Mullen's Irish Cream!

[Click on photo above for a printable version]

Here you are, just in time for New Year's Eve!! Inspired by a telephone conversation with Betty Cahalin (first cousin once removed from England), I decided to try my hand at making my own version of Bailey's Irish Cream. I started out with Betty's recipe but – as you may have guessed if you know Betty – it was a tad strong. Plus, Betty's recipe included coffee, a flavor which isn't a favorite of Marilynn's. I continued tinkering around with the recipe over the Christmas holidays, unscrupulously using my kids as guinea pigs. I'm pretty happy with the above combination. To further entice people to show up, I plan on making up a big batch of it for the Mullen Christmas Party on January 9th. Don't miss it!

Christmas Party at Hannah's

[John Davies, Hannah Davies, Máire Davies, Marilynn Mullen]

Marilynn and I had the privilege of being invited to a Christmas Party at Hannah Davies’ apartment in New York City on Sunday, December 27th. It was mostly a party for Hannah’s friends and co-workers at the United Nations, but Hannah’s parents (John and Máire) were also in town that weekend, so it gave us the perfect opportunity to meet with them as well.

For a variety of reasons, Sunday was an extremely hectic day for Marilynn and I. As a result, we didn’t even get out of the house until 5pm, the official start of Hannah's party. Five minutes into our journey – just as we were getting on the New Jersey Turnpike – I realized (to my horror ) that this was the end of the Christmas weekend and that millions of New Yorkers were probably trying to get back into the city! I snapped on WCBS 880AM for “traffic and weather together” and heard the unspeakable: there were 1½ hour backups at both the Lincoln and Holland Tunnels and a 2 hour backup at the George Washington Bridge! We were already going to be one hour late – being three hours late was intolerable! What could we possibly do??? Luckily, I had the wisdom to marry an intelligent, resourceful woman. Marilynn suggested that we head to the closest train station in NJ and take a train into New York City. Brilliant!!! We headed to MetroPark in Woodbridge, NJ and arrived just in time to catch the 5:43pm train. Sure it was a slow NJ Transit train and, yes, it was a local, but we still got to Penn Station in NYC by 6:30pm. Having been warned by Hannah that there was no easy route to her apartment building by subway, we hurried to the nearest taxi stand only to find it mobbed. Rather than wait 20 minutes or more, we decided to view this as an exercise opportunity and walked the 2 miles to Hannah’s. And so it was that at 7:04pm Marilynn and I arrived fashionably late and mildly sweaty at Hannah's Christmas party.

Even though I was late, I was honored by being presented with the last “Christmas cracker”. For those of you on the left side of the Atlantic, Christmas crackers are a staple of Christmas festivities in the UK and Ireland. They consist of a cardboard tube (i.e., a toilet paper tube) wrapped to look like a big piece of candy. Two people pull on the ends of the cracker and it’s supposed to make a popping (or “cracking”) noise when it splits. Usually, the cracker is filled with candy or a small gift of some kind. Mine contained a prize (a small tailor’s measuring tape), a paper crown (which I wore during the party), a riddle (“What has a bed but does not sleep and a mouth but does not speak?”), and a piece of candy of some kind that flew underneath Hannah’s couch.

Despite the fact that most of the people at the party were connected with the U.N., the conversation was not dominated by politics and world events. To be sure, those topics did come up, but we also talked about sports, music, movies, books, exercise, travel, family, food, and basically everything under the sun. With so many different nationalities represented, there was never a dull moment. The food and drink was excellent and, before we knew it, it was after 10:45pm and Marilynn and I were out the door, saying goodbye to Raphael the elevator guy (who was retiring that evening!) and heading to Penn Station to catch the 11:15PM train back to MetroPark.

Answer to the Mullen Christmas Card Crossword Puzzle!

Sorry! I know that everyone has been waiting with bated breath to see the official answer key for the first ever Mullen Christmas Card Crossword Puzzle. I planned on adding it to the blog on Christmas Day but got totally sidetracked opening presents, eating, drinking, giving presents, eating, drinking, cleaning up after presents, and eating and drinking. And then we all went to an IMAX theatre and saw Avatar in 3D which:

• Totally blew me away; and
  
• Took up the rest of Christmas Day

I didn't expect to get too many completed puzzles since many of you either don't have or are not comfortable with the technology necessary to electronically submit your entry. All told there were 8 entries. Everyone did fairly well and, although there can only be one true winner, the judges have handed out multiple awards.

Mary and Tom Kinslow jointly share the Most Persistant award. Their entry was emailed to the judges on December 22 with the modest title of "Victory is Ours!". They followed that up with a phone call the same day demanding to know exactly how well they had fared. When informed that they had, in fact, made a couple of unspecified errors, their Christmas cheer began to evaporate. But since it wasn't December 25 yet, the judges were forbidden to tell them the exact errors they had made. This escalated the tension and resulted in a final comment of "This puzzle is bulls**t!" followed by a click. But Mary and Tom weren't done yet. Mary followed up with a second puzzle entry on December 23 and yet one more email on December 24 entitled "We are waiting for recognition of our crossword 'mavenness'." Well, sad to say, Mary and Tom are not the Mullen Mavens. But they are damned persistant!!

The second award for Most Originality goes to Annie Mullen Patrick. Truthfully, I expected Annie to completely ignore this crossword puzzle competition. Though highly educated, Annie is not at all keen on games like crossword puzzles. As a matter of fact, her game-playing days pretty much plateaued with "Steal the Pile" back in the 60's. On top of that, Annie is unquestioningly the least technologically savvy of the entire Mullen Family, and that includes Chelsea. So there was no way I expected her to complete this puzzle, take a photo of it, and email me the photo. But Annie surprised me by coming up with a totally unexpected and original way to submit her entry. On Christmas Day -- right in the middle of the festivities -- she called me on the phone and proceeded to verbally relay every single one of her answers! I kid you not. And for the many clues for which she had no answer, Annie tried her best to wheedle and/or extort the answers out of me. After about 40 minutes of this browbeating, I finally convinced her to wish me a Merry Christmas and hang up the phone.

Inexplicably, the actual winner of the coveted Mullen Maven award goes to Beth Anne Kafasis, a co-worker of Marilynn's at the Cranbury Library. Somehow, Beth Anne was able to figure out the answers to uniquely Mullen clues like "Dave's Employer" (CACI) and "Bad magazine to give Annie" (TVGUIDE). Ironically, the only answer that Beth Anne got wrong (indeed, everyone got this answer wrong), was to the clue "CO2 fighter". The answer was, of course PRIUS, the car I've been driving since 2006! Almost everyone guessed TREES which, of course, is wrong since the clue is singular ("fighter") not plural ("fighters"). The great irony lies in the fact that Beth Anne drives a Prius herself!

Great job Beth Anne! Thanks to all of you for playing, even if you just played at home and never emailed, texted, or telephoned your answers to me. Merry Christmas and have a great 2010!

Avatar on IMAX on Christmas Day

Sara, Andy and Marilynn waiting in a humungous line to watch Avatar at an IMAX theater on the evening of Christmas Day. We bought the tickets ahead of time, got to the theater 40 minutes early, and we were still behind a couple hundred people. This movie better be fantastic!!!

At the Jets game with the Siena Boys!

From left to right: John Latino ('77), Mike Kelley ('76), John O'Grady ('76), Tasos Papagiannopoulos (friend of John O'Grady), and Mike Nestor ('77). Rich Kokel ('77) was also at the game but, as usual, was running late and missed the photo-op.

As always, it was excellent getting together with the boys. Sadly, the Jets went down to a crushing last-second defeat at the hands of the lowly Jacksonville Jaguars.

Meet Herbert Frankel: My Fourth Cousin Twice Removed!

This just in from Dympna (Messenger) Le Rasle: "Hi Paul; Just writing to let you know that we have another member of the family to add to the family tree. My daughter Madeleine gave birth to Herbie Hucklebury Timothy Peter Frankel on 7th September 2009. I would have told you earlier but hadn’t got round to getting the photos up, I am attaching a photo of him at 3 days old for the blog."

The photo above shows Dympna, the proud grandmom, holding Herbie. Herbie may be little but, as far as I can tell, he is the holder of what may well be the heftiest name on the Family Tree. I'm going to need a double-wide box on the Tree to accommodate it! Welcome to the Family, Herbie!

Harry at "The Holy War" - by Daniel Sears

"Growing up in North Philadelphia's Frankford section, who knows why my Dad fell in love with Notre Dame Football. Could it have been being one of the few Catholics in his neighborhood and seeing the team rise to national fame on their merits alone despite their religion (remember there was a time when Catholics were not held in the highest regard)? Possibly. Could it have been the association with the 'Fighting Irish' and his Irish heritage? Possibly. But regardless of why, one thing we always knew growing up in Mom and Dad's house was that Saturday afternoons were made for Notre Dame. Any chores or work that had to be done could be put on hold for a few hours. From my Dad's one knee stance in front of the television with left elbow on left knee and right hand on the TV set (even though we only had one, it was always called a set), and a delightful scream of 'Hot damn!! There he goes!', there was no question what Dad's favorite football team is, was, and forever shall be world without end. Amen."

"We always knew how much he loved the games, and we did attend a few locally. A couple of ND vs. Navy games at the Meadowlands and an Army vs. ND at Veterans Stadium were also part of the history. The ultimate goal was always a game in South Bend. Dad has battled Parkinson's for years, and we felt that now could be the time to go. Time to see 'Touchdown Jesus', time to see 'The Golden Dome', time to sit in those stands and cheer on the Fighting Irish."

"We left on Thursday October 22 at 10pm from the Peikin residence in North Wales, PA. Our vehicle of choice was a Ford Econoline 15 Passenger Van. We did the most cliché thing we could think of: we watched the move "Rudy" on the way. The goal was to be in South Bend by early Friday morning and bypass all traffic by driving through the night."

Danny and Harry in the EconoLine

"When we arrived in South Bend at approximately 9:45am we had only moments to prepare for the first event. Thanks to our eldest brother, Timothy, we had lunch at the behest of Coach Charlie Weis and his wife, with a number of Notre Dame VIP's, coaches, players, all stars and other die hard fans. While waiting for the food to be served we were able to check out all of the history that is Notre Dame: the Heisman's, the National Titles, the gas cap from the plane Knute Rockne was killed in, and the countless other relics of a team etched into the hearts and minds of her faithful fans. Lunch was pretty cool -- there was a local ND Football talk show which took place on stage. They had a number of guests interviewed including safety Sergio Brown and running game coordinator Frank Verducci. (Jersey Guy, Seton Hall Prep grad). It was quite a memorable event."

"Fast forward to the hotel, where we all crashed for a several hours to get our clocks back on track. The next event was the Pep Rally. In typical and predictable Sears Family fashion, we were so late we missed it!! Who would have thought??"

"Saturday, the 24th: Game Day. Anyone who knows college football recognizes the rivalry between Boston College and Notre Dame (The Holy War) which was one of the reasons this game was so sweet. Despite the rainy weather we were all looking forward to the game. Stocked with blankets, ponchos, smuggle-able snacks, umbrellas, and much more, we looked more suitable for a homeless shelter's soup kitchen meal than a D1-A football game!!"

Harry in Poncho doing his "Frankenstein"

"Prior to the game, Dad watched from the balcony of the mezzanine as the ND Marching Band strutted in. He mentioned 'It doesn't get any better than this!' Exactly then, Timothy unveiled another surprise for Dad: Pre-Game Field Passes. Yes, that's right! Harry C. Sears who watched ND Football games for so long that 'watching' the game meant staring at the Zenith radio, was now going on that sacred field. Dad and Tim made it down to the field, seeing the band, the ND leprechaun, the cheerleaders and the field that has become hallowed ground. The pinnacle of the Pre-Game was seeing those golden helmets rush through the tunnel and take the field. Making their way back to the stands, Tim and Dad settled in with the rest of us: Mom, Colleen, Sharon, Patrick, Shawn, me, Kerrianne, and her guy Igino (pronounced Gino)."

Harry and Tim on the Notre Dame sidelines

"Much to our surprise the rain let up, and we were all blessed with one of the most exciting games to date. Every ritual we've seen time and time again on television seemed larger than life in person. Notre Dame 20 Boston College 16. This game apparently marked the end of “The Holy War” series: 34 years of competition between the only two Catholic Universities in the US to compete at the Division 1-A level. Imagine Harry in 1975 watching the first “Holy War,” sitting in his sansa-belt slacks, drinking Pabst Blue Ribbon or perhaps even a Genesee Cream Ale, maybe complaining about Gerald Ford a bit. At the age of 47 he had no grand kids, his sixth child not even born yet. Time can change just about everything."

"Anyone who's made it to a game in South Bend knows a post game mass is in order. We rushed to the Basilica but it had filled up too fast. Instead we were lucky enough to find standing room at Sorin Hall, where a more intimate mass was on the menu. The return trip back to PA seemed longer than the ride there. The van seemed more crowded even though we had one less person (we left Tim at a rest stop because he was cranky. Just kidding! Kerri flew back to LA from Chicago). It was my first road trip with all of my siblings and parents (I’m 32) and one that none of us will forget. Life will always be busy. Life will always have very long to-do lists. But no matter how we busy we are, we'll all always treasure this trip to Notre Dame with our quarterback, Harry C. Sears. Getting to see Dad, the golden helmets, Touchdown Jesus, and more -- all in one eyeful -- was the gift of a lifetime for us."

"Taking Dad to Notre Dame" - by Sharon Sears Slusarski

(On October 24, 2009, the Sears family traveled to South Bend, Indiana, to watch the Notre Dame Fighting Irish take on Boston College in a football game.)

"We finally made it -- we left at 9:30 Thursday night and arrived at the hotel at 10AM. We had less than half an hour to brush our teeth and change and we had to pick up tix to the Football Luncheon at The Joyce Center. Dad looks like it was one hell-of-a car ride!!"

(In the photo above: Kerriann Kada, Pat Mullen Sears, Daniel Sears, Harry Sears, Pat Sears, Sharon Sears Slusarski , Tim Sears, Shawn Sears Peikin, Collen Sears Kada.)

"After the parade - Tim rushed Dad down to the sidelines. Tim got a special pass for Dad to stand on the sidelines until the coin toss. What a treat!"

(In the photo above, Harry and Tim can be seen on the Notre Dame sideline just prior to kickoff. They're standing right behind a security guard with a yellow vest and a guy with a red jacket and a grey hood.)

Happy Halloween!!

Tonight is not the night for hordes of Chaos, the rat-creatures of Skaven, the race of Elves, or the Empire of Bretonnia. No, tonight belongs to the Legions of the Undead: Nagash, his Skeleton Army, the Screaming Skull Catapult, and the Giant Spider spreading fear and terror. There's no way to beat them. The best you can hope to do is run away. Check it out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JlFjNVTiI1c

Marilynn Mullen in the New York Times!

It's not every day that a Mullen gets quoted in the New York Times. Alright, it wasn't exactly a quote -- it was a paraphrase. But still, Marilynn's name and references to the Cranbury Library appeared in the October 29th edition of the N.Y. Times! Check it out here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/29/nyregion/29midpoint.html?_r=1&pagewanted=print

I've always said that Marilynn can take any subject in the world and turn it into a Library story. The irony of this N.Y. Times article is that they started with the Library and turned it into a story about baseball!

In case you're wondering (I was!) this story appeared in both the online and the print versions of the newspaper! Congratulations Marilynn!

Elinore and Rory Come to Cranbury!

Elinore Davies and Rory Macqueen were in the States from London this week visiting with Eli's sister, Hannah. On Wednesday evening, though, they took a break from the glitter of New York City to check out the slightly quieter and much more bucolic setting of Cranbury, NJ. Marilynn and I decided to mark their visit by combining two quintessentially American holidays -- Halloween and Thanksgiving -- into one. While Marilynn prepared a Thanksgiving dinner that couldn't be beat, I introduced Eli and Rory to the art of jack-o-lantern carving. The photo above shows them getting acquainted with the tools of the trade. The photo below shows our finished products.

Rory is convinced that his pumpkin carving job is the best of the three. To see if he's right, though, send me an email (mullenpj@gmail.com) with your vote as to which jack-o-lantern is the best: the skull, the cat, or the ghost. And a Happy Halloween to everyone!!

Two More Members of the Family Tree!

The Lillis branch of the Mullen Family Tree has had a major expansion. As reported by Brian Lillis, the proud grandfather, "We have our own shock to the system with 2 new grandsons in a week - one each to Grainne and Cliona. We are both thrilled to bits and are spending a lot of time in London with both of them. They are fine babies, both weighing in at 8 ½ pounds."

In the photo above, from left to right are: Grainne (Lillis) Beeney holding Matthew Beeney; Anne Lillis with arms around Callum Beeney and Liam Beadle; and Cliona (Lillis) Beadle holding Edward "Ted" Beadle.

Congratulations to the Lillis clan!

What a long strange trip it's been ...

Last Monday (October 12th) started off innocently enough. I had a great breakfast, went to work, had a little snack, and headed down to the BMS gym for a light lunchtime workout. I did my usual abdominal workout, a couple sets of pushups and started using one of the leg machines. I finished one set, stood up to say something to a guy lifting with me, and BOOM! I passed out for the first time in my life.

The BMS EMT group was all over me in minutes. Their initial diagnosis was low blood-sugar level (my count was 50) and they rushed me to University Hospital in Princeton. Once there, I was hooked up to a portable heart monitor (see below) and put through a battery of tests and examinations.

I maxed out the stress test, my EKG was perfect, my blood pressure was consistently excellent, and my echocardiogram (i.e., sonogram for the heart) showed a strong and steady beat. Everything looked perfect. On Wednesday morning, though, I was sitting up in my hospital bed eating breakfast when I felt what I thought was an accelerated heartbeat for a few seconds. I noted the time (8:47am) and informed the Student Nurse about it when he stopped by a few minutes later. He dutifully inspected the heart monitor log back at the nurse's station. He didn't notice anything out of the ordinary, but he reported the incident to the nurses. Five minutes later, my cardiologist was in my room telling me that my heart had stopped for 3.7 seconds! More than likely, my heart had stopped for an even longer period of time on Monday when I had fainted. His diagnosis was immediate: I needed a pacemaker. After getting a second opinion from another cardiologist in the hospital, I was scheduled for the operation. So, at 11am the next day, I became the proud owner of a Medtronics dual-chamber pacemaker. The model I have is shown below:

And here's how it looks inside me.

It was a relatively non-invasive procedure. I was given a local anesthesia and some kind of IV drip to make me semi-conscious. To tell you the truth, I remember very little about the operation. I lost very little blood and, as you can see, have only a 2" scar. I'll always have that circular bulge a couple of inches below my left collar bone, but I plan on using that as a conversation-starter at the bars.

According to my doctors and everything that I've read, here's a partial (yet representative) list of things that I can no longer do:

• Have an MRI (damn! ... I'll really miss that terrifying claustrophobic feeling!)
• Play sports like football, hockey, boxing, judo, karate, rugby, Hurling, Australian Rules Football ... I think you get the idea.
• Use a gas-powered chain saw, though an electric one is fine.
• Walk through an airport security system. It won't bother me, but the pacemaker will definitely sound an alarm, so why waste anyone's time?

Here are things that I can continue to do without fear:

• Run a 4-minute mile (but I'll start with an 8-minute mile).
• Spinning. If you don't know what that is, click here I teach it at BMS, so it was a relief to know that I'd be able to continue.
• Basketball! Yes, I can continue to play basketball! Of course, my knees, calves, ankles and back may have to be consulted for a second opinion. Still, it's heartening to know that I can still give it a try again if I so desire (and I do!)
• Use microwaves, wireless phones, computers, appliances, electric blankets, power tools, lawn mowers, and (sad to say) vacuum cleaners.
• Have an X-ray, a CAT scan, or an ultrasound.

I won't lie. The actual experience of fainting and being revived was pretty scary. As a matter of fact, I thought that I had died. After those first 2 minutes, though, it wasn't all that bad. I was never in any pain and the care I received at the University Hospital at Princeton was excellent. Marilynn is actually a little relieved that I have a pacemaker! She believes that she has felt my heart briefly stop a couple of times over the past few years. This should prevent that from happening. And it won't interfere with my exercise. I can continue immediately to exercise as vigorously as I like.

So, while it has been a little bump in my road, things could have been much, much worse. It's all good now. Thank you for all of your prayers and good wishes.

Congratulations John & Máire!

John & Máire Davis (fourth cousin!) celebrated their 40th Wedding Anniversary on October 4th with a family gathering in London. In "Máire's words, "We had a lovely weekend - it was really perfect. We had been planning to go away somewhere exotic, and then we thought - why do that? Why not just go to our little place in London and see the family, so we did - also lots of theatre and music and walking about and a lovely meal in Dympna's son-in-law's family restaurant, the Poule au Pot, in Pimlico - much recommended."

Pictured above, clockwise from the front: John Davies, Máire Davis, Elinore Davies, Rory Macqueen, Hannah Davies, Huw Davies, and Tom Davies. Not physically present but there in spirit was Máire's mom, Madge Messenger, whom Máire met with the next day.

John and Máire are also planning on hosting a "big reunion type party" on October 31st in London. If anyone from the extended Family is planning on being anywhere near London during that time, you are more than welcome to attend. Below is the official invitation.

Wedding of Avril Gilmartin and Tony Leary

There's a new name on the Mullen Family Tree! On Saturday, September 26, Avril Gilmartin married Tony Leary. A few of you may have had the opportunity to talk with Avril and Tony at last year's Mullen Family Reunion in Ballina. They were unable to attend the Saturday banquet but made a brief appearance at the Frogs Piano Bar on Friday night. Luckily, Marilynn and I had the good fortune to spend an evening with them this summer during our vacation in London. Knowing how much we enjoyed just having dinner with them, I can only imagine how much fun their wedding was. Below are a few pictures that I was able to snag off of Facebook, followed by a first-hand account of the wedding as reported by Ashling Gilmartin, Avril's sister. Ashling can be seen in the photo below on the left-hand side of Tony, her new brother-in-law.

From Ashling:

"Avril Gilmartin and Tony Leary were married on September 26, 2009 at Ballintubber Abbey (where Pierce Brosnan got married), followed by a reception at Knockranny House Hotel in Westport, County Mayo. The wedding was at one o'clock and Avril arrived at about ten past, which was the first time she was actually on time for something! The guests had to be ushered into the church in a hurry as Avril was held back at the end of the road until everyone was inside. Enda Lavin played the bagpipes from the end of the road up to church. The vintage car that brought Avril to the church is owned by our Uncle, Andrew Treacy. Avril had a special candle to light in memory of Dad, David and our Aunt Mary Foy (Dad's sister). The Mullen family was represented by Auntie Kay Lynn, Uncle Stan Lynn, Charlie & Patricia Foy, Raymond & Eilish O Boyle, Noelie & Vicky Foy, and Jackie & Richard Myres. Enda played the bagpipes again as the car came to the hotel and he played her to the door and again into the meal, which was lovely. Avril and Tony had a champagne and strawberry reception when the guests landed and then once that was over we went in for the seven-course meal. Everything went off well on the day. The meal was lovely and the band and DJ were brilliant. The wedding ended around three o'clock in the morning and the guests remained on until four and more until five. It was a fabulous day weather-wise and a great day was had by all."

If you're not exactly sure how you are related to Avril and Ashling, consult the Mullen Family Tree. From a "Philadelphia Mullen" perspective, though, she's our third cousin, as shown below: