Dear Subscribers:
This is part two of a similar post I did of visiting my dad in Hoboken NJ that was posted on Hoboken Facebook Group. Though there is some overlap, I have included some other reflections that came to mind and some new photos. Thanks for indulging me in this matter.
My wife Cecile and I are staying at the W Hotel overlooking Manhattan. I shot these photos of the Empire State Building last evening after dinner and early this morning. We’re here primarily to visit with my dad Frank Augustine and my siblings Michael, Stephen, Josie and other family members and catching up with some childhood friends.
My favorite place of refuge while in town is “Devotion Yoga” on the Hudson, down the street from the hotel. After class I met my sister and my wife at my dad’s apartment at 156 5th Street where I grew up. Unable to move about like he used to, we brought in take out food from “Its Greek to Me.” Dad joined us, and right after lunch a volunteer named Donna came by to administer the Communion wafer, a compassionate service provided by local Catholic Church volunteers for people who are confined to their homes. We are so happy that dad has been able to stay in the apartment where his dedicated caregiver Marcelle has been looking after him.
Over the years I have told my California friends that Hoboken, founded in 1630 has a colorful history. Back in the day, the Lenni Lenape Native Americans camped out here. They called the land, “Hopoghan Hackingh,” which means “Land of the Tobacco Pipe.”
The first steam-powered ferryboat began running between Hoboken and Manhattan in 1811.
In 1846, the first baseball game was played featuring the New York Nine versus the Knicker-boxers.
However, I will always remember Hoboken as the place the legendary crooner Frank Sinatra was born in 1915, two years before my dad. It is also the place where the iconic mob crime drama, “On the Waterfront” was filmed in 1954, featuring Marlon Brando, Lee Cobb, Rod Steiger and Eva Marie Saint.
In later years, Bruce Springsteen and Nirvana played at Maxwells Tavern, Justin Timberlake did a commercial there as well, and Eli Manning, the gifted quarterback for the NY Giants lives in a 3000 foot condo in the Hudson Tea Building, a short drive from the Met-life Stadium in East Rutherford where the Giants play their home games.
It's always fun coming home again. This city has taught me a great deal. The street smarts I learned in my youth has served me well and for this I will always be grateful.
As I walked passed the old neon sign of the now defunct Clam Broth House, I recalled that it was here that dad got his first job as a cook. After serving his country in the US Army, he worked 15 years at the Janssan's Dairy and 25 years at Maxwell House Coffee. But, his toughest job to date is living life as a centenarian, which he does with courage and dignity.
