Live and Let Di

Avoidable Tragedy

This morning the ubiquitous hotel gift of the USA Today did not show up outside our room. So I stopped by the front desk and they gave me a copy of the local newspaper, the Charleston Post & Courier. You know I can't start my morning without a newspaper, any newspaper.

The headline on the front page was 3 Dead in Boating Nightmare. Several people who live on a small island which is only approachable by boat were returning home when their boat capsized 15 feet from shore. None of the passengers were wearing life vests and none knew how to swim! The tragedy is magnified by how preventable it was. An 11-month old baby survived because he was in a boat seat, but by the time help got to him his body temperature was in the 80s and his survival is still uncertain.

If you live on an island that has no bridge linking it to the mainland, shouldn't learning to swim be a priority? And failing that, shouldn't you scrupulously abide by boating laws requiring life vests? I admit that I have ridden many times in boats without wearing a life vest. But I am a good swimmer. Arguably, I should still wear one in case I am knocked unconscious in a boating accident. But I don't. So I'm being kind of hypocritical here. I admit it.

The final piece of the story that left me pondering people's choices and the solutions they posit was this:

Smalls, the injured infant's grandfather, said he hopes residents will reconsider the need for a bridge after this deadly accident.

Residents fought attempts to build a bridge from mainland in the 1990s, arguing that it would open Sandy Island to development. They said they preferred to go back and forth by boat.

Is the way to prevent this kind of tragedy a matter of taxpayers paying millions to build a bridge or for residents of the island to take responsibility for themselves and learn how to swim and adhere to boat safety rules?

Di

Where has she been?

Sorry that my blog has gone dark the last few days, but there is a good reason.

Some of you who have been reading my blog for a long time may remember Casey. Believe it or not, more than two years later, Casey's battle with Ulcerative Colitis continues, her ileostomy bag serving as a banner for her cause. On Sunday I got a rather pathetic text from my friend, Casey's Mom, Stacy saying that Casey was back in the hospital in New York City where earlier in the week they had hoped to reverse the colostomy only to find yet another complication to prevent the surgery from happening. Casey now had an obstruction which required that she endure an NG tube...something I understood from my extensive medical background...Grey's Anatomy, House, ER, etc. For two years, Stacy has slept in the hospital with Casey at three different hospitals every time she's been admitted...and there have been way too many admissions for a girl who just turned 13.

My amazing husband saw how much I wanted to be there for Stacy and knew how much my son Rory would want to be there for Casey and immediately booked us a flight. An hour and a half later, we were at the airport and on our way. So here is where we spent our time for two days. As you are looking at the pictures, try to visualize beautiful tufts of snow falling in them. It snowed almost the whole time we were there. Rory even made a snowball with his bare hands and carried it into the hospital, up the elevator 6 floors and delivered it to Casey!

Mostly we were here. Cornell Presbyterian, specifically the Greenberg Pavilion, where Casey was staying. This is where Rory made Casey laugh in spite of her NG tube, got her to do "laps" around the nurse's station and single-handedly cured her of her obstruction. But remember, part of the objective was to get Stacy out of there and get HER to smile and laugh.

Stacy's Mom (yes, we know about the song) needed an iPhone since she had lost her phone getting out of a cab, so a trip to Mecca the Apple flagship store, near Central Park, was essential. Just the process of watching Nana Judi buy and try to learn the iPhone brought smiles and laughter!

 

Then it was off to Nana Judi's Mecca, Bergdorf Goodman. I don't want to say I was out of my league here, but we were perusing handbags that cost as much as my first car and had security around them that would make President Obama look relatively unprotected!

Nana Judi wanted to treat us to a girls' lunch at Bergdorf's. Since they are known for the Gotham Salad, I had to have that. It was wonderful. Stacy and I had glasses of crisp Chardonnay while Nana Judi enjoyed a bloody Mary. It was definitely a New York moment that this small town girl had never imagined.

 

For us, the extra-special thing about a trip to NYC is that we get to see my niece Ashley who is living the life there. She is 25 and has been there since graduating from college. We went to Cilantro, a Southwestern restaurant, where I enjoyed a ten dollar Margarita that was so good that it was well worth it. Rory, Ashley and I talked and laughed over dinner before sending Ashley on her way back to the lower East side where she happily resides in a shoebox with three roommates. That's part of living the life in NYC when you are 25.

 

Just down the street from the hospital was what had become the "Cheers" of the Casey's hospital stay, Murphy's Law, an Irish pub where one could have a beer, get a good meal and watch a football game...and they have Stella on draft. Casey's grandparents took me here the first night. Tuesday, as we were preparing to leave and half-hoping that the huge (6 inch) snowfall in Raleigh would result in the cancellation of our flight, Stacy and I went there for lunch and I had the best burger I have ever had in my life. I was kicking myself for ordering the portabello sandwich two nights before!

It was spontaneous. It may have been ridiculous. But our two days in NYC with our best friends were just what the doctor would have ordered if he had known the healing power of Rory and Casey just hanging out together and the fun, laughter, friendship and strength that me and Stacy being together revitalizes! And this is what made it all worthwhile:

Di

Rockin' Around the Palm Tree

I hope everyone is as behind on reading as I am on writing!!! We left on Friday. I spent most of the drive from NC to Merritt Island, FL in a Nyquil haze, but by the next day, felt pretty good. It's hard to tell you how much fun we are having without providing visual evidence:

Football on Cocoa Beach...my husband, son and our friend Katie (5)

My husband trying to forcefully to get my daughter to frolic in the surf.

My husband looking like the cool island guy that he is. I guarantee this will be his Facebook picture within the week!

Me and my family (my errant hair necessitated the hat) as we set off with friends on their boat to participate in the Merritt Island Boat Parade. (Really, click on the link. This guy takes much better pictures than I do!)

Sunset on the Banana River...my daughter Haley took this one.

Best seats in the house....on the roof of the boat!

This is just one example of the elaborate boat decorating that was out there.

And another. But boy you could practically FEEL them fume when every light on their boat went off. All was restored eventually.

And lining all the canals (kind of like cul-de-sacs on the water) were people partying on their docks, throwing candy, clapping, wishing us Merry Christmas and shouting "Go Gators" or "Roll Tide" when they saw Danny in his Gator sweatshirt.

Special thanks to the Three Amigos for bringing us along for the ride!

Now we are in Boca...more to come. But we are having so much fun, there's no time to be on the computer!

Di

I'm Haley...Fly Me!

Do you remember the National Airlines ad campaign, "Fly Me?" If not, you are probably too young to even be interested in my blog and since National Airlines was acquired by Pan Am in 1981, you are probably too young to even remember National Airlines.

Anyway, the premise was that National painted women's names on the noses of their planes and ran ads that went something like this, "I'm [insert sexy woman's name]. Fly Me!" There was a whole sexism fall-out from the ad campaign, but that's not relevant to my story.

Well, my 15-year old daughter Haley is a seasoned traveler. Because of all of our moves, she has always had friends in different states and from the time she had to travel as an "unaccompanied minor" until now when we can pretty much drop her off at the curb, she has been quite blase about the whole flying alone thing. We ask her about how many bags she is taking, if she put her liquids in a ziploc bag, etc. and she rolls her eyes and says, "I've done this before!"

This past weekend her friend Casey in Florida invited her to go to Disney World with her and her family to celebrate her 13th birthday. Her family was quite happy to do this since, if Casey had opted to have a Bat Mitzvah, it probably would have cost 50 times as much. So my beloved Stacy booked Haley's flights and off she went.

On the way home Sunday night, she called me, a little teary-eyed, to tell me that her flight had landed in Atlanta, but it was 7:45 and her next flight was at 8:05 and she was afraid she wouldn't make it. I told her to call me and let me know what happens.

In the meantime, my friend Marcy assured me that if she got stuck overnight, her brother Marty and his friend Sue would go get her, take care of her and make sure she got on the flight the next morning. I felt good that we had a contingency plan.

Haley called back, a little more teary this time, and said that her flight had closed the doors and was taking off. I said, "OK, walk down the hall until you see the first gate agent. Keep the tears going if you can and tell him/her what has happened." I stayed on the phone just in case she needed me to talk to someone. I listened as she talked to the gate agent. Then she got back on the phone with me and said, "I've got it all taken care of."

Next thing you know, she is on a 9:00 p.m. flight and SITTING IN FIRST CLASS!!! And by the time we got to the Raleigh-Durham airport, she was casually waiting at the door with her bags in hand. And not a tear in her eye.

I'm Haley.

Fly me! First class, please!

At Haley's age, I had never even flown on a plane, let alone negotiated a huge airport and dealt with missing a flight. I am so proud of her. I'm kind of proud of me too, for having the contingency plan in place. And I'm proud of my friends for helping me come up with the plan. And special thanks to Marty and Sue who may or may not even know they were involved!

Di

Weekend Update

This pretty much captures my weekend. It was like being on the cover of an Anne Rivers Siddons book.

Emerald Isle, NC

So how was your weekend?

Di

Hurley - triumphant runner!

Hurley finished the Boilermaker in 1:37...a respectable time given the hills that plague the runners from mile 3-4. I was dutifully posted about a block before the finish line for about three hours before he passed. And here he is:

The lady next to him in the red shorts is Lauri, his new best friend. Hurley always makes new best friends when he runs or bikes. And they are always women! But he always introduces them to me and he's usually pretty sweaty and nasty, so I don't feel terribly threatened.

Di

Everybody's Famous in a Small Town

You can simply not imagine what a huge thing the annual Boilermaker 15K is in the small city of Utica, from which I hail (well, kind of, actually New Hartford, just outside Utica). It started 31 years ago and has blossomed into the most famous 15K in the U.S. It's pretty much the focus of the town for the first couple of weeks in July.

So, here we were. I was supposed to train for it, but I ended up hurting my hip a couple of months ago and was unable to run. But my husband was ready. We went to the Fitness Expo yesterday to pick up my husband's packet and we decided to do the 3 mile walk so I could at least participate in some way.

After the race, there was a huge par-tay...and I mean party!!! How about 11,000 runners plus their families and friends gathered in one place with beer, food and a great band...in area surrounding the F.X. Matt Brewery!!! When we got home, I read today's paper only to find this on the front page from yesterday's 3 mile walk:

See the two circles? The shorter one is me (wearing my Mom's very cute blue and white flowered hat that I just might have to steal when I leave) and the taller one is Hurley! We're famous!

Di

Baseball Boo-Boo (Part II)

I need your help here. My son disputes my contention that there is a grammar gaffe in the following:

Your input would be greatly appreciated as I hate to be contradicted by a 12 year old...especially if he is right!

Di

Baseball Boo-Boo (Part I)

Why is it that when I am absorbing blog fodder fast and furious, I simply don't have time to blog about all the stuff I see? Blogging has added a whole new dimension to my life, especially when traveling. The camera slung around my neck is less about capturing images of my children in front of iconic sights and more about photographing things with which to entertain (all two of) you! (Yes, I'm being a little martyrish about my readership...leave a comment every now and then so I know you are there!)

Yesterday my Dad, my husband, my son and I traveled about an hour from my childhood home to visit the National Baseball Hall of Fame. My son was so excited about going that he willingly bounded out of bed at 7:10 a.m. I think it may have been one of the high points of my Dad's life...if you've read my stuff about my Dad before, you know that I failed miserably by being born a girl to a Dad who totally should have had a son...but I redeemed myself by giving birth to a boy who is devoted to his grandfather and just as much of a sports nut!

You know that I couldn't possibly spend 5 hours viewing a collection of stories, statistics and statues without finding a grammar rant or two. Included in the collection was the original source of the lyrics for Take Me Out to the Ballgame...so, yes, I have gone back a century for this one...

You may have to zoom in on this. If you click on the image, it will come up as a separate page and you can zoom in from there. Two errors...do you see them?

Di

Mecca is where you find it

So far, my son and I have each found our Mecca on this vacation. Mine was on Fifth Avenue in New York City:

It is underground. It operates 24/7. It's HUGE! I would have LOVED to have been there at 8 a.m. today when the iPhone 3G was being launched.

My son's Mecca was in Cooperstown, NY:

I think my Dad was feeling pretty reverent too!

Di