Flag Day

“The US flag is a symbol
Of what Americans treasure.
It represents the values
We treasure beyond measure.

I’m a wee bit late with my Flag Day tribute. We did buy a new flag for Flag Day and for the Fourth of July. Our old flag was very faded so it was time to retire it. Down the Cape last week, we also bought a package of tiny red, clear, and blue lights that Hubby has already attached to the porch railing. They look adorable, sparkling in the dark.

One cool evening last week, I went out in the yard to inspect the roses. Hubby first brought to my attention a large red rose near the side porch. It was picture perfect. Two yellow roses are now beginning to bloom. The floribunda roses on the front trellis are almost spent. Hubby had to cut off quite a few dead branches from many of our rose bushes because huge amounts of snow had damaged them. Fortunately, we only lost our orange/coral-colored rose bush, although there is a tiny bit of green near the root. Hubby has been feeding the bush with fish-emulsion fertilizer.

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I heard from Paul Nutting, who, with Millie Rooney, was in charge of the terrific Parade of Seniors’ Dorchester Day Luncheon held on May 14 this year. Pal Loretta and I, and this year daughter Sue, enjoyed working the registration tables. Paul sent me a note saying that he would particularly like to thank the following people for always helping with this big event: Gloria Viera, Renie Smith, Connie Sullivan, Stacey Monahan, Daniel Lamoureux, and Eileen Boyle. I must also mention that the gorgeous geranium centerpieces for the many tables at Florian Hall were the work of the head groundskeeper of the Cedar Grove Cemetery, Rusty White. The event went off without a hitch.
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Back to our five days at the Irish Village: On our final evening at the Village, we were fortunate to have John Connors and the Irish Express to entertain us. Our group sang along with John most of the evening. Then we were delighted to have John’s Dad take the stage and play his accordion. He was wonderful. John the Younger certainly inherited his Dad’s musical talents. During the evening, John Jr. played not only the accordion, but also the flute and the guitar.

As I mentioned last week, Tom McCormack, one of the owners of the Irish Village, had injured his foot when a beer keg fell on it. We couldn’t let that stop us from buying fudge to thank him for his kindness to our group. Eileen Collins, who organized our trip, collected money from each of us and drove to the Stage Stop Candy House in Dennis Port, where she always buys Tom’s candy. (I can’t go with her because I avoid “the near occasions of sin.”) Tom was delighted, as usual, with his fudge.

I must mention all the people that joined us at the Irish Village. We all thank Eileen for organizing the trip. (Would you believe that she has the dates already set for our fall visit?) She has even booked the St. Patrick’s Day Luncheon at the Irish Village next March. Also joining us were Peggy Gorman, Marilyn Ferrara. Evie Dunne, Phyllis Hartford, Gregory and Sarah Ashe, Irene Duff, Mary Keeley, Barbara Sullivan, Pat Rahilly, Walter and Carol Belmont, Clare Lenehan, Jeanne Buonopane, Ann Provost, Kathy Griffin, Joe and Barbara Scarborough, Roy and Mary Crawford, Eileen Peterson, Beth Runkle, Jeanne Grande, and Hubby and me. It was a great time. I slept a lot. We ate very well. Quite a few enjoyed the pool, and we had a great time with the entertainers. We look forward to our fall visit.

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I had a chance to check on Jim Cawley this past week. First, I heard, from his wife Elisa, and then from his boss at WORK INC., Jim Cassetta, that Jim has been sent to the Sherrill House, 135 Huntington Ave. in Jamaica Plain, to recuperate. I know that he would love to receive cards from his many friends. He is such a good guy. We wish him well. I was wondering why he was missing from a Board of Trade Business-to-Business meeting recently. Now I know where he was.
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Last week, Hubby, daughter Sue, and I decided that we would go to the Market Basket in Brockton. Sue is getting to know Brockton fairly well since she has been driving her Auntie Peg to any of her doctors’ appointments that are a good distance from her home. Sue had seen that there was a Five Guys’ Restaurant just down the street from the Brockton Market Basket, which is located at 200 Westgate Drive. We were early for the restaurant so we sat in the parking lot. (It opens at 11 a.m.) Just before we went in, Sue warned us to order the little burger. We entered the restaurant and ordered the little burger. Thank goodness we did. I have no idea how big the larger burger is but it must be good-sized. Sue ordered the large size of fries for us but we didn’t even eat half of them. The burgers were good and so were the shelled peanuts that we were invited to take and enjoy when we entered the restaurant, which is located at 57 Westgate Drive.

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On Tuesday, May 26, Hubby and I were delighted to attend the Mayor’s Coffee Hour at the Martin Tot Lot. It was a beautiful day. The mayor’s staff was already there with juices and containers of fruit cup. Hubby and I both asked for a fruit cup, which was positively delicious. I had a chance to chat with Barbara Bailey, Helen Johnson, and Carol Murphy. Hubby and I even had coffee. I had a half cup because it was “high octane,” not “decaf.” I refrained from a donut so Hubby gave me a little piece of his. Sue had an appointment and came down to the tot lot afterwards. She missed the fruit cup but enjoyed a glass of juice.
When Mayor Marty came in, there was quite an uproar from the crowd, which was the biggest one I’ve seen in years. He charmed his audience. The crowd was delighted that he was Dorchester resident. The staff gave a pot of yellow marigolds to each of us attending. Before I left, I asked my friend Ryan Woods if the schedule had been set for the Wednesday evening concerts on City Hall Plaza for this summer. He reached over and took a booklet from the pile of brochures on one of the tables at the playground. It contained the names of the performers for the four Wednesday evening concerts. The first concert, on July 15, will be given by the City of Belfast Youth Orchestra; on July 29, it’s Dance Night, with Stardust; on August 5, it’s a Strictly Sinatra Evening, with Michael Dutra, a great singer; and the final concert of Aug. 12 is a Disco Party Evening, with Tavares. I know we seniors will be singing and dancing. We look forward to all four concerts.

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I hope that all Dads have a wonderful weekend with their families! I love this saying by Johannes “Meister” Eckhart: “If the only prayer that you’ve said in your whole life was ‘Thank you!’, that would suffice.’”