Billi Pod And His Awesome Great-Granddaughter

Good afternoon my loyal and faithful readers.

Yesterday Billi Pod went to the hospital to visit Little Falletta and her parents (who have now taken a back seat on the importance scale) where I met up with Bill III aka The Bill, who drove down from Orlando.

The picture pretty much says it all==>little Saylor and her Great-granddaddy. Folks ... it doesn’t get any better than this.

The hospital has a 4-visitor-at-a-time post-birth limit, so while I was there it was me, The Bill, and Chris aka Topher and his girlfriend Ashley. It was awesome to actually have this day-old baby in my arms and to see all of her tiny features and stuff. We took tons and tons of pictures.

This picture is The Bill and Saylor.

Gina was doing well although she was still experiencing some stomach discomfort. All of the guys agreed that there was no way a male would be able to handle what the female goes through during the birthing process. This is why, of course, God is a male.

When our visiting time was over we split and went our respective ways. Billi Pod came back to The Holiday Inn Express in Bartow, FL, located in Polk F**king County aka PFC and settled in to watch the BRONCOS/STEELERS game.

Man ... you couldn’t have scripted a more exciting ending than Timmy’s 80yd TD pass to win the game on the first (and last) play of overtime.

Folks, as Billi Pod has repeatedly said in this blog==>BELIEVE!!

Now ... about today ...

I have just gotten back from having a great lunch with my former law partner Buddy Campbell. Buddy retired from The Second District Court of Appeals and became “of counsel” to a law firm in Lakeland that deals mostly with personal injury litigation. He is well, happy and healthy. He is also 3 years older than moi. We had a lot of catching up to do and I am soooooooo glad he took the time to track me down and invite me.

I might add that he proclaims to be an avid (actually avid is my choice of words) reader of Billi Pod Blogs.

Tonight will be another entertainment event. My dear friends Maggie and Jim Vandewalker are hosting a dinner party in my honor and I am really looking forward to seeing some old friends. Billi Pod hopes they will all be wearing name tags.

Tonight is also the TIGERS/BAMA BCS Championship game, finally. Billi Pod will be pulling for Bama because The Bill is a huge Bama fan (why is it though ... I can root for his teams but he can never ever root for The Gators??) and Billi Pod also hates Tigers. ROLL TIDE!!

BREAKING NEWS #1==>Saylor and Gina have just been released from the hospital and they are heading to Winter Haven. I will drop by there tomorrow on my way to Tampa International for my evening flight back to The Big Apple, The Greatest City In The World.

BREAKING NEWS #2==>I have just renewed my Yankee 41-game season ticket package. Was able to finally get a seat under an overhang ... but ... unfortunately, it is in a different section ... this time on the 3rd base side. Will miss being with my buddies but ... I am happy and very satisfied with the new location.

GO SAYLOR! GO GINA! GO ARMY GUY!

Billi Pod

“Don't pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight, he'll just kill you.”

ALEX-139

Billi Pod Says==>Welcome SAYLOR ELIZABETH FALLETTA!!

Good morning my loyal and faithful readers out there in cyberspace.

I am happy to report that Saylor (yes, that is the correct spelling, Saylor) Elizabeth Falletta came into this world at 11:30pm on Saturday, January 7th, at Lakeland Regional Hospital in Polk F**king County aka PFC. YES!!

It was a long and laborious (pun intended) process but the birth was natural and the baby is healthy, cute and weighs in at 7 lbs. and 9 ozs.

Dr. John, Kathi and I arrived at the hospital around 2:00pm where we joined other friends and family members in the waiting area. The waiting area was crowded and people were constantly vying for the limited number of seats. I could write a separate posting just about this, but I won’t.

Periodically we were permitted to go back to Gina’s room for very brief visits. Alex aka Army Guy assumed complete control over that part of the process. Gina was, obviously, experiencing discomfort as the number and intensity of the contractions increased. Army Guy gave us updates on her status via text messages.

Around 10:00pm Chris aka Topher arrived and we actually learned of the baby’s birth when Alex texted his brother than he had just become an Uncle. It was 11:30pm. It was then that we learned of the baby's name ... they kept it a secret until the very last moment.

Yes ... Billi Pod was now, officially, a Great-granddaddy. AWESOME!!

As might be expected everyone got very emotional. After about an hour we were all permitted to go back to Gina’s room to meet our newest family member. I think there were 10-12 of us.

We kept the visit short because, obviously, Gina was physically and emotionally drained. Frankly, she wasn’t the only person who was physically and emotionally drained.

It was about 1:00am when I got back to The Holiday Inn Express. I took the time to post on FaceBook and then send a brief email notification to the internet mailing list.

I was very tired but still on a euphoric high. It was around 2:30am when I finally crashed.

What a day! What an experience!! What a blessing!!! Thank You Higher Power!!!!

This afternoon Bill III aka The Bill will drive down from Orlando and we will meet up and then go the hospital to visit Little Falletta.

GO SAYLOR, GINA and ALEX!!

Billi Pod

“Don't pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight, he'll just kill you.”

ALEX-138

Friday==>Billi Pod Reports From Polk F**king County aka PFC.

Good evening my loyal and faithful readers. This is coming to you from The Holiday Inn Express in Bartow, FL, in the morass known as Polk County aka Polk F**king County aka PFC.

Man ... there was a bizarre experience on the flight down. What ... you are no doubt breathlessly asking? Well ... actually there were two ...

First ... the plane was about an hour late arriving at the gate at LGA. I later learned from one of the flight attendants that the reason was that the flight originated in Tampa in the morning and the wings were iced up. It being Florida, the Tampa airport had no de-icing equipment so that had to wait for the sun to rise and melt the ice ... kinda weird thought I but not nearly as weird as the second part ...

Here goes ... about 30 minutes before we were to start the boarding process, on a whim, I went to the gate agent to see if by any chance there was an exit row seat still available.

I smiled big at her. She did the usual click click clicking and smiled back at me and said yes there was one left ... seat 33A. Hot Damn!!

The seat was in Zone 1, meaning I was with the first non-first class passengers to board. I walked down the aisle, carryon in tow, looking for row 33.

Here they were ... 30 ... 31 ... 32 ... then ... 35 ... 32 to 35??? WTF!!! Where were rows 33 & 34?? I double-checked my boarding pass and it was still said 33A. I had not had a senior moment.

There was a service galley where the rows were supposed to be. WTF?? And ... suddenly there was a glut of people like me standing in the aisle with puzzled looks on their faces, looking at their boarding passes. WTF?? I think there were 6 of us. The aisle was backed up.

We finally got the attention of one of the flight attendants and she crowded all 6 of us into the now cramped galley area. The boarding process was stopped as they tried to figure out what had happened.

I remembered hearing the gate agent telling someone that the flight was almost sold-out ... my heart began to pound. My God, thought I==>I gave up my original seat, 14C, for a seat that doesn’t exist. WTF??

Well ... to make a long and frustrating story somewhat shorter ... what had happened ... in Tampa the night before they had changed planes and apparently, for some unknown reason, that information was not entered into the LGA computers so the seating configuration was different.

Luckily they found seats for we “displaced 6” and the flight left, now only 90 minutes behind schedule. One of the flight attendants told me that she had worked for Delta for 24 years and had never experienced something like this.

Oh, Norris Travel Curse==>you are indeed sneaky and resourceful.

The flight down was uneventful and I am happy to report that we made up a lot of time and we were only about 30 minutes behind schedule when we touched down in Tampa.

I got my rental car ... a VW Beetle ... yeah ... I love them ... and was at The Holiday Inn Express around 3:30.

Met up with Dr. John and Kathi, who are also staying here. We headed out around 6:00 to Gina’s dad’s (Dave) house in Winter Haven.

It was a family gathering with relatives from both sides of everyone’s family and that was nice. It was also very emotional as we were celebrating two awesome events==>(1) Gina and the soon-to-be-born Little Falletta and (2) Alex’s safe arrival from his long flight from his current assignment in Kuwait.

In the first picture==>Bill III aka The Bill is on the left, Kathi in the middle (in this family she is ALWAYS sandwiched between the guys) and Alex aka Army Guy on the right.

We had lots of pizza. Alex put on a show with some awesome pictures he had taken during his assignment in Baghdad.

I actually got to feel the baby kicking.

Yes ... that in itself was worth the trip down. The baby was probably indicating that she was ready to get on to the next phase of her life. Well ... so are we all ...

And speaking of that ... as I write this at 8:00pm ... Gina has checked into Lakeland Regional Hospital and “they” will begin the process of inducing labor tonight with expectations that Little Falletta will be born on Saturday. I, of course, will be there whenever it happens.

Moving on ...

Today has been a very strange day. Thank goodness the weather has greatly improved.

The first thing I did this morning was go over to the office of my trusty and highly professional travel agent, Blanche Bryant, to change the date of my return flight to The Big Apple. I was scheduled to return in the evening of Wednesday the 11th. I changed it to Tuesday at the same flight time. Yes, I had to pay the outrageous cancellation fee but it is partly offset by savings on the motel and car rental.

Then I went to the storage area I have maintained since I sold my Bartow house back in 1998. My purpose was to get a large painting, not one that I had painted, and have it sent to PHC via UPS. When I got there my key didn’t work. It had been so long since I was last there that the lock had ... for the lack of a better word ... crudded over. WTF thought I.

Luckily one of the staff was able to get things fixed. I was surprised at how many of the paintings that I had done were still in storage. I need to have them with me. But ... will have to get Dr. John to go back with me because the paintings are all too large to fit into the rental Beetle.

Then I went to a nursing home called The Rohr Home to visit Florida Bryant. Florida worked for me for over 20 years and was instrumental in me being able to survive as a single father raising The Bill.

I last saw Florida about 8 months ago and she didn’t recognize me then. Well, she didn’t recognize me this time either ... but at least I was able to check on her and she seems to be receiving excellent care.

Then I called the home of my long time friend, Jack Davis, to see if he felt like company. Jack was a career court system employee and our friendship goes back to High School. His health has been deteriorating over the past several years so I really wanted to see him on this trip ...

Well ... I was informed that Jack was in Bartow Regional Hospital and that ... damn I hate to write this ... he is dying and has only a short time to live. He has been there since December 26th. All of his vital organs are slowly shutting down.

I immediately headed to the hospital and was a bit surprised that I was able to see him. He is attached to all kinds of tubes and stuff. He was awake.

He was surprised to see me, of course. It was very emotional for both of us and we both cried and I am not ashamed to admit this. I didn’t stay long. I asked him if I could come back and his response was ... "Oh, yes, please please do." And, I will.

Ain’t nothing more I can, or want to, say about the day.

So ... on a Friday night I am in The Holiday Inn Express in Bartow, FL, in PFC.

Hopefully by this time tomorrow I will be a Great-grandfather.

GO GINA AND GO ALEX!!

Bill

ALEX-136

Entertainment Stats for December==>AWESOME

Good afternoon everyone out there in the wilderness known as cyberspace. Yes, we have a second posting for today.

I have just compiled the entertainment stats for last month and I, again, humbly think they are pretty AWESOME for a 77+ year old guy ... but ... it is up to you loyal and faithful readers ... because ... I report - you decide.

So ... here they are ...

In checking my daily log (log, not diary - real guys don’t keep diaries) I find that during the month of December 2011 Billi Pod attended/saw/did the following:

6 Broadway shows (One A Clear Day You Can See Forever; Follies; The Road to Mecca; Sister Act; Stick Fly; and Lysistrata Jones); 18 Off Broadway shows; and, 10 Classical music concerts (6 by the New York Philharmonic).

There were 11 entertainment doubleheaders during the month.

Billi Pod was fortunate to have been invited to join John Horne and Amanda Edge of Anna Maria, FL, and their 30+ posse for an awesome 4+ hour luncheon at Maloney and Porcelli, a trendy Midtown East restaurant.

He also had several opportunities to be with Dian Crystal and her posse and to have face time with John Scott Reed aka Fabson.

Unfortunately, during the month there was no face time with --

Worker Bee #2 - whose name rhymes with Beers; or

Worker Bee #3 - whose name rhymes with Cipher.

Nor was I able to spend quality time with any of my AA buddies (you know who you are).

I also made a major change in my travel philosophy by deciding to stop checking my luggage, opting instead to buy a carryon bag, for the first time. As you know, my purchase ultimately gave way to an awesome bag gifted to me by Dr. John.

There were 1,614 blog page views and Billi Pod posted 25 times to this blog. This is, of course, in addition to daily postings on FaceBook.

Was out of town for 3 nights down in Columbia, SC, to be with Dr. John, Kathi and Bill III aka The Bill for Christmas. The highlight was Christmas Eve dinner, an awesome prime sirloin tenderloin prepared by Dr. John.

During the month there were only 3, repeat, 3 day/nights that Billi Pod stayed in without attending some entertainment event and each of these was directly related to football.

IMHO, this stat alone supports why Billi Pod loves living in The Big Apple, The Greatest City In The World.

So, there you have it ... pretty AWESOME in my humble opinion ... but ... as I said ... it is up to you loyal and faithful readers ... because ...

I report - you decide.

GO GINA AND GO ALEX!

Billi Pod

“Don’t pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight, he’ll just kill you.”

ALEX-133

ALEX MADE IT!!

Alex arrived safely at Tampa airport late yesterday afternoon, ending his mega-long flight from Kuwait. Thank You God!

Gina met him at the airport. She had driven over there by herself because she/they wanted some “alone” time before the hordes of family and friends descend on them.

I have a 7:00am car service pickup tomorrow morning to begin my trip down to Polk F**king County aka PFC.

We have a family dinner scheduled for Thursday at Gina’s dad’s (Dave) place in Winter Haven. Gina has been staying there and will remain there after the baby is born, until Alex returns ... probably in May.

Gina will go into the hospital in Lakeland at 7:30pm on Friday and we are “expecting” the little Falletta sometime on Saturday. Great-granddaddy-hood is almost here. AWESOME!!

My dear friends Maggie and Jim Vandewalker are hosting a small dinner party in my “honor” on Monday night and I am really looking forward to it.

I will try to post timely on this blog but I know I will have other things and stuff on my mind that may keep me from it. I will, however ... most likely ... post daily on my FaceBook Wall.

Now on to other stuff ...

It is freezing cold in the Big Apple==>13º @ 7:30am - wind chill down to 0º. It has warmed up to 17º @ 11:00am.

Unfortunately the cold wave has also made its way down South but the forecast is for much better weather down there for the weekend and following week. Hope it is correct.

Nothing scheduled yet for tonight. Unless something really interesting shows up within easy walking distance I will remain in the cozy confines of PHC because the wind is really gusting off of the Hudson River and it is extremely unpleasant outside.

Billi Pod’s report cards on last night’s Broadway show ...

RELATIVELY SPEAKING - “Three one-act comedies about mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, parents and children, written by Ethan Coen, Elaine May and Woody Allen.”

Ethan Coen==>D<==please stop writing plays - ‘nuff said.

Elaine May==>C<== some parts were funny and the acting was pretty good.

Woody Allen==>B<==funny but totally unbelievable story line but then it is written by Woody Allen. The cast was uniformly excellent.

So ... will next report to you loyal and faithful readers from down there in PFC ...

GO GINA AND GO ALEX!!

Billi Pod

“Don’t pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight, he’ll just kill you.”

ALEX-133

The Gators Win!!

Yes, my loyal and faithful readers, John Scott Reed aka Fabson was indeed with me from the opening kickoff to the final knee during the Gator’s 24-17 win over Ohio State in The Gator Bowl.

This photographic evidence will serve as confirmation because I am confident that in the future he will deny his involvement in this “sporting” event.

Actually, we ate Domino’s pizza and wings as the Gator’s special teams rose to the occasion to lead us to victory, thus ensuring a winning season, pathetic though it may have been.

Soooooooooooo ... Billi Pod and Fabson say==>CONGRATS to The Gators and Coach Muskrat!!

In the name of fair and unbiased reporting I have to admit that I have reached college football overload. I can’t believe I was glued to the tube from 1:00pm, until after midnight - but I was.

Great games but ... enuff is enuff until the BCS Championship game on January 9th, when I will be down in PFC aka Polk F**king County.

Billi Pod has a Broadway show scheduled for this evening ...

7:00==>RELATIVELY SPEAKING - “Three one-act comedies about mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, parents and children, written by Ethan Coen, Elaine May and Woody Allen.” (Broadway - complimentary ticket).

This show has received very very mixed reviews and my theatre-buddies are equally divided.

Despite this I thought I would give it a shot ... I mean ... a Broadway show for $4.00 ... why pass it up? Right?

Moving on ...

Folks ... I don’t know about you, but Billi Pod doesn’t give a rat’s ass about the results of the GOP caucus in that pathetic hinterland known as Iowa.

Does anyone ... and I mean ... anyone ... actually believe that the results of this will have any influence whatsoever on who is ultimately the Republican nominee?

That decision will ultimately be determined by the power-brokers in the party, behind closed doors.

Trust Billi Pod on this ... he knows how the political process works. Been there - done that.

Anyway ... in closing ...

As I write this ... oldest grandson Alex Falletta aka Army Guy should be about to arrive in Tampa, ending his long trip from Kuwait.

His wife and soon-to-be Mother, Gina, has elected to meet him at the airport, alone, so they can have some time together before the wave of family members and friends descend on them. Good! Billi Pod totally agrees!

See you guys soon!!

GO GINA AND GO ALEX!!

Billi Pod

“Don’t pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight, he’ll just kill you.”

ALEX-132

Billi Pod Says==>GO GATORS!!

Couch-potato thou name art Billi Pod.

Yes, almost football overload yesterday with mostly so-so results ...

JETS/DOLPHINS - pathetic performance by The Jets==>Rex Ryan, will you please shut the f**k up!!!

BRONCOS/CHIEFS - another anemic performance from Timmy. The Broncos lose their game but back into playoffs with an 8-8 record ... go figure.

GIANTS/COWBOYS - Eli leads the Giants into the playoffs in a very exciting game.

Billi Pod is still in couch-potato modality for today ...

1:00==>GATORS/OHIO STATE in the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, on ESPN2

Yeah, two lackluster 6-6 teams fighting for “redemption.”

On a positive note==>John Scott Reed will come over to PHC and watch the game with me. Of course, I will have to give him a quick course on what “football” means and all of that stuff ... but he is a pretty quick learn. I have a Gator T-shirt and Gator cap ready for his arrival.

The Gator Bowl has been a very important part of Gator football history, so I want to share with you loyal and faithful readers a link to a terrific story called ...

“Gator Bowl Memories: Victory Over Tulsa in 1953 Gave UF First Bowl Victory in School History”

http://www.gatorzone.com/story.php?id=22019

Seriously ... check this out ... it is wonderful trip back in history.

Boy, did this bring back memories for me because this was my freshman year at Gainesville.

Thank you, Vivian Garfein (J. Papa Hall’s longtime companion), for sharing this with me.

GO GATORS!!

Billi Pod

“Don’t pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight, he’ll just kill you.”

ALEX-131

1/1/12==>HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Good morning my loyal and faithful readers.

HAPPY 2012!!

It is a bright, brisk and beautiful morning in The Big Apple, The Greatest City In The World. It was 43º @ 8:30am. What a wonderful way to begin 2012.

Billi Pod is happy to report that yesterday’s doubleheader was everything that he had hoped it would be, starting with ...

2:00==>LYSISTRATA JONES - “A musical about Lyssie J. and her girl-power posse who won’t “give it up” to their basketball playing boyfriends until the boys win a game.”

Billi Pod’s second report card==>A.

Yes, the cast was still as vibrant as they were when I saw the show in early previews. This show is what it is ... a lot of fun with a mega-talented and energetic cast giving 110% to put smiles on the faces of their audience members.

Everyone around me seemed to be having a ball. I am just sorry that the show hasn’t created the buzz necessary to remain open during the dreaded months of January and February. It seems to me that the show would really fit into one of the larger Off-Broadway spaces at New World Stages, joining Broadway transfers AVENUE Q, MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET, and RENT.

Oh well ... ain't nothing I can do about it, is there ... so ...

And then for the evening was ...

8:00==>NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA @ Avery Fisher Hall - New Year’s Eve Gala.

The house was soldout and the program was carried live on PBS stations nationwide.

The highlight’s of the evening, for me, came in the second act, starting with Bernstein’s “Symphonic Dances from West Side Story.” It was divinely beautiful and brought back so many fond memories. Earlier in this blog I had posted about how lucky I was to have been present at a pre-Broadway out-of-town performance of WEST SIDE STORY in Washington, DC, in 1957. I still consider this to be my No. 1 theatre experience of all times.

The audience gave the performance a roaring ovation ... but ... things got even better with the final number of the evening, which was Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” performed by pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet. OMFG!! It was beautiful and the audience gave the performer and the orchestra a well deserved and earned roaring standing ovation.

What a wonderful way to say hello to 2012.

The concert was over at 10:00 and I left with a smile on my face. I headed back to The Port Authority on the 1 train, which was packed with revelers, many already blitzed, heading to Times Square.

When I got off the subway and exited onto 42nd Street the crowd had already begun to gather even though this spot was blocks from the ball dropping site, which wasn’t visible. The police presence was everywhere and they didn’t appear to be too happy.

Anyway ... it was 10:30 when I opened the door to PHC. The party was already underway in PHB, the 2 BR apartment next door. The nice asian guys who live there had made a special effort, earlier, to invite me to attend but I had politely declined.

My plans had been to grill one of the awesome Allen Brothers steaks, along with a baked potato and grilled onions, but I just wasn’t that hungry, so instead I fixed an awesome salad and settled in for the final countdown.

At midnight I said “good-riddance” to 2011 and fell to my knees to thank my Higher Power for allowing me to welcome in 2012.

Then ... Billi Pod officially celebrated 2012 with a toast with his favorite libation==>Fresca.

Yes, in all honesty I can say that 2012 is already shaping up to be an interesting and eventful year.

It was around 2:15am when I finally crashed, thus ending a remarkably good day.

What about today you are no doubt breathlessly asking?

Well, my loyal and faithful readers ... in the name of fair and unbiased reporting Billi Pod will have to admit/confess that he has deliberately planned to be a 100% pro-football couch-potato today/tonight. Yes, it will be ...

1:00pm - JETS/DOLPHINS (a must-win for The Jets)

4:15pm - BRONCOS/CHIEFS (Go Timmy!!)

8:15pm - GIANTS/COWBOYS (Loser goes home with heads down - season over)

OK ... OK ... it is all right with Billi Pod if you want to be judgmental ... that is your prerogative as my loyal and faithful readers out there in the vast hinterlands ... because ... I acknowledge that ...

I report - you decide.

GO YANKEES AND GO GATORS!!

Billi Pod

“Don’t pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight, he’ll just kill you.”

ALEX-130