Hey... I found the MeMe Group...
and now.... I've got some reading to do.
Ok... here goes... I just got a message through AR from Dale Baker informing me that I was being Memed.
I suppose that this is Ars version of the chain mail, seeing as how I now have to "tag" three others to write their Memes.
After performing a search of AR blogs on Memes, I have concluded that I have to share 5 things about me that:
A. No one knows about
B. Might be interesting.
Sooooo.
1..... I was born in Tomar, a small town in central Portugal where I lived until the age of 7 years. My childhood was a little different from most US born kids. The main streets of my home town were for the most part made of cobble stones, and in the residential area where I grew up, were unpaved. The town was overlooked by a massive castle dating back to the days of of the Templars. 
To the right of the castle, on the hill, was my grandmothers house, a stone wall, dirt floor farmhouse, where I learned to climb pine trees to gather the pine cones that gave me those sweet pine nuts.
It was a short walk through the woods to get to the castle, and, many days were spent playing in and around the ancient walls and halls.
2. At the age of 7, in 1959, My parents got this crazy idea into their heads that they were going to immigrate to the United States. This necessitated a move to the Capitol city of Lisbon where all the governmental offices were located. 
At the time, the US had an immigration system in place that operated on a quota system. Two years after moving to Lisbon and having the proper documentation in place, The United States Quota Government was looking to Import Ship Builders, Which made it easy for my father to get his necessary paper work and contracts to get employment at a ship building facility in Toms River, NJ.
3. I Boarded a TWA flight (with my parents and 4 year old sister) on July 8th 1961. 
At the time I spoke exactly 3 words in English, No Speak English, and landed at Idlewild Airport, later re-named JFK, From there, we travelled to the place that we were to call home for the next 5 years, Newark, NJ.
4. Fortunately for me, I arrived in the US during the school systems Summer Vacation and as all know, it is fairly easy for a 9 year old to make friends, which I did, allowing me to learn some English before being immersed in the school environment
5 After 5 years in the United States, My parents had saved up enough money to afford a down payment on a home in Nutley, NJ. Goodbye Newark... the American Dream of home ownership had been realized by this immigrant family that started out from a dirt floor farm house, in a town with unpaved streets.
Thanks Mom and Dad.
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