The "How Good Are You At Nappi...Opps...I mean Resting?" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Mid-afternoon and I just woke up from a short rest.  I find that the older I get, the more I tend to rest after having my lunchtime meal.  Actually...I rested even when I was young!  Back then my mother called it a nap!  And... even today my wife calls it that... but I tell her I am only resting.  I find that a good rest can help me think a bit more clearly than when I am tired. A brief rest seems to improve my memory and puts me in a better mood.  I recently read an article that I found in my local newspaper that was titled "Get the most our of you nap!"  They suggested I experiment with a midday rest....Yes, I did notice that they didn't say rest!  So...I have decided to do what they suggested and try to become a skilled rester.  Found that the best time to rest is about six to eight hours after I wake up in the morning.  I read that there is a "natural circadian dip" in early to mid-afternoon due to levels of the stress hormone cortisol and other signals that help keep me alert.  It is mid-afternoon that my alertness begins to wane.  I am supposed to be careful about resting too late into the day or for too long.  Easy to do, so it is!  I read that I may not actually fall asleep during my rest, or at least I may not think I have, but that's OK.  We are often "somewhat conscious" in the early stages of resting, but it's still good rest!  Settle into a quiet place where you're unlikely to be interrupted, and put your phone on airplane mode.  Try to tune into your five senses to "get out of your head and into your body," and let your breathing slowdown and deepen.  It is recommended that you limit your rest to about 20 minutes - just enough time to capture the lightest stages of a sleep cycle.  Yeah...like that's going to happen!  Set an alarm so you can relax and know you'll wake in time for the next thing in your day.  Give yourself a few minutes to wake up and try to get some sunshine or bright light in your eyes.  That's a strong signal for your brain that it's time to be alert.  Some  people have a hard time waking from rests and don't seem to benefit from them as much as others do.  If resting isn't for you, consider going for a walk or some deep breathing.  Just make sure you don't over rest and miss that important event or phone call.  Easy to do!  I know!  Seems to happen more the older I get!  But then again...aren't old people supposed to rest every day!  I think it was my mom or dad that told me that.  And, I'm finding they were correct!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.  

The "Sharing Breakfast and Life's Stories With One Another" Story

Just returned from having breakfast at the Lititz Family Cupboard which is located near the town of Lititz, Pennsylvania.  I am one of many retired teachers who taught at the Manheim Township High School in Neffsville, Pennsylvania years ago.  We had been having monthly breakfast gatherings at the Lititz Family Cupboard for years until a few years ago when COVID struck and it canceled all our breakfast gatherings.  A few months ago an email was circulated about beginning to meet once again for breakfast, but I never heard any more about it.  Then, a month ago I got another email telling me that our retired teachers group will once again be having breakfast at the Lititz Family Cupboard   Called my friend Hal and found he was planning to attend so I told him I would pick him up on my way to the restaurant.  We arrived about 9:00 AM at the Lititz Family Cupboard and found about a half-dozen other retired teachers in a room to the rear of the restaurant.  Within the next 15 minutes about 20 retired teachers arrived and we began to talk about our lives for the past couple of years after COVID had stopped our gatherings for breakfast a few yers ago.  Most everyone looked the same, but a few of the gentlemen, including myself, were minus a bit more of our hair since the last time we had met.  Fun to get caught up on four plus years of our lives.  Most of us had retired from Manheim Township High School in Neffsville, Pennsylvania in the late 1990s with a few retiring in the early 2000s.  A few I couldn't place until I found out whom they were, and then it all came back to me.  I wondered if I was also one of the group that a few didn't recognize after a layoff of 4-5 years.  Perhaps I looked younger than they had remembered me, but the more I thought...the more I knew there was no way possible that I looked younger than I did 4 years ago.  We all shared our stories with one another as we ate our delecious breakfast meals.  Time seemed to pass so quickly and before long a few had to excuse themselves due to another appointment they had scheduled.  It was fun to gather and talk about our lives since we last saw each other and since we all taught together at the Manheim Township High School in nearby Neffsville, Pennsylvania.  We finally parted, telling each other that we had to get together again next month.  The older we get, the faster time seems to pass by.  I, for one, will be ready in another month to have breakfast with the group once again and talk a bit more about times past when we were all younger and enjoyed teaching high school classes together.  Perhaps a few more will hear of our breakfast meeting and join us in Lititz, Pennsylvania for breakfast once again!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "Friendly Bobcat" Story

It was another ordinary day.  Reading about an injured wild animal that had a surprising reaction to a deputy's offer of help.  Normally, wounded animals are most times vicious when approached by humans, but recently a sheriff's office deputy in Lee County, Florida was able to pick up an injured bobcat and put it in his patrol car.  I'm assuming that the patrol car had cage bars or a bullet proof plate across the rear seat!  Well, what happened next left the deputy and all others slack-jawed.  A photo shared by the Lee County Sheriff's Office shows the predator bobcat willingly curled up in deputy Vincent Lopez's arms like a 30-pound house cat.  The Sheriff's office wrote in a Facebook post that "He was able to get this stunning fur baby to safety and transport it to Blue Pearl Animal Hospital where he reportedly will make a full recovery!"  Seldom do bobcats attack humans, but it has happened in the past.  And, being it was an injured Bobcat, it was more than likely to try and defend itself when the deputy arrived.  Bobcats grow to about 30 pounds in Florida and aren't known to tolerate the company of  humans.  Vincent was just lucky that he came upon a "friendly" bobcat!  Somehow the bobcat sensed that he wasn't in jeopardy when Vincent appeared.  Vincent joined the department in 2021.  For his recent capture he used heavy-duty gloves and a blanket, but was largely vulnerable to the predator's claws and teeth.  Many commented how calm the bobcat appeared as the deputy carried it to his patrol car.  And, what's even more amazing is that the bobcat stopped to pose for a photograph!  One person wondered how in the world did that bobcat let him get that close and not get bitten.  He was lucky that he's walking away without a scratch on his face or body.  Another commented that the animal realized that he was being helped and must have been in extreme pain to allow Vincent to administer the help he did.  Evidently, the bobcat must have been struck by an automobile.  A nearby resident was the first to report it lying in the road, with its back legs appearing to be immobile.  The bobcat was transported to the Clinic for the Rehabilitation of Wildlife in Lee County.  Lee County is about 130 miles southeast of Tampa, Florida.  Here's hoping that the bobcat will have a full recovery!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "Jack Takes Control" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Opened the front door of my villa at Woodcrest Villa and gathered my morning newspaper that was standing upright against the front door.  Wasn't long before I turned to the Sports Section of the newspaper.  And...when I did, there was a three column wide color photograph of a young man at the edge of a swimming pool.  The headline at the top of the photograph read...TAKING CONTROL.

The more I studied the photo of the young man with swimming goggles still on his head, the more the guy looked familiar.  Sure enough...it was my brother Steve's grandson...Jack Martin! The heading under the photo read, Ephrata's Jack Martin reacts after winning the boys 200-yard freestyle against Elizabethtown in a Lancaster-Lebanon Section Two meet Tuesday at the Ephrata recCenter.  The Mountaineers won the boys met 91-71.  Jack's time in the freestyle was 1:45.81.  Jack and his sister Megan both swim for the Ephrata team.  They both are leaders on their respective teams.  Jack also helped win the 200 Freestyle Medley with a time of 1:32.75, the 500 Freestyle with a time of 5:02.15, and the 400 Freestyle Relay with a time of 3:19.77.....Jack swam the last leg of that relay.  As for his sister Megan...well she helped her 200 Medley Relay team win with a time of 1:54.35,  the individual 500 Freestyle with a time of 5:57.51 and the 200 Freestyle Relay team with a time of 1:47.01.  Jack's swimming coach was quoted in the newspaper as saying..."I don't want to say it was a surprise, but Jack's win in the 200 was a momentum changer for us when it happened!"  And...believe it or not, Jack is only a Sophomore!  Jack and his sister Megan, a Junior, are both excellent swimmers and have been swimming for many years.  My brother Steve and my sister-in-law Kathy both encourage their grandkids during the meets with their cheering.  I'm sure they can be heard above most of the others in the natatorium when their grandkids are participating.  Hey...what grandfather and grandmother wouldn't cheer for their grandkids in any event they might participate in.  I've done it also...many times.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.       

The 'Say It Isn't So...Joe! Story

It was an ordinary day.  I had just hit a button on my keyboard and found out my favorite broadcaster at my local WGAL-TV station is going to retire.  Guy by the name of Joe Calhoun.  I got to know Joe many years ago when I had his son, Eric, in my Graphic Arts class at Manheim Township High School in Neffsville, PA.  I had Eric in class for two years and both years Joe came to open house to see what his son was learning and to find out how well Eric was doing in my class.  Eric was enjoyable to have in class and questioned me many times if there was something that he didn't understand.  I always enjoyed talking with Joe on his visits about not only his son, but about his job at Lancaster's local TV station...WGAL-TV.  Joe was one of my, as well as most other Lancastrains, two favorite broadcasters on WGAL-TV.  My other favorite broadcaster was Kim Lemon, head news reporter who happened to be the daughter of Dean Lemon who was the head of the Manheim Township Industrial Arts Department.  What follows is Joe's online retirement story: After a 36-year career that defined him as the Susquehanna Valley's most trusted weather forecaster, Chief Meteorologist Joe Calhoun is retiring.  His successful tenure at WGAL 8 will end on Friday, Jan. 19, 2024.   For more than three decades, Calhoun has been the leader of the WGAL News 8 Storm Team, bringing his expertise and warmth to viewers across the Susquehanna Valley.  A Philadelphia native, Calhoun graduated from Penn State University in 1981 with a bachelor's degree in meteorology. He began his career with Freese-Notis Weather in Des Moines, Iowa, and later transitioned to broadcast meteorology as the morning meteorologist at Hearst Television’s KETV in Omaha, Nebraska.  In 1987, Calhoun's talent led him back to his home state of Pennsylvania when he joined WGAL News 8 and started a tenure that has lasted nearly four decades.  Behind the scenes, Calhoun has been a leader in his field and a broadcast meteorology instructor at Millersville University. Calhoun’s mentorship has shaped the careers of many young meteorologists, including several members of the WGAL News 8 Storm Team.  "When I look back on my career, I’m most proud of the team I’ve built here at WGAL 8 and the students and young broadcasters whom I’ve impacted along the way. Seeing them blossom into stellar meteorologists has been a wonderful experience," Calhoun said.  Calhoun's dedication to service has been evident through initiatives like WGAL 8’s Coats for Kids Telethon, which he championed for nearly three decades. He was the co-creator and longtime face of this annual fundraiser that still generates tens of thousands of dollars every year for the Salvation Army."   My wife and I are going to miss him and his smiling face.  Lancaster's weather forecasting will never be the same.  Those bright, wonderful days will lack some of the shine that Joe brought into our home!  Yeah...I know, the weather broadcast will go on and we will get to enjoy everyone else, but my wife and I, as well as many other Lancastrains, will miss Joe and his smiling face.  So Joe, here's wishing you a fantastic retirement and may all your days be filled with sunny skies and rain for your garden.  And...see if you can't do something about rain on the days I plan to go to the beach before you leave.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "The Amazing Gray-Headed Flying Fox" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Reading a story in an old "Smithsonian Magazine" titled "Going to Bat for Nature."  The story dealt with the gray-headed flying fox.  A beautiful photograph accompanied the story and showed a gray-headed flying fox with her baby in tow.  She is using her rather large eyes to navigate rather than relying on her echolocation as other species do.  The gray-headed fox is armed with a keen sense of smell as well as sharp night vision that is used for hunting at night, since they rest during the day. It is not unusual for the gray-headed fox to travel long distances while hunting for food.  They also forage for fruits and pollinating trees while hunting.  The gray-headed flying fox is the largest native bat species in Australia.  It has a wingspan up to three feet and is found only in Australia.  But, urbanization and droughts have taken a toll on the gray-headed fox.  The species is listed as "vulnerable" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.  Since they are having a tougher time finding food sources, they have been seeking locations closer to people, bringing them into contact with new threats, such as mesh netting and barbed wire.  Human residents are not happy with sharing their fruit trees with the bats and local governments are trying to disperse of the bats.  To do so, smoke guns, loud noises and fireworks have been used.  To me the gray-headed flying fox is a really neat animal, but I guess I am in the minority, since I'm not the one who has to put up with the destruction that they can create.  Australia's bushfire season of 2019 to 2020 was devastating to the dying fox population having killed tens of thousands of the gray-headed foxes.  But, because they fly long distances during their nightly travels, the bats play a pivotal role in re-polinating swaths of scorched land.  Pollen sticks to their fur, and they also ingest fruits, which makes them excellent seed-spreaders.  A single flying fox can spread as many as 60,000 seeds per night.  Therefore, the flying fox has been praised by the New South Wales Government for their super-pollinating powers.  So what do you do?  One local resident called the bats "flying vermin" and complained about ther smell while others focus on how such vast bat congregations are an amazing sight and is like a local music festival.  One person said, "We've got to live with them, they are great for our ecology."  The people are beginning to realize just how precious their wildlife can be.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.      

The gray-headed flying fox holding a young one

The "Was 2023 Earth's Hottest Year Ever?"

It was an ordinary day.  Reading the online news that declared 2023 as being Earth's hottest year on record.  It's a moment scientists have warned about for months: Earth has just ended its warmest year since people began keeping records, and scientists say it may have been the warmest in 125,000 years.  Even through the December data isn't yet official, the results were already "locked in" by mid-December, according to a National Aeronautics and Space Administration scientist, Gavin Schmidt.  Given six consecutive months of extremely warm temperatures, it was virtually impossible for December to be cold enough to alter the final results.  "We are already beyond the point that any normal process would be able to keep 2023 from being the hottest year," Robert Rhode of Berkeley Earth, said in mid-December.  Official reports from organizations such as the Copernicus Climate Change Service in Europe, and U.S. agencies such as NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are set to make their "warmest year on record" announcements over the next couple of weeks. What's especially concerning is that "the rate of warming over the past century has no precedent as far back as we are able to look, not only hundreds or thousands, but many millions of years," according to University of Pennsylvania meteorologist Michael Mann's book "Our Fragile Moment."  "We are engaged in an unprecedented experiment with our planet," Mann told USA Today.  "There is still time to prevent devastating climate consequences, but the window of opportunity is shrinking"  As of the time of this story, 2023 is set to be the hottest year on record.  Each year since 2014 stands among the top 10 warmest years since people began keeping track, based on increases in global average temperatures above the previous century, according to NASA and NOAA.  The year 2016, which included the influence of a string El Nińo, was the warmest year on record.  Then 2020 matched it!  Once a series of marine heat waves and another developing El Niño began influencing Earth's temperatures in 2023, it became increasingly clear to the world's scientists that the year was likely to see the biggest increases in average temperatures compared to last century.  By November, NOAA reported the January-November global surface temperature was 2.07 degrees Fahrenheit above the 1901-2000 average of 57.2 degrees, blowing past the 2016 average for the same period by more than a tenth of a degree.  The only question remaining is how much warmer 2023 will wind up being when the world's agencies complete their final analyses over the next two weeks.  Experts on the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and at institutions around the world have warned the long-term global average temperature increase should be kept below 1.5 - 2.0 degrees Celsus to avoid catastrophic consequences, such as higher sea levels and an even greater number of intense heat waves that claim lives, devastate crops, kill wildlife and drive warmer temperatures.  Calculating the global average temperature and how it's changing over time is challenging and complex. To do it with confidence, climate scientists use a combination of strategies to estimate the change.  For example, they use weather stations and ocean temperature readings and track how much warmer or colder those temperatures are compared to a set reference period in the past.  The resulting anomalies are then averaged over the globe.  In a second method, satellite data that is close to surface air temperature is averaged together, then adjusted for gaps in resolution or data. The anomalies also are the most robust way to look at this data. A third method reanalyzes by plugging satellite and other data into a weather model that calculates an average.  The best analyses use all three methods to examine the data.  And, 2024 could be even warmer. Many climate scientists expect a strong El Niño to fuel an even hotter year globally, perhaps temporarily hitting the 1.5 degrees Celsius threshold even more often.  Ocean temperatures set new record highs for months in a row, causing widespread coral bleaching in the Florida Keys. At one point in July, the temperature of the ocean in the Keys surpassed 100 degrees, which may have been a world record.  Climate scientists say the world's oceans are hotter because they've absorbed the majority of the excess warming caused by an increase in greenhouse gas emissions over decades. Additionally this year, ocean heat was fueled in part by the June return of El Niño, a pattern of warmer-than-normal sea surface temperatures along the equator in the tropical Pacific Ocean, which affects weather around the world.  Scientists also are studying whether the warming was driven in part by the effects of shipping regulations that reduced the sulfur in shipping fuels and the temporary massive shot of water vapor to the Earth's stratosphere from the eruption of the Hunga Tonga 0 Hunga Ha'apai volcano in January of 2022.  I guess time will eventually tell!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "Your New Favorite Hobby!" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Reading a story in my latest Reader's Digest about "Finding Your New Favorite Hobby."  The story is to give you suggestions as to how to learn new things and how to get started in the right direction.  Story begins by telling you that Kate Hanselman's home is a shrine to hobbies past and present.  She has fencing gear next to her rock climbing shoes.  You can find yarn everywhere in her house since she also loves knitting.  Oh, Yeah...she also has stacks of puzzles, her partner's bag of golf clubs and equipment from his flying lessons.  Their house is like a hobby station!  How many of you have a hobby?  One of my favorite hobbies is sitting with my computer and writing stories to post to my blog site.  Challenging hobbies have the power to make us happier and healthier.  Such pursuits help us grow in creative, physical and intellectual ways, and can boost self-esteem.  Hobbies can lead to better physical health and metal health.  Hobbies can also help to lower stress, provide for more sleep, greater life satisfaction, a larger social network and improved work performance.  Hobbies more than likely won't give you a better job or a larger paycheck, but so what!  Hobbies are more like dessert at the end of a meal.  Hobbies live in the pleasure world, not necessarily the mastery world.  You don't have a hobby to try and impress your boss or get a bigger paycheck; or at least most people don't have a hobby for that purpose!  My hobby, as you can see, is writing and telling stories through my blog site.  How good I might be at my hobby is up to those who read the stories.  Perhaps you enjoy them...or perhaps you think they stink!  That's up to you!  As for me, my hobby of writing stories helps me "get out of my head" and "calm down."  It is my connection between leisure and well-being.  I enjoy being mentally engaged, relaxed and socially connected...and that is why I type stories for my blog.  My blog is my hobby!  It can help get me "out of my head and calm down."  It is my connection between leisure and well-being.  I feel mentally engaged, relaxed and socially connected when I sit with my laptop or desktop computer and place my fingers on the keyboard.  And...I have gotten pretty good at typing at a good pace since I began this blog years and years ago.  I know that it is a hobby for me, but it has been a beneficial hobby to say the least.  When I first began my blog, I was hitting more wrong keys than I was the correct ones.  I could type maybe 30 words a minute.  That has probably doubled and luckily my computer has helped me with incorrect spellings.  What did we do before we had computers that could do miracles??  Over the lifetime of writing this blog I have learned so much.  At first my stories were very short.....perhaps one every other day.  Today, this is my second story I have typed so far, and I may type another one if I can rack my brain a bit more.  My blog began as a hobby and it still is today.  When it becomes a chore, you won't be reading it anymore.  Promise!  When I was a kid, writing was one of my worst memories.  I hated to write.  My cursive was poor and I wan't allowed to print in my school classes.  To this day I don't write in cursive except to write my name.  Most everything else I print.  And, If you read one of my latest stories, you will remember that cursive is no longer taught in most schools.  Hey...I could go on and on, but I must begin another search for a new favorite hobby according to a story I just read...but I know that's not going to happen!!  At times I will type half-a-dozen stories in case I have to help around the house and can't find time to sit in front of my computer to type another story.  But once again...that's another story for another time!!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.           

The "We Love Them Like A Child" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Sitting by my computer in our den, typing yet another story for my blog.  Oh, Yeah!  Many "Thanks" for reading what I have fun typing on a daily basis.  Yeah...I know I miss a day or two from time to time, but not too many times.  Before long I will have hit "ONE MILLION" hits on my blog.  Hard to believe that I have been typing that many years and even harder to believe that you find the time to read all my stories and nonsense that I write.   And, for just about everyone of those stories, my two trusty cats, "The Gray Lady" and "Snickerdoodle" have been by my side while I am typing.  At times "The Gray Lady" enjoys laying across my lap which does make it tough to type, but I find a way.  Anything to keep her majesty happy!  If you search back a few years you will find the story of when we found both of our felines on our back porch when we lived on Harrington Drive in Manheim Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.  They have been an inspiration to me as to what to write from time to time.  Just having one sit on my lap and stare at me can give me an idea as to what to write about for that particular day.  It's as if they inherited mental telepathy!  I often stare at them and wonder if they might have been humans at one time or another.  Do you believe that could happen?  I DO!  "Snickerdoodle" eventually grew to about twice the size of "The Gray Lady", but never took over as the head of the pet household.  That duty is solely for "The Gray Lady."  Our two friends make our days filled with happiness and joy and make any tough decisions for Carol and myself "a piece of cake"!  When we moved from their first and only home on Harrington Drive in Manheim Township, Lancaster, PA, it was a tough chore for both of them.  They no longer had their favorite places to sit or their favorite locations to watch the outdoor animals or their favorite hiding places when company came to visit, but they adapted...just as Carol and I have done.  Today.."The Gray Lady" is still in charge of the feline duties around the house.  Just ask Snickerdoodle if you don't believe it!  At times, one or the other will stand guard in the den to see if someone might approach at the front of our villa.  They tend to run towards us to let us know before the doorbell rings.  Carol and I love them both, but don't cherish mornings when they think it is time to get up to eat.  If I don't get up quick enough for either one of them, I will have one or the other sitting on my chest...trying to pull the covers off of me.  And...it works every time!!  I know....that's why they do it!  Check out the photos we took recently so you can see the size of our two feline friends.  Snickerdoodle" is at least twice the size of "The Gray Lady" but, as I said in the past, she is the boss of me, Carol and Snickerdoodle.  Many of you have pets and I'm sure "You love then to death."  If that's the case...well that's how much we love our two feline house guests.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.  A few photos for you.....  The first 3 are of "The Gray Lady" while the final three are photograph of "Snickerdoodle."  She naturally wanted to be first!

          

The "Do You Have Any Open Space In Your Backyard For Someone To Live?" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Reading a newspaper article titled "Global population up 75M in 2023."  The sub-headline read "Set to top 8 billion by start of 2024; US may be in for a slow-growth decade."  Seems the world population grew by 75 million people over the past year and on New Year's Day it will stand at more than 8 billion people, according to figures recently released by the U.S. Census Bureau.  And to think...you, as well as myself, are one of those 8 billion people who call earth our home.  Seems like too many, but I guess there is still a place on earth for all of us.  The worldwide growth rate this past year was just under 1%.  Did you get that...I typed just under 1%.  Sounds like very few, but the growth rate for the United States alone was 1.7 million people which means our new population figure on New Year's Day will be 335.8 million people.  How can our country hold all those people...and where are all of them?  And...if the current pace continues through the end of the decade, the 2020s could be the slowest growing decade in U.S. History.  Now...I find that hard to believe!  At the start of 2024, the United States is expected to experience one birth every 9 seconds and one death every 9.5 seconds.  Sounds as if we will be balanced evenly, except immigration will keep the population from dropping.  Therefore, net immigration will increase the U.S. population by one person every 24.2 seconds.  Look around your neighborhood.  Can you find any place for that one person?  How about all the barren land that fills some of our less populated states.  At least...I think it is safe to say that there will be plenty of room in the USA for all of us in the near future.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "Do It For The Love Of Your Life" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Just looked another time at my wife's new old ring that she wears from time to time.  Years ago she inherited this beautiful ring from her mother which she wore quite often.  Then one day she noticed that the band of the ring had a slight crack in it and she feared she may not notice it and one day might lose it.  So...she decided to place it in her jewelry box in order to not lose it.  Spent many years with it in her jewelry box until one day she placed it back on her finger.  She just loved that ring...but still had that funny feeling that it may slip off her finger and she will lose it.  So...back in the drawer it went once again.  When I asked her what she wanted for Christmas the year she told me she wanted her favorite ring repaired.  She placed it in an envelope and handed it to me.  Now...I suppose by now you are thinking I am going to all you that I lost it...but, I DIDN'T.  I took it to a jewelry store about a quarter-mile from our home at Woodcrest Villa.  I showed the jeweler clerk where the ring was broken and she assure me their repair person could fix it so it would look like brand-new.  About a month later, two weeks before Christmas was to arrive, I got a call telling me my beautiful ring was ready for pick-up.  Even though the ring was to be a Christmas present for my wife...I still had her go with me to check out her new-old ring to make sure she was happy with the repairs.  After talking with the same clerk at the store, she presented th ring to me, and I passed it to my wife to examine.  We were both plesantly surprised, since the ring looked fabulous.  Looked like a new ring.  The beautiful stone reflected the sunlight entering the shop and the band of the ring looked as if it had never been broken.  Actually...I thought the jeweler had placed the stone in a new band and was about to question the clerk when Carol told me she loved it.  Looked just as it had year ago when she got it from her mother.  The band had absolutely no marks of ever being damaged in the past.  How their in-house jeweler could do such a fantastic job was amazing.  I told our clerk to pass along our congratulations for the work he had done as we left the store.  I wrapped the ring and presented it to my wife for Christmas.  It looked great on her hand!  She now wears it for special occasions and it sparkles.  What a great job this repair artist did for my wife and myself.  Many thanks for the work we had done at the Warren's Jewelry Store in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.  Need a great jewelry repair done????  Just stop at Warren's, which is near Lancaster's Park City, to get the best possible repair job you will ever see.  I promise you!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

Prison Cats Do Inmates Good!" Story

 It was an ordinary day.  Reading a story that was labeled as coming out of Santiago, Chile.  The story was titled "Prison cats do inmates good!"  Story began with...Some say they were first brought in to take out the rats.  Others contend they wandered in on their own.  What everyone could agree on - including those who have lived or worked in Chile's largest prison the longest - is that the cats were here first.  For decades the cats have walked along the prison's high walls, sunbathed on the metal roof and skittered between cells crowded with 10 men each.  To prison officials, they were a peculiarity of sorts, and mostly ignored.  Eventually, the prison officials realized something else: The feline residents were not only good for the rat problem, they were good for the inmates.  Hey, I could have told them that!  For those reading this story and who know me, probably know that my wife and I have had cats most of our 50 plus years of marriage...and have loved everyone of them.  As I type this story, the "Gray Lady" sits on the chair next to me while "Snickerdoodle" is stretched out next to Carol on the sofa.  One of the prisoners, Carlos Nuñez, a balding prisoner showing off a 2-year-old tabby he named Feita, meaning "ugly", is serving a 14-year sentence for home burglary.  He said he discovered their special essence, compared with, say, a cell mate or a dog.  "A cat makes you worry about it, feed it, take care of it, give it special attention," he said.  "When we were outside and free, we never did this.  We discovered it in here."  Known simply as "the Pen," the 180-year-old peniteneiaty in Santiago, Chile's capital, has long been known as a place where men live in cages and cats roam free.  What is now more clearly understood is the positive effect of the prison's roughly 300 cats on the 5,000 human residents.  The felines' presence..... "has changed the inmates' mood, has regulated their behavior and has strengthened their sense of responsibility with their duties, especially caring for animals," said the prison's warden, Col. Helen Leal González, who has two cats of her own at home.  "Prisons are hostile places," she added in her office, wearing a tight bun, while holding a billy club and wearing combat boots.  Prisoners informally adopt the cats, work together to care for them, share their food and beds and, in some cases, have built them little houses.  In return, the cats provide something valuable...love, affection and acceptance!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The Festive Plant Facts

It was an ordinary day.  Picked up my morning newspaper and began looking through it.  One section today was titled "Home & Garden and featured a half-page of "Festive Plant Facts".  Interesting...so I thought I would post a photo of each plant they wrote about along with a sentence or two about each one.  Hey!  It's the most wonderful time of the year! as the song goes, so why not share with you some of the festive ingredients that we find this time of the year.  And...from our house to yours, my wife Carol and I wish you a Happy New Year!!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.  

Cyclamen - When a cyclamen's leaves turn yellow, that's not a sign of thirst, but a red flag that this houseplant is ready for a rest.  Native to the Mediterranean, cyclamen's dormant period is not winter, but the summer to protect it from heat.

Norfolk Island Pines - The pine looks like tiny Christmas trees, but they're not actually pine trees.  They don't come from Norfolk, Virginia, but from Norfolk Island near Australia.  While they don't like our winters, they can thrive indoors. 

Mistletoe - Mistletoe is a merry moocher, a semi-parasitic plant.  Birds drop mistletoe seeds onto tree branches.  Once the seeds germinate, the plant grows root-like structures, called haustorium, which grow into the tree tissue, borrowing water and food.  Because these tree thieves can photoynthesize, they're not complete freeloaders. 

                                      

Hellebore - Hellebores often are one of the first flowers to bloom outdoors in spring leading to the nickname Lenten rose.  Hellebores, called Christmas rose, aren't mislabeled or a climate change victim.  These bloom earlier and usually have flowers facing out, not down.

Paperwhite Narcisus - Keep paper white narcissus from getting too leggy by adding booze to the water.  Researchers with Cornell University's Flower Bulb Research Program found the plants respond well when the water is 5% alcohol.  To get a 5% solution from 40% liquor, mix 1 part booze to 7 parts water.  A clear spirit like vodka works best.  Avoid beer and wine because ingredients like sugar can cause the plant problems.

Christmas Cactus - Most holiday cacti are called Christmas Cactus, but they're actually something else.  Here are a few identification tips.  Look at the shape of the leaves to identify a cactus.  Thanksgiving cactus has pointy projections on the sides of the leaves, like crab claws.  Christmas cactus has scalloped or teardrop shaped projections on the leaves.  Easter cactus has leaves with round edges.

Poinsettia - A poinsettia's colorful "bloom" actually is a group of leaves, asa bracts. The flowers, also known as cyathia, are yellow and at the center of the bright cluster of leaves.

Amaryllis -  The name comes from the Greek word amarysso, which means "to sparkle."  It's also the name of a shepherdess who shed bloom to prove her love.  As the tale goes, the blood drops created red flowers along the path to her love's home.  Many amaryllis flowers are red, and others are white, pink and yellow.

Holly - There ar nearly 600 species of holly, including red, yellow and winterberry holly.  The berries are poisonous to people and pets.  The leaves of one South American holly species have caffeine and are used to make the popular drink Yerba maté.

The "So What If I Will Be 80 This Year!!"

It was an ordinary day.  Reading my latest "The Fishwrapper" which I pick up every trip I take to my Stauffer's of Kissel Hill in nearby...Kissel Hill!  The lead story was titled "On Turning Seventy-Eight by Alan Balter.  The more I read, the more it seemed as if it had been me writing my own story, with a few minor adjustments.  So, my following story of growing old gracefully after a long career of teaching high school and working a few years for a former student, doing what I taught him to do, will be much in the same form as "On Turning Seventy-Eight," except I have changed the title to "On Turning 80" which will be my next stop along the age trail!  If you are ready...I will begin...my story!

It's been said that inside every old man, there is a young man wondering, "How did all this happen?"  That young guy is still in there; in fact we still talk all the time.  Not only that, but I still think I know what he looked like.  He was six feet tall with a thick head of dark brown hair, fairly aligned white teeth, lean and well-muscled at 175 pounds.  His one eye was green while the other one was brown; without a hint of diabetic retinopathy, macular degeneration, or corneal erosion.  Very few times did he have to say to his wife..."Say that again!" since his hearing was near perfect.  His body was in fairly good shape and he could climb a flight of stairs carrying one of his children or pets without panting like a rabid dog.  He could pitch softball with the best of them and had normal blood pressure.  His cholesterol level was good as was his blood sugar numbers.  When he went to sleep, you had a hard time waking him since he slept so soundly.  There were no unsightly scars or warts on his face and he had only one chin.  He could speak fluently and could always seem to find a kind word for everyone.  He would digest his meals completely and was seldom bothered by bloating or gas.  He usually had his shirttails tucked in his pants.  At times he may have gotten a headache, but one small pill would relieve his pain.  He almost never got sick and missed only a few days of school while teaching high school Industrial Arts.  He coached every one of his three children, 2 boys and a girl, during summer baseball and softball seasons and spent a few weeks every summer along the Chesapeake Bay with the family.  He wasn't concerned about brain or colon cancer and didn't take more than a pill a day or worried about having to go to the doctor all the time.  In short....My inner man is amazingly similar to what I used to be.  Young and filled with strength, energy, and manliness.  But, my inner man recently began to have conversations with myself when I turned about 70.  We talked a lot, almost on a daily basis.  We started our conversations when I got an invitation to join the American Association of Retired Persons in my mailbox.  At first I thought the post office must have made a mistake and sent the invitation to the wrong person.  But it was to me!  I looked at myself in the mirror and began a full-length examination of myself.  Somehow, the bathroom mirror must have warped,  because my forehead appeared higher up on my head, and my hairline looked like an inverted U.  And...what happened to my skin?  It never was that wrinkled before!  My teeth weren't as bright white as they used to be.  Then I noticed the hairline above my eye brows.  Was it always way up there.  Actually...I had a hard time finding my hair line since it had receded so far back on my head.  The real surprise came when I observed the cumulative effect that gravity had taken since my last inspection.  I no longer had that powerful athletic appearance.  Instead, my muscles sagged and my stomach appeared to be a bit larger than before.  I guess after my doctor told me that since I'm over 70, I'll probably wake up each morning with a few more pains, and if I don't feel the extra pain...I may just be dead!  Hurray! I thought, since I definitely have those aches and pains that he told me I would and should have.  One more thing I have noticed in the past few years is that the newspaper must have gone to a smaller size of type.  But, the most disheartening surprise came when I observed the cumulative effect that gravity had taken since my last inspection.  I no longer have that powerful athletic appearance; instead my muscles, those that I still have, seem to sag and my stomach seems to have sagged quite a bit.  I'm clearly still alive, because just about everything hurts!  Nothing acute, but just plain hurts!  As far as my hairline goes...I no longer have one.  I'M BALD!  And it's NEVER GOING TO COME BACK!!  "Who cares?" I asked my inner man.  I guess I could find a few doctors who could "liven me up a bit", but why?  I decided that I can worry myself about all my physical problems, or just enjoy living!  I saw a greeting card recently that read, "Everyone is young once, and you've had your turn!"  How true!  So, I have finally decided to grow old gracefully.  Now, at 79, I seldom speak with the young man inside me.  In fact, I'm almost positive he's vacated the premises and moved in with another maladjusted, old curmudgeon.  He was a good guy, and he taught me some very important things along the way, but the fact is that it takes a while for the cup to fill and run over, so I will be patient and keep the cup level as long as possible.  I'll learn to live with the pain!  At least I can still feel it, which can't be all bad!  And, I haven't given up the thrill of putting my fingers to my laptop keyboard to share a story or two with you along the way!  And...I still have slightly more than half-a-year left before I reach the next level of 80!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an old, ordinary guy. 

The "We Choose To Be Here Together" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Reading a newspaper story titled "We choose to be here together," which was written by Talya Mimsberg, a New York Times columnist.  The story's origin was Israel and the article's sub-head read...Arab and Jewish students share classrooms and feelings.  Article had to do with a class of third graders who shared a classroom that was decorated with Hebrew and Arabic letters.  The students, a mix of Jews and Arabs, attended the school that was one of six bilingual institutions in Israel dedicated to the proposition that Israelis and Palestinians can learn and live together in peace.  One day this past December, soon after a temporary ceasefire in the Gaza Strip collapsed and the prospect for peace seemed more distant than ever, the students were meditating.  Even thought peace seemed lost, the students could still try for inner calm in their school.  At Hand in Hand school, where each class has two teachers - a Hebrew speaker and an Arabic speaker - the conversation about the recent attack sounds markedly different from other schools.  "We might have different languages, religions and cultures, but we choose to be here together," a Palestinian citizen of Israel and the third graders' Arabic-speaking teacher told her students.  The faculty and families who make up the Hand in Hand schools are doing the difficult work of trying to overcome many differences.  No one at the school is far from the war.  Some Arab students have family members who have been killed in Gaza, while some Jewish students have relatives who were killed or kidnapped or who are currently serving in the military.  It's possible to be together,  it's preferable to be together, and it's also the right thing to do," said Gezeel Jarroush Absawy, the Principal of the Hand in Hand school in Haifa.  To that end, the schools emphasize processing individual and generational trauma.  They present history through the lenses of both Israelis an Palestinians, and foster relationships between Arabs and Jews in childhood in the hope that they can extend into adulthood.  "We need to be friends with each other and not fight." one student at the Jerusalem school said in Arabic.  "We can live in peace," said another in Hebrew.  "Even older people and children can accept each other so we can be safe," said another Arabic-speaking student.  "It's a very happy school.  It's not always. 'We're Jews and Arabs!'" a student named Salim said with a laugh. "But...we can be a happy school."  If only all Arabs and Palestinians could share the same thoughts of the children who share the same school, life could be so much better for all citizens!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.     

My Professor Turns 100

I was an ordinary day.  Reading about one of the professors I had when I was a student at Millersville State Teacher's College.  The college is no longer known as that, (now known as Millersville University), but wasn't the size back then that it is today.  The teacher, or should I say professor, was Professor William McIlwaine whom for some strange reason I got long with very well back in 1964.  

             Professor William McIlwaine - LNP Photograph

I was an Industrial Arts major, known back then as "shop", and wasn't fond of science classes.  I had to take at least one science class if I expected to graduate, so my Industrial Arts advisor suggested I take Professor McIlwaine Chemistry class, since he thought I would get along well with him.  Well, he was correct.  I met one time with Professor McIlwaine while taking his class in Chemistry.  I was scared half to death before going into his office, but after we talked about my plans after graduating from Millersville, I felt extremely at ease.  I told him I wanted to be a high school shop teacher, hopefully teaching Wood shop or perhaps Graphic Arts.  When I walked out of his office I was anxious to have him as my Chemistry teacher.  For some strange reason, we got along well and I managed to get a "C" in his class.  I was never sure if he had talked with my IA Professor Mr. Monical whom may have asked him to pass me in his class or not.  Well...on the front page of my morning LNP newspaper a few days ago was a story and photograph of Professor McIlwaine whom will turn 100 years old on January 4th.  When Prof. McIlwaine was asked how he felt to be celebrating his 100 birthday he replied, "Unbelievable, I'm and old man!"  The newspaper story told his life story and how he fought in the Battle of the Bulge many, many years ago.  He was born in 1924 in Fall Rivers, Massachusetts and today lives a hop, skip and a jump from me at Mennonite Home.  He was an only child and served in WWII after enlisting in the Army.  His service took him to the European theater in 1944 and 1945.  He fought in the notable Battle of the Bulge.  During his service he was wounded by artillery fire, but went on to help liberate more than 20,000 people imprisoned at the Austrian Nazi concentration camp of Ebensee in May of 1945.  He left the service wearing the Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Combat Infantry Badge and Four Theatre of Operation Stars.  A real hero!!  Prof. McIlwaine said about his service time, "I wouldn't sell it for a million dollars, but I wouldn't do it again for a million dollars, either."  Prof. McIlwaine's devotion to science and education left a permanent mark on both Millersville University's history as well as my history.  Without passing his class I would never had become an Industrial Arts teacher, and to this day I still wonder if he passed me since we seemed to get along so well.  Well, Prof. McIlwaine...thanks once more for passing me and for all the memories I had while at Millersville State Teacher's College and in your class.  I'm sure you don't remember me anymore, but I was the one who didn't miss a single class during the semester I took your class.  Perhaps that was why you passed me.  And...Here's wishing you a Happy New Year and a Happy Birthday!  You don't look a day older than me!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "Sharing New Year's Day Dinner With Family" Story

It was an ordinary day.  January 1st and my family just left our house to head home after sharing a wonderful New Year's dinner of pork and sauerkraut.  It is our traditional meal that we share every New Year's Day to hopefully give us all good luck for the upcoming "New Year."  My wife, Carol, had made our family's Christmas dinner for a table of a dozen friends and relatives, but our New Year's dinner table only brought half-a-dozen hungry mouths to the table.  Family that live out of state usually don't fight the traffic on New Year's Day as they do when we celebrate Christmas. Last evening we enjoyed watching all the celebrations that were on TV such as the ball dropping in New York, the Hershey Kiss dropping in Hershey, PA, the White Rose dropping in York, PA, the Lebanon Bologna drop in Lebanon, PA, the Dill Pickle drop in Dillsburg, PA,  Martin's Potato roll drop in Chambersburg, PA, etc, etc., but were disappointed this year since my hometown of Lancaster, PA did not have the Red Rose drop this year due to poor attendance last year to see an event that cost over twenty thousand dollars last year.  I must admit that I don't care to stand outside in the freezing cold winter air to watch a fake red rose drop, or rise, to celebrate the New Year.  Trying to find parking, at times having to walk a few city blocks and then wait for who knows how long before a fake rose is dropped or raised is a bit too much for my old body anymore.  Years and years ago it was fun, but it's so much easier to watch the event on TV now that I have begun the downside of my life.  Evidently, there are too many people in Lancaster that feel the same way and the city of Lancaster decided to eliminate the event this year.  I did feel bad for those who do enjoy watching some item fall from the sky or rise from the street, but my aging body can no longer stand the winter weather.  And, if I want to have a chance to enjoy the Christmas Holidays next year, I thought I should stop standing out in the freezing weather to see a fake item drop, or in some cases rise, just to celebrate New Year's Eve.  My wife, family, and I would like to wish all of you who have found these stories on my blog, a Happy, Healthy, and Prosperous New Year.  And, if you care to check back in the future, I will attempt to entertain you with more  extraordinary stories from an ordinary guy!  HAPPY NEW YEAR!       

In a Word: Sending Out an SOS

 

Save Our Ship? Save Our Souls? Stuck On Something?

What does ‘SOS’ actually mean?

It was an ordinary day.  Reading on a few websites what the initials SOS really mean. Managing editor and logophile Andy Hollandbeck of the Saturday Evening Post reveals the sometimes surprising roots of common English words and phrases. Remember: Etymology tells us where a word comes from, but not what it means today.  When the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System was implemented in 1999, SOS, that well-known “send help!” code that The Police sang about, officially became a phenomenon of the 20th century — in international maritime travel, anyway. It had already had and will continue to have a different life in the hands of the general public, of course, much like Morse code itself. But what does SOS actually mean?  You’ll find claims out there that it’s an initialism for “Save Our Ship” or “Save Our Souls,” or even the grim “Save Our Survivors,” but the truth is that, when it was proposed, it wasn’t an abbreviation for anything.  At the beginning of the 20th century, advancements in wireless telegraphy or radiotelegraphy — that is, sending text messages over radio waves — were expanding the benefits of the wired telegraph system into new areas. Wireless transmissions were particularly useful in the maritime sphere, where wired connections were impossible. But in order for the system to be truly useful in international waters, some basic standards needed to be agreed upon.  Notice I used the word international; that’s one clue that dispels the idea of SOS meaning “save our ship”: It’s in English. Though English was on its way to becoming a global lingua franca, at the beginning of the 20th century, French was still the primary language for international communication. “Save Our Ship” in French is Sauvez Notre Navire.  In 1903, at the Preliminary Conference on Wireless Telegraphy in Berlin, the need to establish a standard distress signal was raised: Ships encountered problems all the time. But no conclusions were reached — individual organizations were on their own to decide how to call for help.  The next year, the Marconi Company — a leader in radiotelegraphy, established in the United Kingdom in 1897 by Guglielmo Marconi himself — issued a statement to its operators that the code CQD would henceforth be used as a distress signal. The code CQ was a holdover from the wired telegraph indicating that the message that followed was a general broadcast, intended for all stations that received it and not for a specific location. The D was to indicate “distress.”  A little later, the U.S. Navy proposed reusing the distress code NC from the International Code of Signals — used in flag-based and signal-lamp communications. The German government called for operators to use the code SOE, which worked in a way similar to CQD.  The problem with having multiple distress signals is obvious now — and it was then, too. So in 1906, the need to create a universal distress signal was considered once again, at the International Radio Telegraphic Convention. The responsible committee preferred Germany’s SOE, but worried that the single dit of the Morse code letter E could be easily lost. They replaced it with the longer, three-dit S, not because it stood for anything in particular, but because it was more difficult to mistake for something else.  Furthermore, SOS was to be transmitted as a single code, with no spaces between letters. The symmetry and length of this new distress call made for a code that was easy for even the untrained to transmit and was difficult to misunderstand.  In later years, when the code found use outside of radio telegraphy, a further benefit was discovered: SOS looks exactly the same if you turn it upside down (making it an ambigram). If you’re, say, stranded on an island and you create a giant SOS out of rocks on the beach, it looks the same from the air in any direction. (Unlike HELP, which looks like d73H upside down and takes longer to create anyway.). As a side note: The communications officers on the Titanic were Marconi Company men. When the ship struck ice in 1912, their first distress signal began with CQD, but they transmitted both CQD and SOS so there could be no mistaking that they needed assistance.  One way or another...SOS should bring you help if you are ever in need of it!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy

The "Can You Write In Cursive?" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Checking out my Sunday News Paper's "Letters to the editor" page which is part of the LETTERS/OP-ED Section of the newspaper.  One letter submitted by Lisa Garrett from East Earl Township caught my eye.  Letter was titled...We don't need to teach cursive writing.  Something I had never thought about in the past!  And, just why don't we need to learn cursive writing I thought to myself.  I had to learn it and it's only fair that students today should have to learn it.  Make sense to you?  Than, I began to think about it and I'm not quite sure how to think...now.  I'm typing this story today on my laptop, which doesn't type in cursive!  At least I don't think I can type in cursive!  The letter to the editor that I had just read in my Sunday News was not in cursive.  And, I had no trouble reading it.  The letter began with....

It is with great amusement that I read of our state Legislature focusing on what really matters.  Specifically, some lawmakers want to make the teaching of cursive writing mandatory for pubic schools, because of the complaints of a few grandparents.  Let's be realistic.  Children today are expected to learn more than ever.  We keep adding more to the list of things that they need to be taught, and something must go.  Why not cursive writing?  Cursive resulted from the need to keep the quill pen on the parchment to keep the dipped ink from blotting so much.  That made sense 500 years ago, but less sense since the invention of the printing press and then, especially, the ballpoint pen and computers.  Printing is now prevalent.  I would hazard that most people do not know how to use an abacus or slide rule anymore, because they have been replaced with the modern calculator.  I would not want teachers wasting precious time on teaching the use of either.  It is time to stop teaching cursive writing and the likewise obsolete Roman numerals and analog clocks.  The world and technology move on.  Our children, and their grandchildren will no longer use cursive.  I barely use it anymore.  And, if you want your grandchidren to help you with your smartphone, then it's best to send them a printed message that they can read.  As far as future generations reading cursive, I am sure there is an app for that -- or that AI will be able to translate.    Lisa Garrett, East Earl Township. 

 So...what do you think?  I find it hard to say...but I believe Lisa is correct!  I learned cursive writing in elementary school in the 1950s and don't think about it anymore.  I just assumed that everyone knew how to write in cursive.  But, I was recently reading a letter that my grandson wrote to me which was not in cursive.  Perhaps he doesn't know how to write in cursive!!!  Maybe he never learned to write in cursive!  I was able to read it without any trouble! And...it didn't really matter to me.  I just assumed his cursive writing wasn't his best way to communicate, and that was why he printed it.  Many times I also print.  My cursive isn't the best and when I don't want to make it hard for someone to read what I have just written, I'll do so by printing it.  This story you are reading isn't in cursive, since I don't know how to write in cursive on my computer.  I just assumed I could only use printed words!  I grabbed my latest "Smithsonian" magazine from next to me and paged through it.  Yep!  All was printed!  Even the mailing address on the front cover of the magazine was printed.  Perhaps elementary schools should stop teaching cursive writing if they haven't already.  One less subject that is needed which consumes quite a bit of your time to do if you are a young child.  And...these old foggies who believe that cursive should still be taught in school should wise up and live in the present/future and not the past.  I'm one old foggie who would vote for no more lessons in how to write in cursive.  Seems it is obsolete!  Amen!  And...Thank You Lisa Garrett for your letter to the editor.  The best letter today!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.      

The "Life & Legacy Of C. Emlen Urban" Story

Prelude: In each century, there are a handful of individuals who define a city and make their stamp on history.  Written by architect Gregory J. Scott, FAIA, Urban Legend is a book about C. Emlem Urban and 25 of the architectural masterpieces which left an indelible mark on the City of Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

Mr. Urban, a true legend, designed 700+ commissions with no formal education beyond the age of 17.   On the pages of this book, Scott shares insight gathered from years of research including Urban's personal diaries, sketchbooks, and linen drawings.  This landmark book was produced locally with photography by Matthew Tennison and design and marketing by Fig Industries.  

If you treasure history, appreciate architecture, or love the City of Lancaster, get your copy of Urban Legend.  Go to egganddartbooks.com or follow @egganddartbooks on Instagram and Facebook for book signings and retail locations.

It was an ordinary day.  Just left the auditorium of Woodcrest Villa, where I am a resident, after listening to a stirring presentation by Lancaster's Mr. Gregory Scott about one of Lancaster's most famous residents, C. Emlem Urban.  Greg recently finished his book, "Urban Legend: The Life & Legacy of C. Emlen Urban" and was giving a presentation to the residents of Woodcrest Villa about the life of Mr. Urban and what they might find in his new book.  A story in the local newspaper began with ....."You won't find author Gregory Scott's name on the cover of "Urban Legend: The Life & Legacy of C. Emlen Urban" - a new book detailing the work of Lancaster's most iconic architect.  

Mr. C. Emlen Urban

But the omission of Scott's name is not an oversight, it was by design. "It's not my book, it's Urban's book," says Scott who is a resident of  Lancaster, Pennsylvania.  "At the end of the day, I had the privilege of putting this book together for Urban and for the community."  I had just spent the past wonderful hour listening to Greg tell the story that he has now placed in his new book about the life and times of Mr. Urban.  Fantastic story that was extremely interesting.  The book is a beautiful book, both in size and content.  The story inside the front cover tells the life and legacy of Mr. C. Emlen Urban, one of Lancaster's most famous and prolific architects.  Gregg is an architect himself who's been practicing for more than 50 years with 42 of them at Lancaster's RLPS (Reese, Lower, Patrick & Scott).  He told his audience that he was destined to write the book since both he and Urban were the second of five children and struggled scholastically.  They both married their high school sweethearts in their early 20s, had two children and lived in Lancaster.  They both spent their careers in architecture and Scott says, "we're notorious for underestimating the cost of our projects."  But, for Scott, the kicker came last fall, when he acquired a formal coat once owned by Urban from a young woman who found it in a Denver, PA based thrift store.  "We're living parallel lives.  These mysterious connections kept happening. It was just meant to be."  Greg said, "I'll pit our boy Urban against any other national architect for his ability and depth of knowlwedge."  The talk that Greg gave to his audience at Woodcrest was both fun and interesting.  He added just the right amount of background information to let his audience know about his connection to Mr. Urban without overdoing it.  I was amazed at his wealth of knowledge he presented about Mr. Urban.  One of my former high school students, James Mehaffey, had worked with Greg and told me about the connection between Greg and Urban.  Well, the talk today was both informative and interesting and I'm hoping to be able to buy one of his new books he has recently finished.  I'm sure I will be amazed with the magnitude of work that Mr. Urban has contributed to Lancaster's city and county.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.  Following are photos of a minute few of Mr. Urban's many buildings in Lancaster, Pennsylvania

Lancaster's Southern Market

The Watt & Shand Department Store Building

The Greist Building

                                                              The Woolworth Dept. Store