Ok, it’s officially Monday, so here I am…
Friday being fairly uneventful, save for the impromptu pizza a beer-fest at Rob & Chrissy’s, we can start the weekend with Saturday.
Huh? Oh, Ok, since I mentioned it……
Rob & Chrissy being the neighbors across the street, and she being just THIS close to popping out their first spawn. I helped Rob move the baby’s dresser upstairs, then he said ever so innocently “want a beer?”. Next thing I know, it’s 11:39 PM, there’s remnants of pizza boxes (Chrissy: “Oh no, I’m pregnant, I am NOT waiting for delivery” as she walks out the door to pick up), empty microbrew bottles all over the counter and poor Chrissy trying to stay awake. Wife and I toddle across the street and collapse onto the bed.
Saturday was to be daughter/mommy shopping day, for the Kid and the Wife. The plan was to pick up my Father’s day gift, which by pre-arrangement between the child and I, was to be a 30 Gig I-Pod. The child & I have decided long ago that surprise gifts for birthdays and holidays are just too risky, so we always have discussion about what is to be given. It’s just so much simpler.
As everyone started to stir in the morning, Wife asked if I wanted to come along shopping. Well, they’re going to be off to my favorite place to spend time aimlessly people-watching, which is the Hoity-Toity Mall in the Suburb I’ll Never Afford to Live In, so yeah, I’ll come along. The poor guy in the Apple Store seemed confused after the purchase was made, when the Kid hands me the bag and hugs me with a “Happy Father’s Day, you have a card coming in a few weeks”, but all was well. As a bonus she got her Airport problem fixed at the Genius Bar while we were there. I’m going to hand it to Apple, their customer service just rocks.
Home again and we decide on a walk through the neighborhood. Something called Community Garage Sale was going on. This apparently translates to everyone in town selling their junk all on the same day. Four or five of the neighbors were participating, so a walk around was called for. The Wife found a small framed picture by that photographer that does all the cutesy baby pictures – this of a baby surrounded by sunflowers. This will adorn the walls in what is being called alternately the Cat Room, the Sunflower Room or the Spare Room. The Kid found some shoes with big heels. Her mom says she looks like a hooker in them, the neighbor man says she does not, and I only allowed that if you’re going to look like a hooker, at least make it a high class hooker. Child agrees. The last stop on the garage sale trail was the house of the nice cop and his really cute wife. He’s selling a boat, she had a rack of little filmy, silky short dresses on a rack. I like what she’s selling much more than what he is. Note to self: Always wear the dark ray-bans around Cute Cop’s Wife……
Our original plan for Saturday night was to walk in the Relay For Life with some friends in the next town. But, cousins are throwing a surprise 80th birthday party for Aunt Mary, so we decide that would be a better use of our Saturday night. Before starting on Aunt Mary, a brief (or not so brief) family history might be in order…….
I come from purely messican stock. My grandfathers knew each other back in the early 20’s (as in 1920’s) back in the old country. Their wives and first kids got to know each other while the grandpa’s each went into the US to get jobs, and await the families getting permits. Mom’s dad, Ramon, obviously lacking any geographical skills settled in Des Moines, IA. Dad’s dad came to Chicago. My Chicago Gramps is credited widely as being the man that brought mariachi music to Chicago. When he died in 1988, both papers ran half-page obits calling him “El Maestro”. Mom’s family meanwhile, grew up in an extended family of two sisters raising their 21 first cousins growing up like one extended family. Yeah, you have to see THOSE family reunions. Last one I went to was back in the early 90’s and there were over 200 there.
Dad’s family was 6 kids, two big sisters, and four brothers, grandpa working in the stockyards while grandma stayed home. When he wasn’t slaughtering stock for Swift & Co., Grandpa was being El Maestro, leading a mariachi band. Dad was the baby of the family. He was also the only one that at some point, was not a professional musician. Grandma told Grandpa, “this is my baby, you don’t get him…” Whatever, the music gene got to him anyway. Dad could pick out a tune by ear on a piano or pick up a tin whistle and pop out whatever melody he just heard.
One of Dad’s older brothers – one of the twins, Johnny and Concho (Who knows, we’re Mexicans, I think he was originally Concepcion, we’ve always called him Concho…), Johnny in fact went on to great success in California and became one of the more well known latin bandleaders in the Hollywood area until he retired just about 5 years ago. We’d talk to Johnny and he’d drop names of legends he’d played with – Cugat, Puente……
All of the brothers were incredible athletes. Ray was a 230 bowler, a scratch golfer, Dad was an all-city lineman at 170 lbs in high school and recruited by some colleges, but chose the Army in 1948. I once watched those two, both weighing over 250, at age 35-40, wearing those old roller skates that clipped onto your shoes, pirouette and jump like Olympic skaters on pothole filled asphalt streets. THAT is skill, no matter what you say. All four brothers played for the parish football team in the 40’s and made a minor name for themselves there as well. Somewhere in a box in my basement is an old Daily News story featuring the four of them, standing there in their football uniforms calling them “The Four Latin Horsemen”.
In the 50’s, my dad’s dad bought an old school bus (….and the circle goes round….), converted it into a motor home and began using it to travel and show his family the world. At some point, he made it to Des Moines (probably lost…) and his family met his old friend Ramon’s family. Thus, the future of MBG was sealed.
Mom and dad married in 1955 after dad got out of the Army. They initially settled in Anamosa, IA. No one has a good explanation for this. After starving and going broke, dad decided they could do better in the city he was raised in and dragged mom and by now, the **Bus Guy’**s older sister back to Chicago, where Yours Truly joined the herd in 1959.
Probably because all of us were so geographically close, I’ve always been closer to the Chicago side of my family than the Iowa side. Also, the Iowa side, they were, well……Iowans. In 1994, both of my grandmas died on the same day. That’s the day that made the break for me, as the Iowa side of my family revealed themselves as selfish vultures. It’s a long story, deserving of another post later this week, but the end result is that I’ve had NO contact with my uncles, aunts or cousins in Iowa since that day.
Now……to Aunt Mary. She’s the widow of my Uncle Ray, who was my dad’s older brother. Ray’s kids, Ray Jr., Susie and Joe have always been my closest cousins. We had plans for months to do the Relay for Life, but got the invite from Susie to Auntie’s 80th birthday party and quickly re-prioritized.
So, that’s what we did Saturday night, went to scare the bejeebus out of an 80 year old woman. It rocked. Though there were moments of tension when Auntie stood at the door and froze, not breathing as 75 people yelled SURPRISE at her. I started looking around for the defibrillator….
Mary is here with all her kids.
Ray is the eldest. He’s one of the reasons I married my wife. At an early appearance by her, she met all his kids and she remembered all their names. I’m still fuzzy on some of them, and yet she still keeps track of his grandkid’s names. That’s a valuable skill in my land, and worth keeping her around for. Many is the time, I’ve discreetly had Ray’s daughter-in-law’s names whispered in my ear by the Bus Wife.
Susie is the sister. Susie never isn’t smiling. Two kids, a husband with Hodgkin’s, full-time work and the big sister of the family and she just thrives. She organized the party, both her brothers told me “I just did what Suse said to do…”. Her daughter is the recipient of the athletic gene in the family. 4 years ago, she picked up a set of golf clubs for the first time ever as a 15 year old and shot a 40 on a 9-hole course. Swampy, she’s in your state now, on a full-ride soccer scholarship. Keep her safe for me, ok?
Joe, the youngest in the family is my age. You want republican? He’s the Uber Republican in the family. A friend of mine who is a county republican chair met Joe once and walked away telling me “that guy makes me feel like Hilary Clinton”. It’s ok., he’s my Cuz and I love him anyway. No one, and I mean NO ONE can put away liquor and be unaffected like Joe. For that, if nothing else, I idolize him.
My other favorite cousin, Diane (with Hubby Cliff) Diane was there. I was ring bearer at her wedding. Diane was my dad’s big sister’s oldest kid. She’s retired from her CFO job with a big contractor, she used to live right near our own rigs, but has since moved to Valpo, and is now a Hoosier. Her husband Cliff restores and collects old T-Birds and Corvettes.
Also there was Concho. He and Johnny, his twin are the last of the kids. Johnny is still in California, being a movie star, while Concho is merely blind, and now apparently – insane.
Concho has been hit badly by the family curse of diabetes, and has lost his sight. He stays in good spirits (Probably because of the insanity thing….), and in fact got off the unintentionally funniest line of the night when he said “You know, since I’ve gone totally blind, I haven’t seen you guys”. Uh, yes Uncle, we know what you mean………
Concho has four kids, the eldest of whom, Richard, is wildly successful in the Music Biz, in fact can be searched on IMDB and you’d see all the soundtracks and screenplays he’s worked on. Rick lives in upstate NY and wasn’t there, but his younger, but equally talented if less ambitious brother, Phil was. (LINK TO PIC). Phil has MS, and though he looks like Jeebus, is in fact a merely mortal guy that leads a pretty successful wedding band.
Nancy, their next youngest sister was there too. Guys, Nancy is nothing but gorgeous. I had a crush on her at 14, and I’m her first cousin. She’s my age, and passes easily for mid 30’s. Smart, gorgeous, independent, latin and single. Form a line boys, but be prepared to be rejected, as she’s also pretty discerning. Raising two great kids on her own, living life on her own terms and making no apologies to anyone.
The food, of course was a primo catered Messican feast: Chips, Guac, salsa, Pico De Gallo, barbacoa, simmered beef, frijoles, arroz, and tortillas. Um, and beer in tubs of ice.
And cake.
Sunday was a wind down kind of day, which means of course, physical labor followed by another party. I ran to pick up some tiger lilies a friend was tossing, then put a row of them along the neighbor’s fence around the mailbox. Yeah, the back hurts again, but tomorrow is massage day at the chiropractor’s, so 45 minutes at the hands of the capable Jennifer should fix this pain. This afternoon, we were at my pal Skip’s for sausage, brats, salads and, oh yeah more beer for a nice weekend-ending gathering.
Bus Kid has prepared a tray of Rice Krispy treats, some of which I plan to haul off for breakfast.
And that, there is the MMP, MBG Style……
I’ll probably read it at home, since I have a ton of work to get back to. Just wanted to check in,
I’m sorry I missed it, though. I thought about it all day on Saturday. :more pouting:
