The "Did You Ever Hear Of A Gentleman Named Johannes Gutenberg?" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Recently found a notebook that I had used for years while teaching Industrial Arts at Manheim Township High School in Lancaster, Pennsylvnia.  One of the very first lessons that I taught to my Graphic Arts classes was about the invention of movable type which was used to set individual letters which in turn could be placed in a press to be printed, first by hand and later by a printing press.  Easy teaching a lesson such as this since it shows the students that the end result of this lesson is a page of printed type they could eventually read.  And...this all began in 1445 when a gentleman by the name of Johannes Gutenberg invented wooden movable type which were individual letters that could be moved around in a printing press to change what words were transferred to a piece of hand-made paper.  Empowered by this revolutionary technology, Mr. Gutenberg printed the very first book ever published... the Bible!  Before the printing press, monks painstakingly hand-copied every edition of the Bible, often taking years or more to complete the task.  Now, Gutenberg could produce 180 copies of the Bible in the same amount of time.  And, if that wasn't impressive, after Arabic movable type was produced, the first print edition of the Quran rolled off the presses in Venice, Italy, and was exported to the Ottoman Empire in 1538.  By the early 1800s, Hindu scripts were likewise being mass-produced.  As religions the world over embraced Gutenberg's invention, sacred books became more available, and less expensive, than ever before.  For centuries, religious texts were often the only books in a household.   Children learned to read by tracing their fingers down the pages, and in the evenings families would convene to hear stories of faith, love and devotion.  Collected here from a variety of religious texts are words of deep wisdom from cultures around the world, made ubiquitously available online through technology that Gutenberg never could have dreamed possible.  But, without the knowledge and intuition of Mr. Gutenberg, what you are now reading on this page right now might never had been invented.  Might be hard to believe, but who knows?  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.      

The "The History Of Lancaster In Photos! Story"

It was an ordinary day.  Doing some surfing on the "Remember When In Lancaster" web site.  Oh, the memories!  I could have spent an hour looking at all the photographs as well as reading all the stories that went with the photos.  I have picked out just a few to share with you so you too can see what the city of Lancaster, Pennsylvania was like in the past.  Click on pics to enlarge them.  Enjoy!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The square in Neffsville, north of the city of Lancaster

Robert Hall had a store to the west of Lancaster City.  My parents
bought most of my clothes at this store.

The YWCA on the East side of Lancaster City.

Fellow changing street lights in downtown Lancaster.

We had a S&H Green Stamp store at one time on N. Queen Street

Rebman's store on South Queen St. 

The US30 Diner was to the East of the city of Lancaster.

Lancaster's Central Market House.  It still remains and is
one of our most beautiful buildings in Lancaster City.

When I was a teenager and driving....these signs were erected on
light posts to try and stop us from continuously circling the city streets for hours.

At one time this was my favorite ride at  Rocky Springs Park.
The park no longer is open.  A sad day in Lancaster when it finally closed.

The "It's Been 5,131 Stories And Counting!" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Looking back over a few stories I had written in the past and found out I have been writing and posting stories for a bit longer than I had thought I had.  I know that I tend to make my stories longer than necessary from time to time, but I just get into the story and before long I have added perhaps an extra sentence or two which probably didn't add any thing more to my story than to the length of the size of it.   As I sat typing a story this past week, I asked my dear wife, who happened to be on her computer while sitting next to me, if she could check and see when I first began to post stories on "Extraordinary Stories from an Ordinary Guy."  A few seconds later she said I began posting stories on September 2, 2009.  The story was titled "The White Rats" and it had to do with my Grandpap taking me to nearby Roots Sale and biding on a cardboard box of white rats for me to take home to my house on North Queen Street.  After checking how many stories I had posted she told me it was 5,131!  No way was that possible!  So I checked myself and sure enough, she was correct, as she always is!  It's been fun writing stories for this blog site and I hope I have become a better writer and story-teller than when I first began.  My 11th grade English teacher, Mrs. Eisenhart, would be extremely proud of me, I'm sure!  I know from time to time I forget a day or two, but not often.  And...as long as someone will read my stories, I will continue to post them.  If you ever have any suggestions, please send them to me as a comment at the end of a story, and I'll try and write something about your topic.  It's been a fun 14 years of writing for me and as long as my fingers can travel over the keyboard and my mind continues to operate, I'll continue to write.  Yours Truly, LDub.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "This Guy Was One Fantastic Baseball Player!" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Reading a story about the passing of Hall of Fame third baseman Brooks Robinson who recently died.  His death was announced by the Baltimore Orioles this past Tuesday.  Brooks was an integral part of the Orioles Family since 1955 and still has an impact on the club, community and the sport of baseball.  

Brooks was 86 years old.  He came of age before the free agent era and spent his entire 23-year career with the Orioles.  He almost single-handedly helped the Orioles defeat Cincinnati in the 1970 World Series and homered in Game 1 of the Orioles' 1966 sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers for their first crown.  Brooks participated in 18 All-Star Games, won 16 consecutive Gold Gloves and earned the 1964 AL Most Valuable Player award after batting .318 with 28 home runs and a league-leading 118 RBIs.  He finished with 268 homers, drove in 1,357 runs and batted a respectable .267 in 2,896 career games.  Not bad for old #5.  He'll be remembered most for his work ethic and the skill he displayed at the hot corner (third base) where he established himself as one of the finest third baseman in baseball history, whether charging slow rollers or snaring liners down the 3rd base line.  Brooks was the last guy to get to the clubhouse the day of the game, but the first one on the field.  Brooks was a hard worker.  He was so steady that he steadied everybody else.  He arrived in Baltimore in September of 1955 as an 18-year-old after spending most of his first professional season in baseball with nearby Class B York, PA.  He went 2-22 and struck out 10 times.  Not a good start!  He jockeyed between the majors and minors until July of 1959 when he stuck around in Baltimore for good.  Brooks Calbert Robinson Jr. was born in Little Rock on  May 18, 1937.  He eventually made Baltimore his home, but never lost his southern twang, which was just fine with fans in blue-collar Baltimore, who appreciated his homespun charm and unassuming demeanor.  He was dubbed "Mr. Oriole," was a sports hero in Charm City, in the pantheon with former Colts quarterback Johnny Unitas and Orioles infielder Cal Ripken, who performed for a different generation. I didn't get to see too many of his games, but never missed an Orioles vs. Phils game on TV.  Brooks was the type of guy who just wan't to see his name in the lineup everyday.  To him, baseball was a passion to the point of obsession.  He retired in 1977 after batting only .149 in 24 games.  I think he just knew it was time.  His jersey was retired that year.  His most memorable performance came as MVP of the 1970 World Series, when the Orioles bounced back from their stunning defeat to the Mets the year before and Robinson redeemed himself after batting just 1 for 19 in that series.  Because he was so sensational in the field during Baltimore's five-game win over the Reds, few remember he hit .429 and homered twice and drove in six runs.  In game 1 he delivered the tie breaking home run in the 7th inning.  Robinson contributed an RBI single in the second game and became forever a part of World Series lore with his standout performance in Game 3.  He made a tremendous, leaping grab of a grounder by Tony Perez to start a first-inning double-play; charged a slow roller in the second inning and threw out Tommy Helms; then capped his afternoon with a diving catch of a liner by Johnny Bench.  The Series ended, fittingly, with a ground out to Robinson in Game 5, a 9-3 Orioles win.  If you have never heard the name of Brooks Robinson while talking baseball, you should be ashamed of yourself.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "A 75th Anniversary Like No Other!" Story

It was an ordinary day.  The headline on the front page of my LNP newspaper read, "A Diamond Day."  The lead story, or perhaps I should say "Love Story", was about a couple who were celebrating their 75th Wedding Anniversary by making a pilgrimage back home to Lancaster County to celebrate their anniversary with dozens of friends and relatives.  Their story began close to 76 years ago when Melvin saw a teenage Amish girl named Anna walking around the grounds of The Green Dragon, a farmer's market in nearby Ephrata, Pennsylvania, with a puppy under her arm.  Then, 19 year old Melvin knew instantly that...she was it!  At the time he was too shy so he asked a friend to approach her and break the ice with Anna.  Anna asked the friend, "Which one is he?" and he pointed to Melvin, who by now was the boy with the red face!  Melvin recalled that he was very shy as a young boy.  Well...I guess you know what happened...they married and as of today have 12 children, 42 grandchildren, 98 great grandchildren, and 12 great-great grandchildren.  Many of them gathered a short time ago to celebrate Melvin and Anna High's 75th Wedding Anniversary.  You read that right...75 years of wedded bliss!  So...for those of you reading this that may be married...how many years have you been married?  Are you still together with your better half?  Are you even 75 years old?  And...have you ever been to the Green Dragon?  Well, after their first encounter at the Green Dragon, they went on a date to an ice skating party where they talked to each other the whole time.  Less than a year later they were married, on September 25, 1948, in Anna's parent's yard near New Holland, PA.  At the time, yours truly (that means me!) had just turned 4 years old.  Today, the High's reside in Texas, but returned to Lancaster with their extended family to honor this milestone.  Family members traveled from as far as California to celebrate and visit locations important to the couple, including The Green Dragon!  This past Friday night, Melvin and Anna sat at an elevated table behind cutouts of their younger selves.  Several dozen of their relatives sat at a "U" shaped table, facing them with a fire pit warming the night air.  The Highs worked as missionaries for more than 60 years.  Melvin was a pastor for most of his life and still preaches to this day.  The key to their marriage...keeping God and faith as a focus and never fighting.  Maybe a few disagreements, but never a fight!  Today,  they say, "We love each other more than we ever have."  Happy Anniversary from An Ordinary Guy!!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy,

The "A Ride On The Underground Railroad" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Looking over an  article I had cut out of my Sunday News newspaper that was written by Jack Brubaker, also known as "The Scribbler."  The article was titled "At Underground Railroad station, fugitives learn how to embrace freedom."  When I first read a story about the Underground Railroad as a pre-teen, I had a hard time realizing at first that it wasn't a story about a traditional railroad, like the one that went past my house, but under the ground.  You see....I grew up living a half-block away from the Lancaster Train Station on North Queen Street and loved trains!  Not model railroading like many of my friends, though I did have my own model railroad in my basement, but the great big trains that I sat and watched for hours a half-block from my house.  And, at first I had a hard time believing that they ran underground as well as above ground since I never saw any stairs to take me under the train station.  Late in elementary school it finally hit me that there was something called the "Underground Railroad" that had to do with the history I was reading about in my school books.  Well, my story today, that was written by my favorite columnist "The Scribbler" aka Jack Brubaker, deals with the Underground Railroad that ran above ground.  He was telling me that few operators on the Underground Railroad kept records of the people they helped escape slavery before the Civil War.  Thousands of slaves who had escaped always seemed to remain nameless and have been lost to history.  From 1824 until 1850 when Congess passed the Fugitive Slave Act, slaves escaped using the "Underground Railroad."  And, there was one Quaker couple, Daniel and Hannah Gibbons, who helped many of hose slaves pass to freedom through their home near Bird-in-Hand.  And, as they helped them escape, they assigned new names to all of them which they wrote in a blank book.  Then in 1850, a law required that escaped slaves be returned to their owners.  Hey...good luck with that!  That law also made harboring fugitives a crime.  So, Daniel burned the book he kept!  One freedom seeker who passed through the Gibbons house in Upper Leacock Township was 16-year-old Oliver Cromwell Gilbert who spent a night at the Gibbons farm in Upper Leacock Township in 1848.  He had fled a Clarksville, Maryland plantation. Later in life he described his meting with the Gibbons.  This past August, a Mennonite historian, Joanne Siegrist, who had lived across from the Beechdale property where the Gibbons lived, hosted a meeting of local people interested in the history of the Underground Railroad.  Stephanie Gilbert, the great-granddaughter of Oliver Gilbert had proposed the gathering.  Stephanie spent the week tracing her ancestor's route from Maryland to York and Lancaster, Pennsylvania counties.  Her stops included Thaddeus Steven's home and law office at 45 S. Queen St. in Lancaster where Oliver asked for advice from Mr. Stevens who directed him and 14 others who had escaped with him to the house on Beechdale Road.  Oliver said Stevens gave him a note and told him to present it to Daniel Gibbons.  Oliver said he entered the lane and there was this old bald-headed man, sitting on the porch and looking down at the new arrivals.  He said, "Well, boys, which way are you all going?  I see you are all runaways."  The Quaker suggested they change their Southern clothing that would reveal where they came from.  Daniel and Hanna Gibbons ate supper with the young men and told them to say nothing about where they came from.  Mr. Gibbons told them that "Now thee are free" and must respect themselves and they will in turn be respected.  His time in Lancaster County was his first taste of freedom.  He changed his identity, not only by name, but by mindset.  The next morning Daniel Gibbons awoke the fugitives and told them to dress quickly because their pursuers were on their trail.  Gilbert and his companions ended up going to work on the farms of other Quakers in Bart Township and moved to Philadelphia that autumn.  Gilbert eventually settled in New York, then Massachusetts and then back in Philadelphia.  He married and had six children.  The family formed the Gilbert Jubilee Singers and toured opera houses.  Gilbert gave lectures on his life experiences before his death in 1912.  I would have loved to have sat in on one of those talks!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "Lancaster's Early Defense Of The City" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Reading the latest column that Jack Brubaker, aka "The Scribbler" had published in my local LNP Lancaster Online daily paper.  Story had to do with cannons, tanks, machine guns or other weapons that might have been displayed with a "Doughboy" in the city of Lancaster.  "The Scribbler" reported that a statue of a doughboy "the name for a U.S. soldier during WWI", was originally installed on the grounds of East End Junior High School on South Ann Street in 1921.  It was moved to the front of the Stahr Armory on North Queen Street in 1962 until 2013 when it was moved back to it's original location on South Anne St, but by then had been renamed the Jackson Middle School.  That sculpture was made of copper sheeting and included a non-functioning rifle that the Doughboy held in one hand with a dud grenade in the other hand.  In the center of Lancaster, Pennsylvania stands a Soldiers and Sailors Monument.  The cavalry officer's sword and the artillery man's ramrod, elements of the granite Soldiers and Sailors Monument are not real.  Both weapons were fashioned from copper.  As far as other larger weapons are concerned, Jack reports he knows of no tanks or machine guns in the county, but there are plenty of cannons which date back to WWII.  There are two cannons pointed in the direction of York County as you cross the Columbia bridge which might have been located at that location to stop a Confederate invasion.  The oldest Revolutionary War muzzle-loading gun along the East King St. side of Reservoir Park was an embedded, muzzle-down, in the curb in the first block of North Queen Street.  Now it is directed at the campus of Thaddeus Stevens State College of Technology.  

The most interesting cannons in Lancaster make up part of the Spanish-American War Monument on the Buchanan Ave. side of Buchanan Park.  The copper muzzle loaders flank a statue of "The Hiker."  U.S. soldiers in 1898 were called "Hikers."  The granite base of the monument was dedicatee ini 1913.  At that time it held a copper powder tank recovered from the battleship USS Maine.  Two piles of cannon balls were bolted on either side of the monument, next tooth cannons.

 That monument somehow disappeared, but was replaced by another "Hiker" statue, holding a non-lethal rifle.  In July 3, 1932 Lancaster Sunday News claimed 12 cannons were located in Lancaster parks and cemeteries.  Most of those have disappeared!  The oldest cannon in Lancaster City is a Revolutionary War muzzle-loading gun displayed along the East King Street side of Reservoir Park since 1924.  Today it's hard to find old weapons that still remain from the past that haven't been removed or taken from their sites in the city of Lancaster.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

Located in Buchanan Park near Franklin & Marshall College

 

The "A Book You Won't Want To Put Down" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Just finished reading a book that I wasn't sure I cared to read when I first picked it up and read the first few pages of the book.  The title of the book was "That Time I Got Cancer" and was written by Jim Zervanos.  I read a few pages and....well, I had a hard time putting the book down.  Jim was a friend of my oldest son, Derek.  They both graduated from Manheim Townsihp High School in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.  Jim was a year or two ahead of my son, but they both played on the high school baseball team together.  I knew Jim as a student at the high school, since I taught Industial Arts at the same school where both he and my son were students.  Someone suggested I read Jim's book so I borrowed it from the library where I live at Woodcrest Villa in Lancaster, PA.  After reading a few pages I was tempted to put the book back on the table where my wife had placed it for me...but, the more I read, the more I had to

read.  The book was interesting, informative, fun to read but scary!  Jim had a line on the cover that read "A Love Story."  I'm not sure I would agree with that part, but it did require quite a bit of love had I been one of the people within the story in the book.  On the rear cover of the book were two paragraphs that I am adding to this story, since it tells just about the entire gist of the book.  So, follow along....

One minute Jim Zervanos was carrying his one-year-old boy to a baseball game; the next, he was in the ER, where for days he lay in limbo, being strangled from the inside.  Teams of the best doctors were stumped by his worsening condition, before telling him there was nothing they could do.  

That Time I Got Cancer: A Love Story is about experiencing joy even in desperate times.  It's about the relationships that anchor us, even as they must be entirely redefined.  At forty-one, married, with a young son, Jim said goodbye to his family.  When a brilliant new surgeon performed a radical operation, Jim was diagnosed with lymphoma, which led to chemotherapy and an uncertain road to recovery.  Five years would pass before Jim began to understand what he had endured.  Through mortality and back to life, this is the inspiring journey of a man awakened to the full experience of being alive, and being present for it all.  

After Jim gradated from Manheim Township High School, I didn't continue to keep up with him.  When I first saw this book in the library at Woodcrest, I just had to read a few pages and check out the couple of photographs before I realized it was the same Jim Zervanos that I knew.  I know....how many other people with a name like that could there be?  Anyway...I had to read the entire book before beginning any other chore.  This was one scary book and made me think that something like this could happen to me or one of my relatives at any time...and at any age!  Jim is such a good author that it makes reading a book written by him more exciting, yet scary.  The following paragraph was placed inside the cover.  It was written by one of Jim's doctors.  I will finish my story today with the paragraph that was in Jim's book.  If you get a chance to read the book, don't miss it.  It's only about 200 pages long, but easy reading....and you won't want to put it down.   I guess I should tell you that he survived his ordeal, thus the story that he wrote to tell about how he survived cancer.

Jim Zervanos

Zervanos has managed to capture the very difficult decisions doctors face every day, as well as the importance of patient involvement in decision-making.  I have used his case in teaching generations of residents the value of restraint in treatment, of recognizing the crucial difference between what we can do and what we should do.  Moreover, Zervanos conveys how illness affects both the patient and the entire family.  As physicians, we often fail to appreciate this impact, as does anyone who has not been through the illness of a family member.  As I read his story, I felt his pain as well as his family's pain, and I felt the relief and rejuvenation of his recovery and growth.   Scott Trerotola, MD, Associate Chair and Chief, Interventional Radiology, Department of Radiology, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania

Information taken from "That Time I Got Cancer" - A LOVE STORY by Jim Zervanos.

It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.  

The "Jawn Makes It Big" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Reading in the Philadelphia Inquirer about the word "Jawn."  Ever hear it before?  I never did until a few days ago when I opened the Inquirer for the first time in a month or so.  You have to remember that we here old people in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania just don't bother to read much other than our LNP Newspaper.  Well, I just wasn't sure what to expect when I read the headline "Jawn makes the big time:  It's in a dictionary now."   The story in the Inquirer began with....Jawn, Philadelphia's renowned noun with a Swiss Army knife's versatility, is now in the dictionary.  Newspaper went on to say, "The big event was announced Wednesday by dictionary.com. which calls itself the leading online and mobile English language educational resource.  The word, anyone on SEPTA can tell you, means a thing, place, person, or event that one need not, or cannot give, a specific name to.  And now...it has finally reached the point where including it in the dictionary was unavoidable according to Grant Barrett, dictionary.com's head of lexicography.   It is said to be Philly's once-humble offering.  Jawn will become part of the wider American lexicon, thanks to this citation: 

Jawn: noun Informal, Chiefly Philadelphia. Something or someone for which the speaker does not know or does not need a specific name. example:  Put some onions on those jawns or they'll be bland.  Another example read... It's gonna be crazy at that jawn tonight. 

Mr. Barrett was enthusiastic. "Jawn is such a fascinating word, and we've been seeing a steady hum of people looking it up."  He added that Jawn is proof that American English isn't  monolithic, and that it has room for a regional word with Philadelphia flavor.  It is a real win for Philadelphia and in Philadelphia, they take their wins where they can get them." according to Ricki Weisberg of Ardmore who runs a nonprofit public-relations agency.   Jawn started flowing into populist culture via the early 1980s hip hop group, Funky 4+1, in the song "That's the Joint." Then, in 2013,  Philadelphia rapper Meek Mill added to jawn furor with his recording, "Throwback Jawn."  Words like jawn inspire pride in Philadelphians, because the word comes from their city.  And even if it gets into the dictionary, gaining a broader perspective, one thing will be true:  "It will always be associated with Philadelphia."  And....so it should be."  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "Welcome To My World" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Getting ready to head up to the Gamber Auditorium at Woodcrest Villa to take in another great show.  Our new home at Woodcrest Villa has something for just about everyone with a big indoor swimming pool, a large auditorium for just about any type of event, a wood shop, a pool room, several restaurants...and the list goes on and on.  My wife, Carol, and I have enjoyed every minute of it since we moved here just about a year ago.  The show we were anticipating tonight was a performance by of all people...Elvis!  Yep...Elvis Presley!  And...boy, did he sound like him.  We arrived a bit early to make sure we would have good seats and found seats in the second row from the front, just about dead center!  Wasn't long after that Elvis arrived on the stage along with his wife to make sure all the speakers etc. were in place and ready for the show.  Our Elvis for the evening show was a fellow named Denny Heckard whose full-sized picture was on a placard at the front of the stage with a heading across the top of the placard that read "Up Close & And Personal.  When we first saw him...if we hadn't known we were looking at an impersonator...he really looked like Elvis!  Great "Elvis" costume with all the trimmings and a full head of black hair that I wished could have been on my head!  The white sequined outfit was fit for an...well, an Elvis impersonator!  Then it began!  Loud, but not over doing it.  And, if you didn't know better, you would have thought you were listening to the real Elvis!  He had some of the same movements and motions as the "real" Elvis did.  Song after song after song we enjoyed this guy who we knew wasn't really Elvis, but could have been!  Then it was time for some audience inter-action with Elvis!  He sang to a few of the women on the front row and then found his way to our row.  Before long he was singing "Love Me Tender" to my dear wife as I tried to take a few photos of the two!  The closer he got, the more you "just knew" it wasn't the real Elvis, but so what!  He sorta looked like him and he sorta sounded like him and we all knew the real Elvis was dead...so what the heck...he was our Elvis, Woodcrest Villas' own Elvis, for the evening.  We all sang along with him to the songs from our lives many years ago!  Actually...many, many years ago!  Everyone in the auditorium seemed to be having the best time.  I  know I was!  Then, as always...the show had to come to an end...after all, it was getting close to our bedtimes!  Woodcrest Villas is one great place to live!  They do everything they can think of to make our "new home" a joyous experience.  Can't wait until next week to see what they have in their schedule for those who live here...at Woodcrest Villas!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.      

The "Annie Oakley...One of my Favorites!" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Reading in my local newspaper about Morphy Auction House, located at 2000 North Reading Road in Denver, PA, selling a rare shotgun once owned by sharpshooter Annie Oakley.  The historic firearm was made in 1888 by Charles Lancaster Gunsmiths of London and sold at auction for $258,000.  You know...when I was a kid, I loved watching western shows on TV.   I would tell my mom and dad that those people were real cowboys and cowgirls and they never believed me.  They tried to tell me they were actors and actresses who played the role of cowboys and cowgirls.  Well...now I have proof!  Lancaster's LNP headline said that Annie Oakley was a real cowgirl sharpshooter who starred in Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show.  Too bad my mom and dad are no longer alive so I could show them the morning newspaper!  The 1888 12-bore, double-barreled, hammerless model shotgun was the highlight of the Denver-based auction house's September 5-7 firearms and military sale.  The buyer of the rifle was a private collector who wished to remain anonymous.  The rifle was a very special gun in that it was known to be one of her favorites, and therefore most-used guns.  It's well known that she cared much more about the reliability and quality of her guns than their artistic appearance or factory engraving. It's evident from the gun's numerous old repairs that Annie preferred to have it refitted and maintained than to replace it with any of the numerous other guns she had received over the years.  Charles Lancaster saw Oakley show off her sharpshooting skills at a gun club in England and said the petite markswoman seemed to be struggling with a shotgun that was too heavy and affected her performance.  He later presented her with four shotguns, one of which was the firearm that was sold at the Morphy auction.  It was said that Annie used Lancaster's 1888 shotgun during the 1889 Paris Exposition where she appeared with Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show.  As a young boy, I watched just about every TV show that had anything to do with the Wild West and guns.  I'm sure I had the chance to see Annie Oakley more than once during that time.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.         

The "Putting Air In The Art Of Balloons" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Just turned the page in my LNP Sunday News when I saw a photograph of this woman trying to shape what looked like a six foot long balloon.  Well, that's exactly what it was!  It had to be close to 6 inches in diameter!  Headline across the top of the half-page article read..."Akron Woman becomes certified balloon artist in 1998!" I never knew you could become certified as a balloon artist!  Did you?  The large photograph of the woman holding the large balloon was on the page that features events, stories and happenings from 25, 50, 75 and 100 years ago in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.  The woman's name was Donna Smith who lived in nearby Akron, PA.  She received her very unusual certification in balloon artistry in the mid-1990s, according to the article.  Never saw an exact date, but then...does it matter?  Therefore...Donna is a Certified Balloon Artist.  She had been working for Balloon Central since 1995 after a few years working for The Mennonite Center Committee and as a local newspaper correspondent.   But, in balloon art she had found her niche.  She made giant balloon seahorses for the Ephrata High School prom 's "Under The Sea" theme, and decorated rooms from tiny fire halls to Lancaster County's Willow Valley Retirement Community's massive Palm Court.  She is proud of her CBA, Certified Balloon Artist, which was available to members of the Qualatex Balloon Network trade organization who paid $200 plus materials to take a course a pass written and practical exams.  Donna is one of just 15 CBAs in the state of Pennsylvania.  I am amazed at times watching how someone can take one of those long, skinny balloons and shape them into something that actually looks like something when they are finished.  And...not popping them in the process!  I'm sure she must be busy with all the events that take place in Lancaster city and county as well as all the surrounding communities such as birthday, weddings, graduations, etc.  I'm assuming that she uses some type of air compressor to fill the balloons with air.  If not, she must have one fantastic set of lungs!  I'm sorry I couldn't locate a phone number or an address for Donna, or I would have posted it so you could call her if you might need her to help you with a party or event.  Perhaps if she sees the story you are now reading, she could leave her phone number which I can then post in this story.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy,

The "Roslyn...The Mansion With Charm In Historical Lancaster County, Pennsylvania" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Visiting one of Lancaster County's finest homes known as Rosalyn Mansion.  Remarkable place and it is just so beautiful that I just had to walk back to my car and grab my camera to take a few photographs of the mansion to share with you.  Hope you enjoy the photos and the story that follows.....

It was on May 10, 1729 that German immigrants, known as Pennsylvania Dutch (from "Deutsch" meaning German) settled in the area where I now live.  It was known at the time as "Hickory Town,"  The Honorable James Hamilton laid it out in building lots, and it soon became the county seat.  Lancaster County, as it became known, is in southern Pennsylvania, on the Susquehanna River.  The city of Lancaster is known for its red-brick Central Market building.  North of the city, Landis Valley Village & Farm Museum evokes a traditional German settlement.  One of Lancaster's best known architects is Mr. C. Emlen Urban, who was a "classical architect" who used this style quite often.  One of Lancaster's best known mansions is the Urban designed "Roslyn Mansion" which stands majestically on North President Avenue to the West of the city of Lancaster.  An iron gate and fence surrounds the 1896 mansion which was designed and built by Mr. Urban for Lancaster County's Watt & Shand co-founder, Peter T. Watt of Watt & Shand fame.  The mansion was purchased over six years ago by Dr. Gaspare Polizzi and Barbara O'Neill.  Once they had the keys, they spent six years renovating the 9,320-square foot mansion into their home.  The house was a manor in disrepair.  Leaks caused extensive damage to walls and floors.  Only one toilet was in working condition while another had sunk partially into the floor.  Leaks had caused extensive damage while outside, the large pond was failing

 and vegetation damaged the massive porch.  As I stood in front of it today to take a few photographs, it is now a commanding, powerful, undeniably finely designed and very, very well constructed building.  "Roslyn Mansion" refused to succumb to time and neglect.  During recent tours, the owners asked for no photos to be taken inside with one exception: a designated spot on the grand staircase, surrounded by original woodwork.  The story in the Lancaster Newspaper said that the couple personally removed debris from the home along with "miles and miles and miles" of carpeting and plenty of plants covering the brick patio outside.  The contractor for all this work was J.R. Fulmer & Sons out of New Providence.  I have driven past the mansion for half-a-century and have marveled at the gorgeous home on North President Ave., catty-cornered from the Lancaster Historical Society and President James Buchanan's historical home known as "Wheatland."  Mr. Urban did a majestic job when he designed "Roslyn" in 1896.  I totally enjoyed skirting the home with my camera, snapping photos of the exterior of the 33-room mansion.  There is a carriage house next to the mansion, but it was sub-divided and sold to another buyer.  Hope you enjoy the photographs.  If you happen by the residence, checkout the beautiful home that carries quite a bit of Lancaster County history.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

PS - Roslyn's new owners found it by accident.  They came to Lancaster from New York to stay while looking into buying Brooke mansion in Birdsboro, Berks County.  The 1888 home was filled with fine woodwork yet 14,000 square feet was too big for what they wanted in a retirement home.  While still in Lancaster, they mentioned they were looking for an old home. A tip lead them to Roslyn, a much more manageable home with 33 rooms.  The property's carriage house was subdivided and the couple purchased the main house.  Welcome to Lancaster...The Red Rose City!

The "What Is This World Coming To!" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Reading about people in the state of Oregon tripping on magic mushrooms.  Psilocybin tea, wind chimes and tie-dye mattresses await those heading to an office suite in Eugene to trip on magic mushrooms.  For roughly six hours, adults over the age of 21 can experience what many visitors describe as vivid geometric shapes, a loss of identity and oneness with the universe.  And...it all happens in a small room!  America's first licensed psilocybin service center opened this past June, marking Oregon's unprecedented step in offering the mind-bending drug to the pubic.  So, my friends, what's next?  The center has a waitlist of more than 3,000 names, including people with depression, PTSD or end-of-life dread.  No doctor's prescription or hospital referral is needed, but proponents hope Oregon's legalization will spark a revolution in mental health care.  I'm not sure if that means the service center will help you or will make you in need of help after you experience what goes on at the center.  Colorado voters last year passed a measure allowing regulated use of magic mushrooms starting in 2024, and California's Legislature this month approve a measure that would allow possession and use of certain plant-and mushroom-based psychedelics, including psilocybin and mescaline, with plans for health officials to develop guidelines for therapeutic use.  Hundreds of thousands of inquiries from all over the world have been flooding into Oregon asking how they can sign up.  So far, what we're hearing is that clients have had positive experiences.  While psilocybin remains illegal in most of the United States, the Food and Drug Administration in 2018 designated it as "breakthrough therapy."  Yeah...right!!  This summer, the FDA published draft guidance for researchers designing clinical trials for psychedelic drugs.  Researchers believe psilocybin changes the way the brain organizes itself, helping a user adopt new attitudes and overcoming mental health issues.  The Oregon Psychiatric Physicians Association, however, opposed Oregon's 2020 ballot measure legalizing psilocybin saying it "is unsafe and makes misleading promises to those Oregonians who are struggling with mental illness."  Angela Allbee, the agency's manager, noted that psychedelic mushrooms have been a part of tribal spiritual and healing practices for thousands of years.  Her agency is focused on safety, she said.  First, customers must have a preparation session with a licensed facilitator who stays with clients as they experience the drug.  The facilitator can deny access to those who have active psychosis or thoughts of harming anyone.  So, how long before Oregon is flooded by thousands of people wanting to move to their state.  They might even move into a campground with a tent if they know they would be able to have access to those magic mushrooms.  Someone has to be making a fortune on this!  And, my guess is that a few years from now, many more states will legalize the magic mushrooms after seeing how much money it brings into the state via taxes.  I just have to see where I can find a local field that I can rent and buy myself a bunch of those psychedelic mushrooms and plant them.  Before long we'll all be tripping on those funny mushrooms and have mental health issues!!  What's this world coming to...an end!  For once in my lifetime, I'm sort of glad I'm old!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.        

The "Using Stem Cell Surgery To Repair Vision" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Reading the following article that at some point in my life, or possibly your life, may be of help to both of us.  The article in my daily morning newspaper was about a fellow named Phil Durst who had chemicals from a dishwashing machine squirt in his eyes.  He was in indescribable pain!  His left eye got the worst of the chemicals in his 2017 work accident.  It ended up stealing his vision and left him unable to tolerate light and triggered four to five cluster headaches a day.  Then he underwent an experimental procedure that aimed to treat severe injuries in one eye with stem cells from the other.  He went from completely blind with debilitating headaches to seeing well enough to drive and emerging from dark places literally and figuratively.   The 51 year old from Homewood, Alabama was one of four patients to get stem cell transplants as part of the first U.S. study to test the technique, which could someday help thousands.  Additional treatment could possibly be needed, but experts say the stem cell transplant offers hope to people with few if any other options.  The procedure is designed to treat "limbal stem cell deficiency," a corneal disorder that can occur after chemical burns and other eye injuries.  Patients without libel cells, which are essential for replenishing and maintaining the cornea's outermost layer, can't undergo corneal transplants that are commonly used to improve vision.  Dr. Jurkunas, an ophthalmologist at Mass. Eye and Ear in Boston, who was the principal investigator for the study, said the experimental technique involves taking a small biopsy of stem cells from the healthy eye, expanding and growing them on a graft in the lab at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston.  A couple of weeks later they are sent back to be transplanted into the injured eye.  Phil was the first patient to undergo the procedure.  How scary can that be!  Both of Phil's eyes were hurt in the accident, which happened while the former chemical company manager was visiting a clinic having problems with the dishwashing machine.  For six to eight months, his overall vision was so bad his wife and son had to lead him around.  But his right eye was less injured and could provide stem cells for the transplant.  Jurkunas, who is also affiliated with Harvard Medical School, said Durst's 2018 surgery was the culmination of almost two decades of research so he felt immense happiness and excitement to finally perform it.  All patients in the study saw their cornea surfaces restored.  Phil said the vision in his right eye is nearly perfect, but the vision in his left eye is blurry; he's scheduled for a different procedure soon to address that.  Jurkunas estimates that 1,000 people in the U.S. per year could potentially benefit from this sort of stem cell transplant, which has also been studied in Japan.  I wish the best to Phil and am glad he had successful surgery.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "Escapes Are Not Uncommon! " Story

It was an ordinary day.  Reading about the infamous Mr. Cavalcante's recent escape from Chester County and the fact that it was not Mr. Cavalcante's first.  After a killing in 2017, in the northern Brazilian town of Figuelropolis, he apparently hid from authorities among the cattle ranches of the Brazilian savanna, and then fled to the United States with a false identity.  Living outside of Philadelphia, he had a relationship with Deborah Brandao, a mother of two who was also Brazilian.  He became threatening and abusive, people testified in his U.S. murder trial, and in April, 2021 he stabbed her 38 times, killing her in front of her young children.  He tried to flee then, too, but was arrested the next day in Virginia and brought back to Pennsylvania to stand trial. In August he was convicted and sentenced to life in prison.  Nine days later, he escaped; and once again recaptured.  Authorities said that Cavalcante would soon be taken to a Pennsylvania state prison to serve out his life sentence.  Prosecutors in the Brazilian state of Tocantins, where Cavalcante has been charged in connection with the 2017 killing, said in a statement that they would hold the first hearing in that case next month, and that Cavalcante would be required to join the hearing via video call.  Cavalcante was captured in a gray Philadelphia Eagles sweatshirt that he either found or stole.  Aerial footage showed an officer cutting it off as he was loaded into a police truck.  The Governor promised the owner a new one.  "Whoever had their Eagles hoodie stolen...if you could let us know," Gov. Josh Shapiro said, "I'll do my best to get you one of those new Kelly green ones.  As I continued to read a bit more in the newspaper I came upon another story with a headline that read 'Every escape is unique.  With just a hacksaw blade and cocoa butter, two men incarcerated at Lancaster County Prison made a daring escape 41 years ago though an air duct and over a 25-foot wall, only to get caught hours later when a corrections officer happened to pick up one of the escapees as a hitchhiker.  The brief escape in September of 1982 is a reminder that attempts to flee from correctional facilities rarely follow a pattern, according to Robert Bodner, a former associate warden at Lancaster County Prison who retired in 2010.  "Every escape is unique, there's no set routine." Bodner said hours after convicted killer Danelo Cavalcante was caught by authorities Wednesday in Chester County.  Reports that Cavalcante's crab walk out of Chester County Prison had been successfully attempted before and the 18-year veteran prison guard who was on watch that day was fired that Friday.  "I can't imagine something like that happening in our facility because they're so good at identifying problems and seeking to correct them," said Lancaster County Commissioner Josh Parsons, who also chairs the county prison board.  The commissioner noted that the prison at 625 E. King St. in Lancaster doesn't have traditional outdoor recreational yards, as the Chester County Prison does.  Instead, housing units have large rooms with open-air vents to the outside.  In a news conference last week, Chester County acting Warden Howard Holland said the same company will likely be designing Lancaster County's new prison project.  Kansas City base TransSystems, will be providing Chester County officials designs to fully enclose their outdoor yards.  The role of an outdoor yard in Cavalcante's escape does not mean design considerations for the county's new jail project won't include outdoor recreation for inmates, Parsons said.  Inmates over the years have made use of carefully planned plots and spontaneous opportunities to try and make a run from Lancaster County Prison.  "I don't think any jail is escape proof," said the correction veteran, who started working at Lancaster County Prison in 1979.  Bodner said he responded to "too many escape attempts" in his years at the prison.   Some were the result of staff errors; others were the result of "pure inmate daring and ingenuity."  Between 2015 and 2022, Lancaster County officials have reported no escape attempts whatsoever, according to data from the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections.  Statewide, county jails reported 59 attempted escapes and 14 actual escapes in the same period.  Significant technological improvements in surveillance over the decades may have added to the difficulty of escaping a correctional facility, but  that doesn't necessarily overcome the need for staff to keep tabs on what's going on in their housing blocks.  "The best deterrent is an observant officer on patrol watching and listening," Bodnar said.  The retired associate warden pointed to an instance in 2009 when a defendant in the person's custody fled Lancaster General Hospital.  The inmate was waiting for an MRI related to a medical condition, according to newspaper archives.  "The officer assigned to the security detail was playing a video game on one of those small hand-held devices." Bodner said of the incident, "Pure dereliction of duty."  But, it's not alway as easy as it sounds, Bodner said.  Corrections officers are often supervising inmates in very old, chaotic environments, and it can be difficult to distinguish bogus inmate claims from real ones.  They're also constantly watching inmates doing tasks that happen every day, such as showers and meals.  Bodner said.  "It becomes very routine day after day... and routine complacency becomes a factor for staff."  Escapes happen from time to time, but you have to hope that the most violent of criminals are not part of that escape!  When that happens, it's big news...as well it should be.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "Vote For Janelle For Congress!" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Just finished watching the 5:00 PM local news  on my hometown TV station, WGAL News 8.  It was tough watching since one of my favorite personalities, Janelle Stelson, is leaving the station to pursue a run at Congress!  Janelle has been a regular on my WGAL-TV screen for 26 years.  She had been in the news business for nearly 40 years as both a journalist and a TV personality.  She's a beautiful news anchor that makes watching news so much more enjoyable than watching some male newsperson.  Janelle never mentioned a run for Congress in her news broadcasts, but the local LNP Lancaster Online newspaper posted a story about Janelle considering a 2024 congressional run.  Hey...who wouldn't vote for someone who looks like Janelle and who is so easy to listen to on the television!  Janelle never mentioned what she might do in the future, after her final broadcast, but The Philadelphia Inquirer reported this past Wednesday that she is eyeing a challenge to U.S. Rep. Scott Perry, a Republican whose 10th District included all of Dauphin County and parts of nearby York County and Cumberland counties.  The internet domain name registration system hinted that Janelle maybe close to declaring a run.  Two addresses.....StelsonForCongress.com and JanelleStelson.com were registered by the end June, but whoever bought the domains  chose to  shield their identity.  Duh...guess who it might be!  When a Philadelphia Inquirer reporter, Chris Brennan, asks Janelle about her potential campaign, she wrote in an email, "In the past more than three decades that I've been a journalist in Central, PA, I've had quite a few people ask if I would be interested in running for office...so I'm not surprised you would hear something like that."  Janelle is a registered Democrat at an address in my home area, Manheim Township, part of U.S. Rep. Lloyd Smucker's 11th District.  That won't stop her from challenging Perry, as members of Congress are only required to live inside the state where the district is located, not within the district itself.  She had previously lived in Camp Hill and Harrisburg, both of which are inside the 10th District.  Janelle became a member of the WGAL-TV staff in 1997.  During her years at the station she traveled with Pennsylvania National Guard troops to Kosovo,  covered the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks in New York City, and interviewed a long list of important people including former Presidents.  Janelle grew up in Seattle and graduated from the University of Puget Sound.  My wife and I have thoroughly enjoyed watching Janelle on our TV over the past 26 years.  She is so much fun to watch and so personable.  When I first heard that Janelle might leave Channel 8 and run for Congress, all I could say was..."say it ain't so, Janelle!"  I believe everyone in Lancaster County is going to miss her so much.  I, for one will vote for her, since she is one of the best announcers and she expresses herself so well.  She seems to care so much for those living in the Channel 8 area and I'm sure she would make a fantastic Congress Woman.  I for one would give her my recommendation and vote for Congress.  VOTE FOR JANELLE STELSON!!!  You got my vote as well as my wife's vote!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.       

The "Is Being A Writer For The First Time In Your 70s Hard To Do?" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Just finished writing a story about going on vacation to the Caribbean.  Piece of Cake!  Why...because I had such a good time and saw so many neat things and met so many fantastic people that writing the story was so easy to do.  You too could do it...if you give it a try; and it doesn't matter how old you may be.  Many people, even some of my friends, say they are too old  to write something that others may find interesting to read.  Nah!  Someone will see what you have written and read it.  They may not like it, but at least they have taken the time to read it.  Hey...my 11th grade English teacher in high school, Mrs. Eisenhart, told me I would never be a writer after reading my stories I turned in to her in English class.  After getting a "C" in her class, I was sure I could write something that might interest people.  And, after writing 5,118 stories on this blog site, I am beginning to get the hang of it.  Hey...I never had a day when at least a few people didn't take their time to read what I wrote on that particular day.  You, too, could very easily be a writer.  How much do you remember from your high school days?  Did you enjoy your English classes? Were you good at spelling?  When I began this blog a few years ago, I tried to write a story every week.  I noticed that people began to read the stories and at times typed comments for me to read.  The comments weren't always the best, but it made me want to do better.  I also took a class in typing when I was a junior in high school.  Main reason was because I found that most classes had almost all girls in the class.  So...I not only got to meet a few girls I didn't know that well, as well as learn how to type at a half-decent speed.  I did very little typing after graduating from college until my wife and I began to travel to exotic locations.  We would spend the day at the beach or take a boat trip around the island and I would go back to our resort in the evening and write about the trip or the day on the beach.  I found that I enjoyed writing about the experiences we had while on vacation.  And then...a few people would send me a comment telling me they enjoyed my story from that day.  Hey...that's all I needed.  Just like anyone else...a bit of encouragement will have you doing more of the same whether it be writing about being on vacation or spending time in your garden at home.  And...I found you don't have to type a couple hundred words to make your story interesting.  All you have to do is type enough to make your reader want to continue to read the story from beginning to end.  So...that being said, I believe I have written enough for today..so as not to bore you with excess writing.  Hope to hear from you in the future and please continue to access my blog and read what I consider interesting enough to write about.  And...I know I just finished that last  sentence with a preposition...but Mrs. Eisenhart told me over 60 years ago that it was OK to end with a preposition as long as it carried your sentence to a legitimate ending...whatever that meant.  That's probably why I only received a "C" in English.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.  

The "Some Of The TV Shows That Change Our Lives" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Reading my latest AARP magazine.  In case you didn't know what AARP means, it is American Association of Retired People.  And...that would include me!  Great stories about just about anything imaginable, but with stories primarily geared toward their retired members.  One such story in the latest issue was about the 10 TV shows that changed our lives.  As I sat holding my magazine, I tried to think about what shows they might present to their readers.   Well, after reading all the stories, I guessed only half of them.  Naturally, just in case you aren't a subscriber to the AARP magazine, I will list the 10 shows so you too can see what shows the magazine thinks were that important to be on the top 10 list.

Show #1 - The show that Made Food Hip: The French Chef that ran from 1962 to 1973.  Description began with...Back when Americans were gobbling frozen TV dinners and those quivering Jell-O desserts, Julia Childs cooking show, The French Chef, which ran from 1962-1973, snapped us out of our culinary trance, making us believe we all should consider croquembouche for dessert.  The show led to a variety of new cooking shows and competitions with rock star chefs who make dishes for our sophisticated palates.  Some presentations I enjoyed while others I could have done without.

Show #2 - The show that Made Us Love Planet Earth: The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau/The Cousteau Odyssey that ran from 1966-1982 (combined).  Mr. Cousteau first wanted to be a pilot, but after driving his dad's car off a cliff, he channeled his energy toward inventing the Aqua-Lung and  took us all on a trip to the bottom of the sea.  His shows helped inspire a renaissance in nature programming on TV and ignited the environmental movement.  I had a good friend that taught how to use underwater gear and we both enjoyed the show.

Show #3 - The show that put a mirror in front of America: All in the Family that ran from 1971-1979.  Norman Lear's show broke tradition by tackling tough but real topics such as race, feminism, and homosexuality.  Mr. Lear's parents were the couple that the show was partly modeled after and the arguments between Archie Bunker (Carroll O'Connor) and his "meathead" son-in-law (Rob Reiner) were prompted by the liberal and conservative debate in George Bernard Shaw's play Major Barbara.  Lear wanted to get people thinking and talking about the issues of the day.  Who didn't enjoy this show?

Show #4 - The show that inspired us all about the future: Star Trek.  By focusing on aliens rather than humans, Star Trek smuggled contemporary social commentary past censors!  It did open our eyes "To boldly go where no man has gone before."  NASA even hired actress Nichelle Nichols to recruit astronauts.  Scientific American actually called Star Trek "the golden standard of scientific plausibility in TV entrainment."  My children enjoyed this show more than I did.

Show #5 - The show that changed the way we sleep: The Tonight Show.  Once upon a time, after the 11 p.m. local news told us about tomorrow's weather, American's turned off the TV and went to bed!  The Tonight Show changed all that.  Sex therapist Dr. Ruth Westheimer joked that the show ruined America's love life, and filmmaker Billy Wilder called Johnny Carson, it's host from 1962 to 1992 "the Valium and the Nembutal of a nation.   He has captivated the American bourgeoisie without ever offending the highbrows.  Carson was a trusted, reassuring commentator on current events.  He helped shape a sense of consensus; somehow his gags helped us sleep better.  I was usually in bed asleep when this show came on the air.

Show #6 - The show that turned sport into spectacle: The Super Bowl.  TV os why football replaced baseball as America's most popular pastime.  Monday Night Football's 1970 debut made polysyllabic commentator Howard Cosell a legend.  Remember Howard?  And, who could ever forget Joe Namath's 33-yard scoring pass?  Plus, Sunday Night Football has been the most popular show on TV for 12 years in a row.  But, the biggest sports show of all, without question, is the Super Bowl.  The most watched show in American TV history was the 2023 Super Bowl LVII, when 115.1 million fans tuned in.  The centerpiece of the music industry, the Super Bowl halftime show, features some of music's top stars.  Wouldn't have missed any of the Super Bowl games.

Show #7 - The show that revealed the true nature of war: M*A*S*H.  TV had already taken on war in gritty dramas such as Combat (1962-67) and lighthearted comedies like Hogan's Heros (1965-71), but the war show that earned more than 100 Emmy nominations was M*A*S*H.  It was the first to blend violent horrors and sitcom high jinks in a way that still influence shows all the way through Breaking Bad and Barry.  It won a Peabody Award for "the manner in which comedy is used to lift the spirit and, as well, to offer a profound statement on the nature of war."  It's two-and-a-half-hour long finale is the most-watched series episode ever, with 106 million viewers.  This show really made me laugh.

Show #8 - Made history feel real to us all: The Civil War.  Ken Burns' docuseries The Civil War (1990) ignited a hunger for history that TV watchers never knew they had.  It's trademark storytelling tricks were slow pan sets of archival documents, with haunting fiddle music and moving commentary by intellectuals such as Shelby Foote.  Foote became so popular that fans sent him marriage proposals, and his The Civil War trilogy. helped spark a long-term craze for historical bestsellers.  The Civil War touched our emotions, making the war seem like our own tragic family dramas, not a remote event dimly remembered from school lessons.   Watched some of the episodes, but wasn't my type of TV show. 

Show #9 - Before Law & Order (1990-2010), we had cops shows and shows about courtrooms, though never a show about the particulars of both catching suspects and then prosecuting them, in cases ripped from the headlines and brilliantly tweaked to create maximum drama.  A 2015 study found that watching the Law & Order franchise, particularly the stories on Law & Order:SVU, made viewers less likely to believe myths about rape and more apt to be insistent about seeking consent.  Law & Order helped drive the immense proliferation of true-crime shows on TV.  For some reason I never watched the show.  Perhaps it ran at the same time as one of my other favorites ran.

Show #10 - There used to be good guys and bad guys, but The Sopranos (1997-2007) made us root for Tony Soprano, a mob boss who kills both the innocent and those who are guilty as sin.  He's a family man who can't trust his murderous mother and whose wife averts her eyes from the sources of their comfy life.  The show succeeded by breaking longtime TV rule, with startling violence, cynical comedy, morally ambiguous characters, and plots and subplots that stretched out across several episodes.  This was one show that I didn't care to watch and never watched a single episode!  

Perhaps you might have a show that you enjoyed more than the 10 listed here.  I certainly did, but I guess I might have been one of a few that did enjoy them, thus they didn't make the top 10 list.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "Living With The Auditory Problem Known As Tinnitus" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Trying to take an afternoon nap and all I can hear is that constant ringing in my ears.  You ever hear the same thing?  If you do...it's called tinnitus and it's absolutely awful.  And...it never goes away.  It will be with me for the rest of my life!  I'm not sure if I had ever written about it in the past, but just in case I haven't, I want to share with all my readers that if you happen to have it, I know what you are going through.  As I sit here typing this story, I have a metallic ringing in my ears.  Not real loud, mind you, but some days it can be deafening.  An article I have read about tinnitus says that it can sound like buzzing, roaring, clicking, hissing or humming.  For me, I'd love if it was humming, since I tend to hum all day long and it could be background humming for me.  Tinnitus is the sensation or perception of sounds that other people can'd hear, and it doesn't have an external source.  For me...I can hear it all day long, every day of my life.  Tinnitus is caused by an underlying condition.  This could be age-related hearing loss, an ear injury, ear infection, ear canal blockage, medications or a problem with the circulatory system.  Most of the time, tinnitus will improve when the underlying condition is addressed.  For me, that's just not going to happen!  And...it is exceedingly bothersome and impacts my quality of life.  Just how did I get it?  Who knows!  My guess is that it began when I became an Industrial Arts teacher who taught wood shop and graphic arts.  In the wood shop we had half a dozen machines that made tons of noise...and I never wore hearing protection. Why...because no-one thought it would hurt you.  In the print shop we ran presses that made quite a bit of noise...and I never wore hearing protection.  Back in the 1960s no one said much about wearing ear protection!  Not even the school district!  Not even my doctor!  But, the main reason I believe I now suffer with tinnitus is the fact that I coached the high school rifle team.  And...we practiced just about all school year!  Every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday I would have team members, both boys and girls, in the rifle range after school for a few hours firing rifles at targets 50 feet away.  And we practiced from September until when the rifle season was over in late March.  We were a great team, winning the State Championship one year.  But, was it worth it?  I'm sure you can guess what my answer might be!  Back in the 1960s and 70s no one said much about wearing ear protection.  How stupid could I have been?  Unfortunately, for some people it can't be cured.  I am one of those people.  It affects my life on a daily basis.  I hear ringing right now as I type this story.  Some days I have trouble even hearing my wife who might be sitting next to me.  She understands my problem, but that doesn't make it any easier for either one of us.  I have been wearing hearing aides for years, but at times all that does is make the ringing louder.  Tinnitus can't be cured for some people...and I seem to be one of them.  So...I must create a strategy to help make the noise less noticeable so I can hear those talking to me.  And, I can tell you...it doesn't always work.  I have read that behavioral therapies can help decrease a person's perception of tinnitus.  These therapies are to help me cope and be less bothersome to those around me.  Good luck with that!  If I didn't have an understanding wife and family, it would be awful.  I am in my late 70s and many at that age begin to lose their hearing anyway.  For me, I already know how to cope with hearing loss.  Luckily, writing this blog doesn't require that I can hear...or you probably wouldn't be reading this story today.  If you are one who suffers daily with tinnitus, I know how you feel.  You will find a way to live a normal life.  I have!  But, I couldn't have done it without my wonderful wife!  I know I don't hear many things she says on a daily basis, but I believe she understands why I'm like that and that I'm not trying to be spiteful. And...it will never get better!  I realize that and have learned how to live with it.  Not easy, but life never is easy!  I try to think that my life could be so much worse if I had another medical problem other than tinnitus!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.