I was going through a box with old letters and things in search of some documentation for a future series of posts that I plan to write, when I came upon my old little red book of addresses. I used to maintain that book when I lived in Harrisburg and for the first few … Continue reading The Chicks
Autobiography
The Invisible School
I may have mentioned that I used to have vague aspirations of being a writer of fiction when I grew up. Now most fiction writers, at least the successful ones, have a history of being able to make up stories long before they ever start writing commercially. I did not. Not even close. For example, … Continue reading The Invisible School
Yes, No Means No
When we were kids, I’d often spend time with Reed, my mother’s brother, who was merely three years older than I was, so he seemed more like a cousin than an uncle to me. Or even at times like an older brother. Often when we were in a group playing war games or kick the … Continue reading Yes, No Means No
Gary and Tony
During my first year at Penn State, I lived in the dorms in East Halls on the 10th floor of Pinchot Hall. Just down the hall and to the right lived two fellows from South Philadelphia, both of Italian extraction, Gary and Tony. I’ve mentioned Tony a couple of times previously, but not Gary. … Continue reading Gary and Tony
A Tom Thumb Wedding
When we lived on the farm in the early 50s we attended church services at St. John’s Host Church, but I don’t have many memories of it. I suspect that once my sister was born when I was five, we didn’t go to services regularly any more, as my mother would have been busy with … Continue reading A Tom Thumb Wedding
Johnson & Johnson
In seventh grade I was still going to school in Richland, as the consolidated Eastern Lebanon County (Elco) school was a year from being completed. My memory is a bit hazy, but I think I had a study period in Mr. Paine’s room once a week, and I usually sat next to a delightful girl … Continue reading Johnson & Johnson
A Stranger in Our Classroom
When we lived on the farm in that Great Stone House, I went to school in Womelsdorf. This was in 1955 to 1957 for first and second grades. One day, and I’m not sure exactly when, or even in which grade it occurred, a new kid showed up for class. But unlike the rest of … Continue reading A Stranger in Our Classroom
A Cat’s Eyeball
While we were still seeing the dentist Dr. Ginopolis, and this must have been when I still had baby teeth, so I’m guessing I was about seven, so we would still have been living on the farm in the Great Stone House, I must have had some problem with a molar or two, such that … Continue reading A Cat’s Eyeball
Children Will Listen
Children may not obeyBut children will listenChildren will look to youFor which way to turnTo learn what to beCareful before you say"Listen to me”Children will listen —“Children Will Listen” by Stephen Sondheim The first dentist I remember was, I believe, Dr. Noll, whose office was across the street from Kruger’s grocery store in Richland. All … Continue reading Children Will Listen
A Night Out
It must have been back in the late 90s, probably 1998, I’d guess. A group of us from work were dining out. It was Christine, Simone, Don, and me, plus we were joined by Simone’s friend Angel. Simone had picked the restaurant, a Chinese eatery called Mustard Greens in Queen Village just below South Street. … Continue reading A Night Out