Harrroooo Duh Duh Duh- Goodbye

As soon as she saw him at the pound she was in love.  A rusty colored,  all feet, big laughing mouth with dos enormous eyeliner lined eyes that seemed to laugh too, this mutt was what my little one chose.  To me he looked goofy, cute, but goofy.  I wanted her to pick the older Collie in the next room but she wouldn't budge; she had seen him and knew they belonged together.

After the animal shelter had given its o.k., we went back a few days later to pick up "Rocky".  How she came up with such a tough name for such an obviously goofy ball of fur, feet and muzzle was beyond me, but that was his name.  As my little one held him in her hand cooing his name, his tiny tail seemed to be thumping yes, yes each time she would say Rocky, so I guess he liked it too.

But a rosa by any other name is still a rosa.  The dog was a goofball.  Oh si, give him the big he-man name, but he was still goofy.  The times he would be running on our ceramic tiled floor, try to stop but ended up sliding across the house...  I swear sometimes he'd do it on purpose.  BB hears you saying it- JU SO FONII!!! but I think he did.  He was just too cute being goofy, and when we'd laugh at him he would always open that big mouth of his and let his tongue hang out- as if joining us in the merriment.

When we moved up to the South, Rocky fell in love with the 5 acres of land he had now permission to run.  And boy did he run them- and everyone else's acres too!  In Miami he would shoot out the door if given the chance, so up here he happily spent the years investigating all happenings in the great outdoors.  He loved his escapades, but would always spring out of nowhere when he saw our car coming down the road.  By this time he was almost 5 years old; his ears would flop with each pace and his grin with the flopping tongue would greet us.  My nickname for him- Duh Duh Duh 'cause now he was a big goofball.

Now don't confuse being a goofball with being dumb- they are definitely two different things.  He would have done his animated kins Astro and Scooby proud on so many occassions!  The times we would catch him jumping off furniture when we were entering a room- or how about the times I'd find an empty Starbuck's  cup upon my return to a room?  Yes a goof, but definitely no dummy.


Oh the many tales and adventures we have shared these past 11 years dear Rocky Rook.  How we both  enjoyed seeing our Little One grow, how we enjoyed living out in the country, how we both grayed gracefully, and how we agreed that nothing beats that extra squirt of caramel  in a Frappuccino.

Mil Gracias for all the love.

3/11/2001 - 3/27/2012 

Babushka Besos a  todos.   Cuidensen.

My Miami Vacation - Revel, Relive, Recover

Revel, Relive, Recover.  Yeap, that's my Miami vacation in a nutshell.

Numero Uno- Revel.  How can I not revel in my family's love and attention?  Rinquincaya and PicaPica were counting the days until I got there.  How precious is that?  Not only did I spend time with my two eldest children, their families, my grandmother, my comadre/cousin, my father, my aunt and uncle, and medio Miami, I got to catch up with my two bestest beasties BFGF  (Best Friend Girl Friend).  It's been years since we've chilled.  Even though chilled is not a word used too often in Miami- in any sense of the word.

Numero Dos- Relive.  Went to Miami with My Sweetie, so I was the designated driver.  Not because he was drinking, but because it was Miami and everyone there thinks they're the sons of Fangio.  This was where I learned to drive and it's amazing how fast I got back into the Miami madness mindset.  Sweetie learned very quickly to look at the sights instead of the road.

Oh- and what sights we saw!  In the course of 7 days I tried to relive the best of almost 40 years.  The first day there I took him to a beach.  Note I said A beach- not THE beach.  We did not go to South Beach where "the beautiful people" hang out.  You thought I'd purposely expose him to that land of dental floss wearing dainties who didn't have detailed body dimples/dunes acquired so lovingly from time and childbirth? JU SO FONII !!! >No, no, no.  We went to a "family" playita.  Babushka believes in keeping it real.  

I showed him Miami Lakes where I grew up, Kendall where I raised my trio, Flagler where my grandmother had lived,and Dadeland, where while in college he had lived.   Not only did we relive places, we had to relive plates.  As in food, lots of it- in every visita and in every corner.  Sweetie was mesmerized that every block had a bakery and a restaurant.  El es flaco, but loves to eat; he looked like a kid in a candy shop.  How precious is that?  

Pero 7 days of non stop food,fanaticism,and heat takes a toll.  Oh si, I was reliving Miami- for sure, for sure. This was too far South for us Southerners. Ok, ok- he's originally from Pennsylvania and I grew up in Miami, pero ya yo estaba fuera de practica- I was out of practice and he was out of sunscreen. Time to go home- back North to the South.

Numero 3- Recovery.    Having been through many tearful goodbyes -esta bien- it wasn't that many, but when you're a grandmother even one is excessive,  I bribed them with a goodbye goodie which I would leave on the table if they didn't cry.  They promised they wouldn't cry.  Por supuesto that made me want to cry double.

We left Miami at 7 a.m..  Of course we had to stop at a bakery to take home some pastelitos and Cuban bread.  We hoped the 6 loaves would make it home.  After all, it was a 9 hour trip...


Making it home in record time, si, ok, I was still driving Miami style, Sweetie started unloading the car while I made sure the air conditioner in the house was working and set to 60 degrees.  Oh yeah, you betcha.  I was going to make up for that Miami heat y el traqueteo.  I was going to rest.  Rest, relax, and recover  in cold and silence.

How precious is that?

Babushka Besos a todos.  Cuidensen.