Grandmother and Boston

Sadly, my grandmother passed away last week at the ripe age of 90 years old. It was a weird feeling because she has been in a rough state for some time now. I have actually wished she would pass away for a few years now because it killed me to see her in the state she has been. She stopped recognizing me a few years ago and really didn't understand what was going on. It was torture to go to the nursing home and see her like that when I went home to visit.

When I got the news that she was on her last few days, it hurt a lot, yet it was oddly relieving. When I got the actual news she died from my uncle, I cried because I realized that she would never get to meet Quinlan. I always wished my grandparents could meet a child of mine because they would have made awesome great grandparents. But sadly, they did not, but I get to know that there are too people looking after little Hope in the afterlife.

My Grandmother's death caused my mother and me to scramble to see if we could get a flight to Boston within a day or two. I guess the airlines do not care anymore about a death in the family. US Air and Delta do not offer bereavement fairs and Northwest offers a fair of $565 (even though you could book it normally for $550). I ended up having enough miles to fly for free with a higher rate (35,000 points versus the normal 25,000). My mother was also able to get a flight through her Delta miles. We did not have to pay for our flight which was a HUGE bonus. My mother and I took off Wednesday on the same flight, but different sections of the plane.

We rented a car that cost $380, ouch. They really pork you now-a-days for those rental cars. I prepaid the gas because I figured my mother wouldn't pull over for gas at 4:30 in the morning on Monday when she would be going in on her own. She ended up getting a flight out on Saturday and IU never used up the tank of gas. The car was super efficient and I mostly drove around Beverly the whole week.

It was weird, I was home for my Grandmother's funeral, but it almost felt like a mini-vacation. I stayed with my friends John and Melissa every night but Saturday Night. They are about as good of friends as anyone could ask for. They never hesitate to lend me the bedroom and they are a ton of fun to hang out with. They also love Nick's Roast Beef, so all I have to do is buy them some Nick's (and of course myself some) and I am all set. What a deal. It was also great to meet their little guy, Ray, who is 11 months old. He was a real cutie and extremely friendly. Very smiley and not scared of me at all. We plan on seeing him again in October and hopefully, he can meet Quinlan.

The planning of my Grandmother's funeral was pretty easy. My mother and Uncle did most of the work and we had to meet the minister on Thursday. He was a very nice guy, but GOD could he talk. He kept hitting these weird tangents that included old people he knew in the church and the history of his great grandfather. I am here for my grandmother's funeral, who gives a shit about your great grandfather????? He also was apparently drinking a lot of fruit punch because he mouth was completely red. It looked like he ate a small puppy before we came in. It was creepy. Fortunately, he did a bang-up job for my grandmother's funeral at the grave site. I was very pleased.

The week included me eating terribly. I miss the great food out there so much. Our 1st stop after the airport on Wednesday was to stop at Kowloon's on Route 1 in Saugus. BEST Chinese food in the country. My mother never tried it (I have no clue why not) and loved it. That says a lot because she can get shee shee poo poo with her Chinese food. We got chicken fingers, pork lo mien and a scallion pie. The chicken fingers are very lightly battered, so when you bit into it, it is mostly chicken unlike other places where it is all breading with a marble of meat. The lo mien is with thick noodles, a bunch of veggies and a thick sauce. It was absolute heaven. The only way it could have been better was if I was sucking down a scorpion bowl, but I had to drive.

I also got to eat Nick's Roast Beef twice. I miss a real roast beef sandwich. You can not get that in the Midwest. All they have is Arby's and I'd rather eat my cat's shit. I also got a Steak and Cheese sub at Super Sub in Beverly. They put on raw meat and cook it fresh. They also give you a ton of meat (unlike Subway). You know there is a lot of meat when they give you a fork with it. I also drank at least 10 Dunkin Donuts Iced Coffees and 5 Chocolate Glazed donuts over the course of the week. Again, you can not get that out here. I love the Midwest, but their food options blow…….except for my mother in law's cooking.

Another pleasure of the week was I got to see the kid my mother used to baby sit from the age of 1 to about 8 or 9, Brian. I hadn't seen him in a few years and that was the 1st time in a few years. He is now on the verge of turning 16 and I kind of worried that he would be a typical teenage snot. He wasn't. He was an extremely good kid and is well on his way to being a good guy. We didn't get to talk a whole lot, but he was very outgoing and willing to laugh at my stupid jokes. I had a lot of fun talking to him for the brief amount of time I was around him and wished I got to hang out with him longer. It did make me feel old because I met him when he was one and we were "buddies." Now, he is as tall as I am and could probably kick my butt.

The final night was a blast. A bunch of the college buddies caught up at Sluggo's house in Waltham for poker. I had won $30 the night before at John's and I was hoping to have the run continue. It did and I took home and extra $80. It was also a blast because most of the guys came out (Matty, Jay, Jeff, Sean and Kevin). There was a ton of inappropriate jokes and tons of laughing. It was like old times. I ended up going to sleep after 4 or 5 rum and cokes at 1:45 and woke up at 3:30 to head into the airport for my 6:00 a.m. flight. That was pretty rough, but at least it was first class and I was able to see my buddy (Quinlan) at the airport.

To be honest, if it wasn't for the food and the friends, I wouldn't miss Boston at all. I hated the driving. I forgot how stupidly aggressive they can be on the road. I also forgot how tight and windy the roads are. But, I can not wait to spend over a week out there in October when I have to travel for work.