came to my office in the morning and Ralph Lerner of the Architecture School
came in the afternoon. I suppose these were a proper prelude to the
celebration of Independence Day.
On Tuesday June 28, Special Agent John G Nemec of the FBI
came to my office in the morning and Ralph Lerner of the Architecture School
came in the afternoon. I suppose these were a proper prelude to the
celebration of Independence Day.
On Friday July 1, Jane, Ben and I drove to the Verizon Store
and approached the Verizon Store
only to decide that it was too crowded to handle before lunch so we went to Chevy's and started with chips and dip
as Ben posed
I took this self portrait
and Jane posed between trips for tortillas
and then the food came -- Ben's burrito
my combination plate
and Jane's quesadillas
all nicely brought by our waitress
who didn't comment when Ben brought half his massive lunch home
and I went to get this sign for my collection
so that we could return to Verizon where this woman (and her co-worker)
took care of everything and this woman activated Ben's new number
so that he'd be ready for the new school year.
Saturday July 2 started with breakfast with Edwin Jr.
and Edwin Sr.
as they ate cantaloupe
and berries
and Sarah
and Ed
and me (in this self portrait)
and Suzanne
discussed the different routes they might take as they brought their baggage
and loaded the car
as Ed and Sarah
were amused by the dent in the car
and they headed off to Martha's Vineyard.
Later that day, the other 4 of us walked in town and Suzanne and Jane powed
in front of the church
and then Ben
Suzanne
and Jane
did individual poses that could be edited together should the need arise.
We left Suzanne
to get her lunch and headed to the bagel/sushi place for ours
where Jane chose the OJ
and not the coffee
and Ben settled for Snapple
while I went next door to Zorba's and took this picture of my server
before joining Jane
and Ben
and opening my Greek salad
as Suzanne returned with her sandwich
and Suzanne took a bite
as we took pictures of the drinks -- Suzanne's water
and Jane's orange juice
and then Ben's ice cream
and Jane's frozen yogurt
from Thomas Sweets. We watched these people get their baby
and took many pictures of Suzanne
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Suzanne
and Jane
not the mention the people at the next table
before heading to The Piccadilly
where they had a massive collection of Vera Bradley bags
and the owner posed with Jane and the Vera Bradley bag she chose
while telling us a false history of Vera Bradley. Our next stop was CVS where Suzanne found a magazine
that had a picture of the kitchen she wanted
and Ben studied his magazine
until we ran into Nancy Malkiel getting drugs for her mother
and then Cindy George in the false teeth section
as Jane and Suzanne helped Ben choose a magazine
and we headed down Nassau Street noting that the March for Social Justice was coming soon
even as we went into the Athlete's Foot where Jerome Silbergeld
showed us the shoes
he could not replace as Suzanne and Jane
helped Ben
chose the shoes he should get.
My next stop was the men's room at Starbucks where I found this instructive collection sign
and saw a very nice soap dispenser
before we stopped in Palmer Square to see the Kramer's brick
and then went into Ralph Lauren where this woman explained why 50% off is not 50% off
even as I tried on a seersucker jacket that didn't fit.
As we moved down Nassau Street, first we saw Andrew Black and his father
then Albert Einstein
to whom I lifted Ben
before letting Ben read the caption
and then our friend reading the newspaper and Suzanne, Ben and Jane posed
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and then Jane, Ben and I posed
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That evening, Hank and Sue Farber
came by and we went to Hannah and Mason's for dinner. They were nice enough to bring the wine
and the appetizers
were quite impressive as were the main courses
and the dessert choices
which were my prelude to seeing their first dollar earned
and this collection sign
before I posed with Suzanne and the chef
then, the chef, the waiter, Suzanne and me
and after coffee
and dessert
the chef and the owner
posed for us.
Sunday July 3, 2005 was the day for the beach so Lucy
and Fred
arrived and joined Jane
in the search for the sun
as the clock showed we were 7 minutes ahead of wheels up time
so we stopped at Maidenhead Bagel and this server
took our order as Fred, Lucy and Jane
waited and this waiter
kept them amused until Fred, Lucy and Jane
got their bagels and we were on our way until we hit the traffic
and the people in the back of the car
didn't realize I was taking this self portrait
as we followed the sign to Point Pleasant Beach
and found our way to Bradshaw's Beach which we had visited in 2002
Suzanne got directions and quarters
and then the beach was there
as we came back from the parking meter and everyone
went past the facilities
to the beach where the life guards
were in charge as the girls sat
and Ben played
and Fred posed with this girl from flute camp
as we made a Poland Springs bucket
and the first of many air advertisements flew over Rachel's head
as Ben and I
enjoyed the scenery before we decided to walk along the boardwalk to look for lunch past this bench giving a philosophy
as we followed the woman with the hamsa ink
and saw the first greasy food
as Lucy, Jane and Fred marched along the boardwalk
past the greasiest spoon
until we settled on indoor eating and Jane studied the menu
as we got a medium cheese fries
and I had a Diet Snapple
and salad
as Jane brought back 2 hot dogs
one for Ben (which made him sick for 2 days)
and one for Jane
and Lucy had her burger
and Fred had her chicken fingers
as it took two tries to record the sausage and onions sub of the lady at the next table
even as I took this self portrait
and these pictures of Suzanne
Ben
Jane
Lucy
and Fred
before we went back to the boardwalk for games of chance. Ben shot
and made his second shot
and so Ben posed with his prize
as the carnival barkers watched
and then the whole gang tried the water gun races
with Suzanne having some trouble getting any action
as her tube was on empty
as the other tubes rose
and Fred won but the whole group posed with the barker
before we went to the photo booth and Lucy, Jane and Fred posed
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just like the professionals do.
After watching a few games involving cranes
we walked back down the boardwalk
and I went to feed the meter for the car
so that we could enjoy some more beach time
as the advertisements flew by
and Jane and Ben found their way to the ocean
even as a series of ads for a car dealer flew over
As we had done in years past
June 14, 2003
July 4, 2002
July 4, 2001 and
July 4, 2000 and
it was time to celebrate July 4 with the McKeon/Williams family.
Ben brought Ben Strauss
and we were greeted by Lucy and John
as Carolyn made a drink for Suzanne
and Michael appeared
as the chips
and implements of celebration (some once alive and some about to explode) were ready
even as our drinks
were poured
and this toy was given to the Bens
as Kaylen arrived (in her new vegetarian mode)
as did the Szabo parents
so that we went outside to admire the new yard with the tomato plants
and many potted plants
along with the decorations
as the Bens tried to decide what to do
and the hors d'oeuvres
were ready along with more decorations
and karmic writings
on the walls that inspired the horse shoe pitchers
as Lucy and Kaylen stared in the direction
of the drinks
as Robby George
and Cindy George
and Kevin Manley and Rosie
arrived and Carolyn oured a drink for
Karen Manley
as the teenagers gathered
and Cindy and Karen compared notes
even as Alessandro and Lucy
watched Kaylen shake up and down
as the adults talked
and Rosie
got ready for food from the grill
as Jane and Kaylen posed
as did Rosie and Kevin
and Andrew
as more smoke arose
from the cooking meat
and Kaylen
and Jane
enjoyed their meals. I made my way through the condiments
to assemble this plate
which looked differently in the dark
and to consider some wine
to help me reach the clean plate club
as Kevin and Rosie said farewell
and fruit
and cakes were served
to make this dessert
for me as it became time to release the balloons
and the Bens were ready
as some balloons were gathered
and launched
but could still be seen in the distance
as everyone watched
and Ben
and Suzanne
stood together
as Ben Strauss talked with Karen Manley about Littlebrook
and Sam Haim
and Wendy Young
arrived as we said good bye to Jane's gang
and to Jane
and headed home after another happy July 4th weekend.