The Hole in the Blog

For so many reasons, this will be an Olympics and a blog like no other: no fans; no cheering; a year late. Gone are the crowds and the multitude of languages you hear walking the streets of the Olympic city.

The flights to Japan that weren’t canceled were half full. Even the parents of the athletes aren’t here, forced to watch on TV like most everyone else. More than one of us has asked why we are allowed, but parents aren’t. We weren’t the ones who woke up every morning at 5 a.m. to take these future Olympians to practice, or moved to a different city so these kids could train with better coaches.

It’s a hollowed out Games.

But, by far, the most glaring absence will be the loss, over the past months, of three of the blog’s most cherished members:

Mildred, Anne’s mom, who easily held the title as the blog’s eldest member, was a devoted follower until the end. When she wasn’t saying, “Joe, you’re always chopping,” when I was in the kitchen about to try out a new concoction on her, she was saying, “Oh my God, Joe,” a reference to this blog post from Sochi. Sahib, our Azerbaijani fixer, had just learned a new English phrase.

We lost Mildred, who would have turned 100 in April, just before Thanksgiving last year. She had spent all of last summer with Anne and me in Maine, riding out the pandemic in a place that was a far remove from her Covid-troubled streets of Manhattan. She loved Maine, as many of us do. We were making plans to return to New York for the winter. I think she wanted to stay. We miss you Mildred.

Summers in Maine will never be quite the same without my brother-in-law Ed. Driving from Michigan every year with his latest fishing boat in tow. I truly believe that the boat launch in Biddeford was one of his favorite places on earth. Even after spending hours on the water trying to entice the stripers to take our bait, he would return later in the day without the boat to watch the other anglers’ boats come and go. It’s a scenic and peaceful place with lots of fisherman energy.

When it came to the blog, “Czech brother-in-law” was a bit of a lurker. He watched from the wings with few comments to his name if I’m counting correctly. But he was always there, or at the very least being updated on its happenings by Joanne, aka Michigan Sister. She would usually comment on his behalf, like this one I saw from that same Sahib post, “Ed wants the venison recipe but the frosty vodka sounds better to me. And we’ll pass on the mutton testicles.” We miss you Ed.

Comments on the blog were never, and I mean NEVER, in short supply from #2 Sister, aka Mary Ellen, aka Mare, aka Fairy Godmother. I was merely the straight man for her razor-sharp wit and irreverence.

Case in point:

“I was going to write something about not having seen ANY testicles in a very long time, but in deference to my campaign to be elected Pope, I shall refrain. In the event that the conclave doesn’t go my way, however, would James, who is clearly the Perfect Man, be single? And perhaps crave chubby white-haired older ladies who bear a remarkable resemblance to the fairy godmother from Cinderella???

#2 Sister

Quite simply, #2 Sister was the life of the party and the life of this blog. I just served up the content and everyone just waited for her hot takes. I’ve been racking my aging brain to figure out who can fill that particular void. VyseGuy, her son, comes to mind, but he’ll need to up his comment frequency. The wit is there, but the comments are few.

My “friend” Jim Luttrell, aka, (we have no idea. He can’t remember and neither can I), found a kindred spirit in #2 Sister. They met only once, i think, but they shared a fondness for ridiculing me. Jim carries on the tradition in fine form. He’s a candidate. Many of the rest of you show the proper kindness and respect for this blog’s creator. As it should be!

We lost #2 Sister (#1 mom and sister and friend) all too soon this winter. This blog will never be the same without her.

Neither will we.

She would be horrified to think that the blog is starting off on a sad note in part because of her. She knew a lot of things, but mostly she knew how to laugh and make others do the same. We’ll strive to carry on that tradition in the ensuing posts. But first, we dedicate this Tokyo version of eatatjoesblog to Mildred, Czech brother-in-law and #2 sister. We miss you all.