Saturday, a lovely day. Today was Family day with a Capital “F”. This is the only time of year that the four of us, my brothers and sister and their families get together. Christmas Eve is the other time of year and that’s when Annemarie, Rex and Earl are back home in foggy Arcata. So this makes it all the more special. We’re good people, friendly, funny and gregarious.

It was great having Annemarie Rex and Earl around the past ten days. I regretted having to wrestle with some demons while they were here, but hopefully I was able to overcome them and concentrate on having fun fun fun. And fun is what we had. The two days at the beach were really a lot of fun, and if having a kid was in my future I’d be lucky to have a kid as good as my nephew, Earl.

I was never as levelheaded as Earl is when I was 15. I wasn’t drinking or doing drugs, but I was getting busy in some other ways. I’m quite sure that he’s not doing any bad or dangerous things. Bill had an audition type thing this morning so he was going to be back by the time Annemarie swung down to pick us up in Bokeyland. Bill was going to rent a Zip Car for the drive up to my brother Brian’s house, but she offered to give us a round trip and I took her up on it knowing that it would give me that much more time to spend with her and her family.

She picked us up and we drove north on Route 17 to Paramus Park where I was able to pick up gift cards for Brian’s kids, Hillary, Brian and Earl. Hillary just graduated from grammar school and she got a little extra for a gift. It was my brother Frank’s daughter, Corinne’s birthday yesterday. She’s becoming quite an amazing young woman and she’s very pretty too. I hope she realizes what a good person she is. I’m sure she does, since she has very supportive parents and a very supportive sister, Meghan.

It was also my brother Brian’s birthday in July and I purchased ‘I Just Wasn’t Made For These Times’ by Brian Wilson. That was a last minute choice since I didn’t have a chance to go to a record store in the city and I don’t like the store in Hoboken. I ordered it online and hopefully Brian will get it by next week. I only ordered it this morning.

There were hot dogs and hamburgers, salads and birthday cakes and beer. I had a few Stellas, spent a good portion of the night sitting on the front porch hanging out with whoever was out there all the while being told I was committing suicide by my niece Cassie. At age 12 she was hounding me about smoking. It’s no fun to reason with a pre-teen about matters of life and death, mentioning that I could die at any moment, I ride the Path train to work after all.

After that it was time to go home, Anne, Earl, Rex, Bill and I piled in the car after kisses and hugs and goodbyes. We don’t see each other as often as we should and we don’t drive each other crazy like we would. Bill and I do have a plan to make it out to California to visit them again. I wrote previously that I had gone out in 2001 to visit, not mentioning the trip in 2004 for four days to San Francisco to surprise Annemarie for her 50th birthday. Annemarie reminded me of that.

Tomorrow there is a plan to go to the beach with Julio and Stine. I’m looking forward to it, riding down the turnpike to the ocean. I will wave at the airport hoping that Annemarie, Rex and Earl get home safely.

and here’s some picky pics