In the previous episode, Mike Carr bugged out of our roommate agreement leaving me less than a week to find two roommates and off-campus housing for the following year. Well, that didn’t take long! Actually I don’t remember anything about searching for roommates after Mike Carr unceremoniously dumped me, but as I considered Carl Gruber … Continue reading Finding Roommates
Autobiography
Exit Mike Carr
I think I’ve already written up most of the anecdotes from my third year at Penn State that are worth relating, so about all that remains to be told is how Mike Carr and I became estranged. As you may or may not recall, Mike was one of the first people I met at Penn … Continue reading Exit Mike Carr
Mint
On the farm there used be a patch of mint growing in the corner of the meadow nearest the house where my grandparents lived, and periodically my grandmother would harvest the mint and brew a pot of herbal tea out of it. I tasted the tea one time and didn’t care for it. It didn’t … Continue reading Mint
Smile
There’s something that Graham Norton and I have in common. We each hate it when someone tells us to smile. Thankfully it hasn’t happened to me recently, because now I would most likely growl at anyone who had the temerity to say that to me, but it used to occur on a semi-regular basis years … Continue reading Smile
Capsule Reviews
I’ve often mentioned going to the movies at the Neptune Theatre in Richland when I was growing up. I’ve also mentioned that my mother had a beauty shop in the rear of our house during that period. From time to time I’d peek my head into the shop to see if my mother had anything … Continue reading Capsule Reviews
Lattman
Shortly after arriving at Penn State I heard about Professor Laurence Lattman’s Introduction to Geology course. It was supposedly a piece of cake, an easy “A”. Lattman, so the story went, was a great lecturer, practically a stand-up comedian, he made Geology fun. Not only that, but the highpoint of every class was his lecture … Continue reading Lattman
The Vietnam Vets in Mifflin Hall
That fall term of my third year at Penn State, Tom and Ken still roomed together in 518, right next to Jeff and me in 517 Mifflin Hall. But all was not well. Ken, you may recall, was a fundamentalist Christian, and Tom was not. Tom got to calling Ken the Cloud. He’d talk about … Continue reading The Vietnam Vets in Mifflin Hall
Enter Carl Gruber
In room 515 Mifflin Hall there were two new fellows that third year at Penn State in September 1969. One of them was from Frystown, which was a mere hop, skip, and a jump from Richland, but I no longer can recall that guy’s name. I’ve tried everything I can think of. I’ve even gone … Continue reading Enter Carl Gruber
Old Photo IDs
I was going through some old papers and came across a couple old photo IDs. I didn’t realize I still had my Penn State photo ID, there it was. I’m not sure when that picture was taken, but as I’m wearing sport jacket, I don’t think it was when I moved up there to start … Continue reading Old Photo IDs
Allergies
Back when we lived on West Main Street in Richland in the early 1960s, my sister developed allergies, and our family doctor, Dr. Nagle, sent her over to Lancaster to see an allergist to diagnose exactly what the problem was. As I recall his name was Dr. Lockey, and he did not have the best … Continue reading Allergies