Category: Growing up Hollis

Growing up Hollis is my fond name for my childhood stories

My top 10 fave blog posts!

Over the past 2 years I have published almost 50 blog posts on The View from Lajeune so I think this is a good time to highlight my top 10 faves.  So here they are:

 

The View (from Lajeune)  Check out this blog post: The View (from Lajeune)    I chose this blog post because the  entire day was truly magical from beginning to end!

 

 

A Place of Desert  Check out this blog postL  A Place of Desert…(almost) 4 years cancer free  This blog post will always hold a special place in my heart as I truly learned what it is like to survive colon cancer…

 

 

My Very First Bug  Check out this blog post:   My Very First Bug…  This post took me back to a time when I was asserting my independence but too hard-headed to see that the route I chose actually costs me in more ways than one (smile).

 

 

Clams on the half shell… Check out this blog post:   Clams on the half shell…and roller-skates!   This blog post speaks to me as it happens during the 70’s, one of my most favorite decades!

 

 

Like Moths to the Flame  Check out this blog post:   Like moths to the flame…   This blog post is special to me because it brought me back 31 years to when I first started my career in broadcast media…

 

 

CT “Summatime” Eats  Check out this blog post:   Connecticut “Summatime” Eats!    This blog posts was real popular with TVFL readers who, like me, love Connecticut in the Summertime and the delicious variety of food choices!

 

Divas in the Desert  Check out this blog post:  Divas in the desert!  My good friend and former co-worker Tony Marinaro, who is a faithful TVFL reader, chose the title to this blog post and I will forever be grateful to him for it 🙂

 

 

My Clean Living Life (Parts I, II and III)  Check out all 3 of these blog posts:   My clean living life…   My Clean Living Life – Part II;   My Clean Living Life, Part III    I imagine that these blog posts are popular with my TVFL readers because they know the struggle to live “clean” is real…

 

 

Cave Girl:   Check out this blog post:Cave Girl    I thoroughly enjoyed doing the research on this blog post and tremendously benefited from my ‘R & R’ day.  I was not allowed to take pictures of us inside the actual cave so what I showed will have to suffice.

 

 

Taking Fun Seriously  Check out my blog post:  Taking fun seriously…my very first golf lesson   I had fun writing and doing the research for this blog post and still hope to one day have that golf date with my Dad…

 

 

Thank you for reading my blog posts from The View from Lajeune.  I have plenty more stories to share…

 

Sincerely,

 

 

TVFL

Movie Buff

From as far back as I can remember, I have always loved going to the cinema to see a movie.  Coming from a large family of 9 (two parents and 7 kids) my mother Jean, who was the original Hollis movie buff,  would, on a rainy day, load all 7 of us Hollis kids in our two-toned station wagon and drop us off to the movie house to see the Saturday matinée.  And we were never without our snacks.   My mother was the ultimate planner so on one of her many trips to the supermarket, she would buy large bags of candy and miniature chocolate bars and then proceed to put them in smaller Glad bags with twists so she could save $$ at the movie concession stand.  To this day I cannot watch a movie at the theater  or at home without having something to snack on (smile).

 

I saw 3 really good movies last week while during my Staycation in Connecticut. All 3 of these movies had just opened at the theaters in 2016.   However, these movies were all from Red Box so we watched them right from the comfort of our living room.  Things are real different today then they were back in the day…Brand new movies don’t stay in the theaters long so you don’t have to wait before plunking down a mere $1.59 to rent them from Red Box.   Or another option is to pay $4.99 or more and watch them On Demand from your local Cable TV service.   Unless it is truly something that has to be viewed on a super large screen for the visual and audio effects, I am okay with watching it on our own big HD TV screen at home with the volume turned up real high (smile).

 

Incidentally  the 3 movies we rented from Red Box couldn’t have been more different from each other in genre and/or story line.

 

The first one  was a comedy called  Central Intelligence starring The Rock and Kevin Hart.  I don’t want to spoil it for anyone who has not seen it, but I was really surprised at the serious undertone it took with the whole Bullying aspect that is so prevalent in today’s society.

 

The second was a drama called Legend of Tarzan starring Alexander Skarsgard and Samuel L. Jackson.  I have to admit that the idea of seeing another Tarzan movie made me queasy (my childhood memories of Tarzan movies were not pleasant to say the least)  but my S.O. James assured me that this one was done well…he was right and I was pleasantly surprised…Enough said (smile).

 

And the third was a foreign flick and drama (my personal fave) called The Lobster which my S.O. James handpicked for me.  It stars Colin Farrell and Rachel Weisz.  Can’t say enough about this movie except you should absolutely see it as it will open your eyes WIDE to a whole ‘nother world…and make you feel grateful for your own (smile).

 

 

Those are my movie picks ~  Apprecier le films!

 

Sincerely,

 

 

TVFL

 

 

Thanks(Giving)

One of my favorite holidays growing up (besides Christmas) was Thanksgiving.  Thanksgiving in my mind was Christmas without the presents and I mean that in the best way.  You see, I grew up in a large, dual-parented family in the small town of Groton, CT.   I was one of 7 children and the ‘baby girl.’

My father was in the U.S. Navy and my mother was a housewife (today she would be called a ‘stay at home mom’).

Here’s a picture of my  parents when they first met.  My mother Jean was 17 and my father Jonie B. was 19.

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In my humble opinion, holidays were and are so much more fun when you can share them with your parents and siblings and the bigger your family, the better.  I was 6 years old in this picture of me and my six siblings, I’m the second one in from the right.

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My mother was the ultimate multi-tasker and as such super organized so the bigger holidays (Thanksgiving and Christmas) afforded her the opportunity to show off her skills.

She would take one or more of us with her to the grocery store to buy the turkey, the trimmings and the holiday themed tablecloth, plates, cups, cutlery and paper machete turkey.

Between making sure that the house was spick and span clean as well as decorated, each and everyone’s clothes washed and folded, and the food prepped and ready, she was also genius at balancing our lives to ensure that we were where we needed to be at any given time.

I had no cooking skills whatsoever so I marveled at how my mother could wash, stuff and prepare the turkey, bake multiple pies with homemade (not store-bought) crusts and then cook a ton of side dishes with ease.

On the big day, the food was blessed and then we would go around the dinner table and share what we were most thankful for that particular year.  This would usually elicit misty eyes…

Then my father, Jonie B., would do the honors by carving the turkey.  If he was out to sea during the holiday, my older brother Michael would handle it.

The Thanksgiving menu was not light.  It usually consisted of an oversized turkey, cornbread stuffing, cranberry sauce, giblets, sweet potatoes, baked macaroni and cheese, collard greens with ham bone, corn, mashed potatoes with gravy, string beans with fat back, hot dinner rolls, pumpkin pies, sweet potatoe pies, and apple cider to wash it all down with.

Huge mounds of food on serving plates would be passed around the table, laughter was heard throughout and we all knew that we would be eating leftovers for days!

Football was on TV all day long, Macy’s parade as well.  Good times.

Fast Forward to today:   with the holiday season quickly approaching, I sometimes catch myself getting caught up in a lot of the negativity of the world.  My solution a few weeks ago (inspired by my good church friend, Bobo) was to start a (daily) blessings jar to remind myself that I still have plenty to be thankful for.  It works like a charm (smile).

One of the first blessings that I wrote and put in my jar was how thankful I was (am) for my late mother so this blog post is written in loving memory of  Jean Anna Tinsley Hollis, gone but not forgotten…

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Sports Nut

From as far back as I can remember, I’ve been playing sports and/or keeping busy with physical activities.   I have an inordinate amount of energy so this works out just fine (smile).  And Growing up Hollis, both my mother and father always made sure that their 7 children were kept busy with physical activities and/or sports all year long.

Today it’s the gym (The Edge Fitness Club in Hamden, CT) that keeps me active and sane.

But back in the day it was either organized sports (during the school year) or any kind of sports, activities or games (indoors or outdoors) with my 6 siblings and/or our neighbors.   I grew up in the ’70s, a time when there were no smart phones or tablets or laptops.  Check out my blog post:  R U Social?   We played games with each other and if you needed to see someone, you simply hopped on your no-speed bike and peddled your way over to their house (smile).

Speaking of houses, this is the house where we grew up in the small town of Groton, CT – lots of really good memories were made here –  Check out my blog post:  Easter Sunday back in the day…This is an updated version of when we lived in it as this picture was taken just two years ago.   For instance, back in the day we had a car port, not a garage…

 

Lots of memories were made in our house on Alder Lane

 

Organized Sports:

  • Softball – I started playing softball in a Women’s league when I was just 11 years old.  I ended up playing every position on the field with this league by the time I turned 15. I even won the team ball (which was signed by all of my teammates before they carried me off the field).  To this day I still own that ball…
  • Bowling – I starting bowling in a league at a local bowling alley when I was 11 as well.  Check out my blog post:  Bowling Date
  • Judo – I started when I was 12 years of age and ended at age 16.  I almost made it to ‘purple belt’ and my rugged gi (purposely made to be loose-fitting) fit me all 5 years.
  • Track & Field  – I started running track in high school ( 10th through 12th grades back then).  My events were the 220, 440, mile relay and the long jump (the metric system was not in place back then either).   I have to admit: although I was a decent runner, I had nothing at all on then Fitch Senior High School track standout,  Sherry Johnson, whom we were all in awe of because her legs never seemed to stop (smile).

Outside during the Winter – I (we – family) enjoyed sledding, playing ice hockey, building snowmen and/or snow caves, as well as ice skating – check out my blog post:   Ski Date.

Outside during the Spring/Summer  – I (we) alternately participated in or played:  kickball, badminton, field hockey, dodgeball, roller skating, bike riding, and volley-ball – check out my blog post:   Clams on the half shell…and roller-skates!

I (we) also walked on tall stilts, played on swings, climbed monkey bars and skipped rope.

A fave toy of mine back in the day was Big Wheels.   We lived on a cul-de-sac so I could easily (and safely) ride up the street, around the circle at the end of the street and back down again for hours at a time.  Once I picked up speed,  I would take my feet up and off the pedals, stretch my long legs out in both directions and whiz away!

If it happened to be raining outside, I would ride my Big Wheels up and down our driveway underneath the car port (as long as my father was at work) which meant that our oversized two-toned family station wagon was not parked underneath it and not in my way (smile).

Speaking of rain, Inside on rainy days:  I (we) played Klik Klaks, Clacker Ball, Chess, Checkers, Backgammon, Monopoly, and pored through novels Check out my blog post:   Put your slippers on…plus I (we) enjoyed clap games like Patty Cake and Miss Mary Mack, musical chairs, blowing Bubbles and playing Freeze Dance or Monsters.

Outside  in the Fall – We played Hide and Seek, Hop Scotch – tossed with a bean bag, Jump Rope, Jacks, Marbles, Red Light-Green Light, Mother May I?, Simon Sez, Tag, and Slinky.

Life sure was different back in the day.  Electronics did not rule, our arms and legs did and, dare I say, we were better for it…

Sincerely,

 

 

TVFL

Block Isle

I was born in a blizzard in Newport, Rhode Island in the Winter of 1962.  So my birthdays have not, nor ever will, involve memories of fun in the Sun, water, big waves and boats.  Perhaps that is why I like the Summer and the opportunity it provides to spend time on Block Island, RI (smile).

 

Block Island is in my opinion the perfect getaway for a day, a week, and if you’re lucky enough, even a month.  I first started taking day-trips to the island with my family when I was 16 years old.  We  grew up in Groton, CT, just across the bridge from New London, CT so we could easily catch the Block Island Ferry from New London during the Summer.  Back then there was no high-speed ferry.   The old  ferry from New London lumbered along, and it literally took us 2 1/2 hours to get there.   We didn’t know any better so we had no cause to complain (smile).  We just used the time to talk to each other, eat breakfast from the onboard food and beverage stand, play cards or board games, watch tv, read newspapers, magazines or books, or simply stare out at the open water as we chugged along.

 

 

Once we got there, Old Harbor, our destination, never looked so good (smile).

 

Today the Block Island Express or ‘high speed ferry’ is relatively new, sleek and transports you to Old Harbor, Block Island from New London in a little over an hour.   The price has increased considerably – about 4x as much as back in the day – today it costs $45 for adults and $22.50 for children same day, round trip.

 

The sleek modern hi-speed ferry

 

The high-speed ferry is exciting and once inside I often feel like I’m sitting in movie theater seats or in a restaurant booth, as flat screen TVs greet you from every angle.  Because of the state-of-the-art art motion controlled system, you never really feel like you are on a vessel, smooth sailing indeed…

 

Once we arrived in Old Harbor we would stop at The Visitor Center to load up on island pamphlets and usually rent one or two lockers to store some of our miscellaneous items.  The Visitor Center used to be nothing to look at but today it is fancy (smile).

 

One of my favorite places  to eat breakfast back then, and still today, is the restaurant at The Harborside Inn.   The restaurant has a wonderful open-air deck on the second floor that provides a great view of the waterfront and port.  You can’t miss it as it’s not too far from where they drop you off from the ferry.  We had brunch there as we arrived after 10am and were starving.  The portions were hearty but not too pricey.  It was delish!

 

The Harborside Inn

 

As far as island activities go, over the years I have rented mountain bikes and/or mopeds to explore the island, partied on various marinas, went horseback riding, kayaking, swimming, shopping, dining at any number of seafood restaurants, I once even took a historical taxi cab tour of the island…

The day me and my partner chose to go (Tuesday, August 23rd) was 80 degrees and sunny with a light breeze.  Perfect island weather.

 

 

Our plan was simple:  look for good food, good drinks and good beach time so after our leisurely brunch and a short walk around the block to the Beachcomber (an old fave) we headed  to Ballards.

 

Ballards, back in the day, was the Hollis family’s go-to for dining and for beach time.  The restaurant was not remodeled at all back then and we always chose to eat outside on the patio deck because we knew our friendly silver-haired waiter (Walter) would be working.  The food was fantastic (loved those clam strips, clam bellies and hush puppies!) and the beach view was awesome.

 

 

Trying not to get too wet from the big waves at Ballards beach (smile)

 

Ballards is Fancy now (comparatively speaking) and very well put together.  There’s a ton of staff, and there are nice beach chairs, umbrellas and gazebos to rent for the day.

 

Plus there are adorable little tiki bars right on the beach, full waitress service (our waitress was young, cute and from South Africa) and plenty of beach volleyball games to enjoy.

 

We had an awesome time – we caught the 5pm ferry back to New London, CT (instead of the last ferry at 830pm which would have got us back home around 11pm  – late for a weeknight(!) and vowed to return again next Summer.   Good times!

 

Sincerely,

 

TVFL