Happy Anniversary

 

   On this day in 1946, Joseph McDonnell married Mary Keegan in St Thomas's Church in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston, Mass. Joseph and Mary are not around to celebrate their 79th anniversary, unfortunately. Joe left in 2009, Mary in 2012.

   They lived at first at Mary's parent’s home in Jamaica Plain which was also my first home. Joe got a job with the Boston Fire Department on one of the city's two fireboats. This was a perfect job for him because he loved boats and the sea. He was the boat's pilot. They were able to buy a house in Roslindale, a neighborhood on the west edge of Boston. 

   In this three story house, my three brothers and sister arrived. Joe usually had a second job. Mary took care of us and entertained friends and strangers. Joe put in hardwood floors throughout the first floor. There was a table saw in the living room during the process. I remember dad cheering when he nailed in the final piece of flooring. Later he reshingled the roof. Our job was to burn the old shingles in a barrel. I learned much later that one night he slipped while coming down and almost fell. Whew!

   Joe always said he was on the trailing edge of technology. I was eight or nine before we got our first television. When it was plugged in it looked like a snowstorm, but after an adjustment a cowboy chase appeared. A couple of years later we got a car. None of our cars ever had that new car smell. A car was more a luxury than a necessity. Firemen and policemen could ride the Boston transit system free when in uniform. My father's parents had a car and they often visited us. One fine morning my father led two of my brothers and me on the five mile hike to our grandparents house in Dorchester just for the fun of it. I learned from that jaunt that what might seem impossible was often easy.

  Mary meanwhile was keeping the house in order and learning the art of interior decoration. Joe may not have enjoyed painting and papering but he did it. Such is the curse of the husband who is handy. Mary did the laundry and the cooking which was for the best. Joe had that second job and worked a rotating shift on the fireboat. He learned the art of falling asleep anywhere, anytime, a skill I inherited from him.

   When Joe was young his father bought a cottage in Hull about 20 miles from the city. Joe acquired a small boat and taught himself to sail. At age 17 he joined the Merchant Marine just in time for WWII. He survived the sinking of his ship in the Pacific and returned home to meet Mary at the roller skating rink at the amusement park in Hull. The rink is long gone, replaced by a strip mall catering to tourists. Coincidentally, this was approximately the same spot I met Teresa  when she was working at her sister's art gallery. Life is full of close calls.

   By the time I met Teresa, Joe and Mary had moved to Hull. Hull had a minimal transit system and Mary was forced to get her driver's license. Soon she had filled the car trunk with paint and wallpaper samples and started her one woman interior decorating business. She did not do the actual painting and hanging. She was the invaluable consultant. "Would you consider..." was her tactful tagline to her clients. They were always glad they took her suggestions when the room was finished. 

   Joe meanwhile had now acquired a bigger boat. He had the wooden hull built in Maine and he built the decking, cabin, and masts. The Nave Sho (Saint Joseph) was moored in front of Joe and Mary's house on Sunset Point in Hull. Mary was not a sailor. She was happy to make lunch for the sailors and have supper ready for them when they returned from the sea. I remember as a boy, my father telling me, and not bitterly, "If a girl tells you she likes sailing, don't believe her."

   We must work with what our parents give us, their talents and foibles. If Joe and Mary had any faults they were minor ones, easily folded away and forgotten. They had a great talent for hospitality. For example, one evening after supper, my parents and I were sitting on the front porch overlooking the bay.  A large sailboat had anchored near Joe's boat. We could see the couple on board eating supper in the cockpit. After a while my mother said, "Row out and ask them if they want to come to the house and have a drink or a cup of tea. I did and they did. After a while I left the four of them chatting and drifted off to bed. I had to get up early for work. I could relate many other examples, but this post would be too long to read.

Happy Anniversary 

The Nave Sho under sail