PERSONAL NEWS #61
June 24th thru 26th was the big wedding weekend in Virginia for Joni and Jim. [Joni's mother, Nancie, has been a school chum of mine since 5th grade.] Took vacation days from work on the Friday and Monday, so I'd have leisurely time in VA, as well as recuperate from all the festivities. Traveled down and back on Continental Airlines with another Fox Lane school chum of mine. Eileen's hubby got us an excellent deal with his frequent flyer miles, so all we had to pay were taxes and security fees. Through AmExTravel at my office, I reserved a reasonably priced car rental via Alamo. All the others were too pricey for our humble wallets. We ended up with a red, compact Dodge Neon that rode quite nicely and good on gas. Poor Eileen ... a week or so before we were to head down to VA, fractured her foot outside her apartment building, plus dealing with chemo for Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Traveling with a cast on ones foot and utilizing crutches isn't easy. What it did allow us was efficient service at the airports and going ahead of everyone on security lines et al. [Eileen’s dear hubby Seth drove us to and from the airport that weekend. Dealing with traffic in an excellent way.] If you ever fly Continental shuttles between Newark and Dulles ... be prepared for at least one hour delay in departures. [So annoying!] Though one is only "in flight" for 45 minutes or so. And before I go any bit further, let me get the weather report out of the way. It was warm, humid and sometimes sunny the whole weekend. One is thankful for air conditioning.

Eileen and I shared a hotel room at Homestead Studio Suites in Reston, VA. [Many from the wedding party also stayed at same place ... as it was centrally located.] Very nice accommodations and reasonably priced. Friday's agenda was the wedding rehearsal at St Anne's church. Eileen was on hand to perform as the "wedding singer" and she needed to rehearse with David [the pianist]. The two songs chosen for the occasion were "Grow Old With Me" by John Lennon and "And This Is My Beloved" from the musical Kismet. Afterwards, those who wished to attend were invited back to Nancie and Tim's home for a BBQ, plus frolicking in the swimming pool. While there we met up with another Fox Lane school chum, Sharon, and her family. It was like a mini reunion with the four of us. Next day I briefly stopped by Nancie's home before heading to a salon to get my hair styled. [A delightful Iranian woman took care of me.] Attired in an elegant silk black/white dress with silver jewelry [photo above], Eileen wore a blue dress and gold jewelry, we headed off to the wedding which started promptly at 4pm. Joni looked absolutely delightful in a strapless gown with pastel color embroidery around hem and trim. And in her styled hair she had a tiara and veil. Nancie and her hubby Tim [they've been married 28 years] walked her down the aisle to a full church of guests. [photo below] Eileen sang the two songs beautifully. It was a lovely service which incorporated Christian and Jewish traditions. In honor of both families backgrounds.



Eileen and I fell abit behind schedule when back at the hotel. The reception was being held at 6pm and shuttle bus service was to take hotel guests to the location. Being late we missed the shuttle bus. What we thought was our misfortune, tuned into favor for us, as the bridal party stretch limo came to the hotel and the driver took us to the reception in style. It was a first for both of us in riding a limo like that. So very cool! Got to the reception in time to enjoy the free open bar, the main course of dinner and the chocolate fountain with goodies. We sat with Sharon, her hubby, their two teenage sons. Also at our table were a young lady, who works with Nancie, and her brother. They are originally from NYC and now live in VA. Enjoyed their company very much and even got to French kiss the sexy brother. [I'd already had three; kinda weak martini's when this happened.] The whole evening was enjoyable ... much dancing, chatting with other guests, taking photographs, enjoying good food, etc, etc.

Next day we checked out of the hotel and drove to another hotel to partake brunch with the wedding party. My hairdo held up through everything. Amazing! More socializing, along with eating and drinking. Then it was back to Nancie and Tim's home for a relaxing afternoon and more socializing. Decided not to leave the hairdo up and it took about 20 minutes, and 25 pins later, to unravel and brush it out. Nancie and Tim's hospitality were wonderful, plus it was my first time in meeting her parents. Witty and intelligent folk who are up-to-date on current news and literature. [BTW ... I did okay with the driving and only got lost once. Almost ended up in Alexandria! Very embarrassing.] After a fun, busy weekend I got home to Brooklyn around 11:30pm that Sunday evening. Happy I took the following day off, so I could sleep, take care of many errands and participate in a conference call.

On Monday, June 27th, the NYC Chapter Dept of Peace had a conference call to discuss our chapter’s current financial situation. Karen, Vlad and I were the only ones who could attend the call and we got much accomplished. Some topics of discussion were credit card usage, personal contributions, volunteers and possible venues for the July 23rd event.

Wednesday, June 29th, was a busy day for this gal. Not only with work, but outside activities too. At 4:30pm I had an appointment with a Lung Specialist to go over my condition. He'd read the catscan report, took five vials of blood for further testing, checked other vitals [all normal] and we had a discussion on the situation. Not only do I have Emphysema, but Asthma as well, and was given two different kind of inhalers. Dr Challopalli also mentioned that he may need to do a biopsy later this month. [Oh joy ... NOT ... doctors / hospitals are so not my scene!] Went home to eat some dinner and freshen up before heading out again. That evening I attended a fundraiser in the East Village. [I made a $20 contribution.] This event was hosted by fellow NYC Kucitizen [Cielito] and her filmmaker friend Sharon Chen. Ms Chen is working on a short film documentary called COLLISION. To learn more about the film et al ... visit their blog at http://collisionfilm.blogdrive.com. Was so delighted to see a few other Kucitizens showed up. It was great to see and chat with Paul, Thomas and Jessica. Hadn't seen them since the Kucinich speaking engagement out in Long Island end of April. [We caught up on "news" and health issues. Paul is part of the Norm Siegel campaign, as am I. I've been helping out with "phone banking".] You may recall me mentioning, in the past, that Thomas gives great hugs. I love hugging this fella ... feels so damn good. It was a fun evening and the turnout was pretty good for the fundraiser. Down the road, Cielito told me they raised around $500 from the event. WooHoo!

QUOTE OF THE DAY ... For in a Republic, who is "the country"? Is it the Government which is for the moment in the saddle? Why, the Government is merely a servant, merely a temporary servant; it cannot be its prerogative to determine what is right and what is wrong, and decide who is a patriot and who isn't. Its function is to obey orders, not originate them. Mark Twain

Another busy, fun day on Thursday, June 30th, which was also my brothers 45th birthday. At 12 noon I joined the rest of my department to attend an afternoon baseball game. We took the #7 subway out to Queens to see the Mets play against the team from Philly. [Tix had been purchased by one of the partners.] The weather was muggy, humid and overcast. Kept threatening rain and thankfully held off. Good size crowd was heading into the stadium, as Pedro Martinez was pitching that day. 20 years ago large crowds went to Shea when Doc Gooden was at the height of his pitching career. Damn! Has it been 20 years since then? Whoa! Anyhow, we had decent seats in Loge section at third base and sat down just as the game started. Between Larry, Scott and Matt ... they got our 12+ group food and drink from the concession stands. I believe the eventual credit card tab [Larry] came to $130. Mon dieu! Most ballpark food is not healthy and usually salty. The best I could do was nachos, melted cheese and bottle water. Everyone else had water, beer, soda, pizza, hotdogs, peanuts and popcorn. During the 4th inning I ran down to the gift shop to purchase a Mets t-shirt with Piazza's name on the back. Most of the items, in my opinion, were nice but overpriced. Halfway thru the game [which the Mets won], Scott devised this "lottery" game using dollar bills. Did I win anything? Nope! During the three hour game we had lots of fun and I didn't have to go back to the office afterwards.

Went to pick up the photos from wedding in Virginia and realized I'd left my checkbook in my desk drawer at work. Damn! So I freshened up at home and changed into clean clothes. Back into the city to pick up my checkbook and then pop over to Port Authority to purchase my bus ticket to Albany. [Was heading upstate NY next day for long holiday weekend.] Made it in time to join my second "Support Group" session at Karen’s place. A safe, nurturing, supportive haven. I'm finding that attending "new age" spiritual events, lectures, meditations and support groups is a good, healthy path for me. I'm finally on the right path in my life. More in tune with that than going to or dealing with organized religion. Which does nothing for me at all.

P.S. More "personal news" coming soon ... stay tuned.