nothing but the water

DUE TO THE ADDICTION OF FACEBOOK I HAVE NEGLECTED MY BLOG ENTIRELY. BUT NEEDLESS TO SAY, IT WAS A ROUGH FALL. FOR EVERYONE! AND THEN FALL TURNED INTO WINTER, CHRISTMAS CAME AND WENT AND NOW IT IS 2010! AND AS I SIT HERE THE SNOW IS FALLING, AND FALLING, AND FALLING. I STARTED MY DAY OFF LIKE MOST SYRACUSIANS AND SHOVELED MY DRIVEWAY. WHICH IS NOT REALLY SOMETHING TO COMPLAIN OR BRAG ABOUT BECAUSE IT IS THE FIRST TIME THIS WINTER I HAD TO SHOVEL, AS BILLY USUALLY DOES THAT DUTY. AND DESPITE THE FACT I DID IT THIS MORNING, HE IS MORE THAN LIKELY GOING TO HAVE TO SHOVEL WHEN HE GETS HOME FROM WORK ANYWAYS. BUT HEY, MY EFFORT SHALL BE NOTED.

THE LAST TIME I POSTED ON HERE I WAS VERY UPSET AND CONFUSED. I AND THOSE AROUND ME WERE WATCHING A GREAT FRIEND LEAVE US DAY BY DAY. AND ON A SATURDAY NIGHT IN OCTOBER, PETER LEFT US FOR A BETTER PLACE. TO ME HE WAS MORE THAN A FRIEND. HE HAD BEEN IN MY LIFE FOR THE 29 YEARS I HAVE BEEN ON THIS EARTH. WHEN I WAS YOUNG HE WOULD BABYSIT MY BROTHER AND I WHEN MOM WOULD WORK NIGHTS AT THE CLIPPER. HE WOULD BRING A NINTENDO OVER WE WOULD PLAY TETRIS UNTIL OUR THUMBS HAD CALLOUSES, WHICH I DIDNT MIND OF COURSE. I AM NOT SURE MOM WAS HAPPY THOUGH BECAUSE SHE EVENTUALLY HAD TO BUY US OUR OWN NINTENDO. PETER WOULD TAKE US SLEDDING AT BARTLETT POINT. HE WAS ALWAYS IN CHARGE OF THE CLIPPER CHRISTMAS FLOAT.

AND 16 YEARS AGO PETER'S SON, JOHN WAYNE, WAS BORN. WHEN HE WAS JUST A COUPLE WEEKS OLD JOHN WAYNE WAS AT OUR HOUSE DUE TO A FAMILY EMERGENCY. FROM THERE, THE CIRCLE CONTINUED AND I BECAME JOHN WAYNE'S PRIMARY BABYSITTER. I WAS WITH HIM NONSTOP FOR THE FIRST 5 YEARS OF HIS LIFE, AS HIS DAD WORKED AT THE CLIPPER AND EVENTUALLY, STARTED GOING TO NURSING SCHOOL. JOHN WAYNE AND I SPENT SO MUCH TIME TOGETHER I WAS "HIS EM" AND THERE WAS NO WAY AROUND IT. HE WAS THE BEST, CUTEST AND MY FAVORITE LITTLE BOY, TO THIS DAY. PETER AND BONNIE BROUGHT ME TO LAKE PLACID TO WATCH JOHN WAYNE. AND EVEN THOUGH THEY HAD FRIENDS WITH THEM THEY STILL MANAGED TO MAKE SURE I HAD A BLAST. PETER AND I TOOK A GREAT RIDE DOWN THE LUGE ON THE TOBOGGAN. I STILL CAN REMEMBER HIM YELLING ALL THE WAY DOWN, AND WE WENT FURTHER THAN ANYONE. THAT TRIP IS FOREVER IN MY HEART.

BUT AS I GREW UP, IT WAS TIME FOR ME TO GET A JOB, AND AS NATURE RAN ITS COURSE, I LANDED ONE AT THE CLIPPER. BUT THAT ONLY ENABLED ME TO WORK WITH PETER. SOMETIMES SIDE BY SIDE. AND I BELIEVE I WAS HIS PARTNER ON THE LAST DAY OF HIS EMPLOYMENT AT THE CLIPPER, MOTHER'S DAY. I REMEMBER HE KNEW HE WAS GOING TO BE OUT OF NURSING SCHOOL VERY SOON, SO HE WAS NOT REALLY INTO WAITING ON TABLES THAT DAY. NEEDLESS TO SAY, THE WORD "WHATEVER" WAS DROPPED MORE THAN A FEW TIMES. I WILL NEVER FORGET WHEN HE DRESSED UP AS AUNT MITZI FOR HALLOWEEN, WINE STAIN ON THE CHEST AND ALL. AND I ALWAYS LOOKED FORWARD TO "THE WORD OF THE DAY" LOCATED IN THE SERVICE BAR. AND WHEN MELINDA AND I WERE DOING SALADS IN THE KITCHEN, PETER'S FACE WOULD ALWAYS APPEAR IN THE WINDOW OF THE DOOR TO THE WAITRESS STATION 4. AND SIT THERE UNTIL HE WAS NOTICED. WHEN I WAS PREPPING DURING THE DAY, I WOULD ALWAYS KNOW PETER WOULD COME IN FOR A CUP OF MORNING COFFEE, BECAUSE WHY WOULD HE MAKE HIS OWN WHEN THE BEST CUP OF COFFEE IN TOWN WAS RIGHT NEXT DOOR FOR FREE?

AS PETER WENT ON TO NURSING, AND I BECAME OLDER, AND OF AGE, PETER AND I WOULD HANG OUT AS FRIENDS, EITHER AT POTTER'S BEACH OR THE LOCAL WATERING HOLES. WE HAD A FEW ROAD TRIPS TOGETHER THAT ARE CERTAINLY MEMORABLE. AND THE TWO OF US TOOK AN EARLY SPRING BOAT RIDE TO GRINDSTONE, DRIVING ALL OVER THE ISLANDS ON 4 WHEELERS, VISITING URCH AND HARRY AND A DESERTED POTTER'S BEACH. AT THIS POINT IN OUR LIVES WE TALKED TO EACH OTHER ABOUT EVERYTHING. I ALWAYS KNEW I COULD TELL PETER ANYTHING, AND HE WOULD EITHER LAUGH OR GIVE ME SOME SORT OF ADVICE. AND PETER DIDN'T HIDE A THING FROM ME EITHER. HE TOLD ME LIKE IT IS. BRUTALLY HONEST AND INSIGHTFUL. HE EVEN MADE A POINT TO STOP AT OUR NEW HOME IN SYRACUSE ON HIS WAY TO ALBANY. IT MAY SEEM LIKE A LITTLE THING, BUT I AM GLAD HE GOT TO SEE THIS PART OF MY LIFE.

2 YEARS AGO I BECAME ENGAGED TO BE MARRIED. I ASKED MY GIRLFRIENDS TO BE MY BRIDESMAIDS. BUT I ALSO ASKED PETER TO STAND UP WITH ME. I COULDN'T THINK OF ANYONE ELSE WHO HAS BEEN WITH ME FOR MORE THINGS IN MY LIFE THAN HIM. HE HAS BEEN TO SO MANY BIRTHDAYS, CHRISTMAS PARADE PARTIES, MY GRADUATION. I DONT THINK HE MISSED A BEAT IN MY LIFE. AND HE, OF COURSE, WAS MORE THAN HAPPY TO SAY YES.

IN MY LIFE, PETER WAS MY FRIEND, A FATHER FIGURE, SOMEONE TO LAUGH WITH, SOMEONE I LOOKED UP TO, AND SOMEONE THAT I KNOW I WILL NEVER FORGET.

WHEN I STARTED THIS BLOG I HAD NO INTENTIONS OF WRITING THIS, IT JUST STARTED POURING OUT.