Not Bad For An Old Man

Yesterday, I participated in a "cousins" family reunion on my father's side.   I don't know if there will be another one.  It gets harder and harder to fit things in.

Things were different last time (the reunion I blogged about yesterday, which took place five years ago next week).  It seemed like a lot less work.  My spouse cooked on the grill.  We stayed up, laughing, until almost 11 pm.

Now, the planning was almost like climbing a mountain.  All of us had less energy. We all had aches and pains.  One cousin was recovering from surgery.  One had a painful problem that going to various doctors hadn't diagnosed.  The wife of still another cousin had obvious problems with her balance.

No BBQ this time. Cousins chipped in for platters prepared by a local supermarket.  

By 9:15, when the last people left, there were more yawns and bleary looks than laughs.

I haven't mathematically figured this out, but I think I am past halfway in the age range of the cousins on my father's side.  There are twelve of us cousins in all, ranging in age from mid 50's to 70 (or perhaps slightly older than that).  Not all of us were able to come. We talked by phone with one, and by Skype with another. Still others had too much going in in their lives.

I was grateful for this:  All of us are alive.  We have memories.  All of us are "here" mentally.

After eating, we talked on the phone with the last living biological uncle, who is in his early 90's. His wife, who is younger, is our last aunt.  They live about 850 miles from us.

When asking him how he was doing, he said "not bad for an old man".

I flashed back to when I visited him as a teenager, when he was an energetic man in his 40's, raising three children (my youngest cousins).  Now, those young children are in their 50's.

If we wait for another five years, Uncle may well be gone.

Not only him.  Some of us may well be gone. 

We are blessed - all of us are alive. Our spouses (save for one of us, and she could not come) are alive. All of our children are alive.  The same can't be said for other people my age I know, people who have lost spouses, lost children, lost siblings.

We are fortunate, but we know it's only a matter of time.  The clock is ticking.  That next reunion can not wait another five years but will we have the energy to put it together?

One day, I can only hope, we will be saying "not bad for an old man" or "not bad for an old woman" to the children of the next generation.  Somewhere.  Somehow.

The Last Chance?

On Christmas Eve, a cousin called me, and we got to reminiscing. Another cousin had recently been hospitalized with health issues, and it is clear to all of us that time is passing much too quickly.

We had tried to see this cousin twice in recent years as he lives about three hours from us, but circumstances intervened and we had to cancel both visits.

We talked about the possibility of a family reunion next year, especially as one cousin is moving out of the New York area (I live in upstate New York, but was born in New York City) probably to Texas, and we would want to do this before he moves.

It may be a last chance for a reunion of the New York area branch of my "cousins". 

Maybe it isn't strange at all that, this weekend, I took advantage of a free offer on a normally pay-genealogy site.

This reminded me of a couple of posts I've written - one, this summer, and the other, in August of 2012.

Have you ever organized a family reunion?

Two Reunions (July 2014)

Two years ago, on the first Friday of August.  It is two years since some first cousins and their families gathered at my home in Westover, near Johnson City, New York for a mini family reunion.  We haven't had one since and I don't know if we ever will have one again.

After the reunion was over, I wrote this blog post.  It's hard to believe two years have passed since the reunion, and almost three years since a flood that devastated my neighborhood, and other parts of the Triple Cities of Upstate New York.

It's been a time of recovery and a time of hope. A time of memory (the topic of the August NaBloPoMo),  A time of ReUNION.

Slowly, the flood ruined houses are finally being demolished. Much (not all) of the land will be turned into green spaces, never to be developed again.

Former BAE Industries, Westover, NY, July 3, 2014

The ruined factory I speak of (still not demolished) once occupied by BAE Industries and 1300 workers, still waits for its date with the bulldozer.  At one time it was the largest wood framed structure in the United States.  Its history is forgotten by so many.

But on the other hand, since I wrote this, at least one new business has started where another one had closed - a seed of hope.

And our town, the town of Union, has been planning a gigantic planning project, the ReUNION Project 2020.  There are a lot of high hopes for our area.  Time will tell what positive things will come out of this disaster.

This is the post I wrote after the cousins reunion, on the eve of the first anniversary of the flood.

On the Cover of the Rolling....Flood Book (August 2012)

It is said that everyone has their 15 minutes of fame.  Sometimes, that fame is a welcome thing.  Don't you want to be famous?  Doesn't everyone?

Sometimes, it is your neighborhood that becomes famous.

Many times, you just as soon wish it had never happened.
That's what I wish, every time I leave my house near Johnson City, NY and walk or travel more than about three or four blocks.

I pass buildings that became vacant 11 months ago today, and are still vacant.  Some don't have interior walls.  Some are still filled with debris.  Some have "For Sale" signs.  Some still have bushes encrusted with flood mud.

There is the former credit union building.  The former day care center.  The former doctor's practice. The former 600,000. square foot factory building that once held 1300 workers.  The former adult day care center.  The sagging houses that will never be occupied again.  One entire street is almost devoid of occupants, with just a handful of hardy souls trying to reclaim their lives.

The out of business and for sale tire store whose mechanics nourished my son's love of car repair especially touches my heart.  The former.....the former.....

Many businesses have reopened.  The Home Depot.  The Ollies.  The window contractor.  The Aldi.  Our local pediatrician. A dentist.  A massage therapist.   My beloved Unicorn Electronics.  Wild Birds Unlimited.

We must look towards the future and I usually do, but today I look back one last time.

This past weekend, I had several cousins visit from the New York City area, Pennsylvania, and (by Skype) Florida, the midwest and Texas.  We had a lot of fun, and we talked about many things.  Still, a certain book I had taken out of the library drew a number of fascinated readers.  They paged through the pictures while my young adult son provided the narration.

One of the cousins graduated last year from Binghamton University.  She looked at pictures of places she knew. She had graduated in May of 2011 and the pictures were taken during the period of September 7, 8 and 9, 2011 during the flooding caused by Tropical Storm Lee,  It was a book about the flood.  If she had still been going to the college, she may well have volunteered at the Events Center, which became one of the evacuation centers.

My neighborhood is on the cover of the flood book.  My house is even visible (no, not telling you which one) in the aerial photo.

Our neighborhood of Westover, along with several other areas (some of which suffered much worse than we did) have become a symbol of the flood.  Let us name them:  Owego. Castle Gardens.  Twin Orchards.  The Southside of Binghamton.  There are others.  I really don't know why our neighborhood was chosen for its 15 minutes of fame, but it was.

When I first found out our neighborhood would be on the cover, it was emotionally very hard.  It was just a couple of months after the flood, and my feelings were still too raw.  But, when I saw the book at the library this past July, I knew it was time.  Time to put the flood where it belonged, in the past.

Time to read the book.  Time to move on.

So we looked at the book, and then went on to much happier things. We had such a good time that my sides ached the next day.

I wish the flood had never happened.  I wish I could have had the power to prevent the storm from doing what it did to our part of upstate NY and parts of several other states.  But wishes have no power.  Only actions.  We have come so far, and we should be proud.

Next month will be the one year anniversary.  I will write about the flood recovery one last time.  And then I hope to move on permanently to other blog topics.

It is time.

Two Reunions

Two years ago, on the first Friday of August.  It is two years since some first cousins and their families gathered at my home in Westover, near Johnson City, New York for a mini family reunion.  We haven't had one since and I don't know if we ever will have one again.

After the reunion was over, I wrote this blog post.  It's hard to believe two years have passed since the reunion, and almost three years since a flood that devastated my neighborhood, and other parts of the Triple Cities of Upstate New York.

It's been a time of recovery and a time of hope. A time of memory (the topic of the August NaBloPoMo),  A time of ReUNION.

Slowly, the flood ruined houses are finally being demolished. Much (not all) of the land will be turned into green spaces, never to be developed again.

Former BAE Industries, Westover, NY, July 3, 2014

The ruined factory I speak of (still not demolished) once occupied by BAE Industries and 1300 workers, still waits for its date with the bulldozer.  At one time it was the largest wood framed structure in the United States.  Its history is forgotten by so many.

But on the other hand, since I wrote this, at least one new business has started where another one had closed - a seed of hope.

And our town, the town of Union, has been planning a gigantic planning project, the ReUNION Project 2020.  There are a lot of high hopes for our area.  Time will tell what positive things will come out of this disaster.

This is the post I wrote after the cousins reunion, on the eve of the first anniversary of the flood.

On the Cover of the Rolling....Flood Book

It is said that everyone has their 15 minutes of fame.  Sometimes, that fame is a welcome thing.  Don't you want to be famous?  Doesn't everyone?

Sometimes, it is your neighborhood that becomes famous.

Many times, you just as soon wish it had never happened.
That's what I wish, every time I leave my house near Johnson City, NY and walk or travel more than about three or four blocks.

I pass buildings that became vacant 11 months ago today, and are still vacant.  Some don't have interior walls.  Some are still filled with debris.  Some have "For Sale" signs.  Some still have bushes encrusted with flood mud.

There is the former credit union building.  The former day care center.  The former doctor's practice. The former 600,000. square foot factory building that once held 1300 workers.  The former adult day care center.  The sagging houses that will never be occupied again.  One entire street is almost devoid of occupants, with just a handful of hardy souls trying to reclaim their lives.

The out of business and for sale tire store whose mechanics nourished my son's love of car repair especially touches my heart.  The former.....the former.....

Many businesses have reopened.  The Home Depot.  The Ollies.  The window contractor.  The Aldi.  Our local pediatrician. A dentist.  A massage therapist.   My beloved Unicorn Electronics.  Wild Birds Unlimited.

We must look towards the future and I usually do, but today I look back one last time.

This past weekend, I had several cousins visit from the New York City area, Pennsylvania, and (by Skype) Florida, the midwest and Texas.  We had a lot of fun, and we talked about many things.  Still, a certain book I had taken out of the library drew a number of fascinated readers.  They paged through the pictures while my young adult son provided the narration.

One of the cousins graduated last year from Binghamton University.  She looked at pictures of places she knew. She had graduated in May of 2011 and the pictures were taken during the period of September 7, 8 and 9, 2011 during the flooding caused by Tropical Storm Lee,  It was a book about the flood.  If she had still been going to the college, she may well have volunteered at the Events Center, which became one of the evacuation centers.

My neighborhood is on the cover of the flood book.  My house is even visible (no, not telling you which one) in the aerial photo.

Our neighborhood of Westover, along with several other areas (some of which suffered much worse than we did) have become a symbol of the flood.  Let us name them:  Owego. Castle Gardens.  Twin Orchards.  The Southside of Binghamton.  There are others.  I really don't know why our neighborhood was chosen for its 15 minutes of fame, but it was.

When I first found out our neighborhood would be on the cover, it was emotionally very hard.  It was just a couple of months after the flood, and my feelings were still too raw.  But, when I saw the book at the library this past July, I knew it was time.  Time to put the flood where it belonged, in the past.

Time to read the book.  Time to move on.

So we looked at the book, and then went on to much happier things. We had such a good time that my sides ached the next day.

I wish the flood had never happened.  I wish I could have had the power to prevent the storm from doing what it did to our part of upstate NY and parts of several other states.  But wishes have no power.  Only actions.  We have come so far, and we should be proud.

Next month will be the one year anniversary.  I will write about the flood recovery one last time.  And then I hope to move on permanently to other blog topics.

It is time.

Sustainable Saturday - The Resilient Neighborhood

From time to time, I've discussed the neighborhood I've lived in, Westover, near Johnson City, New York.  My regular readers know that my neighborhood was flooded in September, 2011, triggered by a record rainy summer followed by Tropical Storms Irene and Lee.

Many places that flooded were not in official flood zones.  Others have flooded twice since 2006.

An aerial picture of my neighborhood became the cover picture of a book our local newspaper compiled on the flooding in the Triple Cities of New York and nearby communities.

Now, over two years later. part of my neighborhood will be torn down once a buyout is completed.  We, along with other flooded neighborhoods and communities, ponder our future.

Our town, the Town of Union (our neighborhood is something New York calls a"part town" area), has started something called the ReUNION project. 

There was an intense planning meeting Thursday, and "open houses" Friday and today.  My husband and I went to the one late this afternoon.

It was fascinating but a bit exhausting.  I will blog more details at a later time - details that hold true for all communities that face flooding.

Our thinking has evolved, partly due to last year's Superstorm Sandy.  Sandy was a true "gamechanger".  Many of the ideas presented are for what is called the "resilient" neighborhood - and sustainable, green living is one of the keys.  There was talk of water storage with recreational facilities built above the storage, green roofs, special surfaces for parking lots, specially designed strips between sidewalks and roads, and actually allowing parts of communities to flood in their natural flood plains - in a controlled way.

And yes, farmers markets may even be a part of the process.

Of course, making a lot of these ideas a reality is going to be a long, hard struggle.  Money must be found.  The State government must be convinced.  And if we implement, and communities upstream don't, some of our effort may be wasted.

My husband and I have signed up to be updated as this process progresses. What part we will play, we don't know yet.

Is your community discussing implementation of "green" measures to live with climate change, hurricanes or other storms, and flooding?