As you all know by now the new year has come. I had nothing to do with it as I proved by sleeping through its birth. On New Years Day we had our traditional party with two other families of friends. I think we started this almost thirty years ago and now the number of attendees has increased substantially. We all (well, most of us) gathered and had a great time.
Roxana and the boys had to be at LaGuardia at 5:00 p.m. for their flight back to Florida. Had she known what was going to happen, she could have come to the party. They boarded their American Airlines flight and it took off on time, but after about one-half hour of flight the pilot announced that they were diverting to Kennedy Airport for an emergency landing because of engine problems. When they got on the ground they were directed to a nearby gate. After a while the were boarded on a second plane, but after being on there for about one-half hour they were told that they couldn't fly because the flight crew had exceeded its hours. They had to stand in line to get vouchers for a hotel where they stayed overnight.
They were told that the flight was at 8:00 a.m. the next morning, so they got up to get a 5:30 a.m. shuttle to the airport. It got to be 8:00 o'clock and no one was at the counter at the boarding gate. Finally someone showed up and Alex, yes Alex, went up and asked why their plane was delayed and when they were going to leave. The people were nice to him and they found out that the flight was at 10:00 a.m. and not 8:00.
When they boarded the plane, Anthony and Alex were invited into the cockpit and allowed to sit in the pilot's and copilot's seats. Roxana cautioned Alex not to touch anything fearing that he might decide that he had waited long enough and try to fly the plane.
Pete and his family had a nice hotel room and choice seats in Times Square for the ball drop on New Years Eve courtesy of NYPD. As they were escorted through the crowds, people cheered them and tried to give high fives. Pete said the people didn't have anything to do and probably thought they were celebrities. I guess they were in a way. Commissioner Kelly came over to talk to them and shook hands with Anthony and Alex. This was all the result of some courtesies Peter had extended to the Commissioner when he visited Haiti.
So, I started to dismantle my train layout today. I realize that this will take some time as I survey the mass of stuff that has been accumulated through the years. While I'm at it, I'm trying out some of the engines to make sure they still work and I'm trying to organize things because I know that the minute I put a cover on a box I will forget what's in it. I want to pack things carefully so that nothing gets damaged when we move. I'm not sure how I will transport these trains, but I can decide that once we have a place to move them to.
3 comments:
I caught up on your blog! Waiting for a meeting to start so roaming around my favorites. I heard many stories about the storm and lack of action by the towns/State, a real sign of recession. Friends in Brick, Toms River, Middletown, Freehold all with similar stories of little or NO plows to be seen for 2-3 days. No, I don't miss it.
Okay, rub it in you Floridian. Even my brother-in-law called from Rochester right after the storm to say what a nice day , and a snow free one, they were having. Daughter-in-law, Roxana, said it was too cold up here. She lives in Miami area. Our good friend has a condo in Naples area and is thinking of selling his house in NJ and moving there. I guess I don't know enough to get in out of the cold.
How is the house coming along?
Well I hope you find your home soon. The vertical blinds on all windows are down, thankfully I saved every pair of curtains I have ever bought so we were able to cover all windows with pretty curtains
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