First Memories 1958 Westfield New Jersey

I have a very distinct first memory; I was 2 1/2 years old...my Mother, Brother and I had just finished grocery shopping in the A&P in Westfield, New Jersey and my Mother had two bags of groceries in her arms. I was holding on to my Mother's skirt when my Brother asked to go to the car to listen to the ball game on the car radio because my Mother stopped to window shop at the florist shop.

I remember thinking that I would be fun to g0 with my brother, so I let loose of the skirt, ran out between the parallel parked cars and BOOM....hit by a car that never saw me. I then remember the man from the Esso Station pulled me out from under the car....from then I remember my Mother with me in an ambulance and we drove up the street like we were going t0 my brother's school; we drove through Mindowaskin Park to the Medical Center.

The driver of the car was only 17 years old and she did not have a license! As for me, I got about 17 stitches along the top of my head. We went to court about this crash when I was about 7 or 8 years old. The judge had me sit on his lap and he asked, "How do you think that this accident has affected you? Has anything changed?" and I replied, "Yes, my hair used to be blonde and I now love spaghetti!"

A Lifetime of Jobs

Have you ever listed all of the jobs you have had over your lifetime? Carol asked me today to list all of my jobs (I think she is going to display them in a clever fashion for my Birthday)! Here goes...in chronological order.

1. Mr. Donut ($1.65 an hour) 1973
2. Frankenberger's Holiday Gift Wraping
3. Embee's elevator operator
4. Gas Station attendant
5. The candy counter at the Huntington Department Store
6. School Supply warehouse shipping clerk
7. Lifeguard
8. Swimming instructor
9. Driving range attendant (I drove the tractor to pick up the balls)
10. Golf Course Supervisor
11. Stone & Thomas Clerk (in Woman's World)
12. Cocktail waitress in a disco
13. UPS Truck Loader
14. Hickory Farms Shipping Clerk
15. Nasco Inc. School Fundraiser
16. Orkin Pest Control
17. W.VA Citizen Action - Fundraiser
18. Dump Truck Driver
19. Shawmut Bank Teller
20. Star Market Grocery Store cashier
21. ND Security Alarm Monitoring Supervisor
22. AFA Protective Systems - Systems Coordinator
23. Seaside Alarms - Office Manager
24. Boston Globe Newspaper delivery
25. Atlantic Rentals - Vacation Rental Manager
26. Coldwell Banker real estate agent
27. Whelan & Co. Leasing Manager (Triton PCS, Suncom)
28. AT&T Local Network Services (Site Acquisition Manager)
29. Cingular Wireless/SAI (Site Acquisition Manager)
30. Cingular Wireless/SAI (Zoning Manager)

Now is that a list or what! What were your jobs?

Galley Bay, Antigua Scores an A+

I wanted to get home and settled before I gave my "official" opinion of Galley Bay Resort in Antigua. As you know there were six of us that went on the trip...and of those six there are some sharp critics of food and accommodations! After 7 days at the resort we all came to the same conclusion...Galley Bay does a great job!

The rooms were spacious (deluxe beachfront rooms) and very comfortable. Each room had a king bed, 2 easy chairs, coffee table, desk, walk-in closet, huge bathroom with walk-in shower with a seat and double pedestal sinks. Whether you were on the 1st floor or the 2nd floor you have a deck with cushioned lounge chairs and 2 chairs and a table.

As for service, it was truly the staff that made the visit exceptional. Every single staff person was gracious and truly trying to make your stay a good one. The restaurants were very good, and one day Pine inquired about Fungi a local dish and Timeka (the dining room supervisor or equivalent) said she would have the kitchen make us a special lunch. So, 2 days later we had a local dish of Fungi (corn meal with okra) salt fish with onions and sauce and a vegetable dish with eggplant.

The bar service was exceptional! The beach was suburb! The rooms were very nice. The food was exceptional! What else would you want?

Now you say, something must have been bad...the only thing that we felt was a disappointment was the presence of flies...Although once the problem was identified, they fogged at 5am and that seemed to help a lot. The only other thing, the spa services were good but could be improved some.

Regardless, I give Galley Bay an A+! Go to http://www.eliteislandresorts.com/site/resorts.asp?islandID=1&resortID=10

Galley Bay, Antigua

There isn't enough good things to say about Galley Bay Resort. We have enjoyed every minute of this vacation and would highly recommend this resort.

This is a picture of the swimming pool. We have been hanging out on the beach because it is so beautiful!

We leave tomorrow and once I get home I will give a complete report. All for now....

More News from Antigua

Today is Wednesday and we are having a ball! Yesterday the weather was wonderful but today we are back to a mixed bag. We have had many adventures, all worthy of mentioning. One of the best was our rental car! The battery cables can jump off at any time which means the car just stop at any time! So, whoever is in the "shotgun" seat has to get out of the car and play mechanic. This has happened no less than 15 times while out exploring! We got this problem solved this morning by calling the rental company and having them deliver a new car....actually, I think we will miss the old one.

Carol and I went scuba diving yesterday and saw spotted ray with a wing span of about 6 feet, huge lobsters, tons of bright coral and fish; it was a great outing. Today we are going to take kayaks to a sunken ship and go snorkeling (providing the weather is still good). Right now there is a championship ping pong tournament with Pine/Bobby and Chris/Carol battling it out.

The resort, Galley Bay, has exceeded all of our expectations. We have been very comfortable and have enjoyed the "all inclusive" atmosphere. We would recommend this resort!

All for now....I will try to post a picture later today.