December 5, 2009
-
Christmas Parade
Tonight was the annual Christmas Parade, and Beth and I took Liza. One of Liza's Grand-Godmothers (her husband, really) owns a furniture store where the parade begins, so that's where we were. There was food and drink in abundance, but, most importantly, there was warmth inside the store. There were quite a few people at the store, including a bunch of kids ranging in age from 4 to 13, but Liza held primacy of place with Aunt Judy and Uncle Larry (Liza's grand-godmother and her husband).
Liza had a fantastic time. It was cold enough for one woman to say to me, "We lived in Green Bay, Wisconsin, for seven years, and I can't believe how cold it gets in Florida in comparison to that." It was bone chilling tonight, and I'm sure the fact that we were mere feet away from a bay added to the chill. Liza and Beth sat out on the curb for a while. Liza came in to ask me to "hang out" with them outside, and I did for a little while. I got cold, though, and went back inside.
Beth and I reconnected with a couple we first met through Judy and Larry about 35 years ago. He has lung cancer from Agent Orange in Vietnam. He's never smoked. He's a clinical psychologist, and she's a nurse. I think she's retired now, but she was a psychiatric nurse for many years. Their son was there with his wife and three beautiful children. The oldest one is in the eighth grade, and that boy talked to me about his high school and the program of studies he's going into next year like an adult would. He was extremely impressive. I told him I was the AP English teacher for 15 years at his future high school, and I also told him to call me if he needs help on his essays. Talking to that kid let me know he won't need or accept my help on his essays. He's a very smart guy, but he wasn't haughty or arrogant in any way. He was just one of those great kids that our country continues to pump out.
In talking to that couple and their son and his wife, I mentioned that my daughter and son-in-law have Liza's Kitchen. "Oh, my God! I love that restaurant," they said, in more or less the same words.
"Well, that little girl over there is the real Liza," and they acted like she was some kind of celebrity. At that moment, Liza happened to be jumping on one of Uncle Larry's sofas. She actually slipped off that thing onto the floor as I was saying that. Some celebrity.
ED
Comments (1)
My best to your friend, that whole Agent Orange thing really pisses me off. That's kinda cool that they love the restaurant without even knowing that your daughter owns it.