Ohio

OHIO

Ohio State University

Fall, 1992

I only went to Ohio once, in 1992 to go to the PSU v OSU football game.  PSU had just joined the Big 10 conference and this was our first game.  About 8 of us drove up in a van or a truck or something.  It was cold, and snowy and gloomy.  We stopped at the Budweiser Brewery and drank all afternoon.  Then we went to the game the next day.  The visitors, us, had to sit on portable bleachers that had no railings and were so damn slippery.  I remember several near slipping moments.  It was snowing.  It was a wet, big flakes snow that sticks to everything.  I was covered in snow.  I was cranky. We were losing. It was shameful. The OSU fans were cheering and geering, "Welcome to the Big 10." I was freezing and near tears.

It got so cold that I had to leave the game and go to the Women's locker room in the athletic complex and take a hot shower.  I think I had hypothermia.

I was miserable and I don't feel a need to go to Ohio ever again.

1981

1981

State College, PA (January- August)

   And then

Williamsport, PA (August- on)

My age: 25- 26

School: I graduated from Penn State University with a Master's in Education (MEd) in Secondary School Counseling.

Work: I started working at Loyalsock High School in Williamsport, PA for the 81-82 school year.  I was a high school guidance counselor. I loved this job. I was paid $17,000 and I thought I had won the lottery.

Home:  I moved in to an old, dilapidated house in Williamsport.  I loved it but when my co-workers saw it, they said they would help me find a lawyer so I could get out of the lease. The house may have been haunted as I had two unexplainable incidents there.

Music

• "Bette Davis Eyes" Kim Carnes
• "Endless Love" Diana Ross & Lionel Richie
• "Lady" Kenny Rogers
• "(Just Like) Starting Over" John Lennon- it was hard to listen to his songs since he had just died.
• "Jessie's Girl" Rick Springfield
• "Celebration" Kool & the Gang- I never liked anything this group sang.
• "Kiss on My List" Hall & Oates
• "I Love a Rainy Night" Eddie Rabbitt
• "9 to 5" Dolly Parton- This song was a great theme song for her movie.
• "Being with You" Smokey Robinson
• "Queen of Hearts" Juice Newton
• "Rapture" Blondie
• "A Woman Needs Love (Just Like You Do)" Raydio
• "The Tide Is High" Blondie
• "Slow Hand" The Pointer Sisters- I like all of their music.
• "I Love You" Climax Blues Band
• "Woman" John Lennon
• "Angel of the Morning" Juice Newton- a good remake.
• "Love on the Rocks" Neil Diamond
• "Guilty" Barbra Streisand & Barry Gibb- I usually like her duets.
• "The Best of Times" Styx
• "Elvira" The Oak Ridge Boys- no thanks.
• "Take It on the Run" REO Speedwagon
• "(There's) No Gettin' Over Me" Ronnie Milsap
• "Woman in Love" Barbra Streisand
• "The Boy from New York City" The Manhattan Transfer- This is a quirky group.
• "Urgent" Foreigner
• "Passion" Rod Stewart
• "Hit Me with Your Best Shot" Pat Benatar- she had lots of hits off this album.
• "Time" The Alan Parsons Project
• "Hungry Heart" Bruce Springsteen
• "Too Much Time on My Hands" Styx
• "This Little Girl" Gary U.S. Bonds
• "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around" Stevie Nicks & Tom Petty
• "America" Neil Diamond- 
• "Ain't Even Done With The Night" John Cougar
• "Another One Bites the Dust" by Queen- I was never a Queen fan.
• "Hello Again" Neil Diamond
• "Don't Stand So Close to Me" The Police
• "Same Old Lang Syne" Dan Fogelberg
• "Cool Love" Pablo Cruise
• "What Kind of Fool" Barbra Streisand & Barry Gibb
• "Watching the Wheels" John Lennon- John Lennon was dead at this time.
• "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" Hall & Oates
• "Suddenly" Olivia Newton-John & Cliff Richard
• "Whip It" Devo- this was a strange song.

Movies

• Raiders of the Lost Ark- this movie was very entertaining
• On Golden Pond- I liked it then but probably wouldn't like it now.
• Absence of Malice- a good story
• Das Boot- this was a difficult movie to watch
• French Lieutenant Wife- a good story
• Four Seasons- sweet
• Arthur- entertaining
• Chariots of Fire- a good story and something I had never thought about
• Mommie Dearest- that woman was a bitch.

Books- I only read textbooks but I was an avid reader of People Magazine and the Smithsonian Magazine.

Travels- I went nowhere this year.  I had NO damn money.  Every penny I had went to living three cents above the poverty level. Life as a graduate student is dull, dull, dull.

News events

• Lady Diana Spencer married Charles, Prince of Wales. I got my sorry ass up at 430AM to watch this event.
• Ronald Reagan appointed Sandra Day O'Connor to the US Supreme Court. It was about time.Pope John Paul II, was shot but not killed in Vatican City. The whole world panicked
• An unknown piece of music written by Mozart is discovered at the Bavarian State Library. And I haven't listened to it yet.

Family

• I had surgery on my vocal cords.  For the last several months, the doctor had been treating me for some non-cancerous growths on my cords.  I went to see him on a Friday and he seemed concerned.  "You have to have surgery soon," he told me.  I suggested I wait until I finish school in a few months.  But my situation was more urgent.  I had surgery the first thing Monday morning.
• Sharon, my sister, got married.  We had the wedding at our home on Long Beach Island, NJ.
• Patricia graduated from PSU with an BS degree.
• Sharon graduated from Temple University with an MBA.
• Jim graduated from Widener with an MBA
• I moved to a new area for a new job and lived alone for the first time.
• I don't have a car so I have to bum rides from friends, hitchhike or take the bus through life.

Dear Ladies

A letter from my Dad while my sister, Sharon, and I were attending Penn State University.

April 5, 1976

Dear Ladies,

This is a joint letter ala Ida style. (Our grandmother always sent group letters.)

First enclosed is further evidence of our encouragement to you to continue to keep up the good work.   (As always, he sent us a check from time to time which keep us in beer.)

Everyone at home was pleased that Shannon received so many votes. Now you know how the Republicans feel when they offer the Best candidates and vote in Second Best. (Sharon ran for president of the Student Government organization as a write-in candidate)

The big three (Brian mom and I) have been hitting the shore on a regular basis. Last weekend we had to Carlins, next week in the Cameaus. The weather has been very pleasant. Unfortunately, I always gain several pounds after eating goodies all day. (My parents had a beach house on Long Beach Island, NJ in addition to their home in Philly.  Brian was my 6 year old brother.)

In less than a month Jimmy will graduate from college. I can’t believe that there will be a Kelly kid not attending school. I think he’s going to stay with the restaurant for the time being. (Jimmy has a year older than me.  Sharon was a year younger than me and we also had another brother In college this year.)

We are all looking forward to seeing our upstate students.

Lots of love,

Dad

1977

1977

Woodbine Avenue

Overbrook

Philadelphia, PA

My age: 21-22

School- Penn State;  I graduate in August with a BS in Adolescent Counseling.  Now I had to go find a damn job. I had to leave my beloved Penn State and I had to move back home because I didn't have any damn money.  My life went from great to sad in a very short period of time.

Work- I worked as a clerk at this place: Thomas Wolf Resume Company.  The job was deadens after two years,  The FBI shut this company down for mail fraud.

Music- songs were in two camps at this time: rock and roll or disco.

• "I Just Want to Be Your Everything" Andy Gibb
•   "Tonight's the Night" Rod Stewart
• "Best of My Love" The Emotions
• "Evergreen" Barbra Streisand
• "Don't Leave Me This Way" Thelma Houston
• "(Your Love Has Lifted Me) Higher and Higher" Rita Coolidge
• "Undercover Angel" Alan O'Day
• "Torn Between Two Lovers" Mary MacGregor
• "I'm Your Boogie Man" KC and the Sunshine Band
• "Dancing Queen" ABBA- I hate this song.
• "You Make Me Feel Like Dancing" Leo Sayer
• "Margaritaville" Jimmy Buffett- I never liked anything he sang.
• "Telephone Line" Electric Light Orchestra
• "Sir Duke" Stevie Wonder
• "Hotel California" Eagles
• "Rich Girl" Hall & Oates
• "When I Need You" Leo Sayer
•   "Car Wash" Rose Royce
• "You Don't Have to Be a Star (To Be in My Show)"Marilyn McCoo & Billy Davis Jr.
• "Fly Like an Eagle" Steve Miller Band
• "Don't Give Up on Us" David Soul
• "On and On" Stephen Bishop
• "Feels Like the First Time" Foreigner
• "Couldn't Get It Right" Climax Blues Band
• "Easy" Commodores
• "Right Time of the Night" Jennifer Warnes
• "I've Got Love on My Mind" Natalie Cole
•  "Blinded by the Light" Manfred Mann's Earth Band
• "Looks Like We Made It" Barry Manilow
• "Dreams" Fleetwood Mac
•  "I'm in You" Peter Frampton
•   "Lucille" Kenny Rogers
• "The Things We Do for Love" 10cc
• "Da Doo Ron Ron" Shaun Cassidy
• "Handy Man" James Taylor
• "Just a Song Before I Go" Crosby, Stills & Nash
• "Swayin' to the Music (Slow Dancing)" Johnny Rivers
•  "I Wish" Stevie Wonder
•  "Don't Stop" Fleetwood Mac
•  "Barracuda" Heart
•  "Night Moves" Bob Seger - I loved, loved, loved this song and every time I hear it, I'm happy.
•  "You're My World" Helen Reddy
• "New Kid in Town" Eagles
• "My Heart Belongs to Me" Barbra Streisand
• "Way Down" Elvis Presley- I dont remember this song and this was probably his last song because he died this year.
• "Weekend in New England" Barry Manilow- I hate this song.
• "Cold as Ice" Foreigner
•  "Lost Without Your Love" Bread
• "Lido Shuffle" Boz Scaggs
• "Keep It Comin' Love" KC and the Sunshine Band
• "You Made Me Believe in Magic" Bay City Rollers
• "That's Rock 'n' Roll" Shaun Cassidy
• "Love So Right" Bee Gees
• "Nobody Does It Better" Carly Simon
• "I Wanna Get Next to You" Rose Royce
• "Somebody to Love" Queen- OMG, I couldn't stand Queen.
• "Muskrat Love" Captain &  Tennille- I hated this song.
• "Walk This Way" Aerosmith
• "Year of the Cat" Al Stewart
• "Boogie Nights" Heatwave
• "Go Your Own Way" Fleetwood Mac
• "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word" Elton John
• "Knowing Me, Knowing You" ABBA
• "How Much Love" Leo Sayer

Movies

• Goodbye Girl
• Annie Hall- I loved this movie but now, it isn't interesting to me.
• Oh God
• Airport 77
• Julia- I loved this movie and I cant find it anywhere to watch on demand.
• The Late Show
• Looking for Mr. Goodbar
• MacArthur
• The Turning Point

Movies I didn't see:

• Saturday Night Fever- I don't know why I never saw this movie as I like Travolta.
• Star Wars- I'm not SciFi.
• Close Encounters of the Third Kind- ditto

Books- I am reading JD Salinger and authors who published in the 1940s and 50s. Dorothy Parker, James Thurber and F. Scott fitzgerald are my favorites.

Travels

• o         For spring break, we drove to Key West, FL and spent a week drinking too much.  I don't remember much this trip.
• 
  
•         Once I finished college in August, I spent about a month on Long Beach Island at my parents' home.
• 
  
• o       Now that I was working and had a few bucks, I took weekend trips to NYC and Washington, DC and felt very liberated and free.
• 
  

News Events

• Freddie Prince committed suicide.  His death left me depressed for days.
• After campaigning by Anita Bryant and her anti-gay "Save Our Children" crusade, Miami-Dade County, Floridavoters overwhelmingly vote to repeal the county's gay rights ordinance.
• Elvis Presley dies at age 42. This came as no surprise to me because I thought he was an old, overweight, out of shape man.
• Jimmy Carter succeeds Gerald Ford as the 39th President of the United States.
•  U.S. President Jimmy Carter pardons Vietnam War draft evaders. This was very controversial. But I think it was the right move.  We needed to move on from this dreadful war.
• Roots aired on the TV for several weeks and everyone was memorized.

Family and friends

• My mom turned 50, half a century. I thought this was so old. And she had a kid in 1^st grade.
• As a graduation gift, my father bought me my first month of health insurance. “Congratulations and welcome to the adult world,” he mockingly told me. I wanted to throw up with all this new adulthood bullshit.
• I don't have a car so I have to bum rides from friends, hitchhike or take the bus through life.
• My sister, Tricia, started college in the fall.  She also went to Penn State.  So, my father dropped her off and picked me up and took me back home to Philadelphia.  While I appreciated that I had a place to stay until further notice, I hated that day.  It was a big surrender to all my freedoms.  I had to become a family member again.
• I joined the Columbia Record Club.  For $1, I got 12 free albums and committed to buy thousands more in the next three years.  I never bought any more records and I never understood how this record club ever made any money. Maybe some people fulfilled their obligation but I never did.

Goodbye Rathskellar

Goodbye Rathskellar

1933-2018

My Favorite Bar in State College, PA

It's my favorite basement car.

The first bar I snuck in to in State College.

I went there when I was 19 and my sister was 18.

I drank hundreds of Rolling Rock cases of beer here.

Someone bought it and is going to put a high end bar in there.  I hate that guy.

1986

1986

State College, PA

My age: 30- 31

School: Penn State University- Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership

Housing:  I lived in an efficiency apartment on Allen Street.  I don't think I had more than 200 sq. feet.  I had a unit that was a small refrigerator on the bottom and a stove on the top. I slept on a futon which was my only piece of furniture. I had a grey Granada car.  I was the 4th owner of this car.

Work- I was enrolled in classes full time and worked part time.  I worked every minute I could.

• I had a graduate stipends from Penn State University and worked fro $6/hour for Dr. Bernie Guerney.  I video-taped his counseling sessions.
• I worked part- time for the State College School District Adult Education Program.  I was a career counselor.

Music- I listened to lots of music.  It was my primary source of entertain during this lean financial time.

• "That's What Friends Are For"
• Dionne and Friends (Dionne Warwick, Gladys Knight, Elton John and Stevie Wonder)
• "Say You, Say Me" by Lionel Richie
• "On My Own" by Patti LaBelle and Michael McDonald
• "Broken Wings" by Mr. Mister
• "Party All the Time" by Eddie Murphy- I liked his music but he was a better actor.
• "Burning Heart" by Survivor
• "Kyrie" by Mr. Mister
• "Addicted to Love" by Robert Palmer- this guy had a lot of talent.  It was too bad that he died so young.
• "Greatest Love of All" by Whitney Houston- I never liked her.  I saw her in concert once and she lacked energy and committeemen to her audience.
• "West End Girls" by Pet Shop Boys
• "There'll Be Sad Songs (To Make You Cry)" by Billy Ocean
• "Alive and Kicking" by Simple Minds
• "Kiss" by Prince and The Revolution
• "Higher Love" by Steve Winwood
• "Stuck with You" by Huey Lewis and the News
• "Holding Back the Years" by  Simply Red- I loved this song and this band.
• "Sledgehammer" by Peter Gabriel- I like lots of his music but this song isn't one that I liked.
• "Sara" by Starship
• "Human" by The Human League
• "Rock Me Amadeus" by Falco- this strange song was very popular.
• "Papa Don't Preach" by Madonna
• "You Give Love a Bad Name" by Bon Jovi
• "When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going" by Billy Ocean
• "When I Think of You" by Janet Jackson
• "These Dreams" by Heart
• "Live to Tell" by Madonna
• "Mad About You" by Belinda Carlisle
• "Dancing on the Ceiling" by Lionel Richie
• "True Colors" by Cyndi Lauper
• "What Have You Done For Me Lately" by Janet Jackson- I dint like her so I didn’t like her music.
• "I Didn't Mean to Turn You On" by Robert Palmer- He hated the concept of using a video to sell his music so he used the same video format for several of his songs. He was a great performer and he died too young.
• "Manic Monday" by The Bangles
• "Take Me Home Tonight" by Eddie Money
• "I'm Your Man" by Wham!- This guy produced lots of feel good, bubble gum music.
• "Why Can't This Be Love" by Van Halen
• "Small Town" by John Cougar Mellencamp
• "All I Need Is a Miracle" by Mike + The Mechanics
• "Sweet Freedom" by Michael McDonald
• "True Blue" by Madonna
• "Life in a Northern Town" by Dream Academy
• "Baby Love" by Regina- this woman has a stunning voice
• "Nikita" by Elton John
• "Take Me Home" by Phil Collins
• "Sweet Love"  by Anita Baker- this woman has a stunning, soulful voice.

Movies

• Blue Velvet- I didn't get this movie.  It was creepy.
• The Mission- Being a missionary int eh 26th century is dangerous business.
• Ferris Bueller's Day Off- I didn't like the way Ferris made fun of his high school administration.
• Stand By Me- an inspiring coming of age movie.
• Crocodile Dundee- this was an entertaining movie.
• Children of a Lesser God- a dramatic story
• Ruthless People- mindless fun
• A Room With A View- a beautiful movie
• Down and Out in Beverly Hills- mindless fun
• Hannah and her Sisters- I always liked what Woody Allen did but now, I cant get passed his creepy sexual behaviors and that taints my views on his work.
• Hoosiers- I loved this movie.  I think I've watched it at least two times.

Books- I read nothing but text books and research articles. I was, however, reading People magazine.

Travels- I went with my friends to Arizona for Thanksgiving.  One friend was giving a presentation and needed some moral support. One friend was from Germany and for some reason we decided that we were not going to have a tradition Thanksgiving dinner. We weren't going to expose him to the gluttony of the meal.  But as we approved the dinner hour, we all became sentimental for the moment and we found ourselves at a Denny's All-You-Can- Eat Thanksgiving dinner which was dreadful but satisfying.

News events
The Challenger Space Shuttle exploded right before our eyes.  It took a second for the tragedy to sink it.  But the devastation was indescribable. We were filled with joy and pride and then we were filled with sadness and bewilderment.

Family- Tricia and Bill got married in December.  I think that is the best time to get married because the church is filled with poinsettias and it looks beautiful.