The month of May ended with the Lord taking our great and lovable friend, Barbara Nummi to heaven. She was like a sister to us. The month began with another great celebration of a loving sister, Rosemary, who is a friend to all whom she meets. Barbara had a memorial service on May 27 with an overflowing church listening to the history of the woman’s immeasurable love. On June 1st a full church listened to praises and plaudits for Rosemary celebrating 25 years service to that church and its people as a sister of the Holy Child order. Both were filled with moments of loving memories. We are eternally grateful for the blessing of having both these loving and lovable sisters and friends in our lives.
Both services had readings from the Bible on love for one another. In Barbara’s case the Pastor remarked that the selection from Paul’s letter to the Corinthians on love is one usually read at weddings. He agreed heartily however that it was properly a part of any memorial for Barbara. Likewise the readings at Rosemary’s service included the letter of John admonishing Christians to love one another. Rosemary even sang a little tune in her remarks. She remembered it from her days of performing on her Father’s birthday. It was, “The Right Somebody to Love”. It was a Shirley Temple song and it was a theme of Roie’s talk in that her life has been a seeking and finding of the right somebodies to love They, the right someones, were any and all those she met or with whom she worked. Barbara was equally seeking and finding them from her husband and children to all those residents in the apartment house she managed, as well as her church friends, her Via de Cristo reunion groups, or wherever she took that shining smile.
My attending the celebration for Rosemary had me traveling from St. Petersburg, FL to Princeton Junction, NJ to the home of Sue and Tom, and their three daughters, Kate, Meg, and Colleen. The house is situated across from a large open field with several new buildings widely placed over about a half-mile area. It was a great place for a walk. The area housed the West Windsor Library, the Municipal Offices and Court, a Post Office, a Senior Citizens Center, and a Police Station. The Police station had a sign on the door (I think the handicap’s entrance) that really got to me. It read: “Do not bring any suspicious packages into this building”. Now I wondered how would I know that the package I was carrying was suspicious? Certainly if I thought it worth carrying it couldn’t be such to me, could it? I know that on occasion I have wondered where did I pick up this particular item as I moved from room to room or from house to house. But I never had a feeling that it rose to the category of it being ‘suspicious’ or whatever. Well, now that I’ve warned you be sure to oblige when and if you ever find yourself entering the West Windsor Police station in Princeton Junction, New Jersey.
The traveling gave me a great opportunity to practice patience. The prayer of St. Francis often came to mind: “Lord, grant me the serenity to accept those things I cannot change, and change those things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference”. I left my home with a ride from a friend at 12:15 PM and arrived at Sue and Tom’s home at 1 AM the next morning. The scheduled time was approximately 5 hours door to door, not over 12. But due to mechanical difficulties which some how always seems to be discovered after you have boarded, put your luggage away and began the crossword puzzle in your seat. It is then that we were advised that there was repair needed and it would be about two hours before the part could be brought in to Tampa Airport and put onto the airplane. By the time the full plane load had emptied into the waiting area the time was extended from two to four hours. After a short visit to the Men’s room the time was extended to 7 PM. It was then about 3:30 PM. It was then suggested we try another flight. I made several phone calls to advise June of the breaking news. She jokingly suggested that if I stayed there long enough she and her son Mike could run over and have dinner with me. I finally did get a seat to Newark on the 7:50 PM flight. It was exactly 5 hours later than my scheduled flight but interestingly enough the flight number was only one digit different. My 2:50 PM Flight was #319, and this one was #419.1 arrived in Newark at 10:31 PM and went immediately to the baggage claim area where I had anticipated meeting my son-in-law Tom. I had the great help of Barbara Nummi’s daughter in law Annie Nummi, and her son Andreas. Annie is an employee of the airline I was using, Continental. She kept insisting she stay with me until someone came to pick me up but I assured her someone would be there in no time. “No time” ran to about 11:30 PM.I finally called June to get Sue and Tom’s home number since their cell phones were of no help. My daughter answered and said surprisingly “Where are you?” I responded, at the baggage claim area for Continental in Newark Airport. She was surprised since somewhere between all the phone calls she and Tom had been lead to believe the flight was cancelled and I was flying in the next day. A few moments later some guy comes into the area with a sign printed on an 8 x 10-card reading “McSorley”. He was likewise calling out the name. I was alone in the area so luckily he had little to choose from. He then asked me if I knew of the address 350 N. Post Rd, Princeton Junction? I said yes, it was my daughter and son-in-law’s home address. He was assured therefore that I was the right guy so he took my bag and off we went to his car. He drove me to 350 N Post Road. Naturally since I was coming from Florida he, like almost everyone you meet when you travel north, has a relative in Florida. His was his father-in-law who lived just bit north of us in Dunedin. He was interested in the name “McSorley” since he knew someone with that name in New York, and of course knew of “McSorley’s Wonderful Saloon” the book and the place.
On Friday night we, Tom Baker and two of the girls, drove over to Yardley, Pennsylvania to have dinner with my daughter Mary and her family. It turned out to be another ride down memory lane since Mary had invited an old neighbor, Terry Carroll, and his daughter Mary Jo. It was also a belated birthday party for me, which the three guys and the girls were happy to partake in since it meant eating a beautifully decorated birthday cake. Terry and I reminisced about all the things he did to help us when we first moved into our house back in 1958 across the street from his family’s home. We recalled a ride in snow on Christmas Eve to Princeton New Jersey to the Creative Play things plant to retrieve Christmas toys that had never been delivered and which Santa had to have in the living room by morning. But a better memory was that of Mary Jo, their first adopted child now 22 years of age and finished with college. June and I went to the hospital to pick up the baby that was to be called Mary Jo. We took her home to Terry and Nancy Carroll who were waiting in our home. They met us outside and we stood there while the baby being held in June’s arms entranced Nancy. The time passed and she kept sighing about how beautiful the child was until finally June said, “Aren’t you going to take her?” We all laughed and naturally Nancy took into her arms this lovely young lady now sitting across the table from me. On Sunday at Rosemary’s luncheon I had a similar experience. A couple came up to me with a young lady and introduced themselves. It happened that I had been able to provide them with a child who was this young lady now in her 20’s. Both incidences reminded of the rewards and joy I received from practicing law in the adoption field. You got more than money in seeing the love in the eyes of the recipients of a child.
So June and the last days in May were both celebrations of life. One, through faith, was a celebration of the life hereafter and the other of achievements in this present life.
We wish you all a happy a prosperous month and peace be with you (pax tecum)!