Katy said this would give our American friends chance to meet our friends in Pittsburgh. When we visited Pittsburgh we hanged out with these people. If there were anything good about me, credit is theirs. Were there anything bad about me, now you know where and how I got polluted.
In order to explain the origin of our “Eating Club” I have to take you back to 40 years ago when we had a good fortune to become the neighbor of Dr. and Mrs. Greenlee, parents of Janet. Dr. Greenlee was a Mayo Clinic trained surgeon. Mayo brothers were still practicing when Dr. Greenlee went there after graduating from University of Pittsburgh Medical School in 1922.
While not practicing medicine and surgery, Dr. Greenlee
worked in his farm; he was a seasoned and experienced gardener. Katy was not born with a green thumb; she
worked with Dr. Greenlee many decades before I picked up gardening. When Dr. Greenlee passed away at age of 102,
all my three daughters said regardless how great and how respectable Dr. Greenlee
was as a surgeon, he will always be their loving Grandpa Greenlee; they most
remember learning patience and steady work in the garden with him as well as
the simple pleasures of watching baseball and football with him on TV.
I am hoping you will enjoy looking at our photo (below) of being the
poster boys of American Lung Association.
After taking care of Dr. and Mrs.
Greenlee for so many years, Patty and Joy have practically become family. We managed to meet and have a dinner together
rotating among several restaurants in Washington and Waynesburg areas every so
often after the passing of Dr. and Mrs. Greenlee and John Gapen (Irene's husband); and Eating Club gradually came into being.
The loyal members of the Eating Club include Janet, Kay, Patty, Ron,
Joy, Irene, Katy and me. There would be
some honor guests on special occasions; out-of-town family came back for a
visit usually called for a special “meeting” (meet and eat and sharing good time--invoking fond memory of Dr. and Mrs. Greenlee and John Gapen, providng healing effect for those left behind--caretakers and families).
The simple food was served, hopefully some were delicious, but many marveled at the cake which was superb. Both Irene and I got a cake; Janet knows where to get the best cake in Western Pennsylvania and which one is my favorite one.
Janet was disappointed when she found out which cake was my
favorite, saying “Darn! That was the most expensive one!” I am a simple man; my taste is simple; I
enjoy the best and I am worth it.
Janet took good care of us or even spoiled us;
the list of what she has done for us is as long as your arm; she even took us out to the ball game at PNC Park.
Irene is also our neighbor and lifelong
friend of Dr. and Mrs. Greenlee. Her
husband, John, before his passing, was also an avid and skilled gardener, with whom
Katy learned all the tricks and skill of the gardening.
Let this post serve as a Thank You
note to everyone who took time to celebrate my and Irene’s birthday. When the East meets the West to celebrate our
birthday; we must have the best of the two worlds. Thank you, Janet (my American sister) and
Katy (my American beauty) from the bottom of the heart of an old gardener. Turning 70, feeling older; fortunately many friends remind me of 人生七十才開始 (life just begins at age of 70).
