The Knezetic Family

Posted on August 25, 2011 by unity2k

Back in 1905, the Knezetic side of my family came to America through Ellis Island. From my father’s side, there is this one and only family portrait that includes my great-great-grandfather and grandmother, along with my great-grandmother Amelia. My great-great-grandfather was born Blasius, Blaz for short, and changed to Robert here in America. Robert came from Ozalji, Karlovac, Croatia, his birthday was February 1st, 1886. He married Louisa Priezula (maiden name unknown), she was born March 10, 1888 in Ozalji too. Louisa was known as Luba in Croatia but adopted the name Lillian in America.

Robert and Lillian had seven children, from left to right starting in the back row; Amelia (my great-grandmother – born October 18, 1918), John, Bob, George, and Frank. Between Robert and Lillian sit Anna and Mike.

Amelia would grow up and marry John Alexander Wise, my great-grandfather. He was born on December 10, 1918 in Berford, Ontario, Canada. His mom’s name was Hattie, born in 1898, and her husband was Cornelius, born about September 11, 1892 in Blenheim, Oxford County, Canada – my great-great-grandmother and grandfather. Hattie (also known as Hally), her mom was Ellen Denby (also known as Alice), born in 1871 married John Farrell on September 12, 1887 in Brant, Ontario, Canada.

My great-great-great-grandfather was Alexander Wise born June 8, 1837, he was married to my great-great-great-grandmother Margaret Irving born April 27, 1859, this side of the family came out of the Ontario, Canada area. Alexander is known to be of Germanic descent.

Ellen’s father was Richard (Morris) Denby born June 5, 1837 in England – this would be my great-great-great-great-grandfather. Richard was married to Sarah (last name possibly Morris, there is confusion in the records), she was born March 22, 1840 in England. These two immigrated to Canada in 1868.

John Farrell’s father was Robert (McLeod) Farrell born in 1844 in Berford, Canada. John was of Irish descent, he married Lydia McLeod (this could be the maiden name, again, the records are not clear).

This is the rough family tree on my paternal grandfathers side.

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Odyssey in Orlando

Posted on July 29, 2011 by TheJessicaness

Picture by Caleb

It was just another day in April when our soon-to-be roommates would send an invite to Warped Tour Orlando with them. This would give us 14 weeks to plan the concert set for July 29 and two weeks prior we were still unsure of what we were doing and how many nights we were staying in “that hotel in Kissimmee that Amanda had reserved.”

July 28, as we begin to pack for the trip, we learn we will be staying at the Seralago Hotel. We grabbed a change of clothes, toothbrushes, the dogs and their food, water bottles, and my camera kit, and consider ourselves ready to go. We make a pick-up at Mellow Mushroom for a large Magical Mystery Tour (pesto and jalapeño with feta) pizza and six Parmesan pretzels and are on the road at 2:30pm.

We had considered theme parks, state parks, and water parks. I had my mind set on Blue Man Group (BMG); online tickets are $162 with tax, military tickets are $96 sans tax, and the college student tickets are $63.90 with tax (all for two people). I called to check for availability and was told that to get the discounted tickets I would have to buy them directly from the Box Office.

We were heading west on I-4 and soon traffic began to build. We heard on the radio that there had been an accident. We saw traffic slowing east bound and soon I thought we had passed the reason for the delay. I was mistaken. The exit we were supposed to take was blocked by emergency vehicles investigating a ’03 Mitsubishi that had slammed into the overpass causing the vehicle to nosedive the earth and burst into flames.

We got to the hotel shortly before 6:00pm and soon were enjoying the A/C of our double twin-bed pet friendly room, #773. I called the box office and they were sold out of student tickets for the evening. We went for chocolates and candy at Orange World and sat in the room watching adult cartoons for the rest of the night.

Up at 7:00am, a shower, refill water bottles, pizza for breakfast, walk and feed dogs, and off we go. The Central Florida Fairgrounds, where the Warped Tour was taking place, was about 20 miles away, it took us awhile to get there. Traffic in Orlando is time-consuming and stressful, but we were off to a good start for the day and nothing was going to ruin that. We turned down what seemed a desolate road only to find that we were somewhat late in our arrival at 9:13am when the gates were not to open until 11:30am. We found a 1/4-mile-line of people and an already full parking lot. There were kids pointing which way to drive and they pointed us right out of the park.

We made a u-turn at the light and found a staff member helping direct traffic, followed by a bearded middle-aged man asking to buy tickets. I have never done this before but I thought that I could haggle as good as anyone else. He was willing to give me $25 for both when I paid $45 for each. I said I would think about it as we aimed for a parking spot. I wasn’t out of the car before the man returned, ready to buy them – sold for $60. Upon arrival I must admit that I was scared off by all the emo kids and my thoughts of their drunken antics. I might have been more inclined to stay for the show if I had known more than one band playing, the Gym Class Heroes. I confirmed more than once with Caleb making sure he wouldn’t regret missing the opportunity to enjoy a new band, he was with me and we were quickly gone.

Now we had the day ahead of us. I anxiously called the BMG number and the student tickets were available at the box office at 10:00am. We arrived at Universal Studios with no difficulty. It was getting directly to the box office that we had a problem with. Caleb was using Tom Tom and the maps on his phone. We drove to a hotel delivery corner, around the block again, and then I pulled into a behind-the-scenes area for directions. I didn’t pull all the way to the gate as I knew I would be turning around. As the guard approached the car I announced that we were lost. He told us that one more circle and a parking garage would have us on the right path to BMG.

The only way to City Walk, Islands of Adventure, and Universal Studios is through a parking garage. Tickets until 6:00pm are $15 and after are $3. Luckily, re-entry was allowed. There was one man in front of us and soon we had our 6:00pm tickets. Caleb was hot and we stopped at Cinnabon for a strawberry milkshake on our way back to the hotel room to get the dogs and head to a park. The only non-child parks close, considering traffic, were too far away. The dogs got walked and got lunch and we decided on the Orlando Museum of Art (OMA) that was north of our destination for the evening.

Traffic was slow again and we almost decided not to go. I am glad we went. The museum had  a military-get-in-free special and asked that we not take pictures. We got lost and found a kids summer art class in progress. We were kindly redirected to the double glass doors behind which are sculptures, paintings, engraved and cut glass, wooden structures, Ancient American pottery, and geometric shapes. We oohed and awed and then came to the children do-it-yourself-art section where Caleb created for me a stamp/crayon drawing and a rubbing of a stone.

Caleb and his pottery art at the OMA

There is a small room dedicated to Hasan Elahi and his latest installation – Concordance. Getting off a flight he was stopped by the FBI and added to their terrorist watch list. As a frequent flyer, logging over 70,000 air miles a year, he began taking pictures and using GPS to track his every move in hopes of keeping himself out of Guantanamo Bay by a FBI mistake. Anyways, it was all the pictures of his food that made me hungry. We found a Pho 88 Restaurant where I could have Bún Xào Cà Ri (curry noodles). That’s what I was in the mood for. We asked our waitress if we could buy some of the hot sauce and she kindly told us that there was a market either direction we went from the restaurant.

She wasn’t kidding; as far as the eye could see were restaurants and markets. Somehow we had ended up in Little Vietnam, though not sure of the official name. Inside the Tien Hung Market, full of aisles of Asian cuisine, we decide against the hot sauce that we can get at home and instead pick up some green jackfruit and bamboo shoots. I would have gone on a shopping spree but we had no cooler and a bad seal on the fridge in our hotel room.

We hit traffic at 4:00pm and the doors open at 5:30pm. It is only 4:30pm when we get to City Walk, so we head to Hard Rock Cafe Orlando to wait. I take pictures of the mural, rotating car, and guitars. There is a couple with champagne getting anyone willing to take their picture. At 5:00pm it is off to wait in line. I enjoy listening to the European English accent of the families sitting next to us while we wait the five minutes before the doors open. Inside is already a tour group of all ages wearing blue Disney shirts that would prove to be disappointing.

Earlier in the Cafe, a girl had come to the bar and ordered something with lemon juice. I hear the bartender advise her against it and then telling the girl, “I don’t speak Spanish.” The girl orders an orange juice for some $3 in an eight ounce glass. The others in her group are quite loud, rude, and pushy. We are in our seats Row N 36 & 37 and take some pre-show pictures as none are allowed during. A staff member comes up to the man behind us with a Toblerone bar and asks that he hold it until one of the Blue Men grab it during the show; my excitement is building.

There are little bronze-looking bodies on either side of the stage with their booties showing and I take some pictures. Later these booties will be dancing under strobe lights. The people in front put on their plastic ponchos in case of flying paint. On the wall are message LED signs that are incorporated into the show, “Please take a moment to turn off all palm pilots, pagers, gameboys, cell phones, laser pointers, laptops, and portable fax machines…Thank You.” The signs will go on to announce a birthday, a headache, and someone’s Facebook update status.

Bronze Bootie Dancers

Onto the second act after the paint and drumming. There was a bag of marshmallows and a gum-ball machine. A guy in the middle to throw and a guy on either side to catch. One catches a gum-ball, full of paint, and decorates a canvas. The other guy, unknowingly, catches a marshmallow and attempts to decorate a canvas. The competition ends with paint all over one canvas and a marshmallow stack of at least 18, that was built in the guys mouth, stuck to another with a price tag of $4,000. If you can’t tell, the picture above is me with the painted canvas. I thought about wanting it during the show, but was sure that someone else would claim it. Also, I was unsure of the asking price; more on this later.

The show would continue with a Cap’n Crunch musical, a lesson on how to be a rock star, and a system that connects even the most anti-social of all people – plumbing. A couple arrived late into the show and they announced it with horns, lights, and a special announcer. The show is very audience-oriented. The Toblerone was tossed by a small boy, using three pieces of chocolate, making one, into the mouth of a Blue Man. They invited a girl on stage to share a Twinkie with them; a boy on stage to be thrown, covered in paint, against a canvas; three people on stage to pull on their ears; and a man, to get a closer look at the audience, by peering down his throat.

There was a live band in boxes above the stage in black-light costumes. The Blue Men beat on barrels with paint splashing and different pipes for different sounds. The LED signs were used again and soon turned into swords for combat and then the fighters outfits began a light show of their own. They did a skit with their heads in a TV, let some colored pipe (like foam pool-noodles) hang from the ceiling, and then began to string toilet paper over the audience.

There was so much energy in the room and it continued into the hallways after the hour and 45 minute show. Many people poured through the exit doors and then began to pack in around the two guys that were standing – picture ready. I took lots of pictures with all the other people posing as we patiently waited our turn. A staff member came out to help  get the Blue Men backstage to get ready for the next show. He took our picture with one of the Blue guys and then Caleb was ready to go. As we headed for the door I spun around quickly and jogged towards the staff member before he disappeared.

I asked if the picture made during the show was for sale. He looked over my shoulder towards the soda and shirts concession area and answered my question. I made my way over and saw a lot of painted glass for display-only. Then I looked behind the sales agent on the counter and there it was – on its little stand with a sign beside it with the sale price. I was so amazed that someone else had not beat me to it and that the price was what I had told Caleb I would be most willing to pay.

he built a marshmallow tower (in his mouth)

Jessica, Blue Man, Caleb

The sticker on the bottom is over a blue thumbprint with the words BMG Used and Approved on it. The sales agent told me it would take hours to dry (at least 12 to be exact) and a guy handed me the painting with such a dull expression on his face along with a Disney bag to put it in later. As soon as it was in my hands, a large smile spread across my face. The picture attracted the attention of some who were probably thinking to themselves, “Why didn’t I get that?”

I couldn’t think about anything except getting the painting to a safe place. I carried it all the way to the hotel room and placed it above the hangers and away from dog paws and potential accidents. I love art; especially affordable art that I can fit on tiny apartment walls. I wanted to brag to someone and didn’t feel like Facebook and I had to call my Dad back anyways. I called my parents and excitedly told them about my painting. Woo-Hoo! After 48 minutes on the phone between the both of them, I was ready to join my snoring husband. Well, he was only napping because he knew it would be a while.

Caleb would then describe his situation to our roommates via text that we was half-dressed, drinking beer, and watching cartoons. I love that we don’t watch TV because it makes watching vacation brain-rot all the more exciting. Most people would probably wonder why then do we own a projector; because when we do watch movies, we like to watch them life-size. It also cuts down on theater costs. Also note, though that what we usually consider a vacation is: a lack of TV, cell phones, computers, and loads of tourists.

The ride home would consist of Vietnamese and pizza leftovers for breakfast and a stop at Wekiwa Springs State Park. I forgot to mention above that with our lack of packing we forgot to bring swimsuits or a lot of other things for that matter. There would be no swimming in the hotel hot tub and no swimming in front of 40 families at the spring with no clothing-optional-sign posted. We parked somewhere and took to the trees. When we were faced with the option of the road back or more trees a tick quickly chose for us.

We would sweat our way back on the road and then drive the rest of the way home. Caleb loves our planning skills (or lack there of) for our trips. I am somewhat of a spontaneous person, so as long as some of the things I want to do might be available, I am fine with just guessing the rest as we go. I look forward to many more trips that go unplanned and work out so well in our favor. And as the old saying goes, “As long as Jessica is happy, Caleb and the dogs are too!”

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Flaming Fourth

Posted on July 4, 2011 by TheJessicaness

Climax of Caleb's "Bomb"

The year 2011 is setting a record for droughts and wildfires. Many states: AZ, CA, CO, FL, GA, NC, NM, and TX have been ablaze and during the month of June doubled the acreage burned in 2002 and 2008 due to wildfires. Florida and Georgia were just some of the states suffering from severe and extreme drought. Some days visibility would be less than a mile due to smoke coverage. Millions of people have been forced to evacuate their homes. This is bad news to some and worse news to farmers and homeowners that will feel the burden of this situation for months to come.

In an attempt to control the spread of more wildfires, many states and counties issued burn bans against campfires, grills, and fireworks. As a result of this, the upcoming holiday would not hold the same excitement or explosions as prior years. I began to see firework stands and wondered if it was going to be okay to purchase them so the vendor makes money but illegal to blow them up this year. I continued to ponder such things as the holiday weekend nights arrived and I heard random thunder and crackle like noises.

The Fourth arrives and I plan to get all my photos onto one computer today. This will mean transferring them from a laptop, a net-book, two cameras, multiple SD cards, some DVDs, and a USB drive with little memory. I thought about my transferring options and decided on the $8 SD card reader with a USB attachment. It was a great decision but I didn’t realize how many photos I had just being stored around so this would turn into a most-of-my-day project.

As night neared, so did the urge for my husband and our roommate, Jon, to blow something up. Jon had purchased sparklers earlier in hopes of igniting some childhood memories without getting caught. Caleb’s memories claimed to have a bit more noise and risk involved. After some phone calls to learn the ban was lifted days ago, the guys were on their way to the pyrotechnic professionals office, or simply, the firework stand. I know there is one within eight miles of the house so it wasn’t distance that kept them gone, but indecision as to which box held the biggest and brightest boom.

Upon return, Amanda and I stepped back in the window from the roof as we were afraid of going any farther. Jon held no fear to traipse the roof looking for other fireworks being lit in the distance. We could all hear them while all the trees surrounding us were able to see them. We grabbed lighters and met with Caleb in the driveway. He too had bought sparklers but assured us that ones with metal handles could make a bomb while ones with wooden handles were for children. The guy at the firework stand had warned the guys that this year wouldn’t be as satisfying for explosion enthusiasts.

Caleb’s bomb lay there sadly and melted to the street leaving only a black scar for us to remember it by. The rest of the night was filled with red, orange, yellow, white, and green smoke. We lit off Dixie Delight, Flowers & Butterflies, and many others. I would have named them Southern Nights for the lightning bugs and fire and Ogre Farts for the big puff of green smelly smoke. Another year of American independence celebrated with a few small bangs and lots of sparks.

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Sweatin on a Schwinn

Posted on July 3, 2011 by TheJessicaness

Certain people prefer to drive cars (Hooptie or Hyundai); mine is one in the same–junk. Others drive trucks (Monster or Chevy Love). And still others drive mini vans or hybrids. According to my friend, Steve, people either drive Kia’s, which of course he does not, or they drive a Ford truck. But me, I ride this green and white Schwinn to school and back 2-5 days a week depending on my class schedule. We started out with ten-mile days and an old MP3 player. I got the shiny thick chain to secure my bike wherever we go. I bought a basket to tote my dog, but he is not Toto, and he was having none of that. I took the basket off while going to school after some girl jumped off the bus while I had my bike chained near the bus stop and accused me of stealing her bike. Now I park by the security office.

We moved five miles away from the school in the other direction and traffic seemed to get more difficult to deal with. Whether I ride in the bike lane or on the sidewalk, some motorists in Jacksonville don’t seem to respect my rights. For this, my husband got me an emergency signal horn that people on boats use. I mainly have to use it on retired folk that appear to be napping in the intersection. It does me and the driver behind them a favor. But that doesn’t rule out people who prefer not to stop at stop signs or red lights either.

We moved again and this time the one way trip is a little over seven miles. I had to buy a new MP3 player once the old one stopped letting me adjust the volume or turn it off. We have been through some flat tires and a shower of rain or two together. I wouldn’t trade the closeness with my surroundings that I get to enjoy while not being locked away in an average size vehicle that weighs 2,500 pounds. Me and my bike together weigh less than 200 pounds without the weight of my book-bag, sometimes reaching 13-17 pounds.

I get to see a lot of things that most people would never notice even if they happened to walk by or while they sit at a red light. Mostly I see construction and litter, but this inspired me to adopt-a-highway and for two years I get to see a sign with me and Caleb’s name on it. Other things I get to see and smell is: fresh-cut grass (Jacksonville is all about foregoing other necessities to ensure they have performed the most landscaping maintenance on their highways and in their apartment complexes in the entire Southeast region), flowers in bloom, singing birds, dead birds (sometimes I feel that I can see more wildlife splattered on the road with crazy drivers than I can in the peaceful wild while tip-toeing around trying to get one decent photo), turtles swimming, rabbits eating, broken fences, bags that grow on trees, tire pieces that have gotten tired of being on someone’s Mercedes, police officers not doing their job, sprinklers on during the wrong time, joggers and dog walkers, a vulture (the actual bird), bugs pollinating flowers, graffiti (there are some light posts with the word ‘Copy’ on them and the last one has a stenciled cat under the word Copy), people riding their bike with no hands on their handlebars, and a guy in a dog outfit outside a pet care center (that was soon replaced with a stick to hold up the outfit as the wearer deemed it too hot to act like a dog in such Florida humidity.

Biking gives me the ability to have an extra slice of key lime pie; it is free and easy exercise that is easier on the legs and lungs than running. It takes less out of my wallet than my car that gets an average of 30 miles to the gallon. Riding can reduce stress as well as traffic jams that are a party for exhaust fumes. I am helping people with asthma and the ozone while getting better parking. I will finish my A.A. Degree in August, but the relationship me and my Schwinn have is far from over. From the famed author and philosopher, Iris Murdoch, “The bicycle is the most civilized conveyance known to man. Other forms of transport grow daily more nightmarish. Only the bicycle remains pure in heart.”

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Snorkeling Submersion

Posted on July 1, 2011 by TheJessicaness

I don’t write on Facebook often, so when I do I like the post to be worthy. Before going to bed last night I posted that I would be waking up at 5:00am to go snorkeling. This would be our second attempt at entering this park. Amanda and Jon, our roommates, along with the husband and I woke at 4:45am and were in their car by 5:3 am for a two-hour road trip. We were the first car to arrive before 7:30am (the park doesn’t open until 8:00 am) but definitely not the first car in the park; there was an exercise class in progress. Before getting wet we got to walk down a boardwalk with red flowers, brown squirrels, and green lizards. I was the only one to bring my wetsuit to a 72 degree river and I was the one to squeal the loudest as every inch of my body entered the river. Once submerged the water invigorated me.

My previous experience snorkeling was in the ocean, tiring after pretending to be a fish, but trying to swim upstream required more leg muscles than I thought. This did not stop me from working my way up to the top of the spring to see my first gar (long spotted fish with armored scales and an elongated jaw) of the morning. Turning around to go down stream was a decision made easily, as the current pulled me past fallen trees, groups of gar, a few otters, and grey and white herons on towards a rope across the river restricting me from swimming any farther.

Across this rope were researchers and we could only guess that they were able to see all the manatees that had been promised to park visitors. When they approached our side of the rope the girl in the canoe told me they were there to remove foreign fish with their long sharp spears. Later, I would climb out of the water to explore the boardwalk further and attempt to sneak a peek at one manatee; I was lucky enough to see two. I also learned another reason for the spears. The researchers were swimming in alligator water (not flavored) but I was able to catch an eye and nose of one in a photo I took.

As all the teenage boys arrived we decided on lunch. Amanda and I went into the 3-story Thursby House full of wood-stoves, dishes, and some building blocks while the guys swam a bit more before loading our gear into the car. We were able to look around the first floor and peek inside the outhouse where it looked as if someone had pooped in front of the hole instead of into it. We will return again when the manatees do in the winter.

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