Dreams, Moments, Travels
This is my long-lost sister Shari and her son, my nephew, Shaun. While I was aiming for a dramatic photo of Shaun and me, my sister snuck her way in wearing this ridiculous pig nose mask. But she’s still cute, in her sisterly kind of way. Shari lives with her husband Neal in the Orange County area while Shaun aims for a career in the culinary arts.
Needing a break from the hospital and the frustration the pain my uncle was suffering from, I dropped my aunt at home and headed for the beach. South of the Santa Barbara airport is the Goleta Pier, which in turn is north of the outlet for the Goleta Slough. The Goleta Beach Park offers picnic tables and BBQs next to the sandy stretch of beach; the fishing is reported to be great. The Beachside Bar Cafe has good reviews, and a walk at sunset isn’t ruined by heavy throngs of visitors. Following this decompressing walk, I went into Old Town Goleta for some old-fashioned Mexican food.
It may be nearing the end of summer, and school is back in for most of America’s youth, but for these kids, there’s still time for some playing in the surf late in the day. Funny how the older I get, the colder these coastal California waters become. When I was growing up, we would dip into the water at Huntington Beach on any day the water was warmer than 57 degrees. Today, it had better be close to 75 before I’m gonna stick a toe in or sacrifice parts more sensitive.
Time to leave Santa Barbara and get back to Phoenix, Arizona. The Party is over; everyone is going home. As I was late heading over here, so we are late getting out.
Cooling off in the middle of the day and brushing up on wave-riding skills, this young woman makes her way into the surf with a boogie board in hand. Up and down the coast, rain or shine, hot or cold, you will almost always see someone out in the surf bobbing up and down, looking for the perfect wave.
It was nearly 2:00 p.m. when we left, but that’s ok. Had we left any earlier, we wouldn’t have experienced the excitement of nearly being run off the road by a semi just 15 miles from home in the middle of the night. Bad luck for the guy behind us, who ended up in a ditch because of this sleepy truck driver. Police were on this guy in minutes, but it took another half an hour before our racing hearts calmed down – ah, cheap thrills.
Sixty years ago today, my Uncle Woody (left front) married my Aunt Ann (second from the right) at the All Saints Church in Buffalo, New York, on 205 Esser Avenue. To celebrate this special day their friend Boyd joined my Aunt Jean, cousin Nancy, and Nancy’s children Theresa and Daniel, Caroline, and me to wish them the very best.
We started out with me making breakfast for everyone, and later on, we grilled Ted’s hotdogs for lunch. Daniel brought a pinata, and for the first time in their combined 150-or-so years, my aunt and uncle tried to break open the candy-stuffed pinata. All of us took a whack and had a great laugh.
For dinner, we warmed homemade chicken corn chowder – a summertime favorite in Buffalo. On Sunday morning at Saint Raphael’s Church, the pastor offered a blessing and acknowledged the reaffirmation of their vows, a suggestion by Nancy – we were touched.
This is my aunt Jean Knezetic, whom I have not seen in almost 24 years. She and her daughter (my cousin) Nancy, whom I had met last about that same time, too, came to Santa Barbara to help celebrate the 60th anniversary of my uncle Woody and Aunt Ann. Aunt Jean was married to my aunt Ann’s older brother Frank, who passed away at age 80 just five years ago. Nancy also brought her two wonderful kids, Theresa, aged 16, and Daniel, aged 7, for the festivities.
My cousin Nancy Knezetic was my co-conspirator in planning and surprising my aunt and uncle on their anniversary. I was surprised, too. After not having a word of communication with my cousin in 24 years, I re-met a family member who has grown up to have two great children, a sense of adventure, and a caring for a family not often seen anymore. I can only imagine her husband Sam is as great a guy as reflected in her happiness and the kids’ wellbeing. Unfortunately, we didn’t have the opportunity to meet him on this visit as work stood in the way, but we look forward to visiting them in their California desert home soon.
I think I neglected to know my family for a long time, too long. Such is the damage a parent can cause when the brutality that emerges from their own upbringing leaves a lot of harm in its wake. I missed so much during the years I needed to keep my distance while trying to find my own happiness. Now, as I reflect on these moments when I’m so much older in 2023, I can only cherish what I finally got and smile at those I never really knew as an adult.