraid to correct my behavior, and I always felt especially cared about by both he and Marge. They are retired now and living a comfortable life just outside Albany.

All too soon I had to get back on the road and get to the Syracuse area for the night. My good friend, and former colleague in Adult Education, and co conspirator on a regional adult ed steering committee, had rented a cottage on the shores of Lake Ontario for us. We used it as a wonderful retreat, watching the sun set over the water, watching the sun rise over the water, and enjoying the abundant heat of the cottage as we watched frost form on the grass.

We also went to dinner with her girl friends, and caught a folk music act at the Oswego Music Hall, which was wonderful, and reminded me of the time Fran and I saw Utah Phillips play there. It is a wonderful small venue, and the volunteer staff is great. I always enjoy getting together with Donna, as she always gets me together with her girl friends, and I get to watch interesting socializations going on, as well as being stared at by their casual acquaintances wonder what a man is doing in their presence. It is great fun.

I also stopped by to see my former boss Mike Egan, who is supposed to be retired, but this year has accepted an acting principalship of the high school in Fulton, and caught up on what was going on in the school district.

I left on a Monday morning for Dunkirk, with a stop in Rochester to see Andy, my father's widow. She is doing well, and seems to be enjoying life in the retirement home, which looks to have wonderful facilities for her. Brava!

In Dunkirk, I tried to integrate into the busy lives of Junior and Jo, as they prepared to go to a wedding in Ohio (One of Fran's nieces, Stan's daughter Cori), and I was also able to catch up with Joe and Kathy Piede for about three hours at the hotel bar where Junior tends bar (he also does not seem to like the idea of retirement).

Jr and Jo have gutted the house on the lake, and are fixing it up to move into this spring. It looks wonderful, and the windows over the lake will give them great views of the spectacular Lake Erie sunsets. It is a long project, and seems to be going well. Ellyn got a full time job working at a community residence, which is a great step for her after working part time for a few years. Lanie continues to be busy with her commute into Buffalo every day for Verizon, and the Caccamise family was so busy I did not get to see them.

Ron and Patricia are doing well, and Ron hopes to get off temp status with Purina into a full time job as they introduce new products into the plant, and increase production. I felt worried as the economy in the US started to crumble, but then I thought about a possible upsurge in the use of pet foods, as real food perhaps gets more expensive. Oh my. Danny is doing well in school, Rori is really enjoying motherhood, and Alex and Mandy seem to be getting on quite well.

Roz and Mike have their workshop all set up, and Roz is supplementing her income by looking after Mia when Ellyn is at work. They have a beautiful house and grounds in Dunkirk, and continue to make wonderful wood products.

As everyone left for Ohio, I left to visit the Kompf family in Fort Erie (actually Stevensville). It was a wonderful time, and I got to see not only Michael and Sandy, but Samantha was also home, and we teased her about what sort of car to buy. She eventually settled on a small pick up, which was totalled a week later by an idiot on the highway. I think she has just found another one. It is not easy growing up.

Something strange happened as I crossed back into the states. I must admit that I have felt that I might be paranoid when I talk about the idea that my e mail and my skype phone calls may be monitored. However, the previous time when I was in the states, I took 7 international flights. Each time, when I got to my destination, there was a little note in my checked baggage letting me know that my bag had been 'randomly' selected for search by the Fatherland Security Act team. Okay, seven out of seven is, I suppose, possible.

This time, as I crossed into the US, for the first time they electronically scanned my passport. I was driving a rental car, and was asked about that. I was asked what roads I followed to get to my home in Dunkirk (the person seemed to know Dunkirk, as I had to explain to him where Junior lived, and then he understood, and he also gave a sign of recognition regarding Sam's vegetable stand). Okay, I can accept all of that.

However, the screen on the passport reader beeped, and I was told to drive over to the inspection area, because my car had been 'randomly' selected for search by the Fatherland Security Act folks. It was a simple procedure, and I had to wait about fifteen minutes for someone to look in the trunk (which had not been opened since I rented the car), and then I was told to go on my way. Random my butt.

So it was back to Dunkirk for two nights, a fond faretheewell to Jr and Jo and Sam, and then on the road to Auburn.

Ah, blessed Auburn, home of Annette and Mark. Annette was a student of mine when I was adjunct professor at SUNY Oswego, and she ended up taking all of the courses I taught as a part of her Master's program, and then got them to accept me as her thesis advisor. Mark is an expert handyman carpenter who does wonderful work in the Auburn area. I have watched their house grow from being a little baby to being a custom built palace. What a wonderful place they have. What wonderful food Annette makes. What wonderful conversations the three of us had. A great two days of rest for me.

(I should mention that my side was getting sorer and sorer as my travel progressed, and when I slept, I generally slept in chairs. That part of the trip was not fun).

On October 29th, I started driving through the snow, first stopping in Fulton again to visit with the current superintendent, Bill Lynch, and Tom Greer, Director of Personnel in central offices. It was good to see them again, and I went on to Lanigan School to see Carlo Cuccaro, the psychologist there, and then on to Fairgrieve to visit with their psychologist Bob Magee. It was good to see those folks again, and as Bill and I reminisced, it is amazing the personnel turnover that has gone on in the school district.

Then I stopped by to see Barbara Arndt, my friend and financial advisor in Syracuse, before heading on to western Mass. for the night.

After the wedding, I holed up in Boston at the Royal Sonesta. When I got to my room, which was large and comfortable and all the usual stuff, I noticed that there was no really comfortable chair for me to sleep in if sleeping in the bed became too painful. In talking to the front desk staff, they told me that they had changed the chairs to comfortable desk chairs, as their marketing department said that worked best for the guests. Then they said they would try to work something out. Within an hour, there was a knock on my door, and a wonderful overstuffed chair was delivered to my room complete with ottoman. I slept well. I will also say that both restaurants in the hotel served excellent food. This is not a plug for the Royal Sonesta, it is simply appreciation.

My friends Carol and Eric Chandler came up from New Jersey to spend two nights with me there, and we had a wonderful time chatting. They also took me to their friend Edgar's church for Sunday morning service. It was wonderful. Edgar ministers to a small parish in an Hispanic neighborhood of Boston. The organist was not there when we were there (called in ill), but the choir pulled out some instruments and made the church fill with beautiful music with an Hispanic and African tinge. Thank you Edgar for a wonderful service, congregation, and music, and thank you Eric and Carol for taking me there with you.

I was also able to get together with Jess a few more times, and then spent election eve in front of the TV, watching McCain get virtual shoes tossed at him by an awakened population. I have high hopes for our president elect, and I hope that he can push through major parts of his agenda. Already there is a more positive feeling toward Americans in Europe, as they look forward to being able to have a more positive feeling toward America.

The day after election I bid a fond and painful adieu to the US, and flew to Amsterdam via Heathrow. The designers of the Heathrow airport are to be congratulated for studying what travellers need most as they change planes. However it is unfortunate that they seem to have designed the airport to do just the opposite.