Getting up close and personal

Things have changed significantly in our lives since the summer. After their plans to live elsewhere went BOOM (big family drama) Bill’s daughter and her family moved in with us. And now we’ve got a full house.

 Bill’s daughter (the one I didn’t raise) moved away as a young woman with her new husband to Cyprus. After a twenty five year absence from our lives they came back with kids in tow and there was a lot of catching up to do.It’s been great having boys (2) in the house again, and their children are very sweet and respectful. Although I’m not their biological grandmother I’ve been married to their grandfather for close to thirty-five years so they call me grandma out of respect (which I love). I am getting to know their personalities, their likes and dislikes and I’m even picking up a word or two of Greek!! My step daughter is a lovely young woman, only eight years my junior and we really get on well, like friends. She works hard long hours to support the family and is a loving wife and mother. Her husband is my food twin!! He loves all the exact food, beer and wine I like just like I like it; funny right? He’s very respectful of all of us and can’t do enough to help around the house, run out to the store or even repair something here or at my mother’s house.  He calls my son’s Billy and Matthew little brother which I think is very sweet.

And what we thought would be a few months stay has been extended to longer but we’re seeing the light at the end of this tunnel. For those of you, who think it’s easy “coming to America” as “a legal immigrant”, think again. My step daughters husband did everything except jump thru hoops to comply with all the rules, forms and fees  and finally this week  he’s received notice he’ll be getting his green card with permanent resident status within a week or two. Although he’s been here before and had two green cards previously that didn't make one iota of a difference. My thoughts turn to 911 and the heightened scrutiny our government takes on each and every application and I can’t help but think this is the reason and the cause for the months and months of wait time. Personally this makes me both annoyed and grateful at the same time.

 I’m just going to end this post with a big hello to anyone who’s even reading this blog anymore!!

 Thanks :0 

And some advice; for anyone reading that might have a relative who wants to come here to the USA and become a permanent resident. Do your paperwork in your home country before coming to America!  If not you best have a lot of money saved or a family member who can work (since you can’t work legally), at least two places to live. Don’t expect one of them to be my house…we’re out of rooms!! 

I was being busy taking a break....and being famous.

Things have been crazy busy here this summer. We've gardened till we've dropped. The weather was really wet so we spend a lot of time canning our veggies so they didn't as you might have read and seen in an earlier post.

As you know our numbers have increased as my step daughter and her family have moved in with us until they get settled. We're having a great time getting to know each other again and I must say I love the pidder- patter of kids feet on my floors again. That's not to say that Bill and I won't enjoy our privacy once they move out but for now we've settled into an nice rhythm of family life.

Which begs the question; how long will this situation last?That's rather complicated. Lets just say that in the post 911 climate getting ones green card so you can work (her husband isn't American) is very difficult. That you have an American wife and four American/Cypriot children has little bearing on the time involved or the cost. The Department of Homeland Security/Immigration is rather a mess when it comes to giving directions on the process not to mention the difficulties of the process itself. I think we're in for the long haul.

 I'm grateful we all get along very well.

Oh and btw,  my DSL has been for the birds these past months and Verizon sucks, just sayin. We loose service as much as we have service and as this summer has progressed it's gotten worse. Needless to say we had satellite internet installed this very morning. We'll have to be careful since we have a cap on usage (not something we're used to) but it runs fast and strong. Good riddance DSL!

If all that hasn't been enough to keep me on my old toes....on my rest.

I've taken another trip south to visit my ward and see to her care and well being. I've come to call it "doing my guardian thing". She's doing wonderful and we had a great time on our visit, sharing meals, having ice cream as well as visiting her mother in the nursing home. She is such a happy and energetic woman who knows her mind despite her intellectual disability. And really why shouldn't she? She is loving and lively and sees the world as such a beautiful place; I envy that.

And about the being famous part!

Remember the whole debacle with our trip to the Bahama's in June? You might also recall I contacted Christopher Elliot the consumer advocate/journalist, the story is here. Want to know which agency and airline was involved and what the outcome was?  WELL, our story made it's way to an article in a major publication, just click here.. Washington Post!

WE'RE FAMOUS!!

A-Z 2013 the letter T

I've been looking into my family tree. I have found some rather very interesting things about my ancestor's. Most interesting is that I have so many that I didn't know I even had.

As I have mentioned on this blog many times I am a granddaughter of  immigrants. My fathers mother came to this country from Cork Ireland in 1914 on a ship called The Laconia which sailed into Boston. In my searches into our family history I have found my grandmother name on the ships manifest and the date she applied for and gained citizenship here in the US. All of that is very interesting to me as her granddaughter and I have saved the documents for all my family to see.

What I found to be fascinating and exciting is the ship she came over on. This ship is has a deep and interesting history.

One that is incredibly tragic.

My "T" word tragic- tragedy.

The RMS Laconia was built in 1911 and was originally a passenger ship. Eventually however due to the breakout of WWI  the ship was converted to an armed merchant cruiser in late 1914. She patrolled the South Atlantic and Indian Ocean  and then later went back to patrolling the South Atlantic.

This is the ship my grandmother sailed on
The RMS Laconia 1911

In Feb 1917 The Laconia was sunk by a German U-50.

They rebuilt the RMS Laconia and the new ship was launched in May of 1922. On September 8 1925 the Laconia collided with a British schooner off the coast of Massachusetts.

On September 24 1934 The Laconia rammed into the side of a US freighter in the fog.She was out of commission for a time undergoing repairs.

In 1939 again The Laconia was converted into a merchant ship. In 1940 the British fitted her with guns so that she could escort convoys.

In Sept 1942 WWII The Laconia was in the area of the Ascension Islands when it was torpedoed by a German U-Boat. The Laconia at the time was carrying 463 officers and crew, 80 civilians, 286 British Army soldiers, 1,793 Italian POW's, and 103 Polish soldiers (guards). Most of the life boats were destroyed in the explosion.

As the ship went down the U-boat surfaced and started to help rescue the survivors many of which were POW's . It's important to understand that they were flying Red Cross Flags (universal sign for humanitarian operation)

The next morning a B-24 sighted the rescue operation and notified Ascension Island. The commanding officer unaware that it was a Red Cross sanctioned operation ordered the bomber to attack, which he did. Many of the survivors were on the deck of the sub when the attack commenced and the sub captain ordered the sub to dive.

Roughly half the people died and half survived, the numbers aren't exact. An Admiral in the German command issued and order later dubbed The Laconia Order saying that German ships were henceforth never permitted to pick up survivors.

I don't know about you but I found the history of the ship to be incredibly tragic!

Don't miss my next blog post. 

Follow me on Google friend connect or 

if you'd like you can subscribe and receive

my posts by email.

Both are located on the left sidebar.   

And don't forget to visit my friends 

who are participating in the A-Z Blogging Challenge

defend this family; do it for the children

Fred, Mark and their children

In my less than one year of blogging I have met some wonderful and interesting people. I must admit there are a few that I consider my favorites, people who touch me with their humor, their life stories, their compassion and their ability to love unconditionally. My friend Mark Himes is one of those people. Mark and his partner Fred have four wonderful children and I'm afraid their family is in danger of being broken apart. You can read all the details of this story on Marks blog Our Simple Lives and to a lesser extent in the letter I sent to The Secretary of Homeland Security on their behalf which I have posted below.

Dear Madam Secretary,

I am writing to you today to ask for your help. My name is Jennifer Forbes.  I'm American, I am a wife, I am a mother of two and step mother of three, and grandmother of four.

I am also the granddaughter of three immigrants who came to this country married and raised their families. They had a dream, a vision of a place where they could be free, free to work, free to worship, and free to associate. And they chose America because this is the land where differences are respected and diversity is celebrated.

In my own family my step-daughter who is white is married to a person of color, prior to the 1967 Supreme Court decision they would have been arrested here in The Commonwealth of Virginia for their union. My beautiful grandsons would have been considered little more than outcasts, but for those who dared to speak up when they saw injustice being done. 

And it is just such an injustice that has prompted me to write this letter to you today. I would like to appeal to you on behalf of my friend Mark Himes and his French born husband Fred Deloizy of Harrisburg Pennsylvania whose green card has recently expired and is in danger of being deported. Fred has resided in this country with legal status for the entirety of his 20+ year relationship and marriage to Mark; his love for his family is clear and there is no doubt that he is a loving spouse and parent.  Fred’s ties and relationship to this country are undisputed; the couple has four beautiful adopted children together; Jonathan, Claire, Jacob and Joshua like all children need their parents to be together. He loves this country and has shown a willingness to work and the fact that he will contribute to our society is beyond doubt because he has already.

It is my opinion that the Defense of Marriage Act is a failure as marriages do not need defining or defending, but families do.  Mark and Fred’s family does. We as a society cannot seriously protect a marriage that fails the children. Our children are the future of this country, they need both parent home and engaged in their lives. Married straight couples can sponsor their spouses but same sex marriages remain un-recognized because of this act. You MUST consider making an exception for this couple– for this family- for these CHILDREN. Do not uproot these children from the only life they’ve ever known, because that may happen. Don’t make Fred leave, please stop these types of deportations!

Fred & Mark

We as a country evolve, attitudes change and we need to change with them; and so must the policies and laws of this government so that they reflect the will of its people. And if there are times Madam Secretary when we find we are bound by laws that are unfair or unjust then we must apply them with common sense and mercy.

I urge you to keep this family together; please reissue a new green card for Fred Deloisy, his children deserve to have both their parents.

Friends, That concludes my letter to the secretary. I just wanted to add that I respect that your opinions may differ from mine about gay marriage or even on issues of immigration. But I ask you to please join me and write your own letter. Help save this family; if for nothing else do it for the children.          

                                                    With Thanks, Jen

Joshua, Johnathan Claire and Jacob
I hope I got the twins right!

Secretary Janet Napolitano

Department of Homeland Security

U.S. Department of Homeland Security

Washington, D.C. 20528

202-282-8000