Written by Anna
Since Joe was the oldest in the family, he was the first one to bring a stranger into the fold. They seemed to accept me at first, and maybe even approved of me. Sometimes it was hard to tell.

I remember being teased unmercifully for my taste in hats. I was quite shy and felt a bit overwhelmed by the attention. You kind of never knew what to expect. One time I even received an Easter card for my birthday. It was from Joe's brother John. I was so embarrassed for him I never mentioned it. I guess I spoiled his joke.

Joe's Mom became as much my Mom as his. We became very close. It seems we shared many of the same interests and had much the same taste. In fact, there were many times at Christmas or birthdays we exchanged the same exact gifts. It was uncanny.

When Joe was in the Army overseas, I loved going over to his house for dinner. Being with his family made me feel close to him. Each night after dinner, everyone went into the living room. Dirty dishes and even homework had to wait. That special time was set aside to pray the rosary for Joe's safe return. The family was so close and loving. It was a joy to be included.

Written by Robert
With moments of reflection so sporadic and few in our fast paced schedules today, nothing is more precious than my memories of days gone by with my family. Such memories bring a smile and a warm feeling within. It's nearly impossible to isolate any single best moment with so many stored in permanent memory .So many spill forth when my thoughts fade back to time spent in the vast expanse of the magnificent mansion we all called Inglenook and it's surrounding places.

From the legend of Ingle Nook to the shores of Stony Brook and Port Jefferson harbors where Dad and I would launch our fishing trips, I am filled with cherished memories. Excruciatingly long family car trips (in the mind of a 10 year old) to Stony Brook from Valley Stream are now just a flash of a moment. Oh, how they are brought back today so powerfully when I have my own family confined within the expanse of a minivan on a trip to anywhere longer than 15 minutes!

Why is it that as we grow older and wiser the Lord reveals to us the times we used to drive our parents to the limits of their patience? Reminding us, by allowing us to see things today through their eyes and filtered by their teachings and love. He has such a sense of humor! He has our kids do all the things to us that we used to do to our parents!

I still wonder how Aunt Justine ever completed her degree work after my little brother Eugene inadvertently squeezed the life out of her baby white mice. Those little white mice held some of the solutions Aunt Justine's research was meant to uncover. But alas, they mostly perished in the inquisitive hands of a child.

The cage with Aunt Justine's precious research mice was out on the screened porch, the nighttime haven of Inglenook. The screened porch was one of Inglenook's coolest places on a still, hot summer's night. It was the place where we fought over the glider (how come only adults were allowed to sit in the glider at night?) Anyway, that's where Eugene found them-several cute, furry, little white mice. He was so thrilled he grabbed hold of them. In his excitement to show someone, he held them so tightly he squeezed the life out of them. I seem to recall someone screaming as I sat in the huge kitchen on the southeast end of the house. It might have been my mother. I'm not sure who was screaming or even who else was there.

I do remember being glad it wasn't me they were screaming about.

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