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Archive for August, 2003
Even car wrecks can be funny…
89 years ago
by Tom
in LiveJournal
My sister called with urgent news… my mother got into a car wreck today. She was driving her new (only about a year or so old) Dodge Caravan down Cove Road in Pt. Salerno (south of Stuart) when a seventy-something year old women tried to “jump into traffic” by flooring her accellerator and SLAMMING into the side of the van.
The van spun out of control and into on-coming traffic… but my mother in true NASCAR fashion steered into the spin and recovered out of it. Once she confirmed that she was NOT going to have a heart attack, she got out and took a look.
The van looks like this… only a greenish bluish color.
The entire side had been pulverized. The damage had pierced through the metal and had put holes in it along with shredding the front tire. The baby seat that sits in the seat directly next to the door was destroyed.
(The Fates were smiling today… as the baby, my four year old nephew, was not in the seat at the time. He was still in school.)
The woman driving the other car also escaped injury… but the front of her car was completely smashed in.
SO WHERE’S THE FUNNY PART??!!!
I’ll get there quickly… Cops show up. Cop gives ticket to 70+ year old woman. Cop knows my mom because my sister is also a local cop when not in the Army. Cops change tire for my mom to drive home. Cop who knows my mom offers to follow my mother home to make sure she gets there okay.
Mom and cop pull out into traffic.
Cop’s car gets hit by speeding drunk seventy-something year old man not even five feet away from where my mom got hit.
Cop and drunk are both okay.
Drunk goes to jail.
Mom goes home.
No injuries to anyone… so we can all laugh… and think about writing our Congressmen about stricter laws for old folks getting licenses.
CONGRATS MR. SNACKPANTS!
89 years ago
by Tom
in LiveJournal
Seems the ol’ boy hath finally secured employment.
This deserves a dancing robot.
(now all the more reason to party this weekend.)
Congrats, sir.
NJ/NY Trip Report (Part 1: The Family)
19 years ago
by Tom
in LiveJournal
As stated earlier, my grandfather (whom we all call “Tata”; the word “tata” means “father” in Polish) went into the hospital for heart issues and was told by specialists that they needed to operate again. He’s had a couple of surgeries, including a bypass about 25 years ago. Sick of doing so, he signed the appropriate paperwork and has opted to pass on surgery… and go home to live our the rest of his days.
When told this by my relatives, I expected to show up in New Jersey and see him dying in bed. This couldn’t have been farther from the truth as he was up and around being his usual stubborn self. It was great.
SO… the weekend was spent (and treated like) a mini family reunion of sorts with folks flying from all over the U.S. to see the old man. I even snagged a few pics of it… including this one which is now treasured by that side of the family:
In the middle are my grandparents, and they are surrounded by all five of their daughters (my mom and aunts.) This is the first time in almost a decade that all of them have been at the same place at the same time… and it only happened for an hour.
Clockwise from the left are my aunt Helen (the youngest,) my mother (the oldest,) my aunt Mary (the middle child,) my aunt Wanda (the second oldest… and the other Floridian,) and my aunt Donna (second to last… and the one with the most children.)
And yes… they all speak Polish.
We all got to see folks we hadn’t seen in ages… as shown here. My mother with some of my cousins:
[NOTE: Photo missing.]
From the left: my cousin Craig (who flew from Afganastan for all for all of this,) my mom, my cousin Matt (Craig’s brother,) and my cousin Jeff (the fledging computer person in the family.) My mother hadn’t seen Craig in over a decade, hence the look on her face.
And in closing… I’ll point out that the family lives in a town called Wallington, New Jersey. Wallington is one of those “ethnic” towns you hear about so much in the north… where everyone who lives there is same nationality. (Kind of like Miami, only not.) As my cousin Jim and I took my nephew out for a walk, I snapped some shots of the town. I took this one as a reminder that the entire town they live in is, in fact, Polish. Remember… I’m visiting in mid-August.
[NOTE: Another photo missing.]
NYC Fun Stuff and stuff (I’m tired.)
59 years ago
So where to begin?
My sister, my nephew, and I spent twelve hours in the city. New York City.
My GOD… the things that can happen in such a short time span in that area. To describe everything would leave me with one of those endless posts that you want to kill yourself for writing because you know NO ONE will read that much info.
I think that this pic of my nephew describes it all better than I could in words.
[NOTE: As you may have already guessed... the pics aren't here and the links don't work. Check http://www.flickr.com/tomcroom just in case.]
To he fair, here is a a GOOD PICTURE of him, and another one OF THE TWO OF US in Times Square.
Full report when I get to Florida. Promise. Really.
P.S. Thanks snackpants for hosting the pics for me… since I have to FTP-age access in NY.
Grandfather Update
39 years ago
by Tom
in LiveJournal
I’m in Jersey… grandfather is doing well… tomorrow my sister, nephew, and I are going into NYC to blow of some steam and take some photos.
How am I posting this? My cousin Jim got a new laptop, and needed help setting it up to run Star Wars Galaxies. (He was having network issues.)
Well… it’s fixed, and I’m going to bed now.
Time flies (my grandfather.)
179 years ago
And as old as I can feel from time to time, that means people around me are getting even older.
My grandfather is dying.
Twenty five years ago he had a triple by-pass and was given another ten years to live. He’s a stubborn old Polish man, so he milked the extra fifteen out of it. He’s been in and out of the hospital since then for “tune ups,” but this last time he just got sick of it. They told him they’d have to operate, and at the ripe age of 87 he said “no thanks.” He signed the appropriate paperwork, had one of his daughters (my aunt) pick him up, and he went home to die.
SO… I am flying to New York Friday morning. My sister is meeting me there, and my mom and nephew will already be there. The whole fam is converging on the Tri-State area to see the old man off. (I have a cousin in Afganastan… and he’s on a plane as I type this.)
As sad as this should be, it really isn’t. You have to know my grandfather to understand… he’s the sort of guy you never expect to die. He’s too gruff, tough, and stubborn to ever truly succumb to the passage of time. If’s he’s going to pass on, it’s by his choosing, not by nature or “fate.” He is a true man in control of his destiny. If he’s ready to die, then the rest of us are ready to accept his decision.
I learned really young that you just don’t argue with that man.
…so expect some silence from me until Tuesday of next week. I have family business to attend to which far exceeds the importance of cartoon clubs and Internet dramas.
Snackpants, thanks for having my back and carting my ass to and from the airport this weekend in advance. Much much appreciation.
Wasabigirl, I know it’s a long weekend, I know you really wanted to be there… but this is one I have to do on my own. Thanks for understanding, and I love you.
KarmaTheDog, take care of Shannon while I’m gone. She’ll need more hugs than usual.
Njoryo, you’re the president of the largest fan organization of it’s type in the southeast… don’t drop the ball. Please get with Ken and keep working on Halloween. You know the deadlines. We’ve talk about it. Have faith in your abilities; I do… as does the rest of the staff.
LadySreponia, I’ll see if I can find you a boyfriend in NYC. No promises. Also, try and drag Shannon to go see Pirates again this weekend… maybe you kids should field trip to Orlando?
Cobheran, bug Ryan about the Halloween party ’til I get back… and keep bugging him after I’m back, too. He needs the support of the staff… and you’re a VERY big part of that.
Everyone else… see you in a few days.
