I know I’m dating myself… – The View from Lajeune

My Night With Jimmy

I had the best time eva in Brooklyn, New York on Thursday September 30th, 2026! I am a Media Sales Professional for local ABC TV affiliate WTNH News 8 in New Haven, CT. All that to say it’s not uncommon to receive tickets/vouchers to a fancy restaurant, concert venue, live theater or show to treat our VIP advertising clients. But this gift was HUGE! Jimmy is the man! However he normally tapes his shows from his studios in Los Angeles, California…But every now and then he comes back home to Brooklyn, NY to tape live shows for the week at Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM). And my colleague Douglas Hall and I were the lucky ones on the sales team to be gifted Jimmy Kimmel LIVE in Brooklyn, NY tickets with round trip transportation (courtesy of Absolute Transportation) from WTNH TV News 8 to BAM – Brooklyn Academy of Music for ourselves and our respective clients.

I invited my VIP advertising client Elaine Sein, the Marketing Director of ACES (Area Cooperative Educational Services) who met me at News 8 at 1030am on Thursday morning in advance of our 11am pick-up. Elaine and I walked around the tv station and then took selfies in the Promotions area before heading out to the parking lot to meet up with my Sales department colleague Douglas Hall and his VIP advertising client Michael Donkor, owner of Celebrity Homemakers & Companions LLC.

Taking selfies in the Promotions area of WTNH News 8

The SUV car ride to Brooklyn, NY was painless. Having our own driver (in our case Tariq from Absolute Transportation) really made our day that much more pleasant. We could kick back and relax and enjoy conversation with each other while our driver had to deal with the crazy, unhinged drivers on the Connecticut and New York highways and byways. Tariq took it all in stride though. He navigated those roads like he had been doing it for a minute (smile). Great personality too. He made our trip memorable in the best way.

Our first planned stop was lunch at Cafe PAULETTE in Brooklyn, NY (only 7 minutes from the theater). I chose Cafe PAULETTE (from the list of preferred vendors on BAM’s website) because first of all the french food sounded truly delish and secondly it was projected to be 70 degrees on Thursday and I have a thing for outdoor bistros. We ordered our lunch and drinks at about 1pmish and waited outdoors at our table for a long while as there was only one waitress and one bartender on duty. When the food finally arrived it was well worth the wait because it was delish! I ordered a veggie burger with cheddar cheese, french fries and a side salad. And I washed it all down with a ginger ale.

Michael, Doug, Elaine and me at Cafe PAULETTE

My delish veggie burger with tons of french fries and a side salad – muah!

After lunch Tariq drove us to BAM where we got registered for the VIP line – registration included checking our names with staff and receiving the blue JKL bands on our wrist. We were early – it was about 330pm at this point and the doors to the theater were not opening until after 5pm so we made small talk and people watched. Did I mention that Brooklyn is the bomb! I love the vibe – it’s lit and the people all look to be going somewhere important. What a fun town – definitely coming back with my boo. Brooklyn is the ‘new Manhattan’ in my view and I absolutely loved Fort Greene and those beautiful brownstones, what a wonderful and quaint neighborhood.

The BAM (Brooklyn Academy of Music) building where Jimmy Kimmel LIVE in Brooklyn is taped is in the Peter Sharp Building and it features the historic 2,109 seat Howard Gilman Opera House, the Lepercq Space and the BAMcafe. The BAMcafe was our next stop. This large, colorful, flamboyant room immediately reminded me of the play Moulin Rouge because everything was Red, Red, and Red (smile). There was plenty of finger food stations, dessert stations and drink stations. There were also 2 service bars. I don’t drink anymore so I had Saratoga water and Bigelow Tea (smile). I was still full from lunch so I did not have any of the appetizers or the desserts. The place was jam packed. We were lucky to find a high table with 4 chairs when we walked in. There was an old school DJ playing classic hits from back in the day. Like us, there were plenty of other VIPs enjoying Jimmy Kimmel’s hospitality including his own parents, his former neighbors, people from Brooklyn, NY and even a dear old friend he knew from Kindergarten (smile).

The BAMcafe is groovy for sure (smile)

The gang’s all here!

Elaine checking out the delish finger foods

Finally showtime!

Since were already upstairs in BAMcafe we did not have to travel far to our seats which were in the Mezzanine section of the theater. Being high up allowed us to view the big screens (one on each side) as well as look down on Jimmy Kimmel and his guests. Taping was from 530pm to 7pm. It felt late but in reality it was dinnertime for most folks (smile).

The interior of the theater (former Opera House) is stunningly beautiful!

Big screen TV and Jimmy Kimmel’s excellent house band

Elaine and I in our seats watching the process unfold

As expected once she show started we could not take pictures but we were delighted by the guests that evening – first of all Jimmy Kimmel’s sidekick Guillermo who made it back to New York from Los Angeles where he has been appearing as a guest dancer on Monday and Tuesday nights on Dancing with the Stars – Guillermo’s a hoot in person (smile). The legendary actor Robert DeNiro, who played a baseball bat carrying crooked head of the FCC. The always phenomenal Billy Crystal, who spoke about his poignant new play which centers on the loss of his and his neighbors homes in the horrific Pacific Palisades fires on January 7, 2025. Acting great and charismatic Mahershala Ali who I remembered from his two Oscar winning performances in Moonlight and Green Book and who was promoting his new movie, a thriller called Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother. The musical act was supposed to De La Soul but for some reason or another they canceled and were replaced at the last minute by singer songwriter Audrey Hobert. Between the set changes, the guest interviews, the pictures that Jimmy Kimmel took with the guests and the house band selections, the taping took 90 minutes. After the taping we went back to BAMcafe for more appetizers and drinks and then I texted Tariq to come and pick us up as we were ready to go. Jimmy did not appear in the BAMCafe, I pulled his friend from Kindergarten who told me Jimmy Kimmel had another engagement but that he was a genuine person who really cared about people.

My night with Jimmy was a memorable evening indeed. One that I will hold high in my memory bank.

P,S. If you check on Jimmy Kimmel’s website for the 9-30-2026 show, you will catch me, Elaine, Douglas and Michael on TV (smile).

Sincerely,

TVFL

My Current Situation Part XV

I did not plan on writing in My Current Situation series so soon because I wanted to wait until I had my hearing test and the results had come back and I wanted to wait for the appointment with my APRN to review the results of my 30 day’s worth of blood pressure pills (to see if I truly had a blood pressure problem). However, 3 days ago I had an eye emergency which changed everything.

To play it back, in 2024 (2 years ago) I called my eye doctor’s office to schedule an eye exam for the first time since the Covid Pandemic of 2020. I made this eye appointment because I was seeing floaters in my right eye, “small specks, dots, circles, lines, or cobwebs in your field of vision – although floaters appear to be in front of the eye, they are actually floating in the vitreous fluid inside the eye.” The eye care doctor’s office front desk receptionist asked what took me so long to schedule an eye appointment and I told her in all transparency that no one in their office had pinged me since the onset of the 2020 Pandemic and I hadn’t honestly really thought about my eye health. My bad…

As it turned out the eye appointment I had in 2024 for the floaters in my right eye was not at all that serious because after my eye was dilated, the eye doctor was able to see that all I needed for these floaters were prescription eye drops.

Now 2 years later in this scenario the floaters (a long black curly string) were in my left eye and more of a nuisance than anything else. On the second day this piece of curly black string had turned into tiny black dots which appeared one at a time but were forming a starry sky. My inner voice urged me to call the eye doctor. I originally wasn’t going to call because I thought this is what happened before and the remedy was eye drops but something said, Call. So I called and told the eye care doctor’s office front desk receptionist what happened and she said she needed to speak with the clinician because they may ask you to come in today and I said why can’t it wait until Monday and she said if its a retina tear, which it sounds like it could be, we would be condoning you not coming in which could lead to a bigger problem. Sure enough the clinician called me back within 5 minutes and said I needed to come in as soon as possible. They scheduled my appointment on that same day for 1245p. I reluctantly cancelled an upcoming client lunch at Solun Restaurant in Woodbridge with one of my favs and went to the eye doctor’s office in Hamden, CT.

After getting and A-cing an initial eye test my left eye was then dilated so the eye doctor could examine it. What he discovered unfortunately were 2 retinal tears in my left eye! He told me and the technician that this was a very serious case and it would need to be dealt with today. He asked the technician to have the front office girls call around to see which eye surgeon could get me in on a Friday. The only office that had an opening (or was even open on a Friday) was in Trumbull, CT which is only 25 minutes away (with no traffic) from Hamden but it was a Friday…so traffic central…

I drove myself home to North Haven so that James, my partner in love could drive me to the eye surgeon’s Trumbull office. It was crowded there with mostly middle-aged and elderly people. I filled out the necessary paperwork and was seen by a technician within a half hour. My left eye was dilated and afterwards another technician examined me then sent me back to the waiting room. The longest wait was getting in to see the eye surgeon who had multiple eye surgeries stacked up in front of mine.

I tried to read and send text messages to kill time but my vision was too blurry from the recent dilation and my eye felt heavy.

This is how much time we still had, James was able to go eat lunch and make it back before I even got into see the eye surgeon (smile).

Ignorance is bliss though because I can honestly say had I known what was coming up, I probably would have bolted from the waiting room. Not for nothing, the eye surgeon did explain what he was going to do to numb the left eye but I don’t think I grasped the severity of it even when I saw him in front of me with a long needle in his hand. I will not share pictures of this scene because they are not pleasant to look at. I will say that having had a literal needle in my eye caused me to feel nauseous and limp with pain. Even though the poking seemed to go on forever, the next process, which was the my left eye literally being exposed over and over and over again to a blinding light, made me feel like I was going to vomit for sure. My head was splitting from this light and at one point, as the doctor promised, I could only see black where my left eye was situated which was real scary. But even with only seeing black out of the left eye, I could still feel the pain from the constant exposure to the blinding light. The surgeon told me the only way he could fix these retinal tears were to “solder” them together. He also told me I may down the road wind up with the same issue in my right eye…

Hoping this is an OTO experience for sure!

That’s not anything I want to even think about right now. I’m just taking it one day at a time.

It’s post-surgery now. I’m home with a splitting headache and a left eye ache. I can do things around the house and I will work from home on my laptop a day or two but thankfully I’m not too too bad off. My eye surgeon said I will still experience floaters for the first 2 weeks and then 2 weeks after that I should be all healed. I should take Tylenol for pain and not lift anything over 10 pounds. I will go back and see him in his Hamden office at that point.

A word to the wise: If you are middle-aged and happen to see floaters or flashes which they say are common as we age, please do get yourself checked out immediately. Let the professionals tell you whether or not these black lines or cobwebs or flashes or dots are serious. I for one am fortunate that I listened to my inner voice on that fateful Friday afternoon or I might not be writing this blog post as we speak…

Sincerely,

TVFL

My Current Situation Part XIV

It’s Hotter than July in the smallish state of Connecticut and right now the residents are inhaling smoke from the Canadian and Minnesota wildfires. Chief Meteorologist Gil Simmons from News Channel 8 in New Haven, CT has been delivering the “Smoke Index” all this week so folks will take the dimmed sunlight seriously. When I’m outside my eyes feel like I am wearing yellow rose colored glasses (smile). But seriously I would much rather be in this position where we are only mildly affected by the smoke as opposed to living in a part of a state or country that’s quite literally on fire…yikes!

Are these sunglasses really yellow rose colored?!?

The other strange phenomenon this month is that suddenly eating lettuce, some fresh produce, vegetables and herbs has become risky business. Wait, what?!?

I live for my once-a-week salad with protein (smile)

By consuming these foods you may come down with Cyclosporiasis which is caused by a parasite that is found in the above mentioned foods. To combat catching Cyclosporiasis, we are being asked to wash our fruits and vegetables thoroughly or cook our vegetables at high levels of heat to kill the parasite. Otherwise we may wind up on the toilet for an inexplicable amount of time (smile).

My iPhone goes with me everywhere (smile)

Gas in Connecticut is a tiny bit below $4.00 a gallon which is not saying much considering it averaged just $3.15 a gallon this time last year. The job market is dependent on what industry you are in. Healthcare is booming but in the media industry jobs continue to fall by the wayside due to mergers and acquisitions. I am so thankful and blessed that I have been working in the media industry now for almost 40 years so things for me are starting to wind down…

Health wise I just found out from my new APRN (no more Primary Care doctors now, just APRNs as apparently they are more plentiful in Connecticut) that I have high blood pressure so she prescribed Amlodipine (5mg a day for 30 days) at the end of which we will see whether I can stop taking the pills altogether or continue on for an indefinite period of time. This diagnosis came out of an Echocardiogram test that I received as part of my full physical a month and a half ago. It showed that I may have leaky heart valves. Keep in mind that this is no doubt a family medical history diagnosis as this girl works out 5 days a week at Orangetheory Fitness Center in Hamden, CT, she quit drinking wine 6 years ago, she doesn’t indulge in drugs, she quit smoking cigarettes 30+ years ago and she eats clean most days (smile).

Here’s where I’m at hobby wise: In my last blog post I mentioned that I had taken up reading non-fiction books for the Summer and after reading Elin Hildebrand’s Paradise series I promptly booked a trip to St. Thomas, USVI with my partner in love (smile). So now I just finished reading Kennedy Ryan’s Hollywood Renaissance series and I could not, for the life of me, put these books down! Ryan’s writing is so relatable and I learn so much about a new health issue every time I read one of her books. She is truly an award-winning author!

Other than that I am living my life, trying not to take myself too seriously and keeping in touch with my loved ones as no one is promised anything, most of all time.

Sincerely,

TVFL

Island Vacay

Me and my partner in crime decided that our 2nd vacation in 2026 would be somewhere out of the country since our last vacation in the month of March was to Phoenix, Arizona.

We decided to head back to St. Thomas, USVI even though we had previously vacationed there in March of 2025. We love the vibe in St. Thomas but decided this time we would not catch any ferries to any other islands so we could focus on St. Thomas itself which has superb weather, great West Indian restaurants and beautiful nearby beaches.

The weather forecast (6/6 – 6/12) called for sunshine with little or no rain. The temperature was literally (24/7) 80 to 83 degrees Farenheit the entire time we were in St. Thomas.

Day 1 – Travel Day – Saturday June 6th

What made this trip so much easier than our trip to St. Thomas back in March of 2025 was that this time we decided to depart from JFK airport in New York City to fly non-stop instead from flying out of Bradley International airport and catching 2 airplanes. We also hired a driver named Rob. Rob’s business is called “On Time Car Services” and he truly lives up to the name. He’s not just affordable but also personable and a pleasure to catch a ride with. My hairstylist Stephanie’s salon coordinator Michele’s husband is good friends with Rob so he came well recommended (smile).

Did I mention that JFK was a breeze this time? We usually travel out of Bradley International Airport so we were pleasantly surprised to discover that JFK has stepped up its game! It was easy to navigate, there were plenty of new and well lit stores and restaurants, the staff was friendly and helpful and despite the on-going construction, it was easy for Rob to get in and out to our Delta Airlines pick up and drop-off points.

We arrived to St, Thomas in 4 short hours and after picking up our Budget rental car at the airport, we were famished so we decided to head to Glady’s Restaurant in downtown Charlotte Amalie for some delish and filling West Indian cuisine. Gladys did not disappoint. The restaurant was pretty much empty though since the month of June is the beginning of the off season so unless it’s a ‘Cruise Ship Day,’ the island restaurants and stores resemble a ghost town.

Gladys, the proprietor of Glady’s Restaurant

Delish West Indian Dish – Stewed Chicken, Rice and Peas and Cabbage – Yum!

After lunch, we took a walk on the waterfront boardwalk and then drove to Pueblo Supermarket to buy waters and snacks for the week.

Our hotel room (due to it being the slow season) was upgraded to a suite (balcony room with an ocean view) so we were happy campers (smile). We were also greeted in our room with a chilled bottle of Pinot Grigio. By the way, there are just 12 guest rooms at Island View Guesthouse in St. Thomas as it is an intimate boutique hotel. The rates, like most hotels, are lower to reflect the slow season.

Day 2 – Sunday June 7th

We decided to spend our second picture perfect day at Sapphire Beach. Island View Guest House offers free breakfasts every day (eggs, fruit and toast) so after we ate, we got dressed in our bathing suits and headed out to the beach. All of the beaches have different rules. This particular beach does not charge an entrance fee nor does it charge a parking fee. There is however a $15 dollar beach chair rental but beach umbrellas are not allowed. Sapphire Beach is a fun vibey beach with 2 large bars, live music, a couple of beach shops and beachy food. There is a lively atmosphere and everyone seems to be enjoying themselves. The teal blue water is calm and the sand is soft and gravel free.

While on the beach we met and had a conversation with this nice group of people from Maryland who were sitting near us and the funny part was, we not only ran into them again at the Caribbean Fish Market at the Elysian Beach Resort in Cowpet where we had 730pm dinner reservations that evening, but they were seated right next to us (smile).

I had a huge arugula salad with shrimp pad thai and it was delish!

After dinner we drove the half hour back to downtown Charlotte Amalie for a nice stroll on the waterfront boardwalk so we could walk off the heavy meal.

Day 3 – Monday, June 8th

Lindquist Beach was our beach of choice today. The couples we met on the beach and at dinner yesterday told us it was a beautiful and quiet beach with white sand and emerald water so we were super psyched to go. This beach (which is just 5 minutes away from Sapphire Beach) charges a $7 dollar per Adult entrance fee, and $2 dollar parking fee. They also rent beach chairs for $10 dollars. There are no amenities so you have to bring your own food and drink. We had waters with us but no food so when we got hungry we hopped in the car and drove 5 minutes up the street to eat at Sapphire Beach’s restaurant. Again, the beach was gorgeous but you have to remember to pack your own food and drink and music for that matter.

That night it was Game 3 of the NBA Finals – we assumed we would just catch the NBA Finals in our hotel suite but unbeknownst to us, the only TVs broadcasting this game were at restaurants and/or sports bars as only they had VPNs so we scrambled in the late afternoon to find a sports bar that we would feel comfortable watching the game in. We settled on The Island Green but were forced to sit in the overflow section since everybody and their grandmother had the same idea as we had (smile).

Day 4 – Tuesday June 9th

Today was ironically a “Cruise Ship Day” so there were easily 10,000 to 20,000 extra people on this small island. The beaches were all so crowded!

Despite the madness we decided to beach hop and started at Coki Point Beach which is truly a vibe! There is a small parking fee, no entrance fee, lots of small merchants and take-out restaurants and a ton of beach umbrellas and beach chairs for rent. The actual beach front is small but cozy and the people are very friendly.

Next up was Meghan’s Bay Beach which Trip Advisor and every other online travel portal gives lots of love to. Don’t get me wrong, I like Meghan’s Bay Beach as it’s a very large beach with all of the amenities you could possibly ask for on a beach but it’s always crowded so the beach chairs and umbrellas are lined up side by side to fit in the maximum amount of people. The food and drink lines are also very long and the parking is scarce. If you like to be around a lot of people while you are swimming in the water and/or while laying out on your beach chair, then Meghan’s Bay Beach is for you (smile). We prefer smaller quieter beaches so we walked wayyyyy down towards the end of the beach and found a relaxing spot to chill in.

Feeling like we are at a different beach further down this way…

After beaching all day we returned home, showered and then dressed for dinner. We decided to drive downtown Charlotte Amalie and check out some of their local restaurants. We wound up at an black owned restaurant/lounge called Cove Lounge. It was a hot day so the air conditioning was blasting when we arrived – we ordered dinner, sat back and listened to a nice blend of R & B and Soul music.

Day 5 – Wednesday June 10th

Wednesday “Hump Day” was our shopping day. We drove to downtown Charlotte Amalie to check out the local merchants. It was difficult to find a parking spot but finally we lucked out when someone was pulling out. Our first stop (since we are Art lovers) was The Creative Native Art Gallery. The owner Ama L. Dennis is native to St. Thomas and regaled us with stories about her ancestors and such. She literally spent well over an hour describing in detail what each painting, portrait, and/or piece of art work that she created represented. I was totally in awe of her as both as a successful entrepreneur as well as the solo artist.

Ama talking to James about one of her many works of art

Ama describing what goes into deciding on what goes up on the wall

While Ama and James were still chatting I decided to check out a black owned boutique right down that street from the gallery that Ama had recommended. It was called Shammies Boutique and it features ladies clothes and accessories. The owner was out of the country so I met her daughter and her daughter’s adorable one year old son. The merch was gorgeous and I quickly found a few pieces I could rock (smile).

After the art gallery and the boutique we decided to go jewelry shopping and James found me a beautiful ring at The Gold Mine. St. Thomas has a few blocks of jewelry stores that heavily compete with each other since they are literally side by side but Jeff at The Gold Mine did not seem as aggressive and hungry as some of the other jewelers so we decided to buy from him. It was a great experience and he truly took care of us.

While Jeff was sizing my ring, we were getting hangry so we caught a quick shuttle to a place that we missed the last time we were in St. Thomas. It’s called The Chicken Fry and the West Indian cuisine is “slap yo’ mama” good!

I inhaled the oxtails, sweet potatoes and rice and peas – this hearty lunch was only 12 dollars!

After we ate we drove around and looked for a different sports bar/restaurant to catch the NBA Finals Game 4. We settled on a restaurant/bar not too far from The Island Green called The Dog House Pub. It was a different experience for sure as the place was darker and not as bright and pretty as The Island Green but the bar food was good and the customers who sat in our section were all passionate Knicks fans (smile).

Day 6 – Thursday June 11th – Back to the Beach!

Since we visited a total of 5 beaches this week (I left out Brewers Beach at the University of Virgin Islands because it really is not worth talking about) we had a pretty good idea of where we wanted to spend our second to last day in St. Thomas – for us it was Lindquist Beach. On this day the weather was overcast but the temperatures were still 83 degrees so the sun was stronger than it felt. We spent the entire day at this beach mostly in the water except for the time where we left to drive up the road to Sapphire Beach so we could eat lunch. Lucky for us, there were no cruise ships present so it was tranquil and quiet at both beaches. We truly enjoyed our last day on Lindquist Beach.

That afternoon when we got back to the hotel we made dinner reservations at a place called Sol at Mafolie restaurant, another restaurant that came highly recommended. It was a good half hour from our hotel but well worth the drive. The restaurant had very few diners that night again because of the time of the year but the food was fabulous. We ordered Conch Salad as our appetizer; James had a whole Red Snapper with fungi and veggies and I had a delish vegan dish. We took lots of pictures as the restaurant was high on a hill and it overlooked the bright lights of the city. I started feeling low key sad thinking about the fact that the next day we would be traveling back home to Connecticut…

The conch salad with fried plantain was to die for

James’s whole Red Snapper, fungi and veggies

Day 7 – Friday June 12th – Travel Day

Our travel day was uneventful in a good way. Everything was on time, our rental drop-off, our aircraft carrier, our driver, etc. We will be looking forward to visiting St. Thomas again and again and again (smile).

Fun Fact: St. Thomas USVI is the only place under U.S. jurisdiction where you must drive on the left side of the road.

P.S. The roads are very narrow and winding so driving is challenging to say the least. Especially at night as there are no lights up in the hills so drinking and driving is not advised (smile).

My Current Situation XIII

November 2025 was the last blog post I entered in this Current Situation series. What’s been happening since then? Here’s the update – it’s April of 2026 and gas prices have spiked through the roof, home heating oil prices are extremely high, my 401K is up and down and up and down and the job market in general is sketchy.

On the flip side I am still gainfully employed as a Media Sales Professional by News Channel 8 (ABC) in New Haven, CT and I’m nearing retirement. By the way, the Media Industry as a whole looks starkly different then what it looked like almost 40 years ago when I started my career so I consider myself blessed to be in the position I am in.

As I mentioned before it’s mid-April in the state of Connecticut and this New England changeable weather has recently taken a turn for the worse. Last week I was wearing sundresses and sunglasses, this coming week I’m pulling out long sleeves and heavy stockings. Winter is back – Waaaah!

On the bright side health wise I am doing extraordinarily well. My pap smear was normal, my vision was normal and I was recently told at my annual physical exam by a new Primary Care Doctor (a young woman in her 30s) that I should continue doing whatever it is I am doing because all of my labs were great. Not to be funny but I was not that surprised because I gave up alcohol 6 years ago, totally cleaned up my diet, and as for drugs, I don’t indulge (smile). For exercise I work out 5 mornings a week at Orangetheory Fitness Center in Hamden, hydrate a lot and strive to get at least 7 hours of sleep a night.

Working out is my form of physical therapy

Family wise my almost 93 year old father, Jonie B. Hollis, was recently (through the collective efforts of my sister Casandra who lives in Nashville, TN, myself in Connecticut and my brother Michael also in Connecticut) presented with a Quilt of Honor (citation and actual quilt) for his 30 years of service in the U.S. Navy. It was a total surprise to Jonie B. — the ceremony as well as my brother Michael’s heartfelt tribute left him teary eyed and proud. The Old Saybrook Nursing home where he resides showed up and out – it was a beautiful affair and one for the record books.

Jonie B., his son Michael, daughter Lajeune and the 2 lovely women who hosted the program

Other Blessings: Two babies were born into the Hollis family tree this year – my nephew Jacob who lives in Florida had a baby boy in January of 2026 and my nephew Jasper who lives in Arizona had a baby boy in February of 2026.

One of my New Year’s goals for 2026 was to take up something I left behind years ago. Reading. And reading is my jam! I am currently reading the trilogy of Paradise stories by Elin Hilderbrand that I am loving so much I cannot put the books down. She’s an awesome writer and puts the reader right into the thick of her stories – I’m on the last book in her trilogy series now – it’s called “Troubles in Paradise” and it inspired me today to book a return trip to St. Thomas for our upcoming June vacation (smile).

Reading is not foreign to me. As a matter of fact back in the early 1990s I was hosting an African American Book Review radio show with my co-host LaMonda Williams called ‘The L & L Book Review’ on AM1340 WNHC Radio while simultaneously hosting an African American monthly book club in person at Barnes and Noble bookstore in North Haven, CT. As luck would have it, I made connections with publishing houses in New York City that started sending me hardcovers in the mail for free in the hopes that I would include their books in my reviews! I also interviewed African American authors at the radio station as well as in person at Barnes and Noble bookstore. It was most definitely a labor of love for I was not getting paid to do either of these gigs (smile).

Feeling real good about reading at night because it exercises my brain (smile)

And that’s all I have to share for now – until next time.

Sincerely,

TVFL

Category: I know I’m dating myself…

My Night With Jimmy

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My Current Situation Part XV

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My Current Situation Part XIV

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Island Vacay

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My Current Situation XIII

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