Kathleen Goes To The DNC!!

Kathleen had a wonderful chance to attend the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte with her friend, Jason Rae.  Jason is a delegate.  He is also chairman of the Democratic Youth Committee.  The chairmanship is a big deal.  As his guest, Kathleen is considered a credentialed guest and so far has also been granted passes to the convention floor.  She has been texting, tweeting and putting a few things on facebook but I thought it'd be nice to share some of her photos with you.

Dr. Jill Biden at Reception

Kathleen and Friend being
interviewed for Fox 6 Milwaukee

Jason & Kathleen at the People
for the American Way party

Kathleen and Jason on the
Convention floor

Jason & Kathleen at welcoming reception

Jason Rae and Tammy Baldwin

Nancy Pelosi asking Kathleen's
advice about healthcare

Gov. Link Chaffe of Rhode Island
an Independent Gov. supporting Obama

Kathleen's welcome to the
convention packet

Michelle Obama as seen from the
Wisconsin delegation's point of view.

 

Kathleen's Graduation

We have returned from Providence and we’re exhausted.  Cathy and I had a hard time getting out of Green Bay but after we did, everything went smoothly. 

Campus Dance

We arrived in time to have dinner with Kathleen at a small Cambodian restaurant near her apartment.  We finished in plenty of time to meet Jon, Mary Jo, Erin and Gene Kolb at the airport.  With little time to change and freshen up at the hotel we joined 11,000 graduates, their families and alums at the annual Brown Campus dance.   We spent the evening with Kathleen’s closest friends and their families.  We laughed, drank and danced until almost 1 a.m.!  Cathy’s dad was a true trooper and seemed to love every minute of it.

Kathleen stayed with us at the hotel and made sure that we were up bright and early for a tour of the campus and of Providence.  Later that day we left her in Providence so that she could attend her ceremony practice and we headed to the scenic seaport village of Mystic, CT.  Mystic is a cute seaport town where the movie “Mystic Pizza” was filmed. 

Water Fire

That night we ate at a Mexican place on the water and headed to Kathleen’s friends place for cocktails then it was off to Water Fire, a very neat festival in Downtown Providence.

Mary Jo, Ken, Cathy, Kathleen, Erin, Gene & Jon

Sunday was back-to-back-to-back-to-back graduation ceremonies.  They included a very cool procession out of the University gates, the grad school graduation ceremony, the whole university ceremony and then the ceremony for those receiving degrees from the school of Public Health.  We had a nice dinner and finished off the evening with Champaign toasts back at the hotel.

Not wanting to waste our last day with Kathleen, we chose to make another short road trip, this time to Newport.  Newport is where the upper crust of society summers.  They still have polo matches on the beaches and the homes overlooking the ocean are a sight to behold.  The 7 of us in Kathleen’s 1997 van fit right in.  I gotta admit that when we all got out of that van at a vineyard, it reminded me of a circus clown car!  After a lunch at the beach club we headed back to Providence and said farewell to Kathleen.

It was a great trip and we are all very proud of her.  Thanks for letting us share it with you.

    Ken, Cathy, Kathleen, Erin, Jon, Mary Jo and Gene

NDA President's Dinner

              Notre Dame Academy President's Dinner

May 2, 2012

Thank you and thank you Bob Pauley, John Revisa and Char Dunlap.

When Bob first called me about the award, I was hesitant and I said “Bob, this is great, but I don’t think I’ve done anything special to deserve it.  He said “You People” You’re all alike.   You all start out by saying that you are not deserving and after a few minutes you start sounding like saints and by the end of the conversation you’re saying things that sound like  “oh no Lord, I am not deserving for I am one of God’s greatest  sinners”.    I said Bob, You went from, Ken, we’d like to give you an award to, Ken, you’re one of God’s greatest sinners!  And he did it in about 20 seconds.  I don’t think he even took a breath.    Now, in my family, you always start with the insult first and then spend the next 3-4 minutes soft peddling it.   It’s called Irish Diplomacy.   For those of you who aren’t Irish, Irish Diplomacy is the ability to tell someone to go to Hell and after 3 or 4 minutes,  you’ve got that person actually looking forward to the trip!

Fr. Tim Shillcox, Ken, Fr. Conrad Kratz

When I graduated from Premontre in 1974, I had no idea that so many Norbertines would still be a part of my life 38 year later.  Fr. Dane was my pastor and was assissted by Fr. Mark Falcone at St. Agnes.  Others have become close family friends including Fr. Abbot Gary Neville and Fr. Tim shillcox.  Fr. Conrad Kratz has become a cherished friend of everyone in the Blaney family.  It was 26 years ago, tomorrow that Fr. Kratz officiated at our wedding.  We are honored that he made a special effort to be here tonight.      It’s also nice that the sisters of St. Joseph of Corondelette are represented by Sr. Pat Clement.   Sr. Pat has also become a close friend as she works as a pastoral associate in 4 of the west side parishes.  

 

I want to thank my family, my wife, Cathy and my daughters, Erin and Kathleen but also my extended family, all of my brothers and my sister Mary Jo who nominated me for this award.  I think that most people think of my family as a very large group of the same person.   When I was a child it always bothered me that people couldn’t seem to keep us separate.   However, tonight I think it has worked to my advantage.   I don’t think that any one of us would be worthy of this award, but perhaps collectively, we could come close.  

In 1963, my brother Bill enrolled at Premontre and  through the six of us and through the 6 of our children and through Tom teaching for over 30 years and through Patrick’s time on the school board, someone in our family has been associated with the school for 48 out of the last 49 years.  Which to me, seems like a long time.    

A couple of years ago I ran into Mrs. Schumacher at a funeral.  She had been standing in the same spot for a long time so I went and asked her if she would like a chair.  Being the gracious woman that we all know that she is, she thanked me but declined.  Later, I saw her, in the same spot but now she was sitting in a chair.  My brother, John, said he had brought it over to her, “and when he did, she looked at him, thanked him and said, “Oh John, you’re such a Blaney”.  Only the egotist in my family would assume that she meant that as a compliment.

Every year Cathy and I and our daughters watch the Movie, “It’s a Wonderful life”.  You’ve all seen it.  It’s a great movie and Jimmy Stewart plays George Bailey, a wonderful everyman-type of character.  Everybody who watches it, loves it and it’s because we can all identify with George Bailey.  He stays in the same town in which he was born, he works hard in the family business, he volunteers in his community, watches out for his friends, keeps his moral center, and does whatever he can for his family.  But as we all know, as George got a little older; he believed that his life’s accomplishments did not really make much of a difference.   But at the end of the movie his community lifts him up, affirms him and thanks him.  After receiving this award tonight, I think I know how he felt. 

Thank you, thank you for what you do for NDA and thank you for what you do for our community.

Christmas 2011

Merry Christmas from the Blaney Family

2011 was a good year for us as we hope it was for you. Those of you who have been reading our Christmas letters over the years may remember that I’ve mentioned Erin or Kathleen going to Canton, Mississippi for a habitat-type house build/remodel. That tradition continued in 2011 as Kathleen flew home from Rhode Island to help chaperone a group from Notre Dame Academy.

In May, Erin graduated from Marquette University. We, of course, were very proud parents. Her degree is in Social Welfare and Justice. In August she started working for Family Services of Northeastern Wisconsin in the Healthy Families program as a Bilingual Social Worker. She is very excited about her job, they are lucky to have her, and I’m sure many people in our area will benefit from her expertise and her compassion.

This summer, as temperatures hit the 90s on the East Coast, we decided that it would be a good time for us to pack up the van and drive to Rhode Island to visit Kathleen. She is currently completing her Master’s degree in public health and working at Hasbro Children’s Hospital in pediatric endocrinology. She also does HIV research at Brown. During our visit we saw and did a lot. We toured Brown and Harvard Universities, spent time in Newport and Cape Cod, went to Boston and met up with my cousins, the Sheldons. On our return trip home we stopped in Connecticut to visit another cousin and her family, the Hoags. They have a beautiful home and could not have been more gracious. Our only regret was that we could not spend more time with them. We also stopped to visit yet another cousin, Bill Early on our trip through Illinois. Alas, that visit was too short as well.

The rest of the summer was filled with time at the cottage. It’s always a highlight when friends and family come up for a visit.

In October there was an Early Family reunion up in Door County. All but five cousins attended. I think it says a lot about how much we enjoy each others’ company. Getting forty-two Earlys in one place almost guarantees a fun time. A number of people commented that surely our parents were looking down upon us and their Irish Eyes were smiling.

2011 was a special milestone for Cathy and I as we celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary. We have truly been blessed.

Ken, Cathy, Kathleen and Erin

There's no place like home

After spending a night in beautiful downtown Maumee, Ohio (near Toledo), we hit the road for the last leg of our adventure. However our journey would not be complete without two more stops.

Our first was in the beautiful city of Naperville, IL. While in Naperville, we enjoyed a pleasant lunch with my cousin, Bill. But even more pleasant than the lunch was our visit. He is always a good conversationalist and a good storyteller. Our only regret was that we did not have more time to spend with him.

Our final stop was closer to home at Kopps Frozen Custard, just off I-43 in Milwaukee. Kopps has perhaps the very best frozen custard.

There are a few take-away items that we learned during our extended road trip and we'd like to share them with you.

1. We have some of the nicest relatives that God put on earth.

2. Kathleen is a knowledgeable and gracious host.

3. 90 degrees every day is hot.

4. Kathleen's third floor apartment is hot.

5. Kathleen's third floor apartment is very hot when we have extended periods of 90 degree days.

6. Newport, RI and Cape Cod are beautiful spots but Hyannis is the best place to stalk Kennedys.

That's it for this edition of the blog. I hope you enjoyed the ride.

Ken, Cathy, Kathleen and Erin.

Good-Bye & Hello

Good Bye – Hello

     It was bittersweet to say good-bye to Kathleen but alas she had to go to Boston to attend class and we had to hit the road to return home.  We left her knowing that she is happy living in Providence.  We were proud at how well she knew her way around Providence, Newport, Boston, Cape Cod and Hyannis.  We were also pleased that she seemed to know the ins and outs of the public transportation system.   She was able to guide us through the train and subway system like a pro.  It was an easier than normal good-bye as she will be home in a very short time for an extended visit.

     It was also "Hello" as we stopped in Sherman, Connecticut to visit my cousin, Barb Hoag and her husband, Bruce.   Barb and Bruce built a beautiful water side home and had very graciously invited to stay overnight.  We had the added treat of meeting their son, daughter-in-law and 2 grandchildren.  After a tour of their gorgeous home, we had a delicious dinner and then a leisurely boat ride.  The 14 mile lake is breathtakingly beautiful.  We returned to their home at sunset, just in time for drinks and good conversation. 

     Cathy and I slept in their wonderful guest room.   However, morning came too soon and after this photo was taken on their deck, we were off.    We cannot leave this portion of our blog without publicly thanking Barbara and Bruce for their hospitality.  They were so very genuine in opening up their home and sharing their family with us.  Thank you so very much. 

Whose House?

Whose House?

Our House! Well, Actually Kathleen's house......er, Kathleen's Capitol.

Today we made our way to the state capitol building in Providence for a self-guided tour. Erin is shown standing on the interior steps, leading to the rotunda. Kathleen is shown in a reception area where there was a podium ready to go, so we used it as a photo opportunity. Above Kathleen is a painting of George Washington. The painter was Gilbert Stuart, the same person who painted the portrait of George Washington on the one dollar bill.

It was miserably hot in Providence so we went to the Mall and did a few errands and caught a movie.

Tomorrow Kathleen heads to Boston for class and we head to Connecticut to vist the Hoags.

Ken, Cathy, Kathleen and Erin