Loving Life

Loving Life

My Nephew

VA

November 2013

I wanted to take photos of him and he was resisting.  So I told him to get on the swing and give me lots of expression. He jumped on, pushed off and exploded with attitude, joy and defiance.  This kid loves life.

1984

1984

Williamsport, PA (until June)
and
State College, PA (summer)
and
Abington, PA (August- December)

Age: 28-29

School: I was entranced in a doctoral program at Penn State. This program owned my life.  During the school year, I took classes at night and on the weekends.  In the summer, I went to school all summer and lived like a poor student again.

Work: During the 1983-84 school year, I was a Guidance Counselor  at Loyalsock High School in Williamsport, PA.  In June, I moved to Montgomery County, PA and started as a Guidance Counselor for the 1984-85 school year with Jenkintown High School.

News Events

• Indian Prime minister Indira Gandhi  was assassinated.  Her death was shocking to me.
• The  Apple Macintosh personal computer went on sale during January of 1984. I wouldn't buy this computer until 1993.
• Britain and Ireland's top  musicians formed Band Aid and recorded the song "Do They Know It's Christmas"  to raise money for famine relief in Ethiopia. Powerhouse performers included Phil Collins, Bono, Sting, Duran Duran, Culture Club, Bananarama, James Taylor, George Michael, David Bowie, and Paul McCartney.  
• The UK and China agree Hong Kong will revert to China in 1997.  I got to visit Hong Kong under both regimes.
• The first solo transatlantic flight in a helium balloon was successful.  
• The first flight in space by humans un-tethered using jet back packs took place as teh whole world watched.
• Widespread Famine in Ethiopia after political conflict affected as many as 10 million people who facing starvation 
• USSR  boycotts the Olympic games in retaliation for Western Boycott in 1980 . I don't think anyone missed them.
• English pound notes are to be taken out of circulation.  My older friends all talked about buying as many of these notes for investment purposes.  I didn't have any money to invest as I was living paycheck to paycheck. 
• By the year end more than 70 US Banks failed but I was oblivious to the impact this had on our economy as I had no damn money.
• Sally Ride became first American woman in space on the Space Shuttle Challenger. I was so damn proud of her.
• Margaret Thatcher won a landslide victory in General Elections in the UK and there was no talk in our country of a woman ever winning the presidential election here in the USA.
• Bernhard Goetz shoots four black youths on a Manhattan subway, claiming self defense.  Many others claimed racism and the news covered every minute of this trial. 
• The MTV Video Music Awards started.  Watching the music videos was as interesting as listening to the music.
• Michael Jackson wins acclaim for his Album Thriller and sales over 37 million copies 
• AIDS Virus is identified by a French Immunologist. It's viewed as an exclusive disease of gay men.
• AT&T broken up through Anti-trust laws. We now had choices in telephone service providers.
• Sony and Philips introduce the first commercial CD Players. I bought my first CD in 1986.
• Genetic fingerprinting or DNA profiling was developed and was now used by Forensic scientists when obtaining evidence in crimes. 
• US Presidential Election Ronald Reagan (Republican) defeated Walter Mondale (Democratic). For the first time, I am interested in the elections and I did not vote for Reagan.  

Movies

• Ghostbusters 
• Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom 
• Beverly Hills Cop
• Terms of Endearment 
• Police Academy 
• Romancing the Stone
• Splash 
• Amadeus 
• The Killing Fields 
• A Passage To India 
• Footloose
• The Cotton Club
• Micki and Maude
• Moscow on the Hudson
• Purple Rain
• Repo Man
• The River
• Sixteen candles
• A Soldier's Story

Popular Musicians

• Phil Collins 
• Alison Moyet 
• Billy Joel 
• Tina Turner with  " What's Love got to do with it " .  I loved this album.
• David Bowie 
• Wham! with  " Wake Me up Before You Go " 
• Billy Ocean 
• UB40 
• Stevie Wonder with  " I Just Called to say I love You " 
• Bruce Springsteen 
• Kenny Rogers 
• Bananarama 
• Duran Duran with  " The Reflex " 
• Ultravox 
• Cars 

Family and Friends

• My sister was diagnosed with cancer.
• My friend, Kathy Flatley, was married and I was a Maid of Honor in her wedding.
• Someone broke in to my apartment in the middle of the night and scared the hell out of  me.  He got away but he didn't hurt me or take anything.

2010

2010
Springfield, PA and

Carpenter’s Point, MD

My age: 54- 55

Homes: 

• I have two damn homes and it isn't twice the work to keep these places going.  It's three times the work. My little house in MD was a fun escape from work but once I didn't have a need to escape, it became burdensome. Managing two gardens, two yards, was a pain in the ass.
• January 1- My furnace, in my Springfield house,  had a puff-back which ruined most of my belongings. It’s considered a fire and I was out of my house for two months during the restoration process.

work- I retired on my 55^th birthday, July 9th.  What a great relief to just walk away. But then a panic set in as I thought about “what next?”  It was really an adjustment to go from a very busy, demanding job to all of this free time.  

Music- I work diligently to upload all of my CDs on to my laptop and ITunes account.  I then work to unload the CDs which are becoming more and more obsolete every day.  I have now worked on getting rid of my 45s, albums, 8-tracks, cassettes and CDs.  I am at the mercy of staying current in technology if I want to keep my music safe from an accidental delete.

Movies
Social Network- Facebook changed our world.
127 Hours- I also read this book and I would rather die than cut my arm off.
Alice In Wonderland- I loved this movie and have watched it several times since.
The King's Speech- we are all vulnerable in one way or another.
Harry Potter and the Deadly Hallow- I love this series of movies.
Winter's Bone- creepy
The Last Station- I vaguely remember this movie.
Letters to Juliet- this was a sweet movie.
180 degrees South- I vaguely remember this movie.
Eat, Pray, Love- the book was better.

Books: my reading chair was thrown out after my puff-back and that derailed me from my daily habit of reading.  I become a non-reader,  I did begin to listen to more audiobooks at this time.

TV
I lived with my sister and her family for two months while my house was restored (see below).  She got me hooked on Project Runway and The Office.

Travels

• Bermuda- January- winter break
• Key West, FL- January weekend
• Colorado - spring break
• Nebraska- spring break
• Egypt- October
• Road trip with Jameson- VA, TN, AR, OK, NM, TX- December- 9 days

News Events

• Wiki Leaks filters news that we are all being followed by virtual Big Brother.
• Haiti suffers a devastating earthquake. Three years later, I would travel there and the consequences of this quake are still evident everywhere.
• A coal mine in Chile swallows up some coal miners and we all watched this horrible situation unfold. It was heartbreaking.
• Iran pumps up its nuclear defiance. And the rest of the world sits in fear.
• The USA finally ends its combat operations in Iraq.
• BP spills millions of gallons of oil in to the Gulf of Mexico. They are fined billions of dollars but they never completely pay for this massive cleanup.
• The Tea Party surfaces its ugly platform.
• Obamacare is the controversy of the moment and every other moment from here on in.
• The IPAD hits the market.  It will be two years before I buy one. Now,  I own two of them.
• The Supreme Court upholds the dreadful Citizens United. Corporations and lobbyists have more say now than the citizens.

Family and Friends

• January 1- My furnace had a puff-back which ruined most of my belongings. It’s considered a fire and I was out of my house for two months during the restoration process.
• I lived with my sister, Patricia, and her family while my house was being restored.
• My cousin lost her husband, the same day I had my puff-back.  Suddenly, my problem didn’t seem so bad.
• My friend, Darcy, is diagnosed with uterine cancer.
• First week of September -no school for me, I am retired now.  Since 1960, most years, this was the start of a new school year. to celebrate, I took a trip in October.  I never traveled during this time.
• I put my house on the market which proved to be unproductive.
• I had elective surgery in June.
• I drove a 2003 Honda Element.

Getting A Job For My Brother

Getting A Job For My Brother

Saunder's House

Philadelphia, PA

Fall 1975

During the fall semester, I stopped out of college.  To fill my time and to make money (which was a desperate need) I was a server at the Saunder’s Nursing Home in Philadelphia. Mostly I poured coffee for the old people, which was their greatest vice. They were middle class residence who were paying lots of money to live there.  And most of the workers were indifferent to them and their needs. I thought some of them were rude to the residences.

At one point during my three-month tenure here, my brother needed a job and coincidentally there was an opening at work.  I told Chris he could work there and then I told my boss that my brother was immediately available.  My boss told me he had reservations as he never liked to hire siblings as that usually resulted in work site bickering.  He didn’t give me a “NO” so I went home and told Chris to come to work with me the next day.  We arrived at 6:30 AM and my boss didn’t show up until 9.  I thought he could come in and see what a good worker Chris was. Sure enough, things worked as I had hoped.  

I left in December to go back to school and Chris worked there or another three or four years.

2008

2008

Springfield, PA and

Carpenter’s Point, MD

My age: 52-53

Work-  Springfield School District, Springfield, PA

• I took a sabbatical leave as a public school administrator for the 2007/08 school year. I engaged in a variety of educational activities and but mostly I traveled. My intent for this leave was to see how I would occupy my time when I retire.  I had plans to retire in 2010 and this year forced me to work on how to find meaningful opportunities on my own. 
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• When I returned to work in July, I was the District Director of Students. This job was not as interesting as being a high school principal but I was tired of that job.  It wore me out.

Music

• I don't know any music anymore.  I used to listen to music for hours at a time.  But once I moved away from albums and CDs, I stopped playing music.  I listen to it in the car.  Mostly I listen to WXNP, an independent  Philly station that plays singer/songwriters who are well known and unknown.
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• My new vehicle does not have a cassette player.  So my acquisition of cassettes stops abruptly and I begin to get rid of the hundreds I have scattered all over my car trunk and house.  It is the end of an era for me.
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• I am slowly beginning to get rid of my CDs.  I went to a family reunion and gave everyone a CD of Irish music.  Everyone thought I was being so generous and kind.  But really, I was just trying to unload my burden of over consumption.

Movies- I love to go to the movies

• ·      Slumdog Millionaire- I LOVED THIS MOVIE and so did everyone else because the audience erupted in applause when the movie ended. I love movies about India and I love this actor. The movie was harsh but the Bally dancing at the end of the movie lightened my mood.
• ·      Milk- I never understood the campaign to “out” gay people until I heard Harvey Milk explain the need to let family members know that there are gays in every family.
• ·      The Visitor- I could relate to the main character: a middle-aged person in a rut.

Books:

• Rare Bird
• Shackleton's Boat Journey- 
• Desert Sojourn- a quiet read.
• American Shaolin- I have been to China twice since reading this book and have attempted to visit this monastery.  I am determined to see these monks.
• A Walk In The Woods- I love this book and I prefer to listen to this story rather than read it.
• Last Orders
• The Joy Luck Club- I've read and reread everything Amy Tan writes.
• Kitchen God's Wife-Amy Tan.
• The Endurance- another Shackleton book.  My recent trip to Antarctica is dictating my reading list.
• The Lost Men- I love stories about Ernest Shackleton's journeys.
• Blue Latitudes- an interesting story about Captain Cook.
• The Mutiny- I didn't realize this was a true story.
• I Feel Bad About My Neck- I had the opportunity to see Nora Ephorn weeks before she died and I missed the opportunity. I'm still mad about this.
• Notes on a Small Island- Bill Bryson- he is a great story teller.  I listen to his books rather than read them. And I wish he didn't narrate so many of his books.  He has an annoying voice.
• 12,000 Miles in the Nick of Time- Mark Jackson
• Saving Fish From Drowning- Amy Tan
• My Invented Country
• We Are the Ones We Have Benn Waiting For- Alice Walker- she is one of my favorite authors.
• Dark Wind- Gordon Chaplin
• Empress Orchid- Ache Min
• Snowbelly- Gordon
• I Lived in a Small Cabin In  The Yard
• Mohammad- Karen Armstrong- I don't understand this religion.
• A Zoo in My Luggage- Gerald Durrell- This author is quirky and I want to go to his zoo in Jersey.
• Morocco Rough Guide- I went to Morocco in July.
• What Am I Doing Here- Bruce Chatwin
• The White house Mess- Christopher Buckley
• On The Ice- Grethcehn Leghar- "Restoration of the self requires a strange combination of effort and non effort; fierce will and acceptance."
• All Fishermen Are Liars- Linda Greenlaw- I've read two other books of hers and they are all interesting.
• A Life on the Edge- Jim Whitaker- this was a good read.  There are lots of interesting people in this world of ours.- "I am a bit suspicious of comfort... I believe the key to a life well lived is discomfort. To my way of thinking, discomfort- the discomfort of stretching yourself beyond what you already know or know how to do, of struggling with adversity in what creates the pearls in a well-lived life, just as it takes an irritant like a bit of sand inside an oyster shell to produce a real pearl."
• In Harm's Way
• Tae Te Ching- Lao Tsu- a classic.
• Eat, Pray, Love- Liz Gilbert- I loved this book and I loved the movie but I loved the book more.
• The Death of Ivan Illachard- Tolvisky- a classic and a first read for me.
• Dark Shadows Falling- Joe Simpson
• The River of Doubt- Candice Miller- Roosevelt was an interesting character.
• A Cook's Tour- a good read.
• The Edgier Obsession- John Darlin- yet another book about another kook who climbs mountains and lives dangerously.
• Birds of a Feather- Scott Weinensaul- I love to read about birdsong birders.
• A Year in the World- Francis Mayo
• Sons of Heaven- Terrence Ching

Travels- I traveled to six continents during the course of my sabbatical (2007-08):

• ·      South Korea- Asia- my niece was teaching in Korea and I went to visit her. 
• ·      Antarctica, 
• ·      Morocco- Africa, 
• ·      Argentina- South America,
• ·      Poland- Europe, 
• ·      Czech Republic- Europe, 
• ·      Canada- North America

News events- Obama became our first black president.  I never thought I would see that day.  This was long overdue. In the primary race, he ran against Hillary Clinton which was also historical as she was the one of few viable female candidates ever to run for this office.

Family and Friends

• I became a great aunt for the first time.  There are now two generations behind me.  When I was born, there were three generations in front of me.
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• I attended my 35th high school reunion. How did those years pass by so damn quickly. Only six of the 45 of us showed up.  The turn out was disappointing.
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• My Kelly family had a cousins' reunion. About 30 of us showed up and it was fun to be with them.
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• I joined FACEBOOK.  I fought this move as I thought I was too old for this New Age Social Media Gimmick.

• I spend my weekends @ Carpenter's Point (MD) where I kayak, swim in the warm water and drink beer on the beach.  It's a little slice of heaven for me. I have lots of guests on the weekends in the summer.
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• I bought a blue Honda Element.  My intention was to remove the back seats and make this into a camper so I could travel around the country.  I never did that but I did get close to 250,000 miles on this car.

1995

1995
Stroudsburg, PA

My age: 39-40

School- I am taking damn computer courses. I have taken an introductory course to the Radio Shack Tandy, The Apple IIE and this year, the Apple Macintosh.

Home- I am renting a three bedroom house about a 1/2 mile from my work.  When I drive to work in the morning, I don't even get to listen to a whole song on the radio. My rent was $625/month.

Work -Principal- Stroudsburg High School.  There were 1300 students and 120 staff members.

Music- on Sunday mornings, I listened to Casey Kasum who played the top 40 hits of the week.

• IT’S GOOD TO BE KING – TOM PETTY
• HOLD ME, THRILL ME, KISS ME, KILL ME – U2
• HAND IN MY POCKET – ALANIS MORISSETTE
• GOOD INTENTION – TOAD THE WET SPROCKET
• GANGSTA’S PARADISE – COOLIO FEATURING L.V.
• ODE TO MY FAMILY – THE CRANBERRIES
• EVERLASTING LOVE – GLORIA ESTEFAN
• EVERY LITTLE THING I DO – SOUL FOR REAL
• DO YOU SLEEP – LISA LOEB 
• ALL I WANNA DO – SHERYL CROW
• MY LOVE IS FOR REAL – PAULA ABDUL
• COME BACK – LONDON BEAT
•  FREAK LIKE ME – ADINA HOWARD
• NO MORE “I LOVE YOU’S” – ANNIE LENNOX
• BANG AND BLAME – R.E.M.
• CAN’T CRY ANYMORE – SHERYL CROW
• LOVE WILL KEEP US ALIVE – THE EAGLES
• BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY’S – DEEP BLUE SOMETHING
• YOU OUGHTA KNOW – ALANIS MORISSETTE
• I’M THE ONLY ONE – MELISSA ETHERDIGE
• THIS IS HOW WE DO IT – MONTELL JORDAN
• BETTER MAN – PEARL JAM
• CARNIVAL – NATALIE MERCHANT        
• I LIVE MY LIFE FOR YOU - FIREHOUSE     
• IF I WANTED TO – MELISSA ETHERIDGE         
• YOU DON’T KNOW HOW IT FEELS – TOM PETTY    
• CREEP - TLC
• ON BENDED KNEE – BOYZ II MEN
• YOU GOTTA BE – DES’REE
• AS I LAY ME DOWN – SOPHIE B. HAWKINS
• TOTAL ECLIPSE OF THE HEART – NICKI FRENCH
• ANOTHER NIGHT – REAL McCOY
• STRONG ENOUGH – SHERYL CROW
• HOLD MY HAND – HOOTIE & THE BLOWFISH
• I CAN LOVE YOU LIKE THAT – ALL-4-ONE
• TAKE A BOW - MADONNA
• WATERFALLS - TLC
• I’LL BE THERE FOR YOU – THE REMBRANTS
• WHEN I COME AROUND – GREEN DAY
• LET HER CRY – HOOTIE & THE BLOWFISH
• WATER RUNS DRY – BOYZ II MEN
• I BELIEVE – BLESSID UNION OF SOULS 
• KISS FROM A ROSE - SEAl

Movies

• Waiting to Exhale
• Sense and Sensibility
• Boys on the Side
• Outbreak
• French Kiss
• Forget Paris
• Bridges of Madison County- OMG, this movie was awful.  I walked out about 45 minutes in to this boring movie.
• Babe
• The Brothers McMullen- I loved this movie.
• How To Make An American Quilt- I loved the book and the movie feel short.
• The American President
• Toy Story- I loved the story.
• Father of the Bride- mindless entertainment.
• Sabrina
• Jumanji- fun
• Grumpier Old Men- boring.

Books- I loved going to Borders' Book Store  and just roaming around, looking at new publications.

• Notes From A Small Island- Bryson- I loved this book.
• The Hundred  Secret Sense- Amy Tan - I loved this book.
• In the Time of Butterflies- Jules Alveraz- I loved this book.
• Zenzele- Nozipo Maraire- I loved this book.
• Longitude- Dava Sobal- I loved this book.
• Epitaph for a Peach- D. Masumoto- I loved this book.

Travels

• I went to the Rose Bowl Parade and football game.  Penn State played against the Oregon Ducks.  We won but it was a tough game to watch.
• I spent my summer weekends on Long Beach Island, NJ.

News Events

• OJ Simpson is found not guilty in his wife's murder case. I thought he was guilty.
• The Dow Jones closed at 5,000. I didn't have any money in the stock market.
• Major League Baseball had a 232 day strike. And I didn't really care.
• The Unibomber blew up the Oklahoma City Federal Bldg, killing 168 people.
• The was a devastating earthquake in Japan.  I had just been to Japan a few months earlier and I wonder if anyone I met, died in this event.
• The Ebola virus struck in Africa.
• Megan's Law was put in effect.  Now all sex offenders had to register their status so we know who they are.

Family and friends

• My friends had a surprise 40th birthday party for me.  I wanted to move on without celebrating the moment.
• My nephew, Quentin, was born.

1996

1996
Stroudsburg, PA

My age:  40- 41

School: computer classes.  I am in a rut of taking beginner classes on how to use the computer.  I took a beginner course on how to use the  Tandy Radio Shack Computer and the Apple 2E Computer and now I am taking an intro course on how to use my MAC computer.

Work Principal- Stroudsburg High School.  There were 1350 students and 120 teachers and staff.

Music- I used to go to Border's Book store on a regular basis and just listen to music.  I would do this for hours.  Mostly I listen to world music.  And I was now buying a CD a week.

Popular musicians included:

• Spice Girls 
• Mariah Carey 
• Eric Clapton 
• Blur - don't know this person
• Dalida -don't know this person
• Jamiroquai -don't know this person
• Snoop Doggy Dogg 
• Oasis 
• Madonna 
• Metallica - not my taste
• Gravity Kills -don't know this person
• Rage Against the Machine -not my taste
• 2Pac 
• The Wallflowers 
• Sheryl Crow 
• Red Hot Chili Peppers 
• The Smashing Pumpkins 
• Marilyn Manson -not my taste
• Alanis Morissette 
• Lenny Kravitz 
• Foo Fighters

Movies- I love going to the movies

• The English Patient- Best Picture
• Jerry Maguire
• Twister
• 101 Dalmatians
• The Bird Cage
• The Nutty Professor
• That Thing You Do
• The First Wives Club
• Evita
• Shine
• Emma
• The Truth About Cats and Dogs
• Secrets and Lies
• Fly Away Home
• Michael Collins
• The Preacher's Wife
• One Fine Day
• Ghost of Mississippi
• Michael
• Big Night

Books

• Angela's Ashes
• Into The Wild
• Bridget Jone's Diary
• The Tenth Insight
• The Sparrow
• The Notebook
• Divine Secrets of the YA Ya Sisters
• Under The Tuscan Sky
• The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
• The Color of Water
• Silk

Travels

• I went to Chicago for St. Patrick's Day and I hung with a priest all day which is really the way to spend the day.  His presence gave us lots of advantages.
• I spent my summer weekends on Long Beach Island, NJ.
• I went to Spain to visit my sister and her family in March and then again in December.

News events

• Prince Charles and Princess Dian got divorced and the world cheered for Diana.
• Mad Cow Disease struck England and thier tourist business shut down immediately.
• The Stock Market hit the 6000 mark and everyone was stunned that it ever reached this high mark.
• Thirty black churches in Mississippi were burnt to the ground in 18 months.  I was completely oblivious to this atrocity.
• The Summer Olympics were held in Atlanta, GA.  Someone left a nail bomb in a backpack which exploded and ruined the rest of the olympics for all of us.
• The DVD was released in Japan and this was the beginning of the end of the VCR and Blockbusters.
• The number of Internet host computes rose from one million to ten millions.  And I still didnt quiet understand what was email.

Family and Friends
My mother was again diagnosed with cancer.  She had cancer two years previously but her doctor didnt follow-up enough and the cancer came back with a vengeance.  I was devastated.

Thoughts About Egypt

Thoughts About Egypt
Traveling Down The Nile River
October 2010

• It is hot here.  One day it was 120F and that is very, very, very hot for me.
• The pyramids are massive and intimidating. How did they build these structures in all of this ungodly heat.
• The Spinx needs some cosmetic repairs.  A nose job is in order.
• We, the tourists, are polluting the  Nile river with our hundred of cruise ships.
• Camels drool too much fro my taste.
• The fishing boats on the Nile are beautiful.
• Sunsets on the Nile are stunning.  I don't know was the sun rises look like but I am going to spectate that they are just as beautiful.
• Watching the Dervis dancers made me dizzy.
• The street merchants are aggressive.
• Hookah pipes are exceedingly popular.
• Their beer is mediocre. but i drank it anyway.  Actually, I drank a lot of it because it was so damn hot.
• King Tut has an elaborate resting place.
• There are a lot of kings in the Valley of the Kings.
• While I do not like the  fact that the western world scarfed up so many ancient reassures, I am not sure the Egyptian government is responsible enough to manage this antiquity. I saw some very poor, careless management of these treasures.  Maybe we should some more thing s off to London.
• I am always in awe with I am around so much antiquity.  We marvel at buildings that are 200 years old. Monuments here are thousands of years old.  I wonder what, if anything, of our buildings or monuments will last for 1000 years in the USA.
• My cruise ship was lovely and I am comfortable being pampered.

the fishing boats

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

Barbecuing

Barbecuing
Springfield, PA
Spring 2000


I finally have my first house and my first yard so, of course, I had to have a barbecue. I'm trying to learn how to barbecue but so far I haven't conquered this art. It was harder than I had anticipated.

On Monday I bought a Kmart grill for just three dollars. I loved this sweet, little grill.  It was perfect size for me.  But, in my excitement of buying a grill,  I forgot to buy any charcoal.

On Tuesday, I went back to the store and I bought the charcoal but I couldn't get it lit. Are you aware of the fact that you need to use fluid to get charcoal going?  Who knew?  I didn't.

On Wednesday, at 10:30 PM,  I poured lighter fluid all over my charcoal. The fumes were awful. Flames shot up all over the place and I panicked. I thought for sure that the whole damn house was going to burn down. Thank God the flames were short-lived. The lateness of the night played against my confidence. I thought I'd try this again when there was adequate sunlight so I could see what the hell  I was doing.

Tonight at 6:30 PM I drenched those damn charcoals with the fluid. I had a blaze going. I stood by the flames with my gallons of water ready, just in case. The flames lasted a lot longer than last night. But as luck would have it  even this fire died quickly. At this point I was out of matches.

I think I'll speak to Glen to see if he can give me any pointers. He's pretty good at barbecuing.

1975

1975

Woodbine Avenue

Overbrook

Philadelphia, PA

   and

Long Beach Island, NJ (summer months)

My age: 19- 20

School- Penn State University- junior year- I studied Adolescent Counseling.  I transferred to PSU from Drexel University and I loved this new school.  There was so much to do and so many fun people.  I don't think I studied as hard as I should have.  But I have very fond memories of this time.

Work-

• During the summer, I worked at the Crust and Crumb Bakery.  We sold Elephant Ears, “a flaky French pastry with brown sugar, cinnamon and pecans.”  I probably said that line 100 times a day. We used to call this place the Crust and Crud Bakery. I think I made $1.35/hour.
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• During the fall semester, I stopped out of college.  To fill my time and to make money (which was a desperate need) I was a server at the Sander’s Nursing Home in Philadelphia. Mostly I poured coffee for the old people, which was their greatest vice. They were middle class residence who were paying lots of money to live there.  And most of the workers were indifferent to them and their needs. At one point during my three-month tenure here, my brother needed a job and coincidentally there was an opening at work. I told Chris he could work there and then I told my boss that my brother was immediately available.  My boss told me he had reservations as he never liked to hire siblings as that usually resulted in work site bickering.  He didn’t give me a “NO” so I went home and told Chris to come to work with me the next day.  We arrived at 630 and my boss didn’t show up until 9.  I thought he could come in and see what a good worker Chris was. Sure enough, things worked as I had hoped.  I let in December to go back to school and Chris worked there or another three or four years.

Music- I started to listen to music more as literature and poetry rather than background music.  I could listen to the same song again and again and again.

Joni MitchellThe Hissing of Summer Lawns

Other Artists

• Minnie Riperton- she died too young. 
• Aerosmith - I was never a heavy metal fan.
• Joan Baez
• Judy Collins
• John Sebastian- I really liked a lot of his songs.
• Black Sabbath - nay, this wasn't my type of music.
• Chicago 
• Bob Dylan 
• David Bowie with  " Fame " 
• Alice Cooper 
• The Eagles
• Jefferson Starship 
• Elton John with Island Girl and  " Lucy in the sky with Diamonds " 
• Kiss 
• Led Zeppelin 
• John Lennon - I hated that the Beatles broke up.
• Bob Marley and the Wailers 
• Paul McCartney and Wings - I never liked much of what he did after he left the Beatles.
• Pink Floyd 
• Paul Simon 
• Queen - never a fan.
• Bruce Springsteen - he was on fire.
• The Who 
• ZZ Top- I was never a fan.

TV- I watched Mary Tyler Moore, MASH, All in the Family.

Movies

• Barry Lyndon
• Rocky Horror Picture Show- I'm not sure I saw this move this year or not.  I didnt see it until int became a cult film.  I've seen it about 10 times.  And it just gets weirder and weirder to me.
• Nashville- this movie was intriguing to me.
• Love and Death- I used to love Woody Alone movies.  Now, he spooks me.
• The Sunshine Boys- this was a silly movie.
• The Other Side of the Mountain
• The Prisoner of 2nd Avenue
• Shampoo- Warren Beatty seemed arrogant to me.
• Jaws- I didnt see this movie.
• One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest-I didnt see this movie

Books

•   JD Salinger
•   Japanese writers of the 1940s and the 1950s

Travels

• I went nowhere.  I had no money and no transportation.  I spent the summers on Long Beach Island, NJ

News events

• Operation Babysit brought hundreds of Viet Names orphan babies to the USA. And every photo of new parents picking up their new family member caused me to cry.
• Patty Hearst was wanted by the FBI and the story was creepy.
• The unemployment rate was 9.2% and we were in a recession and I was oblivious about this as I didnt have a damn penny to my name.
• NYC tettered on bankruptcy. I can't image what a crisis this would be today.

Family

• My grandmother tried to find her way through the world now that she was a widow.  She broke my heart. She went to Florida for Christmas because she didn't want to be sad and ruin our day.
• I hung at the beach through the fall and loved it.
• I don't have a car so I have to bum rides from friends, hitchhike or take the bus through life.