Perspective

Bulletins from the Human Side

Bulletins from the Human Side: Midsummer madness should be a liturgical season in the three-ring circus of the official church, which is not necessarily the People of God.

Twice a month Brooksby Village offers a trip to Suffolk Downs, which is a thoroughbred race track in East Boston, Massachusetts.

Friends who have gone to the racetrack have told me about the great seats they had in the air-conditioned restaurant overlooking the the finish line and the wonderful buffet luncheon.

It was time for me to check it out before it no longer exists, depending on the outcome of this months casino decision.



From what I observed, most attendees at the track were seniors, who came with a group bus like I did.

We were given a racing program with an explanation of the betting process and our own betting windows. Since most of us were "of a certain age," the betting windows couldn't have been closer.

The buffet was a bit of a walk but I guess they figured "we had to eat" and would make the effort to get to the food!

I started out betting $2.00 to WIN. I lost!

After a few races I bet $2.00 to PLACE. I lost!

After those losses I bet $2.00 to SHOW. I won .40!

The lunch was good, the races were not my cup of tea!

HIGHLIGHT OF THE AFTERNOON

I got to talking to a fellow gambler who lives here at Brooksby. When I told her my name she asked if was related to John Garfield - not the actor but someone who she worked for when she first got out of high school. Lets say she was in her early 20's at the time - now she must be in her 80's - that means it has to be about 60 years ago!!!

She worked as a bookkeeper for my cousin John Garfield!!!

We exchanged memories about her boss and my cousin. He was the type of person that made an impression on you - tall, handsome and a charmer!

Her thoughts exactly!

Even though she enjoyed working for him, she did leave when a better position was offered to her.

In my previous post I wrote about "If You Don't Go Out, Nothing Happens."

How True!!!

I didn't win at the races, but I had an opportunity to share some memories with someone who knew my cousin so many years ago.

Bulletins from the Human Side

Bulletins from the Human Side: James Foley faced this Mystery in a wildness of land like that in which John the Baptist fearlessly heralded Jesus.

I want to thank each and every one of you for your good wishes on my birthday!!!

It seems that as the years go by the birthdays became more meaningful - the days fly by, the weeks fly by and the YEARS - boy do they fly by!!!

It seems like I had a birthday not too long ago, and before I know it another one will be around the corner.

I guess the point is, just make the most of what you have and what you can do each day - life is to short to be little!



As my mother used to say, "If you don't go out nothing happens." I think about that a lot and you know what - it's really true!

Thanks again for making my day so special - Wishing you lots of special days too.

Hi, Steve here,

Before we get to my mom's post about opening things, I want to jump in here and wish her a happy 89th Birthday!
Have a Great Day.
Love Steve

Now back to my mom:

A few years ago my son Steve and I did a series of videos called "I Can't Open It."



There was always something that I could not open!

I always had a running list of things that were impossible for me to open.

Doing those videos were fun and a learning experience for me. I learned how to open most everything so we discontinued that series.

Time passes and we can always count on change which leads me to the current time and a story to tell.

One day last week I had the pleasure of spending time with a friend of mine and her daughter.

My friend has been living in Florida for many years and recently moved back to Massachusetts.

I invited them to visit me here at Brooksby, have lunch in the dining room, see the grounds and spend time at my apartment.

Would you believe that in all the time that I have lived here, I've never had lunch in the Overlook dining room.

I'm just not a lunch person so it was a treat for me. The reason I'm even mentioning this is because I really enjoyed what I had.

So you say, "so what was so special about your lunch?"

I had a BLT on WHITE toast bread! Haven't had a sandwich like that in years - who eats white bread today? Me, Me, Me!

Now, getting back to my visitors - I was concerned about the distance my friend would have to walk from the clubhouse to my unit. I welcome the walk that I have, it may seem like a long walk to some people but I don't mind it at all, it gives me some exercise which I wouldn't get otherwise.

I have a unit that is on the first floor, my patio faces the clubhouse and if I chose to, instead of trampling through long corridors I thought she would appreciate a much shorter walk - I took the shortcut.

We get to my place, I pull out my key and "I could not open the door." I tried, she tried, - no, it would not open!!!

Finally, I left them sitting in comfortable chairs getting a suntan while I trampled off the long way round, came to my front door, the key worked, I got in and opened the patio door. Success!!

My friend's daughter took the video you are about to see!

So things haven't changed that much - I still can't open everything! ;-)