We had some great family outings at Rockaway Beach. In this June 29, 1947 photo Grandma and Grandpa O'Donnell sit with their eldest daughter, Rita, and their grandchildren, Sharon, Tom and Mary Beth. I have very many fond memories of times spent in the sand and salt water with extended family all around me. I wonder if we wore any sunscreen back then. I can taste the sandy lemonade now. We often parked near Dr. William Carrington's house at Beach 143rd Street. His home was the first house after the stone wall. He was our family doctor for many years. He was a great guy, down to earth, boisterous, hefty, friendly and, at times, a bit outrageous. Many times our family would be his last patients of the evening (back then the MD's had evening office hours to accommodate the family's work schedule and the fact that a lot of the Moms stayed at home and didn't drive or have an available vehicle to get to the Doctor's office.) After he finished his official visit with us, we would get invited into his dining room (his living quarters were connected to his house on Claredon Rd in Flatbush section of Brooklyn) and he would open up his china cabinet and serve my Mom and Dad some alcoholic beverage. Of course, he would join in on the toast. My mother had a huge smile on her face and my father seemed so proud to have such a good rapport with our family physician. He listened, he respected our knowledge base, he wasn't high highfalutin. He was a joker too. When my brother, Marty, was about 10 years old, he had to have an emergency appendectomy and when Dr. Carrington came to the bedside before surgery, Marty said, "Don't make any mistakes, Dr. Carrington". Dr. Carrington replied, "don't worry, Marty, I bury my mistakes." How's that for a sense of humor! All in all he was one in a million, and we were lucky to have found such a gem.
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