Focused at Fifty

John hikin' on the trail. Growing up, Thanksgiving in my home as in many, has always been a family affair. I have years of memories of my Mom and Dad working together to make a large Thanksgiving feast for my brother, sister, and I. Each of us would vie for the sacred wishbone. Most years, Dad would dry it out and then pick which two would break it over a wish. Of course we took turns with him carefully remembering who did it the year before! One year, ever the artist, he spray painted it gold, and still another he soaked it in vinegar which made it rubbery!   Dad was constantly keeping us kids enthralled with amusement!  Good memories! As we got older, some of us kids did not make it to Thanksgiving for one reason or another. Adam was in the Marines, Sheryl had moved into Philly, and I was away at school at Rutgers. Mom and Dad also divorced with Mom moving south to Florida. What can ya do but go with the flow as they say? She met my stepdad Barry and they built a wonderful

Last night, John and I attended the viewing of our good friend Ed's father in Minersville, PA.  Ed has a large family and it was comforting to see all of his 6 brothers and sisters in attendance.  Ed's father, Butch, passed away the weekend prior surrounded by his children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. It was just how my Mom passed away back in 2009, surrounded by our family and it really brought back memories. Ed and I hugged, got choked up, and I offered my condolences. I met Ed's mom, offered my condolences and said, "I'm Marc, I'm friends with Ed and Kim in the Lake I am so sorry for your family's loss." I said the same with his sisters. As I moved down the line, I met one of his brothers and we talked about him being back in the "old neighborhood."   He said it was bittersweet having everyone back at the family home a couple blocks away. I completely understood. When my Mom passed and we had the memorial service in

Mom's Shrimp Creole Earlier in November, my sister Sheryl came out for the weekend and I decided to make one of my Mom's special dishes, Shrimp Creole, for her and John. This is a very basic recipe, like many of Mom's, which can be spiced up or added to. This was one of her fancy dishes that she made for guests when she entertained back in the 80's. She didn't make it that often for shrimp were considered pricey depending on how big they were. Hence, it was only a recipe for special occasions. I like this recipe as it needs only a handful of ingredients: shrimp, tomato sauce or marinara, onions, peppers, celery, and whatever spices you would like to add. John and I went shopping that weekend for the ingredients at our local supermarket. I had a stalk of celery at home, but it had wilted and become as limp as a bad pickle so celery was the first item I was looking for. I came across stalks of celery and just didn't want to buy an entire stalk for th