Born In Burrwood

I think it’s been about a year now since I blogged last. To be honest, I haven’t even been around to visit in a long time and I do feel bad about that. I am going to try to be better about that however. So, how have you all been? I hope you are all well and happy.   I’m kind of sad. We have to have our little dog put to sleep. A couple of months ago I noticed his lip looked swollen.  I didn’t think much of it at first but it kept getting bigger and bigger. He’s actually my son’s dog who is in N.Y. so I called him to tell him about it. He told me to take him to the vet and have it checked out. Well, I made an appointment thinking that he might have an infected tooth and antibiotics would solve the problem. Not to be. It turns out that he has melanoma. I couldn’t believe it when the Vet told me that and tears instantly came to my eyes. The tumor is growing so fast and it’s getting harder for him to eat, in fact, it’s taking over his entire mouth and under his tongue. Soon it w...

Of all the places we visited Ellis Island was the most humbling to me. As we sailed up to the Island I tried to imagine what it might have been like for those who came from so far away many years ago to start a new life. The Island had many names. The Indians called it Seagull Island, Dutch Settlers called it Oyster island and when pirates where hanged from the trees there it was called Gibbet Island. It wasn't until around the time of the American Revolution in 1776 that a merchant Samuel Ellis from New York owned it and built a restaurant on it for fishermen. In 1808 an heir to Samuel sold it to the city of New York who kept the name Ellis Island. Later that same year it was sold to the Federal Government. Later the Island was expanded and other islands built from the landfill taken from building the subway system. The brick structure was opened in Dec. of 1900 at a cost of 1.5 million dollars and was designed to handle 5000 immigrants a day. As years went...

As with most every place you visit as a tourist in N.Y. you have to go through security. However, this is the only place we went to that I saw an armed soldier standing guard. Miss Liberty was a gift of friendship from the people of France Oct. 28th 1886 as universal symbol of freedom and democracy. She was dedicated on October 28, 1886 and designated as a National Monument in 1924. A symbolic feature that people cannot see is the broken chain wrapped around the Statue's feet. At the bottom of her robe, there is broken chains that symbolize her free forward movement, symbolizing to the world with her torch the freedom from oppression and servitude. Ticket prices aren’t too bad, only around $17.00 for adults. You can only get to the Island by the Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island Ferry. Personnel and privet boats are not allowed to dock on the islands. The line was long and it was another hot day the day we went. Thankfully there were vendors there selling water and ice cr...

You have to have a ticket and a reservation to get in to the Memorial site, as of right now they are free. They only allow so many at a time and you can pick a day and time you hope to be there. If there are too many for that day and time they will let you know. Security is tight there as well, you and your bags have to go through a screening there too. When you go in they give you a roll of paper and a crayon so you can etch a name on it if you want as well as information. Kathy and I went to the Memorial and Bill and William went to the Natural History Museum that day. As with everywhere you go in N.Y. there are lines of people waiting to enter and the Memorial was no different. I’m sad to say that Kathy lost her Dad in the towers the day of the attack. Families who lost someone that day doesn’t have to wait in line, they have a separate entrance for them and I think that’s how it should be. Her Dad’s name is engraved on one of the pools. It is hard for ...

Let me tell you about the subway system. We would walk just up the street from Kathy’s apartment to the entrance. You have to have metro passes to get through the gates to the trains. It was so hot when we were there and the only good thing being in the subway when it’s hot is that you’re out of the sun. It is hot down there as well and very humid. The trains though are air-conditioned thank God! There’s a big difference between Brooklyn and the city as far as the subway goes. It’s not as clean in Brooklyn right now. Some of the tiles along the walls are chipped and cracked and dirty. Once you get into the city though it’s like a whole other world under there. Once in the city there are shops and restaurants and it’s all spit polished and very clean. Bill said they are in the process of renovating it all under there so it’s just a matter of time before it will all be as nice as it is in Manhattan. I don't know how many times I've heard over the years ...

We had to get up bright and early to catch the 3:00 a.m. bus to Chicago as our plane was leaving at 6:45. I love flying by the way. If you’ve ever been to O’Hare airport you know how big it is. It’s always a long walk from where you check in to where you board the plane so you want to give yourself plenty of time to get from point A to point B. Once we boarded and were on our way I couldn’t wait until we got there. I took this picture of the city from the plane with my Ipod. The tall building you see in the center of the picture is Freedom Tower which is  at ground zero and is still under construction. I won’t go into that anymore right now but will talk more about it in another blog. We landed in LaGuardia around 10:00. I have to say that I was pleased to find out that LaGuardia isn’t anywhere near as big as O’Hare is. Bill’s girlfriend Kathy, who was born there and grew up in New York, met us at the airport. She said it would be cheaper to hire a car to...