Benson Walk Father’s Day

We stole a march on Father’s Day by journeying up to New Hampshire yesterday with Great Aunt to celebrate the holiday with my son’s family at the ABFA’s parents’ home that also involved a rain-soaked walk down memory lane at the site of a favorite childhood haunt. Before I get to that recollection I have to chronicle yet another well spent celebration of the First Friday of the Week with our serial partners in crime, the Neighborhood Mafiosos and our other Worcester friends. Our favorite dancing location, up until a few years ago, when it closed, was Maxwell Silverman’s which always featured a semi-age-appropriate crowd for us. The owner opened a place in Worcester’s Union Station called Maxwell’s Luciano’s. We’ve had mixed luck there over the years there with dancing usually preempted by some major event in the adjacent, impressive rotunda.

Father's Day Dinner Crowd Yesterday

There was a funny moment as I was wrapping up the family Facetime call, when my Favorite Panamanian charged downstairs and said we were already late picking up the Mafiosos. I was confused (I know, a natural state for me) as she had told me we were picking them up at 6 but that turned out to be the time our reservations were for. High adventure ensued as a panic driven rapid clothes change and charge down the street took place. We ended up only eight minutes late and the other couple had arrived on time to secure the table. We thought we had another dud after the tasty meal as the place was decidedly on the dead side. We had a fairly loud discussion at the table about that which I think the Matre’d overheard. We had paid our checks and were preparing the walk out when the music volume turned up and the dance floor was illuminated. We stayed on and had another one of those fantastic Friday nights of dancing with these great friends. One of my former employees and his wife was in the crowd and I’m sure a little shocked to see his former boss’ gyrations. I hope it didn’t cost him too much sleep afterwards.

Friday Night Fun

We drove up to Hudson, NH on Saturday and arrived before my son’s family. The ABFA’s parents live a short distance from where Benson’s Wild Animal Farm had been. Benson’s was a treasured family day trip every summer when I was growing up. I have clear memories of the animals and children’s attractions, along with the picnic grounds near a lake. Benson’s closed in 1987 and ever since I met the ABFA’s parents, learning of the proximity of the former site I wanted to visit. This offered a perfect opportunity and the ABFA’s most excellent dad guided Great Aunt and I over to what is now a city park. The rain started to pick up as soon as we pulled in so Great Aunt and the ABFA’s dad stayed in the car while I ventured off in search of memories.

The "Large" Benson's Farm Lake

Foundations

The Old Zoo Area

It took me a few minutes to get oriented as the park had the audacity change over the past fifty years. I found the lake and was able to navigate via the many walking paths over to the zoo area. There wasn’t much left. One of the things I was surprised at (but I shouldn’t have been) was how much smaller everything seemed. I guess I was a bit smaller the last time I trod these grounds. The lake was much smaller and the zoo area, what was left of it, much more so. I found a couple foundations and one preserved site, the Old Lady’s Shoe. There were a couple overlooks into former animal enclosures but the rest of the area was unrecognizable.  Still, a lot of fun traipsing through an area that held so many childhood memories.

The Old Lady's Shoe

Seems So Much Smaller Now

Old Wishing Pond

The Overlooks

The Former Center of the Park

Stone Lions from Benson's Now Adorn a Nearby Front Yard

We returned home to find my son’s family arrived and the fun really started. The BRS and BR3 were not going to let being cooped up inside during the rain impact, in any way, their activity levels. They, along with Riggins, made for a very busy afternoon. The BRS has invented her own language and when she was giving me my welcoming hug launched into a series of nonsensical syllables and laughed, hard, when I attempted to repeat them back to her. She felt like she was on to something with my reaction. By the end of the afternoon had all the adults training in her “language”. We were sitting around the table on the sun porch (decidedly sunless) with the BRS perched on an ottoman, saying “everybody” followed by one of her “words”. She would laugh uncontrollably when the adults tried to repeat her words back to her. It was too funny. As is wont to happen in such situations, once ignited, it was hard to quench the act. Eventually her dad had to put a limit on her lessons as she wasn’t letting any other conversations go on.

Riggins and my Son

BRS and her Dad

Goomba and her Abuela

Grandpa Became a Climbing Tower

Son and ABFA

BRS Linguistic Lessons

Grandpa, You're Not Paying Attention

The ladies created a truly special dinner featuring a healthy quotient of dead animal flesh (they knew their audience). As always, at these gatherings, it was so much fun sitting around the table talking with these special humans. BR3 proved the provenance of her heredity by abandoning her chicken nuggets for some steak. We reconvened in the sunless porch after dinner for additional BRS linguistic exercises. BR3, not wanting to be left out of the entertainment, starting the climbing an extensive cat perch next to her dad. The lady shows no fear. The ABFA recounted a very funny story from BR3’s pre-school class. At home her parents call BR3 “Goomba” as an affectionate nickname. When asked at school what her name was, she tartly replied with her first name and then added “Goomba” as her given name. Too funny.

BR3 Climbing

Lessons Continue

Dad, I Made it!

Two Silly Ladies

My Favorite Panamanian was charged with driving home through the rain since, if I haven’t mentioned it, a respectable amount of Coors Lite was associated with the day’s festivities. I was awakened this morning with my Favorite Panamanian feeding me breakfast in bed. She’s also forbidden me from doing any manual labor today as she waits on me. A pretty good deal. On the way back from church we stopped off at the Neighborhood Mafioso’s home to wish them a happy Father’s Day and she presented me with a bag full of homemade whoopie pies. The day just keeps getting better. Happy Father’s Day to all the great dads out there, especially my Favorite Son, Wingman, and, of course, upstairs, the best of us all, Soxfather.

Two movies fell in my A-Z watch, both keepers, Transylvania time, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, much better than remembered, poor Keanu; and Dracula Untold, Turks versus the vampires, who you got?

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RECURRING CHARACTERS:                                     

ABFA – Amazing Best Family Athlete - my daughter in law; BR3 – Blog Reader #3 – granddaughter #3; BRS - Blog Reader the Sequel - second granddaughter; Cantankerous Friend – friend since grade school who likes to argue about everything, poses as radical leftist to attract women; CRC - Connecticut Riverboat Captain – another close friend from high school, renowned sailor of the big river; Curbside Girls – close friends of my daughter acquired during him her single days in Brooklyn; Deckzilla – our backyard deck which grew to monstrous dimensions once my wife got involved in planning; Favorite Panamanian - the wife (of course); FBR - First Blog Reader - first granddaughter; First Friday – celebrations to mark the First Friday of the Week; Great Aunt - my elder sister; Keene Friends 1 & 2 – friends since high school from my home town of Keene, NH; Kindergarten Friend – friend since kindergarten whom I reunited with after many years; Maine and Virginia Musqueteras – two close friends of my wife – her US sisters, my wife is the 3^rd Musquetera (musketeer); Namesake Nephew – son of Great Aunt and Soxfather named after me; Neighborhood Mafioso - wife's close friend and Panamanian mafia member; PanaGals – female relatives /friends of my wife from Panama; Panamanian/Latin Mafia – inevitable group of Latino friends my wife accumulates wherever we have lived & their spouses; PCR - Pittsburgh College Roommate– high school friend, also a “Minor Celebrity” in Pittsburgh; PCR+1 - Pittsburgh College Roommate’s wife; Riggins - also known as the Grandpuppy, son's dog; Soxfather - my brother in law; Tia Loca – wife’s younger sister; Wingman – my son in law; Wingmom – Wingman’s mom, of course