Catching the perfect wave
You know you are going to hear about all my grandchildren so long as you keep reading Veni, Vidi, Scripto, and how proud I am of each, but it’s true, Angus is rather extraordinary! Tracie and Chris’ss on, and the youngest of my nine grandchildren, he’s following in their footsteps and is currently in ROTC at the University fo South Carolina…yep, he’s a Gamecock, like many other New Jerseyans…. But he’s also a surfer, and while it’s a sport I always felt was more for the long-haired, self-centered young adult, Angus has truly taught me you can be a Gamecock honor student and a Naval collegian, while at the same time relax and take care of yourself mentally and physically with the art and science of surfing. So when it came time for him to make a presentation for his philosophy class, I really wasn’t surprised when he chose to highlight all the benefits of surfing. It’s without his permission, but here is his presentation, and hopefully, others can learn as I have how great surfing is for any number of reasons.
Travel by Jason
I could brag every day about everyone of my nine grandchildren and the good news is it is because of different talents, different reasons, different personalities, different energies. But th
ey are all the same in their always wanting to improve, to do something different, to be somebody better. So in this column I want to brag about Jason McNamee. Jason’s my oldest grandchild, born when I was far too young to be a grandma. But his mom was a Marine and in Japan when she called to give us the news. The Corps being what it is, Michelle still had her obligations…the Marine Corps did not issue Jason!…so it was several months before we got to see him, hold him and spoil him. Through the years, Jason grew, learned, loved his siblings and cousins, and eventually went to work for an airlines, a job he still holds. But now, he’s added something else to his repertoire! Jason is now an agent for Disney trips, cruises, all-inclusive resorts and not sure what else. But it’s a lot. He got his training through both Disney and Universal Studios, so he can do everything from booking resorts and tickets, to making dinner reservations, spa appointments, even tee times and ground transportation. He said he’s doing this because of the travel he and Melissa and their kids have done, travel that showed them they really like the personal attention, knowledge, and tips and suggestions of professionals when they’re away from home. In this job, which is in addition to the airline work out of Philadelphia Airport, Jason said after he books trips, he monitors all the last minute deals offered for the area where he’s booked someone, then alerts them to more possibilities. The new opportunity has also changed Jason, I can tell! Never the most talkative or outgoing of all the grands….that in itself is something to admire and brag about sometimes!… Jason now talks about the best places for honeymooners to go for romance, or excitement, or relaxation; he ticks off the unusual places for college kids to go on break, or for families to visit. Whether they like Disney World or the Caribbean. https://www.facebook.com/TravelbyJasonwithJustaDreamAwayTravel My oldest grandson also said that after 20 years in the aviation field, he has learned how vital it is to pay attention to the smallest details. And that’s why he feels his Travel by Jason with Just a Dream Away Travel will be successful, not only for him, but for everyone who books or plans through him. Don’t take my word for it. Contact him at jasonmsmith733@gmail.com, If you do, tell him his Granny said he better make you feel important and special. Am I proud of Jason? Of course. He’s in his late 30s, successful in aviation, married to a wonderful wife with two very special children. And still he want to do more and make others happy. That’s the best way to look at life!
I’m proud of my friends too
Four years ago, I made my first trip to Cuba with a friend of mine, Catherine Curtin, her parents and another Red Bank Catholic High School student and her mom. We went back the following year as well. I knew then how sharp and vitally interested in helping o
thers Catherine is. Well, actually, I know she inherits it from her parents, Tricia and Dan, who volunteer untold hours, efforts and money to keep the Our Lady of Perpetual Help Food Pantry running as great as it does. But seeing Catherine and her friend in Cuba, seeing how they interacted with teens they never met before, and whose language they could only speak with high school expertise, I knew she had something special. Catherine had designed GUEST, Girls Universal Empowerment Sports Tour, a goodwill ambassadorship program that uses sports to make a difference in third-world countries. Since she played volleyball, Catherine used that sport as a way to empower young girls on the premise if you can reach someone through sports you can impact them in other ways too. She selected Cuba for the program since it is largely poor as well as being a close neighbor so the commitment could be ongoing. Currently, while the Gamecock Junior maintains the relationships in Cuba she made on the two trips, the program is on hold until after college graduation. I’ll write about that trip to Cuba in another future travel blog, but suffice it to say, Catherine showed her premise works, and warm friendships were formed and kept because of her GUEST ideas. So now that she’s a junior at the University of South Carolina, it didn’t come as any surprise to me that she was just selected an Ambassador of the College of Hospitality, Retail and Sport Management (HRSM) for her excellence in both her work and a personal interview for the position. HRSM ambassadors represent the College and assist with the planning and staffing of many college events including conferences, alumni, and recruiting. Recognized as star students, the ambassadors serve as brand champions for the college and share information to help other students and visitors learn more about all that HRSM has to offer. In announcing the college’s selection, Collin Crick, Director of Enrollment Management and Professional Development, wrote it was Curtin’s enthusiasm for her major, the College of HRSM, and the University of South Carolina itself that was recognized and appreciated. A graduate of Oak Hill Academy in Lincroft and Red Bank Catholic High School, Class of 2018, Catherine was on the National Honor Society, a Casey Ambassador at the high school and also co-captain of the varsity volleyball team. Curtin is also a member of Alpha Delta Pi sorority.
Pride
When you love your children and grandchildren, there are any number of things that make you proud and happy…..the first tooth or first step as a baby, the first tearful goodbys as they head off to kindergarten, the medal for cheerleading or Pop Warner, the scout medals and awards, the A+ in English on the report card. The proud military service, the college degrees, the singular achievements at various kinds of work. Then the grandchildren and everything they do. When you really really love them, you can take pride in other things that most people wouldn’t even talk about. That’s why Brandon fills my heart with pride. In a story too long and painful to repeat, Brandon was in 8th grade at Our Lady of Perpetual Help when powers that be, both in Highlands where they offered no help at all and in Wisconsin where the liberal courts always think the mother, regardless of her alcohol or drug habits, is the better parent, he ended up living in Wisconsin. Prayers and court actions couldn’t change anything, and Brandon spent uncountable months during his teen years in juvenile detention centers. He ‘graduated’ to real prison shortly after he turned 18, his drug habits and accompanying crimes associated with it now a very real part of his life. He spent the next ten years in and out of prison, always promising his dad and me who always wrote him that he’d do better, he’d be better, those days were behind him. Until he got out. And when he couldn’t find a job, had no support, had to stay in Wisconsin during parole, and sired a couple of kids, it was through drugs where he could make money. So he did. Until he was caught again. This time, it was a five year sentence which included, because he loved them wildly, the added pain and punishment of knowing he was not even close to being a role model for those young children. So now he’s back in prison and once again, Brandon says he’ll be better. Only this time, I believe him. This time, he’s taking positive steps. He’s listening to his dad. He’s talking with him on the phone and he’s writing him letters. The letters are heartbreaking in their honesty, scary in his descriptions of prison life, agonizing in the lonesomeness he feels and expresses. But, it has shown me he has inherited that gift of writing from his dad, the gift his dad inherited from me, the one I inherited from my father. There’s no doubt Brandon can write. So he does. He pours out his heart to his father in handwritten letters on pieces of paper he manages to secure in prison. And his father has started a blog to let other prisoners and their families know there is hope, there is help for a convict who has the support of his family. There is a chance at a better and successful life even if it’s only started when you’re thirty something. That’s what makes me proud. I’m proud my son still has faith in his son, still has a prideful recognition of Brandon’s writing talent, proud he is taking the extra steps to release his letters both to and from Brandon in the hopes of helping both Brandon and all who read the blog. Here are a father and son who love each other, love those adorable little babies of Brandon’s and have confidence that yes, indeed, this time it’s going to be better. If you want to see Brandon’s blog, visit https://a-parent-in-prison.blogspot.com/
Wanda R
Three things that make me happy is, my best friends who I can depend upon to see me through all the trials. My family who I owe everything to because they are the most important to me. My decision to live in Highlands NJ later in life. I recognized later in life that I needed to be by the ocean and river and hills. This is it! There is a synergy here, a vortex that can make impossible things happen for everyone, in music, the discovery of any kind of talent and the special sunlight that shines on all of us. It’s a very special place.
What makes me happy!
Wanda R. submitted her own “What makes me happy” and that certainly made me happy!
Three things that make me happy is, my best friends who I can depend upon to see me through all the trials.
My family who I owe everything to because they are the most important to me.
My decision to live in Highlands NJ later in life. I recognized later in life that I needed to be by the ocean and river and hills. This is it! There is a synergy here, a vortex that can make impossible things happen for everyone, in music, the discovery of any kind of talent and the special sunlight that shines on all of us. It’s a very special place.
HAIK KAVOOKJIAN: from his grandson’s point of view!
Growing up I did not have much contact with my grandfather as he moved from Highlands to Darien CT in 1947 when I was 5 years old. We would have family reunions three or four time a year but that was about it. Things changed when I joined the Navy and spent several years away from home with a lot of time on my hands, so I wrote a lot of letters to Papa (and everyone imaginable). We corresponded at least once a month and at 85 he was as sharp as any 50-year-old I knew. In addition, my mother, Kathleen (The “Old Lady” or O/L), was quite proud of him and always had stories about his accomplishments. An earlier story I wrote for Lakeside News documents his escape from the Turks in the 1880’s. When Papa first moved to Highlands there was no real post office, but only a mail room that was open 2 or 3 days a week and no mail delivery because the Post Office Dept did not think there was enough volume to justify it. To solve this dilemma, Papa would buy all the stamps for his business plus a bunch of his associates from the Highlands mail room, then take them to New York to make it look like there was more business here. He also put the arm on a bunch of his political friends so finally the Post Office Department decided to have a full-time post office and mail delivery. I have a letter dated 1926 from the US Senate signed by Overton Weller, telling Papa that they had acquired a building and the equipment would be moved in within the next 30 days. He always had a bunch of high powered political friends and knew how to use them. During World War Two he was one of FDR’s “Dollar a Year” men. His photo engraving company made the printing plates for all the propaganda magazines that we distributed to South America. After the war he received a letter signed by Harry Truman regretting the termination of his employment and hoping that the loss of the income would not create a hardship. He was instrumental in getting the new Highlands Sea Bright ”Million Dollar Bridge” built in the early 1930’s. He actually went to Washington when Herbert Hoover signed the bill appropriating the money to build the bridge and Hoover presented him with the pen he had used to sign the bill as a souvenir. When OLPH built the new church in the 1930’s he was a large donor and one of the three windows behind the altar is dedicated to Mary Agnes McWilliams, my grandmother. (a window on the right-hand aisle was donated by Michael S Mendes, my grandfather on the other side) He was a Founding Member of the Twin Lights Historical Association and helped found the Highlands First Aid Squad and later to construct the building at Fourth St and Valley St. (before that, the ambulance was just parked behind the Police Department.) When it was decided to build Henry Hudson Regional school on top of the hill behind the Twin Lights, the owner of the property would not even return the school board’s phone calls, so the O/L got hold of Papa. It seems that years ago he used to play pinochle with the old fellow. He had his chauffeur drive him to Highlands from his home in Darien and the two of them had lunch. The upshot of that lunch was that the school board bought the land for one dollar! Probably his most memorable achievement was the creation of Kavookjian Field. At the time there was no publicly owned, flat piece of land in town where kids could play baseball or football. Even the grammar school yard was sloped so if you missed catching a ball it would keep rolling on down Waterwitch Ave to the railroad tracks! In addition, there was no war memorial for WWII. (we had two memorials for WWI, one at the bridge and the other across from OLPH.) He purchased the land and had to fight the residents of Monmouth Hills who complained that it would cause too much noise and traffic and create a nuisance. Even the people of Highlands complained that it was in Middletown and they did not want to pay taxes to Middletown Township! He struggled through all the objections and the field is still there as a living War memorial. Papa died at age 101 in his office. He was a fund raiser for the Armenian Cathedral in New York and giving dictation to his secretary. He had a cigar in his hand and his arm slipped down to his lap. His secretary thought he had fallen asleep and removed the cigar then realized he was dead. He left each of his children $25,000, each of his grandchildren, great grandchildren, and great great grandchildren $5,000 and another $21 million to the Armenian Church! That was 1977 when $21,000,000 was real money! He was totally cognizant right up to the end and knew exactly what he was doing. What he gave us was in our genes, not a bank account! All I have to say is “Thank you, Papa.”
Lifeboat
Perhaps your life is like a boat
You do what must to keep it afloat
Some sail bravely on the mighty seas
Some can’t get out of port, their engines cough and wheeze
Some have sails big and bright
While others have only barnacles that cling so tight
If your life is a boat, then the world might be a river
Perhaps the river of time, with its forward direction, exchanging present for future with never an exception
The byproduct, the past with its nostalgic attraction, slipping and fading with each new reaction
So you move with the river wherever it rolls
Stopping only for love, coffee and tolls
Written by Michael F. Burke Sr.
Sometime, somewhere along the river
Winter in New Jersey
A winter’s storm in New Jersey brought lots of snow today.
It’s bitter cold, and the wind blows strong, as I try to make my way.
I venture out in battle gear of coat, hat, boot and glove.
The conquer this beast, is the task I take. It’s not one that I love.
I take to arms my shovel and make plan of attack.
Two feet deep, I estimate, with thoughts of pain in my back.
Hours of sweat and toil, take me to the street.
My hands are cold my arms are sore, I no longer feel my feet.
My thoughts begin to wonder, of days past and yet to come.
They put out on Barnegat Bay on my boat, in the swarm summer sun.
Not long will winter have its way, the groundhog told me so.
For six long weeks, I’ll be shut in with no place else to go.
Completing my task, I go inside, to coffee and my wife.
We talk of how we long to be back in the boating life,
We snuggle close and light a fire, then soon we’re making plans.
We’ll sail and swim and eat and drink, while working on our tans.
It’s then we’ll be with family and friends, looking back on winter just past.
We’ll party and drink, laughing loud and hard, in our Marina at last.