LOVE OF MY LIFE!

Leland T. Larson


On September 19, 1982 Leland flew up to New York. At the time he was living in Key Largo, Florida and was a pilot for the now defunct Pan American Airlines.  I was living in a delightful little cottage in Armonk, New York that I rented. I moved from California because I had recently learned that my Dad was terminally ill and I wanted to spend time with him. Mutual friends instigated (me too!) Leland's visit so we could meet again after over twenty years.  It was a wonderful visit and I was so happy that my  parents got to spend time with him.  My beloved Dad passed away on December 29, 1982. Fast forward to March 5, 1983 when we said our marriage vows in a small church in the keys. My son, Greg was in college in California and my newly acquired four daughters were all living in Florida. A BIG surprise!! A total but wonderful shock! I introduce to you:


Laura Wood Larson - An art teacher in Charlotte, North Carolina, alumni of UGA


At the age of 44 I was pregnant with Leland's fifth daughter. I was so delighted that Greg would have a sibling. Laura Wood Larson joined the gang rounding out the number to six on January 17, 1984. When Laura was six weeks old we flew out to California so that Gregory could meet his little sister. It was such a touching moment to watch them develop this mutual instant love for one another.

Well folks, Leland and I were now living in Gainesville, Florida and were still newlyweds. We moved to Brookfield, Connecticut shortly thereafter. Because we wanted to be together Laura and I would tag along on Leland's trips. Laura spent her first Christmas in Toulouse, France where Leland was training on the airbus. We traveled to temporary assignments in Tokyo, Bangkok and a two year stay in Berlin, Germany. We were so fortunate to be there when the wall came down. We flew along with Leland to what was then Yugoslavia, Istanbul, Oslo etc. What a wonderful man to have taken on this responsibility with patience . We were just happy to be  together.  Laura saw a lot of the world from a stroller. She developed a love of traveling even though she doesn't remember her earliest adventures. We flew from Tokyo to attend Greg's college graduation and from there I planned and executed Lee's surprise 50th birthday party to be held at our dear friends' Waldine and Peter Peckham in Bedford Village, New York. Just before Pan Am went out of business Lee went over to Delta along with the airbus and their routes. And as a result we have been living in Georgia for over twenty years and I must say we are very happy here. God worked his magic and I have now been married to the "love of my life" for the past thirty years. I am a very lucky woman. Now you know a little of our story. I told a bit about our beginning in an earlier posting on caringbridge.

When we first moved to Georgia we lived in Parsons Run. One of the residents that we met, Anna was from Italy. The following is her recipe and I have served it many times. I call it:

Recipe: Anna's Concoction

2 Packages of puff pastry
2 Large block of Swiss cheese, cubed
Some Feta cheese crumbles
8 - 10 Slices of thinly sliced excellent quality ham

Lightly spray a Lasagna size pan with Pam. Use one package of slightly thawed pastry pieced together on the bottom of the pan bringing the pastry up slightly on the sides of the pan.

Layer cubed cheese on the top, sprinkle Feta over the swiss cheese, cover with ham slices. Cover the ham with the second package of puff pastry. Brush with egg white. Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 40 minutes or until lightly browned.

I always get great reviews from this dish. Serve with either a salad or roasted asparagus.

Reading Suggestion;  Novels by Charles Todd (a mother and son writing team) the inspector Ian Rutledge mysteries.  Start at the beginning of the series if you can.

Whomever said that "life is a bowl of cherries" forgot about the pits! Everyone has to face adversity every once in a while but my wish for all of us is that everything eventually comes up "smelling like roses". Every little "bump in the road" will hopefully make us stronger. We all should appreciate what we have and who we have in our lives. I know I do! That's a bunch of quotes but how true they are. Have a terrific weekend. ~ Arlene