CHAPTER XVI

The beginning of 1987 was uneventful as I recall. Hernado had gone back to Brazil and Richard was away skiing in Vermont. I spent most of my time reading and watching a little bit of television.

Around February Richard was back and we would occasionally go out to dinner and hit some of the local pubs, per our usual routine.

In March I went down to Florida to visit with Dad for a week while Jan was there. We had a good time visiting the Tampa area. We went to an old hotel for drinks and had dinner at Burns steak house. This would be the last time I saw Dad alive although he would live for another three years. His parkinson's disease was progressing but he still could get around and he was quite happy to see us.

Jan and I drove across the state to see Mother and the girls and their families in Vero Beach for another week. We had our own cottage and would spend quite a lot of time at the pool. It was fun to have all the family together.

In May of 1987 I went to Stewart McKinney's funeral and saw Lowell Weicker and George Bush there. That same week Tim McMurray my roommate from college was murdered down in Miami where he was doing social work. I also heard that Rob Glore from Lake Forest and Henry Post from Lake Forest College, and David Towt from Tenafly, New Jersey had passed away from AIDS. David's parents had sailed with the Bush's up in Kennebunkport. I tested myself a second time that summer and I was still negative for AIDS and since I was not taking any chances should not have any thing to worry about accept trying to quite smoking.

I spent most of the summer going to the beach and walking around the three mile walk regularly. I kept up with my usual routine of reading. Richard would come down once or twice a week and we would go out for dinner and drinks. I also had begun regular cooking on the hot plate in my room on Steamboat road.

In August Richard and I ran into George Cary at the Polo Match at Conyers Farm. It was amazing with all the thousands of people there we sat down right in front of him in the stands. He was with the Nielsens who own Butterfield Farm up in Bedford.

On Labor Day George came over on a boat from Long Island and we had drinks at the Showboat and went out for dinner. I drove him back that evening.

During the fall I bought Patty and Eddie's old Volkswagen Dasher and sold my Dasher. I spent most of the fall reading as usual going to the library every day. I was gradually becoming disinterested in all the espionage novels I was reading and started reading in other more general fields not to mention the large quantity of periodical reading that I always do.

Richard would be around as usual once or twice a week and we would go for a drive, have dinner or drinks. As I recall we went out drinking in the city with George one evening and hit a few hot spots.

Around Christmas time Hernado show up and visited briefly. He was back living up in Danbury with a friend of his. That's the last time I saw him.

Richard and I spent New Year's having dinner in Westport and went down to White Plains to party at one of the local bars afterwards. I really can not believe the large amount of Italians in this area it's not like the old days, but one gets use to it.

That previous fall Richard had made plans for him and myself to go to Innsbruck in February of 1988. We took the limousine from the Showboat and were dropped off at the Lufthansa terminal. We had a stopover in Dusseldorf and arrived at our final destination in Munich. I could not believe all the soldiers running around the airport with machine guns. Apparently they keep a higher level of security around the airports in Germany. We took a bus down to Innsbruck and checked into our hotel.

Our hotel was in walking distance from town. During the day while Richard was out skiing I would walk around the center city. I spent a bit of time exploring the university. One student I met, a pre med student named Peter Wolf said that the average student spends twelve hours a day six days a week studying. I guess the students are very smart after that intensive a schedule.

On several nights Richard and I went out for drinks at the High Life Club. It's a very small place but we had fun socializing with the other guys there. They all said we should go up to Munich for the weekend, Richard wanted to stay near the skiing.

Our meals came with the hotel room and they were quite good. The week went by very fast and before we new it we were retracing our steps back to the states on Lufthansa again.

When I returned home the election frenzy was beginning to pick up for Bush's run for the Presidency, so I got a bumper sticker and put it on my car.

I would return to my usual routine of reading and occasional visit from Richard. Mother would stop by in June on her way up to Kennebunkport. I usually only see her once or twice a year.

When summer arrived I began my usual routine of going to the beach and reading in the evening. I never go into the water at Todd's Point since I consider it polluted. In fact I have not swum in Long Island Sound since 1964 when I was stung by a jelly fish, although I have been swimming elsewhere all over the world and the United States.

In July Richard stopped by with a new Isuzu Trooper he had just bought and said he wanted to drive up to Newport. We stopped by in New Haven on the way and arrived early Saturday morning in Newport. We checked into the Viking Hotel and rested.

That evening we went exploring the hot spots around town. There were a lot of people having cocktails on the water. It was quite a deja vue crowd. We spent the evening wandering from place to place.

The next couple of days were fun unwinding. I don't really care for the public beach in Newport and since we weren't members of any of the private beach clubs we roughed it on the public beach. There seems to be a prevailing wind blowing all the time. Downtown at night is full of young people partying and we had a very good time. We had dinner at the dining room at the Viking and it looked like Liv Ullman was sitting across from us. There are I suppose a few Norwegians in Newport.

I spent the rest of the summer going to the beach in Greenwich and doing my usual reading. In August I was accepted for McKinney Terrace Public Housing but it was not finished at that point. It was good news since my land lady on Steamboat Road was just about to evict me since she wanted my room for her daughter's family.

I quit smoking in September and October, but I started smoking again after my land lady started harassing me about moving and since McKinney Terrace was not finished I got a little bit nervous.

Finally after a long wait I finally moved in mid December. Over the last six months I had been accumulating furniture in my furnished room so my room was quite congested by the time I was ready to move. As I recall the move took several days and using my Dasher wagon. However, once in the apartment I realized I would need more furniture since I did not have enough.

I would spend the next six months looking for bargains in thrift shops to finish off my apartment. I also made two trips down to Patty's in Philadelphia to bring back furniture that she gave me. By summer my apartment was pretty much furnished the way I wanted it, although I was still accumulating books for my book shelf.

It was quite an enjoyment to have a kitchen for a change, and Richard would come down more often as my cooking improved.

On New Years of 1989 after having lived in my new place for about two weeks, Richard and I went to the Homestead for dinner. We had a wonderful time and were the last people to leave.

In January we went down to Washington for Bush's inaugural. We stayed at the Dutch Inn where I had stayed for Reagan's inaugural. The first afternoon we went to the Qualye reception where we stood in line with fifty thousand people waiting to see Quayle for five minutes.

That evening George showed up after dropping off Julie McGowan with friends. We all rested for the inaugural the next day. The following morning Richard and I went to coffee in Christopher Shay's office. He had succeeded Stewart McKinney.

That afternoon instead of going to the inaugural George, Richard, and myself decided to have a long lunch at the hotel. We had about a half dozen drinks apiece and watched the inaugural on the television. We were the only people there. It was all quite amusing. Around four we went up to dress for dinner and to get ready for the Inaugural party. We were all feeling no pain.

Julie showed up and we all headed to a restaurant near the Inaugural party. We met our dates and George's brother Tom. After an enjoyable three hour dinner with drinks and wine we departed for our different inaugural parties. Quite frankly the inaugural parties were like a cattle show, but some how we made it through them. We lost our dates some time through the evening, when some officers found out one of them was related to a famous admiral.

The next day we all rested and in the afternoon we toured the museums on the mall. We went through the National Air and Space museum and the National Gallery. Quite frankly it was a long time on one's feet.

That evening we had dinner in our room. Around eleven PM I went out to the Georgetown Inn for a drink and from there to 1789. I ran into Dr. Gillespie and his new wife. He invited me over for drinks and we chatted until sunrise. When I returned that morning Richard was on his way to the service at the National Cathedral and George and Julie and myself went out for brunch. Richard said he met Billy Graham at the National Cathedral. I was very hung over on the drive back and slept most of the way back.

The rest of the winter and spring was spent reading and organizing my apartment. I resumed my usual routine of going to the beach and reading in the summer.

In July I rode up to Kennebunkport with the Websters. We had a rented house behind the River Club. All the family would be showing up during the month. This was the first time we had our own place and did not stay with mother and George since they had moved up to Prouts Neck. We would all go to the beach club every day and sit around the porch in the evening. The kids like going down town for ice cream. Patty and Eddie's friends the McCalls visited with us briefly. Mom and George's new place in Prouts neck is about thirty minutes north of Kennebunkport and we enjoyed visiting their pool. The time flew by and after two weeks I flew back down to Greenwich.

In August Richard and I went back up to Newport. This time the Viking was full. We toured around and partied for a couple of days. We also went out to see George and Julie on Long Island. They had decided to get married in September. George asked me to be his best man, but I decided it should be one of his brothers. We went out for drinks at Buckram stable in Locust Valley.

Later that month the transmission went out on my car so I bought a 1984 Escort for $1,900.

In September George and Julie got married. I could not make it to the wedding since my car was acting up. They were married in Geneva, New York. George showed me pictures of the wedding. He looks a lot like his brother Charlie that I have never met.

In October I bought a ten gallon fish tank at Woolworths. In the next six months it would be replaced by a forty gallon tank and supporting equipment costing close to a $1,000 overall. I've had up to two dozen fish in the tank, mostly anglefish; but at present I am down to six fish. They are very peaceful pets.

In October Richard's father died. His father had been ill for a while. He and his brother and sister had thrown his parents a fiftieth anniversary party the month before.

That New Years was very peaceful, since Richard was still upset about his father's death and my father was ill with a broken hip.

In late January mother called up and told me Dad had passed away. He had rebroken his hip and complications had set in from the Parkinsons disease. I flew out to Peggy's in Illinois and we met Jan down at the funeral in Champaign. Dad was buried in the same mausoleum as his parents. A few old family friends were there. Afterwards Jan, Peggy, and myself had lunch, and we dropped Jan off at the airport in Champaign. Peggy dropped me off at the airport in Chicago, and I returned to Greenwich.

Dad left his entire estate to his third wife, which was no surprise.

I spent most of the rest of the winter in my usual routine. Richard would come down and take me out every so often to break the boredom.

In the summer I resumed my usual routine. That June I bought two apple computers at tag sales. I was able to resell them at a profit at the computer consignment shop.

In July Richard volunteered to drive me up to Kennebunkport for my annual vacation. We stopped for a few days in Newport on the way up. We partied as usual, and had drinks on a friend of Richard's boat. When we arrived in Kennebunkport we went up to Portland the first night and Oconquit the second night. That Sunday Richard had to return. I spent the rest of the vacation going to the beach with the family members. Peggy and Peter and kids arrived the day before I left. Jan brought along two friends. We had a cocktail party for mother and George's friends. I road down with Eddie after two weeks.

In August Richard took me into Manhattan to see the Australian ballet. We went out afterwards. Since then we have been venturing into the city at least once or twice a month to party as oppose to places around Greenwich.

I bought an IBM compatible Compaq computer in August, and that gave me the computer bug. I have spent most of my free time working on it when I'm not reading, and much to the neglect of my reading. My quote is, " Computer Manuals will never be the Great Literature of History." I was able to pay for the computer with the profits from my other computers that I sold. I was able to get free programs from a fellow in Stamford who gave me quite a few programs. I also discovered a computer software clearance center that has since closed.

I spent most of the fall of 1990 working on the computer.

In December Richard and I went down to Washington for five days. We stayed at the Dutch Inn and would go out to a couple of local places partying in the evening. We toured some of the local sights, including the White House and the Capitol. Washington is a different town when the Inaugural is not happening. Bush was in Argentina, so not much was happening.

On New Years 1991, Richard and I went into the Town House to party. We closed the place down. Some time during the winter we also went into see Les Miserables. I started spending more time following the financial reports more closely on the news.

I spent a great deal of time during the winter and spring working on downloading computer programs from BBS bulletin boards much to the detriment of my long distance phone bill.

I had major car repairs in the fall of 1990 and the following June. My car has been a big financial drain.

While maintaining my usual routine of reading and working on the computer not a lot has happened. I spend a bit of time reading computer articles now. I have not written much other than letters using the word processing features of the computer. Quite frankly I have not been inspired to write much at all other than letters despite the easiness of the computer for writting.

This summer I did not spend much time at the beach. I worked on the computer during the evening and maintained my usual periodical reading. I occasionally try to give Richard some financial advise, but I really consider Wall Street a rigged crap game. The Economic perspective is some what different.

In July I took the train and the bus to Kennebunkport. We had the Parker Rowland house. I visited with the girls and their families. Jan once again came with a couple of friends. We all had a good time. I spent less time at the beach and more time reading on the porch and visiting with family. I took the bus and the train back down.

In August Richard and I went up to Saratoga to visit George and Julie for the Travers Horse race. We all partied around town the first night. At the horse race the following day I bet on the winning horse Corporate Report and won $30. We had a picnic that evening with friends, and toured the racing museum the next day.

On Labor Day weekend Richard and I went into the city a couple of times to party. The only other recent events is that my phone has been disconnected but I can live without it.

The fall came I would continue to have minor automotive problems. I rebuilt my carburetor and tuned up the car. I also replaced the battery. Still the car runs most of the time.

In August I had met Chris Groom. His father is an actor and he grew up in Rye, New York. He would come visit me about once a week. It's hard keeping up with him since neither of us have phones.

Richard was busy working in the fall. I did a little light computer work at the computer consignment shop. I have gotten fairly good at working on computers although I still do not know programming.

I've been chatting regularly with Paul White at the Greenwich Hospital Thrift shop. He was born in St. Louis, so he's from the mid west. I bought a bureau from him for my kitchen around Christmas time. Paul has a four year old daughter, but he never got married. His father also volunteers in the hospital thrift shop. He still has long hair and moved out of Manhattan because he got mugged. He's been running tag sales to make extra money. Paul told me his mother is related to the Busch family from St. Louis. He also is friends of the LeBlond's in New Canaan.

Julie Cary is pregnant and is due to have a baby in late April. She's suppose to have a girl. George and Julie came out once in the fall and we did some thrift shopping.

On Christmas Day I went out to George and Julie's for Christmas. We had a good dinner. I met George's cousin Charlie and Tom Cary was also there.

I spent most of the fall reading and working on the computer. I have not been driving as much.

For Christmas I was able to buy myself two black angelfish which are rare. Jan got a full size standard poodle around Thanksgiving time. Peggy and Patty and families are doing their usual activities. We all plan to get together at the Woodruff house in Kennebunkport this summer.

Chris Groom stayed with me a few days before Christmas. He is getting organized and has become a regular friend that I see. It's nice to have a younger friend close by. He has a lot of energy since he jogs and use to be a life guard in Rye. He would like to be a writer.

On New Year's eve, Richard and I had dinner at my place. We went out and celebrated locally. We ran into Chris later on in the evening.

On the day after New Years I chatted with Bunnie Weicker and updated her on the girls' activities.

In January I maintained my usual routine. I had the usual type of car problems. I had Chris over for dinner regularly. I enjoyed chatting with him in the late evening. I kept working on the computer. I spent the later part of January getting ready to go to Europe.

Below is an excerpt from a letter I wrote to the family on the trip to Europe.

I got back from Europe yesterday, Febuary 25th, and had a very enjoyable trip. I will try to summarize my trip for you.

Richard and I left JFK airport on Delta airlines on Tuesday February 4. We had a good flight since most of the international flight grew for Delta are old Pan Am employees.

We arrived in Paris in the morning on the 5th. We picked up a small Renault rental car. We drove through the traffic to down town Paris and checked into a small hotel near the Arc de Triumphe. The room was very small for $80. We rested and drove around the city. We had an expensive tourist meal at the Winston Churchill.

On the morning of the 7th, we drove down the Champs Elysee and there were lots of French flags out and police and military every where. We later found out that Boris Yeltsin was in town and was laying a wreath at the Arc de Triumphe near our hotel.

Driving through the intersecting roads at the Arc de Triumphe is quite a horrendous experience with all the roads converging.

That morning we had coffee near the Louvre and chatted with a couple of young back packers from Australia and Argentina. We arrived at the Louvre after walking through the gardens in front of it. Most of the area in front of the I. M. Pei pyramid in front of the Louvre is dug up to build a huge underground parking lot.

We entered the Louvre when it opened and started touring going through the Egyptian collection first. By the time we got through the Egyptian collection the building was inundated with Japanese tourists. We saw all the major artworks and sculptures. There were five hundred Japanese tourists in front of me while trying to see the Mona Lisa. After five hours of touring the Louvre I felt like I had run through most of the collection but it was all quite enjoyable to see for the first time.

In the afternoon we drove out to Versailles through all the traffic on the Champs Elysee for Yeltsin. I walked around Versailles for two hours touring the private apartments and gardens. The grounds and the palace were full of young kids and it was all quite enjoyable.

We had dinner next to the Pompadoo center and toured around the old streets of Paris in the late evening. We stopped by a discotheque that did not open until mid night and it was packed by the time we left in the early morning hours.

That Friday morning the 7th we got up early after five hours sleep and drove north through Belgium to Amsterdam arriving in the late afternoon after seven hours. We found a hotel room next to the Heiniken Brewery and rested. We had a steak dinner that evening. On Saturday morning we walked all around Amsterdam touring the old canal area. We also walked around in the afternoon. We had another steak dinner that evening.

On Sunday morning we got up and walked down the street to the Reich museum and spent two hours touring the Rembrandt exhibit with paintings from museums from all around the world. It was a once in a life time viewing of Rembrandts from all around the world. In the afternoon we walked around the city more. We had cocktails in an old pub across from the Opera and met the head of the opera who said he was taking the whole company to Manhattan, quite an amusing fellow.

On Monday we drove out and looked at the new airport under construction and it was too late to tour the huge flower exchange warehouses where KLM ships all the flowers from. Needless to say the country side of the Netherlands looks very flat, since it is all built from fill, but full of lots of green houses.

That evening we had a large authentic Dutch meal at an old tavern on a canal near the pedestrian boulevard.

The following morning on Tuesday the 11th, we left early and drove down through Belgium. The Belgium forests look very beautiful. Then we drove on down past Nancy and Dijon through hundreds of miles of farm land in eastern France arriving in Lyon about 9PM. The twelve hour drive in the rain was quite exhausting. We found a place quickly in Lyon in a modern hotel.

The following morning we headed out to Albertville in the Alps two hours away. Our Inn was about ten miles from Albertville in Doussard. It was inexpensive but nothing special.

We toured around Albertville after having an uneventful meal at the inn. We had drinks with a variety of people at the ST. Michael american bar where every one seemed to be partying.

On Thursday we toured around the neighboring area. The following Friday, St. Valentine's Day we took the bus up into the mountains for the Ski Jumping event. We were at the lower level of Courcheval, the deluxe area is about a thousand feet higher. There were lots of people enjoying the event and the weather was cold and clear. I was warm enough with parka, long underwear and heavy sweater. The drive through the mountains on the bus is really quite scary, so one generally does not look down.

On Saturday, the 15th we went to Tigres above Val Disere and watched the free style skiing. It was very cold in the early morning hours waiting for the event and snowing. They don't have ski lodges in the ski resorts, so all the thousands of spectators just stand out in the cold snowy weather. I guess the natives are use to it. We would sit in out door cafes in the low teen weather sipping coffee at $2 a cup. The free style skiing is quite creative.

On Sunday we went to Les Arcs two hours away up in the mountains again and watch the Biathlon. It was snowing again during the event and hard to see. That afternoon we walked around in the valley around Albertville where it was warmer.

We took all our meals in a moderate priced cafeteria near Albertville. Since most of the events were away from Albertville, it was more of a cross roads with out much going on.

That evening we went to the St. Michael bar and talked all night with people there for the Olympics and the local people. Needless to say after being outside in the cold for three days and trying to speak French in the noisy bar, I ended up with a severe case of Laryngitis that evening. I basically could not talk the next couple of days.

The following monday the ice skating in Albertville was rained out. We rested and did laundry on Tuesday. It cost $30 for three washers and two dryers in the laundromat. Prices were generally higher than expected all over the Olympic area.

On Wednesday I stayed at the Inn while Richard went to Val Disere, since I was worried about my throat up in the mountains. Richard said he had breakfast in the hotel in Val Disere where the Kings of Norway and Sweden and Princess Anne where staying. He met an American woman who was one of the top sponsors. He went skiing while he was not watching the event.

On Thursday the 20th, we drove an hour to Geneva and walked around the old city. Geneva is very beautiful although expensive. We ate at fast food restaurants to save money, but it was still $15 apiece. We walked around the University of Geneva and Richard visited and antique gun shop. The old historical streets have lots of interesting shops. We walked down Rue de Rhone which is suppose to be one of the most expensive streets in the world selling diamonds, gold, and Rolex watches with lots of Japanese tourists.

On Friday Richard went to another skiing event while I stayed at the Inn. On Saturday the 22nd we left for Paris a seven hour drive. On the way up we saw a forty car wreck with traffic backed up thirty miles coming from Paris headed toward Albertville. Driving in those little cars does not exactly make one feel safe. I was glad to arrive safely in Paris.

We checked into a hotel next to the Jardin Des Plants and rested. That evening we dressed for dinner and went to dinner at Precope the oldest continuing running restaurant in the world. They have a statue of Benjamin Franklin who use to eat there, amongst many other notables over the years. The meal was quite excellent and I felt reasonable at $50 apiece.

On Sunday the 23rd we toured around the Notre Dame area. We saw all the birds for sale across from the Cathedral. After dinner that night we went out to a discotheque and once again the place was packed in the morning hours. On Monday we took it easy touring only in the afternoon around the Champs Elysee. I think the Rue Montagne has the Ritz hotel possibly if it is not marked along with the American Embassey also unmarked. It has Channel and Pierre Cardin. I saw a woman's dress store called Jean Louise ????? down from the Canadian Embassy that looked quite expensive.

On Tuesday the 25th we got up early and went to the airport to wait for the Delta flight. The flight back was two hours longer because of head winds but excellent because of the professionalism of the Pam Am crews Delta acquired. The air bus flies and lands by computer.

At customs at JFK the "Drug" beagle sat down next to Richard's flight bag, but that was because we had used it for food at the Olympics. We were surrounded by Russian tourists arriving the same time as we were. We got a driver out to my place and as usual in the cold damp weather my car would not start, so Richard took the driver on up to his place.

I unpacked and went to bed after talking with mother and Jan. This morning I have to get the car going when it dries out. All my fish are all right after three weeks. Richard figures the trip cost about $4,000 with hotel, planes, rental car, meals, olympic tickets for both of us which is not too bad. Plus I spent about $450 that I had. It is a lot more expensive in Europe but I enjoyed the change of scenery. All in all it was a very enjoyable trip but wearing sneakers when walking in cities makes all the difference. I took seven rolls of film and seemed to have gained weigh with all the activity and smaller meals.

End of exert from letter on Olympic trip.

After returning from Europe I resumed my usual routine of reading and working on the computer. Chris Groom stayed at the apartment for a week and then moved back to his mother's.

Mother and George made a three week cruise around the Mediterranean visiting many sights in the holy land, Egypt, Greece, and Italy.

I upgrade my computer with a used motherboard to the 286 standard with one meg of memory. I went to an IBM presentation of their new operating system OS/2.

The Paine Webber Nekei Puts have been going up with the decline of the Japanese stock market.

I put another blue carpet in my apartment living room that I bought at a tag sale.

George Cary might come out Easter weekend. Julie is due to have her baby around the first of May.