A Life with Ray
By: Lee & Toni Verstandig
Brown 73, Ray a Senior and Lee the “Dean”; Ray the stand-out Hockey player, #12 showed his determination!
Years later @ Landon, 3rd grade, John & Grant “team up” and the wild ride resumes again!
Middle School father-son soccer match where Ray insisted, with his persuasive charms, the Dean must join him on the field. Well, we both did and staggered off the field, but boy we were competitive and laughed all the way to the ice machine!
The boys graduated from Landon, and sure enough, we are back to Brown, this time with Linda & Toni joining us.
John started off with a bit of a roommate glitch, and John got Grant. To celebrate the boys arrival, the parents went to Federal Hill-Little Italy, Ray made it clear that we needed to behave. It seemed that Ray, the “Irishman” and Lee, knew far more than the spouses about who hung out at the “famous” Camille’s Roman Garden.
We were met with polyester laden guys, and the wildest big hair girls. Toni and Linda, were wild-eyed, about the scene and a scene it was. Ray kept a firm hand on those two, somewhat more adventurous women!
Ray loved his literary lunch-dinner discussions with Lee, one involving a book on Churchill moderated by his granddaughter, together with Churchill’s wines and champagne. Fortunately, that was an Uber night!
Our time with Ray was filled with the most spirited discussions, best wines, good food, of course Toni was always advising Ray which he may or may not have been embraced. Sitting around the table, whether it was for regular family gatherings, just the four of us or on our wonderful trips to Napa, Rome & Venice, Little Compton and multiple trips to Aspen. The Verstandig family loved sharing the Christmas Eve tradition of the Italian Feast of the 7 seven fishes with the Tiernans. Ray of course was always well versed and kept Toni on the straight and arrow with menu selections so as to never deviate.
We always laughed, enjoyed each and every moment and created a rich book of new memories.
They are lasting and we are the better for having Ray in our lives!
