Shadrach's Graduation

Daughter in law Michelle, Shadrach, daughter Michele, son in law Devin with baby Madlynn

I came up to New York on Friday evening and that was really quite an adventure in itself for I got to the airport at 4pm and we did not fly out till around 10 pm. For first, the generator that should have started the plane's engine did not work (I  thought they just turned a switch key) so the pilot said we had to wait for an external one to start and when that came, it did not work either, so we had to wait, strapped in on board till they fixed it. If I wasn't looking forward to seeing my entire immediate family which had all committed to come to the graduation, I think I would have asked to be taken off the plane at that point!

Mine is a really tiny family (one brother, one daughter, two grandchildren, two nieces and a grand niece and a grand nephew) but we are still rarely all together in one place,  for we live all over with only me being left in Jamaica.

Joan, Shadrach, other grandmother, Norma Wright.

It was really great therefore for us all to be in one place for Shadrach's graduation from St. Michael's Academy, his high school in New York. From there he will proceed to university in Tampa.

I used to hate New York from I migrated there in the 60's and ended up staying only 6 months before fleeing off to Canada. For in those days New York was a really scary place of high crime, lots of dirt and grime on the subways and other public transportation which were all frequented by Puerto Rican gang members and the city was really nasty and uninviting. Now it is the opposite and it is Jamaica that is now at that stage, except of course we have no subways and no Puerto Rican gangs, but certainly our own vicious local gangs!. Anyway, I am off on a tangent, so back to that scary flight.

Then the pilot told us that the generator started one engine so we would taxi down the runway and that engine would start the other!(Didn't they tell him in pilot school that such detail scares passengers!)

Anyway all went well until a long protracted screaming shook us all. This poor young woman who has an autistic child who had been screaming all afternoon, came on our flight and the kid seemed to have gotten awake when we were ready to take off and refused to put on his seat belt. Nothing they did could get him to do so or stop screaming. A guy  beside me told one of the stewardesses that he was a child psychologist and offered to help. I noticed to my amazement that as she spoke to him, tears of frustration were running down her face. By then, the decision had been made to take him and his poor mom off the plane so we had to taxi back to the terminal and find their luggage.

Anyway, all went well for the rest of the way and I arrived home in Mt. Vernon, without ever sleeping a wink as when I work on radio, I drink numerous cups of coffee to stay awake and it worked like a charm, unfortunately. Anyway after getting home I got a couple hours before going off to graduation. I have always hated graduations as they always drag on forever but thank God this was short, interesting and precise (helped by the fact that we arrived late).

So we got time to refresh ourselves before going to the get together at the wonderful Spanish restaurant Don Coqui to regale Shadrach.

So much food, such a tiny tummy!

By the time we got there, my brother Bernie (who had not attended the formal ceremony), his wife Judy, daughters Stephanie and Whitney, son-in-law Shawn along with his grandson Ian and granddaughter Gillian were joined by me, my daughter Michele, granddaughter Madelynn, daughter- in -law  (the 2 ll!) Michelle and son in law Devin, hence me saying in the beginning that my entire immediate family was in one place at one time. Also in attendance were Michelle's mom Norma and two of her grand kids Tajay and Marlene, plus Michelle's friend Elton.

That meal was out of the world. I have never seen such so much food in my life and no one besides Michelle and her big belly son, Shadrach were able to finish what they had ordered1 Everyone else ended up carrying home doggy bags, but what was the most wonderful part of the trip was seeing Shadrach graduate and having my entire family around at one time. We really need many more of these get togethers.