A Teenaged Caren Jablonsky Has a Visionary Idea!

It was the summer of (19) '76; the Bicentennial festivities were about to be taking place and the country was adorned with all things sparkling in red, white and blue.

I was on the east coast again for the first time since having relocated with my family from New York to Phoenix a few years earlier.  I was so excited to be visiting my relatives and my friend, Bonnie, whom I had met when we were five. (We're still friends today!)

Here's to Your Berry Good Heatlh!

One of my goals during this visit was to persuade my uncle to drive into Manhattan to witness the largest 4th of July celebration in the country; Operation Sail. I used every trick in the book that a thirteen year old girl could think of, such as bribery (I'll mow your lawn for the next three weeks), manipulation (this is something that I'll remember for the rest of my life and think how good you'll feel knowing that you made your niece so happy) and of course, guilt (I am so sad that I won't be seeing those beautiful fireworks and tall ships in the harbor, how could you do this to me?)  Thank goodness, thinking back on the conversation as an adult, it's really quite funny.

Consequently, I actually have my Uncle Hal to thank for my first major life decision, one that has served me well to this day:  I decided on July 4, 1976, that I wanted to celebrate the Tricentennial and be able to go wherever the hell I chose.  I wasn't factoring in that I'm not really the one who gets to decide how long I'll be walking the earth.  However, I did realize that if I wanted to come anywhere close to 113, I'd have to at least begin eating healthy.