The Gathering

I am making more of a concerted effort this holiday to gather my sons together.   In the past, I leaned towards playing the holiday down, as I have so many times in the past.  But this year, I feel we all need to look at each other as just men, and try to relate this time, instead of just all the regular amenities associated with seeing and greeting a loved one whom you have not seen in a while.

Of course, I will be attempting to "reel" them in on my concept without them knowing.  I think the slightest glimpse that I might be trying to get us to communicate closer, would be met with...."Dad's getting corny now".

I have to say that when I write (in words that I can see), my gut begins to crunch as I am jolted to reality that I have 3 sons, not just 2.  And to contiually leave my third son out of any of my equations in my life, is always an uneasy guiltful feeling that shows up every now and then.

I Love Dog Sitting

My 21 year old son calls me, and asks if I can watch his dog for the evening, while he attends some hard rock concert.

I can't describe for you the elation I felt.  The dog is actually a 6 month old, girl Labrador puppy.  I am in love with this little doggie, and I immediately accepted his request.

There was a time in my life when I could not stand having a dog around me. The hair, the licking, the barking, the doing of #1's, and 2's, and all those other things that come with taking care of an animal.  But all that has changed now.

After watching many programs on TV about dogs, I have come  to the conclusion that no finer friend of a human could exist.  Their unconditional love for their owner has allowed me to overlook the downsides of being a dog owner.

I can't wait to hug and kiss and pet and walk and feed and play, and even clean up her shit.  And the best part is, when the evening comes around and we settle in, this black labrador puppy curls around below my feet, lowers her body, and closes her eyes until I am ready to rise.  And then, watching her stretch out her slick body as she awakens in the morning, just fills my heart with joy.

Damn.....I have been living alone too long.  Maybe I should get a girlfriend.

The Masses Will Run

I vividly remember walking away from the World Trade Center disaster.

Yes, I was there.

I was two blocks away and had just started my activities related to my job, at around 8:00 A.M.  I was a union carpenter who commuted from NJ every morning to work in either uptown or downtown, depending on the scheduled client.

That day, the company I worked for , Steelcase Architechural, had two accounts in Manhatten. My partner and I drove in together, parked my car at the Port Authority, and took a cab to our first chosen contract, with the cabbie using Broadway as our main route.

About 7:30 we passed Chase Bank (on Broadway).  We had a small contract job to complete there, and opted to end our pre-planned early "get away" with that job.  Chase Bank, by the way, is a stones throw from Tower 2, World Trade.  During the ride, my early morning gaze through the cab window focused (as it always did) on those two gothic square pyramids as we passed.

 

So we drove away from the Twin Towers and bypassed Chase Bank, which could easily have been our first choice of construction sites to visit.  As it turns out, the Chase Bank branch was affected by the destruction, and has since moved out.

2 Broadway, MTA (mass transit authority) downtown, 5 blocks from the World Trade Center, was our dropoff.  My day was moving along as typically as all of my other days, as I shuffled from the cab seat to the curb, retrieved my tools from the cab's trunk, and proceeded to lug my tools through the MTA's elaborate lobby.

As constuction personel, we were only allowed to use the freight elevators to transport our tools to the designated worksite floor.  And it was not until I stepped off the elevator on 28th floor of the MTA building, did I feel the elevator shake.  At that time, I thought it was just the elevator.  Now I realize it was the entire building.