On Saturday we visited Northport. First we briefly stopped by Northport High School where Patty and I first met. (No, we never dated back then.) Then we had lunch at Shipwreck Diner on Main Street and walked around the docks and Northport Village Park.

Our trip to Northport made us a bit late for our plans for the rest of the day. We met up with my fraternity brothers, Flintstone (Mike) and Steve in Port Jefferson. I pledged with Flintstone in 1991 and we have 1001 great stories. Steve pledged in 1992, we were roommates our senior year, and he was the best man at my wedding in 1997. The last time I saw either of them was when I traveled up for homecoming in 2003, so it's been five years - and we didn't skip a beat. It was immediately like old times like we had seen each other just last week. Aside from some gray hairs, the boys haven't really changed much.

All the wives and all the kids were all there. Patty's known Flintstone and Steve as long as I have but she didn't go to homecoming in 2003 so she hadn't seen them since Maegan was one year old in 1999 (aside from a few minutes at my dad's funeral). Maegan's now 10, and all the other kids were 4 or younger. Maegan spent hours playing with the kids and pulling them around in a wagon. It was great to see all of our kids playing together but who'd-a-thunk this scene 16 years ago.

Back in the day we wouldn't have even gone out before 9:30pm, but with wives and kids and just being older (out of shape, not wiser) 9:30pm was now staying out late, so we had to head back to Queens. It was great to hang out again, even while having to watch the kids. I hope we don't go another five years before doing it again.

Labels: Alpha_Sigma_Phi, friends, New_York, vacation

I can't stand social networking websites but I reluctantly joined Facebook last month. I really didn't want to and since I have my own website, I didn't need to either. But I signed up because I just couldn't ignore the benefit of making it easier for old friends to find me. My Facebook page has almost every social feature turned off, and basically just contains a message from me to visit my personal website or LinkedIn page.

Yesterday, out of nowhere I got an email requesting to connect as a friend on Facebook. It was Scott, one of my very best friends from elementary school! Holy crap! I had gotten connection requests from old high school and college friends before, but I was pretty surprised to hear from such a good friend that I hadn't seen or heard from him since he moved away around 1983 (age 11) around 1985 (age 13). I accepted his invite and just finished sending him an email.

So many old memories. I dug out a childhood photo album which is literally falling apart and found this ancient photo from August of 1982.

Labels: flashback, friends

... but not for me.

I just got an email from Chris, my best friend from High School. I haven't heard from him in years. He wrote that he's moving from Manhattan to Atlanta. I just found this news to be an odd coincidence because I know that my best friend from Junior High School also moved to Atlanta (many years ago).

Hmmm... so would my best friend from college be next or would it be my best friend from elementary school?

Labels: friends

Sorry I haven't been blogging much lately. It's been a combination of not much time plus not much to write about. But in any case I have enough time to write "Happy Birthday, Dee."

Labels: friends

After catching up with a long lost college friend a few weeks ago, I called up another long lost college friend last night. Mike Harding (a.k.a. "Flintstone") was my fraternity pledge brother in '91 and an usher at my wedding in '97 (when I still lived in New York). It's now been almost four years since I last saw Mike in person in 2003. It's been 'only' two years since we last spoke on the phone, but in that time Mike has gotten married and had two kids. In fact, his new baby boy was born last month, just two weeks after Darah was born. And get this... his new baby's middle name is Shea too!

Hey Mike, keep in touch.
Phi.

Labels: Alpha_Sigma_Phi, friends

It's been more than a week since my last post. There's been plenty to blog about but I just haven't had the time, so I'll give a brief recap.

• Darah is doing fine, as are Patty and Maegan too. Every three hours she wakes up hungry, cries until she's fed, gets her diaper changed, wants to be held, eventually falls asleep, and then start all over again. She's sleeping plenty, but not on our schedule.
  
• Last night I got a phone call from a good friend from college, Steve Smrek (far left in this photo). He's a fraternity brother, former housemate, and was the best man at my wedding... but I haven't had any communication with him at all since 2003. Apparently we've both emailed each other many times since then but our messages just weren't getting through and we were both too lazy to pick up a phone until now. Everything is going well with Smrek, and he tells me that another good friend I haven't spoken with in a few years, Flintstone (behind Smrek in that same photo), just had his 2nd child only a few days ago. Looks like I need to have another long overdue phone call very soon.
  
• I worked all weekend. On Saturday I missed a rare opportunity to see the Mets beat the Yankees on national television, and I missed the 400th episode and season finale of The Simpsons on Sunday.
  
• Speaking of The Simpsons, I found out that the new Simpsons video game that I was looking forward to later this year will not be made for X-Box. This is becoming common practice now as Microsoft pressures game manufacturers to stop supporting the old X-Box system in order to force gamers to buy a new X-Box 360.
  
• My mother will be visiting this Memorial Day weekend. This will be the 1st time she sees her new granddaughter.
  

Labels: Alpha_Sigma_Phi, Darah, friends

Chapters of Alpha Sigma Phi national fraternity are identified by assigning Greek letter designations in the order by which each chapter was founded. My chapter at SUNY Plattsburgh was designated as the Delta Xi chapter. However there is no school designated as Omega. The reason is that Omega is the final letter in the Greek alphabet, and as such it signifies the end. So instead of using it as a school designation, the term "Omega Chapter" is respectfully reserved for brothers who have passed away. Last night, another fraternity brother of mine joined the Omega chapter.

Mike Ida passed away last night in Charleston, SC. He pledged during either my junior or senior year of college, and I was fortunate enough to hang out with him a couple of times in the last few years down here in the Carolinas. Mike was a good man and to say he enjoyed life was an understatement.

I'm saddened by Mike's untimely passing, but I'm also a bit disturbed at the number of fraternity brothers that I personally knew in college who have all joined the Omega chapter in their 30's or younger. That number is already up to five. Even more disturbing is that three of my fraternity brothers have now died in each of the past three consecutive Aprils; my pledge brother Jim in April of 2005, Bugsy in April of 2006, and now Mike in April of 2007.

-In Phi

Labels: Alpha_Sigma_Phi, friends

Sorry I haven't blogged anything in the past 11 days. I've just been very busy the past week and a half and haven't had the time. I'm not going to retroactively blog about everything that I missed but I will say congratulations to Janet Ochs and her husband Chris. Last week their second child, Amanda, was born in California.

Labels: friends

It's so nice to be remembered during the holidays with a card. We've received more than normal this year. My mom sent us a card featuring a Christmas tree with a menorah on top, my Aunt sent one, and we got Christmas cards from several of Patty's relatives in New York. We received many cards from old friends too. Janet (Patty's old college roommate) always remembers us. This year we got a Christmas card from another of Patty's old college roommates, Sujana, whom we haven't seen since 1998. And my former boss Jeff sent two cards.

All of these kind thoughts during the holiday season... and yet we feel so bad because we didn't send out any cards. It's not that we don't want to send out holiday greetings but year after year we simply forget to send out cards until it's too late, and this year is no different. So our sincerest apologies again this year, as we blog a Happy Holidays, Happy Chanukah, Merry Christmas, Happy Festivus, and/or possibly even a joyous FSM Holiday to all of our family and friends.

Click here for our "Last-Possible-Moment Digital Holiday Card".

Labels: family, friends, holidays

I just learned the sad news today that a friend and fraternity brother of mine has died tragically. Guy Moran, known to everybody as "Bugsy", was mountain biking in California and got separated from his group.

Although we never attended college at the same time, Bugsy was the reason I became a brother of Alpha Sigma Phi. I had no interest in pledging any fraternity but I went along with some friends to an Alpha Sig rush. Bugsy had already graduated but he was up visiting for the weekend and talked with me for at least an hour about what the fraternity meant to him and convinced me to continue rushing. I got to know Bugsy much better many years later I moved here to Charlotte and Bugsy was among several brothers who were also living here. Rest in peace.

In an eerie twist, another fraternity brother of mine, Jim Murphy, whom I actually pledged with, died tragically just last year... also while mountain biking.

News Link

Labels: Alpha_Sigma_Phi, friends

Last week a former colleague returned to the station for a visit. This week the trend continued with another blast from the past. Mr. Eric Gross (on the left in this photo) was in for some corporate training from our sister-stations in Oakland. Eric was our station's graphic artist when I first began in '98 and we've done a lot of good work together. We reminisced about everything from former co-workers, to old Christmas parties, to a missing boomerang, to his powder-blue porsche that won't die. It was good seeing him again and hearing how things are going well for him in California. I also realized just how long I've been working here as current co-workers I've known for the past six-plus years kept walking by and saying hello to me but Eric didn't know any of them.

Labels: friends

I had lunch today at The Penguin with a good friend I used to work with. I worked with Kraig Koelsch from 1998 to 2004, when he worked for the original GoCarolinas.com (which used to be a few offices down the hall from me) and then for wsoctv.com (just downstairs). After a few years with AOL in Columbus, Ohio he's on his way to Orlando where he's got a sweet new gig providing internet content to college sports teams. Of course we took this opportunity to take jabs at his beloved Pittsburgh Pirates and Ben Roethlisberger's motorcycle incident.

Kraig, it was good to see you again, and congrats and good luck with your new job.

Labels: friends

Patty and Dee had been best friends since high school. Although Patty went to college far away from Dee, they remained close through college too. Then for no particular reason they simply lost touch after college.

Years later Patty tracked down Dee by telephone. Since they last saw each other, Patty and Dee had both gotten married. Patty was now living in North Carolina and Dee had moved to Massachusetts. It was just like old times and they stayed in touch by phone, but a visit was well past due.

Now some thirteen years after they had last seen each other, Patty flew to New England this past weekend and finally reunited with Dee! This photo is from the airport in Providence, Rhode Island.

Labels: friends, Patty

Patty, Maegan, and I all went up to New York this Labor Day weekend for the wedding of Patty's sorority sister Janet LaMagra. The wedding was in White Plains / Purchase and we all had a great time. Patty was the Matron of Honor and Maegan was the flower girl.

We also managed to squeeze in a quick trip to Queens to visit my mom, sister, and aunt on Saturday morning.

Labels: friends, Maegan, New_York, Patty

Tom wanted to know what a blog was. Look Tom, this is a blog.

Labels: friends