Tuesday, June 14, 2011
I first met "The Coz" (as we called Ed) around the time I moved to New Britain around 1978. Several of us would occasionally stop by for a beer or two at our usual tavern, the Blue Mirror on Stanley St. My friend Dan, who had known him since childhood through his father, introduced me at some point. Coz would be in his usual place at the end of the bar and from this spot I would learn a lot about the good ol' days of New Britain. A few years later after the Blue Mirror went out of business and several of us joined the New Britain Elks Lodge and Coz became a regular there as well. I'd occasionally give him a ride home as he lived a few blocks from me on the east side of town.
Eventually Coz invited several of us to come down to Clinton Beach for a cookout when the greater Cosgrove Family would gather for their annual vacation, and we would be priveledged to do this for a number of years in the 1980s and 90s. If I remember correctly this would be in late June so I'll always remember these visits as being the official beginning of summer. Here at the "Cosgrove Family Compound" several generations of his family would converge for an extended family reunion, so there would be quite a swirl of various family members coming and going - shopping, fishing, sightseeing or swimming. Ed would likely be found on this throne - a comfortable chair on the front porch of the main cottage, in the shade but able to collect the cool breezes off the nearby Long Island Sound. On the nearby table would be a radio which might be receiving a Yankees game, a scanner that would occasionally come to life with some Coast Guard chatter, a pair of binoculars for an occasional view of a passing boat, and a cold beer. We fellow Elks would file in, take our positions near Ed's, and open some "cold ones." Stoies would be told, and occasionally Ed's father who we called "Cy" would put in an appearance, and if we were really lucky we would get him to tell a tale or two about life during Prohibition in the early 1930s. Eventually a few of us would fire up the grille and cook up some dogs and burgers. I can't remember doing much swimming there despite the beach - it was more relaxing just to sit on the shady porch, talking and watching the world go by. Finally, the sun would begin to cast some long shadows and it would be time to head back north. We'd say our farewells to Coz and the various cousins, nieces, nephews and other family members and head for the post road and home. But the pleasant memories of a nice lazy summer day would always linger as they do now even years later.
Thanks for the Memories, Coz.
