AN AZOREAN WITHOUT AN OCEAN
Missouri and New York Events and Scenes
To say that our fmily came a long way from the East Coast to Missouri would not be understatement. Even the van driver who transported our furnishings couldn't not quite understand what had motivated us and what we had to give up to go from this pleasant house ten minutes from the ocean to a garden apartment in Olivette, Missouri.
1981- Kathy and I at Mary Beth's U. of Missouri, School of Journalism Graduation
Mary Beth, although born in New York, has lived in Missouri longer than her two sisters, who are Missouri born..The granddaughter ibelow s named Katherine, like her grandmother. Katherine F. Norman was born on January 27, 1986, at Columbia, Missouri. She was followed by two brothers, Jonathan and Matthew..
Mark Twain was one of the first American authors whose work I read. Although I did it in Portuguese and had a hard time understanding Missouri dialect as translated, I did come back to his work several times after I had learned English. Then, shortly after I had arrived in the U. S.,I learned that its president, Harry S. Truman, was from Missouri. Thanks to his openess I have been a Democat in all my political leanings and votes. Then, to sweeten the pot, all my grandchildren were born in Missouri. Oh, what a wonderful land this state is...
RIGHT - St. Louis Arch Web Cam photo - 2004
MICHIGAN CHIPMUNK CLICK
Stacy Park (Olivette, Missouri) Flower Patch - 2006
Butterflies have long fascinated me. My attitude seems to change when I see my first butterfly of Spring...
St. Louis (WEB CAM Photo)-The Arch, a St. Louis landmark framing the Old Court House. No chipmunks in the Azores... But in Michigan?!? !Not every river in Missouri is gigantic, although wherever they are preserved, or cared for, they can be quite beautiful whether in the Spring, or in the Fall.

The State, however, is home to two enormous rivers, the Missourii, the river that helped Lewis and Clark open America's way overland to the Pacific, and the Mississippi, where not only streams, but also big rivers flow as if coming home to rest.
I stood in the middle of the backyard and decided to buy my house right then and there. My wife, somehow, did not care for my fast decision. I, on the other hand, could only visualize the land I stood on. To this day, more than four decades later, I still worship this land area, even though I know that I am reaching a point of my life when I may have to give it up. The land's previous owner was younger than I am today when I relieved him of the property. Nevertheless, I shall be here as long as possible and, even though I look at my property's monetary value  enough to pay for my Senior Care someday, I believe that I shall be thankful to the pleasure it has brought me over the many years I have been here. It's the place where my children played and the dog, Murphy, ran freely. It was also the place where wild crows visited me totally unaffraid while looking for a morning meal prior to the disease that eventually took them away. In short, it was my humble paradise on earth.
BELOW - No one I know works harder than my son-in-law, Allen Soffer, MD. Allen, one of the foremost cardiologists in St. Louis, seems to be the only doctor in this part of the country on call twenty-four hours a day. In spite of that busy commitment to his profession, Allen will do anything to see to it that his children watch the St. Louis Cardinals participate in the World Series (The equivalent of  professional baseball's Major League Championship. That all in the family should wear red is no accident. Red is the color that defines the club, following the bird that it represents.
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GRANT'S
FARM, ST. LOUIS...
U. S. Grant, 18th U. S. President
lived and worked this farm for a time. It was given to him by his father-in-law.The property is
presently owned by Anheuser Busch Brewery and open to tours operated free to the public by that firm as a courtesy. Years ago, when our children were small, we took them there many times. Now we take their children..
As anyone can see, I grew up facing the Atlantic almost everyday of my life. The roar of the ocean as it beat on the rocky shore about fifty yards from where I lived is still one of of those pleasant feelings that I miss. Sometimes I even need to imagine the waves beating to put me to sleep in Missouri, if one can imagine, or believe, that.
Trees, trees, trees.... front front and back garden. Granted that flowers would be prettier, but, then, what would we have to look at in the winter? Furthermore, I can' afford a gardener. I can  barely afford the person who tends to my grass, or who shovels the snow paths.
This year (2001), for example, I have yet to have two dead trees removed and the dead branches pruned from the healthy ones. Granted that I shall do so, but I'll wait until later in the summer when, perhaps, the labor prices will come down... We'll see.Azorean Backyard View... Where did they place the Mississippi?.....No roBbin eggs in the Azores... In fact most Azoreans wouldn't know the Portuguese word for robin , TORDO.. Azorean-Americans in the U. S. call it robin, or robino. But, then, Azoreans, particularly from S. Miguel Island take all kinds of liberties with language.
829 Taft Street, West Hempstead, New York - Granted that when Kathy and I first married, we lived here for a little over two years on the top-floor apartment and that, from here, we would have easy access to Jones Beach. We were relatively near the Lakeview Station of the Long Island Railroad and getting from here to New York City was usually quite easy. Being away from the ocean, therefore, was not much of a handicap. One of the most memorable events of living here, however, had nothing to do with the ocean. On January 1, 1958, when I went downstairs to pay the rent, the landlord's dog, thinking that I was going to attack the master when I extended my hand with the check to him rushed forward and bit me.
In many ways, Katherine always proved to be more adaptable than I any time that our residence changed. In the above photo, she and I are still living on Long Island - this time at our house (17, Jefferson Road, Farmingdale). We were still relatively near Jones Beach, but, as far as Katherine was concerned, she was perfectly happy having her own garden also.
RIGHT - On July 20, 1986 (My 65th Birthday) I had the great pleasure of witnessing the baptism of my oldest grandchild, Katherine Norman (Jane's daughter) officiated by Fr. Leonard Hoerner, an English priest and teacher at the Priory School in St. Louis County, MIssouri. Katherine was six months old then and an extremely alert baby.
LEFT - Four Generations of women (1989),
Children: Katherine and Dena.
Adults: Jane, Laura, my mother, and Kathy.

Jonathan (Jane's son) was born on October 30th of the same year, thereby breaking the female run. Three other males have followed.
BELOW - Jack, my 10th grandchild, born May 10, 2002, in the company of his grandparents. On his Baptismal day, Our Lady of Lourdes Church.
below - The Evolution of an American Family...
Although I did not get paid for the time that I spent on the air via WGNU (Granite City, Illinois, and St. Louis, Missouri), this was an occupation based solely on the love of truth and my desire to combat the type of patriotic and religious jingoism that made Germans follow HItler blindly. Not that there were Germans following Hitler in St. Louis... On the other hand, I couldn't stand to see America hijacked by right wingers, or racists who felt that, as long as an action was conducted by America against a weaker nation - basing that conduct on a lie - the action had to be exposed for what it was. I considered it my duty to oppose those views somehow. I shall, therefore, always be thankful for the time that WGNU allowed me to express my philosophy, for, to me, extremism of any kind is an evil that has no place in helping mankind create a better world - AN IMPOSSIBLE TASK WHEN ONE STOPS TO CONSIDER THAT THE SAME AMERICAN PEOPLE MOSTLY VOTED FOR G. W. BUSH TWICE.
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BELOW - Easter, 2006 - A diverse family. Although Laura is missing from the group (She is probably behind the camera) her two sisters and six of their children, as well as her mother, eventually got together. The trick was getting the photographed subjects to pose in both the front as well as the house's backyard. In the collection of photos we see: 2 lawyers, 1 cardiologist., 1 social worker, and 1 teacher. Time will tell about what will happezn to the children.
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