Coomey.net - Family

The Old Man and the Sea

nospam@example.com (Chris Coomey) — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 17:18:43 -0500

For almost as long as I can remember, my summer weekends were spent in Warwick, RI on one of my family's two boats we've had. I used to be embarrassed to tell people we had a boat. People would automatically presume my family was pretty well off, which was not the case for most of the time we had one. There was a period during the 80's that my parents were living somewhat comfortably and somehow concluded that a nice outlet for the additional cash would be a boat. An old, wooden powerboat. The Avalon. Thirty-three feet long and quite leaky. My dad had all of us complete a US Coast Guard boating operations and safety class. I was only maybe 6 or 7 at the time but I still remember the classes in Holden and taking the exam. I passed with something like a 95. With a little help from pops, of course.

Thus began the many, many adventures in Greenwich Bay, Narragansett Bay, and the general vicinity of Block Island sound. We'd spend every weekend of every late spring to early autumn (sometimes late Autumn...I trick or treated at the marina once) since then until I was about 18 or so. The Avalon had a short, turbulent (almost sank a couple time times) life that I won't get into in detail here. We replaced her in the late 80's with a 32' Carver aft-cabin cruiser that my dad renamed "Belinda Lee" after my mom. A lot of times I thought I hated being there. I was a young kid, and there weren't too many other young kids around the marina. Besides, I already had friends at home, and I was missing out on playing with them. I could maybe get two channels to come in on the 13' TV with rabbit ears I had in my cabin. That meant no Saturday morning cartoons. That was a problem. Most weekends we'd just stay at the marina. It was too expensive to take the boat somewhere every time we went there. At the time I thought it was boring but looking back, I miss a lot of it. Catching jellyfish and smashing them, dicking around with people on the radio, taking the raft out and wake jumping with it, plotting courses with my dad, driving the boat, attempting (poorly) to dock. When we did actually take the boat out, it was even better. Most vacations were spent on Block Island, a place I still love. We've been to Martha's Vineyard, Montauk Point and so many places between. All my memories are good ones. Even the bad ones are good.

A few years ago, we moved the boat to Mystic, CT. The boat hadn't been used as much by then and financial forces prompted the move. My dad really wanted a new GPS chartplotter for the trip. I remember him in the office at my parents' old day care center trying so hard to use the internet to find one. It was almost comical how bad he was with a computer. Looking down his nose through my mom's reading glasses, fumbling through, swearing a lot, and cursing the manufacturer of the computer, as I recall. I helped him along and eventually we found the one he wanted and I fronted the money for it since they couldn't afford it at the time. He asked me to go with him for the trip. It had been a while since I had gone and I told him honestly that I'd love to.We plotted the trip together with the new GPS and set off on a very nice day from Warwick to Mystic. Of course, I could not have known that would be our last voyage together. The ride was a beautiful one. Blue water meeting bright blue sky in every direction. The wind in our faces and very calm seas. It was a weekday, and I recall thinking how much nicer it was to be out on the water with my dad than to be at work. It was a perfect day.

On Saturday, Jill and I went to Mohegan Sun to see Lori McKenna. I'm not really a fan, but it's a small sacrifice to make for the person who has somehow brought me through tough times to come out even stronger than when I faced them. We stayed the night in a nearby hotel. We got up Sunday morning and decided to do some tourist stuff. Mystic Village was only 25 minutes away. So, away we went. We missed a turn and stumbled upon the road leading to the marina in Mystic. I decided that instant to head down it and see the Belinda Lee for the first time in maybe two years. It was difficult at first. The entire lot was full of boats being stored on stilts for the winter. We circled the main building, searching. Once around back I saw it out of the corner of my eye. The Belinda Lee. I stopped the car and got out.

I believe this was the first moment in my life where I experienced intense, overwhelming, and very unexpected emotion. I was just walking towards it, snow hitting my face, and scanning her outline. I could suddenly picture my dad everywhere on it. He was on the bridge, he was standing on the bow hosing the windshield off, he was sitting on the deck, admiring the cove and working on his sunburn. I saw him in so many memories all at once. This was his boat, he was her Captain. I walked around the boat and just studied it. Jill came over and could tell I was kind of in shock, I guess. Maybe I looked like I had seen a ghost, because I certainly just had. I looked at her with tears in my eyes. She hugged me, now starting to cry ever so slightly herself. We admired her for just a bit longer. I took one last look over my shoulder before I got back into the car, and headed for Mystic Seaport.

Happy Anniversary!

nospam@example.com (Shawn Coomey) — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 23:23:48 -0400

To Chris & Jill.

Many, many more. It's not often you meet your brother's girlfriend and pretty much know instantly that she was the one he'd marry, even if it took a while to get there. I had that pleasure.

Congrats, bro and sis.

Half Dozen

nospam@example.com (Shawn Coomey) — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 09:39:36 -0400

Happy birthday to Liam who turns the big six years old today. It's been an eventful year for him for sure. Hope everyone can make it to his birthday party at the Ecotarium this year.

Happy Birthday Dad

nospam@example.com (Shawn Coomey) — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 00:01:00 -0400

Would've been 58 today.

Geni: The Web 2.0 Genealogy App

nospam@example.com (Shawn Coomey) — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 17:17:52 -0400

If you ever wanted to get into family trees at all like I have, I highly recommend a new site called Geni. Very cool stuff. Slick, easy to use interface, messaging, invites, the works. If you are related to our family at all, stop in there and add some info. The ultimate goal of the site is to show how everyone on the globe is interconnected by families. Very cool indeed.

Zoe is 8 :)

nospam@example.com (Shawn Coomey) — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 10:45:00 -0400

Happy Birthday Zoe!
Here's another video tribute (from when Zoe was under 1).

Happy B-Day, Ryan.

nospam@example.com (Shawn Coomey) — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 09:41:00 -0400

Ryan hits an early milestone: 18. Wow, it seems like yesterday that Dad sat down and interrupted Chris and my 8 hour Super Mario Bros. session to tell us mom was pregnant. Have a good one bro. And for a little extra cheer, here's a video of Ryan playing what is most definitely NOT a birthday ditty:

William P. Coomey

nospam@example.com (Shawn Coomey) — Thu, 17 May 2007 18:08:00 -0400

Thanks to all family, friends and loved ones for all the support! We were truly touched by everyone who came to pay their respects at Dad's wake.

William P. Coomey
September 5, 1949 — May 17, 2007

"If Grandpa could be with us, it would be magical." - Zoe Coomey

Happy New Year

nospam@example.com (Shawn Coomey) — Sun, 31 Dec 2006 22:03:54 -0500

Happy New Year to everyone. Have a great Ought-Seven.

Wikipedia and a 7 year old

nospam@example.com (Shawn Coomey) — Thu, 26 Oct 2006 23:07:28 -0400

Well, looks like Zoe and Liam have discovered the treasure trove of information that is Wikipedia. It all started a couple of days ago when Zoe wanted to see a picture of a Velociraptor. Naturally, daddy went to Wikiland. She was really curious that you could find almost anything in the Wiki, and I wanted to foster that. Tonight, I let them have at it on my computer. I was playing my guitar at the time so I wasn't sure what she was looking up. Just now I noticed my browser history and found (apparently) what interests a seven year old girl. Here's a list of the things she put into the search field and looked up, in order:

Rat
Queens
Owen M. Fiss (wtf?)
Monkey
Kitten
Kids
Joaquin Phoenix (wtf?)
Island
Leatherback Turtle
Ice
Ghost
Fossil
Forest
Fish
Extraterrestrial life in popular culture
Doll
Dirt
Chicago Bears (:D)
Bat
Apple
Alien

Take from that list what you will.

Mr. And Mrs. Christopher Coomey

nospam@example.com (Shawn Coomey) — Mon, 16 Oct 2006 09:38:40 -0400

Congrats! Chris and Jill's wedding was yesterday, and it really couldn't have been better. The weather was perfect, the foliage was great and the cows were really into it. A lot of happy tears at this one.

Here's some photos. (Thanks Ryan).

Five years old!

nospam@example.com (Shawn Coomey) — Tue, 19 Sep 2006 16:38:21 -0400

Happy birthday my little pal.

My cars suck.

nospam@example.com (Shawn Coomey) — Thu, 29 Jun 2006 17:04:41 -0400

If you didn't know, my Focus got wiped out by a drunk a couple of weeks ago while it was parked in front of my house. Dented up the right front quarter pretty good and shredded the tire. I tried to get the tire to come off, but to no avail. The impact apparently jammed the wheel on too tight to pull off. No biggie.

...That is until Monday afternoon. Driving the Durango home from work (the gas is killing me), it started overheating. OMFG. I pull over and let it cool down and then limp back to Worcester. I bring it to Phil's Auto on Tuesday morning and then try to rush to get the Focus fixed ASAP as I have no vehicle. It gets towed ($50) to Mass Tire on Chandler St. where I get a new tire. OK sure no problem. I go over to pick it up thinking that I'm all set, when the guy at Mass Tire says to me: "oh yeah by the way, your brakes are grinding."

Sure enough, the front rotors are grinding like mad. Oh and the steering is completely screwed up from getting hit. Undriveable. Then Phil calls to tell me that the engine block is leaking coolant in the Durango. So's a hose. And the power steering pump is toast.

As Dave Kimball would say: that's splash two vehicles. I'm riding around in my father-in-law's Chevy Cavalier right now.
Can I buy some luck?

Happy Birthday Ryan!

nospam@example.com (Shawn Coomey) — Mon, 26 Jun 2006 14:09:34 -0400

OK, so that makes it what? (89...carry the one...) 16? 17?

Holy Jeebus. HBD bud.

A call from George Foreman

nospam@example.com (Shawn Coomey) — Sun, 18 Jun 2006 15:28:18 -0400

The funniest episode happened at home last night. After pretty much an all day Call of Duty 2 session on the old XBOX 360, I fired up the George Foreman grill to make the kids some burgers. Zoe and Liam loved them, but Phoenix refused to eat a bite; claiming that it was "gross because it isn't greasy enough." Sorry for not being Ray Kroc here, kid. So when she wouldn't eat any of the burger I told her the repercussions of said lack of eating would be a visit from the king of the fat-drips-away grill himself, George Foreman. George would then promptly kick her ass.

The little ones thought that this was the funniest thing they ever heard, until Liam leaned into me and asked (and I quote): "Is George Foreman going to come and punch me and Zoe in the face?"

Well, after I explained that Mr. Foreman would NOT be coming to assault small children, I was sparked with an idea: how about we actually call George himself? Acting quickly, I called Chris who does a damn good Mr. T impression which I was convinced would be close enough to G.F. to be convincing. Well, my bro put on a show. I was confused there for a second thinking I was talking to the heavyweight champ himself.

Needless to say, the kids fell for it, hook-line-and sinker. As soon as Phoe wasn't paying attention. He quickly told George: "My sister's name is Phoenix, come quick to my house and punch her in the face!". HAHA.