It’s a sad day in the Quinn household. Avalon’s baby just flew away from the nest. Kevin packed all his earthly belongings into his Honda Civic and started a cross country journey to his new home in Colorado. Him and a friend are headed West to make their own path in this world. We raised him well. He’s a good person. He’s smart. And his eyes are wide open.
He has a job interview next Monday. I’m sure he’ll succeed in life. It might not be the same path as his old man, but I’m sure he will fly like an eagle. There are a lot more of them in Colorado than here in the Northeast. Kevin won’t join a flock. He’s been reading TBP for too long.
“Eagles don’t flock, you have to find them one at a time.” – Ross Perot
It seemed like only yesterday I was sitting on little league baseball fields watching him win championship trophies, driving him to hockey practices in the dead of winter, building sandcastles with him on the beach, taking him on scary rides at Disney World, and holding him in the maternity ward at Sacred Heart Hospital. Time flies. Avalon has been crying all afternoon. We hugged him, wished him luck, and watched him pull out of the driveway. I guess we’ll be flying to Colorado in the not too distant future.
Time keeps on slippin’, slippin’, slippin’
Into the future
Be happy the world needs good people. Thanks for your efforts.
Solid people raise their sons to leave and be men, independent and ready to weather the inevitable storms.
Speaking from experience, it’s difficult to step back and accept that they must be their own men. I used to think my influence would last, but I now see that as they find wives (good women all) and begin to have kids, my influence wanes rapidly.
By the time my great grandchildren are adults, the unique attributes I shared with my sons will be entirely diluted out. It will be as if I’d never existed.
We are born, we live and we die. We kid ourselves if we think our influence will be like that of the Great Men on whose shoulders we stand, to see as far as we do. Joining that pantheon is as much pure luck as it is great insight.
I suspect your son will do just fine. You’ll probably cringe as he tells you about some of the actions he’s taken (I cringe at my sons all buying houses in the last two years) but smart people never starve.
The big challenge is finding Miss Right. From all appearances it’s a swamp out there.
Good luck young Quinn I think you will enjoy Colorado ( I lived in Denver for 5 years.)
Pick good friends, Kevin! You can’t soar like an eagle, if you hang out with turkeys.
eagle chalk drawing — 3D illusion
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After having gone through the experience you and Avalon went through today twice with our children all you can really be is proud and happy they have an opportunity to go out and pursue their dreams. You wish them all the best that they will be successful, safe healthy and happy and you have the knowledge, that as parents, you raised them and did the best for them that you could to prepare them for the moment. It doesn’t make the day any easier but there is a certain internal pride that you did them right. You will continue to embrace them and support them and be their biggest champions from afar and the times you do get to see them are great days to look forward to and experience.
Congrats, Admin & Avalon. You “done good”! Here’s a little advice for the rest of your parenting journey!
I have been so blessed. My son decided to stay near me, and I am not ashamed to say I thank God for that often.
My heart aches for you two as you go through this part of life nobody warned you about the day you first held little Kevin in your arms.
I wish him, and you all, nothing but the best. You have done well, now it is time to find out just how well.
Hugs all around
It’s tough if they move too far away to follow them around with an AR15 under your coat, just out of their sight, ready to Mess Someone Up if they so much as look at your kid sideways.
Er, well, someone who isn’t me told me that.
Careful admin and Avalon…………you won’t want to return to PA after spending much time in CO. Congrats on raising a fine young man and thank you! The world needs more good ones as we are currently outnumbered.
Lucky you. Mine is 27 and still here.
But if you get broody I’ll be glad to send him over to your place.
Piffle. Happens all the time.
I flew the nest from Pennsylvania to Colorado in 1962, NEVER to return, at age 17. Kevin did the same thing in 2015, but I don’t know about the “never to return” in his case or the age issue.
Give him love and support. Move on. He’ll be fine.
If you (or he) lands in Denver let me know. I’ll gladly be your unofficial tour guide.
Congratulations are certainly in order.
Colorado is on the rise, many developers I work with are predicting + 1,000,000 in the next few years, should be ample opportunity for him to get his start
dc-“the unique attributes I shared with my sons will be entirely diluted out.” I doubt this, granted it may be true, but still, I doubt it generally and in your case, specifically. Your humility is admirable though.
One of my dearest special friends, a South African lady who raised three ou of four Medical Doctors said it so well. ” All we get to do is hopefully ive them roots and wings. The ability to move around with jet airliners and good cars is a burden to the collective family I am in Nevada, and one son is in Dubai, and other is on east coast.
Good Luck Young Mr. Quinn!
You’re a great father and a fine man, Admin. Your son must be very proud to have you as a dad.
Any least he didn’t move to San Fran to be a fag.
Congrats Admin. Colorado is nice.
Best to him and you. Life goes on.
My father moved his wife and kids from Arkansas to Greeley Colorado when I was in the Second Grade, I graduated high school in Greeley. As a young Adult I lived in Fort Collins for a year before heading West to California. Northern Colorado holds many a good memory for me. I have a Guitar, I have many Guitars, that I’m taking to the shop in the morning to get a face lift, new pickups and shinny hardware. I bought this particular guitar when I was 16 years old with hard earned money I made on the pipeline right of way. I’ll spend twice what the guitars worth to get it refurbished, but fuck, it’s only paper and sentimental value is priceless.
Kevin I’m sure almost everything about my old stomping grounds is different now, for example my fathers land was surrounded by corn fields, now, it’s surrounded by subdivisions. The armory, a college bar in Greeley is gone, what a waste, I’ll try an find a pic. But, one thing will be the same for sure, those Rockies are still wild, no man can tame them. Get a backpack a good set of hiking boots and hike back into the back country, nothing like it. Also there’s a damn in a canyon above Fort Collins where we use to cliff dive into the boiling water directly below the damn, the water would push you down the canyon until you hit shallow water, damn that was fun. But I heard years later some dumbass got killed and they fenced the place off. I still have a bunch of friends there if you ever need bail money dial [email protected] I’ll have you on the street before momma is the wiser. Be careful them CSU girls are WILD, have fun my friend. OH shit, we use ta have ta hide da weed, my, my, things do change.
The Armory
Many a young maiden walked out that front door hanging on my arm. …give me a minute here……..
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In 1978 the State Armory was sold the Grand American Fair Restaurant Chain. The Grand American Fare company had owned over 30 restaurants throughout California, Arizona, Colorado, and Nebraska. Each of theses restaurant was filled with movie memorabilia and actual movie props. The Grand American Fare purchased hundreds of movie props including a B-17 bomber from 20th Century Fox. This B-17 was a retired United States Air Force WWII plane that had been used as a prop in the movie 12 O’Clock High and later for the TV series. It was also rumored to be used in Thousand Plane Raid and Tora! Tora! Tora!
Thousands of people have lots of memories of the State Armory Bar and Grill and many people have no memory of the evening spent at the State Armory. The Armory was a hang out favorite of many including the Denver Broncos. Bands such as Big Head Todd and the Monsters and 311 played on this stage.
On December 31, 2006 the State Armory closed. The property and everything that was in it, except the airplane (the B17 was sold to a museum in Ohio and is now being restored), was purchased on January 16, 2007 by Thomas and Tyler realty. In 2009 the contents of the building were auctioned off and later that year Greeley’s Historic Preservation Commissioned placed the State
Kevin you must go to Bruce’s Bar in Severance Co. It’s between Fort Collins and Greeley, eat some bull nuts! You’ll go through Windsor my Father owned a city block of that town. Windsor lake, I water skied on a thousand times.
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Windsor lake was a private lake you had to pay to play. There was a Slalom course on that lake sensetti would tear it up as a young teen. Pop had a ski nautique ski boat, lots of good memories there.
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Kevin, interesting bit of history for that area. I was on Boyd lake outside of Loveland Colo. the day the Big Thompson canyon flooded. The black clouds started down out of the mountains and the seemed to retreat back into the hills. I remember my father saying, boy we’ve got to get to shore and load this boat that storm is gonna be a bad one, little did we know. A man we knew that worked at a metal distribution shop lost his wife, three children and his mother. They were all in the car, him and his father went back to get more belongings when the flood hit. They watch their family go down the river screaming for help unable to do anything. They all perished and if memory serves me they did not recover all their bodies. Seen the man a few months late he was hollow eyed Skelton without a soul. I don’t know what happened to him but I’d bet he swallowed a bullet before it was over. That was a devastating time for our community. Check it out!
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Damn it wrong pic, my beer goggles are fogging over, time to rack out.
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Admin, you could always find a job in Colorado and surprise Kevin. My wife and I would love to move out west, but the kids and grand kids are here. It’s tough for us softies, not everyone is hardcore like SSS.
Admin and Avalon,
Congrats on a job well done. You have much to be proud of. My son just graduated and has not found a job, though I am not sure he is looking really hard. I told him he is welcome to stay at our house as I know this time is precious and short lived and he will be gone before I know it. You have a wonderful family and I am sure he will carry that with him forever.
Kevin,
Best of luck to you in all of your future endeavors. Have fun, work hard and be proud of where you came from. Also remember the old UMass rule don’t drink what you can’t carry.
Bob.
“It’s tough for us softies, not everyone is hardcore like SSS.”
—-card802, who lives where his kids and grandkids do
Wrong, moose breath. When my wife and I retired, we moved from Virginia to Tucson AZ because …… it’s where our kids and grandkids live. Sound “hardcore” to you?