Sorry I’m a little late with the Sunday column. I’d like to blame it on the time change but I never left the east coast.
Priscilla and I went down to Virginia Beach for five days or three if you take out the 10+ hours on the highway. (Why do we always hit traffic in Connecticut?)
We went down for two reasons: Sarah, the expectant mom, needed some “mommy time.” (I was an added extra.) And my son Doug reenlisted for another six years in the Navy. I was there in January when my son-in-law reenlisted so we thought it was only right to go to my son’s.
They may take it for granted but I think it’s cool. He introduced us to pilots and officers and co-workers and they treated us with the utmost respect. ” Mr. Braley,” “Mrs. Braley,” “Sir,” “Ma’am.”
The officer who administered the oath had done his homework and knew our names, that Doug was from Fairhaven and why he joined the Navy.
It’s impressive how you must clear security twice to even get to the hangar. And if you listen to the oath you suddenly realize how serious this is.
At one point in the ceremony they actually kick him out of the Navy and he can say anything he wants, but since you still have to work with these people the boys usually keep it civil. Then he is reenlisted and everyone comes and shakes his hand: pilots, officers, first class, second class, whatever.
The whole thing takes about ten minutes then we went out for brunch.
When Doug recited the part about obeying the President of the United States, I thought about all the Facebook and Twitter posts that I read about the President. I’ve asked my son and son-in-law how they and their buddies feel about who is in the White House and they say they really don’t have a problem. They would have to follow whoever it is that won the election so they just go to work. President Trump did get them a raise so they were happy about that but otherwise it’s just business as usual.
I think I’ve blogged before about how it’s nice to travel but it’s always good to be home again. I do like Virginia Beach and I’m starting to learn my way around down there. The kids keep trying to get us to move down especially now with a grandchild on the way, but we still like our home. My wife loves working in and around Boston and I have my booming blogging and cable television career.
Priscilla also says she couldn’t take the summer. She loves to be outside either working in the yard, biking, beaching or walking as much as she can and in Virginia Beach the heat index can easily be 110 for June, July and August. My daughter Sarah describes it as : “We have summer, hotter-summer, Satan’s armpit summer, winter for a few weeks and then it rains for a month for spring, then pre-summer and summer.” I could go for that two or three week winter but I admit it gets hot.
In the meantime we’ve just accepted the fact that we spend a great amount of time on the highway.
We were making great time yesterday until we got to Norwalk, CT on 95 North. Traffic just stopped. I later learned through Google and someone we met later at a rest stop that they closed the highway because a car fell off a car carrier and caught fire. Damn! That’s impressive! Plus, see why I hate car carriers?
Thanks to GPS I was able to navigate us through the side streets of Norwalk to a better route. We’re really getting to see our own “back roads of America” on these trips. Back in February I had to maneuver us through White Plains, NY when they closed another roadway.
We have just accepted the fact that when we go to see the kids we are going to spend the day in the car. I have fun listening to some New York City radio stations since I’m still a radio geek. We listen to podcasts and we do that thing there’s never time for…….TALK. As for my arthritis, I’m usually good for two-thirds of the trip, then I take a muscle relaxer (yes I have a prescription), recline the bucket seat and “Wake me up when we get there.”
So far it works for us. I’m just waiting to win Powerball so we can have that private jet that goes from New Bedford Airport to Norfolk, Va.
Someday……someday.
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