The "I Fantasized About Zoē Until She Appeared!" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Talking with a friend whom I knew from the 1960s.  Worked with Terry at the Acme Supermarket in Lancaster, PA as well as bowled with him in a league at the Rocky Springs Bowling Alley.  The Acme Supermarket is long gone, but the memories of it as well as the bowling alley still exists as if they happened just yesterday.  But, my story is more about another adventure that Terry and I took to the Jersey Shore while in our late teens.  All began when I was in 11th grade at Manheim Township High School in nearby Neffsville, Pennsylvania.  I was told by my 10th grade guidance counselor that I needed to take another language for two more years if I planned to  attend college after high school.  So, I chose French to go along with the two years of Latin I was just about to finish in 10th grade.  My reason was the French teacher who was really good looking.  We all called her Sheena, Queen of the Jungle; tall and blonde!  While in her class she had all of us writing to a pen pal from France.  We could choose a male or female pen pal and send letters written in French to them, hoping we would get a return letter.  I chose a female pen pal whose name was Zoē.  Shenna, aka Miss Nolan, gave us an outline that told what we should write about ourselves.  I wrote a short story telling about myself and where I live.  We had to pick a French name for ourselves, so I chose Raoul.  Wasn't long before I got my first letter from Zoē and began a two year friendship with her via snail mail.  Halfway through my senior year she wrote and told me that she and a friend were going to travel with a youth group to the United States and visit Atlantic City, New Jersey.  By now we are both writing in English, since I wanted to make sure exactly what she was telling me.  She was going to arrive during the summer of 1962, after I had graduated from high school, but she had one more year of schooling in France.  Well, I told Terry all about it and he came up with the idea that I should write and tell her that he and I would like to meet her and a friend.  Wasn't long before the plans were made and we just had to wait for school to end and had graduated.  We exchanged photos through the mail and made plans to meet on the beach near the place where the diving horse performed.  It was to be a day trip for Terry and I and the excitement grew.  Both girls were beautiful, at least according to their black and white photographs.  The day arrived and the weather was bright and sunny.  Terry drove us to Atlantic City and we found a spot on the beach and made ourselves comfortable.  Studied the photograph of the girls and began our search of those walking along the beach.  Wasn't long before we spotted two girls who were headed our way.  Terry said, "That can't be them...they don't look like the girls in the photo!"  It was the girls!  And, they didn't look like the photo!  We sat together and got in the water and attempted to converse in what English they could speak, since after two years of French I still couldn't speak French and Terry had a tough time with English let alone French.  Wasn't long before we knew we needed to escape somehow and find our way back to the car.  I'm not sure how we did it, but the ride home that day was trying to figure out what to tell our friends in Lancaster about how cool our trip was and how beautiful our dates were.  As I look back on it I can imagine what the girls must have told their chaperones that afternoon.  Never heard from Zoē again which was probably the best for both she and I.  And, I haven't spoken a word of French, or Latin, since high school.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.  PS - Still not sure why you had to take two years of two different languages to get into college.  They never once asked me in college if I could speak another language.

The "The 'SoWe' Community of Lancaster, Pennsylvania" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Reading one of my blog stories from October 6th when I published my first story telling about the area in Lancaster City known as Cabbage Hill.  It was so named for the German population who settled in the late 1700s within the boundaries of King, Prince, Seymour, Fairview, Manor and Pine Streets and grew gardens filled with cabbage which they made into sauerkraut.  

Eventually the area became known as the SoWe (South-West) neighborhood.  SoWe is a neighborhood revitalization effort led by Lancaster Housing Opportunity Partnership (LHOP), its partners, and the residents of the southwest community and key stakeholders.  This body advises LHOP's board of directors on the implementation of the Southwest Lancaster Revitalization Strategy.  The Strategy identifies and prioritizes various neighborhood revitalization actions such as community safety, housing, parks, education and connections.  

Click to enlarge.

One of the actions that was taken by the SoWe group was to try and add some art and color to the neighborhood through the use of wall murals which was meant to build and foster a stronger sense of community through artistic images.  The idea was conceived by Two Dudes Painting Company with artists Amber Kane, Matthew Chapman and Jordan Yeager leading the way.  A large mural was painted on the side of the Two Dudes building with led to 27 mini-murals throughout the SoWe Neighborhood.   I have included a few of these murals so you can see the level of creativity and artistry that exists in Lancaster's SoWe community.  Truly amazing artwork!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The above six images were part of a display by Two Dudes Painting Company.

Corner of Lafayette and Filbert Streets. 

681 Manor Street.

Urban Rendition of Edward Hicks' The Peaceable Kingdom which is a Mosaic rather than a  mural.

Window artwork on the Water Street side of the Water Street Ministry. 

Mural on the Prince Street side of the Water Street Ministry. 

Mural known as "What Do You Want To Be" at the corner of Freemont and Laurel Streets. 

The "The Graven Image Law Suit!" Story

One of many photos I have taken making sure not to get their face.

 It was an ordinary day.  Cleaning my desktop of the many photographs I have used in the past for stories and will not need again.  Some are from the five-part story I wrote on the Amish who call Lancaster County home.  I have very few photographs that show the face of an Amish person that I have taken, even though I might have displayed more in my stories.  I can remember taking only two, perhaps three, photos that show the face of my Amish subject, since I know they frown upon having their photo taken.  The Old Order Amish believe that photographs that display their faces are "graven images" and are prohibited by the biblical Second Commandment.  

Barn raising from a distance.

The Lancaster Newspaper offered an article telling about an Amish couple who have sued over photos that their faith forbids.  Seems an Amish couple with 13 children are accusing officials of violating their constitutional rights by insisting that they provide a photograph of the wife since she wants to become a U.S. citizen and it is necessary to have a photo taken to do so.  The woman is from Canada and has requested to become a permanent U.S. resident.  They won't allow themselves to be photographed "for any reason" because of their Amish beliefs.  The couple live in Indiana and have filed their complaint in U.S. District Court in Indianapolis because they have been repeatedly told they need a photograph.  The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services are named as the defendants.  Their complaint says that revealing their identity would force them to compromise their religious beliefs.  It was back in 2015 that the woman applied to become a U.S. citizen and she and her husband submitted all needed paperwork, shy of the photograph.  The only reason she would not be considered for citizenship was because she would not have a photograph taken.  

Young Amish family taken from the rear.

The couple and their attorneys tried to get congres- sional help, but to no avail.  All 13 children and the husband are U.S. citizens, but the wife is Canadian.  She could return to Canada and leave her family behind, but everyone knows that's not going to happen.  The lawsuit that their attorney filed contends that the federal government's refusal to accommodate the couple and their religious beliefs violates their First Amendment rights to free exercise of religion, free speech and the right to freedom of association, as well as their Fifth Amendment due process rights.  

Harvest season from a distance.

It seems there has never been a case such as this in the past.  But, does that mean the wife can't be a U.S. citizen?  The Old Order Amish have been a part of the history of the United States and it is well known they refuse to have their photo taken.  The Amish woman said she will provide fingerprint or iris scan, but not a full facial photograph.  She doesn't want to live the rest of her life with the fear of going to Hell because she had a graven image taken of her.  What do you think?  As for me...I know their fear of photography and think something else could be done to identify this poor woman.  I'm anxious to see what is decided!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "Happy 99th Birthday!" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Reading my all-time favorite newspaper column, "The Scribbler".  For those who don't live in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania or who might not subscribe to the LNP newspaper, you may have no idea what "The Scribbler" might be.  It has been a part of my life since the late 1950s when I began reading the Lancaster New Era which happened to be the evening newspaper that was published in Lancaster County.  Now, I must admit I had an ulterior motive for reading "The Scribbler" in the local newspaper.  Her name was Sally!  Seems I had a crush on this beautiful young girl who sang in the St. James St. Cecilia woman's and girl's choir.  The choir was the female part of the choir in which I sang, St. James Men and Boys choir.  A few times a month both choirs sang together and that's when I first noticed Sally.  After my voice changed and I had to drop out of the choir, I still got to see her during Sunday School classes each week.  Then, when I became a senior in high school, I gathered up the nerve to ask her to my Senior Prom.  Well, that didn't go so well I guess, since I didn't date her after that.  Now, to connect my love life to "The Scribbler": seems that Mr. Gerald Lestz, "The Scribbler" at the time, was the step-father of Sally.  I thought that by reading his newspaper column I would get an "in" into the life of Sally.  Didn't matter!  Well, I really did like his column and when Mr. Jack Brubaker took over the bi-weekly column in 1979, I just keep reading it.  "The Scribbler" offered stories dealing with the history, culture and humor of Lancaster County.  Now, who wouldn't love a column like that?  "The Scribbler" first appeared in the newspaper on May 24, 1919 when it was published in the Daily Examiner and Express.  That newspaper eventually became Lancaster's evening newspaper, The Lancaster New Era which now is the morning newspaper called LNP.  The only constant in all of this is the column called "The Scribbler".  I must admit that when I began my daily blog, which is going on nine years now, I used "The Scribbler" as my inspiration.  So, today when I opened the newspaper and turned to page A7, what a surprise it was to see that "The Scribbler" is the second oldest newspaper column in the WORLD.  The only column that has been published longer is one called "Beachcomber" which is published in the London Daily Express.  That column celebrated it's 100th anniversary last August.  The "Beachcomber" lampoons contemporary life which is OK with me, but I would rather read the local history and humor of my hometown.  Evidently I'm not the only one who enjoys "The Scribbler" since it just turned 99 years old yesterday.  My only regret about my favorite column is that it has been reduced to one day a week instead of the two days a week I grew to love.  But, if Mr. Brubaker is as old as I am, I can understand.  There is only so much history, culture and humor that one can stand as they age.  I do hope that if Mr. Brubaker ever decides to retire, and I do wish him a happy retirement some time in the future, that there will be someone else to take over the column who has the same wit, humor and writing skill that he has.  Hey, I'm waiting by the phone!  So, Happy 99th Birthday to "The Scribbler"!  Keep it alive and well for many more years if possible!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.