The "So Who's On Guard Duty Today?" Story

It was an  ordinary day.  Sitting in my computer chair while my trusty guard-cats keep a morning look-out.  Most times when I enter my den/bedroom my rather large cat follows me, making sure that nothing is lurking in the shadows.  He is a handsome guy who entered our previous home one morning when we opened the back door to put out a few small morsels of food for our outdoor stray cats.  Instead of grabbing a morsel and racing into hiding, he stepped in the back door.   Funny thing happened....he never left!  Snickerdoodle was a rather skinny guy at the time due to not eating on a regular basis.  Wasn't long before he began to grow while being a member of our household.  Our other indoor cat, "The Gray Lady", became best of friends with him and after a few weeks, he continues to take care of security at our new home at Woodcrest Villa on the western side of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.  Both cats have found our rear sunroom to be their favorite spot for keeping track of the neighbors.  They each have their own special spots where they can view the entire landscape behind our home.  When they hear the door bell or a knock on the door, they take off for their hiding spots in our villa.  After listening to see if they recognize whom might have arrived, they either go into permanent hiding or walk slowly into the living area to be petted.  With Christmas arriving soon, we have set up a few trees throughout the house for decorations.  The trees carry all our special memories as well as strands of white lights.  For some reason the cats seem to have picked out their favorite and known exactly where they can rest under each tree.  For many years, while living at our "beach house" in Manheim Township, our cats were not allowed to stay in our bedroom when we went to bed in the evening.  Seems all they wanted to do was play and try and find a way to get under the covers.  So...they were forced to find a place to sleep other than in the bedroom.  Since we have moved, we find that they no longer bother to enter the bedroom when we go to bed, but find their favorite spot in the sunroom.  So, we have just keep the bedroom door open.  When they hear us getting up in the morning, they find their way into the bedroom so they can make sure we are hustling enough to get they their moving meal.  Now...if you don't have any pets or think having a pet is foolish, you probably can't imagine how much fun it is to have a few extra friends in your house with you.  Always fun to have someone to talk with, even thought they don't speak the same language as we do.  And...for those that don't think animals can communicate with their owners, they never had a pet.  Just the look on the face of one of our cats tells us what they are thinking or maybe what they want from us.  Being around them day and night does help us understand each other a bit more.  Right now Snickerdoodle is sitting on the windowsill and looking at me.  He is wondering when I will be finished typing so I can get him lunch.  As for The Gray Lady, our little gray bunch of fur, well...she is chasing after something in the living room and I must go and see what she has found.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.         

The "A Testament In Bronze" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Standing in the second block of North Queen Street in downtown Lancaster, Pennsylvania looking at the newest addition to the Barney Ewell Plaza.  

Statue of Barney Ewell in downtown Lancaster, PA

The newly erected statue of Barney Ewell was recently dedicated  by Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf.  I read about it in the newspaper and thought I just had to get a few photographs of the bronze statue since Barney was a friend of my father's when they went to school together at Lancaster's J.P. McCaskey High School.  Henry Norwood "Barney" Ewell was at one time the fastest human being on earth.  Among Ewell's many accomplishments as a sprinter and long jumper were world records. in the 50 yard, 60 yard and 220 yard dashes and the 100 and 200 meter runs.  He won 12 NCAA titles as a student at Penn State University and 16 Gold Medals in world-class outdoor meets and 11 national AAU titles.  The newly erected statue of Ewell in a running stance, were created by York County sculptor Chad Fisher,  State and local dignitaries as well as Ewell's family members, friends and admirers gathered in the plaza as it was renamed from Lancaster Square to Barney Ewell Plaza.  

Closeup of the Barney Ewell statue in Downtown Lancaster

Barney brought home a gold and two silver medals in track and field from the 1948 Olympics in London.  Many believe that the 1944 Olympics would have been his best, since he would have been in his prime years, had the Olympics been held that year.  They had been canceled due to World War II.  As I stood in front of the statue taking photographs I remembered the many stories that my dad used to tell me about he and Barney when the two of them were friends at J. P. McCaskey High School.  Hard to believe that my dad and Barney have both passed away and all we have left are memories from the past.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "Alzheimer's Is Getting A Bit Too Close" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Reading a story that was posted in my Sunday newspaper that was titled "Using Music For Alzheimer's Patients."  The more I read the more I became worried that I fit a bit too closely into the many patterns that they were describing about Alzheimers disease.  The disease is a progressive disorder that causes brain cells to waste away and die.  It is the most common cause of dementia which is a term used to describe a group of symptoms that affect memory, thinking and social abilities severely enough to interfere with daily function.  Wow!  Talk about scary!  There are about 5.8 million people in the U.S. that are living with Alzheimer's disease according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  And what is ever more scary is the fact that they project that number to triple to 14 million people by 2060.  Now, I release that I'll never make it to 2060, but just to realize how fast it is growing is enough to worry just about anyone my age.  Memory loss is the key symptom of Alzheimer's disease.  As the disease progresses, memory impairment persists and worsens, affecting the ability to function at work or at home.  But, as I read a bit more I found that musical memory isn't affected as much since key brain areas linked to musical memory are relatively undamaged by the disease.  Therefore, listening to or singing songs can provide emotional and behavioral benefits for people with Alzheimer's disease and other types of dementia.  Music can also benefit caregivers by lightening the mood and providing a way to connect with loved ones who have Alzheimer's disease, especially those who have difficulty communicating.  A few tips on how to use music to help a loved one who has Alzheimer's disease are: (1) Think about your loved one's preferences as to the kind of music they enjoy and what type of music evokes memories of happy times in their life. (2) Calm your loved one during mealtime by playing music or singing a song that's soothing, upbeat or fast paced. (3) Avoid playing music with the TV turned on.  Also, choose music that isn't interrupted by TV commercials which can cause confusion. (4) Encourage movement which can help clap along or even dancing to the beat of the music. (5) Singing along to the music together can boost the mood and enhance your relationship.  (6) And finally, pay attention to your loved one's response.  If your loved one seems to enjoy particular songs, play them often and forget playing songs they react negatively to while listening.  These 6 ideas may be a good way to allow you to help your loved one with their Alzheimer's disease.  It was another extraordinary in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "2 Lives Long Harnessed Together" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Reading a story that was published in my local newspaper that told of a woman who devoted most of her time to her thoroughbred that lived more than 39 years.  Bridget Eukers lived in Windsor, Connecticut and purchased her horse from an owner who lived in Kentucky.  Her horse, known as "Rush, was foaled in Kentucky on May 4, 1983.  He was sold as a yearling for $60,000 and registered as "Dead Solid Perfect."  He ran in races 16 times and won once, in 1986 at the Meadowlands when he was ridden by Hall of Fame jockey Julie Krone.  After his racing career, he was sold to a new owner and trained in dressage.  Bridget's parents bought the horse for their daughter when she was in her early teems.  Bridget attended college close to home so she could stay near Rush.  She turned down jobs that would have cut her time with Rush and didn't socialize much and never went on vacations.  A true love affair for rider and horse!  She very seldom used a halter on him since she and Rush had an understanding.  Rush died when he was 38 years and 188 days old making him perhaps the longest-living thoroughbred in the United States.  The Jockey Club, which is the industry's breed registry, reported that the oldest living thoroughbred was 38 years an 203 days old when he died in 2016.  An Australian thoroughbred lived to be 42, according to Guiness World Records.  Bridget said that her horse would fight for her, and she would fight for him.  "Whether it's your relationship with your horse, with your friends, or with your life partner, that's what it comes down to.  They forged their relationship competing in equestrian events.  Six days a week for years, separated only by a saddle, they honed their skills, moving fluidly together and soaring over obstacles .  For Bridget, being with her horse became a way of life.  In return, he gave her joy by carrying her on his back around show rings and across her family's quilt of farmlands, often at a thundering pace fit for a racetrack.  Bridget said that "It really is a special thrill to feel a ring thoroughbred at full speed underneath you.  It's magic."  Rush was sold as a yearling for $60,000 and registered as Dead Solid perfect.  Bridget stopped riding Rush when he was 35.  He was still able to carry her, but at the time had a different priority.  Bridget's father had been diagnosed with a terminal illness and caring for Rush had to be balanced with researching treatments for her dad.  When her father died in 2019, Rush was no longer fit to be ridden.  On the night of November 7, Bridget stayed with Rush until late, then went home to  get some sleep.  When she returned at 5:30 a.m, Rush had spilled out of his stall onto the cold barn floor.  Bridget had fought for her best friend for as long as she could.  Tough losing a friend, whether it be human or animal.  But, the time they did have together brought many hours of happy memories to Bridget.  Perhaps she will find another new friend in the upcoming months to fill the void in her life that was at one time held by best friend Rush!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "Pushing The Work Aside This Wonderful Christmas Season!" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Just printed out my latest Woodcrest Villa calendar after receiving an email from the Woodcrest Villa office telling me that my December 2022 calendar is available online.  Neat calendar that has to be printed vertically since each and every day of the month on the calendar is stocked full of things to do.  Cute little pictures and the word "December" fills the upper left of the calendar with December 1 being the first Thursday of the month.  So...what things are listed on a calendar meant to be used by people in a retirement community?  Well...December 1 lists a 10:00 am Card Making workshop along with an 11:00 am Happy Face Dementia Group, a 1:00 am Water Coloring and Sketching, with a 6:30 pm BINGO.  There are just a few days in December that have only a few things to do while other days have many, many more listings.  December 14 listings include a 9:30 am Giant Grocery Store shuttle, 9:45 am J&J show, 10:00-Noon Marcia Himeisen, 11:45 am Mobile Book, 1:00 pm Pinochle, 1:00 pm Wegman's Grocery Shuttle, 2:00 pm Catholic Communion, 7:00 pm Bible Study.  December 18 features a 10:00am Worship Service and a 7:00pm Hymn Sing.  December 24 offers a 5:00 Christmas Service.  The final day of the month...December 31 is filled with a red ribbon that wishes everyone a HAPPY NEW YEAR!  Small decorations fill  many blocks which don't hold as many events, but these blocks are few, since the staff at Woodcrest makes sure that all residents have something interesting to do on just about every day of the month.  I have found that many residents do take advantage of the events that are offered at the retirement community.  I have talked with some at the villa residents whom still are  employed, either full or part-time.  Many have a spouse who may be retired, but who chose to continue to work until they feel compelled to retire from a taxing job.  Carol and I both made the decision to move to Woodcrest Villa and we have found it to be the correct move.  No more lawn mowing, tree trimming, leaf raking, show shoveling, house maintenance,  etc., etc., etc.  We now have more time to spend together with each other and enjoy our life.  We spent many a day talking about a retirement villa before our recent move.  This will be our first Christmas in our new home and we are looking forward to it.  Woodcrest has filled their holiday calendar with so many events you can participate in that we will be pushed to do as many as we might want to do.  Our children await Christmas today as much as they did when they were children, but this time for a different reason.  Their parents will not be burdened with all the hassle of preparations and can actually enjoy the entire holiday with their family.  And Woodcrest Villa has brightened the Christmas Holiday for all of its residents.  We couldn't have found a better place to be on Christmas 2022.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.  Merry Christmas To All This Holiday Season!  from Carol & Larry!

        

The "Leave The Cooking To The Homo Erectus Species" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Anxious for a fabulous Thanksgiving Dinner at my daughter-in-law's mother's home in nearby Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania.  My wife, Carol and I, will join Etta and her daughter Barbara, Barb's husband and our son, Derek, Etta's other daughter Joy and our other son, Tad just as we have done the past dozen or so years to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday with a traditional turkey feast in Etta's dining room.  All the traditional fixings compliment the meal which more than covers the dinner table at her home.  We never go home with an empty stomach!  Our families are part of a long human Thanksgiving history...one that's older than our species.  Seems that our human cousins have been using fire to cook their food for almost two million years, long before Homo sapiens showed up for Thanksgiving!  A recent study found evidence of rudimentary cooking: the leftovers of a roasted carp dinner from 780,000 years ago.  Cooking food marked more than just a lifestyle change for our ancestors.  It helped fuel our evolution, give us bigger brains...and later down the line, would become the centerpiece of the feasting rituals that brought communities together and eventually celebrating holidays such as Thanksgiving.  The story of human evolution has appeared to be the story of what we eat.   A new study was based on material from a watery site on the shores of an ancient lake.  Artifacts from the area suggest it was home to a community of Homo Erectus, an extinct species of early humans that walked upright.  Years of digging at the site found fish remains, especially fish teeth.  The teeth were from a couple of species of big carp which were found around a site where there were signs of fire being used.  Testing revealed the teeth of fish had been exposed to temperatures that were hot, but not super-hot.  This suggested that the fish were cooked low and slow, rather than just tossed on a fire.  It was concluded that humans harnessed fire for cooking more than three quarters of a million years ago.  That's much earlier than the next oldest evidence for cooking, which showed Stone Age humans ate charred roots in South Africa.  But, physical evidence has been hard to find.  So, today, as we celebrate Thanksgiving Day, we will try and make sure that remains of our Thanksgiving dinner remain in Etta's back yard.  I am taking my shovel with me to dinner in hopes of burying leftovers in Etta's backyard so thousand's of years from now, someone will find the remains and know that we had a great meal of turkey, stuffing, and all the fixings.  Happy Thanksgiving to one and all on this Thanksgiving Day!   It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. 

The "Oh, How Times Change!" Part I

It was an ordinary day.  Reading the 30th Anniversary "Life" Magazine that my brother, Steve, gave to me, since he just knew I would love it being that it featured all types of photographic stories.  It is a Special Double Issue titled PHOTOGRAPHY and hit the news stands December of 1966.  The issue I am holding belonged to Mrs. N. Prutzman who lived in Hamburg, Pennsylvania at the time it was published.  It had 154 pages and was printed in color as well as black and white.  

And...it cost a remarkable 60 CENTS!  You couldn't even buy enough paper to print a 154 page magazine for 60 cents today!  Advertisements featured the 1967 Lincoln Continental, the Minolta 35mm camera, Canadian Lord Calvert whiskey, Clairol Born Blond Lotion Toner, Schlitz Beer, Campbell's Quality Soup, Contact Cold Capsules, Colgate Dental Cream, Teacher's Scotch, Desitin Calmol 4 for hemorrhoids and many other advertisements.  Magazine was half in black and white and half in color.  And...I loved it!  My favorite article was titled "All at Once, a Moment Can Be Caught Forever" and featured the history of photography from it's discovery by Frenchman Claude Niépce to The Indispensable Camera.  My favorite line within the magazine was "All at Once, a Moment Can Be Caught Forever."  For anyone whom has ever taken a photograph, the title was perfect.  The article began with...One sunny morning in 1826, Nicéphore Niépce, an up to then unsuccessful French inventor, coated an 8 x 6 1/2 inch pewter plate with a kind of asphalt called bitumen of Judea and put it in his camera obscura, a wooden box that had an aperture fitted with a lens.  Leaving the box pointing from an attic window of his estate near ''Chalon" all day, at dark he took out the plate and washed it in lavender oil and petroleum. Incredibly, an image remained!  On the mottled surface could be discerned -- and still can be in oblique light -- the imprint of rooftops and walls.  Others had been struggling for years to do what Mr. Niépce had done which was make a picture using light alone.  Only a few people knew of his great feat, one being a Parisian scene painter named Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre, who eventually became Niépce's partner.  Finally, in 1837, on a treated copper plate, Daguerre produced his first daguerreotype.  The story went on to say that...News that man had landed on the moon could scarcely have equaled the excitement that greeted Daguerre's magical little pictures.  A German news editor denounced them as "blasphemy" while the great British astronomer Sir John Herschel said simply, "This is a miracle."  Within two years nearly every major city in Europe and the U.S. had at least one portraiture studio.  Borne upon a wave of wonder and delight, the age of photography had arrived!  The magazine article had page after page of old dated photographs to illustrate the daguerreotypes of the day.  I realize to many of you, the discovery of photography might not have been a big deal, but to me it was the world, since I went on to teach photography in high school and to this day take photographs of just about every event imaginable, much to the chagrin of everyone I know!  A special note to my brother Steve:  Thanks for one of the best gifts ever!  I love it!!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. 

The "Re-living The History Of Historical Lancaster County" Story

 It was an ordinary day.  Checking out a few of my most favorite websites on Lancaster County to see if I could find any interesting stories or even photographs that might be fun to share with everyone who reads my stories.  Came across a few which I posted along with a short explanation of each.  I'm sure that I may have posted the photos in the past half-dozen years or so, but rather than search all my old stories I thought I would just publish everyone I found and if I happened to have posted one in the past...no big deal.  Hope you enjoy them....

Center square in downtown Lancaster, PA.  Date unknown.

South Queen Street looking North towards the center of Lancaster.

Center square in Lancaster.  The War-Memorial statue sits
directly in the center of town.  You are looking East in the photograph.

Another photo of Center Square looking South.

This photo of Penn Square looking North was from 1945.

This is the interior of Lancaster's Southern Farmer's Market on S. Queen St.

The Columbia-Wrightsville Bridge which connects Lancaster and
York Counties in Pennsylvania.  

The menu at the Woolworth Department Store in downtown Lancaster

As you can see..this is the Farmers' Trust
Company on the corner
of East King and South Duke Streets.  It is one block from center square.

Watt & Shand Department Store in center square with the
Soldiers & Sailers Monument in the foreground.  
This is looking South-East.

West King Street looking East. Names of stores are listed upper left on photograph.
Lancaster through the ages.  Hope you enjoyed viewing the photos.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "Digging Holes For Our Keepsakes" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Reading in a "Reader's Digest" story about the best places to hide your  jewelry and cash.  Do you have a specific spot in your house where you might hide special items you have in hopes that no one will find them and steal them?  My wife bought me a safe as a gift so I could place our valuables in it to protect the valuables from being stolen.   And...I placed it in our bedroom closet!  Isn't that where everyone places their special items they have.  Only difference was that I bolted it into the wall studs as we'll as the floor with huge bolts.  And...when we decided to move to our current home in a retirement community, I had to remove my safe from the closet.  You can't imagine how hard it was to take out those huge bolts!  I worked and worked to get that safe from the floor space where I had placed it.  And, after a few hours told my wife that we were just going to leave it there for the next person to use.  She told me to keep on trying since she had paid quite a bit of money for the safe.  Well, I worked and worked and after a few more hours managed to get it from the floor.  Ruined a few of my tools, but I did get it from the floor.  So...what was so important that we take it with us?  Our passports and our birth certificates!  We had no money or jewelry in the safe, since that is where most burglars would think to look for money and jewelry.  Do you have a house safe?  If not...where do you hide your money and jewelry?  "Reader's Digest" said that the top 10 hiding spots where a burglar would look are: (1) Under the mattress, (2) In a bedroom closet, (3) In your dresser drawers, (4) In the medicine cabinet, (5) In the freezer, (6) In office drawers, (7) In a flower vase, (8) In the liquor cabinet, (9) In a suitcase, and (10) In a portable safe.  As you can see, a portable safe is one of the places you would suspect a thief to look for your jewelry and money.  As I said...we didn't keep any money or jewelry in our safe, but we didn't want our important papers stolen, so that's why I bolted it to the floor.  We have taken it with us, but it sits empty in our closet as of now since we have taken our valuable items to the retirement community's office so they could place them in a safe location.  They didn't question us as to why we wanted them to place our passports and birth certificates in their safe, but I'm sure they thought it rather unusual.  So where do we keep our money?  In a hole in our new flower bed!  Sound like a good idea?  And if you care to dig up the huge flower beds to try and find the money...well please wait until the spring to try and find the money so we will have an easier time of planting our flowers in the Spring.  We'll need at least three dozen or so holes if you're interested!   It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "Lancaster Displays Mid-Century Marvels" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Pulling out of Longs Park after a visit to take a few photographs of the Long's Park Amphitheatre which was built in 1962.  The theatre was built and designed by architects Coleman & Coleman and was designed to illustrate midcentury modern design which is characterized by clean lines, minimal decoration and bold shapes.  It was a radical departure from the previous designs such as French revival, beaux-arts and Italian Renaissance.  I recently read a story that was published in my Lancaster Newspaper that was written by Gregory J. Scott who is the go-to guy when it comes to architectural designs.  Greg is a local architect with more than four decades of national experience in innovation and design.  He is also member of the American Institute of Architects' College of Fellows.  He recently published a story in my local newspaper titled "Midcentury Marvels" which was extremely interesting.  After reading the article I thought I would wander around my hometown of Lancaster, Pennsylvania looking for a few of the architectural styles that he had described.  Most of my photo shoot centered around downtown Lancaster, but a few other photos were taken to try and illustrate what he had written about in the newspaper.  These are just a few of the mid-century designs that are illustrated in the city of Lancaster, Pennsylvania.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.  

Modern aluminum door pulls on the
Groff Funeral Home on West Orange St.  These
illustrate midcentury modern architecture.
        

The former Conestoga National Bank on Penn
Square illustrates precast concrete panels.  It was
built around 1970.

The former Immaculate Heart of Mary Monastery built in the mid-1950s
illustrates bold geometric shapes with brick and cast-stone trim.

The former Mohn Bros. Buick showroom on the
corner of S. Prince and W. McGovern Ave. was built
in the late 1950s and has distinctive red porcelain
entry columns with an aluminum canopy. 

Long's Park Amphitheater, built in 1962 shows mid-century modern design.

The Public Safety Building in downtown Lancaster was built in
1954 and shows midcentury modern pedigree architecture with
red brick, front picture windows.

The "The Town Known As Lititz, Pennsylvania...One More Time" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Reading about the borough known as Lititz, Pennsylvania.  It was close to 10 years ago that Lititz attracted national attention when it was named one of "The coolest small towns in America" and  the nearby city of Lancaster, Pennsylvania was named  the best small city in America! when compared with 1,300 cities with populations between 25,000–100,000 people on measures of affordability, economic health, education & health, quality of life, and safety.  Well Lititz is back at it when it was recently named as one of the eight "most charming Main Streets in the United States by Fodor's, a company that has been delivering travel and tourism advice through guide books and it's award-winning website for more than 70 years.  Seems that many believe that "these Main Street thoroughfares were practically and purposefully designed to enjoy a leisurely stroll.  Visitors to Lititz can take a stroll down Main Street and see it's classic buildings which are home to a variety of  businesses.  "A Tea Affair" offers a selection of teas and scones while the Lititz Shirt Factory is a "hip, live music venue and brewery.  You can also check out the Tapestry Collection by Hilton Hotel in the building that once housed the Wilbur Chocolate Co. factory - as a "world-class luxury hotel" with a "sweet heritage."  While you stroll the streets of Lititz you can listen to the clicker-clack of horse hooves as Amish carriages are pulled past the stores in Lititz.  Other accolades for the town of Lititz during the past decade have included the Philadelphia Daily News naming it one of the 10 best places to take a "beer-cation" during the winter of 2015.  Also, in the nearby town of Lancaster, Adam McCann of WalletHub named the town the best small city to live in America based on criteria including affordability, economic health, educational health, and quality life and safety.  Lancaster also was chosen by WalletHub, a nine-year-old personal finance website, as having the best in affordability of housing, economic health, education and quality of life and safety.  My wife and family have had the good fortune of living in Lancaster County and enjoy all that it has to offer.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. 

The "Movin' On With More Time On My Hands" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Getting ready to head to visit my dentist.  Not my most favorite visit, but one that will help keep me from having to wear false teeth when I get old.  I know...my kids keep telling me that I am already old...but I keep forgetting it.  Wouldn't you?  Well...we have finally settled into our new home in the little village called Woodcrest Villa which is listed on their postcard as a "Continuing Care Retirement Community."  Wait a minute...please...I yelled... "CAROL---did you read what it says on the one side of the post card we got the other day from the guy who came around to check on us?  It says continuing care on it...My wife replied... "Yes, dear...I read that. Did. you?  It doesn't say both of us, did it?  I think that means you!"  Wow!  Well, anyway, we are here and the place is really neat.  The first day we got here a little lighted sign at the entrance read, "WELCOME CENTER" with lights that read "Welcome New Residents" on the top line and "Larry & Carol Woods" on the bottom line.

Neat to know that everyone entering Woodcrest Villa knew that we had just moved into or new home.  Our new home is known as a Villa and has a living room with a dining room and kitchen to one side of the living room, and a "sunroom" on the other side of our living room.  We have found that our cats, "Snickerdoodle" and "The Gray Lady" love the sunroom where they can sit on the back of our furniture and look out the windows at all the birds that are nearby.  If you enter through the front door and take a right...you will find a laundry room, large bathroom, guest bedroom which also serves as an office for both of us, a master bedroom and master bathroom.   There is an entrance into the garage off of the kitchen.  What is nice is that it is entirely on one floor with no need to use any stairs. All door knobs, handles, etc. are lowered a bit in order to make every room easy for someone in a wheelchair to have access to the room.  Every doorway is also slightly larger to accommodate the width of a wheelchair.  The developer who designed the villas really had everyone in mind when they designed them.  We have carpet in the bedrooms with tile in the kitchen and hardwood in the living room, dining room, entrance and hallways.  The garage is large enough for a fairly large car and with extra space for shelving and a laundry area.  We also have access to a storage area in the ceiling with an entrance in the hallway.  Two villas join each other on one of the walls.  The grounds are rather large with plenty of yard space that is covered with grass and all types of flowers and bushes.  And,the best part is that I no longer have to mow the grass, rake the leaves, shovel the snow or perform any upkeep on the property.  I can spend my time reading, working on my various projects such as my stained glass projects, watching television, visiting with all our new neighbors, visiting the various buildings in the complex, taking trips to the Chesapeake Bay Area and enjoying life.  Oh, yeah...I get more time to write a few new stories to send along to you.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.  

The "1933 Ford Coupe Tops Them All" Story

It was an ordinary day.  My son, Tad, had just parked his car and we were exiting it in preparation of visiting the North East Wheels Event which is being held in the large grassy area in front of the Neffsville Nursing snd Rehab Center in Neffsville, Pennsylvania.  

We have visited the event for many years and enjoy the variety of automobiles that are entered every year.  Wasn't long before we heard the roar of a few of the cars as they were being parked on the grassy area in front of the Rehab Center.  I began snapping photos of all the cars we passed until we came to a 1933 Ford Coupe  that was a real show-stopper.  The car was amazing with an orange paint job that seemed to illuminate the car from any angle.  We talked with the owner who told us about the car and what all he had done to the car in the past few users.  The orange paint job with light tan leather upholstery was beautiful and set off the car from the rest of the others in the show.  Tad and I walked the Showgrounds looking at all the other cars that were entered in the show.  Wasn't long before we were back in front of the '33 Ford Speedster Coupe.  What a remarkable car.  We talked a bit more with the owner and snapped a few more photographs and headed back to his car.  Check out some of the photographs that I have taken and you will see the caliber of the craftsmanship that goes into a show car.  Years ago I used to enter my 1987 bright red Corvette convertible in shows, but nothing can compare to the '33 Coupe that Tad and I saw today.  You can't imagine how dynamic it was unless you are standing in front of it.  Every part of the car was ablaze in the fall sunlight.  Only with we would have had a chance to hear the roar of the engine.  We left the show after a second look and can't imagine another car beating it out for "Best of Show."  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

Photos of a few of our other favorites follow.  See if you can find one that you would enjoy driving and perhaps owning.  

The "Glass Artist Extraordinaire" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Reading a few articles written about and by a young man whom I had as a student and athlete when I taught high school in the Manheim Township School District.   Alex Brand, whom I also knew as Jeff, was a very shy young boy when I met him for the first time when he approached me about joining the high school rifle team which I coached.  Over time he became a fantastic shooter as well as student.  After graduation he continue his education at Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  After graduation he has been crafting glass art for more than 40 years.  He has shown his work at various museums, including the Corning Museum of Glass and Smithsonian.  His work is also found in many private collections and appeared in several books and magazines, being selected four times for inclusion in New Glass Review.  The following are remarks that I found published by Alex.  For me, Happiness comes from living a creative life, whether I'm making art or making breakfast. I've always felt the need to do things differently than they've been done before. As a result, a lot of my work begins with trying new techniques, either completely new or at least new to me. I'd rather figure something out for myself than research it. This leaves more doors open; more possibilities; more excitement in the unknown. Often a new idea will yield something very different from what I had envisioned, but be just as interesting. I'll start with an idea but let the glass have a say in what it wants to be also. I try to stay out of my own way and not take the process too seriously; have fun with it. I enjoy working with other craft media and I am also a poet and singer/songwriter. I want to touch people on an emotional level through what ever I create, uplifting their hearts or inviting them to look into darker areas of my/their experience. A Quote by Leonard Cohen sums it up for me: "Poetry is the evidence of life. If your life is burning properly, poetry is just the ash." My work involves various ways to combine layers of color and the encalmo technique, which is the hot joining of two or more separate blown parts. I've experimented with many variations of this technique and in my latest work I cut the top parts of the vessels into squares before they are reassembled hot. The pieces are then blown further, distorted slightly, and other details are applied. This gives the pieces an oriental effect reminiscent of Japanese pagodas. The color banding on the surface of these pieces reminds me of photos of the planet Jupiter so I have titled this series "Jupiter Pagodas". This is a new direction for me and quite different from my earlier and very brightly colored "Ripening Series".  I have not seen or been in contact with Alex for years, but have followed his artistry for years.  I have several pieces of glass artwork, but none from Alex.   Perhaps someday I will be able to see him once again and purchase a piece of his artwork.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

Sample of art glass from Alex Brand

The "Boy...Could My Uncle John Throw A Softball" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Reading the headline on page A11 of my morning newspaper.  "Recalling the glory days" was a story of years long ago when fast pitch softball was all the rage in Lancaster County, Pennsylvnia.  I can still remember heading to Conlin Field to watch my Uncle John pitch against some of the best teams in Lancaster County.  He first played for the business where he worked and then for the his church team.  At one time, years ago, John was one of the best fast-pitch softball players in Lancaster County.  He and other pitching stars with names such as "Pinky" Geraci, Rex Giberson and Barry Parmer drew headlines many summer evenings, telling of their skills in the Lancaster Rec League.  Some week-ends I would go to watch Uncle John pitch in a tournament where it wasn't unusual to see him pitch half-a-dozen games over the weekend if his team made it to the final rounds of the tournament.  Uncle John's right arm, his pitching arm, was another half-size larger than his left arm due to pitching several games on the same day over the summer.  John was a big guy and was a formidable behemoth as he stood 43 feet from home plate, starring at his next strike-out victim.  I batted against him one time, in a pick-up game at a family picnic, and that one time was more than enough for me.  I played slow-pitch softball in my local rec-league when I was in my early 20s and seeing a ball come out of the pitcher's hand at more than what seemed to be a hundred times the speed of slow-pitch was amazing.  I'm just so glad I never had to stand in the batter's box, waiting for John to release the ball at the bottom of his windmill arc.  Fast-pitch softball was a way of life for those who played the game in the summer months.  And...Lancaster, Pennsylvania was one of the hotbeds for fast-pitch in Pennsylvania.  Many a tournament filled the softball fields on a week-end.  If you aren't familiar with fast-pitch, I should tell you that the bases are about the distance of a little-league baseball field.  And, when you fill that field with large men, it quickens your reactions if you expect to stay alive throughout the weekend tournament.  John invited me to play in one tournament with his team when they were missing a few players and I had a great time, but was scared half-to-death for just about every game.  Playing third base against large guys when you are only 60 feet away from them swinging a bat at a ball traveling maybe 100 miles-an-hour is a real thrill.  No way could I do it all summer long.  My morning newspaper today told of a fast pitch softball reunion of players who played fastpitch in "The Glory Days".  The first sentence in the story read..."Sport has...the power to unite people in a way that little else does."  These words were spoken by Nelson Mandela in 1994 referring to using rugby to unite people in his country.  Little did he know that fastpitch softball did much the same thing 50 years ago in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.  My Uncle John's playing days are over, but reminiscing about them will go on forever.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.  

The "Don't You Just Hate Growing Old?" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Reading about growing older and how it really sucks.  I qualify as someone who is old being that I will soon to be in my 80s.  When I was a young whipper-snapper I thought that people who were in their 80s should all be put in nursing homes until they die.  Now that I'm almost there, I have slightly changed my mind.  I now think that people in their 90s should all be put in nursing homes.  Can you believe that someone who is almost 80 can still type about 50+ words per minute?  When I get going and have a story dancing in my thoughts, I can really get my fingers flying on the keyboard.  I can still remember back to 10th grade when I took a class in typing.  I was one of two boys in the class amongst about two dozen girls.  I took the class because I heard it was almost all girls and it didn't require that you wear gym clothes.  My teacher was Miss Morse whom everyone thought was a pushover.  I found out that year that typing can be challenging, especially when you can't let the girls in the class do better than you...even if they had already had typing the year before.  By the end of the year I could type a bit over 50 words per minute which qualified me for last in my class.  If I now took the time to stop and count my words-per-minute, I'm sure I have added at least another couple of words per minute to my speed.  One problem I have while typing is my fingers don't want to move where my brain wants them to move.  Growing older is one of the most pervasive preoccupations of humankind.  The passing of time is an inescapable part of the human condition.  And, aging seems to be a state of mind...as well as of body.  Instead of pouting over the loss of my youth, I should celebrate every extra year and be grateful for getting older.  Many great minds have said as much.  Well, I have searched and found a few quotes that will tell you a bit about growing older.  Check them out and see what you think.  I think I fit some of the quotes!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The older I get, the greater power I seem to have to help the world; I am like a snowball--the further I am rolled...the more I gain.  Susan B. Anthony

Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young.  The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young.  Henry Ford

Nobody grows old merely by living a number of years.  We grow old by deserting our ideals.  Years may wrinkle the skin but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul.  Minister Frank Crane

Beautiful young people are accidents of nature, but beautiful old people are works of art.  Eleanor Roosevelt

The great thing about getting older is that you don't lose all the other ages you've been.  Author Madeleine L'Engle

Since our society equates happiness with youth, we often assume that sorrow, quiet desperation, and hopelessness go hand in hand with getting older. They don't.  Emotional pain or numbness are symptoms of living the wrong life, not a long life.  Author Martha Beck

There is a fountain of youth; it is your mind, your talents, the creativity you bring to your life and the lives of people you love.  When you learn to tap this source, you will truly have defeated age.  Sophia Loren

The "You May Be Asking For More Trouble By Stepping On These Bugs!" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Watching my early morning favorite..."Leave It To Beaver"...when this creepy bug went scooting across the wood floor under my TV.  I've seen them in the past, but not during the past couple of months.  Bug seems to have thousands of legs all around it's body.  I'm sure you too have seen them.  Pulled up a picture of one of them on my computer and found they are referred to as a centipede.  The creepy looking thing can really move and at times it is hard to catch or swat with a magazine or old newspaper.  And...it doesn't have thousands of legs...it only has 15 legs.  

Found it can travel about 1.3 feet-per-second.  Probably the reason it is hard to kill them.  Well, the centipede really does have a purpose in your house.  They are known to kill other house pests such as the roach, moths, silverfish, flies and even termites.  The centipede uses the two legs right near their head, which has been modified to carry venom, and their other legs to scoop up other bugs.  What they are doing is known as a "lassoing" technique where the centipede jumps on their prey and wraps them up with the rest of their legs.  So, they not only are killing the bugs we don't want in the house, but they are getting rid of their nests.  If you really do want to get rid of the centipedes in your house, try to get rid of the other house pests first which the centipedes prey on.  Make sure there isn't extra moisture in your walls by using a dehumidifier or installing a fan in the bathroom.  You can also seal off any cracks entering the house so other pests don't have places to lay their eggs.  Also, make sure to clear your house of any debris that is causing unnecessary moisture to leak into your wall.  I know...when I see one of these bugs with all the legs crawling all over the floor, I am tempted to try and tramp on them, but after reading a bit more about them, I came to realize that they are helping me rather than creating a nuisance for me.  

Another look at the centipede

Guess I should thank them rather than try and kill them.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of ordinary guy.  

The "Groucho Marx Bet His Life In Lancaster" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Sitting down in front of my mom and dad's black & white TV at 929 North Queen Street, preparing to watch Groucho Marx's "You Bet Your Life" on NBC-TV.  The show debuted on October 4, 1950 on NBC, a few years after it began on ABC Radio in 1947.  I remember watching Groucho with his cigar between his forefinger and thumb, his wire-rimed glasses and his signature bowtie.  For years, Groucho projected a look that has become a staple at costume parties: horn-rimmed spectacles, cigar in his hand and a thick mustache and eyebrows.

Groucho Marx

It was back in 1907 that Groucho, then known as Julius Marx, first came to my town of Lancaster, Pennsylvania.  He was 17 years old at the time and had no specs or mustache.  He arrived with his group known as the Nightingales, which included his brother Milton (aka Gummo) and a soprano named Mabel O'Donnell.  They appeared at the Family Theatre which was a vaudeville house on West King Street.  We know all this because notices of the Nightingales' visit in 1907 and again in 1908 appeared in Lancaster newspapers.  

A young Groucho

We know of these visits because H. Clifton Thorbahn wrote about the visits in the September 6, 1931 Lancaster News.  Mr. Thorbahn said that when Julius Marx was not singing and carrying on at the Family Theatre, he spent time playing checkers at the Lancaster "Y."  Following his checker games, he would wander up and down North Queen Street examining the goods displayed in store windows and his fellow pedestrians.  During one of his checker games he announced his opinion of Lancaster saying:  "Those quaint-appearing folks I see on the street...what and who are they?  I've watched them walk along North Queen Street, and I've come to the conclusion that they're genuinely happy.  I guess they have every reason to be happy because they don't have to smear paint on their faces, sing silly songs to empty houses and do hundreds of other things that actors have to do if they want to eat."  Eventually, Groucho joined his equally silly brothers to delight audiences throughout America.  Mr. Thorbahn also wrote about the Pennsylvania Dutch Dug-Out, which promoted itself as Lancaster County's only pubic A-Bomb shelter which opened on Lincoln Highway East in East Lampeter Township in 1950 and closed in 1952.  The shelter was in the basement.  As for my watching The Groucho Show...I can remember bits and pieces of the show, but the only thing I can really remember was the parrot on the swing that dropped next to Groucho's head when the contestant on the show said the "secret word of the day."  "You Bet Your Life" has been revived three times since the original series ended, the most recent being an ongoing version hosted by Jay Leno that launched in first-run syndication in September 2021.  Anybody remember seeing the show?  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.  

The "Revisiting A Few Stories From The Past" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Reading two stories that have appeared in my local newspaper the past couple of days.  One story talked about my favorite rollercoaster at nearby Hershey Park while the other story featured The Haines Shoe House that is just across the Susquehanna River in York County.  The Haines Shoe House was a York County attraction that sat along the Rt. 30 Bypass since the 1940s.  The LNP recently published that it is now available to rent via Vrbo, a vacation rental service similar to  Airbnb.  The attraction was sold this past July and is now available to rent.  The shoe house sleeps 6 people, with three bedrooms and two and a half baths.  The house also features a hot tub, fire ring and mini bar.  

The Haines Shoe House

Rental costs for the shoe house run from $215 to $323 per night depending upon the day of the week and if it may be a holiday or not.  The Haines Shoe house was built in 1948 and served as both an advertisement and roadside attraction for the Haines Shoe Company.  I can remember visiting the shoe house and asking permission to take a walk through it and take a few photos.  The second part of my story today deals with the Wildcat Rollercoaster at Hershey Park in nearby Hershey, Pennsylvania.  The Wildcat was my favorite ride at Hershey Park.  I can remember riding it and as soon as I got off, ran around to the entrance to get in line once again.   Did that maybe a half dozen times before I had had my fill of the coaster.  Just loved the first hill that seemed like it went straight down.  Hersheypark began selling pieces of that iconic roller-coaster this past week.    They only will have 160 small pieces of the coaster for sale at $300 each.  By the time I inquired about the pieces, they were already gone!  Hershey Park announced that they will build a new hybrid roller-coaster and call it Wildcat's Revenge.  The new coaster will be built upon the existing wooden framework of the original Wildcat.  The new coaster will not be finished until the summer of 2023.  I'm anxious already to get a chance to ride on the new coaster.  

The Wildcat Rollercoaster

My only problem will be if my doctor will want me to ride it or not.  Well, after reading both articles in my morning newspaper a few days ago, I knew I would have no problem finding something to write about today.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.