South Shore Billy: His Thoughts on Life

Since the 29th

2012-02-05T16:36:00.002-05:00

Since the last entry of January 29 it has generally been SSDD (sound familiar?). There was an Islip Fire Department Band meeting on Sunday the 29th where we planned for the St. Patrick’s Day parades that we will be marching in: East Islip on the 4th and Bay Shore on the 10th.
On Friday the 3rd I stopped to remember “the day the music died” in 1959. RIP to Buddy, Ritchie, and JP.

Later on Friday evening my fire company hosted its annual Wild Game Dinner at the firehouse. A chef prepared pheasant pot pies, venison salad (lettuce with chucks of deer meat), and venison sirloin – wrapped in bacon and topped with blue cheese. As a member of the company I helped to serve the guests, as well as help in the clean up when everyone left. However, I did get a chance to enjoy the pheasant soup, as well as the venison chunks and sirloin.

Also on Friday, actor Ben Gazzara passed away at the age of 81. I remember seeing him in a film called Convicts 4 in 1962. Some of his co-stars included Sammy Davis Jr, Rod Steiger, Ray Walston, and Stuart Whitman. He also had two TV series that I remember, back in the 1960's: Arrest & Trial with Chuck Connors, and Run for Your Life. But what I remember him most for was his performance as George in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf with Colleen Dewhurst on Broadway back in 1976.

So far, the rest of the weekend was spent doing errands, surfing the Internet, and going to fires. One Saturday morning fire was an automatic alarm at a store on Main Street, and since nothing was discovered, my engine just went out for the ride. Later, in the evening, we did have a minor house fire on the south side of town, and this time, I made the hook & ladder truck. Since we came from the North House on the other side of town, the engine and truck from headquarters beat us there and all I ended up doing was helping to pack hose on the engine.

Ellen, Eileen and I just got back from the movies. We saw the Tom Hanks/Sandra Bullock film Extremely Loud, Incredibly Close which is about a boy whose father is killed at the World Trade Center in 9-11. There was a great deal of suspense and lots of New York City footage. I recommend the movie to everyone.

This morning at St. Mary’s there was a family wearing Patriots jerseys or tee shirts. However, the Giants fans outnumbered them by a large margin, as there were a large number of royal blue and red jackets, sweatshirts and tee-shirts. I don’t have a Giants jacket, but do have a pair of Reebok sneakers with the Giants’ “NY” on them.

Later to day is Super Bowl XLVI, a rematch of Super Bowl XLII. Let’s hope that it has the same happy ending for us New Yorkers – the Giants beat the Patriots.

SSDD; go Giants; new baseball book; Portugal

2012-01-29T14:38:00.002-05:00

Not much has happened since January 17. I am sort of on the “disabled list” for my company’s basketball team since I am recovering from a cold, and my right knee is still hurting me.

As for books, I finished Neill Lockery’s book, Lisbon, and it renewed my interest in Portugal. I never realized what a fine line the neutrals had to walk from 1939 to 1945. As for the country, I hope to follow one of Lisbon’s premier soccer teams (Benfica) on the Internet, and here on Long Island find some time to check out some good Portuguese restaurants in Mineola or Farmingville.

Last week the New York Giants beat the San Francisco 49ers and will face the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI a week from today. It’s going to be a re-match of XLII so go Big Blue.

This morning the Islip Fire Department Band had its meeting and practice. Actually it was more of a meeting and we decided to march in two local St. Patrick’s Day parades: East Islip on March 4 and Bay Shore on the 11^th. Usually I have time to make one of them and get a chance to play the cymbals.

Since I finished the book about Lisbon, I took out a baseball book from the library titled Five O’clock Lightning by Mark Frommer. This story covers the 1927 New York Yankees, possibly the best major league baseball team of all time. I will keep everyone posted on what I have read.

"War Horse"; basketball

2012-01-17T22:53:00.001-05:00

This evening the Bees had a game against a firm called Debevoise & Plimpton at the Trinity School on West 91st Street. I took the subway to the 96th & Broadway and walked and walked the few blocks to the school. We would be playing in the gym located in the basement. After I suited up I noted that not many D&P players had arrived, while 8 Bees had suited up. The referees gave them until 7:20 for a total of 5 players to show up, otherwise D&P would forfeit. Sure enough, only 2 D&P members had arrived so the Bees won by forfeit. I told the two D&P guys that I wish that more of their teammates had shown up, for it's more fun to actually play and win or lose that way. They agreed with me. So, the Bees had the court for about 90 minutes so we split up the 10 who eventually came into two teams to have a full court game. I got some exercise and even took one shot (but missed). Since I wanted to get home at a somewhat reasonable hour and not have to ask Ellen to drive to Babylon to get me, I told the captain that I would have to leave at 7:45 to get the subway and be certain that I got to Penn Station by 8:30. So I left around 7:45 and a young man who was hanging around the gym took my place. When I got to the subway station at 96th & Broadway I learned that there were no trains - the #'s 1, 2, and 3 lines were not running (maybe police activity). So I had to hoof it over to Central Park West & 96th to get the subway there. Luckily when I got to the turnstile a train was arriving and I got to Penn with 20 minutes to spare.

Yesterday Ellen, Eileen and I went to the movie house in West Babylon to see War Horse. It was directed by Steven Spielberg so I know that anything that he creates is going to be good. This film does not disappoint. In addition, it takes place during World War I, one of my favorite periods in world history. Since high school, I have read books about the conflict, watched TV shows about it, and of course saw movies about it. This movie makes it feel like you were in the trenches with the main protagonist, Albert, and other members of his unit. I recommend the film highly.

In the evening we had the month meeting of the Islip Fire Department where the usual business was discussed.

New York Botanical Gardens; water rescue drill

2012-01-15T14:33:00.006-05:00

Yesterday Ellen, Eileen and I drove to the New York Botanical Gardens in the Bronx, located across Southern Boulevard from Fordham University. While I may have ridden past the grounds on Metro North Commuter Railroad and the old 3rd Avenue elevated subway line, I had never visited the grounds before. This year we wanted to check out the garden railroad, which is an annual exhibit that is displayed in the Enid Haupt Conservatory. The trains are the G-scale models since those can run outdoors and since the motors are sealed and therefore waterproof. The structures and buildings are all made from plant products: wood, leaves, fungi, seeds and just about anything else from the non-animal kingdom. There were models of bridges: the Hellgate, George Washington, Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges, and an unnamed Harlem River swinging drawbridge. There were many famous structures: the New York Public Library, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Rockefeller Center, Yankee Stadium (walked right past this one yet did not notice it – I definitely need new glasses), the Apollo Theater, the original Penn Station, the conservatory where the exhibit was held, the Guggenheim Museum, and St. Patrick’s Cathedral. There were many lesser known building like St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church on Cedar Street (destroyed on 9-11 when the Towers collapsed), the Kingsland Homestead in Queens, a firehouse on Sedgwick Avenue in the Bronx, Hudson River mansions like Sunnyside and Boscobel, and a large number of historic 19th century brownstones and townhouses. These structures had model trains running next to them, even if in real life there are no trains for several blocks or else they are underground. There were also three models that had no models next to them: Ellis Island, the Statue of Liberty, and the TWA Terminal at JFK Airport. Ellen and I took over 90 pictures and I downloaded nearly all of them to my page on www.facebook.com. I will also create a web-page on either Homestead or www.moonfurit.com. After about an hour we walked to the Garden Café for a light lunch. Then it was time to walk around the grounds to admire the pine trees (they have planted different species from all over the world). However, we could not walk too far because my right knee is hurting me – I must have popped it out earlier in the day at a fire call. Before leaving we went to the gift shop and a book about the garden trains as well as some postcards. Since we had also contemplated membership in the Gardens, we purchased a two person membership and ended up getting credited for two tickets, as well as 20% off the items we bought in the shop. Then it was a relaxing ride home on the parkways.
This morning the Islip Fire Department Tactical Rescue Squad had a water rescue drill at the Town Beach on the Great South Bay. The participants donned survival suits – almost like wetsuits but completely insulating you (except for part of your face) from the elements. The suit is then hooked to a rope that is anchored on shore. We then waded out about 50 yards – the water was only waist high – before we were pulled back by the member who stayed on shore. The suits are very warm and you float like a cork. I then doffed mine and another member waded out 50 yards (the end of the rope) and then I pulled him in – hand over hand. After everyone each had a turn in the survival suits we headed back to headquarters to start packing then equipment away. Before we could start to put the equipment away, we got a mutual call for a water rescue in the neighboring town – Bay Shore – for a duck hunter who fell into the Great South Bay. Naturally our truck took off and headed west down Montauk Highway to the Bay Shore park were other rescuers had gathered. By the time we arrived the hunter was rescued and we headed back to Islip. This time we got to stash the equipment away, but not after hosing down the suits and ropes to remove salt water and sand. We all had a good time and I know that I definitely learned something.

blood drive

2012-01-13T16:38:00.000-05:00

Happy Friday the 13th. I am off today since it’s use it or lose it, and also because I had promised to give blood at the firehouse for the firefighter who was severely burned at the Brooklyn brownstone fire last month. I opted for the ALYX where rather than the regular way. In the ALYX collection, rather than collecting the blood directly into a blood bag, the blood first flows into the ALYX machine, which separates the blood’s components. Red blood cells are collected in a blood bag, and the remaining components are returned to the donor. I also received a small amount of sterile saline fluid to make up for the blood volume loss. This donation takes about twice as long as a whole blood donation: 20-25 minutes instead of 10 minutes. I will be able to donate again in the middle of May. When not at the firehouse I was out doing errands or at the library.

Please see my December 27 2011 entry where I mentioned the pertinent information about the injured firefighter. Anyway, here it is again: If any reader in the New York City area has O- (O Negative) blood please contact the New York Blood Center at 1-800-439-6876, and provide these pieces of information: Patient #203859 and file #71614.

Basketball Bees win big

2012-01-10T23:51:00.001-05:00

Today I played in my first game this season with my company's basketball team. The season's earlier games were either too late in the evening or were on a night when I had a previous commitment.

This evening the Bees played at the Dalton School on East 87th Street near 3rd Avenue. I decided to save on transit fares and get exercise by walking to the gym - from 47th Street and Park Avenue! Since 20 Manhattan cross streets equal one mile, 40 would make two miles. After walking about 30 minutes I arrived at the Dalton School all loose and somewhat limber.

After I changed into my sweatpants I received a new team shirt – with the sponsors’ names on it (the New York Knicks and JP Morgan Chase Bank). I wound up with #23 (no, I don’t think that I will be the next Michael Jordan). Our opponent for this game was a firm named Kaye Scholer. They played well but with our depth, offense and defense we owned the game. After a few minutes the score was 7-0. The final score after 50 minutes was 64-35. I got to play for several minutes in both halves. In the 2^nd half I got a chance to take a shot for a basket but missed. Maybe better luck in the next game on the 17th.

After the game I took the subway to Penn Station and rode home on the 9:05 local to Babylon where Ellen & Eileen picked me up.

Last night was my monthly fire company meeting. Nothing special other than conducting the usual company business.

Jones Beach, Sherlock Holmes; Giants win

2012-01-08T19:23:00.005-05:00

Once I got back to work on the 3rd it was basically the same old stuff: go to work, come home, and hit the Internet.

Yesterday the 3 of us drove over to Robert Moses State Park to perhaps go for a walk on the boardwalk and take some pictures with both my digital camera (a Canon) and Eileen’s (a Nikon). However, most of the fields at Robert Moses State Park were closed so we decided to drive west to Jones Beach, but not before I had a chance to take a picture of the Fire Island Lighthouse. While we were heading west on the Ocean Parkway through Gilgo Beach I noticed a few memorial crosses on the side of the road – in memory of some of the 10 murder victims whose bodies were dumped there over the last few years. Once we got to the water tower (it always reminded me of a guided missile from the way its outside is shaped) we headed to the parking lot of Jones Beach’s Field 6. After we parked the car we then started to walk west along the boardwalk towards the East Bathhouse. Using the two cameras, we got to take pictures of a seagull, funnels (they look like the funnels of a ship but are actually garbage can covers), a pavilion, sings, and the boardwalk. In some of the pictures one or two of us were also in a pose. We finally reached the East Bathhouse and ran into a trio of people (two ladies and a man) who were enjoying some cheese & crackers, and some Long Island wine. In addition, they were taking pictures of the beach and boardwalk as well. Eileen immediately endeared herself to them by introducing herself, and then I started to talk to them about Long Island wines and camera, since we seemed to all be shutter-bugs. As I was wearing my fire company jacket, the conversation about volunteer firefighters came up and while none of these three people were/are members, we spoke about how a volunteer department saves the taxpayers a lot of money in taxes, especially since school taxes are through the roof. We agreed that perhaps the school districts should be consolidated to the county level. They agreed and I cited my experience in Louisiana where that is done (except they are called parishes instead of counties there) and it seems to work. Before we headed back to the car one of the ladies took a photo of the 3 of us posing at the bathhouse, and then as we headed east back to the parking lot, took photos of the sunset and then I took one of Ellen & Eileen at the beginning of the boardwalk, with a full moon in the sky behind them.

Today I went to the 10:45 Mass at St. Mary’s (like I usually do) and then in the afternoon went to the Bass Store at the Deer Park Tanger Outlet Mall and got myself another pair of oxford shoes and some shoe polish. On the way back home I stopped at the firehouse to watch part of the Giants-Falcons game and Big Blue started to take a bigger lead (they ended up winning 24-2). I could not stay too long since we had made plans to see Sherlock Holes – A Game of Shadows at 4 PM in West Babylon. That is what we did and we liked the movie and recommend it to all.

my top 8's for 2011

2012-01-04T20:39:00.003-05:00

Here are my top 8's for certain categories of 2011.

8 of my favorite people who left us in 2011:
1. Ryne Duren
2. Duke Snider
3. Harmon Killebrew
4. Matty Alou
5. Liz Taylor
6. Harry Morgan
7. Steve Jobs
8. Vaclev Havel

8 of the books that I read in 2011
1. Rhubarb in the Catbird Seat by Red Barber
2. Change Up by Larry Burke and Peter Fornatale
3. 56 by Kostya Kennedy
4. The Iowa Baseball Confederacy by William Kinsella
5. Homeward to Ithaka by Leonard Wibberley
6. John & Satch by John Holway
7. Blackball Stars – Negro league Pioneers by John Holway
8. Clearing the Bases by Mike Schmidt with Glenn Waggonner

8 movies that I saw:
1. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II
2. The King’s Speech
So it looks as if I did not go to the movies that often in 2011.

8 red letter events:
1. Seeing the Harlem Globetrotters at the Nassau Coliseum
2. The Bees go undefeated in their conference in the Yorkville Sports Association
3. Visiting the Bronx Zoo
4. Visiting the Finger lakes region
5. Eileen graduating from high school
6. Visiting Martin Van Buren’s home
7. Visiting Philadelphia
8. The Cardinals winning the World Series

Happy New Year

2012-01-02T12:40:00.000-05:00

Happy new year to evaryone.

We did not do much for New Year's Eve other than watch TV and see the ball drop in Times Square.

On New Year's Day the 3 of us drove to the movie house in West Babylon that we frequently patronize to hopefully see War Horse or Sherlock Holmes II. The shows were about to start (we thought) when we arrived at 1:55. However, the newspapers were a bit confusing and the start times were 2:45! So rather than wait for 45 minutes and be bored, we decided to see Tom Cruise's new film - Mission Impossible. It was action packed and I definitely liked the footage from Budapest, Moscow, Dubai, and Mumbai. I recommend it to any person who likes action packed adventure.

Today I am off for the New Year's holiday and plan to relax around the house and the fire station.

I am happy that the New York Giants beat the Dallas Cowboys to make it to the playoffs.

2011 is over; typical Saturday

2011-12-31T17:58:00.001-05:00

Since my last entry it was SSDD during the weekday. The only change in routine came on Wednesday evening when I went to the Islip Fire Department Rescue Squad’s meeting and Christmas dinner. I enjoyed several goodies that I would not make at home.

Today was a typical Saturday for me: errands, and visiting the firehouse. While enjoying the coffee at the firehouse I had time to watch MLB-TV and featuring listing the greatest throws in MLB history. To make this cut it had to be rather difficult, unusual, and get the runner out. Around 12:20 we had an ambulance call on a street near the firehouse and we transported a man who had chest pains. Actually, just before the alarm came in, I had ordered lunch at a new chicken take out place a block from the firehouse. Obviously I could not go to the restaurant when I had planned to, so I got on the ambulance and when we drove past the shop I got their phone number and called them on my cell phone to tell them that I will be there later. The owner understood. When we got back from Southside Hospital I signed in for the call and then walked to the restaurant to pick up my chicken sandwich. I spent a few minutes talking to the owner and told him that I will recommend his place to the other members of the Islip Fire Department. I will also recommend it here, so if you are in the vicinity of Grant Avenue and Main Street in Islip, please do stop in at Main Street Wings for a decent and reasonably price meal. Wings are their specialty, but the chicken sandwiches are pretty good.

One of my www.facebook.com cyber friends had posted a Nike ad about the New York Yankees and that despite the changes that befall New York (at least Manhattan) residents, we have the Yankees. The line about the corner deli closing down to become a tapas bar reminds me of what I see more than enough of in now trendy neighborhoods.

I cannot believe that 2011 is over. I had a couple of red letter days

Our trips to the Finger Lakes Region and the Hudson Valley
The Cardinals winning the World Series
The Bees winning their conference in softball.

Some people that we lost in 2011 (good & bad):

§ Screen & TV: Liz Taylor, Harry Morgan, Peter Falk, and Jackie Cooper;
§ Business: Steve Jobs;
§ Baseball: Duke Snider, Matty Alou Ryne Duren & Harmon Killebrew;
§ Boxing: Joe Frazier;
§ Statesman: Vaclav Havel;
§ Some not so nice people: Osama bin laden, Mohammar Khadafy & Kim Jong Il.

See everyone in 2012!!!!

Firefighter blood donations; Christmas holidays; Sunken Meadow SP

2011-12-27T21:57:00.005-05:00

I wrote in my December 24 entry that a member of the Islip Fore Department (named Rob) who is also a member of the New York City Fire Department (FDNY) was severely burned on December 19 at a fire in Brooklyn. He is going to undergo a skin graft tomorrow (December 28) and will need blood. If any reader in the New York City area has O- (O Negative) blood please contact the New York Blood Center at 1-800-439-6876, and provide these pieces of information: Patient #203859 and file #71614. In the near future there will be blood drives at the Baldwin Fire Department and the Islip Fire Department to collect blood for the Firefighter Rob. Any South Shore residents who read this could always make appointments at these firehouses since at least in Islip the public is welcome. .

On Christmas Eve I watched part of the Giants-Jets football game and was happy to see that Big Blue won. In the first quarter the Jets were ahead 7-0 at first and then 7-3, but “it ain’t over ‘til it’s over”. Later we drove to Flushing to have Christmas Eve dinner with my mother. She served the traditional fare of pasta and crabs. The crabs are delicious but very messy. While at my mom’s place I watched part of the Detroit Lions-San Diego Chargers game and was happy to see the Lions trounce the Chargers. After all, the Lions were underdogs/doormats for years and it’s nice to see them do well for a change. When dinner was over, we had tea and then my mother came home with us as she has been doing for the last couple of Christmases (since my dad died).

On Christmas Day my mom, brother in law, cousin in law and family friend were over our house for Christmas dinner. We exchanged gifts and Eileen got a Nikon digital camera. After all, she took some nice pictures using my camera, so Ellen and I decided to get her one.

Yesterday, Boxing Day, I was home from work but was busy doing errands. I also set up Eileen’s digital camera and we all began to use it, taking photos in the house and out on the porch.

I was off today since I had vacation days to use or lose, and also because two weeks ago I made an appointment with the New York Blood Center to give blood at the East Islip Fire Department headquarters. The appointment was to be at 3:30 PM so in the meantime I did more errands and in the early afternoon the 3 of us drove to Sunken Meadow State Park on the North Shore to take photos and walk along the boardwalk. We took both digital cameras so there were two sets of photos of the three of us on the boardwalk with the Long Island Sound in the background, and also photos of maps and ecology signs. When we got home I downloaded the photos from my camera but had to recharge the battery in Eileen’s. So then I headed to East Islip FD to give blood. When I got there the chief and the house man told me that the people from the Blood Center never came!! I called them up and they told me that East Islip FD was not on their list to visit, despite my e/mail and post card confirmation. So I hung around for a few minutes to talk to the chief and then headed to my firehouse for coffee and to watch television. When I finished the last of my errands I downloaded the photos from Eileen’s camera onto my c-drive and then to my page on www.facebook.com.

A firefighter was injured

2011-12-24T10:37:00.002-05:00

Since December 17 it’s been basically SSDD. However, on Monday December 19^th a member of the Islip Fire Department, who is also a member of the New York City Fire Department’s Rescue 2 Company in Brooklyn, was severely burned at a fire n Prospect Place in the Prospect Heights section of Brooklyn. He and another firefighter were in the apartment on the 3^rd floor when a fireball erupted and they were engulfed in flames. Luckily both men got out but the man from Islip was burned severely over 50% of his body. At the present time he is in the FDNY Burn Unit at Cornell medical Center on York Avenue and 71^st Street in New York City. According to the doctors, he is going to recover but it will be slow. Please keep both men in your thoughts and prayers.

Other than that, I am off until December 28^th.

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2011-12-24T10:19:00.001-05:00

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elections; EKG; a baseball great changes teams

2011-12-17T21:51:00.000-05:00

In the last 12 days we had our fire chiefs’ election, fire district commissioners’ election, visited my internist, and watch a baseball great change teams.
In the Islip Fire Department we have now have our chiefs and company officers change administrations on January 1 of an even numbered calendar year (instead of in April as we did until a few years ago). So to have a short lame duck lag, the chiefs and officers are elected in December – company level at the company meeting; chiefs’ on a special election day. We have been using the second Thursday in December for the chiefs’ election, so on December 8th we had the election at fire headquarters. The current Chief of the Department will step down on January 1, while the assistant chiefs advance to Chief of the Department and 1st Assistant Chief. We then have to elect the 2nd assistant chief (3rd in command). This year the two candidates were from the same company, and it was almost literally a toss-up on whom to vote for. In the end the 2nd Assistant Chief was elected. As for the commissioners for the Fire District, that is always the second Tuesday in December throughout New York State. My next door neighbor was running against another member of the Department, and lost by 20 votes to that man. Oh well, maybe next year.
Earlier on December 8th I went to my internist over on East 72nd Street to have an electrocardiogram (EKG). The results were favorable so my doctor said that I can play basketball (the Lawyers Basketball League has started for 2011-2012), softball when spring comes, and serve in the fire department. After the visit I went home since I had a vacation day (use them or lose them).
The St. Louis Cardinals have been one of my favorite non-New York baseball teams, going back to the high school years. And of course, Albert Pujols was one of my favorite Redbirds. Needless to say, I was not happy when Albert left the Cardinals to play for the Los Angeles Angels. A lot of Cardinal fans are glad that he did not go to the arch-rival Cubs, but we wish that the St. Louis front office had done more to keep him. It was like déjà vu, since the Mets let José Reyes go to the Miami Marlins two weeks ago (see my prior entry).

funeral; time to make the donuts; dinner in Whitestone; Mets' woes

2011-12-05T21:52:00.000-05:00

On Saturday I went to the funeral of the Islip Fire Department Ex-Chief who had passed away on Tuesday. We assembled at the fire house at 9 AM and then took all of our apparatus to the funeral home about ¾ of a mile from headquarters. We then waited outside while the final prayers and eulogies were delivered. Despite wearing long johns and a long sleeved tee shirt, I was chilly since our Class A firefighter uniform is practically summer weight. Once the casket came out it was put onto the B Truck (a converted 1956 Ford pickup truck that is used in racing) and the funeral cortege drove the 2 miles to St. Mary’s Church in East Islip. This time we all went inside, but in general, the firefighters who did not have family waiting in the pews stood along the side (like I did) or in the back. At Communion time the firefighters were asked to go back outside, line up in formation, and wait for the casket to come out. This time the casket was put onto the rear of a ladder truck and the cortege drove back to Islip and past his house and finally to St. Patrick’s Cemetery in Bay Shore. The ladder truck stopped by the grave site and the family and firefighters gathered into formation. The priest who said the funeral Mass also gave the final eulogies here. Flowers were then put around the casket, and then we passed around a bottle of Tullamore Dew Irish whiskey and several firefighters (including me) took a swig. When I was in my 20’s I had enjoyed Tullamore Dew Irish and bought a bottle for myself to keep in the house several times. 30+ years later it still tastes great. After the prayers and eulogy we headed back to fire headquarters for some lunch. Around 1 PM I decided to head home since I was out all morning and did want Ellen & Eileen to know that I was still alive. However, several members of the department would be staying around into the late evening.
On Sunday morning I went to the firehouse at around 0815 to help make the donuts. Unfortunately the bozos who stayed all day after the funeral left the kitchen and the bathrooms like pigpens. So before we could start anything we had to do some major cleaning (actually only 3 of us). Once we cleaned the place up we started to make the donuts. I was mostly helping out until we got a carbon monoxide call on Cleveland Street and the younger guys left the older members (including me) behind to finish the donut making. I soon started to put the cut dough into the oil but kept them there too long until they became super hard. Finally an older member showed me how to do it and they came out OK (don’t leave them until they are dark brown; remove them after a minute or two and they will be just right). When the younger guys came back I showed them the good stuff and the hard brown ones - the learning curve. I left around 12:15 so we could drive to Queens and pick up my mom and then head to Ducale Italian Restaurant 12-53 150th Street in Whitestone. We had been there before on special occasions and always liked it. If you are ever in that part of northern Queens try and stop in for a great meal.
I learned yesterday that the Mets traded José Reyes to the Miami Marlins. The New York Post had an article saying that the Mets lost their star shortstop and their credibility. Several Post commenters said that the Wilpons should sell their interests for the good of the team. I agree since the family has done too much harm and is alienating more of the fan base.

2011-12-03T15:40:00.004-05:00

I was not able to make any entries here over the last several days, not because nothing happened, but just the opposite – too much was happening.

This past Sunday, November 27, in the morning I was at the North House helping other members of my fire company decorate the sub-station. We put up lights along the front of the building, and also placed lights on the shrubs. The Department also purchased blow up figures and we put them up on the front lawn.

Later in the day I went to the 12:15 Mass and a guest speaker, Sister Patricia Duffy OP, spoke about materialism and how Black Friday is now a holiday almost. She also talked about a man whose wife left him after he lost his job and then a family member died. He started to record on his computer all of the things that he was thankful for (some seemed very trivial to us, but important to him) and eventually had it published as a book. I thought about doing that myself and since I had the unused site on http://www.moonfruit.com/ called softball2008, I decided to use that one and start a site about being thankful for myself. I got the ball rolling later in the day and a few pages are completed. The URL is http://thanks4all.moonfurit.com/. There is a page for comments and an e-mail address where you can tell me about things that you are grateful/thankful for. I might even add them to the page that lists things we are or should be thankful for. Later in the evening we drove out to the Modern Snack Bar on Route 25 in Aquebogue. This was to celebrate our 32nd anniversary, which fell on Thanksgiving this year. I had shepherd’s pie while Ellen and Eileen had seafood dishes.

On Tuesday evening the Chiefs’ Office sent out a calling post (mass calling) to the members informing us that an ex-chief who had been ill with cancer of the esophagus had passed away. He had been in very poor health over the last year so I was not surprised by the call. Still I was saddened. On Thursday, the 1st, I went over to the wake (the first night) to pay my respects and drop off a card. Last night was the firematic service and since I could not leave work early, got there at the end. Still, I managed to salute the casket and join the other members back at headquarters for some refreshments. This morning was the funeral Mass at St. Mary’s, a procession of fire apparatus that drove past his house to the cemetery (St. Patrick’s in Bay Shore) and the actual interment. After that we went back to the firehouse for some lunch.

On happier notes, the National Basketball League settled the lock out so the games will begin on Christmas Day. Personally I am glad that it’s settled because after the last out of the World Series, I get edgy waiting for Opening Day. Football is only played once a week and I cannot get too crazy about hockey (probably thanks to their lock out and canceling a whole season several years ago). So during the week basketball fills in during the winter months as a sport to watch on TV and listen to on the radio (through the Internet).

I finished John Holway’s book Josh & Satch and found it very informative regarding the history of the Negro Leagues. It is our loss that so many great Negro Leaguers never got a chance to shine in the major leagues before 1947. It is not only their loss (although most are finally being acknowledged and several have been elected to the Hall of Fame) it is also our loss because we never had a chance to see them shine in the major leagues thanks to the color barrier. Once I returned John Holway’s book I took about Carlos, Pedro & Omar by Adam Rubin. This book is about the New York Mets’ general manager (Omar Minaya) and his signing Latin American players to the Big Leagues. I will try and keep you posted about this book.

Basketball Bees; NFL; flag football; Thanksgiving; new web-site

2011-11-25T13:58:00.003-05:00

Since last Sunday I went to the Islip Fire Department meeting, the department’s ambulance corps’ meeting, and hosted company for Thanksgiving.

On the morning of the 22nd when and I got out of Penn Station this morning a bus was on fire at 7th & 35th. The fire was really going and the black smoke was very intense. There was even a small explosion (perhaps a hydraulic piston) but soon the FDNY was pouring water on it and it was under control. Several people were taking videos or pictures with their cell phones of the fire and the FDNY putting it out. I realized that the fumes were nauseating so I decided to get out of the area and walk east to Park Avenue and to the office. I read on the Internet later that there were no injuries or deaths since the driver and the riders got out in time. Later, during lunchtime I went to a kick off luncheon (pizza was served) with the firm’s basketball team. The Basketball Bees will tip off next week with a scrimmage game. I also took the time to remember where I was 48 years before when President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas (at an assembly when Brother David, the principal, came in to interrupt it).

Of course, Thursday the 24th was Thanksgiving Day, and more importantly, at least to me, was Ellen and my 32nd wedding anniversary! I still cannot believe that we are still together, since for a while I was not an easy person to know or get along with. Luckily for me, I am not the same guy I was 30 years ago. Hopefully, there will be many more anniversaries for us.

In the morning I went to get some baked goods from the local bakery and then drove to the Timber Point Elementary School fields to watch the annual Turkey Bowl. It’s a flag football game between the Islip Fire Department and the East Islip Fire Department. I do not play since football is not my specialty (I only watch it) and even if it was, Ellen & I always host the holiday dinner so I cannot be out for an extended period of time. However, 15 minutes is enough to say hi to the players, and watch part of the game. Last year East Islip won but the majority of the games were won by Islip, including this year (7-3). Touchdowns only count as one point since there are no field goals or conversions. There was a safety, but it would only count if it was necessary to break a tie (and there was not). I then headed back home to help with getting the house in order and also to help with the food preparation. When I was not helping I watched part of the Detroit Lions-Green Bay Packers game. Since I prefer underdogs I was hoping for the Lions to win, but since no other team has beaten Green Bay so far this year, the Lions could not either. Green Bay won, 27-15. Later when the guests went home I hit the Internet and opted to create a since page web-site about Thanksgiving. (I had done it on Yahoo Geocities years ago, but Yahoo shut down the Geocities web page services a few years ago). I was looking for another free web-page provider and after using Google to find several, I opted for www.55fast.com. The URL is http://billyfor8.55fast.com/. There is no guestbook but you can make comments here.

books; officer in charge; cockles; vote soon

2011-11-20T00:35:00.000-05:00

Since I watched the Lady Red Storm lose to St. Bonaventure last weekend it was pretty much SSDD. On Sunday we went in to Queens to visit my Mom. Ellen and I went shopping at Bed Bath & Beyond on College Point Boulevard, and then had dinner at one of our favorite Malaysian eateries – Curry Leaves – on 40th Road. I was a bit venturesome and ordered flat noodles and cockles. They are a clam, but they tasted a bit fishier than Little Neck or Cherrystone clams that we get here on the Island. I still think that I would try then again.
On Monday evening I went to my fire company meeting and 4 guests were there: two candidates for 2nd assistant chief and two for a seat on the Board of Fire Commissioners. Each man gave a talk saying why we should vote for him. To be honest, it’s going to be a toss up for each contest.

I finished reading a book by a baseball historian named John Holway. It was titled Blackball Stars – Negro League Pioneers. The book tells of 25 greats who played in the Negro Leagues before 1947. John does not include Josh Gibson and Satchel Paige, since they are featured in another book. I thought that Blackball Pioneers was interesting and shed some light on several baseball greats, some of whom are now enshrined in Cooperstown. I then took out another John Holway book – Josh and Satch: The Life and Times of Josh Gibson and Satchel Paige. This book is about those two baseball greats, both in the Hall of Fame. Holway breaks the book’s chapters down into calendar years, introducing each one with some important historical events from that year, as well as hit parade songs, best selling books, movies, Broadway plays, and highlights on the major leagues. Right now I am up to the chapter covering 1933.
This Saturday morning I was at the firehouse enjoying some Dr. Pepper and leftover pizza when a call came in for a single alarm on Brook Street – an open burn. I borrowed some gear and waited for some others firefighters and 3 others showed up. I was the most experienced one so I got “elected” to be the officer on the ladder truck. We drove northward. To Brook Street but the chief gave us a ‘dismiss the men’ order when we got to Brook Street. We then headed back and hoped to go down Brook to Commack Road and then to headquarters but the Suffolk County Police Department had the street sealed off at Boston Avenue – a crime scene. I would read more about it on www.newsday.com and then on WCBS-TV: an 18 year old was found murdered off Brook Street in the creek that separates Islip from Bay Shore. The police are still investigating, but the young man may have been murdered for something that he wrote in someone’s high school yearbook. On a better note, when I got back to headquarters I had a chance to talk to the wife of one of the ladder truck crew. It turns out that she came from Glendale and her father went to St. Francis Prep like I did. I knew him from the track team when I was on it during my sophomore year. My teammate was born in Austria in the same year that I was but lost a year learning English, making him a freshman instead of a sophomore like me. His grandfather served in the Austro-Hungarian Army in World War I (at that time I was very interested in the history of that conflict). It’s definitely a small world.

On the Internet I did edits to some of my biographies
http://billyslife.yolasite.com
http://www.wix.com/ex_mothman29/bio
http://billyfor8.beep.com/

Please check them out. Some are told in the first person, some are in the third person, and remember to sign any guest books.

Johnnies & Bonnies; doctor's visit; alumni functions

2011-11-12T20:35:00.008-05:00

Until Thursday the 10th there was not much to write about: go to work, come home, and hit the Internet. I mean I did vote in the Suffolk County and Islip Town elections but that is kind of boring.

On the 10th I was off (use the days or lose them) and went to my regular examination at my internists office on East 72nd Street. There were the usual tests: blood work, heart, and lungs. So far the lungs & heart are OK. I will know about the blood work next week. So far I am cleared to play basketball for my company’s team, the Bees, when we tip off later this month. I managed to get an early train back to Islip and after lunch did some errands. Around 5:30 PM I drove to St. John’s University to attend a talk given by a panel of CPA about getting into public accounting and the advantages and disadvantages of large and small firms. While the talks were mainly geared for recent grads, especially those not getting into or already working in private client accounting, I decided to attend because I wanted to become more active in St. John’s alumni functions and also get a chance to network. While I enjoyed listening to the panel and talking with some other alumni, the ride in was torture because people do not know how to merge. I mean merging is not rocket science. I was going the opposite way from the rush hour traffic but was bumper to bumper while the rush hour cars were not. Luckily it was OK on the way home.

Yesterday was Veterans Day. Since I was off on the 10th I could not take Friday off as well. However, I was not too busy since the partners were at our Washington office for a partners meeting. The firm hosted a pizza party for the New York staff and I managed to have a pleasant free lunch with my co-workers. Around 1 PM I walked over to 5th Avenue to take in the last of the marchers in the annual New York parade.

Today was not my typical Saturday. I did a few errands and then around 1 PM drove to St. John’s University to meet my friend, a fellow alumnus, at Alumni Hall (Carnesecca Arena) since we planned to watch the Women’s Basketball team play St. Bonaventure University. It also was Military Appreciation Day so therefore ROTC & Junior ROTC cadets (they were from East Side High School in Paterson NJ and from nearby Francis Lewis High School) were outside the building. I got to talk to some of them and then went through airport type security to get inside the foyer of Alumni Hall. I did not mind since I did not have anything to hide. My friend arrived a bit later and then we went to our seats – just above the “box seats”. Shortly after tip off St. Bonaventure went ahead by a couple of points and then St. John’s went ahead and soon led by as much as 13 points. But as Yogi Berra warned us 38 years ago: it ain’t over ‘til it’s over and St. Bonaventure came from behind in the second half and won 64-58! It was disappointing to see St. John’s lose the season opener, but hopefully they will do better in their next game on the 16th against LaSalle University. Once I got home I downloaded the photos and then posted them to my pages on www.facebook.com and www.tagged.com and also plan to update my New York Hoops page on Homestead: http://newyorkbaseball.homestead.com/ny_hoops.html .

dental surgery; Cardinals win it all; new fire truck; good restaurant

2011-10-30T21:48:00.002-04:00

Since my last entry I went to the endodontist to finish the root canal procedure, watched the St. Louis Cardinals win their 11th World Championship, and celebrate dinner in honor of my birthday.

I had first gone to the root canal specialist (endodontist) on the 18th (see the entry for that day) and once he did the first part of the procedure (remove most of the nerves) I had to go back so that he could finish the procedure. So on the 27th I returned and the last of the nerves were removed and sealed with a temporary filling. Now all I had to do was go to my regular dentist to have a permanent cap of filling put in (which I did on the 29th). Once the nerves were removed and the canal cleansed, I no longer had pain in the upper or lower right teeth. On a happier note, while talking to the endodontist, I learned that he was from Flushing, just like me (but at the northern end where Flushing & Whitestone meet) and his grand uncle was Sonny Werblin, who was an owner of the Jets in the 1960’s.

On Friday evening I was at my computer for a while checking my e/mails and www.facebook.com page but also going to Yahoo Sports to see how the Cardinals-Rangers game was progressing. At first the Texas Rangers were ahead 2-0, but it was only the 2nd inning and they were playing in St. Louis. Pretty soon the Cardinals tied the game and then went ahead 3-2. Around the 5th inning we got a fire call for a single alarm on a street called Commack Road. I did not make the engine so I drove to headquarters to wait to see if any more manpower was needed (none was) and sign in for the call. I also watched the ballgame. By now St. Louis was ahead 5-2 and then 6-2 an inning or two later. So pretty soon the Texas batters were being retired in order and then in the 9th inning, came the final out and the Cardinals won the World Series for the 11th time in their history. It is nowhere what the Yankees have done (27 times) but 11 is nothing to sneer at. So congratulations to the Cardinals for a great and exciting regular season and an even more exciting post season. Even though I never lived in St. Louis or even visited the area, I have admired the team since I was in high school. When I used to go see the Mets play, often their opponent was St. Louis so I would get to enjoy a good game. Besides, the team has a great history tradition, and their logo (the cardinals perched on a bat) and their “St. L” letters looked great. Many Hall of Fame members wore a Cardinals uniform, such as Dizzy Dean, Stan Musial, Bob Gibson, and Red Schoendienst to name a few. Once Albert Pujols is elected, he will most likely wear a “St. L” on his cap.

Today the Islip Fire Department’s Hook & Ladder Company dedicated their new truck with a “wet down”. In ceremonies like this, the new vehicle is driven under a pair of bucket trucks and water is sprayed down onto the vehicle. Then a bottle of champagne is broken over the front bumper (usually by the wife or mother of the company captain). That what was done today, and we also had a Pledge of Allegiance and a brief prayer service. Once that was over there was goodies to be had. Since I had to go with Ellen & Eileen to Queens to have dinner with my mom and my aunt for my aunt’s and my birthdays, I could lonely stay for a cup of coffee and a snack. I wish the Hook & Ladder Company good luck with the new vehicle.

We then drove to Flushing to pick up my mom and my aunt at the apartment house and then drive to Whitestone to an Italian restaurant named Ducale. It is located at 12-53 150th Street, near the Cross Island Parkway. We hade been there before for special occasions. This afternoon the wait staff was very polite and helpful, and everything that we had was excellent. I had monkfish with clams & mussels on the side (highly recommended by me). If you are ever in the neighborhood, do stop in for a great meal.

Visitin the home of a former president

2011-10-23T00:41:00.006-04:00

On the morning of the 22nd I did a few errands and then we headed up to Kinderhook to visit the home of our 8^th President, Martin Van Buren. We took the usual route for trips to the Hudson Valley, the Whitestone or Throggs Neck Bridge, and then the Hutchinson River Parkway to I-684/84. There were some delays on the “Hutch” by the City Line – all because of a stalled car in the left lane. They at the Cross County Parkway there is a slow down because people don’t know to exit right and come almost to dead stops before exiting. I mean merging and exiting are not rocket science! Anyway, once we got past these messes it was smooth sailing to the Taconic Parkway, then some state highways to Lindenwald, Martin Van Buren’s home. We went to the visitors’ center and saw a film about his life, and already I was fairly impressed with his accomplishments. We then went to the mansion itself – a Federal/Gothic beauty and took a tour of all 3 floors. The house was furnished tastefully but not extravagantly like in Newport. I liked the dining room as well as the main guest room, which were on the first floor. There was also an impressive library with a bust of the President, slightly larger than life size. The parlor has a hard and two pianos, so if you are a music lover, it would have been a great place to visit.

I knew that Martin Van Buren was nicknamed the Red Fox (he was a redhead) and also that the teams from Marist College in nearby Poughkeepsie were also named that. It turns out that the teams were named for President Van Buren!

After the tour we drove down Route 9 to Rhinebeck to have dinner. We were originally going to try a Chinese restaurant on East Market Street but we could not find parking. So we crossed the main drag and turned into a side street (Garden Street) to find parking. We found several spaces and parked next to an Italian restaurant, named Puccini. Since it would not be a good idea to park in their lot and eat elsewhere, we opted to give the place a try. It turns out that it is family owned by a couple who were originally from Brooklyn. The husband is a chef, the wife is a hostess, and their daughters are part of the wait staff. The hostess and I spoke a bit about Brooklyn, as I did go to high school there. We complained a bit about how the yuppies are ruining so many neighborhoods in both Brooklyn and Manhattan – displacing families, businesses, and whole communities. As for our meals, we enjoyed them. Ellen had sea bass, I had pasta with shrimp & asparagus, and Eileen had chicken. After dinner we drove down Route 9 (past Marist College and Poughkeepsie) to I-84 and home.

Once we got home I downloaded several photos from my digital camera to the hard drive on the computer, and then to sites on www.facebook.com and www.tagged.com. Later on I also added a page to my travels web-site: http://billystravels.homestead.com/kinderhook---rhinebeck.html

busy day off

2011-10-18T21:50:00.001-04:00

I had several things to do today – some planned, some not, but somehow got them all done. As I have time off and it’s use them or lose them, I opted to use one. Being an alumnus of St. John’s University and also a computer buff, I get we/mails from the Alumni association telling us about the “Alumni’s Insider View”. This evening there was a talk by an alumna about financial planning. While it was geared to more recent graduates, with retirement less than 10 years away for me I figured that I could use some tips, and also get a chance to participate in alumni functions. Since the talk was at the Jamaica Campus at 6:30, I would have to leave early from work to make it and then worry about getting home by LIRR> We also had to have one of our cars serviced and have a headlight replaced. So I decided to put in to have the 18th off. Then over the last several weeks some of my teeth have been bothering me, yet there were no cavities. My dentist referred an endodontist to me. I called and managed to get an appointment for this morning. So, after dropping the car off at the dealer in West Islip I called the dentist’s office and they had an opening at 10:30. Luckily it was only a few miles away, in Hauppauge on the Smithtown Bypass Highway. Once I got there and filled out some papers, I went into the examining room and had x-rays taken. It turns out that I needed a root canal so we got started right away. After three shots of Novocain, the drilling and filing began. I ended up with a temporary filling and crown and have to return next week to have it completed. In the meantime, I still feel some pain since the Novocain wore off. While a root canal is no fun, losing a tooth is much worse.

I relaxed for a little while in the afternoon and around 4 PM we went to the dealer to pick up the car and come back home. I then drove to the St. John’s campus and arrived about 10 minutes early. The talk was in the President’s Room, in Alumni Hall, where the basketball teams play. The speaker was a young alumna who works for Metropolitan Life Insurance Company as a financial advisor. She spoke about the six main points to sound financial planning:

§ Protect what you have
§ Take control of you cash flow
§ Invest wisely
§ Manage your taxes
§ Save for retirement
§ Leave a legacy

I took good notes and will discuss these with Ellen. To be honest, we have been doing these all along, but I am certain that we can do them more efficiently.

hose test; street fair

2011-10-16T21:24:00.000-04:00

This morning my fire company had its hose test at the Denver Avenue track, which is located at the western of the fire district. The track is a straight away, and usually used by fire department drill teams to practice. We also use it to have hands on drills and our hose tests. Only 11 people showed up: 2 officers, 2 probies, and 7 members, so our captain was rather pissed off. Because of the poor showing, we only tested the hoses on our North House engine. That meant hooking up the front intake to the hydrant, and then stretching out several hundred feet of hose from the rear of the engine and then pumping up to 350 pounds of water pressure through them to see if there are any leaks. We only noticed two sections of 50 foot hose leaking, so they were removed and will be replaced. Then we had to uncouple each section and bleed the water out of each by putting it over your shoulder and walking under it to the coupling. Then the water drains out. Once all the sections are bled, it’s time to put them back onto the hose bed. They are passed up to a member sitting in the bed who folds them down, while others couple the sections back. Since there were only 11 members present, we only did that one engine. The other vehicle, stationed at headquarters, will be done next weekend.

When it was over I went home and showered and then went to the 12:15 Mass at St. Mary’s. After that I went to have coffee at the firehouse. Since there was the semi annual street fair on Main Street, I then walked over there to see that they had in the stands. I got to meet one of the candidates running for Suffolk County executive. Then I headed home to shred a bag of old papers and watch some football (Giants vs. Bills). Later Ellen and Eileen said that they wanted to go to the street fair, so we walked down to Main Street. Once there I got to say hi to several Islip Fire Department members who were also attending and also helping to run it (the Hook & Ladder Company was one of the sponsors). We also stopped at a table where Eileen’s former classmate Marissa was selling her crafts that she made (we bought a bracelet and a key chain). Ellen wanted to stop in the Balcony Antiques shop to look at some paintings of Paris that she is interested in and while inside we got to say hi to our former neighbor who is renting space to sell his guitar collection. He was assigned the space in the rear of the store, which was actually a stage 80+ years ago (the building was a burlesque theater way back then). Before walking back home we stopped in Coyle’s Ice Cream Parlor for ice cream. I had cotton candy flavored; Eileen had pumpkin. After saying goodbye to Eileen’s friends, we walked the ¾ mile back home.

Change Up; the Pine; root canal?

2011-10-16T00:07:00.001-04:00

I finished Red Barber’s autobiography, Rhubarb in the Catbird Seat. It was interesting but unfortunately, since it was written in 1968, the last 24 years of Red’s life do not appear in it. However, the Islip Library’s renovations are now complete and on Thursday I was able to go to the library after work and go to the shelves and see what I would like to take out. This time I took out Change Up by Larry Burke and Peter T. Fornatale. It is a series of essays with interviews about the 8 biggest changes to occur in modern baseball since 1960:

§ The 1962 New York Mets (and expansion);
§ The influx of Latin American Players;
§ The Players Union;
§ The book Ball Four;
§ The designated hitter;
§ The first African American manager;
§ Cal Ripken’s streak;
§ Asian players coming to the majors.

I am presently reading the part about the Latin American players.

During the week I had my monthly fire company meeting on the 10th. I was nominated for another year as secretary of the company.

This morning I went to my dentist to have some teeth x-rayed due to on and off pain. There are no cavities, but the nerve and roots may be dying so he referred me to a dentist specializing in endodontics. I have to call and make an appointment. When I got home we drove to Queens to visit my mom. After lunch and a catnap Ellen and I took the #7 subway 2 stops to 111th Street to check out the Pine Restaurant. It’s in a Holiday Inn at 37-10 114th Street (the building is a vestige of the World’s Fair). The Pine has a sports bar feel as you go in, saluting the Mets of course, since it’s within site of Citi Field, with batting helmets from the Mets’ farm clubs (Binghamton, Brooklyn, Kingsport, and Port St. Lucie) on display. There are also 4 bobble heads on the shelf: Endy Chavez, Roberto Clemente, Carlos Zambrano (wearing soccer kit), and Sammy Sosa in a Tulsa Drillers uniform. The restaurant is behind the bar area. It features Italian cuisine despite its American name. Ellen had chicken marsalla while I had seafood with linguine in a tomato broth. I also ordered a Blue Moon Pumpkin beer from the bar. We both enjoyed our meals and when the Mets resume play in 2012 I recommend a visit there after the game. Ellen and I were quite full and decided to walk back to my mom’s apartment, going along Roosevelt Avenue past Citi Field and the Iron Triangle and into Downtown Flushing. It’s about 2 miles and we got some exercise and walked off several calories.

Southern gentleman; fishing tournament; go Cardinals

2011-10-08T23:36:00.003-04:00

Last Saturday I finished the book titled 56 by Kostya Kennedy. From what I read, it looks as if the 56 game hitting streak that Joe DiMaggio accomplished 70 years ago will probably stand for another 70 years. When I returned the book to the Islip Library I needed to get another one out to read at home and on the train. Since the Islip Library is undergoing renovation, its shelves are bare and the books are in storage. No longer can I browse the shelves and see that I like. So to solve that I went to the bibliography of 56 and came across a book titled Rhubarb in the Catbird Seat. It is the autobiography of the famous baseball announcer, Red Barber. I have reached the middle of the book to when Red had already begun his 14 year affiliation with the Brooklyn Dodgers, in 1939. He also spoke about his years growing up in Sanford FL and attending the University of Florida. Red would go to the New York Yankees in 1954 and remain there until 1966 when he was fired for showing the viewing audience how few people the pathetic Yankees had in the stands that day (413). They were pathetic in 1966, finishing in the cellar for the first time since 1912. Speaking the truth got him fired. While he was still with the Yankees, around 1959, I remember his broadcasting the games and also doing interviews so I had gotten to know who Red was. After 1966 Red would do commentaries so I remembered him when he passed away in 1992 at 84.

Last night I went to the firehouse after dinner to help set up the upstairs for the 10th Annual Engine 2 Striped Bass Fishing Tournament. This afternoon I went down to help with the last minute preparations and once the anglers got back from the bay and weighed their catches, they came to the Islip firehouse for dinner and to perhaps win prizes in our raffles. I ended up helping to sell raffle tickets for a $400 rod & reel set, helping to set up the dinner meals, and to clean up after everyone left. Every year we donate part of our receipts to a needy person or family. This year it was to a man who helped run Islip Buccaneer Youth Football. He is suffering from lymphoma and was too ill to come down to the firehouse. His friends did come down and one said where he lives – my street near its northern end. Once the friend told me that the man’s house is for sale I realized just who it is – across the street and two houses north. Our donation will hopefully help to defray some of his medical bills. The friend was also selling plastic bracelets, in purple (one of Islip schools’ colors) that say “U & IBYF can tackle cancer”. Since it’s for a good cause I bought one for myself.

I was very surprised to see the Yankees get eliminated from the post season. Since the Phillies had the bed record in baseball for a good part of 2011, I was also surprised to see then get sent packing as well. However, since the Cardinals are one of my favorite major league teams (I have admired them since high school for their history and tradition, as well as their great logos). Hopefully they will make it to the World Series and win it all.

since the last time

2011-10-02T14:28:00.001-04:00

Not much has happened since the last entry. Yesterday morning I went to the gym that we have in our firehouse to workout with some 15 pound barbells, and also run on the treadmill. Since it’s the first time out, I did not go overboard but will try and increase it each time. Several years ago Nike had advertisements saying to “just do it” for better health and also for better self esteem. In addition, I read this year on a web-site that one way to combat depression is to work out. The state of our country is a mess and the economy stinks, so these conditions increase the chance of getting depressed. While not a cure all, a nice workout could bolster self esteem at least.

This morning I went with the Islip Fire Department to the Suffolk County Fire Academy, located in Yaphank, to participate in a hands-on drill. They gave us the Class A – private residence. Since I am now an exterior firefighter, all that I did was set up ladders, and feed charged fire hose lines in through the front door. That may not seem like much, but those 16 foot ladders are not that easy to put up by yourself, and those charged (with water running through them) hose lines get quite heavy after a while. When we were all finished I helped to pack the hose onto the engine’s hose bed.

I have finished the book about Joe DiMaggio’s 1941 hitting streak titled 56 and am now reading a biography about the Hall of Fame baseball broadcaster – Red Barber. The Yankees are in the post season and currently are one game up on the Detroit Tigers.

This evening the History Channel will start to broadcast the 3 part series titled Prohibition. It is amazing that a movement like this could have happened. We all know today that it caused more problems than it hoped to solve, and was probably the biggest legislative failure in our history.

I also found some time to work on two of my personal web-sites:

http://www.wix.com/ex_mothman29/bio

http://billyfor8.beep.com/

car fire; cricket; no golf; good TV show; S.T.O.P.

2011-09-25T23:42:00.002-04:00

This last week was much of the usual stuff during the week: go to work, come home, and hit the Internet. The only changes were that we had the fire department meeting on the 18^th where we had our Class A (coat & tie) uniform inspected for proper fit. Mine seems to be OK for another year. On Friday I took a day off (use them or lose them) and did a few things around the house. On Friday afternoon I also went to the wake of a lady whose son is in my fire company and whose late husband was a chief of the Islip Fire Department and later a commission of the Islip Fire District.

Eileen was supposed to take part in the Golf Special Olympics on Saturday the 24^th but thanks to the heavy rain on Friday the fields were drenched and unplayable so the event was cancelled. Unfortunately, due to logistics, they will not be re-scheduled.

Since we did not go anywhere on Saturday I was able to take care of some business like visiting my dentist to have a temporary crown put in, and driving to the Central Islip Long Island Railroad station where the Town of Islip Hazardous Waste Department was have a S.T.O.P. Day (Stop Throwing Out Pollutants). Over the last 12 months we had accumulated several items that we realized should not be discarded in the regular trash so I drove over to the station and handed them over to Haz Mat representatives who will dispose of them properly. In the evening the Major League Baseball Channel had a show on called The Summer of Legends. It told of the records set in 1941 by Joe DiMaggio (56 game hitting streak) and Ted Williams (batting .406 for the year) that have not been equaled since. As a coincidence, I am still reading the book about Joe DiMaggio’s Streak, titled 56, by Kostya Kennedy. Kostya was also featured on the show and he gave several comments, as did Ken Burns who wrote the book Baseball (as well as producing the Public Broadcast series of the same name.

Today I was up early from both habit and an ambulance call in the north side of town. Considering that it was for the father of a deceased member, it is not a good sign when only 4 members showed up (2 of them were chiefs). Later I went to the 9:15 Mass at St. Mary’s Church and then stopped at the firehouse for coffee and a snack. As I was leaving we got an alarm for a car fire off of Route 111. I had to borrow turnout gear (mine is stored at the other firehouse on the north side). Once we got there some other firefighters used the booster lines to put that fire out, but I helped another firefighter try to pry the trunk open since there were times stored there. What we did was take a halligan tool and a flat ax and I swung the ax into the halligan to gain “purchase” while the other firefighter turned it to try an open it. We had to do it several times before we had any luck but eventually the owner got his items out. Then it was time to fill our water tank and go back to the fire house. Once there we had to re-fill air bottles since three of us were smart enough to use the masks while fighting the fire (the fumes really stank).

After I got home and showered again we drove to Queens to visit my mom and aunt. After we arrived and had a quick lunch, I walked over to the ball fields across Main Street from the Queens Botanical Gardens to watch the remainder of a cricket match. The two teams were sponsored by Unico Bus & Truck Parts and Newfin Jewelry. While I did not see the score, it seemed that Newfin won the match. The match was umpired by an official was from the New York Softball Cricket Association (the group does not play softball, but they use a soft rubber ball instead of the hard regulation cricket ball). I then walked back to the apartment to wash up and then Ellen and I walked over to the East Chinese Restaurant for dinner. We shared chicken corn soup and some broiled lobster (the lobster was delicious but it was messy). After dinner we went back for coffee before driving back to Islip.

Family Fun Day; Ocean Beach, Fire Island

2011-09-18T00:23:00.006-04:00

It was generally SSDD during the week since Sunday. The only things out of the ordinary were my fire company meeting on Monday evening, and creating a new personal web-page using a provider called www.beep.com. My page’s URL is http://www.billyfor8.beep.com. It’s still under construction but there is a contact for you to sign.

On Saturday morning I did some of my usual errands and in the afternoon Ellen, Eileen and I went to the Family Fun Day at St. Mary’s Parish. There were some games, a petting zoo, and a dunking machine. There was also cowboy style dancing, and dancing with hula hoops. I also got to shoot some basketballs since there were some basketball goals set up (one NBA height, one a lot lower). When we got home I downloaded photos from my digital camera of Ellen & Eileen’s weekday trips to Jones Beach and Sunken Meadow State Park as a well as the Family Fun Day.

In the evening I went with my fire company to dinner at a restaurant in Ocean Beach – a village on Fire Island. We were supposed to go last month but a member of another fire company had passed away so we went to his firematic service instead (see my entry of August 9). We finally go tit re-scheduled for September 17. Unfortunately, since we cannot leave Eileen home alone for too long, and could not bring her (despite the event chairman’s telling me that we could bring her) I went alone. So we drove to Bay Shore and the ferry terminal at the foot of Maple Avenue and after 30 minutes we were docking at Ocean Beach and walking to the restaurant – Bocce Beach. We started with a round at the bar (I had a Jamaican Red Stripe beer). After we all sat down they came out with appetizers: baked clams, friend shrimps, and fried wantons. Since we came as a group there was a limited menu. I ended up with a cooked tuna dish that was served sushi style with rice, ginger, hot mustard, and chopsticks. It was quite good and the other members also enjoyed the dishes that they ordered (ribs, pasta, pork loin, or salmon). I wanted to get home as soon as possible so I left to get the 9:40 ferry back to Bay Shore and then to the firehouse. Quite a few other members and their guests had the same idea. While we were walking to the ferry we walked past buildings hosting wedding receptions and by the bay there was a country band performing. I heard them do a decent rendition of Johnny Cash’s Folsom Prison Blues. The ferry ride back was interesting since across the aisle from us were some ladies who attended a batchelorette party in Ocean Beach. I really enjoyed visiting Ocean Beach and am thinking of going there on my own (with Ellen & Eileen this time) to have some lunch and spending some time walking around the village.

remembering where I was; reading; FD picnic

2011-09-11T13:28:00.005-04:00

Since September 5 I has been a set of busy days for me at work. My boss is on vacation, and I was asked to take care of her clients as well as mine. In addition, on Thursday the 8^th, I was all alone in the department since my other two co-workers each have school age children and it was the first day of school for each of them. Yet somehow I managed to get things done and take care of everyone’s clients.

On the reading scene I finished two books that I took out of the library: William Kinsella’s The Iowa Baseball Confederacy and Leonard Wibberley’s Homeward to Ithaka. Both are fantasies. I had spoken about Kinsella’s book in my September 5 entry. In the end the Confederacy All Star team beats the Chicago Cubs. The hero, Gideon Clarke, is transported back to 1908 Iowa. Wibberley’s book is a combination of Greek and Celtic mythology and involves a Columbia University literature professor who is transported back in time to Bronze Age Ireland as Odysseus (Ulysses) and participates in a war between the warriors of Ulster and Connaught. Several characters of Irish mythology appear in the book, and in the end Ulysses leaves Ireland and gets to return home to Ithaka (spelled with a “K” instead of a “C” here) and the professor gets to return to 20^th century New York. Leonard Wibberley was the author of one of my favorite novels, The Mouse That Roared, I and have read a large number of the books that he had written.

Right now I am reading another book by William Kinsella titled Magic Time. It is also about baseball.

On Saturday Ellen, Eileen and I went to the bi-annual Islip Fire Department picnic. It was held on the property in Bay Shore owned by the Montfort Missionaries. There was the usual BBQ grub, as well as a roasted pig, pulled pork, clams (but we had to open them up ourselves – not a problem), Italian ices, and cake. After about 90 minutes Eileen wanted to go home so we headed back to the house around 3:30. Later in the afternoon I watched part of the Syracuse Orange – Rhode Island Rams football game on TV. Syracuse won 21-14 (hurray) so I am happy that a team from New York State won.

Today is the 10^th anniversary of the terrible attacks on our country by terrorists. As I noted in a separate entry, those of us who lived through it will remember where we were when it happened. For me, I just walked into my office and turned my radio on to WCBS-FM and was listening to Dan Daniel’s show when he talked about a plane hitting the World Trade Center. Soon my coworkers were also talking about it. As my department was on the 8^th floor at 200 Park Avenue, some of us took the elevators up to the tower floors that the firm rented to look towards downtown. From a partner’s office window we saw the black smoke rising from the towers. I was too stunned and headed back to the 8^th floor. When I got to my desk I saw that Ellen had called me but I could not get through to her. Then the Firm’s management closed the office and told everyone to try and get home. My manager and I left for Penn Station and when we were walking down Park Avenue we heard people saying that Washington DC was also hit and several landmarks were destroyed or damaged: the White House, the Washington Monument, and the Pentagon (it turns out that only the Pentagon was hit). I was not able to get home since no LIRR trains were leaving. I managed to walk to the 59^th Street Bridge and cross it, take the subway to my parents’ place in Flushing, and stay overnight. I finally got home on the 12^th in the late morning. As soon as I got home I changed and went to the firehouse to see what I could do to help.

I made a separate entry in this blog to remember the people lost on that terrible day.

Ten years have gone by

2011-09-11T12:54:00.002-04:00

Today is the 10^th anniversary of the attacks on the US. We will always remember the lives lost at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and on Flight 93. RIP to nearly 3,000 souls.

Like Pearl Harbor in 1941 and the assassination of President Kennedy in 1963, those that lived through it will always remember where they were when they learned the news.

Iowa baseball; 5 Guys; Thai cusine

2011-09-05T11:50:00.004-04:00

Since Hurricane Irene left Long Island it’s generally been SSDD. There was no service on August 29 on the Long Island Railroad east of Babylon, and even if Ellen could drive me there, we would have to worry about flooded streets, downed trees, and downed power lines. Besides, we had storm debris in the yard that we had to clean up. So for about 3 hours on Monday Ellen and I raked up leaved and branches from the front and back yards. To save money on garbage bags, I kept loaded up my wheelbarrow and dumping the debris into the woods beyond my back yard – back to nature! When I returned to the office on Tuesday, I learned that almost nobody else made it in either.

On Saturday the 3^rd I did my usual errands in town and then in the mid-afternoon we drove onto Queens to visit my mom and aunt. Ellen and I later walked over to Bed Bath & Beyond, located at the new vertical mall on College Point Boulevard. We did not splurge but managed to buy a few household items. There is also a floor with a food court. One of the franchises is the Five Guys hamburger shop. Ellen suggested that perhaps we could eat there. While it is a good place, I mentioned that we are in Flushing, where we can almost any type of authentic Asian imaginable. We could always drive to Deer Park and visit the Five Guys there. At home there are not too many Asian restaurants, let alone ones as authentic (i.e. not watered down for American palates) as in Flushing. So we opted to visit one of our favorites – Green papaya – a Thai restaurant on Prince Street. As always, it was great.

Yesterday I ended up going to the Deer Park 5 Guys after I went to the 12:15 Mass at St. Mary’s Church. However, instead of eating there I decided to take it with me and enjoy it at the firehouse, where I can get as much Dr. Pepper from the tap. What surprised me was how large their serving of French fries was – almost a meal in itself!

A little while ago I finished William Kinsella’s book, The Iowa Baseball Confederacy. It is a fantasy about two current (for 1978 when the story first takes place) Iowa baseball fans who are transported back 70 years to 1908 to witness and play in a barn storming game between the Chicago Cubs and the all-stars from a fictional baseball league – the Iowa Baseball Confederacy. Several real life baseball figures appear in the novel. If you are a baseball fan, I recommend it for your must read list.

I also made some additions to one of my “unofficial” biographies:

http://billyslife.yolasite.com/

Hurricane hit us; out in fire trucks

2011-08-28T20:32:00.001-04:00

New York City and its suburbs got hit by Hurricane Irene early this morning. I was woken around 3:30 AM by my pager telling of downed wires in the northern part of town. That meant driving in the heavy rain and wind to the sub station to gear up and board the engine. There was not much that we could do about downed wires besides calling the utility company (Long Island Power Authority). So we headed back to the firehouse and we stayed there for a standby. This way we don't have to drive in hazardous conditions to report for calls. There would be quite a few more, mostly trees knocked down, transformer fires, and wires down. When riding around we saw that the canal near the high school was about to over flow, since it was high tide and the storm was howling. Quite a few streets were flooded. When trees were down and blocking the street, we were able to cut them apart with a chain saw and move the segments to the side of the road. On one street with a tree hanging over the road, we decided that we could not do anything because it was resting on primary transmission lines and we did not want to risk having members electrocuted. All we could do was string tape across the road saying not to pass since it was a fire scene.

Around 10 AM the National Weather Service downgraded Hurricane Irene to a Tropical Storm. About 30 minutes later I went home to shower and take a nap. Around 1:30 my pager went off again for more emergency calls (generally downed trees, downed wires or transformer fires). This time I could not drive to the sub-station because the traffic light was out at a major intersection en route. So I headed to headquarters and while I still did not make the engine, decided to stay there and respond with an engine from that house. Eventually I decided to come home for dinner and stay home for the rest of the evening.

preparing for the hurricane; additions to web-sites

2011-08-27T22:13:00.003-04:00

After we got home yesterday from the Finger Lakes, we unpacked and then decided to go out to dinner at a Mexican restaurant in the next town. Once we finished we stopped at a CVS Pharmacy so I could drop off the disposable camera so our pictures can be developed (some are mounted here). Then we headed to the supermarket to get water, produce and a few other items that we may need should Hurricane Irene do a lot of damage.

This morning I went out and got masking tape, ice, and D size batteries but hopefully we won't need to use them. A few minutes ago Ellen and I finished taping up all of the windows on the house.

This morning I got the pictures from our trip developed and was then able to made additions to two of my web-pages on Homestead:

http://minot43.homestead.com/Ballparks.html

http://billystravels.homestead.com/Uostate.html

poking around the Finger Lakes; home for the hurricane

2011-08-27T00:21:00.000-04:00

We were away from Tuesday to Friday, checking out Upstate New York around the Finger Lakes Region. On Tuesday August 23 we left Islip at around 09:50 AM and then headed north over the Whitestone Bridge and I-684 to I-84 and then the NY Throughway. We ran into bumper to bumper traffic between exits 18 & 19 and lost about an hour of traveling time here due to road work (and people not knowing how to merge). We also lost time near Catskill due to an accident and rubber neckers. We finally got to our hotel in Seneca Falls around 5:15 PM. After checking in we started to drive to Syracuse to meet my cousin and her family in the Syracuse Chiefs' ballpark's parking lot and go to game. Just as we got off I-90 at Exit 38 she called us to say that there was no game on Tuesday! We agreed to meet in the parking lot of the Retreat Restaurant in Liverpool and have dinner there. After we ate we opted to go bowling at the Flamingo Lanes up on Route 57, on the other side of Liverpool. When we got to the lanes we broke up into two teams: Ellen, my cousin and I on one team; my cousin's two daughters and Eileen on the other. We only played one game and in the end I got the highest score - 114. However we all had fun so that is what mattered.

Wednesday August 24, 2011: After breakfast we stopped in Wal-Mart to buy a disposable camera (I took my digital but not its battery). We then headed west on Route 5 towards Geneva and just before entering the city we passed the northern tip of Seneca Lake - it was quite choppy. We also passed through Geneva itself and thanks to first missing a turn onto Route 14, got to see its historic district (quite nice, reminds me of Greenwich Village). We also drove past a group of Hobart College buildings before reaching our first winery - Belhurst - located at the southern city limits on Route 14. This was an estate belonging to Miss Carrie Collins in the 19th century. I had a chance to taste 5 great wines and bought two of a white wine (Golden Pheasant, one for us and one for our neighbors) and a sparkling wine (Isabella). I also got a chance to talk to the host about New York State and wines. We then drove down NY 14 to stop at the Anthony Road winery in Penn Yan. I got a chance to sample another set of 5 wines and talk to a couple who were also sampling. The wife was pregnant so only her husband did the actual tasting. However, we got to talk about baseball and New York City (they lived in Manhattan and the husband was from southern Illinois - a Cardinals fan). I ended up buying a bottle of Tony's Road rose table wine. The cashier was a former teacher in Babylon and even though she was from Upstate, she knew all about the LI wineries (she was working there when Hargreave opened up in 1972). We then headed south to Watkins Glen to have lunch at Burger King. Ellen suggested that we go to Ithaca. So after lunch we headed east on NY 79 to that famous college town. Once we got there we marveled at the hills and how Cornell dominated the skyline. We reached the campus and tried to park but decided to just take pictures and then leave. I ended up taking shots of the War Memorial Building and a building at the end of the art road. We then headed downtown where I took pictures of a set of railroad passenger cars tied up at eh former Lehigh Valley train station (now the Chemung Canal & Trust Company). Some of the cars are used as meeting rooms. I took several pictures and then we headed back to Seneca Falls. In the evening we headed back to Syracuse to go to a Chiefs game. This time there was a game, against Pawtucket. My cousin and her family met us in the stands (Ellen, Eileen and I got free tickets as a promotion). Our seats were in the second tier overlooking 3rd base. I bought a program and meticulously kept score. The Chiefs ended up winning 3-1. After the game we said goodbye to my cousin and her family and drove back to the hotel.

Thursday, August 25, 2011: After breakfast we headed west on I-90 towards Letchworth State Park over in Livingston County. While en route my mom called me to ask if we were heading home early due to Hurricane Irene. I said that we were not sure at this time. I then e/mailed my brother in law and also called my neighbors to see what the conditions were on Long Island. They said that the weather was OK. So Ellen and I agreed to leave on Saturday as planned. Once we got off of I-90 we drove on back roads through several villages, one of which was Geneseo. My nephew was thinking of going to SUNY Geneseo but opted for Boston University instead. I can see why. The campus looks nice but it’s in the middle of nowhere. Eventually we got to the Park’s gate and drove over to the Archery Field Overlook. What a sight. It reminded me of the pictures of the Grand Canyon that I saw in books and elsewhere. Very impressive. We took some pictures and then headed over to the Glen Iris Inn for lunch. After lunch we went to the museum which showed us William Letchworth’s life and his interests in nature and technology, and how he bequeathed his estate to New York to become a state park. We then walked to the rim to admire and photograph the Middle Falls of the Genesee River. After that Ellen took us to where the Pine Cabins are and which was where she and her family stayed back in 1970. Then we left the Park and drove to the Village of Mount Morris to see how it’s bouncing back. There were several nice antiques stores and art stores. Hopefully it will help. Then we headed back to our hotel in Seneca Falls, along Route 5. After resting for a while we walked next door to Abigail’s Restaurant. I had on my Yankees sweatshirt and the waitress told me that the Yankees were winning that evening. Later I found out that the score was 22-9 when we left. The Bronx Bombers hit 3 grand slams in the game – an MLB first.

Friday, August 26, 2011: We checked out early since the night before Ellen and I decided to come home early, based on what we saw on the news. That meant missing an Auburn Doubledays game, but I guess getting home safely was paramount. We checked out and left the hotel at around 09 AM. We headed along the Throughway with one stop for lunch and gas just west of Albany and then arrived home at 3:52 PM. After unpacking I came to the home computer to learn that one of my Yahoo e/mail addresses must have been tampered with since I discovered that numerous spam messages relating to Viagra and sex were sent to ALL of my contacts. I quickly sent an e/mail explaining what I think happened and that I was sorry for any inconvenience that occurred. Some replied that they knew I would not do that. Others told me that it also happened to their friends. Then I remembered that I got messages like that from a friend of mine and concluded that my experience was not an isolated one.

I will soon be putting this trip on my websites on Homestead and also be posting pictures.

a possible suicide; and a definite win

2011-08-17T21:09:00.000-04:00

On Monday I was on my way home on the Long Island Rail Road as I do 5 times a week. The train left Penn Station at its normal time (6:27) and all seemed to be going well until we were about a quarter of a mile from my station - Islip. All of a sudden the train came to a stop and I thought that I heard a thud. After a few minutes announcements came over the PA system that we hit a person. We were stopped where the tracks are behind an apartment so it was possible that someone - usually a youngster - might have walked across the tracks instead of going to the nearest grade crossing. Soon there were emergency personnel - medics and firefighters (from the Islip Fire Department) checking the undercarriage for victims. I had my cell phone and called Ellen in her cell phone and told her not to wait for me in the parking lot for I was not going anywhere. I also called the first lieutenant of my fire company telling him that I would be late for the fire department meeting (always on a third Monday). He called me back and said that when I finally get home not to bother coming to the meeting - he would have me excused. The train finally got moving again around 9 PM, almost 90- minutes later. The following morning I checked the news web-sites and all that was revealed that the victim was a 28 year old female. Usually people that age don't play on the tracks, so most of us have concluded that she took her own life. A terrible way to solve temporary problems.
On a much happier note, last night the Bees won their softball conference in a close game against College Sports TV (CSTV) which is a CBS subsidiary. The game started at 6PM at DeWitt Clinton Park (11th Avenue & 53rd Street) and I was able to walk there from Park Avenue in time for the first pitch. The Bees were the home team so CSTV came up first and took the early lead 2-0. We came back to tie it by the second inning and then CSTV exploded for 4 more runs. The Bees now trailed 6-2. However, we knew that "it ain't over 'til it's over" and by the 5th inning we were tied and by the 6th inning we led 8-6. No more runs were scored by either side so after the final out in the top of the 7th inning, the Bees were conference champs!! We danced around on the pitchers mound and had some pictures taken by co-workers (I will have to ask them to e/mail pictures to me). Then we congratulated the CSTV players for a good game - they were tough and competitive - and then repaired over to the American Retro pub down at 11th & 51st for some burgers, Coke, and beers. I had to leave around 8:45 to walk to Penn Station and get the 9:28 express home. It has been a great season for the Bees in 2011, going 14-0 in the regular season and playoffs.

visiting; new web-site

2011-08-14T21:10:00.001-04:00

Yesterday the 3 of us went into Queens to visit my mom and aunt and then maybe do a little shopping. After we arrived and had a quick lunch Ellen and I relaxed for a little while before we walked to the new Bed Bath & Beyond located in the new retail/residential complex on College Point Boulevard at Roosevelt Avenue. We (actually Ellen) ended up buying a few household items and then we walked over to 40th Road hoping to have dinner at one of the two Malaysian restaurants that we often patronize. However, both had a pending health grade in the window, meaning that the New York City Department of Health has not yet given either of them a grade of A, B, or C. We decided to go to one of our favorites on Main Street near the Botanical Gardens – Hunan Kitchen at #42-47. Ellen had orange beef while I enjoyed duck in chili sauce (quite spicy).

Today it rained quite heavily and that meant that Eileen golf practice was called off. It must have rained even more heavily on the North Shore as the course was flooded.

This afternoon I decided to update my page on www.linkedin.com by adding a professional looking website to my links. At present I have two others: my “official” site on Homestead titled http://www.minot43.homestead.com/ as well as one on www.wix.com titled www.wix.com/ex_mothman29/Autos. I had hoped to make another one that would almost be a resume but could not find a template that suited my purpose. So I opted to add a page to an existing Homestead web site and came up with www.islip29.homestead.com/WBF-biography.html. There is no guestbook but comments are welcomed here.

The Bees win again, 6-4

2011-08-13T12:43:00.000-04:00

After the firematic service on Monday it was SSDD until Thursday evening. That night the Bees played ING Barings in the second round of the Yorkville Sports Association softball playoffs. Since we were undefeate4d in the regular season (12-0) we had a bye in the first round. Since it rained on August 9 we had our game postponed until Thursday the 11th. The problem with the Thursday evening game for me was that the first pitch was at 5:30 - the time that I clock out. Even if I came in early I could not leave before 5:30 since my boss was on vacation and we are under-staffed.

The game was at Field #8 in Central Park's North Meadow (right near Mount Sinai Medical Center). I grabbed the #6 subway line and took it to 103rd Street and walked through East Harlem to the Park. Today the area is getting safer so I was not worried about walking through a formerly terrible neighborhood. I got to the field during the 3rd inning and the score was tied 4-4. I took over the score keeping duties from a regular player. For the last several games the Bees always seemed to trample their opponents. This one was not a cakewalk. Our hitters could not "hit 'em where they ain't" and there were a few innings for the Bees with nothing across. Finally in the 5th inning we scored 2 more runs and won 6-4. The Bees will now face CSTV (College Sports TV) on August 16. After the game we walked to Brother Jimmy's at 92nd & 3rd to enjoy some pub grub and for me, Shock Top Beer.

BBQ; movies; firematic service; stuck at 199 wins

2011-08-09T21:32:00.000-04:00

After seeing Hairspray on July 31 it was generally the some old stuff - go to work, come home, and hit the Internet – until Saturday the 6th. On Saturday afternoon the 3 of us went to a BBQ at the home of one of Eileen’s classmates. The girl lives in a different part of Islip, and across the street from a member of one of the members of my original fire company. In fact when Eileen, Ellen and I pulled up to her friend’s house, my friend was coming out of his house to spray some weeds and we spoke for a few minutes. He told me that one of the other members of his company, who was rather ill these past few weeks, had passed away. I then went with Ellen and Eileen to the front door and soon we were out on the patio in the back yard. Other classmates came by shortly we did and other than the host, I was the only dad there. Who cares, I am around women all day at work (I am the only male in my department) and of course the only man in my household. I enjoyed some burgers, as well as the usual potato and macaroni salads. There was also a basketball shooting machine (similar to the one I saw at the NBA Store on 5th Avenue) and I was able to sink several of the shots that I took. Ellen, Eileen and I were among the last guests to leave in the evening. I must say that a good time was had by all.

On Sunday, after going to church at St. Mary’s I went to see the final Harry Potter movie: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows Part 2 at the movie house located at the Tanger Outlet Mall in Deer Park. Since I got there early I had to wait until the movie room was being cleaned up and made ready for us. Since I did not want to stand I went into the movie room that was showing Planet of the Apes. I did see the original one with Charlton Heston back in 1968. This time, the use of computer generated images was much more effective in showing the apes than people in costumes. Of course, 43 years ago computer technology was primitive by today’s standards. Anyway, I stayed to watch the part when the apes charge over the olden Gate Bridge. As for the Harry Potter movie, I really enjoyed it (having also read the book) and the special effects were top notch. Many people may not be interested in the films or the books for various reasons. Some say that they are un-scriptural, or glorify the occult. I have never developed any desire to become a wizard or warlock, and the use of magic can be taken with a grain of salt. The books, and the films, stimulated my imagination like few other books did.

Last night my fire company was supposed to go to a restaurant on Fire Island. I even took half a day off to make sure I was ready to head to the ferry. However, the member of the other fire company had passed away on Saturday; his firematic service was also going to take place on the evening of August 8th. I did not get notified by text or phone, but I suspected that we would not be going to Fire Island on Monday evening. I was right. The officers had contacted the owners on Sunday that we had to cancel (luckily they let us without a financial penalty) and notified the members by a telephone calling post. The call was made while I was at the movies, but Ellen told me that she did not hear anything. At least one of the other members confirmed what I suspected -that we were not going to the restaurant - so I headed home to change. Soon the Islip firefighters were heading to the local funeral home for a firematic service and prayers. We then saluted his casket and filed out. We then went back to the firehouse where we watched the Red Sox – Twins game on ESPN. Tim Wakefield was pitching for Boston, and he is current has 199 wins. If Tim won this game he would have 200 victories and would then be the Red Sox’ third most winning pitcher, after Cy Young and Roger Clemens. I did not stay all night since I saw too many other members drinking all night. When I got home I hit the computer to check news and e/mails, and then the baseball scores. I saw on Yahoo Baseball that the Red Sox won, but Time Wakefield did not get a decision.

This evening the Bees were supposed to play two games in the playoffs for the Yorkville Sports Association. However, it started to rain heavily in the late afternoon so the League canceled the games. They were rescheduled to August 11th and then August 16th. Wish us luck.

Memorial service; ambulance call; "Hairspray" on the North Shore

2011-07-31T21:18:00.002-04:00

Yesterday morning Ellen, Eileen and I went to Lynbrook (that's right, Brooklyn with the syllables reversed) to attend a funeral and memorial service for the mother-in-law of my friend the professor at the University of Dayton. Actually, his wife is also a friend of mine as are his son and daughter. Ellen also is friends with the wife and Eileen is friends with his daughter. I don't have a son but his son was a friend with my oldest nephew when both were at Georgetown University for one year in the 2003-2004 academic year. The service was conducted by a female pastor of the Lutheran church in Lynbrook where the decedent was a member. After the service we headed back home to Islip since Eileen was a bit restless. On the way home along the Southern State Parkway we were slowed up by motorists who slowed down - almost to a dead stop in one case - when they passed under overpasses that had a pair of fire trucks with their booms extended and an American flag flying from them. Apparently this was for a funeral procession of a Nassau County fire fighter who was going to be buried in one of the cemeteries in East Farmingdale near the Southern State. It is a bit dangerous to slow down on a parkway as if you never saw a fire truck before.

This morning we had an ambulance call at Greenview Village - an apartment complex for people over 55 - near me. I did not make the ambulance at the fire house so I drove there. My pager blared a message saying that the heavy rescue truck was also going to the scene with the ambulance. I figured that they may have to force their way into a room or cut walls out to extricate a patient. It turns out that the patient was on the floor, and weighed about 300 pounds. The ambulance officer needed more manpower and the heavy rescue truck was manned and on the ramp since it just finished a training exercise. We thought that we would need a backboard when we started to put the patient onto the stretcher but that was not necessary. The extra manpower did help lifting and moving and then they were ready to transport.

This afternoon we went to the John W. Engeman Theater on Main Street in Northport village on the North Shore to see the theater's production of Hairspray. One of the members of the theater troupe (which is professional) is the former obstetrician-gynecologist of Ellen's. He played the part of Wilbur Turnblad, the father of the heroine Tracy Turnblad. We had seen the play on Broadway a few years ago and also the movie version. No matter, we enjoyed it every time. The show has a good moral to it and the music is excellent. If you are in the vicinity of Northport between now and August 28, 2011 I recommend that you go see it.

As for the theater itself, it was named for US Army Warrant Officer John W. Engeman who was from nearby East Northport and was killed in Iraq in 2006. His sister and brother in law bought the theater building in 2006 (it was a former movie house) and named it for Warrant Officer Engeman. The theater company is in its 5th season. As for me, walking and riding along Main Street is a trip down Memory Lane for me since as a youngster, I used to visit my aunt, uncle and cousins who lived in Northport and we used to go to the stores along Main Street, and go fishing at the pier at the beginning of main Street, and perhaps went to see films in this theater when it was a movie house. After the show we drove to Bay Shore where we had dinner at Cafe Taka, a Turkish restaurant on Montauk Highway.

medical visits; bowling; training; RIP to a Yankee pitcher

2011-07-28T22:01:00.002-04:00

I was off yesterday since I had a few medical appointments, as well as a fire department drill at the Suffolk County Training Academy in Yaphank.

In the morning I had my quarterly visit to my internist on East 72^nd Street. There was an electrocardiogram test as well as the usual vital signs. It turns out that I am in halfway decent shape for my age. I then hopped the subway to Penn Station to get the train to Islip as I had a visit to my dentist in the afternoon. It turns out that when I was celebrating the Bees’ win last Friday at Brother Jimmy’s with my teammates, when I was eating a nacho the taco shell chipped away a part of my took that was mostly filling. Yesterday he patched it up but since the other side had chipped as well, he recommended a crown. Once the insurance company approves it, I will go back and have a crown put in.

Since Eileen bowls every Wednesday with her team, the Shooting Stars, I decided to go over to East Islip Lanes and watch and also keep Ellen and her company. She ended up with a 68 average for two games. However, she has bowled scores in the 130’s on occasion when the 3 of us went bowling with the St. Mary’s League.

Another reason that I took a day off was so that I could go with the Islip Fire Department to the training grounds in Yaphank and have some hands on training. The drill yesterday evening was learning out to take a car apart to get accident victims out (vehicle extrication). I figured that with the low number of fires that we get in Islip, yet we get a high number of motor vehicle accidents, it would be a good idea to go to this drill because I know I will learn useful things. Once we got there we put on out turnout (bunker) gear and began to take doors off an old Jeep Cherokee. We first took a halligan tool (a gadget with an adze and point on one end, and a claw on the other – invented by Firefighter Halligan) and an axe and used them to pry to door open. I did this twice – once swinging the axe and the other holding the halligan and then using it like a can opener to pry the door. I then took a hydraulic cutter (made by Hurst so therefore it’s called a Hurst tool) and cut the driver’s door off at the hinges. What I learned is that it’s not that easy to do. Besides, those Hurst tools are quite heavy and with the summer heat and the bunker gear on, I sweated off several pounds. They also showed us how to get the roof off, remove glass, as well as how to push the dashboard away from an accident victim. Overall it was an interesting drill but I hope that I will never have to use those skills on anyone.

This evening I learned that former New York Yankees pitcher Hideki Irabu was found dead in his California apartment at the age of 42. He had a 24-16 record over the 1998 and 1999 seasons but was traded to the Montreal Expos in 2000. I had a chance to see him pitch at Yankee Stadium in 1999 in a game against the Cleveland Indians and the Yankees won by a decisive margin. RIP to a good baseball player.

Hall of Fame; golf and hornets; Afghan Cuisine

2011-07-24T22:15:00.002-04:00

Today I had a chance to watch on TV the 2011 Baseball of Fame class get inducted, The three honorees were Roberto Alomar (Toronto Blue Jays), Burt Blyleven (Minnesota Twins) and executive Pat Gillick. I congratulate all 3 men for their accomplishment. Also attending the ceremonies were 47 of the living members of the Hall. While I cannot name all of them, some of those who returned included Yogi Berra, Whitey Ford, Reggie Jackson, Tom Seaver, Bill Mazeroski, and Johnny Bench. A tribute was also given to the 5 members who had passed away since the 2010 induction:

Bob Feller
Sparky Anderson
Duke Snider
Harmon Killebrew
Dick Williams

In the evening Ellen, Eileen and I went to the Dix Hills Golf Course for Eileen’s Special Olympics practice. This time Ellen and I also got a chance to practice putting with several drills. We then went across the street to the driving range and Eileen got to hit several golf balls with a driver, and Ellen also did as well. I was hoping to participate but it turns out the chain link fence has several hornets’ nests in it and unfortunately I forgot about that. Two hornets reminded me as I got stung by two of them on my right pinky finger. Luckily I am no allergic but the finger did swell a bit. One of the counselors from a group home is studying to be a nurses’ aide and he advised me to put the hand under hot water and then apply ice. So I went across the street to the clubhouse and soaked a paper towel with hot water from a coffee machine, and also ran it under a tap. Then I scraped some ice from an ice cream freezer and so far, the swelling is gone. We then went onto the course itself where the golfers drove the balls to the green and then putted it into the cup. We did this for two holes.

Yesterday we all went into Queens to visit my mom and my aunt. Since it was nearly 100 degrees out Ellen and I opted not to walk to Macy’s or Best Buy but stayed in the apartment to rest and watch TV. At dinner we walked to Main Street to an Afghan restaurant that we went to in the past many times – Kabul Kebab House at 42-51 Main Street. This time I had a lamb kebab while Ellen had a beef kebab. And like before, it was quite good. If you are ever in the vicinity of the Queens Botanical Gardens, do stop in for dinner.

Bees finish 12-0 for the season

2011-07-23T11:46:00.000-04:00

Last night my softball team, the Bees, faced another arch rival College Sports TV (CSTV) at the North Meadow in Central Park. Since it was a scorcher outside, even at 7 PM, we packed a cooler of Poland Spring water on ice. It may have also been prescient knowledge to have the game played on a field across 5th Avenue from Mount Sinai Medical Center. If anyone collapsed from the heat, the emergency room would be right across the street. Luckily that problem never arose. The Bees had other problems after the top of the 1st inning: CSTV went ahead 4-0. However, in the bottom of the 1st we scored 2 runs and then in the next two innings tied the score. After all, "it ain't over til it's over". Over the next few innings we scored 6 more runs, and CSTV scored another 2 so the final score was 10-6 in favor of the Bees. That means that we finished the regular season with a 12 & 0 record, and first seed in the playoffs, as well as a bye in the first round. After the game we went over to Brother Jimmy's at 3rd & 92nd for some pub grub and to watch the New York teams win.

Since it was a late game and I have the train schedule to worry about, I left around 9:30 and walked to the subway at 86th & Lex. I just missed a train but saw numerous Yankee fans getting out. They probably left a bit early since the game was quite one-sided (the Yankees ended up winning by 10 runs, 17-7). There were even more Yankee fans on the train that I got on, heading to Grand Central and Brooklyn. Eventually I made it to Penn Station and got the 10:28 home. It's the last one that goes east of Babylon for another 2 hours.

Long Island Ducks win, 8-0; got my guitar down from the attic

2011-07-17T01:00:00.003-04:00

On Saturday morning I did my usual errands in town and then headed over to Bethpage Ballpark in Central Islip to get three tickets for the Long Island Ducks’ game to be played on Saturday evening. I had a voucher for two free tickets as a reward for giving blood, or in my case, volunteering to do so even if they could not take me (see my June 19^th entry). When I got back from the ballpark I went up into the attic to retrieve my acoustic guitar that has been up there for several years. Ellen persuaded me to take it down and perhaps try and learn to play it again. The guitar is a Hagstrom that I bought while at St. John’s University over 40 years ago and I did take it with me to my permanent party assignments while in the Air Force, and also played it for a while when I got out. Then for some reason I lost interest in playing (but not in music itself). Now I have to try and remember the chords. Since Ellen used to be a music teacher, she can probably get me started.

In the evening we all went to Bethpage Ballpark to see the Long Island Ducks play the Road Warriors, a traveling team in the Atlantic League. When the Newark Bears left the Atlantic League to play in the short season Can-Am League that left 7 teams in the Atlantic League, and one team would always have a bye/open day. To remedy that the League brought back its traveling team to make it an even number. This weekend they are at Bethpage Ballpark. Maybe they should have stayed home, because the Ducks beat them easily 8-0. Ellen and I took several pictures, including those of its mascot leading cheers, doing push ups, and signing autographs. I also took a few shots while the game was in progress of a full moon rising over the right field fence. My only expenditure was a scorecard, and I diligently recorded the score of the game for both teams. In this way I can pay attention to what is going on at the field level, have a record of what transpired, and sharpen my score keeping skills for the Bees’ games.

golf practce; fire company meeting; Bees win 10-3

2011-07-15T21:55:00.004-04:00

Since my last entry we took Eileen to golf practice, I went to my fire company meeting, and the Bees won 10-3 and are still undefeated.

Eileen participates in the Golf Special Olympics and each Sunday evening there is practice at the Dix Hills Golf Course. I often to get to help the coaches by retrieving the golf balls and on the putting courses, stop the balls from going too far. See the September 12, 2010 and September 13, 2009 entries for some stories on the Special Olympics, as well as my web-site that I created: http://golfspecialolympics.webs.com/.

Since July 11^th was the second Monday of the month that means it’s time for my monthly fire company meeting. I am also the company’s recording secretary so I scrawl down what transpires and then type it and e/mail it to the other officers for their review. There is a set protocol as to what business is to be conducted and how. When the meeting was over we enjoyed some pizza and watched the Home Run Derby on TV. I was happy to see the Yankees’ Robinson Canó win the contest. It turns out that his dad, José Canó, pitched to him. José played for a short time in the major leagues with the Houston Astros.

Last night the Bees faced a team called the FKSA Sharks at DeWitt Clinton Park. This was a relatively early game (6:00 PM) so I had to change before leaving the office and then hoof it across town to 11^th Avenue & 53^rd Street. I arrived just as batting practice was over so I did not get a chance to take any warm up shots. Of course, I was given the score book and asked to go to the Sharks’ dugout to get their lineup (and give them a copy of ours) so I could keep score for both sides. Not many of the Bees’ power hitters could make this game, so the manager had me in the line up as an extra hitter. The Bees were the home team so we took the field first and kept the Sharks scoreless in the first inning while we scored 3 runs in the bottom of the first. We would tack on several more runs while the Sharks only managed to get 2 in the second and another in the following inning. Since I was in the lineup I got to come to the plate twice. In my first trip, with the bases loaded, I hit a blooper towards the mound but they could not field it quickly since I made it safely to first and two runners crossed the plate. This gave me two runs batted in (RBI’s) for the evening. However, in the next play I was forced out at second base in a fielder’s choice. The second at-bat resulted in the usual ground out. After 6½ innings the game was over as the Bees were ahead 10-3. As a result of this win, we are currently 11-0 in the standings, with one more game to play (on July 22^nd). After the game we walked down 11^th Avenue to the American Retro Pub for some burgers and beer (also Coca Cola and water). The Yankees game was on and got a chance to see them get demolished by the Blue Jays up in Toronto. Around 8:35 I said my goodbyes to my teammates and headed to Penn Station to get the train home.

Derek Jeter hits #3000; another DOA; perennial planter

2011-07-09T23:22:00.001-04:00

Today was a typical Saturday for most of the day, as I went into town to hit the bank, library and firehouse. While at the firehouse we got an automatic alarm at the local funeral home and I got to ride on the new ladder truck for the first time.

What was different was that I also helped Ellen plant 5 perennials in the front yard by digging a hole and then actually putting the plants into the ground and then shoveling the dirt back. I never realized how much dirt you have to shovel out to plant a perennial. Hopefully they will take root and we will have some eye catching plants in the front yard.

Baseball history was made on this day since Derek Jeter hit his 3,000^th hit today at Yankee Stadium. What made it unique was that it was a home run. Only one other person has done this so far – Wade Boggs. Derek is also the first person to do it in a Yankee uniform. I was surprised to learn that Yankee great like Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, and Mickey Mantle did not reach this milestone. And it even gets better – Derek also made it to hit #3,003, which was the game winning run batted in. We congratulate a great ballplayer and class act for reaching this important milestone.

A little while ago my fire alarm pager went off to tell us of a cardiac arrest patient in the center of town. While driving to fire headquarters I heard on my radio that it’s a possible dead on arrival (DOA). When I got to the firehouse the ambulance just left so I went inside to see where the street was located. As I was about to back out of my parking space the message from the chief came over the radio that patient was indeed dead and there was nothing that we could do. This is the second time in a week that this has happened (see my entry from yesterday).

firecalls; web-sites; computer back; Bees win

2011-07-08T23:30:00.001-04:00

I have not made an entry in two weeks, mainly because I was very busy at work and tired when I got home. Since June 24 I got my home computer back on line by replacing the operating system. Dell Fed Ex’d me four DVD’s and once they arrived on June 28th I set about reloading Windows XP, as well as several other programs. The bad news was that several documents were lost for good, but I was able to reconstruct my journal and a few lists.

During this time I created a new simplified personal website using a new provider called www.wix.com, and the URL for my site is www.wix.com/ex_mothman29/Autos. Please check it out and comments are welcomed here or on the e/mail addressed that are on the site’s contact page. I also added a new page to one of my web-sites on Homestead - http://electronicfan.homestead.com/1983-and-later.html. This page describes how I got hooked on baseball again back in 1983 and have not looked back. There will be more pages added in the future and in due time we will be up to 2011. In the meantime, please check out the pages that are done and remember to sign the guest book on the introduction page.

Over the 4th of July weekend I had some interesting calls. On the Friday the 1st, since I was home early, I was at the firehouse watching TV when we got an ambulance call for an elderly lady complaining of gallstones. We went to the apartment complex and while we were taking her out to the ambulance, I saw a few of her neighbors whom I know including one who regularly rides the Long Island Railroad with me each day. Later in the evening we had another ambulance call, and this time we picked up our patient at the firehouse, since her son, who is a probationary firefighter (probie) drove her there and we simply helped her into the ambulance and then took her to Good Samaritan Hospital, located a few miles away in West Islip. Later her son told me that she was admitted to the hospital because she had serious back problems. Early in the morning on July 2nd we had a call for a motor vehicle accident on Montauk Highway. It turns out that a pickup truck driver hit the gas instead of the brake while heading west and destroyed the office of a glass company. I was on one of the ambulances so I did not take part in the shoring up the walls. We had to create braces to keep the roof from collapsing when the truck was extricated from the wall. While part of the building is gone, and the front of the truck was demolished, there were no injuries.
On the morning on July 4th I responded to an echo call for a 60 year old lady in cardiac arrest. While I was driving to headquarters to board the ambulance, the 2nd assistant chief gave a ‘return to headquarters’ message over the radio to the members. That means it’s DOA – dead on arrival - and there was nothing that we could do.

Since my brother in law shares a birthday with the USA, we had a birthday get together at our house on Sunday July 3rd, a day early. There was the usual 4th of July barbeque fare – hot dogs and hamburgers, as well as a microbrew beer called Abita Purple Haze (brewed in Abita Springs, LA). Purple Haze is a wheat beer with some raspberry flavoring added in. Later in the evening, as a treat, we made “smores” (combination of some more), something Ellen learned in the Girl Scouts 40+ years ago.

On Monday the 4th I did some errands for Ellen and then in the early afternoon we all drove to Flushing to visit my mom and my aunt. After a quick lunch Ellen and I walked over to Best Buys to check out some iPods and other electronic goods. I also went into a guitar room and tried to play an acoustic guitar. I had played for several years starting in high school, but now with inflamed joints on my left hand, it is difficult to move my fingers to make chords. Besides, I also have to remember the names of the 6 strings, as I had forgotten them. Ellen recommended that I take my acoustic guitar down from the attic and try and play it again. It could be therapy for my joints, and I should be able to recall the names of the strings, and therefore the notes, once I start playing again. After we left Best Buys we visited another store (Bed, Bath & Beyond) before heading to Joe’s Shanghai Restaurant on 37th Avenue where I had braised duck and Ellen had sesame chicken. When we were driving back to Islip we got to enjoy fireworks shows from the highway.

Last night the Bees played their arch rival – Debevoise & Plimpton – at DeWitt Clinton Park. I participated in batting practice with my teammates and managed to hit several pitches for distance. As always, I kept score for both teams. Unlike our previous games this season, this game was not a cake walk. D&B played tough and made the Bees work for their win (8-7). As a result, the Bees are 10-0 for the season. Since it was a late game, I could not join my teammates for some pub grub at the American Retro Bar down the street but hoofed it to Penn Station to get the 9:28 train to Babylon where Ellen & Eileen picked me up.

Bees rained out; department meeting; computer on the blink

2011-06-24T17:01:00.001-04:00

Since Father’s Day I went to the fire department meeting, had a “mental health” day off, and got rained out from a softball game that I hoped to play this evening.

The Islip Fire Department meets on the third Monday of every month to discuss business. Sometimes a few members get too juiced up on beer or vodka and on the 20th it was no exception. Several; made comments about the Department’s expenses and one also made a comment that he fathered the last child of one of our members while he was deployed in Afghanistan with the US Air Force Reserves. The real killer was that the reserve airman was in the room at the meeting!! Luckily we did not get any calls because I would not want to be on any apparatus with any drunken members.

Yesterday I was off for a “mental health” so I could relax around the house and break up the work week. I did not do anything special other than a few errands and respond to a motor vehicle accident that we cancelled.

This evening the Bees were supposed to play CSTV (College Sports TV) in Central Park near the carousel. A little while ago we got an e/mail from the Yorkville Sports Association saying that the game was cancelled due to poor weather conditions. It will be rescheduled.

When I got into the office this morning Ellen called me on my cell phone to tell me that she cannot boot up the computer. I am surprised because I had no trouble last night other than it being slow. I spoke with some of my friends in User Support and they told me to use F8 and safe mode. However, Ellen said that she could not even get that far. I will call Dell when I get a chance and see if a technician can help me. Hopefully we will not need a new computer.

If you don’t see too many entries here over the next few weeks, you will all know why.

blood drive; new country music station; Fathers Day

2011-06-19T22:21:00.001-04:00

On Saturday I went to Bethpage Ballpark (home of the Long Island Ducks baseball team) to give blood as I have in the past. In other years we gave in the visiting team’s locker room and I often got to talk with some of the Ducks who were hanging around the locker room or who also gave blood. This time they had two huge buses that were converted to bloodmobiles. As in the past, I had to fill out a form and wait my turn. When it came I entered one of the buses and a medical technician asked me some more questions and was a bout to stick my finger to check my blood for hemoglobin when he asked me when I last gave. I told him February 2011, at another company in my office building. Then he asked me was it red blood cells or plasma and I honestly could not remember. He also asked me the day, and I could not remember for certain. The reason he asked me is that if I gave red blood cells I have to wait 4 months to give again (instead of 56 days for plasma) since red blood cells need twice the time to mature. Since I could not remember the date and just what type I gave, and it was cutting it close, they could not take me. They said it’s better to be safe than sorry. However, they let me have a snack, and when I went outside I got an Ducks team picture autographed by two players who were sitting at a table, and also got a voucher for two tickets to a Ducks game in the future. There was also a table sponsored by a new radio station, WJVS 96.1, which plays country music. Four decades ago I was a country music fan thanks to a friend from St. John’s University and was actually at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville over the Woodstock weekend. While I am no longer a die hard country fan, I still like artists like Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, Charlie Pride, and a few others.

Since today is Fathers Day, Ellen, Eileen and I met my mom and my aunt at the Parkside Restaurant in Corona for dinner. We arrived around 3:30 PM and since our table was ready I watched the Mets – Angels game and it was the 8^th inning and the Angels led 7-0 (LA would win 7-3). So it looks as if the Mets were only able to win one game out of this inter league series. Since Fathers Day is a busy day (but no where as busy as Mothers Day or Easter) there was a limited menu. However they did have some good choices, all things that I don’t make at home. I ended up with baked clams, mushroom ravioli, and a sautéed whitefish. I was definitely full when we left.

Bronx Zoo; Bees win again

2011-06-15T21:30:00.003-04:00

On Sunday June 12 Ellen, Eileen and I visited the Bronx Zoo along with other New York University Alumni for NYU at the Zoo. It’s the second time that we did this and like last year, we had a great time. This year we tried to go to exhibits and buildings that we missed in 2010. This time we took in the Monkey House and were amazed to learn that the majority of the species of monkeys are native to the New World and not Africa or Asia. There was also a building showing birds of prey – condors, vultures, owls, and eagles (both golden and bald). These birds were quite impressive. There was also a building featuring aquatic birds like penguins, ibises, puffins, and ducks. The two exhibits that I liked the most were the Madagascar House and the Wild Asia Exhibit. The former showed animal and plant on the 4^th largest island in the world (Madagascar). I got to visit lemurs of varying kinds, tortoises, mongooses, and crocodiles. The exhibit also is begging humans to save the rain forest since that is the home of numerous animals found nowhere else. The Wild Asia building showed animals found on that continent – turtles, monkeys, tapirs, leopards, and birds. The only thing that we did year as last year was the Wild Asia monorail ride, and got to see wild horses, tigers, deer, rhinos, and peacocks close up.

My fire company had its meeting and all we did was talk business, have dinner, and watch the Yankees game.

Last night the Bees played Oxford Blues (part of Oxford Publishing Company) at DeWitt Clinton Park. Since it was not raining when I left the office at 5:30 I walked to the West Side while the Bees were having batting practice. I managed to hit a few to the infield and then it was time for the first pitch. We were the home team and after one inning we led 1-0. Pretty soon it was 5-1 and then it started to rain. First we had a drizzle and then it came down a bit more heavily. It was not fun trying to keep score when the pages are soggy and damp and the pencil marks are washing away!! The umpire called the game after 6 innings so I did not come in to bat. However, the Bees won 9-1 and are now 9 and 0 in the division. Since it was an early game I joined my teammates for some pub grub at the American Retro restaurant just down 11^th Avenue. We watched the Yankees play the Rangers on Fox, and the YES Network featured the Arsenal Football Club – a soccer team that plays in London. While I have never seen Arsenal play in person, I have followed them on the Internet for several years and they are my favorite soccer (football) team anywhere.

my daughter finished high school

2011-06-09T20:23:00.003-04:00

I was off today since Eileen’s graduation ceremony from Islip High School was today. Ellen and I got to the school a little before 10:00 to bring the cake and then we all went to the auditorium. Eileen was the only one from the life skills/special ed. group graduating this year. She sat on the stage with four of her classmates and some faculty members. The principal and superintendent gave speeches as did Eileen’s teacher and her classmates. Very few people could keep from crying because they were very sad to see Eileen go. Then the ISD superintendent presented Eileen with her diploma. When it was over we headed up to Room 215 (Eileen’s classroom) for a luncheon, cake and gifts. I took the time to re-connect with the social studies chairman who was an old friend from SJU days. We almost pledged a fraternity together except that he pledged and I changed my mind. He remembered me and some of the Young Americans for Freedom (YAF) guys. Then I had to go with Ellen to the Bayberry Café to pick up Chicken Française and Chicken Marsalla dishes for the luncheon. Some of the teachers brought pasta dishes and some small meat & spinach pies. As for gifts, Eileen got a scrapbook, coffee cup, stuffed animals, 3 yearbooks (2009, 2010 and 2011) and a set of merchandize from the Dance Connection. This is a dance school in East Islip that Eileen belonged to as a toddler. While she did not stay with them, she was always interested in the school and became their biggest fan. The school is going to put her picture onto their web-site since they thought highly of her. Later the teachers and students (including Eileen) had to leave for their classes, so Ellen and I started to pack the things into the trunk to head home. Before we left, I went to say bye to my SJU friend and talk a bit more. He told me that he had a meeting with the superintendent and she told him that after Eileen’s graduation there was not a dry eye in the auditorium. I was ecstatic to learn how popular Eileen was at the high school. Her classmates were very heart broken that she was graduating but we promised them that we will stop by to visit and also come to shows and games. We also invited her classmates and their parents to our house to visit.

Tennis anyone? No, it's softball

2011-06-09T08:40:00.001-04:00

Since my last post we visited my mom in Queens and the Bees are now 8-0. Last night the Bees faced a team called Harrison Star (no, NOT Starr) at a field on the East Side. Our manager told us that it’s over at 1^st Avenue and 59^th Street, under the Queensboro Bridge. So after clocking out last night I trekked over to 1^st & 59^th from Park Avenue. It was a scorcher, and with the black mesh jersey it felt worse. The walk took me past 1^st Avenue in the East 50’s, where I worked for Gristede’s as a teenager over 40 years ago. That store is now a Chase Manhattan Bank, but across 1^st is a hamburger restaurant that I patronized back then that is still in business, although under a different name. It’s still has that blue collar look, even though it’s in the capital of Yuppie Land. A minute or two later I reached 59^th Street and there was no field! I decided to head one block east to York Avenue and there it was – a converted tennis court! There was no grass anywhere and we would be playing on a clay field. This field is the weirdest that I ever played on. The left & center fields extend along 60^th Street and right field is along York. Home plate is at 59^th,half way between York & 1^st. The ground rules were the strangest. A ball hit over the 60^th Street fence is an out (since it’s only 200 feet from home plate. Since the bridge literally spans our infield and outfield, a ball that hits the bottom of the roadway is a foul ball and not in play. As always, I kept score for both teams. The Bees were the visiting team so we batted first and took a 3 run lead after a half inning. More Bees would score but there were several left field louts and as well as bridge foul balls. The captain put me in as an extra hitter in the top of the 7^th inning and I managed to get a “left field” out. However, the Bees were ahead 8-3 and that would be the final score. With this win we are now 8 and 0 in the division standings. With nobody going back to Park Avenue I was elected to take the equipment bag back to the office. They gave me cab fare and once I got to the office I took it upstairs and put it into its storage closet and then walked over to Penn Station to get the LIRR home.

Bees are 7-0; P.J. Clarke's; dentist

2011-06-04T12:09:00.004-04:00

Last night the Bees played a team named Super G in Central Park, on a field near the carousal. Since the first pitch was at 5:30 - my clock out time - I was a bit late. Luckily I could walk from Grand Central to the field in a short amount of time and got there by the second inning. It was already 5-0 in the Bees' favor. Other than a double in the first inning by a member of Super G, it was also a perfect game. Our assistant manager was keeping score when I arrived and then she turned the book over to me. I went on to record 7 more runs for the Bees, but in the 4th inning a pair of hits and a run for Super G. There went the shutout and the near perfect game. However, we did go on to win 12-1 so our 1.000 percentage is still intact. After the game we walked to Central Park South and I suggested that we celebrate at Mickey Mantle's. Apparently that got voted down so we trekked over to 3rd Avenue & 55th Street to P. J. Clarke's. It's an old Irish bar that held out after the gentrification of 3rd Avenue after the elevated train was demolished in 1955. The other other reminders of when it was a real neighborhood are the tenements (over priced) across the street fro P.J.'s. Anyway before they set up a table for the 10 of us, we all had a round. I opted for a Dutch beer - Hoegaarden (had never heard of it before) but it was quite good. Once we got our table we ordered burgers and other goodies, as well as another round (this time a Brooklyn lager for me). There was a side order called English cheddar bubbles and squeak - a potato pancake with bacon and cheese in it and surprisingly quite tasty. If you are ever at an English or Irish restaurant and it's on the menu, give it a try. Since the Yankees were on the West Coast their game was not on yet. However, we did watch the Mets - Braves game and enjoyed seeing the Mets' going ahead 3-1 against Atlanta (unfortunately I would learn this morning that the Mets lost 6-3). At around 8:45 I told my teammates that I had to hoof it to Penn Station to get the 9:28 express to Babylon, and the one mile plus walk helped me to walk off some of the pounds that I gained at P.J.'s. I made the 9:28 and Ellen & Eileen picked me up in Babylon about an hour later.

Last week I chipped a tooth at the office and called my dentist's office to have it fixed. He was on vacation but I wanted to stay with someone I knew. So this morning was the earliest that he could see me. He was able to do a bonding, instead of a cap, so hopefully this will stick and there will not be a need for a cap in the future. My dentist is from my old neighborhood in Flushing, so every visit to the office is a trip down Memory Lane, as well as a chance to talk New York baseball.

parade; East End

2011-05-30T21:14:00.000-04:00

This morning I headed down to the firehouse to get ready for the annual Islip Town Memorial Day Parade. On the way down it started to rain and I figured that this was not good weather to have a parade. Luckily the rain stopped as we were heading to East Islip (it’s an odd numbered year, so the parade starts in East Islip this year) to line up. By the time we stepped off, it was sunny and humid. This route is longer than the all Islip one that we do in even numbers. Besides, there were very few people out on the streets watching it until we got a block from Town Hall. Once every organization marched past the Town Hall the Memorial Day ceremonies began. Besides the local politicians, several commanders and presidents of the numerous veterans were on the dais and each gave a short speech (they did keep it short & simple). One of the speakers asked those in the audience to stop at 3 PM and reflect on those who lost their lives in any war in our history. I always remember 2 people whom I knew in elementary school and high school, while Ellen knew a former teacher from her high school who were killed in Vietnam. At 3 PM we were in Banana Republic and I took the time to remember the three men.

When I got home from the parade and ceremonies we drove out to Riverhead to visit the Tanger Outlet Mall. Eileen bought a new dress at Banana Republic while I went over to Brooks Brothers and purchased a golf shirt and a new pair of khakis. Since we got what we needed we drove each on Route 25 to a winery. We opted for the Paumonok Winery since we had not been there in quite some time. Ellen and Eileen stayed in the car (Eileen did not want to go inside the tasting room) while I tasted four of their wines. I enjoyed a chardonnay, a Riesling a red and a rose. I ended up buying a bottle of the rose wine since I thought that it was the tastiest.

Then we drove over to our favorite North Fork eatery, the Lobster Roll, located on Sound Avenue. This time I enjoyed a fried oyster po’ boy, something I never tried before. Once we finished dinner we drove home where I had the good fortune to break in our new shredder that I purchased last week.

truck clean up; street fair

2011-05-30T00:05:00.002-04:00

Sunday was the Islip Fire Department's annual Memorial Day truck cleanup. Each company works on washing and waxing its two vehicles, as well as painting the various tools - pike polls, wrenches, axes, and mauls. The task of waxing one of the engines fell to me. Naturally I did not have to do the whole vehicle myself, since several other company members showed up and we were finished in no time. There was also a nice breakfast where I had a chance to enjoy things that I don't normally make at home - like omelets and bacon. On Monday morning we have the annual parade, and all of the trucks are now ready for show.

Islip village's semi annual street fair was held on Main Street on Sunday. Various merchants and organizations have stands and their products or wares are on display. Even the Islip Fire Department has something. We always have our fire safety trailer which is targeted to the younger crowd and teaches them what to do in a fire emergency. This year we also had a stand that touted what the Department does and will also try to attract members. Several hospitals and other health care providers also had stands and I managed to get some papers on nutrition, cholesterol, and heart attacks. There were also the other freebies like pens, pencils, water bottles, and mini-footballs that were available and which we took home. The football may come in handy in the fall. Should the National Football League cancel the season, tossing those footballs around n the yard may be the only football that will be available at my house.

Late nights at the office; Bees win; another baseball book

2011-05-27T22:45:00.002-04:00

Since the last entry I worked until 7 PM on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday since we are short staffed but managed to catch up. The only interesting thing was that the Bees had a softball game on Tuesday evening at 7:30 at Dewitt Clinton Park. Once I clocked out at 7 PM I walked over to the West Side to meet up with my teammates. Our opponent this evening would be Deutsche Bank. As with the other games, I kept score for both teams. The Bees took a 5-0 lead in the first inning and never looked back. I also got to come up to bat as an extra hitter and popped up to the first baseman. When it was all over the score was 14-5 in the Bees' favor. Since it was a late game and the last out did not occur until around 8:45, I headed straight down to Penn Station to head home.

Since today is a Friday before ta major holiday weekend, we all got out at 3 PM. My train did not leave until 4:04, I took my time walking over to Penn Station and had time to stop at the Mid Manhattan Library to take out a book titled Clearing the Bases by Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt (co written with Glenn Waggoner). I will keep you posted on how I like this book.

Cricket; Hunan cuisine

2011-05-22T22:57:00.002-04:00

Since today is Sunday I went to church at St. Mary’s over in East Islip like I always do, and had coffee at the firehouse with the usual members.

Since my mom and my aunt returned from Florida last weekend, we decided to drive into Flushing to visit them today. When wee were driving down Main Street towards her street I saw that there were a few amateur cricket matches going on at the baseball fields across Main Street from the Queens Botanical Gardens. After a quick lunch at my mom’s apartment I told Ellen that I am walking over to the fields to watch one of the matches. The one I decided to watch was on the baseball field at the corner of Colden Street and Elder Avenue. Over 45 years ago, I played intramural baseball for my parish’s baseball program at this field. During the last 40+ years it has been somewhat neglected and the infield was all sand, while the outfield grass is still in decent condition. However the cricketers did not seem to care as they don’t really need an infield like the baseball players do. There are no foul lines as in baseball and the batsman (batter) can hit the ball 360 degrees. I watched the Caribbean Boys play a team called Bushlot Limited (or something like that). The members of the second team had sweatshirts on since it was chilly and overcast and I did not get a good glimpse of the team’s name. While there was no scoreboard, judging from the cheering the Bushlot team won the match. After that I walked back to the apartment. Ellen and I then headed out and we were originally going to walk to the Macy’s on Roosevelt Avenue to do some shopping. But with the weather being quite chilly we decided to go straight to a restaurant close by. The Hunan Kitchen at 42-47 Main Street is a favorite of ours so opted for that one. This evening we both enjoyed taro & vegetable soup and then Ellen had orange beef while I had sautéed duck. It had a pepper sauce that included black pepper and it was hot. I really liked it and recommend it to all – just remember to ask for a LARGE glass of water.

On the major league baseball front, the Yankees beat the Mets 9-3 to take the subway series 2 games to 1.

CPR; flooding; new shredder; NY Cubans; mess up?

2011-05-21T22:12:00.006-04:00

Over the last several days I have been putting 8 and 9 hour days at work, since we are still short staffed. Therefore staring at computer screens for over 8 hours, I am beat when I get home. And besides, after spending time commuting or at the office, I don’t have much time for anything else during the week. The Bees had a bye week so there is no softball game to talk about. Even if we had been scheduled, with all of the rain that we had, it’s likely that we would have been rained out.

Last weekend I took a CPR class at the firehouse, as OSHA requires firefighters to be CPR trained. Besides, you never know when it could come in handy. What I learned in this past Sunday’s class are two new points. The rescuers now give 30 compressions and then two breaths, as opposed to 15 compressions to 2 breaths. Originally it was A-B-C: airway, breaths (check for breathing) and then compressions. Now it’s C-A-B: compressions, airway, and then breaths. I managed to pass the class so if anybody develops heart trouble in Islip, you should be in good hands.

I have been following the flooding in the Lower Mississippi Valley. This year, the Army Core of Engineers opened the Morganza Floodway, which will divert water from the Mississippi down to the Atchafalaya River and then to the Gulf of Mexico. The last time that the Corps did this was in 1973, and I remember it well since I was stationed at an air force base in Alexandria LA. Alexandria is on the Red River, which feeds into the Mississippi and Atchafalaya Rivers. So if those rivers are high, the Red will be high since its water has no where to go. What I vividly remember was seeing the Red River at the top of the levees and only a foot or two below the roadways and tracks of the bridges that crossed in Alexandria. I also saw the Atchafalaya also being only a foot or two below the bridges that crossed it. All of us at the air base were quite worried that we could be swimming if the levees broke. Luckily none of them did but it’s déjà vu for me this year.

Today I went to Staples to buy a shredder. Ellen, Eileen and I have accumulated piles of papers and we don’t want to put them into the trash, since personal information is on most of them. I have used the shredder at the fire house, but I don’t like to keep imposing on them. The one I got lets me shred 10 sheets at a time, and also credit cards and CD’s. On the way home from the Staples in East Islip, I stopped at the headquarters of the local ambulance corps – Exchange Ambulances of the Islips. They were having an open house and even though I drive past their headquarters nearly every weekend, I never went inside. The open house l was shown around the dispatch room, as well as the day rooms and the apparatus bays. There were some raffles so I bought a ticket for a chance to win gift certificates or a baseball autographed by our local baseball team – the Long Island Ducks. There were also some free handouts like books, magnets and a pen or two.

In the late afternoon I drove to St. John’s University to attend the alumni anniversary Mass that was held in the St. Thomas More Church. Ellen and Eileen could not come since we could not leave Eileen home alone. Surprisingly, for a major anniversary for my class, not many classmates showed up. After the Mass we met next to Quadrangle/Great Lawn outside the church to have some wine & cheese. There was an anniversary medal and the annual yearbook. Earlier this year I e/mailed my curriculum vitae and a photo to the alumni office so that it would not get lost in snail mail. So when I opened up the book to enjoy my page, it was not there!!! Apparently the editors left me out. I was livid!! Someone from the alumni office said that they see me frequently at alumni functions so there was no excuse to sleight me like this. A big shot from the Alumni Relations Office said that he will look into this on Monday but the damage is done. I told them that I will remember this when they ask for alumni donations. To be honest, I had a feeling that St. John’s would mess this up, since they have done this to me before. When Ellen and I got married (both of us are alumni) they did not put the notice in the alumni magazine even though I had hand delivered the notice to them. However, later a friend and fellow alumnus e/mailed me to say that it's not worth getting ticked off over, and he's right. Like George Carlin said, "don't pet the sweaty things and don't sweat the petty things".

On the book front, I am reading a work by a man named Adrian Burgos Jr. The book is entitled Cuban Star, about a manager and team owner named Alex Pompez. Alex owned the New York Cubans, a Negro Leagues team that played in the 1930’s and 1940’s. The book tells how hard it was to bankroll a team in the Negro Leagues since most owners did not have the capital and banks tended to be discriminatory. Alex ran a numbers business in Harlem and the profits from that operation allowed him to field a team and also rehabilitate their home field – the Dyckman Oval up in the northern reaches of Manhattan. The Oval was demolished in 1950 and was replaced by the Dyckman Houses. Alex was quite successful as a team owner and later as a scout since he (and several of the NY Cubans) are enshrined in Cooperstown.

Bees win; Delta call; Turkish cuisine

2011-05-13T21:59:00.003-04:00

Over the last 6 days it has been going to work and coming home and hitting the Internet, but the Bees managed to win decisively on Thursday evening.

On Saturday evening we had an ambulance call a few houses up from my street for an unconscious female patient. I know the family so I ran up to see what I could do. Since I am not medically qualified (my emergency medical technician certification expired 21 years ago and I don’t have the time to take the course right now) I waited for the chief or a paramedic to show up. What was dis-heartening was that even thought this was a Delta call (the second most severe) only four members of my fire department showed up, even after giving a need for more manpower alarm. However, the ambulance corps from neighboring East Islip finally came after 20 minutes and transported my neighbor to Southside Hospital. The patient is 90 years ago but sadly, she did not make it, having passed away on Wednesday.

With Sunday the 8^th being Mothers’ Day, in the evening Ellen, Eileen and I went out to dinner. We opted to try a Turkish restaurant called Café Taka in neighboring Bay Shore since it was written up favorably in the New York Times. For a Manhattan-centric paper to write about anything on Long Island that is not in the Hamptons, it is a big deal. Ellen and Eileen each had a seafood entrée. Since we never make lamb at home (I am the only one who eats it), I decided to have a lamb kebob. All of the dishes were good and I recommend it to everyone. What is a plus is that they serve alcohol. It is kind of a surprise since Turkey is a Muslim nation, and even though it is secular country, alcohol is a taboo in the Muslim world.

On Monday we had a baby shower for one of my softball/basketball teammates in one of the conference rooms in the office. His lady friend could not make it but the teammates & coworkers gave him several nice things. The trouble was – I forgot all about it!!! While I did not have a gift on Monday afternoon, the next day I walked over to Barnes & Noble and headed to the juvenile section. I opted for Make Way for Ducklings and If You Gave a Mouse a Cookie. We had gotten them for Eileen when she was a baby and she loved them. In addition both Ellen and I loved to read them to her. I think that my teammate will feel the same way when he reads them to his daughter (he already knows that his lady friend is expecting a girl).

Yesterday the evening the Bees we had a softball game at DeWitt Clinton Park. Our opponent was Google, the team that beat us last year in the 2010 season opener. See the April 17, 2010 entry - that game was called on account of darkness. But this time we beat them nicely, 13-2. I did not get to actually play, but did keep the score for both teams. Since it was a late game, I headed to Penn after we shook hands and put the equipment away. With this victory, the Bees are now 5-0.

A win is a win

2011-05-07T20:28:00.001-04:00

The Bees had a game on Tuesday (May 3) evening at Dewitt Clinton Park. I got there in time for the first pitch, but there would not be any. Our opponent, ING Barings, had called around 5:15 PM to say that they could not make it. The league (Yorkville Sports Association) never got around to notifying our manager. So we won by a forfeit making us 4-0. A win is still a win, but we all wanted to win by actually playing. Besides, with no runs scored, it affects our total runs scored and therefore our place in the division standings. We did have the field so we had batting and fielding practice. I spent some time in the outfield, and realized that my right elbow and shoulder are in bad shape. It was fairly painful to try and throw the ball in from the outfield. To remedy that I had to relay the ball to a teammate. Like all the other Bees, I had a turn in the batters box and somehow managed to several balls out into the outfield. Now if I can only do that in games that count my batting average and on base percentage should both go up. Around 7 PM we had to vacate the field because the next game was going to start between two other teams. We then headed for a block down 11th Avenue to the American Retro Cafe to enjoy beer, burgers, chicken wings, and soda. The TV sets showed the Red Sox game, the Yankees - Tigers game, and a sow on ESPN about race horses (and what they did to sick horses - butchering them). This last show had a viewer discretion warning when it started to air. Around 8:10 I walked down to Penn Station to get the LIRR home.

The rest of the week was the usual SSDD: go to work, come home, and hit the computer.

Today, being Saturday, we had a few fire and ambulance calls, and had the chance to do something really exciting - change some light bulbs in the house (LOL).

Alumni Barbecue; Multiple Sclerosis Walk

2011-05-01T17:47:00.002-04:00

Yesterday Ellen, Eileen and I drove over to St. John's University for the annual Alumni Barbecue & Carnival on the Great Lawn at the Jamaica Campus. The Great Lawn is a large area surrounded by university buildings but is open at the south end with a parking lot. However, when I went there it was called the Quadrangle, and I still refer to it as such. To me, the Great Lawn is in Central Park. But whatever name you wish to call it, they had midway rides, games to win prizes, a couple of band stands, and artists. We were not interested in the rides, but we did try our luck with the games. I did not win anything, but Ellen and Eileen each won a few prizes at the ball toss and the bean bag toss. Of course, we also stuffed our faces with goodies like cheeseburgers, corn dogs, veggie burgers, and cookies. We also wanted to look at the relatively new free standing church (called St. Thomas More) at the end of the Quadrangle (after all, it is a Catholic university). A lady showed us around and explained the meanings of the paintings on the walls, as well as the impressive stained glass windows. We had been there for services in prior years, especially around Valentine's Day for the Blessing of the Couples, since Ellen and I are both St. John's alums and met there.

When we walked back to the Quad Eileen wanted to get her picture drawn by a caricaturist who had set up shop. However, so did quite a few other people. So we had to wait in line. I got to talk to other alumni and their family members that way, and after nearly 2 hours on line, we got our portraits taken as a trio. I somehow managed to relax and not get too fidgety and when it was our turn, I enjoyed talking to the artist. It turns out that he is an English immigrant who lives in Brooklyn, not far from the site of Ebbets Field! He told me that like me, he is an avid baseball fan now. After the portrait was done the carnival was over and we headed back home to rest and watch TV and for me to check e/mails and other cyber correspondence.

This morning I went with three other members of my fire company to Belmont Lake State Park over in North Babylon to participate in the annual Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Walk. We took our fire engine and some kid sized hats and parked near where the walk began. Besides people walking, there was also a walk for dogs and their owners. I got to see some very beautiful dogs from all breeds (but actually, there is really no such thing as an ugly dog). We gave out miniature fire helmets to youngsters and let them climb over our engine. We also donated to MS research since the wife of one of the members suffers from the disease, and this cause is dear to him. After all of the walkers came back to the starting point we headed back to Islip for a quick lunch. I then headed over to the 12:15 Mass at St. Mary's Church which was packed with First Communion children and their families.

The rest of the day was spent on errands, fire calls, and at the computer.

learning to fight propane fires; royal wedding

2011-04-29T23:29:00.000-04:00

On Wednesday evening I went with other members of the Islip Fire Department to the Suffolk County Fire training Academy out in Yaphank to learn how to fire propane fires. Since we are in the suburbs, there are numerous households that use propane for barbecues, as well as for heating. The tanks come in several sizes: 20 pounds, 100 pounds, and about 500 pounds. Each size has the capacity to explode and it's like a car bomb or an improvised explosive device (IED) when it does. Should that happen, it's often the last thing that occurs in your life. But on Wednesday the instructors taught us how to cool the tanks down with fire hoses and then to turn off the valves. We all took turns on the two fire lines. One line was a straight stream, the other was a spray. The straight stream is to cool down the tanks, the spray ids to protect the firefighters. Since quite a large number of members showed up (including about a dozen probationary members) we took turns on the lines. I had the chance to work the nozzle on a spray line, be the backup man on a straight stream line, and then finally help feed the hose to the nozzle & backup men when they advanced. When it was all over we packed the hoses back onto the engine's hose bed and headed back to Islip for some pizza and TV (watching the Mets game, as they beat the Nationals that evening).

Today all of my fellow Long Island Railroad commuters and co-workers at the office were talking about the royal wedding in London. Several got up early to watch the ceremonies, and others viewed in on the Internet at their computers. So far, I have not watched any of it, but I do wish both William and Kate the best.

Bees win again; doctor's visit

2011-04-27T16:03:00.000-04:00

Since last week the Bees managed to win another game, this time in Central Park. Our opponent was an investment firm called Alliance Bernstein. It was a fairly late game, starting at 7 PM, but even at that hour the sun can be at a bad angle if you are a batter and home plate is on the east side of the diamond instead of the west side (having it on the west side means that left handed pitchers have their throwing arms facing south, hence the name "southpaws").

Anyway, even facing west the Bees' batters managed to hit well. We were the home team and our opponent drew first blood in the top of the first inning. Then it was all downhill for them after that. The Bees scored 6 runs before the first out was made in the bottom of the first, and when the second inning began, it was 7-1. I came to bat once, and walked but since the bases were loaded,I got credit for a run batted in (RBI). I would be forced out at second base on a fielder's choice to end inning three. Eventually the score was 12-2 and since it was getting dark and not a close game, the umpire called the game by invoking the mercy rule. It was only 8 PM. As with every Bees game, I keep score for both sides. My teammates went to Brother Jimmy's for some pub grub, since since it was a bit late, I walked to Central Park West and got the subway at 81st Street to head to Penn Station and then home.

Today I have the day off since I went to my internist for a quarterly check up. There were the usual EKG, blood pressure, and breathing test, as well as blood work. While I will not get back the blood work for a week or so, according to my doctor, I am in pretty decent health.

After the visit I hopped the subway down to 33rd & Park Avenue to walk to Penn Station. However, since I had blood work I had not eaten since last night and was famished. I opted for a quick breakfast at McDonald's before hopping the 11:14 train out to Islip.

This evening I will be going with the Islip Fire Department to the Suffolk County Fire Training site in Yaphank. Tonight's drill is about how to fight liquid propane gas fires. I have done this drill before and it was interesting. Hopefully I will never have to use what they show us tonight in a real situation.

Bees win; baseball teams' futures

2011-04-21T21:32:00.003-04:00

The Bees played the New York Times on Tuesday evening at DeWitt Clinton Park. This was a 6 PM game so I headed out of the office immediately at quitting time (5:30) and trudged over to the West Side to get there by game time. Despite having to wait fro green lights when crossing the avenues. I made before the first pitch. As I was walking into the park on the 54th Street side I noticed a commotion near the dugout. There were numerous members of the John Jay Community Colleges softball team - the Bloodhounds - milling about. Once I met up with my teammates I saw why. One of their players was being helped off of the field by two teammates with the manager training behind. Her head was bandaged and her uniform was bloody. It turns out that she was pitching and got hit in the head with a line drive. Luckily she was conscious but the team was taking no chances. Soon we heard ambulance sirens and then paramedics and a stretcher came to the dugout. She was examined and taken to the nearest hospital (probably St. Luke's Roosevelt).

Then it was time for the Bees to play. We were the visitors and when the top half of the inning was over we were ahead 5-0. We would get several more until it was 10-0. Pretty soon the mercy rule would be invoked. However, I think that some of my teammates may have given them some hits and runs to make it a bit closer. However, we still won by the mercy rule 18-6, after only 6 innings. I came to bat 3 times as an extra hitter and walked, popped out, and got a single, which would be run #17. After the game we walked a couple of blocks down 11th Avenue to have some burgers and drinks at the American Retro Pub, which is on the site of Whistling Dixie's. The burgers were good and so was the beer. The Knicks were playing the Celtics and we watched the lead see-saw between the two arch rivals. Unfortunately the Celtics would win this game, and I have a strange feeling that they will soon eliminate the Knicks from the playoffs. Since I have a fairly long ride home I left around 8:45 to walk to Penn Station and get the train home.

The New York Daily News had an article about Commissioner of Baseball Bud Selig and his record as commissioner. Personally, I do not think that he has done or is doing such a good job. Several of the people who read the article on line and commented voiced the same feelings. The article also said that should be worrying about the fates of 4 teams - two of which could be considered showcase teams for MLB: the Dodgers (ownership is an issue, and is draining the team's finances), the Mets (thanks to the owners investing with Bernard Madoff; the Oakland Athletics (need a new ballpark), and the Tampa Bay Rays (also a ballpark). We definitely consider the Dodgers to be a showcase team. The Mets could be, since they play in the largest market in North America. Others disagree. Oh well to each his own. As for the Athletics, the article did not consider them a showcase team, but their legacy goes back to 1901 as the Philadelphia Athletics, under Connie Mack. They were a dynasty in the early 1910's, and also in the late 1920's & 1930's (three world series from 1929-1931), and of course the 1970's dynasty will not be forgotten soon.

back to Philadelphia

2011-04-17T15:40:00.002-04:00

Yesterday we left Long Island to check out the Leonardo DaVinci exhibit at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia. Like other trips to the City of Brotherly Love, we had smooth sailing until we got to exit 8 on the New Jersey Turnpike where it funnels from 6 lanes each way to 3. Naturally nobody knows how to merge or keep driving at a decent speed when there are construction vehicles and it's a weekend (that means that there are no people working). It got so bad that we exited at Exit 7A and took I-195 towards Trenton and ultimately I-95 into Philly. We had always wanted to try an alternate route and we got our chance yesterday afternoon. We parked in a garage on Sansom Street, next door to where we would be eating in the evening with my friend. my nephew and his girlfriend after we visited the Franklin Institute.

Right after we garaged the car it started to rain, and was windy so it was an uncomfortable walk to the Ben Franklin Parkway from the garage. Once inside we headed to the 3rd floor to check out reproductions of Renaissance living rooms and painter's studio. The next room had copies of Leonardo's manuscripts, as sell as models of some of his inventions. The models included

a spring powered cart,
a mechanical lion,
a swinging drawbridge,
a combination harpsichord-viola (could be played in a parade),
an armored war boat with an iron prow,
a robot in armor,
a pedal powered warship built in the shape of a circle, with multiple cannons,
a bat like human powered flying machine.

There were also exhibits covering his 2 most famous paintings that have survived - The Mona Lisa and The Last Supper.

After the show we went down to the train room to again admire the three locomotives that we enjoyed during our December 2010 trip. I also enjoyed the Changing Earth room and the show in the planetarium.

By then it was 5 PM so we walked to the restaurant - Noble American Cookery - and met my friend who was to join us. She was the lady who hired me at my first law firm - Shea & Gould - back in 1989. Ellen and Eileen had never met her, she was glad to meet them, and the feeling was mutual. Shortly after my nephew Eddie arrived with his girlfriend so there were a new round of introductions. There was a good beer list and I ordered a Cigar City dark beer (I recommend it highly). My entree was duck breast, but from the way that they it was prepared it looked like fillet mignon. No matter what it looked like, it was excellent!

We were sitting under a skylight and noticed that it was pouring by the time we done eating. Luckily the garage was next door, and my friend had her car parked a short distance away. Eddie lived only a short walk away on Spruce Street.

On the way home we ended up on I-76 instead of I-676 and realized that we were heading towards the Philadelphia Airport. Luckily we have GPS and maps so we decided to stay on I-76 and go over the Walt Whitman Bridge and pick up I-295 north to I-195 where we would re-trace our steps home.

With the heavy rains that meant flooding and reduced speeds. Therefore we got home a bit later than normal and arrived at the house just after midnight.

Despite the rain, we all had a great time.

Bees open their 2011 season; new baseball books

2011-04-15T23:17:00.001-04:00

Over the last 12 days it was basically SSDD. I managed to take out two books from the New York Public Library about baseball (of course):

The Greatest Ballpark Ever by Bob McGee, about Ebbets Field;
Baseball in America & America in Baseball which is edited by Donald Kyle & Robert Fairbanks. This is a series of essays about baseball.

I have finished the second one and am now reading Bob McGee's book.

I am still building up my new web-page: http://electronicfan.homestead.com/Introduction.html and am now working on my years in military service. In the meantime, please check out what I have done so far.

The Bee's 2011 softball season opened last night at DeWitt Clinton Park over in Hell's Kitchen. I don't like to call it Clinton, since I feel that it's a ploy by real estate people to erase the neighborhood's history. Anyway, our opponent was the Rockefeller Group. They drew first blood in the first inning, going ahead 1-0. Then the Bees scored 2 in the second and then 6 more in the 3rd inning and another insurance run in the 4th. Somehow, we only played 6 innings instead of the usual 7. That meant that I did not get a chance to come up to bat. What can you do? I did manage to keep score for both teams so I am able to remember that the final score was 9-2. My teammates went out to a place called 1-2-3 Burgers on 10th Avenue for some pub grub. Since this was a late game, I opted to head to Penn Station and head home. Our next game is on the 19th at the same park.

Panel speaker, no April Fool's joke, fire call

2011-04-03T08:31:00.000-04:00

Since the fire call fatality last week it generally been SSDD, but there have been some interesting events as well.

Early in March the St. John’s University Career Center e-mailed me asking if I could come to a talk on March 29 to serve on a panel mentoring students on networking and how to act at a corporate dinner. I was a bit reluctant since I rarely speak to a group of people and must admit that if my own dining room is any indication, I generally don’t display the best of table manners. However, once I got the day off (use it or lose it) I agreed to do it. My friend the university professor, who speaks around the world at education conferences, told me that once you get started it’s a piece of cake. So once I arrived at the St. John’s campus I parked the car and walked to the new D’Angelo Center and headed to the 4^th floor. I was told that I would be speaking about using www.linkedin.com and how to properly use e/mails for correspondence (basically treat e/mails the same way that you would a snail mail letter). After we all spoke we went into the next room for a sit down dinner. The main speaker here was a former human resources office (she had worked in several banks over the last few decades). She told us how to properly use utensils placed before, and how to properly feed your face when it comes to soup, rolls, and the main course. When it was time to go the University gave the speakers/mentors a few gifts which I thanked them for, even if they did not have to do it. I was honored that they asked me to serve as a panel speaker.

On April Fool’s Day I had my annual evaluation at the Firm and it was good (no fooling). Since I am still employed there I will be able to participate with the softball team since we are kicking off our 2011 season this month. On the 6^th we are having our annual pizza lunch to map out our plans and introduce the new players.

I am still reading Bernard Malamud’s The Natural and also treated myself to the movie DVD (from the library). Yesterday I watched the film that stars Robert Redford, Glenn Close, Kim Bassinger, Robert Duvall and Darren McGavin. It leaves out several scenes from the book, but the film is very watch able. Both are a must for baseball fans.

I am still working on my web-site and “book” Inside an Electric Fan. The college years chapter is now done. You can check the web-site out here at http://electronicfan.homestead.com/Introduction.html

This morning around 6 AM we had a single alarm in town at the Starbuck’s on Main Street. Apparently their carbon monoxide detector went off and they call the fire department. I headed down to the fire house, and just as I got to the scene (around the corner from the firehouse) the ladder truck was pulling up. So I parked in the firehouse lot and walked over to help out. We checked the store out, and luckily there was no basement as everything was on the ground floor. The only item that could possibly give off the gas was the hot water heater, and our detectors did not show anything next to it. The heater was not in the building (possibly in the adjacent store, since it was a tandem building?) so the chief sent us back while he stayed on the scene to talk to the manager and her staff.

We are all glad that baseball is back for the 2011 season. So far the Yankees are 2-0 while the Mets are at .500. Since there are 160 more games to play, it's a bit too early to predict what will happen in October.

firecall fatality

2011-03-27T15:47:00.003-04:00

This morning I went tot he firehouse to enjoy a pancake breakfast that is put on annually by the junior members of the department. My fire company bought tickets for all of the members, so figured, why not go and enjoy having bacon & scrambled eggs (foods that I generally do not have at home) as well as pancakes? I was halfway through my breakfast when our fire alarm goes off telling us of a working fire in the eastern part of town. The members who were enjoying breakfast stopped eating and headed down to the apparatus floor to get ready to leave. The problem for me (and a few other members) is that my turnout gear is at the other firehouse at the northern end of town. I had to borrow someone else's! Now to find gear from someone who will not show up, and who will fit me. Luckily I found a set and put it on and ran towards the engine. It was already staffed and headed out. Since it's not a good idea to try and jump onto a moving vehicle, I decided to ride the ladder truck which was also on the ramp. Once we had enough people we also headed to the scene. About a block from the house we heard from the chief that there is a victim. The fire was not in the house itself, but in the garage - which was converted into an apartment! I helped try to remove a fence so we could more easily reach the garage entrance. After a few other chores I saw that they had brought the victim out and were doing cardio pulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Someone was doing the compressions but nobody was working the air bag. I stepped forward to do that. Members of the Suffolk County Police used a de-fibrillator to try and revive the woman, but to no avail. One of the medics put an airway into her mouth to try and create a path for air to enter her lungs. Finally the ambulance from East Islip arrived and we put the patient onto a backboard, then onto the stretcher and finally onto the ambulance to take her to the hospital. We firefighters then concentrated on salvaging what was left and also punching holes into walls to see if any more smoke was in there (there was none). Finally we put the ladders back onto the truck and packed the hose onto the engine. Before we returned to the firehouse the medic whom I worked on the patient with returned and confirmed what we suspected - she did not make it. While I never knew this woman I would guess that she was maybe in her 40's, and did have two fairly young children. They were not with her this morning, but in a North Shore community named Shoreham with their father. Fortunately they are alive but sadly, they lost their mother. RIP ma'am.