First Day of School

September 6 2012 will be my 34th opening day of school.  And my last.  I expect it to be somewhat bittersweet and nostalgic.  I expect to be a great deal calmer throughout the year than I typically am.

It appears that I'm the longest serving teacher on staff.  I cannot imagine how that happened.  September 1979 is still fairly clear in my mind, even if I did spend the entire first year in some kind of fog.  One very clear memory is from the end of that first day when I had no idea what I was supposed to do after the students were dismissed.  I remember watching from the window as they loaded buses then peering into the hallway to figure out what the rest of the staff was doing.  I didn't know if we were supposed to stay until a certain time or if we were free to leave.  Just seemed too simple to just go to the car at 3 o'clock, but off I went.  Then I got on the highway going the wrong way: driving east automatically toward Walton rather than west toward my new home.  "Go West" took on new meaning for me when I realized my mistake.  I had to readjust my daily routine which held me in good stead for the ensuing years.  I wonder if I'll know what to do at the end of the day on the last day of school in June 2013.  Let's hope I don't take a wrong turn!

I don't have many clear memories of my own first days of school--even the first day of senior year at the new school in Walton.  I can only imagine the relief our mothers felt along with a little twinge of uncertainty about the required school supply list we'd come home with.  Those were the days when you didn't get that information until you actually got there.  Those were the days when Back-to-School shopping did not generate special inserts in your Sunday paper.

I thought you might enjoy this First Day of School picture from the year Ryan entered as a 7th grader and Amy was a new junior.  Looks like they didn't mind having this picture taken (unlike some other years!).

This series of pictures tells quite a story.  Of course, fashion sense is one story but the story of our home is also present in the background, so it's fun to go back and review these once in a while.

Happy September--special Good Luck wishes to Drew for a wonderful year.  Glad to hear he's safely arrived in England.  Happy Birthday Mallory, Hailey, Sarah and Cheryl this month. 

Florida 2012 for James and Pat

At this writing, Kathleen and Nick are anxiously watching the Weather Channel for news of Tropical Storm Isaac to determine their immediate future plans.  I am glad we are safe and sound in New York State as we keep Kathleen and Nick in our thoughts.

We had a grand visit to Belleair Beach soaking up sun at poolside.  Oh, yes, and the shopping.  There's a little Irish store I'll be visiting again!  Kath and Nick shared many of their stories of the Italy trip which only made us ache for the day that we could do the same.

Then it was off to Disney for a few days at the Happiest Place on Earth.  James was able to fully participate in a NASCAR Driving Experience despite a slight rain delay.  He had a grand time:

We also made a little game of taking some of our pictures from previous trips so they could be recreated circa 2012.  This project turned into great fun, especially with the complete strangers we asked to take these pictures after we explained what we were doing.  They took the job very seriously and these were fun little encounters.  James took on the mission of finding the original picture locations with all the seriousness of planning his next band trip.  I've take the old and morphed them into the new for your viewing pleasure.  I hope this works.  It will require your computer to have Adobe Flash Player and you may need to allow blocked content for Active X controls (gibberish I realize but that's what you'll likely see when you click to view).  Here's hoping this works for you. 

Florida or Bust

We'll be on our way to Florida tomorrow morning for a long awaited vacation trip.  We'll be visiting Kathleen and Nick as well as Mickey and Minnie.  Anticipating this trip has given me time to reflect a little bit on past trips to Florida and Disney.

My first trip to Disney was 25 years ago on a senior class trip. 

I took some abuse from James and my fellow chaperones for taking pictures of flowers on this trip.  As I go through those pictures, I am happy to note that I believe my picture-taking skills (and equipment) are much improved in the ensuing 25 years.

1996-the first trip with the kids.  Epic trip because we got to spend time with Kathleen and Nick, my sister Kathy as well as our friends the Hamiltons who also took their first trip with their children in 1996.

This was our dinner at Tony's which I remember for being so NOISY! 

2000 marked our designation as the "Millenial Family of the Week" at Disney.  Our room was decorated for us and we got some nice little gifts including beach towels I still have.

I remember this trip especially because all the kids seemed to care about was the pool and TV.  I vowed that any future trips would only require a pool and ESPN!

2004 it just so happened that our trips fell 4 years apart.  This visit was rich with character sitings--including these guys:

Three Stooges

2008 was timed so that the four of us could have one (probably last) big trip together before Amy left the nest and it was WONDERFUL!  Absolutely full of wonder.  I'm a sucker for Disney!

How happy do these guys look to you?

2012 promises to be epic on its own as it will be our first trip without children (either school children or our own!).  Stay tuned and I'll catch you up on the other side. 

Visit Report

Robert and Bobbie were able to come for a visit this past weekend and we had a grand time. I can't remember when they were here last, but it's been a while and it's always nice to have one-on-one time with siblings.

James was supposed to entertain us at the Binghamton Mets game along with two of his buddies.  He's been "chosen" to wear the spiedie outfit and race down the sidelines between innings with a hot dog and a bottle of mustard.  Yes, you read that right.  It's a between-inning amusement for the spectators and he'd been "lucky" enough to score a chance to participate.  Again, yes, you read that right. 

So, against our better judgement, Bobbie and I accompanied James and Robert to the game.  Who could miss such a highlight?  Alas, it was not to be because the DealChicken budged his way into the race earlier than planned.  DealChicken won.  (still reading it correctly) So, even though Bobbie and I lost out as witnesses to this pinnacle of a True Met Fan Experience--we were all surprised by the following:

Yes, 27 wonderful years--many of the most recent spent in these very seats. It was nice to spend it with Robert and Bobbie. (Thank you for dinner!)

Bob said he'd never been to Cooperstown so off we went!  We went to the Farmers' Museum and to the Fenimore Art Museum.  Although it was the hottest day of their visit, we spent most of it outdoors.  Bobbie also experienced a first---

Bobbie and I worked on some genealogy and neither of us can say for certain what the guys did during that time.  Before I knew it, they were getting into the car so they could visit with the Bulman clan. 

Next week, we'll be visiting with Kathleen and Nick.  We hope Ernesto stays away.

Memories.....

Earlier this week we heard from Kathleen that she'd taken a spill on her bike.  So, of course my first thoughts were:  BLOG!  I'd been considering "bikes" as my main topic for this post.  I understand your dad bought a tandem bike to help provide transportation for you and most people have fond memories of their childhood two wheeled adventures.

But then we got a request from Thomas for some pictures of Racing Days for the Dalpiaz Boys which sent me searching through old pictures that hadn't seen the light of day recently.  And both James and I got sucked right down Memory Lane.  I thought you'd all enjoy the same.

This appears similar to the connections the media is trying to make between the 1948 London Olympics and 2012. 

Here's one I love from 1986--I suspect it's Danielle's birthday.

And another birthday celebration.  Two Jeans with matching necklaces.  Your Mom is leaning on a space heater and Jean has a similar grip on her:

They both look really happy.

Moving to the cousin category:

I think this might be Angela and Jean?

Maurizio showing Olympic style swimwear of the time period.  James says he thinks this is the closest your Dad ever got to the water in the pool!  But again, he looks happy.

And since it was the Defiant that got this started, I guess we'll end with

So Kathleen can rest easy (especially her tailbone) until I'm digging around for a topic next week.......

The shooting at the Batman movie premiere in Colorado last week is very much on our minds this weekend.  When such tragedies occur, attention turns to the disturbed individuals at fault seeking reasonable explanations which often are just not there to be had.  Two seconds after the "why" comes the political jockeying -- in this case, to gain a foothold in the gun control debate.  This post isn't about that.

It's about the loss of innocence in the most benign of activities:  going to the movies.  An incident such as this could occur anywhere innocent people are gathered but this time, it was a movie theater.  Going to the movies was a very big deal for me as a youngster.  First of all, the theater was not close to our house so it would require one of the two adults in the house to leave the other behind for a while.  There would be the question of supervision--needed or not?  I clearly recall my mother phoning her friend to ask if "Romeo and Juliet" was appropriate for my adolescent eyes.  Thank goodness this friend was more forward thinking than many other of my mother's friends and I got to go to the movies and see my very first bare behind in cinemascope.

Otherwise, going to the movies was not a common occurrence even as a family.  I think you might have had a bit of a different experience possibly because you had easier access to the theater.  I find it very interesting that during this time period of the late 60s, Batman was a popular TV series.  I know we enjoyed watching it even though I imagine my parents were rolling their eyes.  But it was innocent fun that evolved into this dark movie trilogy which has already drawn its share of tragedy and drama.  Going to the movies went from a "special treat" to premiere midnight viewings full of costumes and devout fans.   

These days it's a financial commitment to purchase a movie tickets even for a matinee.  And now we'll be thinking twice about our safety even though there isn't much that can be done to prevent disturbed individuals from attempting to carry out their demented plans.  So, as they say:  dance as if no one was watching and cherish every moment you are given.  God Bless innocent victims.

All Prettied Up

I learned an interesting lesson recently.  I'm not that interested in preparing meals during hot weather.  Well, to be honest, I'm not all that interested in preparing meals at all but that's neither here nor there for this post.  I purchase food that can be pulled out of the refrigerator ready to be served after a little warm up.  Recently I had 3 nice pieces of grilled lemon chicken breasts sitting in the refrigerator just waiting for one of the hungry males to come along and make short work of them.  Prepared mashed potatoes were also available. (perhaps you already know how I am about potatoes so I buy them ready made and I'm not even embarrassed about that)

A couple of days went by and I was pushing that chicken pretty hard--"Hey, there's chicken all ready for you in there if you are hungry"....."How about the chicken?  You liked this the last time." and the now famous:"That chicken is just going to go bad".  No takers.

Then the weather cooled enough for me to have an appetite at dinner.  I was alone so I put a piece of chicken on the plate along with some corn and had a feast.  James will generally eat what's left for him in the microwave when he comes home after the ball games, so I made a plate for him and one for Ryan.  Then I waited for the next hungry male to come through the kitchen.  Ryan's eyes lit up when he saw the chicken, mashed potatoes and corn all ready for him and he enjoyed it thoroughly.  He raved about how good it was. 

I refrained from mentioning this was the very same chicken I've been trying to sell all week.  I realized that putting it all on the plate together fait accompli was the key to success in this case.  The ingredients were all there and available but having someone else put it together and hand it over got the chicken eaten.  This is not unlike my dinner making preferences, but, again, that's not for this post.

It's like family history research work.  The key elements are all there just waiting for someone to put them together.  Sometimes you just can't put it together until it gets handed to you in a lovely package.  And now we get to the real point of today's post.  I have located 3 Coffarelli siblings in one house!!!

You may remember my struggles figuring out what happened to all of James Coffarelli's siblings.  I finally was able to find them all as adults and still had some work to do with matching them up from the time they were children in their parent's home through adulthood.  One sibling I was having lots of trouble with was Lena.  She was in the middle of the pack and married Anthony Fierro in 1919.  After that I kind of got stuck and wasn't able to find Anthony and Lena together as a family.  There were several Anthony Fierro's and that was causing some issues.  Lena died in 1930 so I didn't expect to find her in the 1930 census.  She was newly married in 1920 and could possibly have a child by then but I couldn't be sure I had the right Fierros.

As is the usual circumstance, I was seeking different information and fell onto the 1925 New York State Census for Tony and Lenora Fierro in Freeport.

Right hand page near the top

Children listed include John, Vincent and Louise.  Also in the same household are Elizabeth Coffarelli (Lena's sister) and Philip (Lena's brother)!  These are two souls who were a little bit lost to me and now I have 3 siblings together in one house in 1925.  Fait accompli.  It feels so good to find them --like they've been waiting for just that!

This is the child Louise in her Freeport High School yearbook in 1942

This is a contemporary picture of a woman named Louise Fierro born about the same time

 Do you think these are the same woman?  I'm not convinced (nose seems very different) but it's interesting she has the same name and was born about the same time as "our" Louise Fierro.  I think her married name was Wyant and they lived in Oklahoma City.  Ring any bells?

Regardless of this woman's relationship to your family, I am very pleased to be able to show you a full plate of Coffarelli siblings today!  Now go clean out your refrigerator.