well wishes and prayers. I really do. Despite the hijinks and minor bickering, The Lounge is a tight knit group, family even if you will.

You guys and gals would have loved my mom. She would have fit in well with us in her heyday. Her name was Mary. Born in '29, raised in Hell's Kitchen, and settled in Astoria. A tough NYC broad who loved to party. And a real looker too. She was a grate Greek cook. Her cocktail of choice was a Gin Gimlet. She loved to entertain, which is where the party girl come out. I can't tell you how many Greek line dances she led after a few shots of ouzo.

But towards the end, dementia set in (and the chronic kidney disease). She wanted to go "home" to NY. She wanted her mother. She thought I was her twin brother Mike. It was hard for me, hard for all of us. She wanted to go, she was ready to go. And now I guess she is "home".

So while there's some comfort knowing she's not suffering anymore, my dad is minus his wife of 64 years. His memory isn't the best at 95 now, so he wonders daily where "Mary" is. And I think he understands when we tell him but he has to relive the bad news because he's forgetful, which just sucks. We'll take care of him best we can.

And if that wasn't enough, my FIL (78) was scheduled for a cardiac catherization the day after mom passed. Turns out instead they said he needed open heart surgery for a triple bypass. That happened this past Thursday and they ended up doing a quintuple bypass. He made it, but isn't out of the woods yet. Still another few days in the ICU and then probably a week in the hospital. Needless to say there's a lot of stress in the BW household. Hug your loved ones my friends.

Yia Yia, we're going to miss you. You made a mark on a lot of people's lives and for that we're grateful. May you rest in peace.

Your loving son, Ted.