Delving

2 Descendants of Charles Martel?

After years of avoiding it I finally succumbed to Ancestery.com’s relentless marketing efforts and signed up for a six month membership. I caution anyone with an interest in their lineage to exercise caution because it is highly addictive. I’ve found it fascinating to trace my family tree back through the ages. I’ve found some very interesting possibilities as well. The biggest lesson was the bone deep connection my family, on both my mother’s and father’s side, have with both New and old England. This confirms the DNA results which had me firmly pegged to Great Britain. Most of my ancestors, except my paternal grandmother and maternal grandfather, can be traced back to the 1600s and the settling of Massachusetts.

Another?

In a few cases I’ve been able to go back even further and trace some of these ancestors even further back. On my mother’s side of the family we can connect back to the Howard family who served as the Dukes of Norfolk during both the Tudor and Plantagenet days which means we share some blood with Anne Boleyn. There were even rumors of that family having royal blood through an illegitimate son of Prince John of Robin Hood fame. This meant we were ultimately descended from Eleanor of Aquitaine (John’s mother) who was my mother’s absolute favorite character from the movie A Lion in Winter. I can only imagine what she would think of that.

Daddy-Daughter Day meant Cleaning Room First

The family tree of my great-grandmother on my father’s side was equally interesting for a couple reasons. One line was traced back to a Putnam family name where there was a claim of being descendants from Charles Martel, nicknamed “The Hammer, one of the biggest names from Europe’s dark ages and also the grandfather of Charlemagne. Another side of that same great grandmother’s family was the one I was able to trace back the furthest so far, to my alleged 27^th great grandfather. He was Guy of Welswe was born c. 0890. He was a thane, or landholder, appointed by King AEthelstan, the Saxon King, to his Parliament. The son of Guy was Geoffrey (my 26^th great grandfather), who married Emma, daughter of De Sasuall's, of Etingdon; but, having been unjustly treated by the Saxon king, Ethelred, joined the Danish forces, and, with his followers, marched with Sweyn against the Saxons.

But Then the Fun Started

The Moana Soundtrack Came On!

Happy Girl

I know all of this is conjecture because I have no training in genealogical research but it is a hell of a lot of fun. I also know everyone claims to be descended from some king or emperor so I’m not going to be making any kind of claim of royal blood, I’m about as American as possible. I’ve always found it interesting that if you take into account that everybody (outside of Appalachia I guess) has four grandparents and you continue that calculus through the 27 generations I just talked, about the resulting number would exceed the entire population of Europe at the time. We’re all related.

Back in Fairy Mode

I wasn’t the only one delving yesterday. I had my annual skin screening at the dermatology clinic. My crusty old screener has retired and was replaced by a much younger lady which made the examination a little more embarrassing not that I object to an attractive young lady running her hands all over me. I always keep in mind though that my Favorite Panamanian wields a mean machete. The new lady ended up carving into both my jaw and my chest for a couple biopsies which means I have to stay out of the pool for a week or so until they heal.

Results of Attractive Delving

Today also marks the birthday of my younger sister who I’ve re-connected with over the past couple years. She’s had a lot thrown at her by life but she’s met and overcome all those challenges. She’s now in a very loving marriage and recently took on a new job where I’m sure she’s thriving. Happy birthday Sis – I’m so proud of you!

Lugging

Father and Daughter Happy to See Each
As My Son Picks up the BRS at Day Care

The Cantankerous Friend reminded me that I need to stop referring to myself as Middle Aged since both he and I are rapidly approaching what used to be considered senior citizen status. I reject his theory on the grounds that I refuse to accept that appellation outside of movie ticket and various other discounts offered. I, however, was in full accordance with his label yesterday afternoon after lugging 34 boxes of wood flooring up stairs. My order of flooring arrived yesterday at the vendor so instead of paying them $165 to deliver it I rented a U-Haul truck for a few hours. They loaded it for me in the truck and Keene Friend volunteered to help me unload it at home. Sounds easy. It wasn’t. We positioned some in the garage but most if it had to go all the way upstairs to the job site. I don’t think either of us wanted to admit of tough the last few boxes were but as two spry middle aged men I was proud we accomplished the mission without having to call 911.

The Boxes Keene Friend and I Unloaded

Morale was firmly re-established with calls from both of the granddaughters. The FBR instructed us on the proper consumption of gnocchi (whatever the hell that is) and demanded a visit to a duck pond during her next visit here. My son reported in from New Hampshire with the BRS who is already showing signs of leadership. She’s in her first week of outside day care while her parents work and is adapting beautifully. My son was talking with another set of parents at the facility when they said their baby son had picked up a new habit of fluttering his lips to produce a “raspberry” sound. His new talent dated back to the day of the BRS’ debut there. My son sheepishly admitted the BRS had been doing that for a couple months already. Again, early signs of leadership!

My son admitted to a tough time at work with the pressures of a complicated building site. He then made a very telling remark, saying that he could handle anything as long as he could come home to the BRS and the ABFA, of course. I’m glad to see he’s figuring out the upside to parenting, despite the poop explosions the BRS is currently employing.

Preparing for her Next Salvo

Dinos

Missed my Call with the FBR Last Night
But She was Representing

I’ve always had a warm spot in my heart for dinosaurs dating back to my earliest memories. I remember sitting in my junior high library devouring the books of Roy Chapman Andrews and planning on becoming a paleontologist also. That was before real life intruded and informed me that scientific pursuits were probably not in my best interests as they require at least a modicum of patience, something I’ve never been an avid practitioner of. My 7^th grade self was planning on following Andrews into the Gobi desert to exotic digs of dinosaur bones.

I believe I can state with absolute certainty that it was in everyone’s best interests that those plans fell by the wayside. As with anything held dear in youth there’s always been a fascination with the subject which means the spotlight over the past couple decades with the Jurassic Park book and subsequent movies has been more than welcome. I remember sharing the awe of Sam Neill and Laura Dern’s characters when they first see the live dinosaurs in the original movie. All of this leading up to last night’s movie which was the latest in the inevitable sequel for a successful movie – Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.

I’ve always been a sucker for the movies in this series, even when they fail, call it my obsession with dinosaurs. We’re back on Isla Nubar for a very short period this time but it was action packed. I think the volcano eruption scene will go down in movie history as one of the most exciting ever filmed/created (although I’m sure there are some residents of the big island of Hawaii who wouldn’t be that enamored of it). The movie bogs down a little whenever the dinosaurs aren’t the focus except when Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard are on screen. They share an undeniable chemistry. I missed the John Williams score which only crept in a couple times. In this latest movie the dinosaurs face extinction once again, from volcanic activity once again, and the every ready evil corporation once again is trying to profit by it all. It’s a Jurassic movie so there wasn’t any deep meaning but it was an extremely fun watch, but that could be the 12 year old trapped inside me talking. They certainly set themselves up for another sequel which has fantastic possibilities.

Carpet Bagged

The Damnable Wooden Strips Piled up After Removal

I have a bad habit of continuing until I finish a task even though my body is trying to warn me that I have exceeded an appropriate level of effort (one of the many reasons middle age sucks).I ran afoul of that predilection again yesterday when I began the wall to wall carpet removal upstairs. We’re having hardwood installed and I agreed with Deckzilla Dude that I would have the carpet removed so he can begin work later this week. Since this was destroying instead of creating I was in my element or at least I thought I was.

Upstairs Hall and Bedroom 1

I got to work with the exacto blade and after an initial incision I simply pulled the rug up tearing it along the strip I cut. While this may sound simple apparently this requires the use of semi-dormant, seldom used muscles spread throughout the body. I have this on good authority because most, if not all, of those muscles are barking very seriously at me this morning. The carpet was the one thing about the house I didn’t like. I think it was original to the house and was really dingy along the borders.

Starting on Bedroom 2

It turns out a lot of dirt accumulates under carpets, who knew? The carpet part was fairly easy but removing all the staples from the padding and the wooden strips along the border that holds the carpet in place was a stone cold bitch. I had the Red Sox game on for most of the effort but this did nothing to minimize the dust and the aforementioned muscle strains. My goal was to finish two bedrooms and the upstairs hall but as evening fell I was left staring at the staircase which cried out for continued demolition. It wasn’t the kind of thing I could stop hallway down the staircase once I started either.

Mission Complete with Stairs

My Favorite Panamanian greeted me at the bottom of the stairs as I was finishing up and assessed my begrimed state. She agreed to a Man Cave movie only after I promised a long, very hot shower. It was about this point in the evening that we had our video calls with the respective granddaughters. The BRS was giving full voice to her frustration at not being able to pull down the stuffed toys that hung above her play mat for oral examination. It was not crying but a very determined young lady who did take kindly to being thwarted. She smiled immediately upon hearing her abuela’s distinctive voice. The FBR was in her usual frenzy of movement but she did stop when I was showing the carpet removal progress. She commented that I had bought a new floor for her and her bedroom. It was kind of cool that she thinks of it as “hers”.

Southern Invaders

Awesome Group Assembled Yesterday

It’s been a long standing family joke about the lack of geographic mobility resident in Soxfather’s family. This is a tried and true Rhode Island tradition where despite having the smallest state with the closest borders any territory beyond those borders is considered grounds for overnight travel. Therefore it was a semi-momentous moment when the entire Soxfather clan challenged tradition and journeyed north in the wilds of Massachusetts to join us for an afternoon/evening of just plain fun. Both Keene Friend and Cantankerous Friend also joined us for some northern leavening of the Rhode Island brew. This party was born in our last McShawn’s evening when my wife cornered Soxfather’s sister and browbeat her into agreeing to make this momentous journey, all of 45 miles. It was still up in the air late in the week as Soxfather’s sister was making noises about possible excuses but she eventually succumbed to destiny and made the trip. We planned on taking advantage of Deckzilla’s vast expanse but the weather was uniformly uncooperative which kept us inside except for the beer runs to the cooler.

Debut of my Latest Hawaiian Shirt
Not for the Faint of Heart

As usual once we were all gather the talk and laughter was almost non-stop. An indication of Soxfather’s sister grasp of reality is that she is the sole person in the world who does not believe the Cantankerous Friend is cantankerous at all; need I say more? I was under strict orders from my Favorite Panamanian to follow her grilling recipe for the steaks and chicken. I may have followed them but everything came out fantastic and the best part of the entire evening was the dinner where we all gathered around the dining room table.

The BRS Was on her Own Road Trip with her Parents
And Laughing I'm Sure

We videoed the FBR in but she was more interested in filling her deck pool than entertaining us. The evening culminated as we tried to convince Soxfather’s sister to redeem another of her social shortcomings. She had never done shots before. Great Aunt brought an extremely sweet green liqueur for that expressed purpose. Even my Favorite Panamanian joined in the effort but sadly Soxfather’s sister still has not done any shots as she only sipped. Nothing could diminish the fun of the get together though. We may even do it again in August, hopefully with Deckzilla

Kwan Disturbed

Laughing Girl

I feel a little like Rod Tidwell today in that my kwan is severely disturbed, at least on the employment front. I thought I was easing into a summer of complacency after a fairly challenging winter. I finally had my CFO and Maintenance Manager back from lengthy health related absences. I replaced my Safety Manager with an obvious upgrade and Keene Friend has been dominating as my new Operations manager while the guy he replaced has moved superbly into his new role as my Assistant General Manager. Everything was in place finally for the team to move forward. I envisioned a yearlong glide towards next year’s retirement. Then yesterday happened with my Political Boss announcing he was leaving for a job in Boston.

He’s the guy who selected me for this position and we’ve always had a very good working relationship. Although I was frustrated at times with his reluctance to make decisions I really enjoyed working with him and knew I had his complete trust. He grew tired of constantly confronting the politics of Worcester City Hall and is leaving for greener pastures. I’m going to miss him a lot but it also raises the question of who is going to replace him, both on an interim and permanent basis. This is not how I planned on summer going down. Time to pull out the old chicken soup out of chicken shit recipe.

Luckily I have two luminous granddaughters to keep perspectives in place. My Favorite Panamanian and the BRS continue their week long love fest up in New Hampshire. My wife can now induce a hearty laugh from the BRS who seems to revel in hanging out with her abuela. The FBR was concerned last night when I showed up for our video call with blood running down the side of my face. It was just a minor shaving cut that opened up after some yard work but the FBR seemed genuinely concerned. Speaking of yard work, getting old continues to suck as I was honestly exhausted after what used to be some minor chores. It was probably a kwan thing.

The Rhode Islanders Are Coming!!!!

Morale will get a severe boost this weekend. I retrieve my absent wife tonight and tomorrow a truly remarkable event will take place. Soxfather’s family in true Rhode Island fashion requires an act of congress to travel beyond state borders. We’re only 45 minutes away (if I’m driving) but to hear Soxfather’s sister explain you would think we live in Outer Siberia. At our last McShawn’s evening my wife was able to convince them to finally come up for a Deckzilla get together. I think the amount of alcohol consumed helped seal the deal. Both Keene Friend (or the Senator as he is known in Rhode Island) and the Cantankerous One will also be joining us which means some serious kwan rejuvenation is in order.

Circle Route

Face to Face with the BRS

I had a bi-polar trip around New England yesterday careening from sadness to joy to just flat fatigue. I drove up to Manchester in the morning to attend the Cantankerous Friend’s dad’s graveside funeral service which is where the sadness was generated. I wrote before about his passing marking the end of the iconic group of parents from my years growing up on Valley Street. Our two families were incredibly close for a number of those years and so many great memories were generated that I still remember very fondly. I drove up to Keene late on Tuesday for calling hours and had the opportunity to talk with Cantankerous Friend’s sister for the first time in over forty years. She was the best friend of my younger sister who passed away in 1977. She still has the flashing eyes and quick humor I remembered so well from earlier times.

I was impressed with Cantankerous Friend’s poise and presence for his family. He had spent nearly all of this free time since retiring from the military taking care of both of his parents and grew incredibly close with his dad over the past couple years after his mother’s passing. While he knew his dad’s days were numbered based on his declining health nothing can soften the finality of when it does happen. Regardless of the obvious pain he was feeling he stepped up and held it together for the rest of his family. He’ll try to minimize his efforts but he was a hero. Since his watch with his dad is over we’re looking forward to having him join us for more social occasions, starting this Saturday with a rare northern trip by Soxfather’s extended family.

Being "Assessed" by the BRS

Doesn't Like Giving up on a Bottle

I wasn’t able to join Cantankerous’ family after the service because I had to continue my travels east. I was only forty minutes from my Favorite Panamanian’s location and seized on the opportunity to re-acquire my AWOL cell phone and wife. The added joy would be additional time with the BRS. Unfortunately she was dutifully napping when I arrived but this allowed a hurried but richly enjoyed lunch with my Favorite Panamanian. I think the BRS sensed an opportunity for additional adoration because she awoke in enough time to hang out with me for a few minutes. She passing through a similar phase that I remember from the FBR in that she looks into your eyes in a very assessing manner. It went well with the FBR but I hope I’m not found lacking in some way by her young cousin. The jury is certainly not out in that sense with her abuela who she clearly adores. My wife reported the BRS had her first laughing spell when the ABFA returned home from work on Tuesday night.

Sleeps just Like her Cousin Did at Same Age

I was back on the road and completed my circular route back to my office by early afternoon. I stopped by the lumber store along the way to buy the needed hardwood flooring for the next home improvement project which should start next week. I arrived in my office to learn some disturbing news on the political leadership front which will add some challenges and uncertainty over the next few months; just what I needed. The FBR was her usual charming self on our call last night. Wingman has taught her how to give a “thumbs up” sign and she seems fully recovered from her scary digit injury over the weekend. She seems more adult each time we talk and I find myself grasping for the departed days when talking with her grandparents was the highlight of her day.

Back to the movies last night where I took in Superfly. Despite the passing of time it is not any easier to make a movie with a drug dealer as a hero than it was when they made the original. I liked the movie though which was a well done crime thriller. They made a mistake by not casting Omar from the Wire (Michael K. Williams) as the lead. Instead he plays a mentor to the young Priest who has none of Williams’ screen presence. The actor playing Priest also fails to exude the kind of menace or ability that would allow him the lofty leadership role he is supposed to hold in Atlanta’s drug underworld. The movie is saved by the supporting cast who is uniformly outstanding but again, very tough to root for a drug dealer. Finally I’m the last person to consult on African-American hairstyles but what were they thinking with the lead actor’s pomade? Silly to the point of distracting.

Severed

Daddy's Girl

I’m finding the fact that I left my cell phone up in New Hampshire very instructive about how tied even an old curmudgeon has become inexorably tied to technology. I really miss the damned thing. If I have random thought (yes I am capable of such) I can’t automatically text it to either of my kids or my Favorite Panamanian. I’m sure both of my kids are not terribly upset buy this loss of capability. On a more practical side I’m also cut off from my routine emails from work once I leave the office unless I want to sign on to the home computer. Evidence about how addicted to mobile technology I’ve become is that I now think of that as an imposition.

Wonder-FBR

The very empty house felt even more so last night because of that hole in my information technology world. I couldn’t get immediate photos of my granddaughters which was the most daunting challenge. The pictures I’m putting on the blog today were stolen from their parents’ Facebook pages since I can’t receive any texts. I do have my IPad which allowed the he very needed FaceTime calls with the two distant households last evening. My wife ended up reading texts and phone messages to me from my truant IPhone.

I was stuck at home last night waiting from the contractor (Deckzilla Dude himself) to visit and then some fairly robust thunder storms (just after I finished watering the lawn). The contractor is about to embark on the next big thing which removing the last of the wall to wall carpets in the house and installing hardwood floors throughout. After I got his phone number from my cell phone via my wife I learned he’d forgotten he had a colonoscopy scheduled for yesterday which had the predictable effect on his mobility. While I’m not sure how you forget a colonoscopy we agreed to meet tonight after my return from Cantankerous Friend’s dad’s wake.

I’ve come up with a tentative plan to reunite with my missing techno-appendage tomorrow. The funeral is in Manchester which is within striking distance of my wife and the AWOL cell phone. The upside being I get a hug from both my Favorite Panamanian and the BRS (and probably Riggins as well) before grabbing the phone and returning to work.

Fallen Apple

My Son and I with the BRS

While I had to return from my weekend in New Hampshire without my Favorite Panamanian I was buoyed by the time I spent with my Favorite Son and his incredible family. There’s the old expression about an apple not falling far from the tree and applying it to the children picking up their parents’ proclivities. My son chose to celebrate his first ever Fathers’ Day with a trip to not one but two local breweries. I was along for that very fun ride through the picturesque New Hampshire seacoast area on a perfect summer day. That was certainly ample proof about trajectories of apples falling. I’ll leave it to people who know both of us as to which parent I am referring to.

2 Happy Young Ladies

Favorite Panamanian With the ABFA and BRS at Hayseed

Hayseed Restaurant

The BRS handled the trip with true aplomb, thoroughly dominating her first ever pub crawl. Our first stop was the Smuttynose Brewery in nearby Hampton, NH which had an attached restaurant called the Hayseed. A pink haired hostess graciously seated us in a perfect location to accommodate the accouterment required for a 4 month old. We had a fun time sampling beers and burgers but most of all sharing stories with my son and the ABFA. After lunch the ladies took over driving duties from their beer sampling husbands for the drive to the next stop – The Throwback Brewery in North Hampton.

BRS And her Parents at Throwback

Throwback Brewery

At Throwback with Alfred Between us

Happy Grandparents

BRS Loving her First Pub Crawl

This was a cool stop because the serving area is in a huge old barn that has been re-purposed as both the brewery and the restaurant. Once again we were lucky to grab a table inside with a perfect setup for the BRS. They had a weird kind of ordering system. You have to order everything at the bar and then are given a bobble head doll, ours was Alfred Hitchcock (I know – appropriate). When you order again you have to specify what doll is at your table. My son and I did are best to entertain our wives since we were becoming progressively more charming as the beer intake increased. It was a truly fun afternoon.

Showing ABFA the Wall While Son Mows

So you're my Grampa

This is my Dad

First thing that morning my son and I were back at work at his retaining wall project. He had two more pallets of bricks to install which would have brought us nearly to completion. We had moved all the bricks over to the wall and had installed all but eight of them before one side of the wall decided to lean back into the hill. The only problem with that inclination was that we hadn’t backfilled behind that section with the needed gravel yet. This required pulling some bricks back from the wall until that is done. It’s still looking good though. It is massive.

After our brewery ride we returned to the house for pizza and a couple more beers and I think we watched part of the Red Sox game, at least that’s what my wife told me. Fathers’ Day weekend was off to a fantastic start. The only part missing was my daughter, Wingman, and the FBR. We tried to include them as much as possible but “moving target” would be a gross understatement when describing the FBR. They also had Wingman’s dad on station for the first part of the weekend. The FBR was slowed down briefly when she took a scary fall off a chair that bent one of her fingers back badly.

FBR Has Apparently been Taking Modeling Lessons

Bent Index Finger

They consulted via text with Great Aunt for medical advice and applied some ice to hold the swelling down. While this was concerning for a few hours we soon started receiving reports that she was back to her “bouncing off the walls” energy level and had full range of motion for the digit. Since great minds think alike they spent Fathers’ Day afternoon at a local beer garden where the FBR succeeded in thoroughly coating nearly her entire body in dirt as she raced around the associated playground. We caught up with her just before last evening’s bath where the FBR proudly displayed the results of her beer garden hijinks in the form of dirt coated legs and arms.

Helping Dad with his Father's Day Breakfast - She a Well Known Raider

Grampa - You're Supposed to be Here!

Beer Garden Crew

Our Fathers’ Day was a little more sedate, needed after Saturday’s excursions and my requirement to drive home to Worcester. The ABFA’s fantastic parents arrived for an afternoon barbecue and our respective wives refused to let either my son or I engage in any physical task. We ended up binge watching some episodes of Cheers and then a sci fi action movie together, something I treasured since we rarely get to do that anymore. It was almost a perfect Fathers’ Day.

Hidden Treasure

Dirt Coated

I had to leave all too soon which was much harder than you can possibly imagine. While I haven’t highlighted it, the true hero of the weekend was the BRS. She’s very alert and has established a solid bond with my wife. Any time my wife’s high octave Spanish sounds off the BRS starts smiling. She’s a little more reserved with me but did bequeath a few of her now trademark smiles upon me which seemed to dim the lights in the room whenever that happened. She much more active now and can turn over at will. I will not be surprised to hear that she is crawling very soon. She seems like a very determined young lady, a tribute to both of her superb parents.

The empty house was every bit as depressing as I anticipated, especially when I realized I left my cell phone back in New Hampshire. That should have precluded free movie attendance since my Movie Pass is tied to that phone but my patronage of the local movie theater has achieved a couple free movies on my Star Pass card so I abandoned the house for the movies. I went to see Tag. You wouldn’t think a movie about middle aged men continuing to play a game of tag each year would work. It does. In large part because of a very likable cast headed by Ed Helms as the game’s biggest proponent. There are some very funny moments as the gang of friends tries to tag the one friend, Jeremy Renner, who has successfully avoided being tagged in all the years the game has been played. Isla Fisher is back channeling her best Wedding Crasher craziness as Helms’ wife. An inch deep in weight but a lot of harmless fun this was based on an actual group of friends. The movie ends with a series of clips of some of their real world antics.

Watching Son Install Tractor Attachments