The Lewis Show

Lawrence on leave while serving in the Navy I've always said I hope to be a tenth as cool and as smart as my Dad. I realize I may never achieve that goal. That goal may be too lofty and unrealistic and I'm sure he would prefer I set blaze my own path. It still does not stop me from trying or reminding myself that I need to try harder. I'm very fortunate to have him as my father. Happy Fathers Day to all. It's a noble responsibility and we surely need more responsible dad's in our world.

...are getting big. Someone slow down this train before I'm attending their High School graduation!

As I posted yesterday, Janine and I visited my parents. We had not been up there since our engagement, and it's always good to see them. We all had a good time and dad made barbecue ribs and homemade mashed potatoes. Can't get better than that. That afternoon it started to get dark and windy. We both remember our younger days on the eastern shore and figured we were in for a whale of a storm. It blew over pretty quick, but the rain was falling sideways, trees were leaning over, it wasn't a pretty picture. So Dad and I do what we normally do when this happens.. Turn into a couple of Lookie Lou's! Our neighbor lost a big tree. In fact he almost lost his new car if another tree didn't support the uprooted oak. The roads were covered in debris, and it looked like a small tornado hit, but there were no calls of one, and nobody had any damaged property that we could tell. So we headed back home thinking the worst had past. After unwinding for a couple hours we wen...

It's not the manliest thing to do, posting about a soap opera, but when I heard that The Guiding Light was going off the air, I was reminded of the one memory that I hold of my Grandmother. I remember a very warm August day at my Grandmother Bessie's house. My brother was just an infant and sleeping, I was probably 3 at the time. We were outdoors playing badminton. I remember her green, patterned outfit and her black penny loafers. I remember having no coordination with the badminton birdie and getting beaten badly by a woman, albeit a much older woman. I remember the trains as they roared by her house, she lived directly beside train tracks, which in the Hampton Roads area, is pretty common. I remember the above theme music even to this day and am taken back to that moment. I remember her stopping suddenly and herding me inside because she didn't want to miss her soaps. Once inside she turned to the bedroom and yelled out, as only a 4'11 elderly Irish lady would ...

  Keeper (kinetic energy in action)   The party spread. Janine did an awesome job decorating!   My dinner spread. Yum-O!   Newly maneuvered bed (exhaustion central)

It has been a time of remembrance this year for sure. Earlier in the year, my last grandparent passed, now I'm reflecting on the passing of my aunt Sally. I have more memories related to her than any other family member because she spent a lot of time with my brother and me. I can remember her spending a whole day with me in Virginia Beach taking me to see Jurassic Park and riding the carousel at Lynnhaven Mall. Her family was always very kind to me, her two daughters, my cousins Michelle and Valerie babysat for me a lot  while my Mom worked. They all just for some reason thought the world of me, and I'll never forget feeling like I belonged whenever I got to hang out with the Fitzgeralds. I can't say I'll miss my aunt's cooking. I don't think that it was bad, I just remember being a very picky boy and she was the type that would not let me get up until I ate everything. I'm still scarred from eating ham, and I can say she takes all the credit for that....

Please keep my aunt (seated middle) in your thoughts. She's taken ill and the news was not all that optimistic. Just thought I'd share. She was a big part of my upbringing and I owe her in many ways. Aunt Sally taught me to be a strong individualist, brave in every situation, and to have heart and compassion but tough love in all things with friends or family, or anyone. Despite that, I'm very thankful for many good memories. I may not ever forgive her though for making me eat Liver and Onions. Yuck! 

I should just make it a point to highlight my conversations with my Father whenever I have them. I always find out so many new and interesting things about him. Today he called and we discussed his service in the Navy specifically his service on The Intrepid. For those of you that do not know your war history, take a minute to read this history of this brave ship. The wikipedia page does a great job. I referenced this the nicknames to Dad and he got a big kick out of it. SNIP: Because of her prominent role in battle, she was nicknamed "the Fighting I", while her often ill-luck earned her the nicknames "the Evil I", "the Dry I", or "the USS Decrepid". During her service in World War Two, the Intrepid was hit several times by Kamikaze attacks, and a lot of men lost their lives, but she kept going and was very effective despite being perpetually mortally wounded, the crew went on to contribute big to the American war effort. SNIP : Her ...

My brother Dave and his wife Barbie were pleased to announce the birth of their twin sons, Ethan and Ian. I have no idea which child is which, and Dave is still trying to figure that out himself, I'm sure. Both Mom and babies are doing fine. Each baby was around 7 lbs and about 20 inches a piece. I of course am again a very proud uncle. Janine and I are looking forward to meeting them hopefully around Easter time.

Dad with Red at our last visit I just can never say enough how lucky I am to be Lawrence's son. I know the man so well, which is why I'm going to post about his day, before even calling him, and I know I'll hit his day head on. He got up around 8AM, he loves to sleep in on Sunday, it's his one day to do so. Normally he's up before 5AM. He'll let the dog out and turn the TV on. Sometimes he'll put his radio on so he can listen to gospel music..it is Sunday. Around 9:30, he'll hop in the shower and get dressed for church. Mom will have bacon and eggs ready for him when he's dressed. They'll say a prayer together where they pray for my brother and his wife and for Janine and I, and he'll eat and head off to church. Being as active as he is in the church, and well..just being Lawrence, he'll spend the first 30 minutes at church getting barraged by his friends. Then he'll gather them all together in the main sancutary and lead the Sunda...

I've said many times how fortunate I am to have such great, loving parents. I may not have grown up in the best environment, but they both did the best they could to take care of my brother and me. Over the past 5 years, I've been scared out of my wits because of my Mother's various illnesses, but over the past 8 months, she's been doing better than she has in a long, long time. Heck, she's even thinking about visiting Janine and me over the next couple weeks. This would have been unheard of around Christmas, 2005, because at that time, Dad was telling me to come over to say my farewells to her. She's now back to her old self again....or as I call her, the original smartass! Judy has been a rock, and my strongest supporter through all the bad and stupid decisions I've made in my life, my loudest but most constructive critic, and the one person I can talk to after a bad day and know that everything is going to be allright. A blog post certainly cannot express...