1983: A brand new family--starring Rhoda. (Red Baron)

As you can see, I've decided not to end Vol.IV of "Paternoster" where I did. I just had some other things I wanted to say, I guess. Yesterday's post dealt with my family of "blood" relatives, so I decided not to make it "heterogeneous" by including my current second family until I could give them their own space on my blog. First and foremost is my amazing wife, RH+ (Rhoda)! And with this second marriage, I've inherited a second family which includes Renee (cedilla over the second "e"), my stepdaughter, Jeffrey, my step son-in-law, my step grandchildren, Ilana and Allyson, and my stepson, Jon and his lovely wife, Joanne. This is my closest family now; I say closest because they are the ones I see most often. They visit Florida more often then does yesterday's family. But, as I say, I love them all.

For the last couple of weeks, after I'd been invited to meet a friend on Facebook, I've received a plethora of invitations to meet "a friend". Some are relatives, but most are former students. Today I received three; one from Spencer Pyne, one from Barry Meyer. Barry was on my championship Mile Relay team that qualified for the Millrose Games in Madison Square Garden. These four guys called themselves, "The Four Horseman" and I grew very very fond of them. I also received an invitation from Richard Bennett who had this to say on my "wall": "Doc, I am doing well in Virginia. I must say, you have left a lasting impression on me from your guidance during track and soccer. The lessons you taught me are lessons of life not just sports. The regimen to persevere regardless of outcome are etched in my soul. Thank you!!" Well, thank you, Richard. Messages like this from former students back in the 60s and 70s always give me a lift, pulling me out of doldrums or depression because I'm turning 85 this week. These students have to be in their 50s and 60s by now...and I can't remember a single teacher from high school. Speaking of my birthday, I feel kind of weird reaching this "aged" number. I recall meeting other people my age when I was growing up whom I thought would keel over any minute...and we didn't have defibrillators in those days. 85 is a nice round number and I'm looking forward to the next "round" number--and I expect to receive more "slings and arrows" as I go forward. Although I've lost a lot of mobility and activities, I've still got my brain, which is good enough to get through the Washington Post's Sunday x-word puzzle. Not to mention a blog like this. Hi ho.