Greetings from North Carolina

Staying at a friends' house.. Having a great time
Ulyses

Happy Birthday, Tony

Here in Pennsylvania he’s known by many names: Manuel Jr., Manuel Sr., The Tonz, Pastor Tony, Necó, El otro Beatle, etc. I have so many great memories of Tony. We both shared the basement room when he lived with us for a few years. We had some serious games of dominos that lasted until 2 in the morning; we shared wardrobes and debated the difference between, “matching and combining” clothes; we invented the world famous “zonk” handshake, we share stories, and developed a lifelong bond.



I don’t have too many earthly heroes, but if I were to think of one, it would be Tony. He’s such a great example of a husband, a father, a son, a sibling, a cousin, a teacher, a preacher, a scholar and above all, a Godly man who any Christian man can look up to as a role model. I love Tony and his beautiful family. I wish for him all of God’s blessings as he continues to do the work he was called by God to do.



Happy Birthday, Bro

Too Hot

OK, northern boys and girls. This is the only time you will hear me complain about the weather here. Usually I'm razin' you about your lousy weather. Today it's going to get up to 94. I remember sayin' that I would never live down here because I love the change of seasons. This is the best time of year up there. Laurie and I are going to take a trip up to North Carolina next week just to see the leaves and get a break from this oven. Enjoy it while you can. Gray skys and bitter cold are just around the corner.

The loving husband..

A man and his ever-nagging wife went on vacation to Jerusalem. While they
were there, the wife passed away. The undertaker told the husband, "You can have
her shipped home for $5,000, or you can bury her here, in the Holy Land , for
$150." The man thought about it and told him he would just have her shipped
home.

The undertaker asked, "Why would you spend $5,000 to ship your wife home, when
it would be wonderful to be buried here and you would spend only $150?"

The man replied, "Long ago a man died here, was buried here, and three days
later he rose from the dead. I just can't take that chance."

Mexico Music

In case you're interested...

Well, We did it again . . .

Thanks to Jimmy & Iris for opening up their home to us again. We had another wonderful get together yesterday for our “end of summer” picnic. We got rained out on Labor Day weekend but we more than made up for it this time. Tony, Jess, Manny, Lisette, Christina, Carlos, Nikki, CJ, Chati, Diane, Ron, Roxanne, Tito (& significant other), Rosi (& fiancé Polito), Tom & Annette, Marie, Christina, Tommy, Mom, Pop, Melissa, Tim, Melody, and of course, Jimmy, Iris, Jacob, and Jordon were all there to laugh, play volleyball, talk a lot, eat mom’s cooking, watch the Eagles game and swim (only some of the kids including Tony).
Now that I think about it, I’m glad Labor Day got rained out. Many families were away, some were at college and others just couldn’t make it. Yeap. Praise the Lord for his sovereignty. His ways are not our ways and that’s a good thing.

I'm Back

It was a great trip as always. I'll give you more once I get settled in.
I came across this great poem while in Mexico. It was written by a homeless woman who turned to a country vicar (an English priest) for help. Perhaps he was busy and perhaps he felt helpless but he promised to pray for her. The woman later wrote this poem:

I was hungry,
and you formed a humanities group to discuss my hunger.

I was imprisoned,
and you crept quietly to your chapel and prayed for my release.

I was naked,
and in your mind you debated the morality of my appearance.

I was sick,
and you knelt and thanked God for your health.

I was homeless,
and you preached to me of the spiritual shelter of the love of God.

I was lonely,
and you left me alone to pray for me.

You seem so holy, so close to God
but I am still very hungry - and lonely - and cold.

Food for thought...

25 Years of marriage

On Tuesday, September 12th, Roxane and I will be celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary. We’ve obviously been through alot together and have persevered.

I don’t know- but I thought it was an accomplishment worth noting.
Happy Anniversary, Honey!

Mexico Mission Trip

They line up early and the lines are long. Tomorrow morning I am leaving with a group from church on our annual Labor Day mission trip to Mexico City. This will be my 6^th year going. We work with a Mexican ministry called Armonia. They have 3 community centers that work with the poor trying to provide their physical as well as spiritual needs. It's always a great trip. I come along to provide translation (don't laugh) , music and sometimes even construction (stop snikering). Please pray for the team. We'll be back Sept. 6. Blogging will be light unless I can find a wireless connection.

Out On The Town

We had an unusually busy weekend last week.
We didn't get in till past midnight both Friday and Saturday night.

They say the 50's are the new 40's. I don't know... we're tired.

Kristina has returned to the Ukraine

Summer is over and Kristina has gone back home. Please pray for Leslie and her family as they deal with the loss of a child that for a short time became a daughter and sister.

Video of arrival here.

Story of her arrival here.

Kristina's story here. Start from the bottom and work your way through the monthly archives on the right if you're interested.

Rosie & Polito's wedding cake top

The future Mr & Mrs Polito and Rosita Gil

Yesterday, mi baby girl, Rosita became officially engaged to her sweetheart, Hipolito Gil. Polito, as we affectionately call him, and Rosie are planning their wedding day on June 30, 2007.

Polito has been a part of our family for the last two years participating in family functions and events. We are happy that he and Rosie will plan a future together and husband and wife.

Rosie is finishing her bachelor’s degree from Temple University this December in Business and Marketing. Polito will be completing his bachelor’s degree from Temple in Criminal Justice. He plans on beginning the New York police academy in January.

Rosie and Polito are planning on moving to New York (in the Long Island area) after they get married.

Bad Day

OK. I had a bad/busy/hectic last 3 weeks but I won't trade with this guy:

Wedding Bells / Wedding Horn?

Turn it up

Thomas Rolon Jr.

That's right folks, this is Tommy Rolon's last year in single digits as he turns nine years old on August 23rd.

Joe Black

This by far is the most romantic, ethereal piece of music I have ever heard. It's taken from the movie Meet Joe Black. It's a movie about death but it's not as creepy as it sounds. Tonight Laurie and I just got home from a wedding and the movie was on TV. I've seen it close to 10 times but I had to catch it again just to hear the music. I remember sitting in the theater enveloped in this haunting soundtrack. Turn it up.

Stuck

Ever have one of these days? Well my last 3 weeks have been like this.

Do, do, do. Da, da, da. That's all I want to say to you.

I must confess I became a fan of the 80’s band The Police after they broke up. I sort of snuck in the back door through their lead singer’s music after they disbanded. Sting was, and continues to be, my favorite musician/singer/songwriter. The above mentioned Police song came to my mind as I received a bit of sad news last weekend.

A friend had to step down from his position of leadership/authority for his self confessed individual indiscretions. He is a kind and gentle man and even though I wouldn’t call us close friends, the news saddened me. Almost the same kind of feeling I get when I hear of couples that have been married a long time, deciding to divorce.

Paul and The Police
In chapter 7 of Romans, one of my favorite books of The Bible, the apostle Paul wrote about the struggle with sin we all have to deal with. In verse 15 he wrote “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.” These words came to mind as I thought of my friend. Lounging in the pool last Sunday (give me a break. I had a tough week) I thought of Do, Do, Do.

Do 1 is what we all ought to do. God calls us to live our lives a certain way. I believe this way is immutable and absolute. I don’t believe He says it’s wrong to steal in one breath, then turns around and says “Well, just this once it’s ok”. That would make God a liar and changeable and He is neither. Many times we try to justify our behavior by mudding the waters. We feign ignorance and say to ourselves “Does God really prohibit this type of behavior or this action?” knowing full well the answer. The enemy has been pulling this stunt since Genesis 3. Ask Momma Eve. Even the pagan knows (see Romans 1). The problem is not ignorance. It’s Do 2.

Do 2 is what we want to do. No pun intended but this comes natural to us. Paul knows that there is nothing good about the sinful nature he struggles with. The Christian also knows that since his rebirth there is good that he desires to do and therein lies the struggle. Have you ever heard the statement "but doesn't God want me to be happy?" I heard a preacher once say God is more interested in making you holy than making you happy.

We are a spoiled people in our blessed country. We are use to getting what we want. It's our right, damn it! I'm going to puke if I hear one more commercial telling me I deserve the product or service they're trying to sell me. If we all got what we deserved we'd be in big trouble.

Do 3 is what we end up doing. We all have to deal with forks in the road every day. Which road will we take? Who will rescue us from this body of death and the struggles that lie
before us? Thank God He has given us a way out and the power to take that road.

Dear family (and friends who read this blog), soak yourself in the basics of the faith: prayer and daily consumption of His Word. As we make our way toward the Lamb, let us humbly acknowledge our dependence on His grace to help us work through our struggles, for He is able.
Do, do, do. Da, da, da. That's all I want to say to you...

14 Days

It's been 14 days since the last entry. School started here in Florida and it's been a couple of hectic weeks. You'd think someone else would pick up the slack but noooooooo. Blogging will resume as soon as I can catch my breath.

. . . And speaking of Super Men . . .

A late birthday shout-out to little Roberto Rolón (aka Tito Bandito). Tito turned 23 years old last week and we had a pool party at Jimmy’s to celebrate the glorious event. Tito is planning to go back to school in the fall and (Lord willing) will continue to pursue his dream of following in his father’s footsteps. Drop him a note at beamer112@comcast.net .

The Men in Our Family

Fall 2004

Fall 2005

A few Blog entries ago, Dave was asking, “What the H-E-double-hockey stick has happened to all the MEN in our family? I wasn’t sure if he was serious & trying to make a point or he was just joking. Nonetheless, here’s a visual aid for Dave to refer to when/if he has anymore doubts. We’re here. Make no mistake about it.

Bahama-mama's and their men

Hola Familia,

Jim & Iris are planning a family/couples mini cruise next year. Currently they are looking at a 3-4 day cruise leaving Florida to the Bahamas. After sending an email to “Los Primos”, we have serious considerations from U & Laurie, Dave & Maureen (I think), Miriam & Papo, Patti & Danny, Jeannie Rolon & her husband and Roxane & I. This is great start.

If you are considering possibly trying to go, please contact Jim or Iris and let them know your preferences (dates, departure locations, price range etc.). At this point, if we plan and book it early, it would be less than $500 per person. I think they want to confirm a date and cruise line in the next week or so.

Mean and Funny

This falls under the catagory of mean and funny practical joke.

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.