Heading home

Patricia and I arrived in Providence Saturday afternoon, and we had lunch at Iggy's clam shack in Warwick with John Teehan and Paul DiFillipo. John gave me the publisher's proof copy of "Texas & Other Planets". John's wife also was there. It was the first time to meet them in person, and we had a great time. I had a fresh whole fried clam platter, Patricia had a tuna grinder.

John and Paul said they wanted to meet us for lunch at Iggy's because it sits on Narragansett Bay, and it was a great view. We all took photos to commemorate the occasion.

Then Patricia and I drove to Brockton and checked into our motel. We arrived at the class reunion by 8:00 p.m. at the Rockland Golf Course. I met with some old friends from high school. Some of my best friends live too far away and didn't make it. Attendance was rather small, and none of the senior class officers attended. Patricia enjoyed talking to people who knew me in high school. The high point of the evening - for her - was when Mark Albee asked her, "Do you have as hard a time shutting him up as we did in high school?"

I brought a half dozen copies of "Fantastic Texas" with me and I signed and gifted five of them to old classmates.

Sunday I took Patricia around Rockland. We stopped at the house where I grew up, and I posed in front with my copy of "Texas & Other Planets". We drove around downtown Rockland, and ate lunch at the China Plaza, a well-known local restaurant.

That afternoon we spent some time for Patricia, and shopped at the local Talbots. We also stopped at a Country Curtains store. We ended the night at the Hanover Mall.

Today (Monday) I had an interview with a reporter at the local newspaper at 10 a.m., then I took Patricia to the Brant Rock area in Marshfield. Then we drove to Plymouth to see the Mayflower II and Plymouth Rock, We ate lunch at Wood's Seafood on the wharf; Patricia donned a bib and had a whole fresh boiled lobster. She really enjoyed it. I had a whole fried clam plate.

Then we drove an hour to Billerica to see the house where I lived from age 3 to 13. We walked to the ruins of an abandoned bridge at the Concord River. Patricia though the river was very picturesque. I also showed Patricia the elementary school I attended.

Then we drove to Medford, where we stopped at the house where I was born. Finally, we stopped briefly in nearby Malden to visit an aunt, Wilma D'Allesandro and her husband, Joe. She warmed up some Thanksgiving leftovers. I gave them my last copy of "Fantastic Texas".

We arrived back in Brockton by 6:30 and started to pack. We will leave Boston Tuesday morning, and should be back in Mount Pleasant that evening.

I hope to post photos later.