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

It’s great to wake up on a summer morning, nothing to do today except got to the shore. Well there were other things to do, like get bagels and papers, buy some groceries, and do some laundry but besides that there was really nothing else. It was a productive morning, a bit of a touch of guilt walking past a long queue of people waiting for the bus on Willow Ave while I was headed to the grocery store. Got over it fast.

Haven’t been to the grocery store on gay Thursdays but Friday morning was relatively empty. In and out in about 5 minutes. Got Annemarie’s call asking what time would I be ready to go, and basically I was ready to go right then and there, right in the middle of the laundry. That’s how strong my dedication is for going to the beach. I aspire to total beach bumminess.

We invited to Stine to join us in going to the beach but she was feeling blue, having seen her sister, brother in law and a niece and nephew back to Denmark. She was missing them terribly and didn’t feel like having fun, at least not at that moment. It would’ve been great to have her join us. Julio was surprised she didn’t want to go, but understood how she was feeling.

Anne Rex and Earl arrived and we all piled into the car and headed south. It was a beautiful day, nary a cloud in the sky except for one that looked a little too Los Alamos like. And of course that was in the direction we were heading. We listened to an abridged version of Brian Wilson’s SMiLE cd. Wonderful stuff to ‘head’ down to the beach listening to. A lot more people heading down the shore this morning, but it was relatively smooth sailing.

We stopped off for some lunch to bring to the beach, sandwiches, sushi, beverages, and fruits. A non-alcoholic excursion as opposed to going with Julio, not that it’s an alcoholic bacchanal, it’s just that beer is involved. At the supermarket I got a phone call from Jeannie our waitress friend from last night. She was already at Sandy Hook. We made plans to meet up.

It was at least ten times as crowded today as it was yesterday. We took turns wandering the beach looking for Jeannie after we set up base camp. I found her and dragged her kicking and screaming from where she was. It made for a bit of a scene but after shaking some sense into her she came too. Then a Stockholm syndrome thing happened and she identified with her captors. We enjoyed her company and set her free afterwards so that she could go to work at Park and Orchard again. She like Bill has been trying to get some work in film and TV.

I was able to wander off and enjoy a jazz cigarette once the crowds started leaving soon after Jeannie left. Quite nice, also a good reason to have a cigar since one smell tends to overpower the other. We headed back and before we left I bought Earl a Sandy Hook, NJ baseball cap. I thought it looked cool, cool enough for California. Just like wearing a New York T shirt in New York is not too cool, but a California shirt can pass the litmus test. You can wear a shirt from anywhere just about anywhere, except in the location that is named on the shirt.

And now, some pics.

and some guy pitching a tent.