Linnie & Bill

I managed to forget we had dinner last night with my cousins Linnie and Bill. The most memorable story (there are lots of stories when Caseys gather): Linnie’s mom Eleanor was the oldest of the ten Casey children, who were raised in Atlantic City. When she went shopping, she left Karen and Linnie, the first Casey grandchildren, with my mom and her sister Kathleen, the two youngest Caseys--maybe 12 and 10 at the time. Toddler Karen apparently had a fondness for eating shells while she played on the beach and at some point she starting choking. Mom and Aunt Kathleen ran up the beach to the nearest house, where a German nanny was employed. The nanny apparently took Karen by the feet, turned her upside down and swung her around, at which point the contents of her stomach were disgorged. The nanny walked down the block and gave my grandmother--the formidable Helen Riley Casey--a proper German scolding for leaving toddlers in the care of girls who were still children. Whereupon nana gave my mom and Aunt Kathleen what for, while Aunt Eleanor was none the wiser.

Today Anne took us on a shorter tour, beginning with Naples Pier.

The pier is a long jetty from which a number of people fish, which attracts visitors such as snowy egrets:

And a ruddy turnstone (at least that’s what one of the other tourists said):

And she drove us around Gordon Drive, where the houses sell in the $6 million to $12 million range. We gawked at houses for a while then headed northeast to Fort Pierce. I enjoyed looking at cattle ranches that extended as far as the eye can see. Not sure if this ecosystem is called savannah? Just miles of scrubby grass and palm trees. I guess I enjoyed it because, aside from the occasional fenceline, not much in the way of human interference. We also passed a lot of orange groves. I’m not sure how this environment generates enough water to produce juicy oranges. Lots of irrigation involved.
Then dinner with Uncle George and cousin Ken and his wife Kerry in their large home in another gated development. For more than a week, I have been a very social animal conversing with mom, Janis, Anne, Rick, Linnie, Bill, MaryBeth, and now the Gilmore family. I am an introvert and my reserves for being a good companion were exhausted yesterday. So I’m going on fumes while longing for an empty beach where I could read a book under an umbrella. Ain’t happening.
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