The "Saint Martin/Sint Maarten Seagrape Art Tour - Part II" Story

It was an ordinary day.  A few days ago I posted a story showing some of the remarkable artwork that covers the walls of homes, businesses and alleyways on the island of St. Martin/Sint Maarten.  About three years ago many of the artists on the island began to paint just about any flat surface, and some curved surfaces, on the island as part of a program to enhance the image of the island that is half French and half Dutch.  Carol and I have been visitors to the island for many years and have made many friends during those years, but we haven't been back to the island for three years now due to COVID-19.  One of my friends on the island sent me photographs of most of the paintings that have been completed by individuals as well as groups of artists.  A few days ago I posted a story showing quite a few of those paintings.  Today I will show you more of the paintings so you can see what I will be able to experience once my wife and I are able to travel back to the island once again.  Some of the paintings are done by one artist while others are by groups of artists.  I hope you enjoy my final group of paintings.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.  PS - Click on images to enlarge them.

This photo and the next three show some of the many
artists who worked to complete the many art panels.

The "Dreamin' Till My Dreamin' Comes True" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Sitting in my lounge chair, reading a story that was published in the morning paper and wondered who recorded the 45 record, Dreamin'...I'm always Dreaming'.  Do you ever do the same thing?  All of a sudden the song popped into my head.  Song has to be close to 60 years old.  Grabbed my laptop and before long the name Johnny Burnette was on my desktop.  Began to sing the lyrics and before long I had sung the entire first verse of the song.  Went like this....

Dreamin', I'm always dreamin'
Dreamin', love will be mine
Searchin', I'm always searchin'
Hopin' someday I'll find

Someone, someone to love me
Someone to need me but until then...

Well, I'll keep on dreamin'
Keep right on dreamin'

Dreamin' till my dreamin' comes true. 

The story that was published in the morning paper was written by Mr. Robert Olsen as part of his column that is titled "Senior Living."  I'm almost positive that Mr. Olsen had heard Dreaming' before, but perhaps he might not have memorized the lyrics such as I did. The title of his column today was "What would life be like without dreams?"  He began the column, "I stopped playing the banjo and guitar maybe 50 years ago.  For a man who is almost 84, that seems like another lifetime ago."  I must say...I agree with him.  I too like to reminisce and after some time think about my life as being another lifetime ago.  You know..."the good 'ole times!"  And...I have many, many memories from the good 'ole times...especially when I begin "Dreamin' till my dreaming' comes true."  Now, I must admit that to have my dreaming' come true, I must ask my wife to share with me the memories such as..."Dear, remember when we went on vacation with Jere and Sue and our tour guide needed help to change his flat tire and I had to climb under the van to get his spare tire?"  Do you have moments, when you're not sure if you are dead or alive?  After sitting for some time and realizing that your heart is really beating and that you are really breathing, you then realize that you were perhaps dreamin'.  Mr. Olsen wrote that...sometimes I have wished that I could be like Rip van Winkle, sleeping for 20 years and then waking up and finding out while I was sleeping it was just a dream and we could go back to living the way things were when I was a child: when we didn't lock the doors at night, where we'd chase the lighting bugs around the yard and where we'd go out into the apple orchard in the fall and pick the apples while they were crisp and cold.  I'm just like Mr. Olsen.  There are times when I wish I was a teenager and playing little league baseball once again or maybe working on my '53 Henry J automobile or even working at the Acme Supermarket on a Friday evening, waiting for the clock to strike 10 PM and I could head to Rocky Springs Park to ride the roller coaster once again.  But...I know those wishes will never come true...or maybe some day they might come true...but be part of one of my dreams!  I really have had dreams such as the ones I just typed.  And, my dreams have taught me some valuable lessons over the years.  While in one of my dreams, I have the chance to change the ending which I never had when I lived the event for the first time.  Dreams can teach you some valuable lessons.  Perhaps you were dreaming and you happened to fall into a pool of water and couldn't swim. Will that dream be part of your memory so that you make an effort to learn how to swim the first chance you get?  Maybe, as a teenager, you were dreaming that you were driving your car a bit too fast in the town in which you live and were stopped and you lost your license for a few months.  Maybe the next time you are behind the wheel of your car, you may remember that and drive a bit slower. Mr. Olsen writes...How wonderful it would be, when we cannot realize our dreams, if only we could enjoy the fantasy, just for a moment, of actually realizing them.  Whether it is the house with a picket fence, a shiny red car or truck in the driveway, a new baby on the way or a graduation from school, our dreams are the key things that often propel us forward in our lives.  Life can be difficult, and it is wonderful to enjoy our fantasies, even though most of us know that we may never experience them.  How true, Mr. Olson, but I also believe that the lyrics to the song Dreaming' are just as true and "well, I'll keep on dreaming'...keep right on dreaming'...Dreamin' till my dreaming' comes true!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "Shipwreck Kelly Gains Fame On A Pole" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Standing on Atlantic City's Famous Steel Pier trying to picture what it must have been like to stand at the same site in 1930 and watch a fellow known as "Shipwreck Kelly" sit on a 225-foot pole for 49 days while 20,000 onlookers watched.  His special feat was the beginning of many unusual feats that graced the pier such as "Rex" the water-skiing "wonder dog"; "Jojo, the boxing kangaroo"; and the city's infamous diving horse which my wife, Carol and I did get the chance to see in the mid-1970s while on vacation at the time.  The story all began in January of 1924 when a former sailor, boxer, steelworker and stuntman named Alvin "Shipwreck" Kelly was hired by a local movie theater to sit on a pole outside of the theater for as long was possible to drum up publicity for a new movie that had just opened.  

Kelly high above New York

Alvin Kelly was a New York City native whose nickname was supposedly inspired by his claim that he was a survivor of the Titanic.  For years he wowed crowds by perching himself on a pole for a remarkable 13 hours and 13 minutes.  The stunt actually worked and when it was published in newspapers all over the United States, offers starting pouring in from other businesses to perform pole-sittings.  Kelly gained fame in no time!  Not only did Kelly gain national fame, but men, women, and children all over the United States were climbing poles of their own.

Kelly sitting on his platform, reading the newspaper

Bobbie Mack, a young woman from Los Angeles sat on a pole for three-weeks; Joe "Hold 'en Powers" sat on a pole in Chicago in 1927 for 16 days and when he came down the pole he was missing six teeth due to a storm that threw him against his pole, knocking out six of his teeth.  Then there was Bill Penfield who sat on a pole for 51 days at Strawberry Point, Iowa before a storm forced him to slide down the pole.  Avon Foreman, a 15-year-old from Baltimore, Maryland established a record for juveniles by sitting on a pole for 10 days, 10 hours, 10 minutes and 10 seconds.  He claimed that he had practiced on an 18-foot hickory tree in his backyard.  Baltimore Mayor William F. Broening declared that Avon exhibited "the pioneer spirit of early America" with his tremendous effort.  But, it was Kelly that was making the money by pole sitting.  He actually turned pole sitting into a sport!  He toured 28 cities, attracted huge crowds that filled the streets and lined rooftops just to get a glimpse of the daredevil, all to see a guy who would sit on top of a pole!  I lived at the wrong time in history!  Other notable feats for Kelly included an 80-hour sit in New Orleans and then a 146 hour sit high above Kansas City's Old Westgate Hotel.  His largest scale stunts were a 312 hour sit on top of Newark Street's Francis Hotel in 1927; 22 days on a pole above a dance marathon in Madison Square Garden; and 23 days in 1929 in Baltimore's Carlin's Park on a pole that was 60feet high.  

Newspaper article telling about Kelly's feats.

Kelly estimated that he spent close to 20,613 hours pole-sitting during his decade long career.  He believed his peak came in 1930 when he sat on a 225-foot pole for 49 days and one hour on Atlantic City's Steel Pier.  20,000 people witnessed that feat.  Kelly's fees ranged from $100-$500 a day throughout his career, paid by whatever outlet needed the publicity as well as crowds who spent a quarter to get a chance to see the daredevil.  And what did all those people see for their money?  Well, a man on a circular padded seat high above the crowd below him.  Sometimes he would read the newspaper while other times he would enjoy a shave.  He mostly stuck to a liquid diet of broth and water along with cigarettes which were lifted up to him in a bucket.  To sleep he would stay seated by wrapping his ankles around the pole and securing his thumbs into holes in his seat before closing his eyes.  But, most times he stayed awake.  One time he stayed awake on his pole for four days.  After his big stunt at Atlantic City, his money began to dry up.  The Great Depression arrived and with over a quarter of the population unemployed, people weren't interested in watching a guy on a pole.  Shipwreck Kelly's career in pole-sitting was killed by the Stock Market crash.  Kelly ended up penniless and stripped of his daredevil veneer.  He died in 1952 of a heart attack at the age of 59.   Under his arm at the time of his death was a scrapbook of newspaper clippings detailing his accomplishment as a once-champion flagpole sitter.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.   

The "Saint Martin/Sint Maarten Seagrape Art Tour - Part I" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Reading online about a St. Maarten/St. Martin island street-art tour.  The information says that the island is famous and loved for its beaches and culinary delights, but it also offers amazing art around every corner.  You can get to know the island's stunning mural collection on a guided tour and the island-wide tour showcases the world-class art that exists across the island.  Carol and I have been visitors to the dual/nation island of St. Martin/Sint Maarten for close to 20 years now having made yearly, and sometimes by-yearly visits to the island that we find so welcoming.  Our last visit to the island was three years ago due to COVID problems and during that time I have seen many new pieces of artwork displayed online which shows the talent of the island artists.  The island is famous and loved for its beaches and culinary delights, but the island also offers amazing art.  They now offer a guided art tour for visitors to the island either by plane or boat.  During our last trip in 2019, local artists were beginning to fill the empty walls of restaurants, businesses, hotels and other lodging as just about any empty wall along the roads of the island are filled with beautiful artwork.  We were so anxious to visit the following year and see how many more pieces of artwork graced the walls along the island's streets.  Then COVID arrived and canceled our trips.  We are so upset that we can't visit to see all the new pieces of artwork that fill the walls along the streets.  I have viewed much of the artwork online, but that's just not the same as driving around the multi-nation island's roads looking at them in person.  Perhaps this coming spring, summer or fall will give us the chance to visit once again.  I have posted many samples for you to view so you too can see the artistic talent that can be found on St. Martin/Sint Maarten.   As of now there are over 90 pieces of artwork that fill most of the empty places along the roads and towns of the island.  Enjoy!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

 Some of the many artists that worked on the paintings in SXM

The "Rock 'N' Roll Will Never Die" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Humming the song "Sincerely" to myself as I begin my second story about Rock "N" Roll.  Today's story tell the trials and tribulations that my mom and dad had when Rock "N" Roll first hit the airways in the late 1950s.  How many of you were around when that happened.  I was in high school at the time and just loved Rock "N" Roll.  But, my parents weren't very happy with the "new" music that was being played on both radio and television.  One radio station in Rocky Ford, Colorado, actually announced that from now on it would play only "good family music."  To emphasize the switch from Rock to family music, the announcers smashed a Rock 'N' Roll record every 10 minutes during broadcasting hours until every one of their records were destroyed.  The station manager also said that "Henceforth, any announcer on my staff who plays a Rock 'N' Roll record will be fired on the spot.  There comes a time when human endurance reaches a limit."  Then along comes Dick Clark in 1959, who was known as the Elder Statesman of Young People and called the elderly, who didn't appreciate rock music, "fuddy-duddies".  He continued with..."Unfortunately as we grow older our minds close in certain areas, music among them.  The real truth is that you adults are more preoccupied with Rock 'N' Roll than the teenagers.  Youngsters today have a widely varied musical background.  Someday they'll sift some things and be more discriminating.  In the meantime, they're having a little bit of everything.  I think it's a very healthy situation."  A record company executive tried to explain why teens enjoyed rock music by saying, "A record is the last launching pad a kid has left if he wants to shoot for the stars.  Vaudeville died, and nobody can even find the grave.  Burlesque went the way of all flesh which was break-insville for more names than you can shake a marquee at and now is only interested in big potatoes, name acts, stars.  And even in TV the screen's becoming too small for the new kid who wants to just be an all-around entertainer.  When you want to get on a television show the very first question he asks a new kid is "what records you got going for you?"  We all know that Rock music annoyed just about every parent in the USA which is probably why most kids liked it.  Elvis certainly didn't attract the older crowd and when the Beatles finally arrived, they really stressed out the adults.  In 1967 Alfred G. Aronowitz said, "It's been 15 years now since Rock 'N' Roll was laughed off as just another fad.  Frank Sinatra called it "The martial music of every side-burned delinquent on the face of the earth."  The police in Atlanta ruled that teenagers needed a written permission slip from their parents before they could dance to it legally.  Roman Catholic leaders in Boston called for a boycott of it.  And, the music that all parents thought would go in one ear and out the other had become the major form of communication among the young.  Rock 'N' Roll was here to stay...and as the song goes:  

Rock 'n roll is here to stay,
It will never die
It was meant to be that way,
Though I don't know why
I don't care what people say,
Rock 'n roll is here to stay

Rock 'n roll will always be
Our ticket to the end
It'll go down in history,
Just you watch, my friend
Rock 'n roll will always be,
It'll go down in history

If you don't like rock 'n roll,
Think what you've been missin'
But if you like to bop and strawl,
Come on down and listen
Let's all start to have a ball,
Everybody rock 'n roll

Just got to love it!  And...this crazy stuff they play today and call music...well it really sucks.  Guess I'm beginning to sound more and more like my Mom and Dad when I was a teenager!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "I'm Older Than Rock 'N Roll!" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Reading my latest edition of "The Saturday Evening Post," which is one of my all-time favorite magazines.  Came across a story titled "WHO PUT THE BOMP (IN THE BOMP-BAH-BOMP-BAH-BOMP)?  Also had a sub-title of 70+ YEARS OF ROCK 'N' ROLL!   Bill Haley & his Comets' "Rock Around the clock" raised the curtain on the age of Rock 'N' Roll and gave my parents, as well as all of my friends' parents, a big pain in the butt.  Haley's new song and dance style created a pulsating rhythm that created an entire new dance style...The jitterbug!  "Rock Around the Clock" was said to be America's first rock 'n' roll song.  Took me a year or so to get to know how to do the jitterbug, but once I had developed my own style, nothing could stop me.  Only problem was there was only one girl in my high school class who danced like me.  Pat J. was a bit shorter than I was, but we had a good time dancing the jitterbug together while students in 9th grade.  Then, wouldn't you know it, she up and found a new boyfriend and I had to give up the jitterbug, since my next girlfriend, a neighborhood girl I had known for a long time, didn't like to go dancing.  Well, when rock 'n' roll first hit the airwaves, parents all over the United States were going nuts.  I remember my mom telling me I can't dance that "dirty" dance, but she never made me turn the TV off when Bandstand came on every afternoon after school left out.  She actually sat and watched...to make sure it was OK for me to watch.  I believe she enjoyed the dancing just as much, if not more, than I did.  Well, Bill Haley and His Comets,' which was founded in 1952, continued until Haley's death in 1981.  From late 1954 to late 1956, the group placed nine singles in the Top 20, one of those a number one and three more in the Top Ten.  The single, "Rock Around the Clock" became the biggest selling rock and roll single in the history of the genre and retained that position for some years.  Before Bill Haley began with Rock, he had been a country music performer.  His group also featured a few famous musicians, but Bill remained the star.  Many consider Bill Haley & his Comets' to be as revolutionary in there time as the Beatles were a decade later.  The group was considered to be at the forefront of Rock 'N' Roll during the genre's formative years being followed in the mid-1950s by more risqué acts such as Elvis Presley and Little Richard.  With the arrival of these two gentlemen, Haley declined in popularity.  He and his group remained popular in Europe and eventually had a comeback as a nostalgia act in the 1970s, along with many of his contemporaries.  In the mid-1940s, Bill Haley performed with the Down Homers and formed a group called the Four Aces of Western Swing.  The group that eventually became the Comets initially formed as "Bill Haley and the Saddlemen" and performed mostly country and western songs.  At the time, Haley was considered one of the top cowboy yodelers in America.  Many Saddlemen recordings were not released until the 1970s and 1980s with songs such as "Rose of My Heart" and "Yodel Your Blues Away."  Ever hear of either one of those songs?  At the time the group had a pianist, accordion player and steel guitarist.  Haley began his rock and roll career with what is now recognized as a rockabilly style in a cover of "Rocket 88" recorded for the Philadelphia Holiday Record label in 1951.  That was followed in 1952 by a rhythm and blues song called "Rock the Joint".  Halley knew it was time for a new name for his musical style.  A friend suggested he call the band the Comets and it was adopted in the fall of 1952.  The original members were Haley, Johnny Grande, Bill Williamson and Marshall Lytle.  Haley gained his first national success with an original song called "Crazy Man, Crazy."  Remember that...since I don't!  It was really a blend of R&B, western and pop music, but was pushed as the first ever "Rock 'n' Roll" record.  It was said to have been the first Rock 'n' Roll recording to be played on national television when it was heard on Omnibus in 1953.  The group changed and added a few musicians until on April 12, 1954 the group came out with "Rock Around the Clock" which would become Haley's biggest hit and one of the most important records in Rock 'n' Roll history.  "Shake, Rattle and Roll" followed in 1954, but never gained the same amount of fame as did "Rock Around the clock" did.  It was Haley's first gold record.  Elvis actually ended up recording it in 1956, using Haley's arrangement.  In 1955 Haley's band members quit the Comets in a salary dispute and formed their own group, so Haley hired several new musicians to take their place.  Other hits followed such as "See You Later, Alligator", "Don't Knock the Rock", "Rock-a-Beatin' Boogie", "Rudy's Rock" and "Skinny Minnie."   It was on the Milton Berle show the night of May 31, 1955 that Bill Haley and the Comets performed "Rock Around the Clock".  Berle predicted that the song would go to Number 1, calling the band "A group of entertainers who are going right to the top."  This was one fo the earliest nationally televised performances by a rock 'N' roll band and provided the new musical genre a much wider audience.  I can still see my Mom and Dad watching and shaking their heads in pain.  Bill Haley and the Comets were the first rock 'N' roll performers to appear on the CBS television musical variety program "The Ed Sullivan Show on August 7, 1955.  Bill Haley and the Comets appeared on American Bandstand hosted by Dick Clark on ABC television twice in 1957.  I can still remember most of those shows.  Then, the band's popularity began to go downhill after sexier and wilder act such as Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis and Little Richard began to dominate the record charts.  Finally, "Skinny Minnie" hit the charts in 1958, but Bill Haley had little success after that.  Haley and a few of his musicians did form another group called "The Kingsmen" and had a hit titled "Weekend".  (note) This is not the same group that sang "Louid, Louie).  Haley and his group did tour the United Kingdom and Australia in 1957, but his popularity faded quickly after that with new and younger musicians taking over from him.  But, I'll always remember that first time I saw him on TV!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "So, What Are Your Thoughts On TV Dinners?" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Looking in the frozen food counter at our local Giant Supermarket to get a box of fudge bars.  Opened the door and the cold air came rushing out and just about knocked me over.  The hot summer day made the air seem so much colder.  Grabbed the fudge bars and headed to the next cabinet for a few packages of frozen vegetables.  While putting them in our freezer at home, I wondered how long ago frozen products were offered at food stores.  After a quick Google I found that it was in 1925 that a Brooklyn-born entrepreneur, Clarence Birdseye, invented a machine for freezing packaged fish that would revolutionize the storage and preparation of food.  Before long, Maxson Food Systems of Long Island was using Mr. Birdseye's technology, known as the double-belt freezer, to sell the first complete frozen dinners to airlines in 1945.  Went over well, but after the death of the company's founder, William L. Maxson, plans to expand frozen food products was put on hold.  Then in 1953. a Swanson food salesman named Gerry Thomas, conceived the company's first complete frozen dinners.  He noticed that the company had 260 tons of frozen turkey left over after Thanksgiving.  It was sitting in ten refrigerated railroad cars which had to be moving to keep the refrigeration unit working.  Thomas had the idea to add other holiday staples such as cornbread stuffing and sweet potatoes and serve them alongside the turkey in frozen, partitioned aluminum trays designed to be heated in the oven.  After some research into how to eliminate any bacteria, it was decided how to heat the meat and vegetables at the same time while killing food-borne germs.  The new Swanson dinners were a commercial triumph and in 1954, the first full year of production, Swanson sold ten million trays.  Wasn't long before Banquet Foods and Morton Frozen Foods soon brought out their offerings, winning over more and more middle-class households across the country.  Mr. Maxson had called his frozen airline meals "Strato-Plates," so Swanson introduced their frozen meals to America as its "TV dinner."  This happened at a time when the concept was guaranteed to be lucrative as millions of women entered the workforce in the early 1950s, so Mom was no longer always at home to cook elaborate meals.  Now, the question of what to eat for dinner had a prepared answer.  Some men wrote angry letters to the Swanson company complaining about the loss of home-cooked meals.  But, for many families, it was the perfect fit.  Pop them in the oven and 25 minutes later you could have a full supper while enjoying the new national pastime: television.  And, everyone in the family could have their own favorite meal.  Were you alive when all this happened as I was?  Sitting by the black and white TV with a TV dinner of my choice...what a great time I had.  Only problem was that only about 9% of the U.S. households had a black and white TV set.  Wasn't until five years later that the number increased to 64% of homes having a TV and by 1960 that number had increased to more than 87%.  Swanson took full advantage of this trend, with TV advertisements that depicted elegant, modern women serving these novel meals to their families while enjoying their new TV.  By 1970 there were more companies selling frozen meals to American households and the New York Times food critic observed that in 1977 that TV dinner consumers had no taste, but for those on diets, the built-in portions were a blessing.  Then in 1986 Campbell Soup Company invented microwave-safe trays, which cut meal preparation to mere minutes!  But, now convenience food was too convenient for some diners.  One food columnist reported that "progress is wonderful, but I'm going to miss those crinkly aluminum TV trays."  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. 

The "Flushing Away All Your Troubles...Or...Not" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Just finished eating our supper and have begun to clear the table.  In our house we have a deal whereby my wife cooks the meals and I clean up after we are done eating.  I usually keep my end of the deal, but I'm sure there have been a few times that I might have fallen asleep on my lounge chair and slept right through clean-up time.  Clean-up really isn't a big deal...take our two plates from our snack trays after we have finished eating while watching the evening news and wash them off in the sink and then place them in the dishwasher.  Same goes for any pots and pans.  Then shove everything down the garbage disposal, turn on the water and listen to everything get ground to pieces and head down the pipes. It's worked out well for years until a few weeks ago when I read about the dozen or so things you should never flush down the garbage disposal.  Now...you knew I just had to list them for you so you too wouldn't have to buy a new disposal as we did a few months ago.  The following items I found published, but a few of the items I have listed were given to me by my plumber...Joe The Plumber...so as not to have to buy a new disposal anytime in the near future.  Follow along...

1. Egg Shells - the sharp edges tend to collect other debris and can clog the drain.

2. Grease - such as cooking oil, butter, salad dressings, mayonnaise, and animal fat.

3. Flour - this coagulates when mixed with water and can clog the disposal.

4. Medications - these can leak back into our drinking water and contaminate our water supply.  Know that it might happen if everyone did it.  Place pills in the trash which will go to the landfill.

5. Stickers on produce - Those little stickers don't dissolve in the garbage disposal and can clog your disposal as well as cause clogs at the treatment plant.

6. Coffee grounds - This, my plumber told me, is the most common reason he is called to open up drains.

7. Items claiming to be flushable - Most are not flushable such as wipes, kitty litter, etc.

8. Condoms - Yes, some people evidently try to flush  them down the garbage disposal.  They don't disintegrate and could eventually work their way to the ocean and kill marine life.

9. Cleaning Products - Items such as cleaning chemicals, phosphates, antibacterial agents, different compounds, etc.  Once again, they don't dissolve and can clog your home line.

10. Paper products - About the only paper you can put in your pipes is toilet paper.  It was designed to disintegrate and usually will do so in a garbage disposal unless you overdo it.  Paper towels, cotton balls and feminine hygiene products should never be placed in your home's water pipes.

11. Some foods - My plumber told me that he would suggest that I don't use my garbage disposal for pasta items or even rice.  They can swell in size and clog the drain.

12. Paint - This last item should be a no brainer, but I did see that unused paint, even water-soluble paint should not be placed in the garbage disposal or water lines since it pollutes the environment and can be harmful to pets and other animals if it comes back up in your pipes outside.  Dispose of old paint at a hazardous waste facility.

Have you placed any of these items in your garbage disposal in the past?  If so, I hope you can see why it might be best not to do so in the future.  I hope I can remember all of what I have just written so as to avoid any problems with my disposal and my plumber, Joe. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. 

The "That Picture Of Christ On The Cross Will Never Be Forgotten" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Reading an article that was written by Luis Henao, Kwasi Asiedu and David Crary titled "Poll shows the 'nones' are on the rise."  Story told about the 29% of American adults who identify as religiously unaffiliated.  A black and white photo of a young woman named Nathalie Charles was part of the story.  Nathalie was a freshman at Princeton University in Princeton, N.J. and had left her church at the age of 15 and has embraced a spiritual but not religious life.  Nathalie seemed to be unwelcome in her Baptist congregation, with its conservative views on immigration, gender and sexuality. So she did the next best thing for her...she left.  She said she didn't believe that her church didn't gell with her view of what God is and what God can be.  So...she left her church looking for a more rewarding religion to her.  At first she identified as an atheist, then agnostic, before embracing a spiritual but not religious life.  In her dorm room she blends rituals at an altar, chanting Buddhist, Taoist and Hindu mantras and payed homage to her ancestors as she meditates and prays.  Nathalie is considered among the religiously unaffiliated which happens to be the fastest-growing group of Americans.  Most describe themselves as "nothing in particular," or a member of the "nones."  Today the "nones" constitutes about 29% of American adults which is up about 10% from 2011.  If the "nones" were an affiliated religious group they would be the largest religious group in the United States.  The "nones" were once concentrated in urban, coastal areas, but now live across the USA, representing a diversity of ages, ethnicities and socioeconomic backgrounds.  About 30% of those considered "nones" feel some connection to God or a higher power while 19% say religion has some importance even though they have no religious affiliation.  Another 12% describe themselves as religious and spiritual and 28% as spiritual, but not religious while the rest are neither spiritual or religious.  Almost 2/3 of "nones" say religion was at least somewhat important to their families when they were growing up.  30% of "nones" meditate and 26% of "nones" pray privately at least a few times a month, while a smaller number consult periodically with a. religious or spiritual leader.  They prefer not to be a member of a specific religion.  The numbers that I have shown in my story compare about the same with Western Europe.  The growth of the "nones" in the United States comes largely at the expense of the Protestant population.  40% of U.S. adults are Protestants, down from about 50% a decade ago.  Another young woman who was mentioned in the story, Mandisa Thomas, is a Black atheist.  She sang in the church choir as a child, but was not raised Christian.  She founded Black Nonbelievers, a support group, in 2011.  She said that there is this idea that somehow you are rejecting your blackness when you reject religion, that atheism is something that only white people do.  Another young lady said she became an altar server at the age of 9.  Now, at the age of 30, she identifies as religiously unaffiliated.  What that means to her is "It just means finding meaning and maybe even spirituality without practicing a religion...pulling from whatever makes sense to me or whatever fits with my values.  Her faith gave her strength when she had cancer at 11, but she also feels that growing up Catholic negatively affected her emotional and sexual development and delayed her coming out as queer.  For one 70-year-old, his spiritual journey keeps evolving over decades.  While growing up he attended a Congregational church with his family.  During high school and college he drifted away from Christian beliefs and in his 30s began a serious, long-lasting journey into spirituality while in rehab to curb his alcoholism.  He said that "Spirituality is a soul-based journey into the heart, surrendering one's ego will to a higher will.  We're looking for our own answers, beyond the programming we received growing up."  His path has been a tough one since he lost his wife from cancer, had financial troubles and lost his home,  He now says his spiritual practice has replaced his anxieties with a "gentle joy" and a desire to help others.  "As a kid I used to think of God up on a throne, with a white beard, passing judgement, but that has totally changed.  My higher power is the universe.  It's always there for me, if I can get out of my ego's way."  Do you practice a specific religion?  Where you made to go to church as a child as I was.  Did you make your children go to church as I did?  Have you fallen away from a religious lifestyle?  If you have read this blog for any length of time you will know that I am member at St. James Episcopal Church in historic Lancaster, Pennsylvania.  I probably spend more time taking photos of the church, pastors, choir, etc. then I do sitting in a pew on Sunday.  I still consider myself a Christian and am happy to do so.  It gives me a chance to talk to someone about my problems, even though they may not be sitting in front of me giving me a verbal answer.  And I must admit, that the painting of Christ on the cross that was plastered on the wall in the church right above my head when I sang in the church choir for many years, as both a child and an adult, still is with me.  Something I will take to the grave with me!  But, it's not bad!  It's something I need from time to time.  How about you?  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "Fred Dent Grant" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Looking through the myriad of notes and articles that I have accumulated over the past year or so that may have given me a good story to share with you.  One such article, which I only added to my collection a week or so ago, was titled "2 more tales that you will not read anywhere else."  Article was written by Jack Brubaker, aka "THE SCRIBBLER" who writes for the LNP Lancaster Online daily newspaper.  Jack's column/stories are always entertaining, but still are factual...usually!  The story I re-read for my story today featured two short tales that are known as "Frederick Dent Grant" tales.  Seems that Frederick was the first-born son of the 18th President of the United States who left the 7th Cavalry just before George A. Custer marched with his regiment to annihilation at the Battle of the Little Bighorn.  This little bit of unusual historical knowledge was shared by Jack with his history major friends at Franklin & Marshal College when he was a sophomore.  From that point forward, all mildly interesting or trivial historical tidbits became known by Jack's friends and classmates as "Fred Dent Grant" stories or moments.  "THE SCRIBBLER" column I had just read featured two of those such stories.  Are you ready?  The first features a young black woman by the name of Keziah Wolrich who was the first housekeeper for U.S. Rep. Thaddeus Stevens.  She had married Ephraim Wolrich who was a slave, whose freedom was purchased by Stevens who in turn made him an indentured servant.   Stevens grew dissatisfied with his work and sent him packing which saddened Keziah who in turn tried unsuccessfully to commit suicide.  But, wait...that's not the end of the story.  Keziah and one of her two children, as well as her estranged husband all died of consumption in 1837.  Twenty years later her surviving child asked Stevens to help him go to New York to get a job on the steamship "Central America."  On the ship's return trip to New York, the ship, loaded with thousands of pounds of gold, sunk off the coast of South Carolina and all on the ship drowned.  That ship was finally discovered in 1988 and now, after a legal battle, the gold can be purchased on the internet at inflated prices!  Great story, Jack.  I can see why your college buddies called this a "Fred Dent Grant" tale.  Now, the second "Fred Dent Grant" tale came about due to an item in the most recent Baer's Almanac which happened to be edited by Linda L. Weidman who happened to be the daughter of Gerald Lestz who at one time was the writer of "THE SCRIBBLER" column.  Yep! The same column that Jack Brubaker now writes!  Seems like Weidman collects interesting stories to supplement her weather forecasts, gardening ideas, folklore and other stuff in the nearly two-century-old almanac.  The almanac states that Hannibal Hamlin, Abe Lincoln's first Vice President, died in Bangor, Maine during a card game in 1891.  And, to top all of that...Hamlin was also playing cards in his Washington hotel room when he learned he had won the vice presidential nomination in 1860.  "I neither expected it or deserved it," the US Senator wrote to his wife.  Seems that the Senator was very irritated when the news arrived, since it ruined the only good hand he had that evening.  Well, how can you top those two "Fred Dent Grant" stories?  I'm not even going to try, Jack!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.    

The "Great Religious Leaders Of Our Time" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Just picked up the morning paper and saw the rather large color photograph of Bishop Nathan Baxter sitting next to Archbishop Desmond Tutu at Tutu's house in Johannesburg, South Africa.  It was only a few days ago that Tutu died at the age of 90.  I have read many articles over the years about the Archbishop who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984 for his role in ending apartheid in South Africa.  As I began to read the latest newspaper article, something out of the corner of my eye struck me!  There it was, in bold letters...the name Joan Kern, FOR LNP - LANCASTERONLINE.  Joan had written the article I was reading.  

Joan Fellenbaum Kern...one of my HS classmates

She used to write for the Lancaster Newspaper on a daily basis, but evidently decided that it was time to work less, so she now writes fewer articles than she used to.  I have known Joan since we were both teenagers in high school sharing many of the same classes when her name was Joan Fellenbaum.  We both went to Manheim Township High School in nearby Neffsville and were in the Academic curriculum with her being a member of the Leaders Club, "Hi-Lite" Newspaper, Press Club, Tri-Hi-Y, Intramurals and Track while I participated in...well, not too much except getting into trouble when I listed quite a few clubs that I had never been part of in high school and someone discovered it.  The newspaper story that Joan had written told about Bishop Nathan Baxter meeting the late Archbishop Desmond Tutu in the mid-1980s at St. Paul's College in Lawrenceville, Virginia when Baxter was a chaplain and professor of religious studies at the Episcopal college.  Tutu, who recently died on December 26 in Cape Town, South Africa at the age of 90, became the leading advocate for peaceful reconciliation under Black majority rule.  Baxter and Tutu were close friends and stayed in touch, speaking as recently as this past fall.  Rev. Baxter was named Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Central Pennsylvania in 2006 and Archbishop Tutu spoke at his Consecration service.  I got to know Rev. Baxter since he was the rector of St. James Episcopal in downtown Lancaster, Pennsylvania for a few years where I am a member.  

Rev. Baxter on left, Archbishop Tutu on right

Rev. Baxter also taught at the Lancaster Theological Seminary for a time.  He had graduated from the seminary in the 1970s.  Rev. Baxter first met Archbishop Tutu when Bishop John Walker of Washington, D.C. invited the Archbishop to speak about the anti-apartheid struggle in Africa.  The Archbishop shared with his audience why his approach was different from the militant approach.  Tutu was a mesmerizing speaker and got quite a bit of attention.  Rev. Baxter told the story about he and his wife, Mary Ellen being invited to supper with Archbishop Tutu and two wealthy white businessmen from South Africa who had been proponents of apartheid.  Tutu talked with his guests about the wisdom of today's children.  Baxter asked Tutu how Black South Africans dealt with so many insults to their dignity during apartheid.  Tutu said that humor gave them hope and that racism is so ridiculous that at times it's funny.  He gave an example telling that there used to be a big billboard along the highway with a picture of a very dark, threatening, grizzled Black man.  The caption under it read "Would you want your daughter to marry this man?  Tutu said that when he would pass the billboard he would say, "let us see your daughter first," and everyone would laugh.  Tutu had great spirit, but also suffered great pain.  He kept a heart of hope for humanity, and he had the ability to love his enemies.  He will surely be missed.  In 2002, Rev. Baxter was invited to preach at the Episcopal Cathedral in Cape Town, South Africa.  During Baxter's stay, Rev Tutu invited Baxter and this wife to visit with his family at their home in Johannesburg.  I can still remember Rev. Baxter during his stay at St. James in downtown Lancaster.  I stopped a few times while taking photographs around the church to say "Hi!", but for some strange reason never got a photo of Rev. Baxter that I can share with you.  At least I still have the memories to share with you.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.  

The "What Ever Happened To Big Bob?" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Looking out the bedroom window, trying to see if Big Bob might be on our garden stairs, waiting for me to get dressed and give him a morning meal.  Big Bob is a cat.  An old and big cat.  

Big Bob waiting for a meal!

We suspect that he might be the father of both Snickerdoodle and The Gray Lady, the two cats that we adopted a few years ago when they both came to our back door looking for a meal and sneaking in the door when we didn't get it closed immediately.  

Big Bob with Snickerdoodle as a young cat.

They have become two of the best cats we have ever had during our married lifetime.  The Gray Lady is a constant lap-sitter on my wife's lap while Snickerdoodle enjoys stretching out on my desktop while I write my stories for this blog.  For years Big Bob would make daily trips to our back door looking for a meal.  And suddenly he was gone.  A few weeks later he returned again looking for another meal, once again.  We finally decided that another neighbor must have doled out better food than we did, but had gone on vacation leaving Bob to return to our home.  

This is the Gray Lady as a kitten.  We opened the door and she never left!

During the winter months we even built him a small house under our brush at the top of our rear garden.  Stuffed the house with straw to act as a barrier from the cold weather.  We would see him from time to time coming from the direction of the house, so we knew he was making good use of the house.  Big Bob was a sorrowful soul.  He always groomed himself after eating, but he always looked as if he had rolled in a pile of dirt when he appeared at our porch.  He did have one ear snipped so we knew that he had been neutered, but evidently not before he fathered many of the neighborhood crowd of cats that all looked like him.  Well, it's been a few weeks now and we haven't seen him.  

The Gray Lady loves her home with us!

He has never been away from his handouts and his box for that length of time.  The last time we saw him he was struggling to walk, but still wouldn't allow us to come near him.  We hope that if he has died, that he did so without any pain and with a full belly.  He has been in the neighborhood for close to ten years now and having to withstand our harsh winters has taken a toll on him.  We will still call for him in the morning when we open the back door, but we suspect he will never return.  Before someone caught him and had him neutered, he fathered quite a few neighborhood kittens.  If all the others are as nice as the two that we have given a home to, he was a good father.  So, Big Bob, we wish you well and may you Rest In Peace!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "My Grandpap & The History Of Armstrong Linoleum" Story - Part II

It was an ordinary day.  Reading about a young woman named Hazel Dell Brown who worked at the Armstrong Cork Company and was perhaps the most influential residential interior designer of the 20th Century.  Yesterday I wrote about Armstrong Flooring's revival of its famous "The Christmas Pattern" which for years and years was produced in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, a few blocks from my house on North Queen Street.  During much of the 20th Century, Armstrong Flooring distributed thousands of colorful decorating brochures and printed millions of advertisements featured regularly in close to 100 newspapers nationwide.  The ads all showcased Armstrong Flooring with Hazel's colorful and thrifty room designs.  Just about all advertisements at the time were black and white ads, but Hazel's Armstrong advertisements were all done in color!  Hazel and her crew of design artists were not only creative, but prolific in what they did to promote Armstrong's flooring.  At the time, most companies pushed ads for flooring in kitchens, but Armstrong and Mrs. Brown designed advertisements for kitchens, bathrooms, living rooms, bedrooms, mud rooms, basements, attics, in-law apartments, rental rooms, etc., etc.  You name it and Helen had an advertisement designed for it.  One new idea that Helen also started was allowing homemakers the opportunity to write to Armstrong for design ideas for a specific room in their home.  It wasn't unusual for Armstrong to receive 1,000 or more pieces of mail each day seeking aide to help with designs using Armstrong products for a special room in their home.  Helen also designed buildable plans for a "Balcony Apartment" designed to provide affordable housing options after WWII.  Mrs. Hazel Brown gave lectures to the public, training sessions for company salespeople, wrote advertising copy and designed interiors for show houses and store windows all in the name of promoting Armstrong Cork Company.  When Mrs. Brown retired from Armstrong, a news release announced that: For a generation, Mrs. Brown has had a great influence on the decorations of the nation's homes.  Homemaking ideas which have appeared in Armstrong's full-color advertisements in national magazines have been used by decorators and advertisers throughout the country.  Mrs. Brown had one mission while working at Armstrong...being focused on helping homeowners pull together rooms inexpensively...using furniture and decor they already had...recognizing that color was the place to start.  Naturally, using Armstrong products was always in the back of her mind.  She was even good at turning extra rooms into apartments to ease the housing shortage at the time.  In her own words, in 1923, she wrote: "I am teaching the women of the whole country to love beautiful colors and harmonious combinations in their own home. We have given homemakers the creative urge, stimulating them to use what they have; to improvise and to discover their own ingenuity.  We have added so-called social prestige to calico, tartan, moulin and 'done over' furniture."  Mrs, Brown retired from Armstrong in 1952 and upon her retirement she received one letter of appreciation that read: "I find myself looking for your page when a new magazine arrives.  They are so restful, so harmonious, so beautiful in themselves, as well as so full of suggesions for actual house furnishing.  Of course, you have published these pictures to introduce your linoleum, but I am sure you have accomplished much more than that in showing great numbers of people how beautiful a simple home may be.  You have accomplished more than the articles on 'Interior Decoration' in the same magazines in which your advertisements appear."  Another writer said she was "The Dorothy Dix of Decorating."  The writer went on to say that "I believe that Mrs. Brown's design ideas had much greater impact on 'every woman' Americans than professional interior designers."  Mrs. Brown's 1948 "balcony cottage" design which was sold to the public was her most successful room design.  Mrs. Brown was born 'Hazel Snepp' around 1892 in Lafayette, Indiana.  She died at her home in Lancaster, Pennsylvania on July 31, 1982.  She was married to her high school sweetheart L. Glen Brown in 1918.  Two months later her husband was sent to fight overseas in WWI.  During his time away she earned a prestigious scholarship to attend Pratt Institute.  Her husband never returned from the war. She was eventually named art director of the Indianapolis School District. She was later hired by Armstrong in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.  And...the rest is history as they say!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.   

The "Go In Peace" Story

It was an ordinary day. Talking on the phone with my friend Jere who lives in State College, PA with his wife Sue.  Jere and I grew up together, about a block-and-a-half away from each other near the Lancaster Train Station on the north side of Lancaster, Pennsylvania.  We met in 1st grade and have been friends ever since.  While in high school, one of our classmates was a young girl named Sue whom Jere fell for right off the bat and married her shortly after graduation from high school.  She had grown up near State College and moved to Lancaster when she was in 10th grade when her father moved here for his job.  A few years ago Jere and Sue moved back to State College and now my wife Carol and I make trips to State College to visit with the two of them.  The four of us have been friends for many years and enjoy trips back and forth for visits a few times a year.  When Carol and I travel to State College, the four of us usually take a drive around a few of the many small towns near State College to see the scenery and to grab a bite to eat during our travels.  One such location is the small town of Bellefonte which has an area of about 1.8 square miles and a population of about 6,000 residents.  A recent local LNP newspaper article told of one of the churches in Bellefonte, The Bellefonte First Presbyterian Church, which is nearly as old as the borough itself.  The church recently held its final service on Christmas Eve after serving its congregation for nearly two centuries.  So sad to see a church with a 221-year history having to close due to declining membership and attendance.  A few of the worshippers said that, "There' s just such a love among this congregation.  We've all known each other so long and we know each other's foibles.  We'll miss our personality, our laughter and our joy in just being together.  And, of course, the faith aspect of sharing that with other like-minded people."  

The interior of the Bellefonte First Presbyterian Church
photo by Abby Drey - Centre Daily Times

The church was established in 1800 by the same men who founded Bellefonte in 1795 at a time when there were only 16 states and counted among it members two former Pennsylvania governors.  The church met at the courthouse for almost two decades and then in a stone edifice.  The current structure was built shortly after the Civil War.  Before the pandemic hit there were about 40 parishioners.  That number has now dropped to 25 and had no in-person services from March of 2020 until the service this past Easter Sunday.  Fewer people are taking their children to church and the church didn't try and recruit any new parishioners.  Before the final hymn on Easter Sunday, members in attendance lit and raised candles to these words..."And the light has splintered the darkness.  And hope is ours once more.  And this light does call us forward, remembering the past, and walking confidently into the future.  And now go in the peace of Christ."  Hopefully those that were in attendance will be able to find a home in the few other churches in Bellefonte in the near future.  I'm sure they will certainly be welcomed into a new parish and will offer them friendship and a new place to worship.  It won't be the same as their old church, but, the new friendships they make should make up for that in the near future.  I wonder what will become of the old church that has been their home for over 200 years.  As they say...only time will tell!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "My Grandpap & The History Of Armstrong Linoleum" Story - Part I

It was an ordinary day.  Waiting for my Grandpap to arrive after his shift at Armstrong Cork Company so that we could head up to Roots Sale in nearby Manheim, Pennsylvania.  My Grandpap was in charge of a linoleum-making line at Armstrong that was about three blocks away from my Mom and Dad's house on North Queen Street in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.  During summer months he would stop and pick me up on late Tuesday afternoons so we could visit Roots Sale for supper and then make a visit to Roots' small animal auction before heading home.  More than once he had the winning bid at the auction and we would head back to my house on North Queen Street with a few more animals than we came with earlier in the afternoon.  Animals such as pigeons, rats, white mice and even guinea pigs might fill the trunk of his Buick as we pulled into a parking space in front of 929 N. Queen Street.  Mom and Dad were never anxious when Grandpap would open his trunk and pull out a large cardboard box or metal cage.  If you have been reading my stories over the past years, you more than likely read about some of the animals I raised as a child and young teenager.  Grandpap was a great guy who would also invite me to visit with him at Armstrong Cork Company from time to time to see what he did on the linoleum line, first as a worker and later as a foreman.

Working on the assembly line at Armstrong.

 I still have his Hamilton Watch that he was given for his many years of service at Armstrong which my Aunt Lois gave me after Grandpap died in the 1950s.  One thing that he did while working at Armstrong was work on the linoleum line that made the 5352 Heritage Brick pattern known as "The Christmas Pattern" linoleum.  This is perhaps Armstrong's most famous linoleum that they ever made which I believe is still in production today.  It is the linoleum pattern that was in "Apollo 13" when it was part of the Lovell family's kitchen.  It is also the linoleum pattern that was in the Huxtable kitchen in "The Cosby Show" as well as in the 1990 movie "Misery".  The original pattern was designed in shades of red, later known as coral.  There also was a version with muted primary colors and a version with neutral colors.  Then in the 1960s the pattern was rebranded as Terra Cotta which came in red, green, gold and white.  The 1970s brought a Solarian version of the 5352 which would shine without wax. 

It came in a light green, light gold, a deeper gold and white.  The latest version, which was released in 2020, had four colors which were camel, coral red, dusk and serene blue.  The 5352 pattern is among the best sellers ever at Armstrong.  Today there is a hugh, framed piece of the original product in the company's Lancaster, PA office hallway leading up to the second floor.  A plaque that hangs next to it says the pattern was designed by Mr. John W. McClurg who eventually moved to a Northern location and became a carpet designer.  42 million yards of the 5352 pattern were sold in the first 40 years.  And...my Grandpap was responsible for many of those yards which I had a chance to see in production as a young boy.  The reason why it was known as "The Christmas Pattern" was due to employees, during the Great Depression, being able to stay employed even though many other workers at other jobs were being laid off.  It was said to have been a Christmas gift to the employees to still be working.  Had the pattern not been so successful, Armstrong workers might have also been laid off.  And now...Armstrong Flooring pattern 5352 is once again coming back as a player in the 21st Century.  In what is sure to be the biggest product news of the year here, Armstrong Flooring is reintroducing its famous  5352 pattern which is now known as "Heritage Brick" in four colors.  Armstrong expects the product to be revived through flooring retailers and expects it to be more widely available as the year progresses.  So...Armstrong Flooring #5352 has been in continuous production from 1932-2000 and has once again been revived in 2020 with hopes of big sales in the next few years.  One person who has been responsible for the many, many advertisements of "The Christmas Pattern" over the years was a woman by the name of Hazel Dell Brown.  Tomorrow I will tell you why she has been known as the most influential residential interior designer of the 20th Century that you never heard of before.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "I Knew There Was A Reason For The Second Car In The Garage" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Wanted to take the Honda CRV to the carwash and told my wife I'd be back in 20 minutes.  Opened the garage door, hopped in the car and pushed the start button.  Funny noises came from everywhere.   The headlights flashed and then everything went dead.  Holy sh*t!  I sat in the car for a few seconds and tried again.  Same results.  The only conclusion I could come up with was my battery was dead.  It's happened before...many times since I have owned a car.   But...it always seemed to have happened when I had another car sitting next to it in my two-car garage.  About two weeks ago I took my little Mitsubishi Mirage out of the garage and my son and daughter-in-law stopped and took it home with them to see if they might be interested in buying it from me as a third car for their family.  Both my wife Carol and I no longer work and find we haven't needed the use of the Mirage for a few months.  All it is doing is taking up space which we could use for something else.  The car is about 5 years old, but has only about 9,000 miles on it since I bought it new.  No sense paying insurance on it, having to have it inspected every year and sitting in space we could use for something else in our garage.  So, when the CRV wouldn't start, I finally found the reason for having the Mirage in my garage next to the CRV.  I have long jumper cables hanging from a post in the garage, but they now did me no good, since only one car was now in the garage.   Now what do I do?  Got out my wallet and found my Central Penn AAA card and dialed the number for help.  In about 10 minutes a truck pulled into my driveway and a friendly fellow headed toward my open garage door.  He too turned the key and got the same response.  He grabbed an instrument from his truck and attached both cables to my battery and told me it was just about dead.  I could get it charged, but the chances are pretty good it wouldn't start the next time I needed it.  So...he put in a new battery.  The dead battery was the original battery and the car is over three years old now, so it had lasted me about as long as could be expected in a cold Northern state.  But, if I still had my second car next to my CRV, I could have jumped it and perhaps taken it to a garage and had it charged.  And, once again...when I tried to start it next week I'd have to do the same thing once again.  Since I am a AAA member, I didn't have to pay for the service, but did have to pay for the battery.  One way or another, I needed a new battery.  I'm sure there will be another time in the near future when I will miss having two cars in my garage, but I'll eventually get used to it and can certainly use the extra money I will not need to spend to keep another car sitting in the garage and not being driven. Just seemed so funny that a few days after I got rid of my Mirage that something like this happened.  Someone knew what I had done with the Mirage, and was just reminding me they knew.  Life's funny that way.  But, it is nice to know that someone is looking over your shoulder and giving you a reminder about it every so often.  And, it wasn't a time that was an emergency, so it was a friendly reminder.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "The Tale Of Mrs. L" Story

Preface:  On this first day of 2022 I wish you a Happy New Year and hope you will enjoy another year of stories about life with the Woods'.

It was an ordinary day.  We had just finished eating our evening meal in the forum room at St. James Episcopal Church in downtown Lancaster, Pennsylvania.  The meals were referred to as "Pot Luck Suppers" in which all those that attend were supposed to bring a casserole to share with all those in attendance.  As a child, I loved the big selection to chose from, but did have a tough time not taking too much and having to throw away some of the leftovers.  As a parent with three young children, I had to remind my children about putting too much on their plates.  No sense in wasting food as I did 20 years earlier.  The evening was a lot of fun with great times talking with other members of the church about routine things and seeing all the children running around and having a great time.  Some of the casseroles were very impressive as I remember them with many using pasta ingredients to make them look bigger and less expensive.  But, I must tell you that nothing ever went to waste.  One of the church members that always attended, Mrs. L made sure of that.  During the meal Mrs. L would go down the cafeteria line and if finding something that she found interesting, would open her pocketbook and place a spoonful of the item in her pocketbook.  One such time our youngest child, Tad, turned to my wife Carol and softly said, "Mom, that lady put something in her pocketbook." Seems it wasn't just one thing, but some of just about everything would go in the pocketbook, all on top of each other.  And, to top that off, she would bring a small bottle about the size of a softdrink bottle along with her and would dump left-over coffee and tea into the bottle.  It was almost as much fun watching her collect stuff to take home as it was to share Pot Luck Supper together.  I was a friend of Mrs. L's son Eddie and I often wondered what he thought of his mom doing what she did on a weekly basis.  A few years ago I gave Ed a call to see if he would be interested in singing in Lancaster's Flash Mob where we sang Christmas carols at several locations in downtown Lancaster.  Ed and I had been friends when we were young and sang in the choir together.  He took me up on the offer and for the past few years we have sang together in the Flash Mob.  Often wanted to bring up the topic of his mother's habit of gathering items together at the potluck supper to take home, but never had the nerve to do so.  Didn't want to hurt his feelings, but he had to know what his mom was doing when he went home with her from the Pot Luck Suppers.  I suppose what she joined together in her pocketbook may have tasted good the next day, but the leftover coffee and tea both poured together had to taste awful.   But then again, I never tried it!  And...I never will!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.