Things I Will Have to Give Up

Things I Will Have to Give Up When I Move

Carpenter's Point, Md to West Chester, Pa

Summer 2017

In 2012, I sold my large home and moved in to my smaller, second home.  I had to downsize as I was leaving a four-bedroom house and moving in to an already furnished two-bedroom house.  But I did have a shed in my yard which allowed me to store too much stuff.  Now I am going to downsize again and this time, I am going to move in to a one bedroom apartment.  I am excited about the idea of never shoveling the snow again or never cutting the lawn.  I can’t wait to call management when there is a plumbing problem.  I look forward to closing my door and going on a trip and not worrying about my house.

But this afternoon, I stood in my yard and looked at all the things I will never use again.  A melancholy came over me as I realized what I was giving up. I will miss my yard and garden and the birds and the bugs and my groundhog.

This stuff is not coming with me:

• ·      Garden hoses- 4 of them in various lengths
• ·      Orange electrical cords- I think I have a mile’s length of cords
• ·      Lawn chairs- 3 but maybe I can put them on my new porch
• ·      Shovels- two for snow, three for the garden
• ·      Lawn mower
• ·      Clippers- 2 large and one small
• ·      Electric chain saw pole
• ·      Barbeque grill- 3 charcoal, one propane
• ·      Wooden burning stove equipment
• ·      Hot tub
• ·      Market umbrellas
• ·      Large floatation chairs
• ·      Smaller flotations- 3
• ·      Camp chairs- maybe 10
• ·      Weed whacker
• ·      Camping equipment- tent, sleeping bag,
• ·      Clay pots- about 25
• ·      Gardening tools
• ·      Coolers- I have three of them in various sizes
• ·      The day lilies
• ·      The Asian lilies
• ·      The lilac bush
• ·      The magnolia tree
• ·      The crabapple tree
• ·      The Crape Myrtle trees; I have three white ones and a red one.
• ·      The three purple bearded Iris plants
• ·      The Rose of Sharon plants that have invaded my garden
• ·      The yellow and white daisies
• ·      The ducks
• ·      The herons
• ·      The ospreys
• ·      The bald eagles
• ·      The butterflies and moths
• ·      The multitude of bugs
• ·      The beach at the end of my street
• ·      The North East River
• ·      All my camping equipment- I am never going to use that stuff again
• ·      Kayaking and all its equipment
• ·      My fire pit.  I have a fire most nights.
• ·      The rakes
• ·      The shovels
• ·      Garden gloves
• ·      Bags of ice melt
• ·      Bottles of weed killer

To read more stories, check out:   bkmemoirs.blogspot.com

 or  bkmemoirs.wordpress.com

•  

My Commandments

My Commandments

I am not much of a rule follower.  But there are a few things I do hold to be worthy of everyone's attention.  Here they are:
-
1- "Honor thy mother and father" from the other 10 Commandments

2- "Thou shall not kill."- same

3- "Thou shall not steal."- same

4- "When you leave one room and go in another room, turn off the damn light."- my father a former PA Public Utility Commissioner

5- "Never stand when you can sit; never sit when you can lay down."- Mr Flatley, 1976; a family friend

6- "When you are telling a story, tell a story.  When you are telling the truth, tell the truth and know the difference between the two."- an old, Irish saying

7- "When you go to a bar with friends, always buy the first round.  People only remember who bought the first round." - my father, 1975, as I was turning 21 and of legal age to drink in the bars.

8- "Life is suffering.  You can change your suffering by changing your thinking."- Buddha

9- "Continue to grow and evolve.”- Ghandi

10- "Love one another."- John, the Apostle

11- "Ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do fro your country."  John F. Kennedy

12- Don't be a pain in the ass.

To read more stories, check out:   bkmemoirs.blogspot.com

 or  bkmemoirs.wordpress.com

Believing In Jesus

Believing In Jesus
A Conversation with an Acquaintance
Elkton, MD

We were talking about religion and how we came to our views and tolerance of different religions. But then she moved to a discussion on Christianity.


"Of course I believe in Jesus.  I'm a Christian.  I mean, He has to be real.  They have TV shows about Him on the History Channel and shit.  Right?  He has to be real or they wouldn't have those shows. Right?"

Ann
April 2014

To read more stories, check out:   bkmemoirs.blogspot.com

 or  bkmemoirs.wordpress.com

At the Dry Cleaners

At the Dry Cleaners

Bryn Mawr, PA

1998

I am at the dry cleaner’s store, leaning against the counter and talking to the clerk.  She is tagging my clothing and mumbling something.

“Sorry, I didn’t hear that”, I tell her.

“Oh, I was just talking to myself about that man out there.”

I turn around and look and it is my father, in the parking lot, getting out of his car and gathering his dirty laundry.

She continues, “That’s Mr. Kelly.  He comes here a lot and he’s really a nice man.  He always says hello to me.”

My father comes in and greets both of us. He sees me and comes over to give me a kiss, “hello sweet girl”, he says.

The clerk looks surprised and my father responses to her look, “This is my daughter.”

And then I wonder if I should have told her right away that he was my dad. But even more so, I wonder if I should have told my dad what she said about him.  I didn’t do that either and I still regret it. I should have told him that I was proud of him.

To read more stories, check out:   bkmemoirs.blogspot.com

 or  bkmemoirs.wordpress.com

Bombarded

Bombarded
Route 95 South
Wilmington, DE
April 9, 2016


I am driving on Route 95S, going about 65 miles an hour.  I am in the middle lane and something loud zips pass me.  It is a guy on a motorcycle.  He must have been traveling at 90 miles or more because he just came out of nowhere and quickly passed me.  And then another bike passed me and another and another and another.  I didn't see any of them coming up behind me. It was unnerving and I wanted to move over but was too afraid to change lanes for fear that one of them might try to pass me on the right.  So I held my position.  A few seconds later, two more bikes ripped pass me.  Then there was a deafening silence. I couldn't relax until I saw them all take the next exit and I was now confident to move over to the old lady, slow lane.