Frontier flight 1094 leaving from Orlando International Airport 11:54am on September 5, 2019 set to arrive at McArthur Airport Islip 2:30pm . Uncomfortable . Right on schedule. Uneventful .
Forgettable.
Thrifty Car rental, a 2018 Nissan Altima waiting for Jo and I. Right on schedule . Uneventful
Forgettable .
What happened during the 12 days of our visit to New York impacted Jo and I in ways we never expected nor were totally prepared for.
In the space of this blog I will try to explain only my personal journey, reactions, observations and conclusions excluding Josephine’s .
I’ve been living in Apopka since 1995 which means I’ve been here only 7 years shy of the total 30 yrs of my existence in NY.
Apopka and all it’s environs namely Thompson Rd, 436, Sheeler Rd, Kitland Nelson Park, Park Ave, Main Street, Zachary Dr . etc....are all so familiar to me now. Radiating outward is Altamonte Spgs, Casselberry, Mt Dora, Longwood, Lake Mary...Radiating even more, Disney, Daytona, St.Augustine........
The people.... All of you dear friends, Mann’s, Hineman’s, Gross’s Grays, Jordan’s Libby’s , Jack,Noel.....................LEON.................... Hellen’s , Joseph’s, Hicks, Nazarrio’s , on and on...…
These places and folks are now very much a part of me, but there are other parts of me that I for got were there. I now realize that humans are like trees. Trees have rings that correspond to it’s yearly growth . A tree is a sum total of everything it has experienced.
To explain a tree , one has only to cut it in half and examine it. Yes, ironically one must kill a tree to fully explain it’s life.
All of those Florida locations previously mentioned are the outer rings of my life. My trip to NY was the chainsaw that cut me in two enabling me to examine the inner, formative rings of my life leading to a better understanding of Errold.
The places-
Jericho Turnpike, Route110, Beverly Road, Depot Rd, Dix Hills Rd, Lafayette St, Maplewood Rd, Pidgeon Hill Rd,...radiating outward, Commack, Dix Hills, Eas Northport, North Babylon, Amityville (Yes that Amityville) , Smithtown, Hauppague,...Radiating outward, Valley Stream, Brooklyn, Queens, etc..
The people. -
The Trasks, Millers, Springers, DeGrasses, Dee Reich, Marion Minarcyzk, Gallantuccis, Merullos, Nick, Todd, Steve, Marcuses.
Those are my inner rings.
The weather
It all began with the weather . It was a crisp 70 to 77 degrees, which sounds rather ordinary.
It was extraordinary. The air was different because the indigenous trees and foliage in Suffolk County NY is different than Florida. As I breathed it in, a flood of memories inundated my mind, it felt as if an old friend gave me a bear hug. At first I couldn’t understand what it meant, but it’s now so clear to me..I had forgotten what the change in season feels like....Not just the fall-like air, but it’s coinciding with the beginning of the school year which in Suffolk County begins in September and ends in June. .....I FELT I WAS A 14YR OLD WAS GOING BACK TO SCHOOL AGAIN!!!
The neighborhoods
Jo and I took a portion of one day to simply drive around our old stomping grounds. We drove up and down Old Country Road passing the Melville Congregation ( Now Korean ) ...Our Melville Kingdom Hall where I gave my first talk , a Bible reading Talk # 2...I remember now...Yes, Jerry Yarborough would always lift me in the air...Jeff Greaves was the Watchtower conductor and the superhero to the young brothers in the hall due to his dominance in all sports....I remember....I remember commenting as a child and receiving chuckles from the friends due to my apparent adorableness thus forming a very powerful tree ring to why I am the way I am......I wrongly interpreted the laughter as evidence of humor and from henceforth subconsciously inject comedy into meeting parts and comments....THERE YOU HAVE IT.
We drove to our first apartment after we married 30yrs ago....We both just stared at the home silently as we slowly drove by while we grabbed each other’s hand.....Jo made our first meal. Fried Hamburgers and fries. It was delicious.
Around the corner was the famous Deer Park Ave...I remember...I remember Deer Park Ave on Friday nights being cluttered with cars and people hanging out partying.
