Long Island, Day 1 - The End

My visit to Long Island started in the worst way possible with Anna picking me up at the train station and telling me her brother David passed away earlier that morning. It was devastating news. My sole purpose for visiting was to go there and lend my support to my dying cousin. That dream wasn't to be.

My relatives rented a hospital bed for David. They put it in Anna and Donna's room because it was larger than his. On the shelf behind, his medication.

Family photos on the wall and shelf of David's room.

I borrowed this book, David and Goliath, from my sister to read to David. I thought it might help him pass the time. I was also thinking, if we could get a hold of a wheelchair, I could take him for walks around the neighbourhood.

The back patio where I thought we might be able to spend some time together, hanging out and shooting the breeze.

Instead we spent the next day planning his memorial. David would be cremated and there would be a service for him on Saturday at nearby Brueggemann Funeral Home. My mother and sister arrived from Toronto Friday morning for the reunion none of us ever wanted to have.

Good-bye, my dearest David

David and his friend, Pam, at his parents' 55th wedding anniversary in 2013.

Earlier this spring I wrote that my cousin David had been diagnosed with Stage 4 Pancreatic Cancer. Well, this past Tuesday, July 10th he lost that battle.

Ever since I found out he had cancer I had been planning on visiting him in San Francisco. I have to admit, I put it off a few times at the beginning. It was always in the back of my mind, but I felt I had some time. The urgency wasn't there.

It became more so when he nixed my planned late July visit. I wanted to fly in for the week of Friday, July 20th to Sunday, July 22nd. He e-mailed me on Monday, July 2nd saying he had taken a turn for the worse and that his sisters, Donna and Zena, were flying to San Francisco to get his affairs in order and take him home to Long Island. Their aim was to get him home by Friday or Saturday.

At that point I knew I had to get to New York as soon as possible. I asked my sister and another friend, Daphne, if either or both would be available to drive down the weekend of the 7th-8th. Daphne said she couldn't get any more time off this year because she used all her vacation time up earlier visiting her dying father in Malaysia in the spring. My sister, Karleen, said it was her year end at work and that she wouldn't be able to go until the following weekend of the 14th.

I knew if it were serious enough for David to return home, I didn't have much time. So I got in touch with his sisters to arrange to come earlier. My main contact was his middle sister, Anna, since she was the only one on WhatsApp. We started chatting about me visiting on Saturday, July 7th.

Even though I wanted to come as early as possible, she told me I should wait a little to let David recuperate from his flight and to give his parents (my aunt and uncle) Betty and Chuck some time with him. Concerned, I waited one more day before saying, I'd like to come down, again. Anna said that she thought that her mom and my mom had already agreed that I should come. Miscommunication I guess. I booked a bus ticket for Monday at 11:59 p.m..

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My bus arrived in New York City an hour late, sometime around 12:30, Tuesday afternoon. The drop off point was 7th Avenue and West 27th Street, a few blocks south of Penn Station. That's where I had to go to get the train to Long Island (LIRR - Long Island Rail Road).

By the time I walked to Penn Station it was a bit before 1:00. The first available train to Huntington Station on Long Island, was the 1:14. It has a few transfers, so I opted for the 1:49 train which was direct. The ride would be about an hour long.

Now, I have to say, my cell phone was useless after I crossed the border. I was hoping to use the smart phone my friend, Peter, set up for me with WhatsApp using Wifi to contact Anna. Even though, Megabus claimed service on their buses, there was none. I didn't find any at Penn Station either. Though I thought that something was wrong with my phone and that it wasn't working, so I didn't really look.

Anna had given me her older sister, Zena's, phone number. My plan was to call her upon arrival at Huntington to get a lift to her parents' place where David was staying. I had $1.00 in quarters for the pay phone. As well, I figured I could ask a stranger to use their phone if needed.

As my train pulled into Hungtington I did ask the fellow beside me if I could use his phone. He kindly agreed. But Zena didn't pick up. I left her a message and went into the small train station to wait a bit.

While there I asked the ticket seller where the pay phones were. He directed me to the taxi station nearby. I walked over and called Zena again. Still no answer. This was about 15 minutes later at least. I checked my cell phone. The only other Long Island number I had was my aunt and uncle's. I put my last 50¢ in the phone and dialed.

Again there was no answer. Worried, I started to leave a message and then my aunt picked up. I was so relieved. I told her I was at Huntington Station and she said, she would come and get me. 20-30 minutes later Anna showed up.

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We made small talk a few minutes into the drive. I can't remember exactly about what. Perhaps my ride down or how everyone was doing, it doesn't really matter. It was then she placed her hand on mine and broke the news... Early that morning, surrounded by family, David passed away.

Chuck and Betty's 55th Anniversary Party

The main purpose for our trip down to Long Island was to attend my aunt and uncle's 55th wedding anniversary. They held it at the Sand Castle, an event centre on Long Island where their son-in-law, John, is the executive chef.

The party was a ritzy affair. It was held between noon and 5:00 on Sunday, October 20th. All the relatives met up a bit early in one of the reception rooms where they served hors d'oeuvres and booze. Any of the guests that arrived early hung out there too.

After that we moved to a large dining area on the second floor. There they served all manner of meat, pasta, seafood and other goodies at different stations around the room. In the middle of the room there was a replica sailing shipped stocked with sushi, shrimp, oysters and lobster. It was all you can eat. And, of course, you could have whatever you wanted to drink. There even was a bartender who descended from the ceiling in a mini bar who made "Chuck-tinis" and "Betty-tinis" in honour of the couple of the day.

But, that was just the warm up for the main sit-down meal which was served in another lovely decorated room back down on the main floor. Diners started with a fruit medley, followed by penne a la vodka and mesclun greens. They then had the choice between filet mignon, rack of lamb, grilled swordfish, sauteed veal chop, French breast of chicken or a vegetarian platter. That was followed by a Viennese café bar where they wheeled out, perhaps, ten trolleys full of a variety of desserts and ice cream to finish off the afternoon (...as if you could actually eat any more).

In between courses there was music played by a DJ and the MC gave dancing lessons. As well there was a photo booth where you could go have your picture taken. You could do three poses and the machine would print out two copies; one for you and one for a souvenir scrapbook.

Long Island, NY (Part III) - New York City

On Wednesday I finally made it out to New York City. I went with my cousin Anna who took the Long Island Rail Road in. It's quite a trek from their place.

We went to the Northport station which is around 10-15 minutes drive from her home (and my aunt and uncle's who live nearby). It's the ride into the city that's a killer. At one hour and thirteen minutes from station to station (Northport to Penn Station) it's quite a ride.

Luckily the ride was free for me. Anna's husband, Andy, works for the railway. So she gets a free monthly pass. Somehow they let her bring friends for free. So I didn't have to buy a ticket. That saved me anywhere from $9.75 (off-peak hours) to $13.50 (peak hours) each way.

We arrived at Penn Station in Manhattan just before 9:30 a.m. Anna took the subway to work and I headed to street level to explore. I still hadn't really decided exactly what I was going to see. But, since I was near Times Square I headed there first.

Now I've been to Times Square a few times already. The most recent, when I was last in New York City in 2008 for a few days. Before that it was in 2005. It's changed a bit though. They closed off some areas to cars and put seating for people to hang out in. That was nice.

Next I was off to Central Park. It was another place I said I wasn't going to go to, but did anyway. The only reason I went was because it was so close to Times Square. But, it was nice there too. The weather was great. It was generally sunny. So that made for some decent shots.

Afterwards I headed down 5th Avenue to check out all the stores that sell things I can't afford. I stopped at the Rockefeller Center for a few shots when I got a call from my cousin Anna. She suggested I take the subway down to the World Trade Center site if I wanted to get there on time. It was getting on in the day and I had to meet her at about 5:30 p.m. to take the train back.

Things have changed a bit since I last visited the Ground Zero site. Buildings are going up at a steady pace. But, there still seems like a lot to go. The 10th anniversary of the attack is coming soon. I believe they want to have some sort of a memorial ready by then.

Time was getting tight after I visited the WTC site. I had to pick up the pace if I wanted to meet my cousin on time. I walked quickly up Broadway Avenue making my way over to Washington Square Park. The last time I was there the "Arch" was being renovated and was fenced off. I thought it would be nice to get a shot of it unencumbered.

After that I hurried up 5th Avenue taking pics of the Empire State Building along the way. I also stopped for a few shots of the Flat Iron building as I passed it.

Now it was really getting late. I phone my cousin to switch up meeting places. Originally we were supposed to meet at her workplace. But, I was closer to Penn Station where we were going to take the train back home. So I suggested meeting here there.

After all that I ended up waiting for her anyway. She got stuck at work and came a little late. It wasn't too bad. I only waited about 1/2 an hour.

Back on Long Island we had dinner at Zena and John's place again. Yum.

That was pretty much it for my Long Island trip. Besides spending a bit more time shopping and hanging out with my nephews and my cousin's kids I did some yard work around my aunt and uncle's place. They have a huge yard. I mean huge.

Their son-in-laws take turns mowing the front yard, but it seems like no one ever does the back. So I did both the front and back one day. It took forever. As well I trimmed back some of the overgrowth in their backyard. After I finished my aunt said there was some poison ivy back there. Now I have a rash on my arms. Thanks for the heads up =P

Still, it was nice seeing everyone again. I'll be back. In thirteen years perhaps.

Long Island, NY (Part II) - The Beach

The next day the husbands (Pete and John) and I took all the kids (my nephews, Donna and Pete's boys, and Zena and John's daughter) to the beach while the girls went shopping.

Zena and John live in the upscale community of Huntington on the north shore of Long Island. There's a private beach for the residents there called Lloyd Neck Beach Club. Only vehicles with the community residential sticker are allowed to enter the parking lot there. So that's where we went.

There isn't actually much sand in the beach area. It's more like small rocks. It's fine for sunbathing. And if you wear sandals or surf shoes you'll be fine either walking around or swimming.

The real draw, at least for the kids, is a small inlet area where they can catch tiny crabs or fish with their nets. They can put them in their buckets to observe before letting them go again. Between that and swimming and eating lunch we killed the whole afternoon.

Since I didn't bring my swim trunks I walked around taking pictures as well as spending time sitting under in the beach umbrella Pete and John had brought along. It was quite relaxing. So much so that none of us even noticed the 5.8 magnitude earthquake that took place some 700 kilometres away in Virginia while we were there. We received a phone call from the girls who had felt it while they were out eating lunch at a restaurant in the afternoon.

In the evening we headed back to John and Zena's place where John prepared a wonderful meal for us. He made steak and shrimp with potatoes, roasted vegetables, corn on the cob and a delicious pasta dish. John's a chef so, needless to say, his meals are really good. Yum.

Long Island, NY (Part I) - Stupid Crickets

I recently returned from a trip to Long Island, New York where I visited my cousins and aunt and uncle. I drove down with my sister and nephews. We stayed there for a week.

It was my first time visiting their place in 13 years. The last time being in 1998 for my eldest cousin's wedding. I had gone to New York City a couple of times (in 2005 and 2008), but never made it out to Long Island.

The drive down was long. But, as tiresome as it was for my sister and I, it was much worse for my nephews. Especially the youngest, Aaron (8). His first of many "Are we there yet?" moments happened shortly after we crossed the border into Buffalo from Niagara Falls. We were barely 1/4 the way into our trip and it continued on a regular basis from there.

We didn't do too much on our first full day in Long Island. We had dim sum with our extended family (aunt, uncle, cousins and their spouses and kids). After that the girls went shopping with the kids and I went to Queens to shop in the Chinese stores for groceries with my aunt and uncle. They bought all sorts of things for dinner which they wanted to have at their house, but didn't happen. Instead my cousin Donna (the youngest of the three girls) vetoed their intended gathering and I had dinner at her house with my sister and nephews and Donna and her family.

After dinner I spent some "quality time" with the kids. I did a few jigsaw puzzles with my cousin's youngest son, Victor. He seemed to be really into them. After I helped him with one 100-piece jungle-themed puzzle he brought out two Sponge Bob Square Pants ones for me to help him with. After finishing those I had had enough and my cousin drove me back to her parents place where I set up camp.

No, there wasn't any room at the inn for me. My cousin Donna's house was full. Besides her and her husband, Pete, and their two children Guilio and Victor, my sister and both nephews were there. So I stayed in Donna and Anna's former room at my aunt and uncle's house. It's just over 5 minutes drive from their place.

Being located in the burbs I thought I'd get a great night sleep there. As I'm sure you know I have a condo in the middle of a fairly busy part of the city. You here noise from the streets into the wee hours of the morning. When I went to my aunt and uncle's home I thought it would be quiet and peaceful.

True, there wasn't any street noise... but, the crickets made such a racket. I think it way worse than the drunken yahoos that hang out at the bus stop at 2:00 in the morning after a night at the bars. At least they're gone by 3:00. The crickets don't stop their incessant chirping until much later.

The next day was rather uneventful. I helped clean my aunt and uncle's house. My aunt still works and my uncle has been slowed down by a bum knee. And, like me, they're pack rats. Needless to say, the place needed a good sweeping and vacuuming. I also took their many, many floor mats out and beat the with a broom stick on the driveway to get the dirt out.

In the afternoon my sister and I went to Walt Whitman Mall to do some shopping. I was interested in getting some running shoes. I found a moderately priced pair of New Balance shoes that I liked. But, my sister convinced me to shop around a bit before buying, so that's what I did.

After we finished we went back to Donna and Pete's house for dinner again. I think this time we had tacos.