“August is a lazy girl,
Lazy and yet sweet.
Fingers stained with raspberries,
Slippers off her feet.
“August Smiles” by Elizabeth Coatsworth
Our raspberry bushes are all gone, victims of the local birds. We do, however, have some cherry tomatoes at the front of the house. We assume that we owe them to the birds dropping seeds from the tomatoes from our back yard. Daughter Sue counted at least 28 cherry tomatoes ripening on the single bush in the front yard. Most of those will probably never get inside our house. We will pop them in our mouths as we pick them.
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I was sorry to read of the death of Catherine “Katie” (O’Connor) O’Neill on July 25 at age 95. Katie was the mother of my friend Catherine O’Neill and the mother-in-law of my longtime friend Mary Grassa O’Neill. Born in Scotland, Katie immigrated to Dorchester aboard the Queen Mary in 1953, with her six sons, one year after her husband Thomas had done so. They had three more children, all daughters, in the US. I attended Katie’s wake with my friend Sr. Elizabeth Calcagni. As we walked up the stairs of St. Gregory’s Church, we saw our pals Loretta Philbrick and Mary Shea outside the front door. We asked why Mrs. O’Neill was waked inside St. Gregory’s Church. It seems that her husband was the custodian for St. Gregory’s for many years. He was allowed to be waked in the church and so was his wife.
When Sr. Elizabeth and I approached the family, both daughter Catherine and daughter-in-law Mary, son Tom’s wife, urged us to take advantage of the refreshments near the church’s front door on our way out. We expressed our sympathy to the family. On our way out, Sister had a cup of coffee and several scrumptious cookies, baked by Ann Grassa. There were also bottles of ice-cold water. I took two cookies for Hubby to thank him for driving us to St. Greg’s. I send my sympathy to all the O’Neills. Katie was an amazing lady.
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Speaking of St. Gregory’s, I must thank Julie Hayes, the parish secretary, for giving me so much information, like the dates for the holy days and the Mass times. I appreciate it so much. I wouldn’t know all this info without your help, Julie.
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I must also mention that I was saddened by the death of Al Thomas, the director of his own funeral home in East Milton, on Aug. 4. I had heard about Al many years ago when my sister-in-law Peg lived next door to the nurse in charge of a nursing home in Mattapan. This RN told us how kind Al was to bury those patients who had no family and no money. I thought the world of him for that. Hubby and I met Al while walking at Castle Island a few times. We, of course, saw him when we attended a wake at his funeral home, with its beautiful fireplace. I am sure that God will reward him for his many kindnesses to others. He was a very caring man.
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Another death that saddened me was that of Kathryn “Kay” (Johnston) Walsh on Aug. 4. I was always close to my senior neighbors, Kay Quigley, Barbara Cheney, and especially Mary Parodi, when my kids were little. I heard from them how important Kay Walsh was in starting their senior group. When the group for seniors was finally formed, the members decided that its name should be “K” after Kay Walsh’s efforts in its founding. I remember being asked to print and run off the early membership lists on “purple masters” for the seniors. I remember sitting with Kay and her husband, Tom Walsh, at a function. Tom was a very quiet man. I wondered what I would speak with him about for the rest of the afternoon. I just happened to mention that I really enjoyed the TV series, “The Closer,” with Kyra Sedgwick as Deputy Police Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson. Tom’s eyes lit up and he talked my ear off about the series for the rest of the time we were together. I send my sympathy to the Walsh children: Linda, Carol, and Robert. I especially send my sympathy to her sister, my dear friend Maureen Connolly. Kay’s funeral Mass was said at Mission Church and her burial was in Cedar Grove Cemetery.
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On Sun., Aug. 9, Hubby and I attended one of the nicest events that we have ever experienced. Mayor Marty Walsh and Boston’s Elderly Commission had hired the beautiful ship “Spirit of Boston” for the brunch cruise at 11 a.m. Hubby and I were fortunate to receive two tickets. We were asked to go to Keystone and board a bus there that would take us into Boston. We were there by 10 a.m. We were amazed at the number of people waiting for the bus. It was a big one, large enough to hold 48 of us. Pal Eileen Collins signed all of us on the bus.
Within 15 minutes after leaving Keystone, we were in town on a nice and cool Sunday morning. As soon as we arrived and began leaving the bus, we were given a ticket for the cruise and brunch. We went on the ship immediately and found a table. We sat with pals Ken and Mary Bruynell and Gwen Adams. The wait staff was very attentive and brought us coffee while others filled the chaffing dishes for the buffet. There were scrambled eggs, bacon, sausages, salmon. a pasta dish, chicken, assorted fruits, rolls, and muffins. A little later, we were treated to all kinds of Danish, to go along with our coffee.
I must mention that we were not the only seniors on the ship. There were three or four more busloads on hand. As different groups stood in line for the buffet, I noticed one lady waving to me. It was my friend Thelma Burns, whom I haven’t seen for a while. (The last time I saw her was at Market Basket in Brockton.) We had a chance to chat for a few minutes.
After everyone had eaten, people began moving around the ship and venturing outside. Others stayed inside and took photos out the windows. We loved seeing Castle Island, of course. The many sailboats in the water looked beautiful. I was surprised that the Pier Four property looked so rundown. We had so many happy memories of that place. We loved looking at our Rainbow gas tank. All the while we were cruising, our friend Ken kept telling us about the areas we were seeing. He told us about the South Boston Aquarium. I vaguely remember a big turtle swimming in a tank there. He mentioned that Castle Island was off limits during World War II. He talked about the Sugar Bowl in Southie. He was just a wealth of knowledge about Boston’s waterfront. We enjoyed listening to him. As we returned to our dock, everyone seemed sorry to leave the ship after such a nice morning. We thank Mayor Marty Walsh and the Elderly Commission for offering this lovely senior trip. By the way, as we proceeded off the ship, there were young women standing to the side, offering each of us a chocolate-covered strawberry. Almost everyone had the strawberry eaten before they boarded the bus for “home.” What a lovely way to spend a Sunday morning!
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I must mention a terrific deed. While I was waiting for the bus to take us in town to the Wednesday evening concert (with Michael Dutra), I saw a man with his two young boys cleaning St. Brendan Road. I went over to speak to them. John Harrington introduced me to his sons Denis and Derven. Three or four times a year, they give St. Brendan Road a good cleaning. What a wonderful thing to teach the youngsters! The family deserves the credit. By the way, Dad John told me that I knew his wife. I really did. She is the former Carol Pembroke. No wonder these boys are such great kids, from the families of both the Harringtons and the Pembrokes.
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Here is a great thought from Ralph Waldo Emerson: “Write it in your heart that every day is the best day of the year.”
