April 1 2024

Today is a good day to go out early in the morning and forget your cell phone on the kitchen table.  You can decide to leave the car behind and walk if you want to become like a ghost and have nobody know where you are. April 1 is a tricky morning, I am thinking about Tony this morning.

 Antonini and Sons were operating out of the building located on the southwest corner of Rose Street and 8th Avenue at the time.  I was working on a set of drawings in the estimate room adjacent to Tony's office when the phone rang. I heard the customary "Good morning, Antonini and Sons". There was a moment of silence then Tony apologized for not being able to understand. Another moment of silence and again an apology. Quite often the only time Tony couldn't understand something, especially at work, was shortly before he was to have a diabetic event. I walked into his office and his hand went up to stop me from even asking. He put the phone on speaker and I understood his confusion. The voice on the other line was speaking fluent Italian, the only words we could understand through the thick accent were "abigga Lou". Tony figured he was asking to speak to dad and tried to explain dad was retired and didn't come to the shop often. It didn't work. There was more Italian and another "abigga Lou". Once more Tony tried to explain but once again it didn't work. The Italian seemed a little agitated when he spoke again and likewise did Tony when he tried to explain again. Once more the Italian tried to get his words understood but there was a bit of levity in the voice this time. Tony and I both realized it at the same time. Tony started to respond with a good tongue lashing but I don't think Marty heard it through his laughter. I didn't feel so bad about feeling fooled because he had got Tony. Tony didn't need April first to tell one of his stories. He's in my thoughts often.

Loved

March 1 / 2024

 There was an idea some one had related to me about airport luggage conveyors, their theory was that the airlines sent out decoy bags to appease passengers eagerly waiting for their bag to appear. It actually made sense and was one of those tidbits that sit in the back of your mind unmindfully growing strength. So it had positioned itself as fact by the time we took a trip to Scotland in 2015. We had landed in Glasgow and made our way to the luggage carousel, the idea weaseled it’s way to the front of my mind and I found myself being interested in the airports creativity. It is funny how your mind works, I waited for the first bag to appear. There it was. My first thought was, these guys are pretty clever, they’ve sent out a generic looking bag, one anyone would use. It moved on closer, I thought very good boys, same shape and color as my own. Only a few feet from where I stood my mind was blown, these guys had actually attached a tassel exactly like the one Deanie had made so I could identify my bag easier. That idea I had been told years before was so imbedded in my mind it didn’t dawn on me it was my bag until I saw my name on the tag. I learned a couple things that day. I have a mind that could be pretty easily brainwashed and... there aren’t any decoy bags.

Three for three

Loved

February 2024

This might be one of the easiest resolutions I've ever made, but I better not get to far ahead of myself, I have ten more to go. 

January is done, I'm becoming a bit of a couch potato, I can usually get a pretty good workout shoveling snow. We have a law in Regina that the sidewalk in front of your home must be cleared within 24 hours of a snowfall.  We've had so little snow I've been able to keep the walks clean in front of 3 neighboring houses. I feel sorry for seniors who are no longer able to clear their walks on their own, plus, I don't want Jenna Lee coming by in her squad car to stir up the neighbors...again. Last time a few of the neighbors came out to see why an officer of the law was escorting me out to her car. We have more than one Mrs. Kravitz on the block, let me know if any of you remember who she was.

We are looking forward to the upcoming get together to celebrate a belated Antonini Christmas gathering, it coincides with Family Day and a memorable date. We are fortunate Len has booked us the RMF facility. We will be missing Tony for sure.

Have a good February

Loved

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

 Sorry about that I felt I should post more than a title but hadn't come up with anything yet. Right about now I'd come up with the old joke " I made a resolution to make no resolutions this year". Ha ha. This year I've decided to make a bunch and see if any of them last. They're pretty simple, for some people I guess, for example I'm going to try to eat healthier, which you'd think would be easy because I eat like a garbage can right now. That's not that much of an exaggeration either, Deanie sometimes says "we can eat off our kitchen floor, not because it's that clean, because we drop so much food on it". You know that "five second rule", all my life I thought it was five minutes. One of my other resolutions is to drink more water, when I was installing hardwood Pat used to say to me, " Ed, I spill more water than you drink". I've never been a water lover, I had a life long dream of being able to walk on water, not because I thought I could be like Jesus, that would have been tough, no, it's because then I wouldn't have to get wet. Another is always getting the blog renewed on the first day of the month. Let's see how this year goes.

Loved

wait for it...will be back shortly

December 2023

 Early in November, Mike, Len, Rob and I drove over to Calgary for a reunion with Lou and Marty. We had a great time, lots of good food, good music, good conversation, a lot of laughs and some tears, after all we took Tony with us. It was Carol's idea, we worried a little about getting him back to her but we worried about getting him back to her at all our other reunions so, nothing new. Our brother Lou came up with a line I am sure to use in the future. He recounted an event in Regina where we were at a hotel listening to our brother Marty perform on his keyboard, Lou was sitting with a friend who was bad mouthing some people, having had enough Lou finally stated, "Listen, I'm too old and I'm too tired too be hating anybody." He has given me permission to steal it.

Have a joyous holiday season

Loved

November 1 2023

 I have long been concerned about Deanie's hearing. Quite often in the morning it sounds like one of the planes leaving the Regina airport is buzzing the tree tops in the back yard but it is only Deanie drying her hair. For years she has been doing her hair with her favorite hair dryer, it has two rolls of electrical tape wrapped around the cord to keep it safe enough to use. It might have been designed by one of Boeing's jet propulsion engineers. You get the idea, it's not as big as a jet engine but it sounds like one.

So I talked to a hearing specialist and she told me how to test Deanie's hearing without her knowing, I didn't want to upset her, people don't like to be told they have bad hearing. The test was simple. I stood at the front door while Deanie was at the stove making lunch, this would favor her left side. I know my voice is sometimes hard to hear so I spoke in a clear voice at a normal volume, "Hey Deanie, when will lunch be ready?" Hmmm. No reaction. I would cross to the other side of the kitchen, favoring her right ear. Same volume, "Deanie, when will lunch be ready?" A slight movement of her head, did she hear? No answer. Moving to the counter across from the stove, spoken at the same volume, after all I'm quite a bit closer. "Hey Deanie, when will lunch be ready?'' My heart sank, no reply. I stepped in right behind her, how was I going to tell her she was losing her hearing, or maybe she already suspected. I spoke clearly but a little softer this time. "Hey honey, when will lunch be ready?" She spun around. Boy if looks could kill. "Don't honey me, I told you three times already, it will be ready when it's ready!" I better check this lunch for poison.

Loved