States I Have Visited

Up until July of 2007 I had never been off the East Coast and most of that was limited to New England.  Since then I have been to half the states (even though a couple of them were nothing more than airport stops transferring flights to be honest).  Believe it or not, I have never been to Florida and it really isn't high on my list of places to go.  I don't "do heat" too well.   Here's where I've been so far:

Arizona

California

Colorado

Connecticut

Georgia (airport in Atlanta)

Idaho

Louisiana

Maine

Maryland

Massachusetts

Montana

Michigan (airport in Detroit)

Nebraska

Nevada

New Hampshire

New Jersey

New York

Pennsylvania

Rhode Island

South Dakota

Utah

Vermont

Virginia

Wisconsin

Wyoming

Countries I Have Visited

I have been most fortunate to have travelled to 31 different countries/municipalities since 1991 when I travelled outside the USA for the first time.  Here is a list of where I have been and includes three new countries I will be visiting in October (Croatia, Bosnia and Serbia).  I have also included the year that I visited each country.

AUSTRIA (93, 95, 10))

BELARUS (04)

BELGIUM (93)

BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA (10)

CANADA (94, 96, 00, 01, 02, 03, 04, 07) 

CROATIA (10)

CZECH REPUBLIC (95)

DENMARK (97)

ENGLAND (91, 93,  97 ,98, 03, 04, 09)

ESTONIA (04)

FINLAND (04)

FRANCE (93)

GERMANY (93, 95)

HOLLAND (93)

HUNGARY (95, 10)

IRELAND (91)

ITALY (93)

LATVIA (04)

LICHENSTEIN (93)

LITHUANIA (04)

MEXICO (08)

MONACO (93)
MONTENEGRO (10)
NORWAY (97)

POLAND (95)

RUSSIA (04)

SCOTLAND (91)

SERBIA (10)

SLOVAKIA (95)

SWEDEN (97)

SWITZERLAND (93)

WALES (91)

32  Countries as of 10/17/10

My Father was a Good Guy

I had the best father in the world.  I always knew that I was loved and my father was never afraid to show his affection right up until the time he died.  I only shook his hand on a few occasions because our normal greeting was a kiss.  I knew that no matter what happened, he would always support me and forgive me if it was necessary.  He was never short on time when it involved his family.  He was constantly making something for my mother or refinishing some old antique dresser or building bookcases for my sister and me.  How did he have the time to do all this plus work two jobs most of his life and take care of the yard, shrubs, painting, etc., etc.?  Well, he did and he did it cheerfully . . . just knowing that he made our lives better than his own was enough for him.  He never complained about the past or present but lived for the day and was excited about the future.  He was only 55 when he died suddenly on December 5, 1979.  I was 26 and was just beginning to know my father on that different level you have when you attain adulthood yourself.  I wish I had the chance to get to to know him better as an adult.  There are so many questions I wish I had asked and I wish I had listened better to the things I did ask him.  I don't think a day goes by that I don't think of him.  Simply put, he was a good guy.

Family portrait (1957)

As a cop in West Haven (c. 1960)

                                                                                                        

Gail's (my sister) wedding in October 1975

My college graduation (January 1976)

Last known photograph with my mother about 

4 months before he died of a heart attack at

the age of 55.

When October Goes

Most musicians don't take Barry Manilow seriously, but I have loved this song since the first time I heard it on his "2:00 AM Paradise Cafe" album.  Beautiful text with a haunting melody . . . it's a gem!  How could you not fall in love with this song?

And when October goes
The snow begins to fly
Above the smokey roofs
I watch the planes go by
The children running home
Beneath a twilight sky
Oh, for the fun of them
When I was one of them
And when October goes
The same old dream appears
And you are in my arms
To share the happy years
I turn my head away
To hide the helpless tears
Oh how I hate to see October go
I should be over it now I know
It doesn't matter much
How old I grow
I hate to see October go

Songwriters: Barry Manilow/Johnny Mercer

Funeral Blues

I first became familiar with this poem when it was recited in a very poignant scene in the film, "Four Weddings and A Funeral". How wonderful it must be to be loved to this extent.

Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone,
Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone,
Silence the pianos and with muffled drum
Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.

Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead
Scribbling on the sky the message He is Dead.
Put crepe bows round the white necks of the public doves,
Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves.

He was my North, my South, my East and West,
My working week and my Sunday rest,
My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song;
I thought that love would last forever: I was wrong.

The stars are not wanted now; put out every one,
Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun,
Pour away the ocean and sweep up the woods;
For nothing now can ever come to any good. 

 W. H. Auden (1907-73)

For Good

I can think of no other recent song from a Broadway musical  that touches me more than this.  "For Good",  from "Wicked", makes me realize how extremely lucky I am.  It has become the closing salutation in all my correspondences with my dearest friend.  Information about the show and the song can be found here.

ELPHABA

You're the only friend I've ever had.

GLINDA
And I've had so many friends. But only one-- that mattered.
(sings)

I'VE HEARD IT SAID
THAT PEOPLE COME INTO OUR LIVES FOR A REASON
BRINGING SOMETHING WE MUST LEARN
AND WE ARE LED
TO THOSE WHO HELP US MOST TO GROW
IF WE LET THEM
AND WE HELP THEM IN RETURN
WELL, I DON'T KNOW IF I BELIEVE THAT'S TRUE
BUT I KNOW I'M WHO I AM TODAY
BECAUSE I KNEW YOU...

LIKE A COMET PULLED FROM ORBIT
AS IT PASSES A SUN

LIKE A STREAM THAT MEETS A BOULDER
HALFWAY THROUGH THE WOOD
WHO CAN SAY IF I'VE BEEN CHANGED FOR THE BETTER?
BUT BECAUSE I KNEW YOU
I HAVE BEEN CHANGED FOR GOOD …

ELPHABA
IT WELL MAY BE
THAT WE WILL NEVER MEET AGAIN
IN THIS LIFETIME
SO LET ME SAY BEFORE WE PART
SO MUCH OF ME
IS MADE OF WHAT I LEARNED FROM YOU
YOU'LL BE WITH ME
LIKE A HANDPRINT ON MY HEART
AND NOW WHATEVER WAY OUR STORIES END
I KNOW YOU HAVE RE-WRITTEN MINE
BY BEING MY FRIEND...

LIKE A SHIP BLOWN FROM ITS MOORING
BY A WIND OFF THE SEA
LIKE A SEED DROPPED BY A SKYBIRD
IN A DISTANT WOOD
WHO CAN SAY IF I'VE BEEN CHANGED FOR THE BETTER?
BUT BECAUSE I KNEW YOU...

GLINDA
BECAUSE I KNEW YOU...

BOTH
BECAUSE I KNEW YOU
I HAVE BEEN CHANGED FOR GOOD...

ELPHABA
AND JUST TO CLEAR THE AIR
I ASK FORGIVENESS
FOR THE THINGS I'VE DONE YOU BLAME ME FOR

GLINDA
BUT THEN, I GUESS WE KNOW
THERE'S BLAME TO SHARE

BOTH
AND NONE OF IT SEEMS TO MATTER ANYMORE

___

[They sing simultaneously]

GLINDA

LIKE A COMET PULLED FROM
ORBIT/AS IT PASSES A SUN/
LIKE A STREAM THAT MEETS A
BOULDER/ HALF-WAY
THROUGH THE WOOD

ELPHABA

LIKE A SHIP BLOWN OFF ITS
MOORING/BY A WIND OFF THE
SEA/ LIKE A SEED DROPPED BY A
BIRD IN
THE WOOD

___

BOTH 
WHO CAN SAY IF I'VE BEEN CHANGED FOR THE BETTER?
I DO BELIEVE I HAVE BEEN CHANGED FOR THE BETTER

GLINDA
AND BECAUSE I KNEW YOU...

ELPHABA
BECAUSE I KNEW YOU...

BOTH
BECAUSE I KNEW YOU...
I HAVE BEEN CHANGED FOR GOOD.