Sibling's Family Stories | Mattsmemoriesandmore

Siblings' Family Stories

Part 1

[The brothers, Jim, Ed, and Matt McGuire talking on a trip from Cape Cod to Nova Scotia, Canada, July 25, 2011.]

The thing is go straight ahead.
Straight ahead here? Yeah, well, I think I have to go either left or right.
Well, you gotta go sort of lefty-straight.
Look at his lefty-straight, can you see a lefty-straight here, Matt?
Matt: I’m not going to get into this.
Oh, you go across?
Across. And, then it’s straight across.
No, no, you go lefty-straight.
Matt: is he going straight then or left?
Yeah.
Matt: is he following that car there? Good thank you.
And, he’s going to follow the next car, too.
Matt: Okay, great.
And, the one behind that. And, the one behind that, I bet.
Maybe.
We’re not outta your town yet, this is already pretty interesting.
I haven’t been around this long, I have to figure out the associative stuff.
Don’t try and figure it out.
You know, like he was talking about how you can, you know, detract something.
I’m gone.
Adding and subtracting. I how they cracked a code in England. That’s one of the books I have to read is “Operation Mincemeat.” They planted – they took a dead guy from the morgue, they dressed him up in a uniform …
When this street “Ts” to the right, you take a right.
Go 1.1 miles and at the “T” take a right. You will then be on Route 28 North towards Nashua. If you need gas, you just passed the gas station on your left.
Okay, thank you.
If you need a restroom …
I should do the trip thing though. Just to look whatever the gas deal that says 200-300 miles.
On your right is a small motel.
What’s the little green guy? How long has he been there? The lime green man.
Every since he ate dinner at our house. He just stood up a little while ago. He’s been squatting for the past couple years.
I remember going into – I remember Harvard Square and Jimmy goes up to get change and I was talking to this woman and she must’ve been 60-65. Jimmy says, oh, was that some kind of – one button was different – you know, is that some kind of a design, did you think of that like make this one button different than the other ones? And, she goes, what, what, what are you asking me? Why do all these buttons look very nice. And, that was very stylish and I wondered if that was some kind of a fashion statement. I just give tokens and money.
Well, maybe she had a …
So, what you guys were talking about – Schuylerville, what was the story?
Jim and Mary Cudahey, a little bit about Jim McClindon. And, Aunt Margaret and what happened to Jim’s dad.
What about Jim’s dad?
Well, they, they think – there’s different stories. They think he – one said – one person had thought that he might’ve committed suicide. The other one said that, uh, he was bootlegging a little bit and got ahold of some alcohol – maybe tried something that wasn’t okay – was dangerous – that might’ve done him in. And, then, just about Jim McClindon, his son, and his dressing, his style and his shoes.
Yeah, his (Jim McClindon’s) shoes – he had those high-top shoes. To me he really did look like Rex Harrison, except younger and handsomer than Rex Harrison. And, always – always a smile. It was always good to see him. He was very polished in his presentation and speech, the way he carried himself, so, uh, I thought he stood out. So, we talked a little bit about that and about the Cudahys and whether they cleared out stuff and who could go in town and who couldn’t cause Larry could do anything and …
I think there was a real difference between when Larry (our cousin) went there and when we went there.
Well, cause he could go into town and our Aunt Ann Barrett didn’t want anybody going anywhere because, if, if you went anywhere, people would know about her so she didn’t want anybody knowing about her.
Okay, so here we are – we’re right back on – well, that’s interesting.
Yeah, we’re going to get 15 up here.
So, we talked about that and they talked about the grandfather, we talked about the church and Father Gazley [sp] up in the pulpit of the church and how he whistled when he talked.
You must’ve liked them. I liked his whistle.
No, I thought that the altar railing was there. Yes, there was this …
Oh, I loved that you had the kneelers, the cushions – red cushions – and they put the white cloth over your hands for First Communion. The altar boys – and, you know, I thought their presentation was almost – you know, I mean, even ours was sort of synchronized swimming, I thought that was even nicer. I was wishing we had that at Our Lady of Mercy. I like that. And, the choir, I liked the little – the choir was pretty good. I’m trying to think, they had one song I really liked around Communion time. I wish I could think of what it was or how it went, but I liked that. So, we talked about visiting the relatives and Jim and Mary – a couple Jim Cudahy stories.
How Jim Cudahy would say, “I want to tell you, this is what you need to – no, the point is this …”
“The point is this.”
“The point is this, you want to get on the road. Okay, the roads are bad. The point is this, they don’t take care of ‘em. The point is this you want to have good tires. Make sure your suspension – you understand, the point is this – you gotta do this or else, problems.
What I remember about his car (Jim Cudahy’s) , he always had a fire extinguisher in it.
Oh, yeah, you bet.
And, we had one for a while, of course, we had a couple cars catch on fire, so … he was right. I was listening to Sirius radio. And, this killed me cause they got the forties, fifties band music, which we all like.
Yeah, yeah.
And, we grew up – I liked it cause it was in all the movies, so the guy on there – the announcer, he was kind of like very Scottish and he says, you know, isn’t amazing, it turns out your parents were right about this music. It is great.
I heard a Glenn Miller tribute then in Rapid City and it was really good.
Well, they had the Glenn Miller copycat at the – oh, where did we go to dance – the amusement park?
Norumbega?
No, it wasn’t Norumbega – it was around Newton. The big ballroom place and they had a couple rides there. Closed down. The “Totem Pole”?
Totem Pole, yeah.
Totem Pole, yeah, they, they had a Glenn Miller band there at the Totem Pole.
We did get to do a little driving and Jim and Mary coming down to your family reunion – when you were in Rhode Island.
Yeah.
And, then when I was taking them out to the highway so they could get on the highway to go home and I was trying to get through intersections and, and get onto the main road for them to get ‘em on it. And, we were progressing at a speed of about 10 miles an hour, which was really tricky to get through any light and have them still with me.
I remember Jim and Mary Cudahay coming to the on the Cape – coming to the Cape events and we’re going to go with them and it took probably 45 minutes.
And, they were – they were kind of like the Costanzas talking with one another when – which, which can say – mom and dad Costanza, but … so they would have that going on. You know, Jim, Mary, no you need to do – no, Jim … and, uh, they were talking about visiting cause they would just kind of spring in on you, but that’s what they were talking – they’d get a nice visit, but they didn’t know what was happening. But, Larry said Mary always knew because he would – they would stop at Lawndale Street first. Would be a surprise and mom would call and just let ‘em know they were in because they liked to take trips, but they didn’t necessarily let you know that they were coming your way.
Yeah, they were like – here we are, huh?
But, they were always, they were so gracious. I still remember Mary taking, taking me to the – taking all of us to the race track. I remember seeing the horse New War, that was son of Man of War at Saratoga Race Track in the barns. I can remember going out to the track at 5:30-6:00 in the morning when they were doing their workouts and all you had was just the fog and you could hear the [snort snort] – breathing through the nostrils and breathing out and just the sound of the hooves going around the track and Mary was a great handicapper.
And, all I can say with their directions we, that is Jim and I – we have choice of directions to take Jim.
Is this 151?
Take a right here.
How long is it?
About 10 miles – maybe three or four.
When we get on a longer stretch, why don’t you put your book on?
I think we’ll wait until we get on a road that …
Okay. I’m having this much difficulty – is there any kind of music you want to hear?
Whatever is fine.
I can turn it up here – whatever you want to do. [music reception discussion]
You are now playing someone I’ve seen three times, Jim. You know, I love Allison Kraus. They played the same song over and over again?
No, I’ve seen the Allison Kraus three times.
Who did you see?
Allison Kraus.
Oh, good, I’ve never met her. She was at the Safeway?
Put your head here so I can bop you with a map three times. I think she’s an angel from heaven. Pretty music.
Sounds like your flat tire last year at the reunion when the Thrifty rental car company gave you a tire with a screw in it.
Barbara got the tire, she argued with them on the phone again. She went to get a tire, she went to the tire place and, uh, they, uh, said they could repair it. There’s nothing wrong with it, so they repaired it for 40 bucks at the end of the story.
Yeah, and that’s, that’s, that’s stretching a little bit high. Cause they used to repair ‘em for 10 bucks and then they went up to 15 maybe.
So, so, now I go on my letter writing campaign.
Well, yeah, could you run on that – you probably could – it wasn’t totally gone, but it shouldn’t pass inspection to turn it that low. Like I say, air coming out that slowly, that, that screw was in there for a while.
 I think it was the only car there. Barbara likes to get the foreign cars cause she’s more used to the, uh, working, the controls and stuff.
How do you like Betty’s for breakfast, Jim?
I think it’s great.
You eat like twelve years later, you know.
She likes serving you and she’s, uh, the prettiest and polite and …
Really bright and joins in the conversation quite well.
She’s fun to be with, just like you’re an old friend.
Yeah.
Yeah, see Betty’s – I usually skip and have a bowl of cereal, hit the road, so I got French toast. I had the fruit, I had the bagel, I had the eggs, and the sausage. My usual. So, it’s when you stopping next? Well, get some gas and I’ll see you when I’m there.
I think that’s sort of like, I think in the old days when you traveled a place and you’d stay a place and like little stores that you go to all the time where you get your bread or – very European.
We, we get – if we can find it, we get Brigham’s ice cream or I bring home some sauce (ice cream topping) every time I come up here, especially if Candi’s not with me. She loves the – their sauce. The hot fudge and the caramel are really, really good, so I always bring some of that home.
So, you do go to places and go to someplace to get fried clams. I said the other day’s clams – and we had there before (AHA Restaurant in Charlestown) – that was – they were outstanding. And, I didn’t go to this place in Wyoming that you used to go a lot when you come through. I think it’s same was Bishop’s or some other name, maybe that’s not right. They were not even close to the clams the other day.
Oh, those clams were good, oh, my word.
So, yeah, I think there are places where if you go away, you wanta come back to.
Mandy said the fish that we went to eat at Oyster Bay Restaurant, she said that was the best fried fish and chips she ever had in her lifetime. Nothing ever as good. They’re fabulous.
Yeah, I thinking, they put the fish back in it was so good.
Oh, yeah.
It was like, what my favorite birthday cards – the peglegged, one-armed, eye out something, a little peg – wishing you a happy birthday.
Yeah.
And, it was saying how great the pig was – it was a long story, he’d saved the house.
Yeah.
And, on and on, and have a nice day and why is the pig marked up so bad? Well, you wouldn’t expect to eat him all at once.
So, Donna said that Jeremy took, uh, took everybody out for ice cream?
And, uh, took us out with his poker game winnings.
Well, you know, that’s a class act then, he was.
Yeah, Yeah.
Uh, huh. I think that, uh, I thought that this guy’s great. Did great with the kids. They, uh, enjoy one another, yeah.
Bright and fun.
I told Mandy I thought this was good guy.
Is the little town of Summerset, Jim?
It’s a little further down on the left.
And, it’s a small detour off the road. That’s what road trips are about, buddy.
And, 28 is kind of the old, older route for getting here.
Up here on the left, light green building. The building with the light green.
It’s – I was thinking of the Newport Creamery, that was …
A nun painted those, right?
Um, huh, a nun painted it.
[inaudible]
Yes.
I’m trying to think of among the missing – you and I – they should be able to find it at the Boston College High School Alumni Society. They have you and I among the missing.
Oh, really?
And, I think, uh, I don’t know if you remember Frank Morrisey?
Yeah.
He was kinda quiet – he might’ve become a priest. He was probably thinking about it. He’s among the missing.
That was pretty much – is that where Father Begley, S.J., got the idea that we were among the missing?
Well, somebody told me that that he thought we were dead and – somebody said he’s up in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Somebody said he thought, you know, what happened to him and then haven’t had any contacts, he probably passed away.
As humans we put things inside of time. So, therefore, if you wanted to be not changed, that now – so that nothing ever changes that the now begins with what you experience and they consider that the now stage where now stage can cover millions of years, if you understand? It’s like this is different.
Yeah, Sylvia Browne in her books, uh – she’s written a couple books said these planes sort of exist layered among each other so you could really live the past – the past is sort of still occurring, as well as the future is occurring.
Right. There is no past no future no …
Correct. Once you do that you’re – it’s a parallel universe.
Somebody said, omnipotent, it was having friends – especially a very good friend of mine and he said you don’t believe in omnipotence and I said no, I don’t say I don’t believe in omnipotence – plus everything you see – if you see something and something is about to happen, and if something is omnipotent then it’s not like it’s about to happen or did happen or whatever it would. Time, the concept is different.
[inaudible]
… the stories that I recall was that the family came down from Nova Scotia and Kathleen’s says Canada. Was Kathleen born in Nova Scotia. And, I guess dad was born in Boston, Massachusetts?
Consider it maybe for the death certificate.
Kathleen’s death certificate just says Canada.
Oh, okay.
What’d you get with Matt’s death certificate (our uncle) – Matt a year older than he was?
Yeah.
He didn’t even know it. Grandma was the kind of person like, she didn’t think he wanted – he was supposed to go to school at a certain age. He thought, well, no I don’t wanta go to school. I just won’t do it. Grandma was an interesting mix of personalities, you know. Could be very kind and, uh, very sweet, and I always loved her voice. And, yet she could be willful to …
If you look at the old – not the old photos, but the photographs of Grandma when we were in probably babies or before some of us were babies, she looked like a big woman, I sort of remember in childhood growing up is not frail, but not looking like the pictures, not as, you know, less formidable looking physically than in some of the older pictures. That wasn’t the Grandma I knew, she was – it was less intimidating, sort of sharp like, like a crow, she didn’t miss anything. She saw everything.
Did you ever see a young picture of her?
I’ve seen a younger pictures and I can remember what she looked by some if those.
I saw a picture of Uncle Matt in a fur coat with Kathleen.
That’s the youngest picture I can remember.
Portland, Maine?
That’s what it says, Portland, Maine.
Looks like a nice town.
I’d liked it when Uncle Matt – kind of like Mom and Dad trying to talk Grandma into getting a hearing aid and he would drop money, trying to prove she couldn’t hear it. She put her foot – her heel would go on the money right away. She’d just step down on it. She’d pick it up and say thank you.
Yeah, she would tell me, I would get her bed – I would get her bed when she died. She was telling me that when I was like seven years old. (My grandmother died when I was 16 years old.)
You’d get her bed? (No, we didn’t.)
Wish I could remember more – what do you remember about Kathleen, Eddie?
What do I remember about Kathleen? I remember as a little kid always going upstairs for breakfast and then having different cereals and they’d have the little boxes, so you could pick out your choice and have – it wouldn’t be like one cereal, it would be seven brands of these little boxes, you could always pick out the one that you like and I pretty much think sometimes we ate ‘em like in the box cause you could. And, uh, they would always want to know if we wanted a little glass of Adam’s Good Ale and you always got some orange juice and Adam’s Good Ale was the gift of water that was in the freezer in a glass bottle …
I remember that. Cold water.
Cold, cold water. Very good. And, Kathleen would sit at the table, it was nice to sit up with them and have breakfast.
Nice breakfast. With the egg, you could cook it on the other side. It was real nice.
I remember the egg cups up there.
Yes. Haven’t saw an egg cup in a long time. But, that’s pretty nice.
Still working on it. That three and a half minute egg, after it starts to boil, maybe?
I remember Kathleen and Bill would come out sometimes. I mostly remember Bill in the back room reading or watching hockey games or some other thing.
Baseball, hockey.
Yup. And, I think, Jimmy, at least I remember Bill taking us up to Waverley Oaks and they went on the far side where the pond was, playing hockey and Bill was …
Are we’re saying he was pretty, pretty much way older than us and we would try to humor him a little bit and he’d get on the ice, he skated well. We could skate reasonably well enough to stay with him, but he could handle it better than we could without even working at it and he did handle us.
Yeah, I remember that.
I remember going ice skating on Fresh Pond. (There were two Fresh Ponds, Big Fresh Pond and Little Fresh Pond.)
Well, probably Little Fresh? Maybe Fresh occasionally, but Little Fresh.
Little Fresh with the golf course.
Right, Little Fresh Pond, but there would be – in the winter when you could get up and get down, it would be hockey – hockey games played and we’d play and with Billy Phelan, the [name] would play and the O’Connors would play, and the Pine would play, and a whole bunch of kids and on any given day that you could get down there and get on the ice – and, we’d walk there – there would be 10 or 15 kids that could pick up a hockey game. I think we had rule – not that everybody was doing it, but you couldn’t lift the puck, so nobody would get hurt and, unfortunately, not when we were there, but Teddy Pine would play with us all the time – got hit in the head with a puck and …
Did he ever recover from that?
He recovered from it, but he went to BC High, but he couldn’t play hockey and Teddy was – Teddy was very good – and the kids that came over – we used to play everyday, but going to BC High was all study. The other kids that we played with, uh, Steve [name] and I think – I’m trying to think of Jerry’s last name – they went to Belmont High School. They played hockey. The were in the GBI League, one of the best hockey leagues in all of Massachusetts, probably the best, and, uh, Teddy Pine was as good or better than any of them, but he – because of his injury he never played hockey again, cause that wouldn’t be good. But, he wasn’t playing competitively then, but he would’ve in high school. He was a very good skater.
He couldn’t play because – for fear of getting hit again?
He had a metal plate in his head and I think from – I’m thinking the right side, but they had to cut in and insert a plate, so – because of the injury he couldn’t play hockey again.
Yeah.
I think the Rooneys used to come down and play, too.
Do you know what he’s doing today, have you ever heard of him?
Not since out of college – his brother Jackie a few times, his older brother.
What’s he doing?
Well, I haven’t seen him recently either. I just …
Did I tell you I saw Robert Reagan last June?
No, you didn’t.
Uh, Garrett died. He was the hockey coach down at [inaudible], you know, but, uh, there was the woman who was the librarian in town, uh, and retired, and she holds annual reunions for Belmont High School and, uh, she found out that I grew up in Belmont and we were almost contemporaries and she invited me over for a Belmont High School reunion.
Oh, wow.
And, Bobby Reagan came there. And, Robert Reagan, uh, had – Reagan was always – seemed to be more sophisticated and full of himself … arrogant, but Garrett was friendly and outgoing, Robert was, uh – it was like he was in gentleman school.
Right. I remember talking to him at a hockey game once. It was really good talking to him.
He was in finance and business and banking and he has a couple kids.
It was just nice to see him again.
Well, I didn’t – I didn’t – between the two twins, I kind of liked Garrett as a kid growing up a little bit better because he just lived up the street. But, by the time we were lifeguards and working over at Mystic Lakes …
Robert was there.
… Robert became a lifeguard, we used to drive over to, to work together. We carpooled back and forth and worked the same hours and I thought the guy was spectacular, once I got to spend a little bit more time with him. Sort of like Bob Keegan, uh, Bob Keegan is – speaks probably more correctly than William Buckley and uses William Buckley’s terms in his normal conversation and, for a while, I thought it was put on, but he talks that way all the time and I’ve never met anybody who has that type of vocabulary. So it seemed a little bit pompous, but that was his normal, his normal conversation pattern and he was a very funny guy, so first impressions – when you really get to know somebody, it can be changed. And, I say as a kid dramatically for Robert Reagan and Bob Keegan because I thought they were both really, uh, interesting people.
So, is Robert still working?
No, he’s retired and, uh, he lives on South Shore. Spent some time in Florida, um, but the thing that he told me that I thought was most interesting is that – now his mother and Mrs. Prevetie, uh, were very close friends. They used to pray together. Do novenas together. And, sort of – and I never saw Mrs. Prevetie maybe once or twice in the time that I can recall as a kid. Uh, And, I thought of the Prevetie as, uh, sort of insular to themselves, but it just goes to show that maybe they weren’t the ones that were insular, maybe we were.
No, no, I think they were more insular. Rosie was very pretty and didn’t too much. Anthony was the oldest. Oldest of the boys. We saw him a little bit. Sonny joined in some stuff and Dominic joined in a lot of stuff that we did.
Sonny had the prettiest car I ever saw.
1958 Chevrolet Impala.
Custom.
Candy apple red. And, they had the Great Dane – Champ. And, the Great Dane Champ scared the “bejesus” out of me when I was a little kid because one time he would out and I was walking in front of the rectory and the dog came down the street and he jumped clear over my head. That was a big dog.
He seemed huge to me, too.
I don’t know if you remember, Jimmy, in those old days, we used to have chestnut and acorn fights – all the kids in the street?
Yeah.
And, we’d go through Brag’s yard and run up on the top of the street when the rec center – it wasn’t there – over the [name]’s and maybe cut through Morrow’s and some other places. We had little raging teams and went on little – fought battles for – I think for an hour or so or two.
Yeah, I remember – I remember and this is me – Beverly Weaver had a really good throwing arm, playing snowball fights.
You know the best time I confronted – Robert Keagan and I – he probably couldn’t throw a snowball at all. It was like facing Daniel Bard today. It was lightening fast and it was accurate.
Once or twice. He never talked and the house was really nice. You never got invited inside the house.
I never saw the inside of it.
I’ve been inside it a couple of times when didn’t get very – it wasn’t like a walking tour – you got in the door maybe a little bit and that was it. Not …
That was one of the houses that was redone.
This old house.
Remember the paper routes?
The Belmont Herald.
Remember buying a bike together?
No.
We bought a bike together to deliver the papers.
Oh. Was it the red and black bike?
Red and black bike. And, the people that were the biggest tippers were Dr. Bragg [sp] and Mr. Parry. They always gave us tips.
Mr. Parry was wonderful.
Who lived there in Dr. Bragg’s house after Dr. Bragg. The guy with the wooden leg?
Oh, Jim …
Jim Daley. Yeah.
And, he used to come out and play whiffleball.
He came over everyday and played basketball, shot some hoops.
Yup.
Jim was a great guy to talk to.
Lorraine Bailey, right?
Lorraine had a sister, right?
Yes, she did.
And, they were both tall.
Lorraine always wore black.
And, she had a daughter Lillian or …
Well, it’s – Lillian was – Donna, Donna …
Donna was the daughter.
And, Michael – Michael I had dinner with him once in the D.C. area and Joseph was the youngest, was named after Father, uh …
Joseph O’Brian?
Yup.
Jim Dailey was the …
Do you have any contact with Father [name]? Not Father [name] …
Father MacRae?
MacRae, yeah.
Who knew Father McRae?
Cornelius MacRae, wasn’t it?
Cornelius.
Cornelius – Cornelius MacRae.
There was a third Cornelius at one point.
Yeah, Cornelius Sullivan. Connie.
That was a priest?
No, Connie Sullivan, Mary Sullivan.
There were four Corneliuses.
That’s Cornelius?
Yeah, Connie was Cornelius.
There were three Corneliuses at …
Who was the other one, I can’t think of the third one.
He was – I talked to him once and he was Scotch – he was not Irish. MacRae, not McRae.
Right.
Mr. Weaver used to always save meat from the dinner table always bring over bones and things, very nice. It was a funny time.
Nice people.
Very nice people. It was a funny time because between religions, I don’t think religions were intolerant, but they didn’t like people mixing.
They were not tolerant at all.
Well, they weren’t – DeMolay …
Who was the kid that live near Basin Park School? Got a Jewish girl pregnant and [inaudible]?
I’m trying to think, most of the ones on the, the – Kelley and I used to [inaudible] people across the street and they were, uh, Methodists, the Weavers were Episcopalian. A lot of the rest of the street was Catholic and they were sort of worried about what each one was doing, but … there were friendships, but they probably wouldn’t want you to date.
No, absolutely not.
If you were – if you were Episcopalian, don’t date a Catholic. If you’re Methodist, don’t date a Catholic and vice versa, but there, there was tolerance among the, among everyone, but they didn’t – parents didn’t want anybody dating.
I I-d him, he’s now Monsignor, uh, MacRae. He’s at, uh, he’s the pastor of St. Catherine of Sienna in Knollwood, Mass. Want me to drop him a line?
I thought he would be …
You can do it on there (the laptop computer)..
I thought he would be a bishop.
Tell him you thought he would be a bishop by now.
Like he was teaching …
Well, this is from the papal so we’ll see.
He was teaching at seminary, I think, wasn’t – maybe they both were. I thought one of them was papal nuncio – and Connie MacRae, I think.
Father Begley sent me a note saying this [inaudible] was used as a model priest of the community on some teaching …
I was thinking – what makes me think most of – one of Mike’s plays and it was – I think he told me Father was – Father [name] although he seemed to be ambiguous about things and Father Harry wasn’t ambiguous about stuff. He was very, very nice, very …
Accepting your belief.
Yeah, accepting your belief – he would express his own, but he wasn’t ambivalent about what you believe.
No, right.
And, I was thinking it sounds like he was a little – I was reading that – it wasn’t somebody I knew.
We knew him pretty well growing up. He was wonderful with young people, in fact, it was Father Connie McRae that would let us play basketball, let your medical friends come over and let you use the, the brand new gym that the pastor didn’t want anybody to use and particularly wouldn’t like it being used if he knew that, uh, your Jewish medical student friends and Protestants and everybody else was using the gym to play basketball, but it was a great place to play because it wasn’t – the full court was a little bit more than half court, but it wasn’t a full court. So, it was a great place to play and MacRae – Father MacRae thought – here – he’d sneak us the keys to get in.
Okay, let you see his picture and then I’ll try – look up the church and send him an email. It’s the last one on the right.
Well, he looks the same.
He doesn’t look much older, does he?
No. No.
We need to invite him to the next family reunion.
Sure.
That would be nice.
I’ll send him an email and find the church. And, I’ve written down – [inaudible].
That’s a handy little device to be able to go anyplace.
I think I need one, Jim. I need one for Christmas.
I told Donna that I was going to get one, she said, no, just take mine. And, I said, no. The reason I got it is because I can’t read who is on the I-phone.
Yeah.
I’m going to try and call Karen for Nick for his birthday. (July 25)
We should sing Nick Happy Birthday if you want.
Yeah.
We can do that today.
Hello, Mini, (Mini-Me, Ed’s daughter Erin, who is so alike him, she got the nickname Mini-Me), I thought I’d try and catch up with you – trying to catch up with Nick. I wanta wish him Happy Birthday. Jimmy, Matt and I are up in Maine on our way to Nova Scotia and I will try his number and I had talked to Julie a little bit earlier, if, if you tell Mom probably even send a card and stuff and I wish we could catch up and talk to you – or talk to Nick today, but if he does want some apps for his phone thought that might be a good gift, so let me know what you think. I love you. Hope you have some nice plans for this evening and, uh, we’ll talk soon. Bye, bye. Let’s try Nick
This is a whole new think because, uh, I don’t have him on this, he doesn’t – a monsignor called Garry is the pastor here.
How old is MacRae, he’s, uh …
Couldn’t figure how long …
80 years old?
Yup.
Above 70, was he ten years older than I was?
Yeah, probably.
He’s ten years older than us. I’d say he’s 80.
You’re not 70 yet.
No.
Yeah.
60 is the new 50, but 70 is not the new 60.
I’ll get the new telephone number and I’ll call them. They probably know.
You are 20 years younger than dad was at that similar age.
So, what time did I start driving? 4 o’clock?
[all singing Happy Birthday to Nicholas/Nick]
[talking to Nick on phone] Happy Birthday. We’re in – no, we’re on our way up. We’re in Maine. We’ve got a little bit – well, let’s see, we’re probably …
A third of the way there.
… yeah, we’re about a third of the way on our trip. [speaking on the phone to Nick] Oh, sure absolutely. Okay, you’re back. Hey, Nick, do you have to work today or do you get today off? Oh, cool. Uh, huh. Oh, okay. Well, I wouldn’t know, I, I’m technologically challenged and, uh – where she’s part of the mini-me? Where’s – yeah, cause it’s not that I dislike the stuff, but I just, um, not all that overwhelmingly interested, so – interesting. Interesting. Are you gonna out for dinner or anything or – oh, that’d be nice. You’re inviting the boys over?
That’s a big engine.
[on phone] We’ll that’s terrific, it’s, uh, nice here, 70 degree weather, it’s a little grayish, but it’s, it’s nice temperature wise, so. Reunion was great. And, yes, yes, yes, and the conversations, encouragement and look forward to sometime when you can join up and if you ever get to New York or get down to Washington – cool. Oh, I know you’re working on this scheme, so – and how’s everybody’s health okay? Why – you’re the birthday boy, we’ll catch up. But, how’s your mom? Uh, huh. Yeah. Is, is – Nick, was that the, was that the brother or is that someone – brother of [name]? Oh, my goodness. Well, I’m sorry to hear that. I was thinking about the two of you the other day, we were getting some ice cream and I was – the ice cream was very delicious – and I got peppermint stick and he said, he said, Matt, I didn’t know you ate peppermint stick. And, I said, yes, I got converted in Santa Barbara, so I was thinking. What’s that, Erin? Well, that’s true, that’s very, very good, I must tell you. Outstanding, so, uh – I left you a message, Erin, on the phone and I talked to Julie a little bit, but I don’t know if they caught up with any messages and – what else – something else – no, but they’re home, it’s just – I came up, uh – we’re – right now we’re on the road, we’re in – just beyond, well, a little bit more than just beyond – we’re beyond Kennebunkport probably by 20-30 miles or 40 miles, so we’re on our way – it’s – we’re maybe one-third of the way to Nova Scotia.
Well, they can say a quick hello and say a quick Happy Birthday. We’ll pass it on around. Matt?
Sure.
There you go.
[on phone] Hello, I’m one of the Three Amigos (Matt McGuire talking). I’m in the back. How you doing? I called David earlier today and wished him a Happy Birthday, he was on line, but I think we sang an equally off-tune Happy Birthday with more people. I really think for yours, Nick, I think our off birthday sound was pretty much up at the top of the rank, what do you think? So, what are you doing for your birthday? This is only – well, I like to think a lot of the intelligent, good-looking and, need I say, modest, people were born in July, what do you think? Yeah, I would say that’s my main trait, I mean, uh, I’ve always thought it was one of my best – although you know, Nick, there’s a lot to choose from so how do you choose? So, you’re going to, uh, you’re gonna celebrate today, you working today or, uh, taking the day off? Oh, you deserve – you deserve that. Well, we’re having a good time on a road trip and, uh, glad we did it – a little more sort of an afterglow from the reunion, so it’s, uh, wonderful to be on our way, we’re having a good amount of fun, talking about old times. Yeah, well, you know, there’s always another time. Yup. Yup. I’m going to put you over to Ed and he may end – here you go.
Did you talk, James?
I’ll say hello. Hi, Nick, I’m driving so I’m going to say hello and Happy Birthday. I listened to the rest of the conversation, so, uh, I hope you have a great day and … you know, this goes on every year, so one year sooner or later we’ll all get together. Okay, I’m going to give you back to Eddie.
Hello, hello. I was telling folks about your wonderful impersonations of people. I was thinking about that.
The rest stop’s about half-way, I think.
What’s half-way?
The rest stop.
[on phone] So what’s going on that you can’t keep up with – what’s going on with the bolts? The bolt, the lightening bolt.
[Others talking at the same time.]
 How do I turn this off?
Is he going to Canada Trust? There he is. Success?
Success.
I’m glad Jim gave me the hundred, I forgot, I should have spent that first because I can’t use my debit card here.
Oh, okay.
But, thank you for the hundred. And, I just happen to have three hundred, so …
Well, that’s good.
So, I’ll let you know, guys, we got three hundred, but guess what it is in Canada? Guess how much, uh …
A dollar ten.
… it’s two seventy-five U.S. to three hundred.
Wow. Boy, that’s – we’ve come a long way. We’ve come a long way, yeah, not good.
I’d say it’s seven dollars less per hundred. I thought it was parity and I gave …
That’s down a bit.
That’s terrible with all those years we been – that’s why salaries in, uh – now Canadian salaries sports you get more money for it.
Yup.
Yeah, I figure we just sold one …
Well, here’s …
So, everybody gets 90 bucks.
Everybody gets …
Well, no, I got three hundred, I put in like three forty …
I would say just hold onto it and use that for …
Right.
… what we’re using and …
How’s that sound?
And, do the hotels on credit cards.
How about using that as a, uh, reserve?
Food.
No, no … we can buy anything on credit card.
You take care of it.
Why don’t you take that and if we go to dinner, we eat or something, we’ll just run that fund out.
Okay, all right. I got three hundred Canadian then.
I can still remember Cornell winning the, uh, national championship in the eastern – east coast things beating Boston College and Boston University that were the powerhouses and sometimes Harvard and they had all but one player on their team Canadian. They were the first ones to have all Canadians, then, then BU started winning titles and they were all Canadian then. Boston College used to get all the, the best local kids and they could compete. I don’t know where they are now – they – I think a year or two they won the …
National championship.
… yeah, but I’m like – I don’t know if it was with local kids or whether they got a strong mix of Canadian players.
You want music or do you want?
You can pick that out.
Yeah, she was very nice, very helpful.
It’s a long red light.
It is.
You ever see the show on TV called Corner Gas? Canadian show?
No.
Did you see it, Jim?
No, but, actually, you just reminded me the guy arrives for money or something like that.
Cabbie.
Oh, cab drivers.