One of our frequent visitors at our Southgate townhouse was Denny, the Vietnam vet from Lewistown that we had gotten to know in Mifflin Hall who was in his late 20s but looked 40. Denny was still rooming with Ken, the fundamentalist Christian, on the fifth floor of Mifflin Hall. I don’t know if he … Continue reading Your Song
State College
Trust No One
A while back I did a few posts about the biblical Herods, and I had intended to follow up with one about Herod Agrippa, the last of the biblical Herods, but I never got around to it. If you ever watched the TV series I, Claudius or read the books that it’s based on, then you're … Continue reading Trust No One
The Curious Incident of the Car in the Parking Lot
I still hadn’t found a job in the spring of 1971, and one morning I remember leaving the townhouse to walk over to the parking lot where my car was parked. The car, of course, was my parents’ car, a 1962 Oldsmobile convertible. At least I think it was a 1962 model. I know it … Continue reading The Curious Incident of the Car in the Parking Lot
Howie and Bonnie
It was during the period in early 1971 that I became good friends with Howie Fatell and Bonnie Glantz. Howie was one of the three guys who lived next to us in the townhouse at 737 Southgate, and Bonnie was his girlfriend. In addition to being a fullltime student, Howie had a job as a … Continue reading Howie and Bonnie
The Return of Edward Stutz
Dramatic music music builds slowly in a crescendo throughout these scenes with a steady, thumping drum beat. INT. DORM ROOM - DAY ED STUTZ is talking to JT. ED I told you, Jim, I didn’t think we had a definite agreement. CUT TO: INT. A DIFFERENT DORM ROOM - NIGHT Same two people. ED As … Continue reading The Return of Edward Stutz
Picking Up the Pieces
After I flunked out of Penn State my first thought was to try to get reinstated, so I applied to take a correspondence course. Big mistake. The course I enrolled in was Economics, a subject that I had always hated and did poorly in. I figured that as Terry was an Econ major that I … Continue reading Picking Up the Pieces
Day to Day Living
Meanwhile, back at 737 Southgate Drive in 1970, the day to day living arrangements were going reasonably well. Carl and I—or at least I, perhaps Perry eventually told Carl—never did find out why Perry hadn’t wanted Terry as the fourth roommate, and the two of them seemed to get along fine, so there were no … Continue reading Day to Day Living
The Jews Next Door
The townhouse apartment at 737 Southgate Drive seemed like a dream. I got there a few days ahead of the other guys in September 1970, as I couldn’t wait to move in. I remember being in my car going for groceries when the radio reported the news that Jimi Hendrix had died. We all brought … Continue reading The Jews Next Door
Memory is a Peculiar Thing
A few years ago when I was thinking about Howie and Bonnie back in my Penn State and State College days, I tried to remember the name of another DJ who worked at WQWK-FM (QWK radio), the same station where Howie did his show. For the life of me, I could not recall that DJ’s … Continue reading Memory is a Peculiar Thing
tick…tick…BOOM!
It was sometime in early to mid-April of 1972 that we decided to drive over to Altoona for an evening. This was during the year that I spent with roommates David and Walter in an apartment on University Drive in State College, PA. I’m not sure whose idea it was to go to Altoona, which … Continue reading tick…tick…BOOM!