Family ...
Meet my kids and their kidsÖ
Pool Time
Prom Time
How Dot gets around
How we all get around
The Loves and the Meskins
Living in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, on the Big Island, Kenny and his family
include wife Margie, son Robert and his wife Jenny. Ken, Robert and Jenny share my
cooking skills (ahem!). Margie and I share the gift of gab...and shopping! And she's
pretty good with students too! Click on Ken's website for an idea of all the projects and
businesses he loves (loveÖget it?).
Son Christopher Meskin and daughter Jennifer Love live a little closer.
They make their home in Park Forest with Chris' wife Vivienne and their three sons,
Joey, Tim and Christopher. I am lucky to see my great grandsons often and take them to the
Skokie library or neighborhood park.
The Smiths and the Tottens
Living on the other side of the Mason-Dixon line, Debbie and her melded family
(a girl after my own heart!) include hubby Tim, his kids, Tiffany, Brandon and Tara,
and her sons, John, and twins, Christopher and David. While I expect that our trip to
Puerto Rico (did I mention, it's my birthday?) will allow me to get to know Tim and Tiffany
better, here are some of my favorite memories of spending time with the Totten boysÖ
On a 1986 trip to the Bahamas, Debbie and her entourage met Norman and I in Atlanta to
take the same flight. There is nothing sweeter than flying with 1 year old twins and a 4 year
old on a 2 hour flight. Why was it sweet, you ask???? Because it wasn't a 3 hour flight!!! We
had to keep switching the twins around because they were miserable being confined on the plane.
We didn't stay at the same hotel because Norman had gotten one of his infamous gambling deals
and he put Debbie and her family up at another hotel...but we had a blast. I remember that John
nearly got hysterical whenever I went near the water at the beach. Now that's sweet!!!!
While I can't remember if it was 1986 or 87 (does it really matter?), Debbie drove
with the kids to Skokie and as usual one of the kids had an ear infection. Chris,
I believe. Just as they pulled into the driveway, Debbie took Chris out of his child
seat and just that quickly, he reached in the diaper bag, grabbed the thermometer and
munched a chunk of it off. Needless to say, she went nuts. She stuck her finger in his
mouth and was able to swipe out a chunk of glass as well as mercury. She dropped the other two
little ones off upstairs and went flying off to the hospital. Fortunately, the x-rays showed
that he had not swallowed any mercury. The glass was another story, but he never exhibited
any other symptoms. Today, Christopher has to explain to airport security why he glows when
he walks through the monitor.
When the twins were born prematurely, Norman and I visited them when they were a week old. When
Debbie escorted us to the NICU, I saw that one of the babies was red faced and squalling. David,
I believe. My pronouncement? "That one is going to be a monster." Good thing I kept my day job.
I would never earn a living as a psychic. He is mischievous though!
The Hodges
Living in flyover country, as the coastals call it, Beth, Spencer, Sarah and Andrew make
their home in Wooster, Ohio. But you would never know that Ohio is their home base,
because Beth keeps a permanent bag packed and Continental Airlines on speed dial because she
is always traveling for her low-income housing development firm or on a pleasure trip with Spencer.
Sarah calls Madison, WI home while living the co-ed life at the University of Wisconsin. Andrew
takes on the Big Apple while he grapples with business school at NYU.
Barb Crystal
Think Lucy and Ethel. Thelma and Louise. Consider the gals who make up The View. Barb
lives on the North side of Chicago and I can always count on her to visit the Art Institute,
to see a chick flick or to grab some Thai food on Southport near her home. We are not only family
but good friends who try not to get into trouble - but every once in a while even the simplest
plans make for a great story! I am the one in pearls, on the right!
The Crystals
Living just minutes from the Atlantic Ocean and a few miles from the Newport mansions, Larry,
Judy and Jordan are relatively new residents of Warwick, Rhode Island. I taught Larry
everything I know about golfÖand I can't understand why he plays better than I do. The
cigar smoking he got from Norman! Judy keeps things humming by working with Larry at PMC
and chauffeuring Jordan to and from her daily Moses Brown bus and her social activities.
Jordan just celebrated her Bat Mitzvah in September and is enjoying eighth grade!
