Sunday, August 27, 2023
Westport and Fairfiedl, Connecticut
Sunday Rolls Around Again: Mass, Coffee with Friends, Packing to Leave and Attending an Open-Air Music Concert in Westport
The morning after the night before! It was well after midnight by the time my sense of excitement piped down and I was actually able to fall asleep after returning from Halle’s wedding. That I managed to wake up early is just an indication of the way by body is wired. I was already up and blogging when I heard from my doctor friends, Ed and Marguerite Pinto, that they were leaving their church at Westport (St. Luke’s) and as per our arrangement would be in the parking lot at Trader Joe’s in ten minutes. This left me just enough time to wash, get dressed for church myself and see them there. Yes, I am known to do things at lightning speed (but then I had kept my clothes ready for wearing to church last night).
Breakfast with the Drs. Pinto:
As planned, I was at the Trader Joe’s parking lot and there were Ed and Marguerite, both retired physicians (he is a cardiologist, she is a pathologist, both are dear family friends of ours). We hugged and said how long it was since we had met and then I was in their car and they were off. They drove me just a couple of minutes away to McDonald’s where we had decided to meet for coffee. Logistically speaking, given their commitments and mine (and the fact that this is the second last day of my stay in the USA), all we could manage was this early morning meal in MickeyDee’s!
I had selected an Egg and Sausage McMufffin and a “Seniors” coffee (for just $1), we settled down for a lovely long chat. I had about 90 minutes with them before I’d had to leave for Mass at 10.00 am at my own church where they were going to drop me. Th Pintos (who have been our primary care physicians for almost 30 years) had a lot to say about their bi-coastal lifestyle. Since their doctor daughter, Michelle Kittleson, a world-renowned cardiologist herself, married and settled down in Los Angeles, California, and gave them three beautiful grandsons, they decided that after retirement, they would spend as much time as possible close to them. Accordingly, they sold all their other properties to buy a penthouse in Beverley Hills, California, where they live from October to March. They spend the spring and summer in Westport, Connecticut, as they rent a mother-in-law apartment from Marguerite’s sister, Nirmala (also a physician and now our primary care doctor) where Marguerite says she feels as if she has died and gone to heaven (as this was the apartment her own parents used to live in before they both passed away).
Meanwhile, Michelle has been going great guns—publishing medical and non-medical books, making an international name for herself as a cardiologist, raising three boys, following her passion for cooking and baking, etc. They simply could not stop talking about her. They also talked about Bangalore, India, from where Ed had just returned after spending two weeks. He had gone there to celebrate the sixtieth anniversary of St. John’s Medical College, an institution that had been founded by a group of Indian Catholics that had included Marguerite’s father, Dr. Monteiro! Yes, as you can see, they are three generations of eminent doctors—all of whom have made a huge contribution to humanity through their work. For my part, I got to discuss my own health issues with Ed who continues to keep a close eye on Llew and my health, even though he is so far away, simply because we are such close friends.
I thoroughly enjoyed my time with Ed and Marguerite especially as I hadn’t had the chance to bid them goodbye before I left for India and they were keen to find out how we were doing in Bombay. At the end of our visit, we piled back into their car and they drove me to St. Anthony of Padua Church where I was just in time for the 10.00 am Mass.
Mass and After at St. Anthony of Padua Church, Fairfield:
It was nice to see Fr. John Murray back on the altar today after all the drama surrounding his collapse last Sunday. It turned out that he had come to say Mass on an empty stomach and fainted, probably from hunger or a radical drop in his blood sugar. He was right as rain as he began Mass. Since I was at the 10.00 am Mass, it was much more crowded and lively than the 8.15 am Masses I had attended over the last two Sundays. I recognized a lot more people and was particularly happy to see my friends, Rick and Kelly LaFerreire, whom I was determined to meet at the end of Mass just so that I could visit with them.
Well, our visit—first in church, then in the church patio and then in the parking lot--went on so long that eventually they asked me to come back home with them for coffee after which they would give me a ride back home. I readily agreed as I had not been in touch with them and was also keen to catch up on the doings of their family. I was absolutely shocked to discover that their twin boys, Max and Luke, were off to college in a couple of days! Seems like only yesterday they were born!!! Where do the years fly? I also met Zoe, their sassy and very lovely daughter, whom I have also known since childhood as she was the first friend of my niece Anaya when my brother’s family was living in our home for a year. Zoe would often come over to play with Anaya and I has spent many evenings at our place while I kept an eye on her as her Mum ran errands.
We settled down with coffee at their kitchen table and continued to gab about all they have been doing and after a little while, we got back into their car and they dropped me home. It was a lovely visit and I enjoyed returning to Taintor Road in Southport where so many of our friends have lived over the years.
A Few Varied Hours at Home:
By the time I returned home to Westport, Leslie was out and Sunil was in the garden lounging on one of the chaise-longes. He offered to help me set up some financial accounts but although we spent over an hour on them, we were unable to make much headway as I am hopelessly ignorant about financial matters and Llew was fast asleep in India to answer Sunil’s questions.
I gave up and went inside and after nibbling on fruit and cheese and crackers, I returned to my room to continue with my packing as I would be leaving on Tuesday and I still had to start dividing my weight between two suitcases. After a while, I decided to take a nap as I had not had much sleep. However, just before I fell asleep, my friends Mary-Lauren and Brett, called to ask if I’d like to join them in the evening for an open-air concert at the Levitt’s Pavilion nearby in Westport. They had an extra ticket they had ordered for me and wondered if I’d be interested in attending a concert by North County Band which played a number of their own compositions plus well-known hits. Since I was free and keen to see my friends again, I readily agreed. Leslie volunteered to drive me to the venue. The Factoras also sent me the menu from Yamafuji Sushi and asked me to pick from it. I told them I would go with whatever they ordered—just to order extra for me too.
And so, at 7.00 pm, we were seated under a kindly sky in Westport at a beautiful open-air facility that was constructed, a few years ago, for community events. As it happened to be my wedding anniversary, I was happy to do something fun to mark the day (even if Llew was far away). After Leslie dropped me there, we were a bit early and sat gabbing away until my hosts arrived. They had brought everything with them including chairs, a portable table and all the fixins’ for an al fresco meal under the stars. We set up, began eating (they did not bring wine-instead they had healthy smoothies and flavored Seltzer water for me) and I was introduced for the first time to sweet potato sushi and avocado sushi—both of which were just delicious.
The music was superb. The band had lovely-voiced singers –male and female—and their music was foot-tapping enjoyable. They played for a full two hours by which time darkness had fallen over Connecticut and stars began to twinkle. We had a really lovely time and I was thrilled when Llew awoke in Bombay and we were able to get him on the phone, The Factoras were able to wish him for our anniversary and his being present, even if it was only in spirit, made the occasion feel extraordinary for me.
was then dropped back home, after which I got ready for bed and hit the sack.
Until tomorrow, cheerio!
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