Where are the MEN Today?

After reading some of the postings... I just had to throw in my two cents...

What the HELL has happened to all the MEN in our family???

What is with all the feely mealy crap being posted? Have you all been modernized into the 21st Century where liberalism has required men to express more of how they feel rather than be practical and logical?

Even in the latest Superman movie... Superman returns to find a more independent Lois... single mom with a kid and very confident... This threatens him and HE feels bad and lost???? He then goes out and tries to FIND HIMSELF and a meaning to his life here on earth!!!!

What a bunch of CROCK!!!

Chick - Nice picture of your wedding day... hope you FELT good!!!! What I remember from mine is everybody feeding his or her faces at my cost!

U - What is with the dog looking out the window??? Darn dog slops all over my window, I will push him out and get another for $20.00.

Ron - Nice pictures of the nice horsey's... where are the pictures of slapping the horse on the ass and the fat lady falling off the horse???

Tom - What's with the Valley Forge "Thank Our Fore-Fathers" posting??? Those were true men!!! They kicked ass and asked questions later!!!

Come on guys!!!! Let's reach real far back in the drawers and find our Gonads.... and let’s put them back on and act like REAL MEN!!!

The next time you feel like sharing your feelings..... SPARE ME!!

Tell me how, when your car broke down you used your shoelace and belt to get going again... or pushed it home from Hatfield with no brakes...

Tell me how when you watched an episode of the Soprano’s you said... "Was that Papa Oro?"...

Don't tell me that we like Jack Bauer on 24.... tell me he calls US for advice!!!

We must stand up and act like MEN!!!!!....

Hold on.... gotta go... Reen wants me to do a load of wash.

PR Pictures of U Jr.

As you probably noticed, most of the Puerto Rico pictures were of everyone, except U Jr. because he was the primary photographer. So, I thought I would post a couple of pictures that I took of him on the beach. Enjoy!

Smile

1. My husband and I divorced over religious differences. He
thought he was God and I didn't.

2.. I don't suffer from insanity; I enjoy every minute of it.

3.. I Work Hard Because Millions On Welfare Depend on Me!

4.. Some people are alive only because it's illegal to kill them.

5.. I used to have a handle on life, but it broke.

6.. Don't take life too seriously; no one gets out alive.

7.. You're just jealous because the voices only talk to me

8.. Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder.

9.. Earth is the insane asylum for the universe.

10.. I'm not a complete idiot -- Some parts are missing.

11.. Out of my mind. Back in five minutes.

12. NyQuil, the stuffy, sneezy, why-the-heck-is-the-room-spinning medicine.

13.. God must love stupid people; He made so many.

14.. The gene pool could use a little chlorine.

15.. Consciousness: That annoying time between naps.

16.. Ever stop to think, and forget to start again?

17.. Being "over the hill" is much better than being under it!

18.. Wrinkled Was Not One of the Things I Wanted to Be When I Grew up.

19.. Procrastinate Now!

20.. I Have a Degree in Liberal Arts; Do You Want Fries With That?

21.. A hangover is the wrath of grapes.

22.. A journey of a thousand miles begins with a cash advance

23.. Stupidity is not a handicap. Park elsewhere!

24..They call it PMS because MadCow Disease was already taken.

25..He who dies with the most toys is nonetheless dead.

26..A picture is worth a thousand words, but it uses up three thousand times the memory.

27..Ham and eggs. A day's work for a chicken, a lifetime commitment for a pig.

28.. The trouble with life is there's no background music.

29.. The original point and click interface was a Smith and Wesson.

30.I smile because I don't know what the hell is going on.

Tio Gilberto

I remember my wedding day. It was such an awesome moment. This is a picture of Kim and I walking back up the isle. Tio Gilberto met us at the end of the isle and he whispered in my ear. "Papo, esta si es linda." "Tiene una hermana o una amiga?" This is why you see Tio and I smiling. Tio is always Tio.

I have so many great memories of Tio. Softball games, The Latin Boys, Saturday night parties, watching Roberto Clemente in the world series and Tio coming over to our house after work and seeing the game on TV. Tio always believed that I was the best baseball player in PA. (ha, ha)

Anyone reading this blog, make sure you read Ron's blog http://gilbertosjourney.blogspot.com/

I love you Tio.

Merry Christmas

I can't remember ever being this excited about anything, let alone a Christmas gift.
Wait a minute... the day I left Hatfield Packing and moved to Florida!! Yes! Yes! Yes! I can relate to the kid!

Dog Day Sunday

I am going on 2 years as a motorcycle rider. When I first started I had many people kind of roll their eyes and say “Oh.. going through a mid life crisis, eh?” and I’d say “Bug off and mind your own business! "No." There are two reasons I started to ride: I was looking for an inexpensive means of transportation and, like my canine friends (actually I don't care for them), I love the wind in my hair face.

Sunday I fell into a bit of a funk so I took to the highway and took the 1 hour trip to visit Dave, Chick and Mom & Pop. When I left it was a picture perfect Florida day. The sun was out, sky was clear and the track was fast. Again, there is nothing quite as satisfying as feeling the wind in your face. My helmet has a little plastic windshield but I never use it. This time I took the backroads which winds it's way through farm land and has very few lights. It was very good for the soul. Halfway there storm clouds rolled in. Well, this is Florida where the official state motto for the summer is "Don't like the weather? Wait an hour. It'll change." Lucky for me I had my rain suit. Actually it's one of those inexpensive (I'm cheap. Dave's my brother) vinyl sweat suits I bought at Kmart for $6. Hey, I keeps me dry. I pulled over, put on the suit and off I went. 15 minutes from Dave's house the rain stops and the sun comes out. OK. Do i pull over again and take it off or do I suffer with the weird looks I'm getting? I'll take it off. Got to Dave's house. Nobody home. On to Chick's house. 20 minute ride. I swear, five minutes before I get to Chick's house it starts to rain. "@*&% Well, praise the Lord for the rain." Got a little damp but arrived in one piece. Hung out for little bit, installed a new network card in Mom's PC then headed back over to Dave's house.

Dave and Chick helped pull me out of my funk. They've got the storytelling gift. So does my mom. Mom was the best storyteller. When I was young we'd be in the car taking a long trip (to Philly, El Campo) and she would start talking. Everything was a story. Most of the time she'd be talking to someone else (another adult in the car) but I would just sit there building pictures in my mind with her words. My brothers have stories too. Some are mundane, some are funny but they're all interesting. Me and Pop have another gift. We listen. Anyway, we hung out for a while then came back to Pop's house. Had dinner with them and by now it was close to 6:30. Time to go. Of course it starts to rain. I am not putting this suit on again. 5 minutes it stops and I am a happy dog again.

Had to do it....

OK. So Ron and I were walking down this ritzy part of San Juan when out of the blue there appears the makers of my cologne (Envy). I said "Ron, you gotta take this picture."

Ron's thoughts

I’m home safe and sound. Yeap, I was stuck in San Juan’s airport for about 5 hours. The flight was scheduled to leave at 2:30 and it didn’t take off until after 7. I got to Philly around 11:30. Of course, luggage delay, parking garage shuttle bus delay. To finish my day, I got pulled over by Harleysville police on my way home. He said that I was swerving and wanted to make sure I wasn’t drunk. Nope…just real sleepy. I got home around 2:00am. It was great to finally get home.

As U Jr. said, we had a great great time together. Lots of family fun, mixed with enjoying the culture and the island of our heritage. It was great to reconnect with him. I felt as connected to him as we were in the coffee house ministry days in the early 80’s. I’m grateful also for all the pictures and videos that he took of our trip. I kept telling him to put down the camera and just enjoy it. But, he kept saying, “I don’t ever want to forget these visions and memories”. As he said, we really caught up on stories, families, interests, jokes and even old catch phrases (Just SU & BM). That’s our inside joke.

Tio Manuel and Titi Emma are so hospitable. Even though they had a house full of there own kids and grandkids (10 total!). We felt just as welcome. It was great to see Jeannie and her family. I’ve missed her. Tony, Jessica and there kids were of course great to hang out with. My sweetie, Christina stayed by my side and kept me entertained most of the time in San Sebastian.

I spend the day Thursday with my sister Eleana in Aibonito. I took her and her two boys to the Beach (La playa de Salina). We spent the evening swimming in her kid’s pool.

Friday, I spent most of the day walking through the cobble stone streets of Old San Juan. Jim, Iris and the boys arrived in San Juan that afternoon. They are taking a Caribbean cruise that leaves on Sunday from Old San Juan. We all connected that evening for dinner in Isla Verde.

The one phrase that we (Ulyses Jr and I) both kept coming back to was, “Man, I wish the other cousins were here”. So we agreed to reattempt this event in two years. That would be July 2008. Tony has already said that he would plan on attending. Chicky said, “Count me in!” Four down, 13 to go….

Back Home

Boy. I really didn’t realize how much I’d missed my honey. The flight yesterday was non-eventful (I heard Ron’s flight was delayed 4 hours today L ). Laurie was there to pick me up. The Orlando airport is near Cocoa Beach so we headed straight there (she had a rough week). We spent a few hours there then came home. I hadn’t gotten any sleep the night before, worrying about missing my flight, so I was shot. We came home and both crashed. Recovering today…

The trip to PR was close to perfect. The only thing missing was the rest of the group. If you guys would’ve been there it would have been perfect. It was however a perfect balance of family time in San Sebastian and touristy stuff sprinkled throughout the rest of the island. I returned with a deep appreciation for the island and all its beauty and an even deeper appreciation for the sacrifice Papa Gume made in purchasing that piece of land. I know some of you will differ with me on this but I returned wanting to build something there. None of us will probably ever live there but there are other options. More thoughts on that at a later time.

Ron was the perfect travel companion. His knowledge of the island and his easy going style made it a real pleasure. Besides our initial meeting, we were amazed at how much we had in common. We have the same taste in clothes, music, movies, jokes (I’m still laughing at the 3 mice in a bar), share the same world view and we both ride Kawasaki Vulcan 500s (that one was really weird. We didn’t even know each other rode a cycle). I guess it should come as no surprise. We have the same blood. For those outside the family, Ron’s mom is my dad’s sister and my mom is his dad’s brother.

I was so happy to see Tony and his family. It had been way to long. I got to know Jessica, Manny, Lisette and Cristina a little better. The horseback riding excursion was a blast.
Tony: you’ve got a great family. Hope to hear your thoughts on the trip. I also enjoyed seeing Jinnie’s family again. We had visited them a few times over the years in Atlanta. It’s amazing how much they had grown. Geeeez. Now I sound like an old fart. We had a great time running into town and visiting Pop’s favorite ice cream shop. I really enjoyed talking with 9 year old Emaly. It was like I was talking to an adult. Very sharp girl. By the way, Irving and Jinnie have purchased and are running an Italian restaurant near Atlanta. You can check it out here. As always, Paul, Titi Ema and Tio Manual were the perfect hosts. I look forward to coming back.

Before I forget, belated birthday wishes (July 14) go out to Annette, Tom's wife.

I leave you with more pictures from the trip. Tony took these. Don't forget to click the pictures for a bigger image.

Desparados

Ron with Cristina

Quick!
Can you spot the horses' ass in this picture?
That's right! It's the guy checking email from his phone.

Missing WOW Factor

It's Friday morning and I'm waiting at the airport. I wanted to expand
on the previous post below. Yesterday we drove out to El Yunque, PR's
famed rain forrest. We parked at the bottom and started on a self tour
of the "jungle". Well, we walked and walked and walked some more. The
sites were ok. Nothing spectacular. After about 2 hours of walking
through what seemed like the Amazon jungle we reached the top. Again, it
was ok. The peak was so high we couldn't see a thing. We were in the
clouds. A litle disappointed we proceeded to work our way back down. Two
hours later we finally reached the bottom. Needless to say, we were a
little disappointed. We asked a ranger about the water falls we saw
pictures of and he said that was another trail. Great.

Before we tackled that trail, we had to eat something so we found this
great burger stand that claimed to have the best burgers. They did.
After that we hiked the other trail. A little more exciting but still
not worthy of a wow. Here are a few phone picts. The better quality ones
are below in the previous link. Plane's boarding. Gotta go. More later
Ulyses

Long Day

I am so tired I think my legs are going to fall off. We spent over five hours hiking through El Junque, PR’s tropical rain forrest. It’s late so I’ll have to wait till I get home to give you the details. I go home Friday morning. In the meantime I’ve posted pictures on my site. Blogspot‘s been giving me a hard times with pictures lately. Go here:

http://www.ulysescardona.com/pr/

and click on each one. Sorry. It’s the best I can do now. The pictures are fairly large so please be patient. Post more tomorrow.

U

Day off

Ron traveled to Aibonito today to visit family. I decided to stay behind
and enjoy the sites half a block from the hotel. Check it out. Just
chillin like a villan (sorry.... Best I can do)
Ulyses

The House Gume Built

The one that started it all
Ulyses

Look What the Sea Threw Up

Refugee trying to get in...

More picts

Cousins Reunion I

The ones who made it ... yes, this will happen again.

A chick is born

Horseback Riding on the beach

Remember. You can view a larger version of the picture by clicking on it.

Caves of Camuy

Papi: para ti

Helado de maiz. Sufre...
Ulyses

Snorkling was cancelled

Water's too rough so we decided to walk the beach. Tony, Ron and Manny
are doing a little shallow water snorkling. Beautiful view.
Ulyses

Ron's Lunch

La envidia de todos los hombres ... (Sorry. Can't translate this one
;-)
Ulyses

Lunch time

More rice and beans... Snorkling in the Carribean after lunch
Ulyses

Day 2

We just finished our horseback riding outing. Amazing! Unbelievable!
Riding on the beach, through the mountains.. Check out the phone
pictures. I'll post video and good pictures later
Ulyses

Day one

The hotel is a bit skanky. We awoke yesterday to the sound of bullhorns
and protest. A group of disgruntled employees were protesting working
conditions at the hotel. Great. We were tempted to join in. A few
minutes later the whole block losted power. We left for the country
(san sebastian) shorty thereafter. On the way (over 2 hours) we caught
up on family happenings. I haven't talked this much in years. I might
take a vow of silence when I get back.

Right before we arrived we stopped and toured the caves of Camuy. I'll
post pictuers later. An amazing experience.

We arrived at the farm about 3:00. Tony and his family were already
there. Everyone looks good and is doing well. Later on that night we
drove to La Plaza for that great ice cream they serve then spent the
night at Uncle Paul's. More later...
Ulyses

Queer Eye for the straight guy

Ok, so I'm waiting for Ron to arrive and he walks out of the terminal
wearing jeans, untucked white shirt, wife beater undershirt and black
shoes. Well I usually don't notice what another man is wearing except
that I'm wearing exactly the same thing. Great! Two guys meeting at the
airport, renting a car together to drive to a hotel room sharing a room.
Jeesh... If I get propositioned from a guy I'm out of here. For my
friends who read this blog Ron is my cousin. No, he really is.....
Honest....
Ulyses

Touch down in the motherland

Arrived safe. Great flight. Plane was half empty. Spent my time watching
my favorite show (The Office) on DVD. I love technology.

PR weather is great. Soft tropical breeze and sunshine. Living in FL
doesn't make it quite as exciting as when I use to come down from
Philly. Waiting for Ron.

One more thing

A dirty diaper has just been changed smelling up the whole cabin. Oh
shit (no pun intended)
Ulyses

Things to expect on a flight 2 PR

1. Crying babies... Lots of them
2. Tacky dress. Especially women.
3. Thunderous clapping on hands upon arrival
Ulyses

The PR trip will be blogged

There's a reason I love Orlando, Florida so much. I arrived at the
airport at 6 am and was at my gate by 6:20!! I know it's not always the
case but it was sweet none the less. I hope Ron has a similar experience
in Philly. Thanks to my honey for getting up early to drive me in.
Puerto Rico here I come.
Ulyses

Happy 4th on the Fourth

We had a picnic at Dave's house.


Adam and Eric - Bopsie Twins

U and Laurie

By the pool

Eric, Brandon, Adam and Ryan










James and Adam - In charge of fireworks (uh-oh)