The "What The Amish Teach Us" Story

The following is from an article that was published in the Lancaster Newspaper about Mr. Donald Kraybill to introduce his newest book, "What the Amish Teach Us"

It was an ordinary day.  Just finished reading a story posted in the Lancaster Newspaper about a fellow by the name of Donald Kraybill.  Mr. Kraybill is a Distinguished Professor Emeritus at Elizabethtown College as well as a Senior Fellow Emereitus at Elizabethtown's Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies.  He is a year younger than me and graduated from Lancaster Mennonite High School and attended Millersville State Teachers College for two years.  He eventually earned a bachelor's degree from Eastern Mennonite University, a master's degree from Temple University and a PhD in sociology from Temple University in 1976.  While at Temple he was a research assistant to John Hostetler, a recognized authority on Amish society who had himself grown up Amish and who was influential in Mr. Kraybill's interest in studying the Amish.  

Donald Kraybill

Mr. Kraybill is widely recognized for his studies and expertise on Anabaptist groups and in particular the Amish.  He has authored or edited nearly 30 books on various aspects of the lives of Plain sects and writes on groups within the Anabaptist faith such as the Mennonites, Amish and Bruderhof in addition to academic books published by Johns Hopkins University Press.  He is one of two experts frequently quoted by reporters to give background to news stories involving the Amish and serves as a consultant for the PBS show "The American Experience series The Amish."  In 2014 he published a book related to five beard-cutting attacks on Amish people in eastern Ohio in the fall of 2011 which led to the arrests of 16 members of a maverick Amish community in Bergholz, Ohio. He assisted federal prosecutors in understanding Amish beliefs and practices and served as an expert witness at the federal trial in 2012.  He later wrote a book about the attacks, investigation, trial and aftermath titled Renegade Amish: Beard Cutting, Hate Crimes, and the Trial of the Bergholkz Barbers.  In August of 2014, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the hate crimes convictions, a ruling that generated much response.  I could write quite a bit more about the gentleman, but I believe you can see the profound knowledge that Mr. Kraybill possesses.  The story I just finished reading that was in the Lancaster Newspaper tells about what the Amish have taught Mr. Kraybill over his lifetime.  The book is a short collection of 22 readable essays that follows the cycles of typical Amish life including essays on child care, education, spirituality, entrepreneurship and death.  Mr. Steve Nolt, a professor of history and Anabaptist studies at Elizabethtown says that  if you purchase the book and read it, you will learn about Amish life, but also find yourself thinking about your own life, what things you value and what things you might want to reconsider. Mr. Kraybill grew up in a Mennonite farming family who didn't have any close Amish neighbors, but viewed them as sort of stuck in the mud...pretty much like everyone else in Lancaster County did who wasn't Amish.  Many in Lancaster County thought they would more or less disappear as farm land was sold and more housing was built for non-Amish families.  But, the more Don got to know the Amish, he found his assumptions were wrong.  He began to see them in a different light.  He noticed things such as...why would you go to a doctor but refuse to let your children go to higher education and become a doctor?  Why would you get a tractor and keep it in the barn while you use horses to pull modern machinery?  Why would you pay a neighbor to take you somewhere but not own or operate a car?   Don began to accumulate thousands of hours of field work and interviews and eventually made friends with many people in Amish communities inside, as well as, outside Lancaster County.  He finally saw that patterns that to us didn't make sense, but from their perspective, made a lot of sense.  And, he found that the Amish are doubling in size every 20 years in North America.  It seems that one of the biggest misconceptions surrounding the Amish is that they shun technology.  They actually use technology, but it must be based on their values and traditions.  That is known as "Amishize"!  They are more careful and thoughtful with technology than we are.  They still drive buggies, but may also ask their non-Amish neighbors to drive them in their car if needed.  One of the biggest issues at present is the use of the smartphone.  About a year ago I visited an Amish business that built buggies.  I used a notepad to write notes for myself while they wondered why I didn't use a cell phone, as they would have done.  In Mr. Kraybill's book "What The Amish Teach Us," the key to Amish life is in maintaining a small-car localized community with tight-knit relationships.  There are lessons to be found in every essay in his book.  Mr. Kraybill's interactions with the Amish shows how their views on child care and education successfully prepare their children for Amish life and strengthens their communities. There are also essays that share stories about family life as well as stories about how Amish hack technology and deal with retirement.  Mr. Kraybill's book also explores many of the spiritual aspects of Amish life such as patience and forgiveness.  In 2006 a tragedy at an Amish school at Nickel Mines left many dead and many wondered afterward how the Amish could be so forgiving of the shooter.  One of the Amish Bishops said, "It was already a decided issue to forgive, it's just what our people do!"  Basically, forgiveness is at the heart of Amish faith and culture.  Donald Kraybill's book, "What The Amish Teach Us" is filled with many lessons that many of us would find interesting and will help us all learn more about the Amish culture.  His book can be found in local book stores a well as through John Hopkins Press.  I plan to purchase it and perhaps you might enjoy his book also!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.   

The "Bringing The Chevrotain Back From Extinction" Story

It was an ordinary day.  The date was 1990 and a local Vietnamese hunter had just killed what was suspected to be the very last silver-backed chevrotain.  The creature looks like a tiny deer, but it is feared that the creature had  become extinct.  The small deer-like creature has tiny fangs and had been photographed tiptoeing through a dry lowland forest in southern Vietnam.  But, the last known chevrotain was the one that had been killed back in 1990.  The creature had been lost to the outside world for a generation and was feared to have become extinct. The small dear-like species with tiny fangs hadn't been photographed since that time.   Andrew Tilker, a biologist specializing in Southeast Asian wildlife, said that it was a really cool specie and they still hope that it might someday be found around the same area in Vietnam.  The creature is about the size of a large rabbit, with a silver sheen on its rump.  The creature also has tusk-like incisors.  They lack horns or antlers and the fangs are especially long in males who use them to compete with other males for territory and mates.  Well, on November 11, 2019 one of the creatures was finally photographed once again when a camera trap captured a photo of the silver-backed chevrotain.  

The silver-backed Chevrotain

Researchers behind the discovery described the find in a paper published November 11, 2019.  Camera traps in Vietnam's wet tropical forests have never recorded a sighting, so it may be that these animals prefer a dry, thorn scrub forest habitat.  Forests such as this are not common in Vietnam, but there are parts of Vietnam that remind you of a site such as this.  The exact location where the sighting took place wasn't recorded so researchers visited communities hoping to find a local hunter or forest expert who might know where the sighting took place.  It took some time getting the locals to trust the researchers, but they eventually spent time trying to help them find where the photo might have been taken.  Seems that so much wildlife has been vanishing in the past five to ten years due to overhunting and the use of snares to catch the wildlife.  Eventually the locals were able to lead the researchers to the site that was seen in the photograph that featured the chevrotain.  More camera traps were set up and they were able to gather photos from 280 separate encounters with individual silver-backed chevrotains, although some of these could've been repeat sightings, making it unclear how many now live in the area.  Hopefully the illegal hunting and poaching, which is driven by demand for bushmeat in East Asia and has led to the disappearance of animals in intake habitats in Vietnam, will stop the disappearance of animals.  This is known as "empty forest syndrome" because wire snare traps can indiscriminately catch and kill nearly everything that walks on the forest floors.  Hopefully the silver-backed chevrotain will appear once again.  These neat animals walk on the tips of their hooves and very cautiously tiptoe around on their skinny legs.  There were nine species of the chevrotain at one time, and it's hoped they can be redeveloped in the area once again.  Vietnam seems to be taking the problem very seriously which may return a species that was thought to have become extinct.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "A Hobby Pays Off...Big Time" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Super Bowl Sunday and the big game had begun.  Then, sometime during the game there appeared an advertisement for Mercedes-EQ which began with a view of a bridge at what appeared to be dusk.  I looked at Carol and told her that couple-second clip looked awful familiar.  Never did I imagine that it was the same bridge that I have taken photographs of for years.  The bridge was the Veterans Memorial Bridge that connects the little town of Columbia, Pennsylvania with the even smaller town of Wrightsville which is to the west of Columbia.  I had forgotten about the second or two clip on my TV screen until it appeared on the cover of my newspaper a few days later.  Headline read..."Local footage appears in Super Bowl ad".....with a sub-head of "Drone shot by Lititz father and son ends up in Mercedes commercial."

Pretty neat to know that over 100,000,000 viewers probably saw a second or two of something I get to see all the time.  The father and son duo were Eric and Nathan Wenger.  The father and son duo had shot the aerial footage of the Veterans Memorial Bridge on the morning of December 31, 2018.  The two have been shooting, editing, posting and selling drone clips on sites like Shutterstock and Ponds5 while using the name of 717 Drone Guys, referring to Lancaster's Zip Code.  It was a few years ago that dad Eric received a drone as a birthday gift from his wife.  Since that time he and his son have taken about 11,000 clips, mostly from northern Lancaster County.  In the summer of 2018 their aerial footage of local flooding  was used by a national media outlet and they have been featured in many other productions that you may have perhaps seen.  In 2020 the Philadelphia Eagles used some of their footage in a video that aired and in 2021 Hallmark bought footage of aerial clips of nearby downtown Ephrata, PA.  Hallmark also used some of their footage in holiday movies like "You, Me & the Christmas Tree," "Boyfriends of Christmas Past" and "A Royal Queen's Christmas."  Eric says he gets notified if any of their clips are used and whom might have purchased them.  He is still waiting to see how much their latest clip sold for by the ad company.  Just so happened that Eric and his wife were hosting a Super Bowl party with their son, who is a high school sophomore, when someone sent a Facebook message asking if the footage in the ad was his.  He didn't feel that the footage was very good since it wasn't very colorful and had a little bit of sunrise peeking through. He said, "Of all the clips I've ever shot, I would have put that one near the bottom."  He was amazed at what the company video editor did with the footage they used.  They wanted a night theme that featured a bridge and after working with the footage got exactly what they wanted.  I can't imagine how neat it must have felt to be able to see something you did appear on a program like the Super Bowl.  Seems that the hobby of Eric and Nathan has become more of a passion for the two of them.  They have had clips show up on other TV shows as well as in movies.  But what is the best part of the hobby is being able to share their passion for video with the world.  And...the world was certainly watching a few weeks ago during the Super Bowl.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "Is History Really Worth It? Of Course It Is!!" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Standing in front of The Fleet Wing Building wondering if it will actually be demolished or saved.   A few days ago I saw a photograph of the building that at one time was part of a gas station off of the first block of West King Street in historic downtown Lancaster, Pennsylvania.  The Art Deco-style steel paneled building was constructed in the 1940s, directly next to what at one time was the Lancaster Army & Navy Store which stood at the corner of West King and North Prince Streets.  

The Fleet Wing Building in downtown Lancaster, PA

The Fleet Wing Building is a few years older than I am and The Historical Preservation Trust of Lancaster County, a non-profit that promotes preserving historic buildings, is trying to make sure the building is preserved when a new 120-130 apartment building with 70 parking spaces and a 5,300-square-foot ground level retail space is built in the near future.  I can still remember visiting with my dad at his jewelry store business on West King Street on Saturday mornings when I was a young boy.  I would walk a half-block toward The Fleet Wing to the Antes Pet Store so I could help the owners of the pet store feed the live pets and fish that they had in their store.  My dad would come to get me when he was ready to head home.  Antes was another half-block away from the corner where the Army & Navy store stood which in turn was directly next to The Fleet Wing gas station.  

The side of the building.  This is what it looked like as a gas station.

Back then the 1940s Art Deco-style gas station building really stood out from every other building.  After driving past Army & Navy you would encounter The Fleet Wing which had its pumps along the side of the building.  Well, that gas station, which later became "The Pelican Bar & Grill" and now the A&W Jewelry Store, is about to be demolished to make way for a new apartment building...and quite a few people are upset that it will be demolished.  The Historical Preservation Trust published on Facebook its objections to its demolition.  They said that the building was a "contributing resource" in a historic district recognized by the National Register of Historic space.  The Fleet Wing is the last local building covered with colored enameled steel tiles and is said to be a piece of automative history.  The developer of the new apartment building said it would cost half-a-million dollars to include it in the apartment plans.  Worrying that by the time I made my way to downtown Lancaster the building would be demolished, I jumped in the car to take a few photos.  Parked right in front of the building and grabbed my camera.  I must admit that I was surprised at what I saw.  The building seemed ancient, much like me.   All of the yellow tiles that covered the building no longer had their glowing look to them.  A few were damaged.  I was totally disappointed with what I saw.  Yes, I took a few photographs, but the photographs that were in the newspaper showing the building seemed much better than what I took.  Well, it seems like there may be a compromise to the problem.  The developer of the apartment building was told to remove and store the porcelain-enamel steel panels of the 1940 Art Deco building before demolishing the rest of the building to make way for the new apartment building.  Then a new use may be found for the panels.  Will this satisfy anyone?  Probably not, but I guess it is the next-best remedy for the problem.  I must admit that the building has become an eyesore, but not one that couldn't have been polished back into the way it once was just before I was born. I'm going to keep an eye on the newspaper and check out what happens in the next half-year or so.  Perhaps a solution may arise that will keep history alive in downtown Lancaster.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.   

The "This Magazine Has Been Around For 100 Years!" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Reading one of the last stories in my 116 page Anniversary Issue Reader's Digest.  The magazine has been one of my favorites ever since my wife bought me a subscription to it years ago.  

One of my favorite things about the magazine is the size of it.  It measures 5 1/8" in width and 7 1/4" in height; every issue!  Easy to hold in my hand, both at home and in an airplane when traveling.  At times there may be an extra signature or so, but it usually sticks to somewhere close to 120 pages, each measuring the same size for as long as I can remember.  The very first issue was on February of 1922.  The issue I am holding in my hands takes a look at the signifiant, memorable, present articles and authors from 100 years of Reader's Digest magazines.  The current Chief Content Officer, Jason Buhrmester tells about some of the incredible stories from famous writers, politicians, everyday heroes and average Americans that have filled the pages of Reader's Digest for a century.  The issue also talks about humor, health and how to feel hopeful about the next century.  He goes on to thank me for being a part of the first 100 years of Reader's Digest and that he looks forward to hearing and sharing my stories for years to come.  Well, thank you very much Mr. Buhrmester.  This particular issue has not only the usual stories in it, but some of the all-time favorite stories, jokes and reader's tales from the past 100 years.  And...I have read everyone of them since my magazine arrived a few days ago.  One of the stories talks about "Our Two Cents on Cryptocurrency" which would never have been heard of 100 years ago.  Another story tells of "The Hottest Kitchen Tip...Freezing."  And...then came a couple of pages of jokes and cartoons.  "News From The World Of Medicine" followed before the Cover Story began telling about Reader's Digest 100 YEARS.  Began by telling that "before there was a magazine, there were stacks of three-by-five-inch slips of paper onto which Reader's Digest founder DeWitt Wallace would jot notes and quotes from everything he read.  After he returned from serving in WWI he decided to share his condensed versions of articles.  He and his wife Lila worked together on the first issue of Reader's Digest which was published in February of 1922.  Today their mission of sharing amazing stories with millions of readers continues.  What followed was a look at the significant, memorable, prescient articles and authors from 100 years of Reader's Digest. I remembered a few of them, but luckily I got to read some of the stories that were in the magazine before I could read and perhaps even born.  The fist story was titled "How to Keep Young Mentally and was written by Mary B. Mullett in February of 1922.  It told of Alexander Graham Bell and his belief in lifelong learning.  One story from October of 1957 that I also didn't remember, told of "The Girl Who Was Anne Frank."  I do remember reading that Anne's father didn't want it published, but her father was convinced by Anne's friends that she had wanted to publish a book so he eventually agreed.  In 1967 was a story titled "I Am Joe's Heart" which was published in April of 1967.  It told about a 12 ounce, red-brown, unimpressive shaped dedicated slave of a guy named Joe.  Story also told of other parts of his body as well as his wife's body.  Story was the first article in the magazine's health series that continued until 1990.  Other stories were titled "Chappaquiddick: The Still Unanswered Questions" from 1980 and another story titled "Maya's Journey Home" written in 1982 that was written by Maya Angelou.  A dozen or more stories followed with the final one being "Amy's Choice" written by Rena LeBlanc in September of 2000.  Story tells about a 19-year-old who fights for and wins custody of her four younger siblings in order to keep the family together and away from her drug-addicted mother who was in prison.  There was also a section titled "Quotable Quotes" with the oldest being from August of 1949 and read..."A gentleman will not insult me, and no man not a gentleman can insult me."  This was written by Frederick Douglass in August of 1940.  A dozen short stories followed that were titled "Reader's Digest Saved My Life!" and came from grateful readers who recounted how the magazine got them diagnoses, treatment, and most importantly, their lives back.  A few stories from Servicemen as well as the traditional "Humor in Uniform" section covered almost a dozen pages.  A current story titled "The Fight To Save Texas's Spectacular Coral Reefs" and another gut-wrenching story titled "Swept Away" took the readers to the end of the magazine.  Only thing left over was the section titled "Word Power" in which a page shows a photograph that reader's were supposed to title from the previous issue in hopes of having their name placed next to it as having the best title for the picture.  The very last page, just before the rear cover page of the 100th issue of  The Reader's Digest, featured a photograph of "Rosie" with a caption that read..."A Trusted Friend In A Complicated World."  

And that, my friends was page 116 of the "100th ANNIVERSARY READER'S DIGEST."  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "The Scribbler Tells The Story Of The Reist Painting In His Newspaper Column" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Reading another Jack Brubaker "The Scribbler" column in my Sunday, LancasterOnline newspaper.  Column was titled Reist Barn Mural and began with...Dear Dr. Scribblerbarn.  It was about three months ago that I wrote another story about Arthur L. Reist Jr., the owner of a barn at 980 Eden Road in Manheim Township who collects old farm tools and machinery and who happened to have his large display on exhibit at the Manheim Township Public Library.  I stopped to take a look and had the best time talking with Art whom I happened to have as a student in my Industrial Arts classes years ago at nearby Manheim Township High School.  

The Reist farmstead along Eden Road.

A few days after I visited the library, I stopped at his farm to take a photograph of his beautiful barn that sits along Eden Road.  Next to his brick house sits a large barn that has been painted with a Conestoga wagon with six horses who pull the wagon.  It was about twenty years ago that local artist Wayne Fettro painted the mural that depicted the life-size six-horse wagon headed west on the ill-fated Braddock expedition during the French & Indian War.   Arthur L. Reist Sr., the late owner of Oak Lawn Farm and expert on Conestoga wagons, hired Fettro to paint the mural.  It was meant to honor Reist's ancestor Jacob, who was killed when French troops and their Indian allies attacked General Edward Braddock's British soldiers as they marched toward present-day Pittsburgh.  

The barn and mural at the Reist farm.

The original mural is a unique monument to the French & Indian War.  People come from all over the world to see and photograph the mural and farm, said Arthur E. Reist, current owner of the farm.  Mr. Reist Sr. was a teacher at Conestoga Valley High School who happened to teach history and always enjoyed sharing the history of his farm with anyone who stopped to see the painting on the barn.  Art Jr., whom I had as a student in my shop classes, now shares the same desire to pass on the history of their property and history of the Conestoga wagon which is painted on his barn on Eden Road.  Over the years, the painting on the barn has deteriorated and Art is trying to get Mr. Fettro to do some touch-up work on the painting.  Hopefully that will happen so that the next few generations of visitors will have the chance to view the beautiful depiction of the Conestoga Wagon being pulled by the horses with a rider next to the wagon.  Here's hoping that Mr. Fettro, or someone whom might be as skilled as he, can touch up the paint job.  I'll have to stop by at the end of the summer and see if anyone has been able to do the job.  Might also have to stop and visit and Hi! to my former student at Manheim Township High School.   It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "The Age Of Those That Cannot Speak: Part II" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Reading about an animal that I had never heard about until last evening when I saw photographs of what is known as a lungfish.  And, this wasn't just any type of fish.  My gosh...it was older than I am!  And...that's old!  The fish loves to eat fresh figs, get belly rubs and is believed to be the oldest living aquarium fish in the world.  And, to top that off if's name is Methuselah, just like in the Bible.  In the Bible, Methuselah was Noah's grandfather and was said to have lived to be 969 years old.  Now, this fish that I was reading about wasn't quite that old, but it is believed that it is about 90 years old with no known living peers.  This Methuselah is a 4-foot-long, 40 pound Australian lungfish that arrived at the San Francisco museum in 1938 from Australia.  

The lungfish

I wasn't even born back then!  And...it's still alive!  This fish has green scales that look like artichoke leaves.  Another lungfish resided at the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago.  That fish died in 2017 at the age of 95.  Methuselah is believed to be a female, but the only way to be sure is with a risky blood draw.  She likes to be rubbed on her back and belly.  Remember...this is a fish!  She seems to be a fussy eater and only likes figs that are fresh and in season.  Nothing frozen for this girl.  Other items she enjoys are grapes, blackberries, romaine lettuce, clams, prawns, earthworms and a variety of other fish.  The Australian lungfish is a threatened species and can no longer be exported from Australia.  The aquarium at San Francisco does have two other much younger lungfish with one being 25 pounds and the other 15 pounds.  When Methuselah passes away, they will not to be able to replace her.  Luckily she is thriving nicely right now.  I had an aquarian for years with a variety of different sized fish, but not a single one weighed a pound, let alone 40 pounds.  And...I thought the goldfish I wrote about yesterday was big!  Of course...he or she wasn't 90 years old!   And...sorry to say... never will be.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "Bored With Nothing To Do!" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Sitting in my lounge chair looking at photographs from my favorite place on earth, St. Martin (French) - Sint Martin (Dutch).  Carol and I have traveled to the island close to 15 times...some times by ourselves while other times with friends.  A few trips were for a week while our latest trips have been for three weeks.  We have stayed on both the Dutch side and French side, but we haven't been to the island since COVID closed the island for a few months two years ago.  We have canceled a few trips to the island during that time, but don't want to chance becoming ill on an island in the Caribbean, since that has happened in the past and it's not a fun time!  Today I was surfing on my computer when I came across Jeff Berger's Everything St. Maarten / St. Martin / SXM Facebook Group site and spent some time looking at all the photographs that have been posted to the site since the beginning of 2022.  Thought I just had to share them with someone, so if you are reading this post, you are that someone.  Hope you enjoy my favorites!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. 

  

The "The Age Of Those That Cannot Speak: Part 1" Story

It was an ordinary day.  A bit cold, but then again, I live in Pennsylvania and it is February.  We still have a slight bit of snow on the ground from the snow we had about a week ago.  My wife called me to the bedroom window and pointed to the large orange shape that was under the ice along the side of our pond that sits on the bank behind our home.  "I think our gold fish might not have made it through the winter," she said to me.  About half a dozen years ago we purchased close to a dozen small gold fish and a few medium sized gold fish to place in our newly finished pond on the bank behind our house.  This batch of fish was to replace the previous batch of fish that had mysteriously disappeared until one day we found a photograph in our mailbox showing a blue heron sitting on the peak of our roof looking down into our pond while we were on a short vacation to the Jersey shore.  The Heron had helped itself to our batch of a dozen goldfish and someone passing by had noticed the commotion and taken a photograph of it so we could see what might have happened to the gold fish.  We eventually got back to replacing the fish and had no trouble the second time.  We did lose a few fish during each of the first few winters due to the pond freezing on the top.  The couple of large fish did last the longest, but this one last fish made it through close to half a dozen winters.  He, or she, was a big eater who enjoyed being fed often and who just loved floating around the top of the pond in the spring, summer and fall of each year and hiding near the bottom, under protection we had supplied for it in the winter.  Well, we guessed that it had just outlived it's lifespan and had finally floated to the top and gotten stuck in the ice on the top of the pond.  I grabbed a shovel and broke through the surface to find the bright orange goldfish slightly enlarged in size, but still a beautiful orange color.  He or she must have reached the end of its lifetime.

Retrieving the dead fish from under the ice.

I dug through the icy top, retrieved the fish and buried the goldfish nearby while thanking it for all the good times it had given us.  Hopefully it lived a good life and enjoyed living in our back yard.  

Measured it to find it was close to a foot long.  A well-fed fish.

Perhaps we may try another school of fish in the near future and one may last as long as our latest one did.  

Buried in a nearby hole.

That all depends on how many blue heron that might notice the movement in the pond on our rear bank.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "Doesn't 'Pizza' and 'Pieces' Sound Different To You?" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Suppertime and Carol and I weren't really hungry.  We talked it over and decided we would just get a piece of pizza at a neighborhood pizza shop known as Caruso's.  We buy pieces of pizza there frequently and know most of the cooks and waitstaff that work at the pizza store which is about a block away from our home.  Carol always calls and places the order for two large slices of cheese pizza.  Their large pizzas are very big, so one piece is just the right amount of food to satisfy each of us.  After placing the order we are always given a number to give at checkout to get the correct order.  Alway works out perfect.  Always!  Well, today Carol was busy so I placed the order.  Told the fellow who answered the phone that I wanted two pieces of large cheese.  I assumed that was all I needed to do to place the order.  The fellow said they would be ready in 15 minutes and gave me what I thought was the pick-up number of 2298.  I waited about 10 minutes then hopped in the car and headed down the street to pickup the 2 pieces of large pizza.  Place had a few people waiting at the counter, but in about 5 minutes I stepped to the front of the line and handed the manager the paper I had written 2298 on.  I told him that was the number he had given me when I called a few minutes ago.  I think he wasn't sure at first about the number, but then he got a smile on his face, walked over to the big oven and pulled two large cheese pizza boxes off the top of the oven.  Sat them in from of me and said, "That will be $22.98."  I sort of laughed and said,  "That's not my order!"  He replied, "You just called and told me you wanted two large cheese pizzas, didn't you?  I gave you the price for the two and you said you'd be right over."  Now, I guess I should have told him I wanted two SLICES of cheese pizza instead of two pieces.  Luckily I stop at the place often and know just about everyone in the place, so he said, "You should have said two slices and not two pieces.  I thought you said you wanted two pizzas!  Didn't you wonder why I gave you the number 2298, which was the price?"  Lucky for me, the guy was the manager and he recognized me right away when I walked in...so he said, "How about you take just one of them and I'll only charge you $11.49?"  I thought for a few seconds and after realizing that they always take good care of Carol and I, I agreed to take only one of the pizzas.  I'm sure he sold the other one within the next five minutes anyway.  Paid him and when I went to leave with the one large pizza he said, "Next time tell your wife to call in the order!"  I smiled and promised him I would.  Walked in the door when I got home and Carol asked me why he put the two slices in such a big box.  I had to tell her my mistake and that I agreed to take one of the two big pizzas.  Wasn't long before our daughter-in-law called to see how we were doing and Carol asked if our grandson would like six big slices of pizza.  Caden is a few inches taller than 6 feet and weighs close to 225 so we were positive he would eat the rest of the pizza.  He appreciated us calling and I'm sure he had no trouble finishing the rest of the pizza.  And, from now on, my wife will order the pizza!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "The 'Bee' Locomotive" Story

It was an ordinary day. Looking up a few Civil War items on eBay when an old carte-de-viste  of a locomotive appeared on my desktop computer.  The photograph showed a locomotive named "Bee" that had been built at the Norris Locomotive Works in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.  

Neat photograph that showed the engine that had 20 inch diameter cylinders with a 26 inch stroke and driving wheels that had a 48-inch diameter with the name John A. Durgin, Constructor which appeared on the back.  Before the Civil War, Lancaster Locomotive Works made engines from 1853 until the Panic of 1857 when railroads failed to pay for the locomotives they had purchased.  The shops laid idle until two of the Norris brothers connected to the Norris Locomotive Works in Philadelphia moved production to Lancaster in late 1863.  

Card for the Norris Locomotive Works

That shop was located in the northeastern part of Lancaster city along the railroad on the northeast corner of Plum and Fulton Streets.  By June of 1865 the works produced one locomotive per week and employed 400 men in Lancaster.  An article in the June, 1866 Intelligencer newspaper tells of all the shops in use to make the locomotives.  Many of these locomotives went in to service on the Western Pacific Railroad in California.  In 1866 Mr. John Durgin became Superintendent at the place and the first ten-wheeled locomotives were produced the following year for the Pennsylvania and the Allegheny Valley Railroads.  The two 2-10-0 Lancaster engines were the first of that configuration built in the United States and designed by Alexander Mitchell, who had perfected the design of the 2-8-0 engine in 1866.   The "Bee" appears to have gone into service on the Lehigh Valley Railroad and was modified in  1883 to a 2-8-2 configuration.  

The 2-8-2 configuration can be seen in this photograph.

The "Bee's" novelty attracted attention as railroad engineers reflected on their early days in professional journals in the early 1900s, and engravings from the journals document its appearance over the course of it's lifetime.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

One final photograph of the "Bee" made in Lancaster, PA

The "Lancaster County Stars At The Super Bowl!" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Sort of ordinary!  I say that since it was Super Bowl Sunday and the big game was almost half over.  As soon as time ran out in the first half, the work crew began to assemble the stage on the football field.  The multipiece stage was very large and you could tell that the crew must have practiced many times in order to get it assembled as fast as they did.  By the time the first group of commercials were over, the small illuminated city grid was in place.  Looked like a "miniature street" that was illuminated in LED lights.  The illuminated city was made in Lititz, Pennsylvania which is about a mile or so from my home in Manheim Township, Lancaster County.  The company that built the set in Lititz, totally disassembled it, transported it to Los Angeles Stadium for the half-time show and reassembled it at the start of halftime show and finally disassembled it after the halftime show was over.  The entire "miniature street" was built by Lititz-based "Atomic" which is an entertainment company whose work includes set construction and project planning.  They were responsible for the set construction and project planning, getting the set to the football field, setting it up at the beginning of halftime and taking it down when halftime was over.  

The set from Lancaster County at the Super Bowl

Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, 0 Cent, Mary J. Blige, Kendrick Lamar and Eminem all performed on the large, white multi piece stage.  When the camera panned up to an aerial view, those watching the half-time on TV saw a shining city grid illuminated in LED lights.  The city was supposed to be Compton in southern Los Angeles County, California, since many of the rappers come from Compton including Dr. Dre and Lamar.   The city was the inspiration for the set as well as for many of the artist's songs.  Alix Reynolds, account manager for Atomic, said it was incredibly rewarding to see all the elements come together for the show.  Mr. Reynolds said that the Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show design team contacted Atomic and the company was "excited by the challenge."  Atomic's program manager, James Rogers explained how everything came together on game day.  They used over 31,000 square feet of printed fabric to create the field cover that set the stage for the Pepsi Super Bowl Halftime Show.  The entire piece was created by digitally stitching together 1,200 photos of an aerial map of Compton, California.  Then, they sewed 16,000 individually controlled LED lights into the fabric.  The crew only had eight minutes to set up the display and six minutes to take down  the display.  They separated the overall piece into about 20 sections with 12 to 15 people assigned to each section and on cue, they were strategically placed on the field to appear as one giant map of Compton.  I should also tell you that Atomic's LED lights display wasn't the only piece of Lancaster County in this year's Super Bowl.  A director from central Pennsylvania who lived much of his life in Lancaster directed The Botanist gin's first television commercial that debuted during Super Bowl LVI.  Mercedes-EQ also used a piece of Lancaster County in one of it commercials.  The carmaker used drone footage from a nearby Lititz father and son duo who work under the name "717 Drone Guys."  So, if you watched the game in it's entirety, you got a chance to see quite a bit of Lancaster County and its landscape as well as its technology.  Bet you weren't ready for that...were you?  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "Passing Time With A Good Laugh" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Another day filled with TV and news stories about COVID and getting, or not getting, vaccinations. Seems like it's been years since my wife, Carol, and I have been able to do anything other than sit in our recliners and hold our cat known as The Gray Lady.  The virus is still around the corner and we chose to stay out of it's way the best we can and that usually means staying home where we feel safe.  Mind you...we don't usually complain, but it does gets a bit boring day after day after day.  Luckily, my wife usually is the one who holds the cat, but when she is out walking around the neighborhood for exercise, I end up sitting in the lounge chair holding The Gray Lady.  After what seems like perhaps 15 minutes, Carol returns once again to see me sitting in the lounge chair, holding our sweetheart, The Gray Lady.  Carol usually looks exhausted and when she tells me she's been gone for almost an hour, I then realize I must have dozed off for....a few minutes!  We have been trying to pass time by doing different things around the house, but after a while we tend to get bored.  So...we talked about what we could do that is different and have come up with a few things to keep us busy.  One unusual thing we have come up with has to do with our TV.  On our television screen, when the house phone rings, it shows who is calling on the top right corner of the TV.  Many times it will tell us it is SPAM which means we do not answer it.  Well, we decided that we need some more entertainment, so now when the TV tells us it is SPAM we get off the recliner, pick up the phone and begin with unusual answers for the caller.  My latest response is..."Hang on a minute"...then I come back on the phone 30 seconds later and tell them..... "we see you are calling about SPAM and I just checked in the pantry and we have two big cans and one small can of SPAM so we don't really need any right now.  Try a few months from now and maybe we will need some more...and I immediately hang up the phone!"  I'm sure they are caught off guard, but the longer I make them wait before I begin to talk again, the less time they have to try and reach a few more places...maybe your home, to try and sell their stuff to you.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.  

The "How Your Moods Affect The Way Your Brain Ages" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Reading a very interesting article titled "How Your Moods Affect The Way Your Brain Ages."  After reading it twice I wasn't sure if I wanted to post something about it or just trash it.  Came to the conclusion that if I trashed it, someone who might have been helped by it, wouldn't have had the chance to read the article.  I hope you may find it interesting and perhaps just one person who reads it will be helped by it.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

Can your mood determine how well your brain will age? It’s a scary prospect, but the effect of your mood may stretch even further than the emotional pain, physical discomfort and fatigue you most often associate with depression. Along with all that suffering, the brain may also be degrading, which could make someone who is depressed more likely to develop dementia later in life.

Understanding the Link

Researchers at Cambridge University recently published a meta-analysis comparing studies and articles on PubMed, ScienceDirect and similar search engines. They compiled 32 articles linking depression and cognitive decline, and they found depressed people are far more likely to suffer from dementia in their senior years. But determining cause and effect isn’t so simple.

In their discussion, the researchers list three possible explanations for the link:

• Depression may reduce a person’s threshold for mental decline, with dementia being a possible long-term side effect.
• Depression may be a possible cause or an early symptom of cognitive decline.
• Depression and cognitive decline may develop independently, possibly arising from the same root cause.

Regardless of their relationship, the two appear to go hand-in-hand. More research is needed to rule out all other potential causes, but if we can figure out the base of the issue — whether it’s depression, disease or something else completely unrelated — we might find more effective treatments for both of these conditions.

Depression on the Brain

Depression appears to cause visible brain changes in MRI scans. For example, women suffering from depression tend to have hippocampuses that are 9% to 13% smaller than women without depression. This may be the result of long-term damage caused by stress hormones continuously flooding the brain. The hippocampus is vital to memory storage, as well as our emotional responses upon recall, so this finding alone could explain the depression-dementia connection.

Depression also causes changes in other areas of our brains, too. The amygdala, which lights up during times that are emotionally charged, tends to become over-activated in people with depression, and this over-activation tends to persist even after depression has been treated. Problems with the thalamus, which regulates our ability to learn, reason, and speak, may also be associated with mood issues and bipolar disorder.

Reversing the Damage

We may not fully understand the relationship yet, but we can be proactive about what we do know: Depression is treatable. For an immediate boost, antidepressants may be able to help balance out neurotransmitters and start the road to recovery, but the long-term effects of their use is still poorly understood.

It’s important to note that some antidepressants, especially SSRIs, have been tied to a risk of suicide or suicidal ideations, especially in vulnerable groups of people. Anyone considering this type of treatment needs to discuss their family history as well as the risks and benefits of each medication before making a treatment plan.

A more viable solution may lie in therapy. Studies have shown cognitive behavioral therapy and behavioral activation therapy, both of which place a focus on restructuring a patient’s behaviors and responses, can lead to structural changes of their own. Both have been shown to create long-lasting changes in mood and behavior, and both appear to coincide with visible changes on brain MRI scans.

Depression can have some profound effects on the body, but what it could do to the brain itself might be the most dangerous of all. Be proactive about your mental health. Seek help from your physician or a mental health professional. You could be preserving more than your wellbeing. You might be saving your future self: your memories, your ability to learn, remember and react — and maybe even the very essence of who you are.

~ Here’s to Your Healthy Pursuits!

The "How To Be A Better And Kinder Traveler!" Story

PS - I have been waiting for over two years to post this story.  It has been that long since Carol and I have had the chance to travel to our favorite vacation location of St. Martin.  The other day she asked me if I think we will ever get back there one more time.  I had no answer for her!  The more I thought about it, I realized that perhaps I better post this story so at least you can get a chance to use our ideas as to how to be a better and kinder traveler.  It really does work! Try it and see! 

It was an ordinary day.  Checking the calendar to count the days before we will be heading back to the island of St. Martin in the Caribbean.  Carol and I have been extremely lucky to have been able to travel after my retirement from teaching in 1999.  We have also made quite a few trips with our traveling companions Jere and Just Sue to other islands in the Caribbean.  Jere taught with me at Manheim Township School District and we both retired together and took a trip to Hawaii with our wives to celebrate.  Since then we have made close to 15 trips together while Carol and I have taken another 15 or so trips by ourselves to our favorite destination of St. Martin.  Over the years we have come to realize that when you visit the native home of another, it is best to treat them the same as you would want to be treated if you were the host to a traveler.  Although we can't speak the language of a few of the islands we have visited in the past, we do try and learn a few important words that would help if we were lost or in trouble.  For those islands that speak English, we do make an effort to learn a bit about the local version of English that is spoken so we can converse with those we come in contact with during our vacation.  We do have one advantage on most places we visit; the fact that we are OLD!  We have found that as we age, native islanders, no matter what island it may be, are more willing to try and help us understand the local dialect.  And, when we look confused, which is frequent, most are more than willing to help with problems that may arise.  In return, we try and treat everyone the way we would appreciate being treated.  When ever possible, we try and compliment the person we have come in contact with such as the desk clerk, maid, cook, etc.  

A "Thank You" card is always appreciated.

Writing a note of appreciation is always helpful to send after you have returned from a vacation.  I can tell you that if you return to the same place once again, they will remember the nice letter you sent to them after your previous trip.  Whenever possible, try and find out the name of those who you see on a daily basis while on vacation and use their name when you greet them the next time you see them.  It may make them feel special and more appreciated.  Don't be afraid to ask questions of those you meet while on vacation.  Especially if they are native to the island.  They will certainly appreciate that you want to know more about their culture and may give you suggestions for places to visit that might be something other than a tourist stop where everyone goes.  Ask if they have recommendations for a place to eat and you most certainly will get some of the finest spots on the island to meet more islanders.  Might help if you could learn a few words or even a sentence or two using the local language of a place you visit that doesn't speak your native tongue.  Since we travel frequently to the French side of St. Martin, it would be great to know French.  I'm sorry to say that even though I had two years of French in high school, I only can remember half a dozen words anymore.  At least I know "Oui" (yes) and "Non" (no), but I must make sure I don't use them at the wrong time.  We have been very fortunate during our travels to have found that almost every place we visited speaks English well enough to understand them.  We enjoy a conversation with a waiter or waitress when we go to an island restaurant.  

Ask them about their life on the island and their family and before long you will be good friends.  But, do remember that you may be interfering with their work and only ask questions if you see they may have time to spare.  A return visit will be even more special for both you and the wait staff.  And finally, learn of any customs you should know about before you go on vacation to a special spot.  For instance, in Hawaii, water is considered sacred being it comes from heaven.  So, don't leave the faucet in your room running or throw trash into the local stream.  Over the years, during our trips to St. Martin, we have used the same realtor all the time.  She is like family to us.  I try and take something special with us to give to her as a token of appreciation for all she does for us. Last year we took one of my Polaroid prints I had made of the island and on another occasion we gave her a small stained glass panel I had made.  A bag of pretzels or a box of Whoopie Pies from our hometown are great gifts.  She in return has treated us special every visit we make.  Last year I left my car's key fob in the rental's safe.  She found it and returned it to me.  When I asked to repay her for the postage, which was close to $8, she declined.  Special treatment will yield special treatment in return.  Try it on your next visit.  You will be amazed how much more you enjoy your stay!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "Lancaster Woman Wins 'Jeopardy'" Championship" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Reading my local Sunday News when I came across a column known as 'Lancaster That Was' in the "Living" Section of the newspaper.  There was a story titled Lancaster woman was 'Jeopardy!' champ in 1972.  The column features stories from the past.... usually stories from 25, 50, 75 and 100 years ago.  Well, the "25 years ago section" told of cellphone usage increasing throughout the 1990s and the battles over the placement of a new cellular tower.  Opinion about the proposed tower on Pheasant Ridge was thought to be evenly divided, so they decided to vote with the understanding that if most residents opposed the tower, Pheasant Ridge would decline to sign a lease with Cellular One.  Rather boring story to say the least compared to the story from 50 years ago.  This story told of a local woman, Mrs. Jane Gschwend, who was competing in the "Jeopardy!" Tournament of Champions in 1972.  She had to face a New Jersey dentist and a New York businessman in the match that pitted the top three earners of all time against one another.  

Jane Gschwend, "Jeopardy" Tournament of Champions winner.

At the time a champion was limited to winning five episodes of the show.  Mrs. Gschwend had amassed $8,250 after winning her five contests.  Up until 2003, Jeopardy champions could only win five times before they had to leave the show.  Brad Rutter, a Manheim Township High School graduate where I taught, had won five times in 2000 and had to leave the show undefeated. Since that time he has competed against other long-time winners such as Ken Jennings and has also won two Chevrolet Camaros.  He also won the 2005 Ultimate Tournament of Champions winning $2,115,000.  Perhaps he would have been the all-time winner had he not had restrictions in place when he competed.  As for Mrs. Jane Gschwend, "Jeopardy" was a daytime game show at the time and had been hosted by Art Fleming since its debut in 1964.  She did tip off the Sunday News, which she wasn't supposed to do at the time, as to the outcome of her match which was set to air about a week after the newspaper interviewed her.  She mentioned winning the "bonus prize" of a 1,000 book paperback library which she planned to donate to the Lancaster County Library.  At the time, only the winner of the Tournament of Champions got that particular prize, though she said no one had told her not to discuss the rest of the show with the media.  As for her cash prize of $8,250, she reported that she would donate it to Hiram College in Ohio, her alma mater.  For those who happen to watch "Jeopardy" daily, the amount that she won seems minute compared to what is amassed on the current show.  But, that was 50 years ago and so much has changed since that time.  Heavens, that amount can be won before the show is even half over on any one particular evening.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "The Start Of The Uber Craze!" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Reading about the earliest Uber drivers that at one time offered rides for a nickel.  All began on July 1, 1914 when an enterprising motorist named L.P. Draper picked up a man who had been waiting for a streetcar in the city of Los Angeles.  He took him a short distance in his Model T Ford and charged him five cents for the ride. At the time, most streetcars charged the same amount so Mr. Draper was paying the same rate for his ride as if he had waited and hopped on the streetcar.  But, he was dropped off at the exact location where he wanted to go instead at a streetcar stop.  And, since Mr. Draper had a chauffeur's license, he was within the law in Los Angeles.  Wasn't long before other enterprising drivers did the same.  The cars they began using were known as jitneys, after a slang term for nickel.  Many drivers offered rides on their way to and from their own jobs.  Made sense to me!  Seems that at the time there was an economic slowdown and the drivers were using their free time to shuttle people around the city to make a few dollars to feed their family.  Wow, sounds as if this story could be about today's economy.  Word got around fast that people could flag down a jitney driver for the same amount as waiting for a bus.  

An early Motel T Ford Jitney

The jitney drivers often drove a Model T and would cruise the main streets looking for passengers to ferry to and from their jobs.  Wasn't long before the phenomenon spread across the United States and prompted drivers and riders in all cities to try out the new craze.  The number of jitneys went from zero to 200 in a few weeks, carrying 25,000 passengers a day.  By the summer of 1915 there were 62,000 jitneys operating in cities across the U.S.A.  The jitneys offered the convenience that the streetcars didn't.  And...the jitneys could go anywhere and had no schedule to follow.  Some offered door-to-door service and continued to run late at night, after the streetcars and traditional taxis had stopped operating.  The jitneys represented "a new page in the history of locomotion when convenience and economy came together."  At the time there was no legislation controlling jitneys.  The Electric Railway Journal denounced them as "a menace" and as "this Frankenstein of transportation."  They argued that jitneys should be licensed just as taxi cabs and buses since they both had to pay taxes to operate on the same streets as the jitneys.  Makes sense to me!  Not only that, but the jitneys caused extra traffic on the streets.  Accidents in the city of Los Angeles went up by 22% due to the jitneys.  And the jitneys led to robberies, rape and acted as getaway vehicles.  Some suggested that the jitneys had to have insurance. Well jitney drivers eventually had to get insurance, purchase a jitney license and couldn't pick up riders at streetcar stops.  After about three years, the jitney experiment was over.  But, the decline of jitneys led to very crowed streetcars and taxis.  The decline in jitneys led to private car ownership which in turn led to a variety of many other problems, but that's another story for another day.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy,