Atlantic City 2008

Once again the Farrell's have made it to Atlantic City, minus our brother Bob, who was celebrating his 40th Anniversary. We had alot of laughs that's for sure, especially moving from one casino to another and doing it without the help of a bellhop. As usual we improvised by using Maggie's wheelchair to load 6 people's stuff onto it and of course I was the one who had to push it thru the crowds, which was no easy task. We made it to the elevator that they use for wheelchairs only to find it wasn't working (Farrell Luck) and when the man said he would call Security to escort us down a hall to get to the lower floor I heard my sister Pat grown and our 93 year old mother say, "This is bullshit, I'm not coming here anymore". I said to the guy that's not necessary, we'll go down the escalator. At that point I don't know who thought I was crazier the man fixing the elevator or my Mother. Annie (who looked like a packmule and who was still in her robe & swimsuit from the beach) was going down the escalator for the second time, when I turned to Mom and said, "Get up Mom, I'll take your wheelchair down first and then come up & take you down". At that point she had to much stuff in her hands to hit me, so I took my chance. Needless to say Mom was grumbling that we all looked like a bunch of immigrants but we managed to get some oceanfront rooms in the old Dennis Hotel that was newly remodeled with fantastic beds and 52" flat TV screens.....we we're living high on the hog now. When we were on the way up to the rooms, Pat & I (with the wheelchair full of stuff) had to take a separate elevator and this couple got on and the man looked at me and said, "You have anyone under all that stuff?" I laughed and said, "I made my sister get out of the wheelchair so we could use it cause there were no bellhops available", he turned and looked at Pat and asked if it was her and I said, "No not her but she's about ready to use it too". Those people must of thought we were all nuts. We did have a great time and boy the food was out of this world. We ate at Virginia City Buffet and even Mom stuffed herself. I laughed and said, "There's not one Farrell coming back from the dessert bar without 2 desserts in their hands." We would gamble at night (of course I was the big winner).....I always loved that Slingo! The next day we all finally got down to the beach and Mom got to put her feet in the ocean. Of course we had a visit from Tarus (the fudgie-wudgie man) and got our ice cream on the beach. It was hard to believe how calm the ocean was, we even got Pat in up to her waist. We always enjoy Atlantic City and it's not about the gambling but more about the ocean and the beach and the fun we all still have just being together for those few days. It's amazing when you think four generations of Farrell's have been to Atlantic City, starting with our Grandfather who was an Engineer and brought his kids down here on the train. Then Daddy brought Mom & us here every summer for vacation and we've been enjoying it ever since. I know a few of the grandkids came when they were younger and it would be nice if one day they brought their kids down also. When Pat & I came out of the ocean and we were making our way up to our chairs we seen kids running in the sand and I said, "We use to run in the sand like that.....imagine long after we're gone our footprints will always remain under this sand forever". With that I will leave you with a quote I have always loved, "I really don't know why it is that all of us are so committed to the sea, except I think it's because in addition to the fact that the sea changes, and the light changes, and ships change, it's because we all came from the sea. And it is an interesting biological fact that all of us have in our veins the exact same percentage of salt in our blood that exists in the ocean, and, therefore, we have salt in our blood, our sweat, and in our tears. We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea, whether it is to sail or to watch it, we are going back from whence we came." --Pres. John F. Kennedy