Big Apple Adventure

Two more days remain before my departure for the Big Apple. I will be visiting four states that I have never been to before - NY, NJ, Connecticut and Rhode Island - and possibly five if we venture into Massachusetts. I look forward to seeing the NY Harbor, the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island where so many of our ancestors entered this awesome land of freedom, the Manhattan skyline, the busy downtown streets, the art museums, and so on. But more than that, to meet my brothers, Mark and Matthew, for the first time, and spend a week with them. I will also meet my nephew, Mark Jr., a talented student of the arts at Brown University, who is graduating this month and moving on to graduate studies in film at the University of Southern California. And then there is Laura, the mother of my brothers, who I first met when I lived with my father in Caracas in the 60s. She would pick me up from school while my father worked and I would stay with her until he picked me up. I didn't know then that my father's "friend" was pregnant with my brother Mark when I returned to the U.S. Quite a few years have passed, so we have a lot of catching up to do.

Sensory Overload Just Ahead

If stress is a legitimate reason for not blogging, then you all understand why this blog has been vacant for a while. Meanwhile, I'm BAAACK! (for the moment)
I will be flying to NY City next week, if nothing major interferes. Going to this huge city full of people and other distractions for the first time ever, flying on a big jet for the first time in more than 40 years, and meeting my two brothers and a nephew for the first time ever. They are Hispanic and speak just a little English. This weeklong adventure promises to bombard me with lots of intense stimulation, to be processed by a brain that is already on overload. But I will have my Latin American Spanish phrase book, my camera, my hackysack, and my sense of humor ready.

New challenges

Lots of things have happened since I last posted almost a year ago. My grandson, Jesse, is now 15 months old and a tornado-in-training. He's curious about a lot of things, loves Sponge Bob, and has begun walking... all over the house.
My daughter, April, who is seven months pregnant with Jesse's little brother, Marshall, has been struggling with a serious infection. We moved into a bigger house together in July, me and Debbie along with April, Chris and Jesse, so we could share expenses and save some money. After six years as county reporter for the local newspaper, I started a new job in August as community coordinator. I will be assisting with economic development and promoting tourism as well as helping to plan chamber events and festivals. Experienced some changes in the past year and got some challenges ahead, but it just makes life more interesting.

Been a while since my last post, but sometimes the fingers just want to get away from the keys for a while.
I just spoke to Nancy Henson of Houston, Texas, who knew my father as a fellow member of the Maracaibo Players, an English-speaking acting troupe in Venezuela in the 1970s. It was a loose gathering of people from all over, who worked in the oil industry or other vocations in Maracaibo. They did Woody Allen, Neil Simon, Tennessee Williams...
Nancy had fond memories of that period and told me that my father was "a sweetheart... He was a very good man, in spite of his shortcomings." I plan to keep in contact with her and those who she is able to link me to. I had not seen my father since 1966, and he died in 2002. There are quite a few empty spaces to fill.
Nancy told me she was born and raised in Knoxville, just a stone's throw from here. She comes in to visit twice a year, so maybe we can meet face to face.

Finally, we meet!

My sister, Monica, came to meet me last week for the very first time. Monica and her husband, Luis Carlos, and 11-month-old son, Sebastian, visited our sister, Ivonne, and her husband, Luis, in Teaneck, N.J. on Sept. 5. Monica and Ivonne were meeting for the first time as well. Together they drove to Tennessee to meet me and my wife, Debbie, on the 9th.
Even though we are worlds apart, having grown up in different cultures and speaking different languages, Monica and I are so much alike. We are educated, creative, have a zest for life, love to laugh and cut up, and enjoy a good hug. Our father had a total of nine children, and we are gradually coming together as a family. Lloyd Burwick died in 2002 and is buried on Margarita Island. He didn't have the pleasure of meeting Monica, and she saw him for the first time at his funeral. I had not seen him since 1966, and we last corresponded in 2001.
Even though he was not a good father to any of us, we will carry his legacy forward.

Coming together!

I got a call tonight from my brother-in-law, Luis. He and my sister, Ivonne, have come to visit me and my wife, Debbie, twice this year from their home in New Jersey. They are coming again tomorrow. This time they are bringing my sister, Monica, and her husband, Luis Carlos, and their baby boy, Sebastian, to meet us. Monica and Ivonne met for the first time Sunday, and I will be meeting Monica for the first time tomorrow. We will spend all day Friday getting to know each other. I'm beside myself with excitement.

Speaking of get-togethers...

We haven't nailed down a definite date yet, but my youngest sister, Monica, her husband, Luis Carlos, and 10-month-old son, Sebastian, are planning to visit another sister, Ivonne, in New Jersey and then come to Tennessee to see their brother, Steve. We have been in contact since 2006, but Ivonne and I will be meeting Monica for the first time. Monica had never met our father - she saw him for the first time at his funeral in 2002. She contacted us four years later and informed us of his death.

Ivonne and I have met twice this year; before that, it had been 44 years since we saw each other in Venezuela. Then there are Mark and Matthew, who Monica knows but Ivonne and I haven't met... not to mention Lorena, who has met Mark, Matthew, and Monica but not the rest of us. Then there is Lloyd, who shares the same mother and father with Ivonne, and Cliff and Kyle, who share both my mother and father. Confusing, eh? This is our father's legacy - nine kids, separated by a lot of miles, different languages and cultures, and just itching to share our stories.