What I am Doing - Page 2

July started with the fact that the Islip firehouse was opened up to the members. Naturally, in the afternoon I went down to have coffee and use the computer, after I did an errand. On Thursday I went to the semi-monthly meeting at my American Legion post and learned that since I am the Homeland Security Officer, I am a part of the Executive Committee.

On Friday after lunch I went to the new 7-11 at Sunrise Highway and Romain Avenue where I bought a lotto ticket and a stress figure of a Minion from Despicable Me. While there I broke in the 7-11 app on my cell phone for the price of the Minion but the lotto ticket cost cannot go towards the points. The computer camera that I had ordered online from Staples arrived on the 3rd and I successfully set it up on the screen. I also e/mailed my friend Charlie and we were able to have a virtual meeting. Our wives also joined us. But I will still have to practice more to get the hang of it.

We did not do anything special on the 4th of July other than a cook out and the usual walk. The big surprise came in the evening when the TV set blew out. It looks like after 11 years, we will have to replace it. I finished reading chapters 16 and 17 from Helen of Pasadena and started number 18. In 16 she she looks into Priam's Treasure and the Schliemann and Helen-Paris affairs and in 17 she is looking at downsized houses and then the memorial birthday Mass for Merritt. I did manage to finally get the video camera to work and Ellen & I had a Zoom meeting with my brother in law and sister in law on the evening of the 4th.

On the 5th I went over to the library to return the items that we had taken out earlier this year. The library is still closed for in house reading and other activities, but we can take things out online for now, with curbside pickup. Since there is no TV set, I also took down the London Underground jigsaw puzzle from the closet (I got it for Ellen for her birthday back in 1978). I did clear away a spot on the coffee table and started to put the puzzle together – by doing the edge pieces first, and then the Underground logo, and the title of the puzzle. Now I am working on the actual tube lines’ pieces.

I finished reading chapters 16 and 17 from Helen of Pasadena and went on the next two. In chapter 18 she learned that Annabeth Sturges and actress Olympia Sutton-Majors are lesbian lovers and in 19 Patrick got on the TV show and told about Ancient Troy, and also announced that he was leaving for Moscow and the Pushkin Museum in 5 days. By Wednesday the 8th I was still working on the London Underground puzzle on and off and finally got all of the tube lines’ parts put in. Now it’s the pieces with no writing. Ellen finally ordered our new TV set and I will pick it up tomorrow at the Bay Shore Best Buy. After Eileen and I went on our walk and when we got home, I headed to the firehouse for coffee and to use the computer. I read chapter 20 and Aiden got accepted into the Los Angeles County for the Performing Arts, and Helen went to the upscale hair salon for the last time and met several of the other people who will be at the Benefit later that evening.

I did pick up our new TV set at Best Buy on the 9th and when I got it home, Ellen and I managed to hook it up, despite Eileen's getting in the way. After lunch she and I went for a walk, and to kind of make it up to her for my yelling at her, we stopped at the usual 7-11 and she got a new Beanie Baby – and owl named Hoot, #81. I was originally going to get her a Sponge Bob zipper pull and I told her to put that back – one or the other. Sponge Bob is for another time. I was annoyed that she did not cover her nose with her mask while we were in the 7-11, since there were others there. At home I made headway with the London Underground jigsaw puzzle. All that remain are the pieces with no writing – only latitude and longitude lines. I also read chapter 21 and Helen was Patrick’s date at the Five School Benefit and Mitsy bid $250K for the grand item – two weeks with Patrick at Troy & Mycenae. It was at this benefit that that Patrick called her "Helen of Pasadena" for the first time - a play on Helen of Troy. I read all of chapter 22 and here it looks like Patrick scored twice with Helen, and then he left for Europe a day earlier to stop in London.

On Sunday Ellen and I ordered, online, a new monitor, keyboard, and mouse from Dell and it will cost us about $160.00. I finished chapter 23 and Helen has been selected as executive producer of The Dirty Archaeologist. By the end of #23 we learn why Mitsy bid $250K at the auction for the two weeks with Patrick – so Helen and Aiden could use them. And she tells Helen why she did not pay for Aiden’s schooling – so she could do it herself by taking charge of the situation by selling the house and moving to a smaller one, getting a job and eventually a new man. She eventually did all of these. In the final chapter, #24, she leaves for Greece and Troy and hooks up with Patrick, and she found the new man in her life. On Monday the 13th after I finished Helen of Pasadena, I had to find another book to read and went to the Square Books LLC website and selected The Bright Lands by John Pram. I had also seen some self-help books and had made a list of 5 and will start with Get Your Shit Together by Sarah Knight. I ordered both of these from the Islip Library on their website. In the afternoon Eileen and I did our usual walk before I went to the firehouse to create a current Rescue Squad treasurer’s report and then print soap star photos for Eileen.

I finally finished the London Underground jigsaw puzzle on the 14th. As I told my friends on social media, all it took was a good eye and a lot of perseverance. Our computer hardware was giving us trouble, as the monitor was showing shadows on the screen, and some of the letters were faded on the keyboard. On Monday the 13th we ordered a new monitor, keyboard and mouse from Dell. Over the next two days the items arrived on our porch and Ellen & I were able to successfully install the three items.

On Thursday the 16th the Islip Library received two items I ordered online: a movie titled Overcomer, and a Rolling Stones CD, Bridges to Babylon, which I picked up. When I got home, I watched Overcomer, and found it interesting. It is a Christian based film but also brought back memories of high school and how I wished I could have experienced the 4 years there if I could do it over. As for other books and media, while on the Internet I checked the St. John’s site and joined their book club. The book that they recommended to read is The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg. But I did read it already in early 2018 with the Pace University Book Club. The moderator did email me about the final chapter in this book in which a women blew all of her financial assets on gambling and wanted to sue the casinos. The chapter asked us if it was her own fault and are we ultimately responsible for our habits. The author says that we can change our habits and therefore are responsible for them.

Eileen and I are still doing our usual walks and on the 18th after a lunch from Taco Bell we went for a walk to 7-11 to get the lotto ticket for that evening’s drawing, Eileen got herself a Sponge Bob zipper pull (actually Beany Baby #82) and then we headed along the usual route. It looks like I will need a new cell phone because the screen on my android is cracked, and I keep running out of data before the month is over. The best bet is a new I-phone. On Sunday, the 19th I checked out the Verizon and Apple websites to see what model should get myself. I also emailed my brother-in-law to see which models he and my sister-in-law have. He responded that they have an iPhone 8 and an iPhone 7. Either one would probably be a good choice for me. We skipped lunch since we were saving our appetites for dinner, since we decided to order out again, as we have been doing on Sundays for the last several weeks. Our favorite Asian restaurant is Mango Tango but it still has no eat in or outdoor dining, only take out. I ordered dinner for the 3 of us online and then drove down to the restaurant to pick it up. In the afternoon Eileen and I did our usual walk but we also stopped at a garage (driveway) sale at a house 5 doors down from ours. Eileen got herself a Despicable Me minion figure and I got myself a Crosby Stills & Nash CD titled CSN. On Monday I went to the library and took out one of the books I ordered – Get Your Shit Together by Sarah Knight. I just started reading it on Monday evening and am in the first chapter (the chapters are quite long). So far Sarah compares people to the Three Chipmunks – Alvin, Simon and Theodore and what their faults are and how people who are guilty of them can do to fix their lives. To get our lives and shit together we have to strategize, focus and commit. To get our lives and shit together we have to strategize, focus and commit. She also talks about strategy, commitment and focusing. And that these are linked to the most important things that we need - keys, cell phone and wallet.

On Wednesday (the 22nd) morning I went to Stop & Shop and after lunch I went with Eileen for a walk along the usual route. I had to gas up the CR-V and went to the East Islip Shell where I filled up the tank and bought Kinder Joy egg filled with yogurt and a pearl diving Minion critter, that I put into the CR-V. I also went to the main house for coffee. In chapter 2 of Get Your Shit Together 2 Sarah tells us to manage time by avoiding procrastination and using prioritization. She says to list the things to do today and put the most important on the priority list. The next day I finished the chapter. Sarah talked about managing money and prioritizing your tasks. After lunch Eileen and I went for a walk along our usual route and nothing special happened. After we got home I drove to the West Islip Verizon store to get myself an Apple iPhone and ended up buying an Apple iPhone SE 2020. Now I am trying to learn how it works. I also participated in the St. John’s University book club on the Internet through e/mail. They were talking about The Power of Habit, which I read 2½ years ago with the Pace U club. I contributed by talking about the last chapter where a women ruined her life by gambling, and that she unsuccessfully tried to sue the casinos for preying on her addiction. I told them that we are responsible for our choices, Casinos, tobacco companies, and makers of alcohol can advertise all they want, but it is our choice to abuse their products.

On Friday I was up from habit and still trying to figure out how to work my iPhone. After breakfast I drove to East Islip Stop & Shop for the main shopping trip. On the way to the store my cousin phoned me to tell me that our uncle passed away. The 3 of us will have to go to the wake and funeral. After lunch I went back to the Verizon Store in West Islip and asked for help. Why was I not getting to my desktop? It turns out that I was pushing the home button at the bottom of the phone too hard. Once that was fixed I was able to adjust my settings. And thanks to videos it was not too hard. After that I came back to Islip and first stopped at the North House to print pictures for Eileen and then went to the main house for coffee and to use the computer. I was there for a while and then decided to come home and finish with the settings on the new iPhone. I started chapter 3 of Get Your Shit Together. It says that there are relationships and responsibilities, and we have to maintain these relationships. On Saturday the 25th Eileen and I went for our usual walk and when we got back I headed to the Islip Library to pick up the Eric Clapton Slowhand CD that I ordered. After the 4:30 Mass at St. Mary’s we had a cookout but ate in at home. On Sunday afternoon after lunch I went to the firehouse to print some photos of soap opera stars for Eileen and also a flow chart from Get Your Shit Together and the Rescue Squad’s treasurer’s report for me. After I dropped the papers off at home, I headed up to Kings Park for a walk and photo op. After I parked at the firehouse, I walked down Main Street to Pulaski Road and took shots of the union office with the ad for security guard jobs, a handwritten sign in another shop about sheepdogs (us) taking care of sheep (others) and voting bad political leaders out. Then I walked back to the car and drove up Old Dock Road (actually a continuation of Pulaski Road north of Route 25A to the Nissequogue River State Park - where the Nissequogue River empties into the Long Island Sound. This was also another photo op. After that I drove back to the village and then headed home. I read more of chapter 3 (Tough Shit) and got to page 183. Sarah talks about financial matters and trying to get ahead at work. And deaths come in threes. On Saturday I learned that TV personality Regis Philbin and British guitar great Peter Green passed away Then on Sunday I learned that Olivia de Haviland passed away at the age of 104. She was the last major cast member from Gone with the Wind. RIP to all three.

Besides getting used to my iPhone, on Tuesday the 28th we all went up to Avon, Connecticut for my uncle’s funeral. It took us about 3 hours to get to our hotel and then we headed to the funeral home. I got to give my condolences to my aunt and my cousin, and also got to talk with several of my relatives, as well as my aunt’s family members. After the wake, the 3 of us went to a restaurant called Max a Mia in another part of Avon. We ate outside under a tent and it was humid. I ordered a pizza and while it was good, it is not like what we get here on the Island. The next day we returned to the funeral parlor for the service, and then we went in a procession to the State Veterans Cemetery in Middletown for the burial. Then most of us went to a nice lunch at Abigail’s Grille in Weatogue (a part of Simsbury). Ellen, Eileen and I left at around 5:45 and got home at around 8:25. It was good to see family but I wish that it were under better circumstances.

On the 30th I finished Part 3 (titled Tough Shit) and this part talks about taking care of your health and happiness: have a sound mind and body, organize tasks, and make yourself happy. Later on in the evening I finished the book. Part 4 (Deep Shit) says fear of failure is a major reason that we don’t have our shit together. As is perfectionism.

I ended July by beginning to read The Bright Lands by John Fram. I only got through the first chapters, which are designated by people's names. Joel Whitley has fled Bentley TX because he is gay and Bentley is ultra-conservative. His younger brother is in high school and is the star quarterback for the Bentley High School Bison.

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I started August with visits to the Growers Market and Taco Bell and read more of The Bright Lands. Joel is back in Bentley and meets up with other people he knew before he left. After the Friday night football game his brother Dylan heads off with his girlfriend Bethany for a weekend trip. And on Saturday morning Joel and the family members are worried as to where Dylan is, since he did not come home. Joel checks out Dylan's room and finds a Movado watch and oxycondone. He also inquired from others about what they know about Dylan. August 1st was a Saturday. I went to the 4:30 Mass at St. Mary’s and on the way back I stopped by Town Hall to check out the cars on display: a modified 1937 Ford sedan, a 1932 Ford roadster hot rod, and a 1933 Ford pickup.

Not much else really until the 4th when I went to I went to the barbershop, Universal Cuts, on Islip Avenue in the mid-morning. Hopefully no more bad hair days for a while. When I got home I went to Stop & Shop for lunch provisions. On the way over and while I was inside, the rain and high winds from tropical storm Isaias hit Islip. I did not need an umbrella because with the winds, it would have been useless. I was able to visit the deli counter and a few other spots and and treated myself to another Kinder Joy egg – with a Minion photographer figurine. He will go into the console in the CR-V with the diver Minion. When I got back and had lunch and listened to the branches coming down and the winds howling. No big branches fell on our property but there are a lot of small ones scattered around. When I came home from shopping I read more of The Bright Lands and reached page 111. Dylan is found dead by a creek on the Evers property, and Deputy Clark and Investigator Mayfield go to the high school and question KT Staler and Jamal Reynolds. On Facebook I learned that Lori is closing down her Nook & Cranny Gift Store. I am very upset as are quite a few other residents of Islip.

The next day I cleaned out a good part of the debris in the front yard and raked what is on the patio onto the grass so the landscaper can pick it up with his mowing machine next week. During the late morning I got to watch the last part of an exhibition basketball game from France: Strasbourg Illkirch-Graffenstaden Basket against Holon. Holon won by about 6 points. I kind of wanted SIG Strasbourg to win since I would probably like the city. Since Lori is closing Nook & Cranny, I walked over to the store to see if there is anything that I could get for Eileen, Ellen or me. I did see some cloth balls with faces on them. When I was going to pay for it, Lori said that I could have it, since it was for Eileen. That is now Beanie Baby #83 – and we named him Snowball. I also read more of The Bright Lands and Clark and Mayfield drive to the coast and look at the house they were supposed to have stayed in. It was too decrepit for any habitation so they suspect that the boys were lying. On the 6th I read up to page 138. Clark and Mayfield interview Brittany about the prior weekend. However, since I had joined the St. John’s University Book Club, we all voted on another book, titled Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson. They wanted the members to acquire the book by August 6th (which I did) and have the introduction and the first three chapters read by August 20th. I did start to read it and in the introduction, titled Higher Ground Byron introduces himself and describes his going to Harvard law School, and then going to Georgia to help death row inmates who have no access to lawyers. I will put The Bright Lands on the back burner and return to it when I am finished with the book club's readings. I read more on Friday and Bryan talked about going to the Georgia prison and met the prisoner, Henry. He promised that he would get him a competent lawyer and have him released. The guard was not too happy with the fact that he stayed with Henry for 3 hours instead of one, and he was a bit rough on him when cuffing him again. Bryan describes his growing up on the Delmarva Peninsula (Milton DE) and how his parents worked in chicken plants and at Dover AFB and also talks about how much the country spends on incarcerating people. And the for profit prisons who have so much to gain by having people sent to prison. In chapter 1, title Mockingbird, he relates how Judge Robert E. Lee Key called him about a prisoner on death row in Alabama named Walter McMillian. Judge Key told Bryan that he was wasting his time trying to help Walter. Bryan then talks about his going to the prison to meet with him. And that Walter is from Monroe County, the same county that Harper Lee is from.

When I was checking my Google e/mail I checked out one from Google, talking about a website that I had first created in 2013 and never developed further. So I decided why not develop it now. It’s a mini-biography of South Shore Billy, told in the 3rd person. Here is the URL https://sites.google.com/site/southshorebilly/home.

On Saturday afternoon I helped Ellen with pulling weeds and discarding debris from the winds Tropical Storm Isaias brought us. Since I did not go to church on Saturday afternoon, after I finished the yardwork I drove to the Town Hall parking lot where I got to photograph a 1934 Ford pickup and two shots of a 1937 Plymouth. One of them showed the NRA (National Recovery Act) sticker and the gasoline priority sticker in the windows.

I read more of Just Mercy and in the Mockingbird Stories (chapter 1) he describes Walter McMillian’s life as a sharecropper, limited education, and then his relative success as a lumber businessman. But he cannot get too successful because the white Alabamans would be quite angry. Walter had a wife and children but is also a womanizer. On Saturday the 8th I finished the first chapter. Walter was having a relationship with a young white woman named Karen Kelly, who was having trouble with her marriage. There would be a custody battle for the children. The chapter also talked about some white women who were murdered but they could never find the killers. It was the worst evil for a black man to have a relationship with a white woman. Then an inept sheriff from the neighboring county is starting to investigate the murders.

On Sunday afternoon after Mass and breakfast Eileen and I went to Babylon and walked along Main Street to Carll Avenue, stopping in front of my favorite Babylon eatery - Fancy Lee Asian Fusion to take 2 photos (it is now back open for business) and then heading to Prospect Street where we admired the interesting architecture, and ended at our other Babylon favorite, Roe Roe’s Sweet Street. We walked back to Fire Island Avenue, and then back to Main Street to go to Roe Roe’s. Eileen raced to the counter and the gelato stand. We tasted some samples and then ordered small birthday cake flavored gelato for each of us. The masks presented a problem so we stood in a far corner away from everyone but Roseann asked if we could go outside since there is a bench there for us. I naturally obliged and we finished out there. Eileen had picked out Beanie Baby #84 – a dog in a pilot outfit named Skye. When we finished our gelato we went back inside and paid for everything. It came to $15.09 and I paid for it with my Chase debit card. We then said goodbye and walked back to the Municipal Lot along Deer Park Avenue and went home along the usual route. The next day, August 10th, is a special anniversary for Ellen and me. In was on this day in 1984 that we moved into our house in Islip. That means both Ellen and I have lived at this house (36 years) longer that all of the other places that we each lived in combined. Eileen was not born until 5½ years later in 1990, so this is the only home that she has ever known.

On Tuesday (the 11th) and Wednesday (the 12th) I read more of Just Mercy and Bryan went to Gadsden AL to investigate young black men incarcerated for traffic violations, and the fact that someone called the police on him when he arrived home to his apartment in Atlanta. He also met an elderly man at a church who told him to continue to fight for social justice. In chapter 3 (Trials and Tribulation) Walter McMillian is arrested on sodomy charges and then framed for murder on false charges. By the end of chapter 3 Walter is framed and taken to death row at the Holman Prison. At his trial in August 1988 an all-white jury convicts of murder despite illogical testimony. The next day I watched channel 599 (the Cars Network) which featured a car show with Italian cars exclusively. After the show I wanted to check some Italian car manufacturers. I would love to own one, but they are either too expensive (Ferrari, Maserati, ALFA Romeo, or Lancia) or too small (Fiat). I went to the firehouse and watched the Islanders – Capitals game on TV and stayed for the first period. Then I headed home and listened to part of it on 1050 WEPN -AM radio in the car and watched the rest of the game at home. The Islanders came from behind in the 3rd period to win 4-2. I also watched part of the Mets – Nationals game and the Mets won 11-6.

On Thursday while Ellen was at Mary’s Manor in Inwood. Eileen and I could not join her so we headed to Oconee Diner where we ate inside in a booth instead of outside under a canopy, to get away from the humidity. We split a shrimp salad wrap and we each had a cup of matzo ball soup and a glass of iced tea. I paid for it ($29.87) with a debit card. Then we drove over to Nook & Cranny to participate in Lori’s liquidation sale. Eileen ended up with a Beanie Baby – Rocco the Raccoon - #85 in her collection. I got us a coffee cup saying, “home sweet home”. After I paid for the items we headed to Lindenhurst to check out the small railroad museum on Broadway in a small park called Irmisch Historical Park. When we stopped for a light in front of Babylon Town Hall someone in a Chevy SUV rear ended us. Luckily, I only hit the headrest, Eileen is OK, and we got a scratch on the rear bumper. I still took insurance info just in case. Then we headed to Irmisch Historical Park for a photo op of the caboose, stations house, freight house, and a third building outside the fence. It looks like graffiti “artists” had gotten to the caboose.

On Saturday the 15th Eileen and I went for a walk to the Wing School. There was another garage sale at and the house we stopped earlier this month and we stopped there again. Eileen got herself a Christmas figure of one of the 101 Dalmatians pups and I got a pack of baseball cards – 1989 Topps. After the 4:30 Mass I stopped at the Town Hall Parking lot to take a photo of a 1939 Ford 2 door sedan.

I started chapter 4 of Just Mercy and Bryan set up an office in Montgomery to try and help death row inmates. But the state is not eager to help him. And Alabama is now the only state to allow a judge to overrule a jury’s verdict. I later finished chapter 4. Bryan tried unsuccessfully to stop the executions of three death row inmates: Horace Dunkins, Michael Lindsey, and Herbert Richardson. Bryan tried to get a stay of execution for Herbert, but no lick. At Herbert’s execution in August 1989, the hymn, “The Old Rugged Cross” was played – hence the chapter’s title.

On Tuesday I headed out to Farmingville to try for a photo op at Bald Hill – the Vietnam Veterans Memorial on County Road 83After getting off at the wrong exit on CR 83 I finally made it to the memorial site and managed to take 8 photos of the obelisk and the park grounds. Then I headed home but first stopped at the 7-11 on Mount Sinai Road & Horseblock Road for a cup of coffee.

Since my neck and sinuses were still killing me on Wednesday, I went to Northwell Urgent Care at 2 PM. The physician’s assistant agreed that it may be stress, clogged ears & nose and probably inhaling some slightly toxic gas somewhere. Some medications were prescribed for me and I picked them up at the Islip Pharmacy. On Thursday, the 21st I was up a bit early since I had to be at the Census Bureau office over in Bay Shore by 11 am. Once there I got sworn in and given some materials that I will need as an enumerator, including an iPhone and got orientated by a man who is a member of the Manorville FD and also a Vietnam Era veteran like me. After watching some of the Yankees – Rays game at the firehouse I drove to Modell’s to check out some bargains and treated myself to a New York Islanders shirt for $4.17. And in the evening, the Islanders beat the Capitals 4-0 to advance to the next round.

On Wednesday I started to read chapter 5 (On the Coming of John) of Just Mercy and while Walter McMillian is on death row, Bryan visits his family at their home and tries to confirm that Walter was nowhere near the cleaners. The next day, before I went to the Census Bureau, I finished chapter 5. Bryan got Darnell Houston released after being falsely jailed for perjury. He also spoke with the new district attorney Tom Chapman in hopes of getting Walter a new trial. He also filed an appeal to get Walter a new trial and then started to work on the brief that he had to present.

On the 20th I later headed to the library to pick up two CD’s- the Yardbirds and the Animals. As I was going back to the car I saw a lady put some mail into the mailbox by the library and I joked about trump and dejoy and their efforts to sabotage the USPS and the election. It turns out that she and her husband are also against trump. And we couldn't believe how stupid the people in the USA are, and how they were conned. It turns out that I know the lady from Facebook. On Thursday I finished chapter 5 of Just Mercy. Bryan got Darnell Houston released after being falsely jailed for perjury. He also spoke with the new district attorney Tom Chapman in hopes of getting Walter a new trial. He also filed an appeal to get Walter a new trial and then started to work on the brief that he had to present.

On Saturday afternoon (August 22nd) I went to my fire company meeting at the captain’s house in Islip Terrace. Before the meeting I read chapter 6 of Just Mercy, titled Surely Doomed. Here Bryan goes back to Alabama after a grandmother calls him to say that her 14 year old grandson Charlie is in jail for murder. He had shot killed his mom’s boyfriend George who abused his mom and also mistreated him. George was a police officer and that did not sit well with the judge. Charlie was tried and convicted as an adult and sent to an adult jail where he was raped and beaten. He would not open up to Bryan due to PTSD. Later a white couple, Mr. & Mrs. Jennings from the Birmingham area. They took to Charlie and helped him and became his family. Mrs. Jennings said that we are “surely doomed” if we don’t help others.

On the 23rd I went to the 9:30 Mass at St Mary’s and in the afternoon Eileen and I went for a walk from my American Legion post to Nook & Cranny and said hello to the owner. Eileen hinted that she wanted to visit Sugared Up across the street so that is where we headed. Eileen got Beanie Baby #86, a lion zipper pull named Regal, and we split a small bag of gummi candy. We then walked back to the Post and headed home. For dinner Ellen and I contacted Babylon Burger and ordered three lobster roll/BLT wraps for take-out.

On Monday (23rd) and Tuesday (24th) Eileen and I went for a walk along our usual route. On Monday evening I headed to the Chapey Funeral Home for the wake of a past post commander. The Post conducted a service for him, and I joined other Legionnaires in marching in and out of the chapel to salute his casket. Around 12:45 am on the 25th I did an hour more of training for the Census Bureau. In chapter 7 (Justice Denied) Bryan gets an assistant named Michael O’Connor and they go visit Karen Kelly & Ralph Myers in their prisons, and Vicki Pittman’s twin aunts. Myers said that he was forced to falsely testify against Walter by Sheriff Tate. They also talk with Tate and DA Chapman about getting the files from Walter’s case as well as the Pittman murder case.

I finished two more modules in the census training on the 26th and have one more to go. After lunch Eileen and I went for a walk along our usual route and when we came back I was able to get her to come with me to the Sisters of St. Joseph Maria Regina Convent in Brentwood. We walked around the grounds and took several photos. I also talked for a couple of minutes with one of the Sisters who had some pet cats. I also read chapter 8 of Just Mercy and Bryan talked about three recent teens who were sentenced to life without parole (Trina Garnett, Ian Manuel, and Antonio Nuñez) at the time of their offenses, and also talked about the 1945 execution of 14 year old George Stinney Jr. in South Carolina. The next day Eileen and I decided to go to lunch at the Infinity Diner on Route 109. When we got inside the hostess brought us to a booth, and with my cell phone I took 5 photos. We each had iced tea, a cup of soup and shared a gyro platter. Once we came home we went for a walk along our usual route.

On August 28th I picked up another Kinder Joy egg, and this one also had the Minion scuba diver. This is a duplicate I gave it to Eileen. After lunch I headed to the Verizon store in West Islip to see what I was doing wrong since I could not download the Group-Me and Google apps. It turns out that I was using the wrong method, but the technician showed me how to get started and now I have those 2 apps on my iPhone. On the way back from West Islip the odometer on the CR-V hit 40,000 miles – on the Robert Moses Causeway between Montauk Highway and the LIRR overpass. My Yahoo e/mail had a notice from author Gretchen Rubin where she recommended a New York 1940 website https://1940s.nyc/map#13.69/40.7093/-73.99397. It shows all of the buildings in the 5 boroughs in 1940 based on the tax lot. Judging from what I saw, I think that 1940 NYC was a lot better place to live in than what we have now. On 08/29 I learned that cancer took two prominent and talented people from us. The first was actor Chadwick Bozeman passed away from colon cancer at 43 years old. I saw him in 42 and Black Panther and he was excellent. RIP, Chadwick. Then I saw that a writer from Greenville MS – Julia Reed – also passed away from cancer at the age of 59. She was a prominent writer for Garden and Gun magazine and wrote several books. RIP, Julia. In the morning I drove over to the Babylon American Legion post to get a grab & go breakfast, courtesy of State Senator Phil Boyle. It was a nice sized blueberry muffin, OJ, granola bar, and banana. I took it to the firehouse and ate everything except the banana, which I gave to Ellen. After breakfast I went to the Grower’s Market for the usual stuff. In the evening I had a capstone telephone with the Census Bureau to discuss training. I will start the enumerator position this Thursday (September 3rd). It will be hard to get back to working after enjoying retirement for 8 months.

I ended August by calling the Northwell Health practice at 260 Main Street and made an appointment for a visit there on September 8th at 2 pm. This doctor will be my new internist since both my original internist and I were based in Manhattan before we both retired. I went over to Nook & Cranny and said hello to the current owner Lori as well as the former owner, Arlene, who was surprised to see how Eileen has grown since she last saw Eileen as a toddler. Sadly, #3 of the famous deaths came today with retired Georgetown Basketball coach John Thompson Jr. RIP Coach.

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At the beginning of September I read chapter 10 of Just Mercy (titled Mitigations) in which Bryan talks about the number of mentally ill people who are incarcerated and how that is causing problems for the prisoners as well as the prison staff. He described two mentally ill prisoners – George Daniel and Avery Jenkins who were sentenced to death but he worked to have them taken off death row and placed in mental institutions.

Over the Labor Day weekend Eileen and I walked over to the Rusy Bohm Post for the annual picnic in the early afternoon and Ellen drove over and met us there. It was good to see the people from both the Post and the Auxiliary. Eileen and I enjoyed some typical picnic goodies. Unfortunately, Ellen does not like dark meat chicken so we brought that home with us to have for lunch later. One of the past commanders had been cleaning out his house and asked me if I would like some Mets memorabilia. I naturally said yes and came home with some yearbooks, and programs, as well as pictures.

I started to read chapter 11 of Just Mercy titled I’ll Fly Away. The judge from Baldwin County (John Norton) said that Ralph Myers did not perjure himself in the Walter McMillian trial and would not accept any more evidence. Bryan and his staff have received death threats for their work in defending Black people. The media still insists that Walter is guilty and a dangerous man, even publishing false stories about him. The chapter also says that the state of Alabama had used libel as a means to stop civil rights people and also the media, goes back to Governor Patterson, until the Sullivan vs. the New York Times Supreme Court case of the 1960’s.

On the 8th after coffee at the firehouse I headed over to the Rusy Bohm Post to help with the cleanup detail from the Sunday picnic. I sanitized 72 chairs that were outside for the picnic, and before I left to go home, I walked across Nassau Avenue over to the fire marshal’s office to drop off an envelope that had a check and letter. While there I said hello to a former Islip Fire Department member who had moved to East Islip. After lunch I went to the internist at 260 Main Street. The medical assistant took my blood pressure and ran an EKG which turned out well. After the doctor's visit I also went to the post office, the ATM at Chase Bank, and lastly Sugared Up and got a smiley face zipper pull that I put onto my EBG knapsack. The next day I stopped at the Northwell Health blood labs in Bay Shore to have blood drawn for tests against several possible illnesses. The results eventually turned out OK.

I also finished chapter 11 of Just Mercy. Bryan speaks with two members of the Alabama Bureau of Investigation who said that Walter could not have done the crime he was sentenced for. The Court of Criminal Appeals dismissed the conviction. And a new judge (Norton had retired) convened the court for a hearing and had Walter released from prison. Since the air was still tense in Monroeville – white people don’t like to admit that they are wrong with respect to blacks – Walter went to a hotel in Montgomery to stay for a while.

On Labor Day there was a trump boat rally in Lake Travis in Austin TX. The big boats did not follow safety and protocol and created huge wakes that swamped the smaller ones. Luckily, there were no fatalities but the trump people do look bad here. Trump is still disparaging veterans and military people. I cannot understand how people still believe in him. Maybe they don’t want to believe that they were conned. On Group Me I saw a poster that another Islip Fire Department member put up there about the people that Hillary, Joe Biden and President Obama have no good words for (racists, deplorables), trump calls them Americans. So a real American hates immigrants and nonwhites, gays, education, Muslims and other non-Christian religions, hates public transportation, loves gas guzzling pickup trucks, and treats women like shit.

Eileen and I have been checking out the diners in Suffolk County and trying to patronize them before any more shut down. On Saturday the 12th we went to Peter’s Diner at 269 Broadway in Amityville. I used to see it every time I rode through Amityville on the LIRR, and also walked near it when I visited Cameta Camera, so I had to check it out. We each had iced tea and a bowl of seafood bisque, and then we split a grilled chicken wrap. We then crossed Broadway (Route 110) to visit Cameta Camera to about exchanging Eileen’s Olympus Camera for an easier to work Nikon or Canon Point & Shoot. But that would not happen since Cameta closed earlier this year. After that we headed back to Islip to check out some of the stores on Main Street that are closing or clinging to life: Nook & Cranny but despite the 50% discounts, Lori had nothing that we could use; Altamira where we got a bar of handmade soap for the 3 of us and Eileen got a bobcat finger puppet that she named Bob. He is #87 in her Beanie Baby collection. We then walked to Sugared Up where we each had a small cup of ice cream before going back to the car and home.

I have been adding to my collection of Kinder Joy friends. After I gassed up the CR-V at East Islip Shell on Sunday the 13th, I got an egg with a cartoon type dog, which I put into the console. On Tuesday I went to Stop & Shop to get chili peppers and also another Kinder Joy egg. This one had the pearl diving Minion and since it’s a triplicate, I put him into the console. As for the Minions, I downloaded their app onto my iPhone so I can be entertained.

In chapter 12 of Just Mercy (titled Mother, Mother) Bryan talks about mothers who are arrested and often sentenced to death for the deaths of newborns, even if still born. He described how in Alabama the sate used flimsy evidence to convict one woman of murdering her 7th child Timothy after it was born, already dead, while she was taking a bath. In Chapter 13, titled Recovery, Bryan tried to get Walter compensation for his wrongful conviction and incarceration. But no go. Bryan was awarded the Olaf Plame International Human Rights Award by Sweden and went to Stockholm to receive it. A Swedish television crew went to Alabama to interview Walter, who started a new business (junk cars) after being injured by a log at his prior trade. He broke down and cried when interviewed.

On Tuesday the 15th Ellen went to Plainview for an eye examination and that meant I watched Eileen. Since I had to go to work in the afternoon we stayed at home and I watched television, and I saw that trump brokered a peace deal between Israel and the United Arab Emirates. Actually he just hosted it at the White House. I still worry that his followers will still cause him to be reelected. Still worried about the stupidity of so many Americans who think that trump is still our savior. The next day it was my turn to go to the Long Island Optical Office in Hicksville. My eyes were examined and I have a bit of glaucoma, but otherwise I don’t need new glasses. When I got back home I went to the newly reopened Islip Library and was the first customer to use the rebuilt parking lot! Inside I took out a CD by a singer/guitarist from Kenya, J. S. Ondara, who was inspired by Bob Dylan. I stated chapter 14 (Cruel and Unusual) while at the eye doctor. It tells about 13 year old Joe Sullivan was indicted for robbery and sexual assault in Pensacola. He was with two other boys who got off relatively easy. Joe was tired as an adult and sentenced to prison where he was raped and beaten. But there was no positive that he committed the sexual assault. Two days later I went to Northwell Urologists on Motor Parkway in Hauppauge. The doctor examined me and I learned that he knows my former urologist from New York Urologist Associates, since she is now also associated with Northwell Health, but in Lynbrook. I will have to go for an MRI here in Islip at 622 Main Street.

On Thursday the 17th I was on the way to one census case in North Bay Shore where I stopped at the 7-11 and got a small coffee with ½ & ½ and Mocha cream and got another Kinder Joy egg - it had an iguana on waves, which I put it in the console to the CR-V. In the evening my friend Charlie and his wife Debbie, and also Ellen and I, had a Zoom meeting from 7 PM until 9:37 PM. I thought that it would only be around an hour so I could go to the American Legion meeting. I texted the Post Commander to tell him what happened and sked if I could be excused. Charlie suggested that I should keep my mind busy so that there is less chance of Alzheimer’s Disease. Also, the mind exercises are fun.

Facebook had posts about trump and how his followers keep talking about the great things that he has done for the country but cannot name even one great one, or even a good one. After my visit to the urologist I drove back to Islip and saw a fellow Islip Fire Department member and we agree that trump is dangerous and that the Department has people who cannot think for themselves and are too chicken to join the armed forces or apply to police departments. Also most work in “socialist” jobs like police forces, FDNY, LIRR, teaching, and in unions. How ironic. After one errand I stopped at Nook & Cranny to talk with Lori and her daughter, and bought another snowball for $1.00, called Snowball II (Beanie Baby #88). It was originally for me but I let Eileen have it.

Chapter 14 of Just Mercy (Cruel and Unusual) tells about 13 year old Joe Sullivan was indicted for robbery and sexual assault in Pensacola. He was with two other boys who got off relatively easy. Joe was tired as an adult and sentenced to prison where he was raped and beaten. But there was no positive proof that he committed the sexual assault. Bryan visited Joe at a new correction facility in the Florida Panhandle. Bryan was going to work to get Joe either released or have his sentenced reduced. But the victim and one of the accomplices had both died in the years since the crime was committed. Bryan argued Joe’s case in front of the Supreme Court, saying that a life sentence without parole is cruel and unusual for an adolescent, I also started chapter 15 (Broken) and now Walter is suffering from dementia and is no longer able to run his business. He ended up in a nursing home in Montgomery.

I learned on MSNBC that Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg passed away on September 18th at the age of 87. The MSNBC announcers were talking about the memorial for her and the impact that she had on all of the country. A small woman with a big heart and big presence. RIP Justice Ginsburg. The next day Eileen and I went to lunch at the Holbrook Diner on Main Street – not far from Villa Lombardi where Ellen & I went at least once to an installation dinner with the Islip Fire Department. We each had iced tea, a cup of soup (chicken noodle and cream of broccoli) and split a Greek meat wrap – a gyro in a wrap. Came to $29.00 but Eileen is worth it. On Saturday afternoon after Mass checked out some old cars: a 1936 and a 1934 Ford, as well as a 1957 Dual Ghia.

I read more of Just Mercy and finished chapter 15. Bryan talked about Jimmy Dill who was executed in 2009 for the death of a man whom he wounded in a drug deal but died nine months later due to poor medical care. The state of Alabama would not let him appeal, and poor legal help basically screwed him over. Jimmy was mentally challenged but the state would not consider it. Bryan told about how broken people like Jimmy were. And how the work made him broken. The chapter also talks about when Bryan met Rosa Parks and two other prominent civil rights ladies and how he just listened to them even when invited to speak. He ended the chapter by talking how just mercy can break the cycle of victimhood and victimization as well as retribution and suffering.

For dinner on Sunday we ordered from Babylon Burger – regular burgers with bacon for Ellen & Eileen, and a regular one with avocado for me. On Tuesday the 22nd Eileen and I went for a walk along Main Street and stopped in Nook & Cranny, which is sadly closing at the end of this month. Eileen got a new tweed Teddy Bear named Tweed who is Beanie Baby #89, and Lori did not charge us anything. Probably because she wants to empty her shop, and the fact that we have been going to the store since Eileen was a baby. I also took two photos of Eileen with Lori before we left. It will be sad when the store closes, as it was an Islip institution for over 30 years. I also managed to register for the Dribble for a Cure as South4Billy. I also created a related Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation fundraiser and that I posted to Facebook. People have been donating for the cause. The next day I worked a few hours for the census bureau and found time to stop at the 7-11 on Saxon Avenue for coffee and another Kinder Joy egg, with a cowboy Minion that I put into the console.

Eileen and I went to the Main Street Diner on Main Street in Sayville on Thursday (09/24) for some iced tea, chicken noodle soup and a souvlaki chicken wrap. Later on I finished reading Just Mercy. Chapter 16 (The Stonecatcher’s Song of Sorrow) which tells about Bryan’s attempts and successes to get life without parole sentences for teens and relates the four hurdles Black Americans had to overcome: slavery, Jim Crow, KKK type terror, and convict labor. He also talked about getting two New Orleans men released from Angola for non-homicide crimes committed when they were teens. The Epilogue tells us that Walter McMillian passed away on September 11, 2013, He had been further disabled in his last years but was glad to be able to die on God’s schedule and not the state’s. Bryan said that just (fair) mercy made it possible for Walter to forgive and move on.

On Friday I did some work for the census. About all I did on the last Sunday of September was go for a walk with Eileen and later visit 7-11 for a Minion on a bicycle from Kinder Joy and some pumpkin coffee. Later on we learned that trump paid only $750 in taxes twice over the last 15 years. He must not be the great businessman his followers love him for.

On Monday the 28th I stopped at Nook & Cranny and got another coffee cup (It said “Fantastic 40” which was meant for age but can also be a belated 40th anniversary gift), and another snowball – one with a handlebar mustache which I put into the CR-V. I also took two pix of Lori and Arlene – the original and the final owners. Then the next day around 1:30 I drove to the Northwell Imaging building at 620 Main Street for my prostate MRI. As for the MRI, I hope that it went well (spoiler alert - it eventually did). After lunch I returned to Nook & Cranny for the last time, since today was the last day that it was open to the public. This time I did not buy anything since there was nothing that we need. But I did enjoy some of the goodbye cake and took a photo of it. I will always remember the store, from its first location around the corner on Grant Avenue, buying various holiday decorations, stopping at the store when I was walking Baby Eileen and using the back room to change her diaper, adding to my coffee cup collection, and Eileen starting her Beanie baby collection there.

On Tuesday evening after dinner Ellen and I watched the trump-Biden debate and it was a shit show. Trump kept attacking Joe Biden’s family and personality, his son Beau, and accusing him of the mess that we are in now. Luckily most people I know on Facebook felt that Joe Biden came out ahead since he spoke to the nation – looking directly into the camera, while trump just looked at Joe. Joe has to win in November for the sake of our nation. I had made myself available for the census bureau on Wednesday afternoon but there were no cases. Instead I went to town to pick up my next book for the SJU book club: Ibram Kendi’s How to be an Antiracist. Later on I drove to the 7-11 on Nassau Avenue to get the lotto tickets for September 30th and October 3rd, as well as Kinder Joy egg - #14. It was another Minion skin diver - a quadruplicate. So when I got home I put it into the jar with the shells and gave the pearl diver to Eileen. I ended September by watching with Ellen the Zoom meeting with Islip Town Planning Board regarding the proposed gas station at 2300 Sunrise Highway – not too far from our house. Several neighbors expressed their desire to not see it go through. I agree with them. It would be a traffic and safety nightmare. The Town has not made its final decision as of September 30th.

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I began October with the usual walk with Eileen to the Wing Elementary School and later on the social meeting at my American Legion post. I had a mask on for almost the entire night except for a few minutes while enjoying a snack afterwards. While I was on Facebook I managed to add a friend whom I remember from Guam who was a dependent. We were friends and kept in touch for a few years and then lost contact. Glad to have her back in my circle after 40+ years. I started to read How to be an Antiracist and I learned that the author’s parents met at the University of Illinois in 1970. And both are from Queens – did dad from Jamaica; his mom from Far Rockaway. I also part of Taking a Knee, Taking a Stand. I finished the chapter about the recent Olympics (John Carlos and Tommie Smith) and read the chapter about Kareem Abdul Jabbar. I have put the book aside when I finish the chapter about Kareem since I have the book club reading to take care of.

In in the next chapters of How to be an Antiracist Ibram talks about preacher Tom Skinner who captivated his parents and others at the University of Illinois in 1970 with liberation theology. Tom said that Jesus was not an establishment type but told us to proclaim liberation to the captives and give sight to the blind. He talked about his mom growing up in Georgia on a farm and moving north. He says that we are now in 2020 surrounded by racial equity. Chapter 2 is titled Dueling Consciousness and he talks about white versus non-white incarceration rates, especially for drug crimes. Also how Reagan’s administrations further divided the races He also cited W.E.B. DuBois and dueling consciousness – American and Black. He talked about his mom’s being a missionary in Liberia and the two parents joining Floyd Flakes church, Black self-reliance and its consequences and the progress the Black race has made. Chapter 3 (Power) is about Prince Henry and his starting the slave trade in the 15th century in Europe. He also mentions the 6 categories of races: Latinx, Asian, Indigenous, White, Black, Middle Eastern. He also talked about how Linnaeus classified the four races based on color (red, yellow, black, white) into a hierarchy. Naturally the white (Northern European, of course) were at the top and the blacks were at the bottom. On 10/03 Eileen and I went to the Lindenhurst Diner on East Montauk Highway near Delaware Avenue. We each had iced tea and split a sriracha shrimp wrap, which was pretty good. We then walked across Montauk Highway to a strip mall with a comic books store – maybe some comic books or cartoon character figures? Not there so we crossed Delaware Avenue to the other strip mall with a 7-11. There were Beanie Babies there but I figured that a Minion squeeze figure would be better. Eileen got the one-eyed character. When we got home there was house cleaning to do.

Since I helped Ellen around the house on Saturday I went to church on Sunday morning, and later on Eileen and I went out for a walk along the usual route, after helping Ellen with cleaning up the house and the garage. Later I stopped at the Nassau Avenue 7-11 to get a pumpkin coffee and another Kinder Joy egg - #15 - a model cockatoo. When I got home I also watched the American Heroes Channel’s shows about the rise of Hitler and the Nazis. Eerily similar to today with trump. Later in the evening Ellen and I called my cousin Philip and spoke with him and my aunt. Then on Monday the guys from Junkluggers came by and took out the broken love seat and several boxes of stuff that will be either donated or trashed. Ellen took Eileen to the internist at 260 Main Street and while they were there I went to the firehouse and went on two calls. When the calls were over I went for a walk to Oconee Diner and took pix there of the “skeleton crew” and also at the 9-11 Memorial at Town Hall.

By the 6th I started chapter 4 (titled Biology) of Kendi’s book and he says that racist biology says that traits of races are genetic; anti-racists say it’s not genetic. He then talked about his 3rd grade class and the white teacher he had who played favorites with the 3 white kids in the class. After a walk with Eileen I took the car and stopped at 7-11 to get tomorrow night’s lotto ticket and also treat myself to another Kinder Joy egg - #15. The was a truck with a crocodile attachment inside and I put that into the CR-V console. On the 8th Ellen and I watched the debate between Senator Harris and Vice President Pence and I still think that Senator Harris won the debate, and the fly did not help Pence much.

On Thursday after lunch we all drove to the Suffolk County Board of Elections in Yaphank so I could drop off our 3 ballots. When we got home I drove into town to visit the pharmacy and then the library and saw a book about the KKK in the 1920’s and I noticed a scary similarity to the pseudo-patriots of today (trumpsters) – deny science, don’t question the leaders, hate certain groups of people, blame everyone else, and pseudo-machoism. I then headed to the 7-11 at 3269 Sunrise Highway across from the Shell Station. I got myself a Kinder Joy egg snack with a Disney princess (Jasmine) in it - #16, which I gave to Eileen. Then when I came home I read the rest of chapter 4 of How to be an Antiracist. Kendi talks about biology and how writers said that blacks people were loathsome as far back as the 16th century. In the 1890’s they said that the weaker races –should either be extinct (Indigenous), be slaves (blacks), or assimilate with whites (Asians). There was the eugenics movement in the 20th century. By the start of the 21st century people said that we have a common humanity and that the only race is the human race. Kendi says that we have to recognize the biological equality and that skin color is meaningless. He ends the chapter with his going to different schools near his home. In chapter 5 Kendi talks about immigrants and how recent African immigrants are generally doing quite well, as are black Caribbean immigrants, often at the expense of African Americans. It also described how during the slave trade days that West Africans were more highly prized than those from Angola since the West Africans had to work harder to tame a less bountiful land. He also talked about the immigration restrictions against nonwhites and the wrong type of whites until 1965. I also read chapters 6 (Body) and 7 (Culture) and chapter 6 says that racists believe that certain racialized bodies are more prone to violence and animal like behavior than others while the anti-racist individualizes violent and non-violent behavior. Chapter 7 said that there is a racist tendency to impose a cultural hierarchy among racial groups, while the anti-racist rejects the cultural differences among groups. He talked about Ebonics and how it may have evolved from Africans in the Americas.