My Hershey Med Experiences.

My first trip to Hershey Medical Center was quite interesting.  As many of you probably know, this is now the med school for Penn State University.  As a current PSU fan, it is kind of exciting to see every one walking around on Fridays with their PSU attire.  I thought that LGH was a big hospital, no way!  This is a giant facility with many options for patients and students to learn and study medicine.  

The first trip I took, I met my doctor at 30 Hope Drive.  It took me close to a half-hour of riding around the campus and the use of two GPS.  I am not sure the plural of GPS as it is kind of a new thing.  I finally found the building and parked.  I walked into the building and suddenly realized that I had no idea where I was supposed to go.  I asked for assistance and was on my way.  Even though I was on my way, I still did not have any idea of where I was going.  I looked down this very long hall and saw all these letters hanging from the ceiling.  I had to find X-ray. I quickly learned, with more assistance, that the X-ray department was located under the X hanging in the hall.  Everyone was very nice and accommodating, which was good since as usual, I was clueless.  The equipment in the X-ray room was all Kodak and looked very new and very modern.  I stood in positions I had never stood in for knee X-rays so that they could get some good angles.

When I was finished with X-rays, I had to find my doctor, Dr. Mason.  I had to find the M hanging from the ceiling to find Dr. Mason (are you seeing the pattern here?).  Dr. Mason’s nurse was a lovely woman and quite funny.  She took all my vitals and discovered I was alive.  When she concluded the vitals and the history,  She told me that Dr. Mason would be in very soon, and then she left the room.  Dr. Mason entered the exam room and greeted me with a big smile and a hand-shake.  I am guessing that he is probably in his late 30’s early 40’s.  Dr. Mason immediately went to look at the X-rays and had all kinds of problems with the computer!  It was really funny to watch him really struggling with technology just like the rest of us do from time to tome.  But as he looked through the X-ray he started to see things I had never seen in all the other X-rays from before.  He recommended some blood work be done and a CT scan and then reconvening once all the facts were in.  

When my appointment was finished, I had to negotiate my way out of the building.  Eventually I had to ask for help again, because I was walking in circles.  Once I had assistance again, I discovered that I was close to exiting the maze.  When I walked out of the hallway, I walked right into one of the pediatric sections.  This  was amazing with all the bright colors and toys, as well as the workers all dressed in brightly colored scrubs.  I really understood now why PSU is so involved in pediatric medicine.  

Since Dr. Mason prescribed some blood work.  I decided that I would get this done on the campus while I was there.  Thankfully I found that building with more ease than I had found the other building.  Again, the people were so nice and accommodating.  It did not take very long to have my blood drawn, and when I was finished I went back to the woman at the check-in desk.  She gave me directions on how to exit the campus and my visit was over.

Today I went back to radiology.  I felt like a “deer in the headlights” when I drove onto campus.  This time I had a map and specific directions and no GPS.  I ended up over by the Exercise Center.  I had to sit in the parking lot for a while to figure out where I wanted to go.  I was relieved that I arrived on campus about 40 minutes a head of time!so that I did not have to hurry.  I ended up parking at the top of the parking lot and started wondering how I was going to walk down to where I was supposed to be.  I was supposed to look for the Cancer Center as I knew where that was.  When i got out of my car, I saw two shuttles and hoped that I could catch a ride down to the Cancer Center.  I lucked out, because one of the vans sitting there was able to take me to the Cancer Center.  Upon arriving at the Cancer Center I found my way to the long hallway where an elevator was located to take me to Radiology.  When I got to the elevators, I kept looking around trying to figure out where I was supposed to go next.  I know I had the “deer in the headlights” look again.  I had just figured out where I was going when one of the staff members asked if I needed help (figures right?).  I found my way down to radiology, checked in and began playing bubble shooter.  My appt. was at 10:45 for a CT Scan.  A technician came out to get me and lead me back to the scanner.  The scanner was donut shaped and was decorated with all kinds of kiddie stickers.  Once again, I get how important pediatric medicine is at PSU.  I was finished with my scan before 10:45 and was on my way again.  I finally saw where the most important things in the entire hospital were located. That would be the Starbucks and the gift shop.   I also got to see the kind of merchandise they sell in the gift shop.  Of course there were lots of PSU “stuff.”  It was probably good that I have little money to spend on “things” because I know I would have gone to Starbucks and then to the gift shop :-)  The money they make in the gift shop goes back into the hospital to use for projects in the hospital.  

I walked back outside and stood at the wrong bus stop.  Thankfully a really nice bus driver said she looked at me standing there with the “deer in the headlights” look and then decided to see if I would figure it out and walk down to the actual bus stop.  Yes, I figured that one out!  She told me I had parked in the best place because I was steps from the shuttle.  We had a great conversation on the way up to my car including what it was like to drive around the campus and how long it takes to figure out where everything is located!  

I got in my car and started to head out.  Of course it took a while to realize that I was headed towards a dead end road.  Yes, I ended up at a dead end so I had to turn around and head back.  On the way back I saw a sign that directed me to the highway, and in no time I was back on the main road headed towards home. I have to go back up one more time (at least) next week to see if Dr. Mason has a clue about my knee.  

I can tell you that despite the confusion and size of the campus, I have been really impressed with the facility.  This was the first time I went to a medical facility where I felt like they could fix just about anything wrong with me and if they couldn’t, they would sure give it a good try.  

The Hospital

I had to be at the hospital by 7 AM.  This required me to rise at 5:50.  Sad to say that Mick, once again, woke up at 4:30 AM.  Maybe he is getting ready for my return to school.  I fed Mick and LU and then headed upstairs for a shower.  I was just finishing the drying process when I heard Mick start to bark.  I suspected it was Becky, who was ready to take me to the hospital.  It was now 6:30 AM.  Traffic going into town was really heavy so I was glad that we left early.  Arriving at LGH - we parked at the Lime Street B Lot.  Earl, a band parent from by gone days was the greeter and parking attendant.  Earl is really a great guy.  I had his daughter Val in my film class and low and behold - she is making short movies and getting them shown at film festivals.   In fact several won awards,  Ugh and to think it started in my course, makes me so happy and proud.  Earl was busy so I found my way into the hospital.  As I was leaving, Becky told me that if I needed someone to pick me up, to call her.

The woman that checked me in was delightful despite being coffee less.  We both joked about our respective needs for college in the morning.  After a very brief time, She walked another couple back to the pre-op center along with me.  I cannot begin to tell you how nice the people are at LGH.  I recognized several of the nurses from my previous visits.  The one male nurse went to the Syracuse / Duke basketball game last season.   This is when Duke was beaten by Syracuse in a wild game.  He told me a little about the experience while he was prepping me. I was taken downstairs for an ultra sound of my legs to make sure there were no clots in my legs.  I am sure glad I wore nice under wear today because I was flashing a whole heck of a lot of people.  There was also a chance that they would have to go up through the groin if the filter was stuck.  My legs were cleaned and it was time to go upstairs to get ready for procedure.

I was stuck, prodded, and questioned before the surgery.  The doctor who was performing the procedure was fairly humorous as he explained what he planned to do and what he hoped would not happen!  Another Male nurse wheeled me down to the OR, which was freezing cold.  The nurses all introduced themselves and the other doctor who was assisting also introduced himself.  We were all laughing and joking quite a bit.  Once they moved me on to the other bed and hooked me up to the oxygen, the world slowly began to spin.  Conversations were fading in and out.  They were asking me to do things, and I was, but I felt like I was watching from above.  I never felt when he put the needle and catheter in my neck.  I did come back around to hear that the hook of the filter was in the perfect position.  Unfortunately, the filter had hooked itself in and they had trouble getting it out.   I know that I was talking to everyone and joking about being stuck, but there are other things I just don't remember.  I do recall being wheeled back to my room and then fading in and out.  The doctor came in to tell me what to do.  Thankfully it was written down because I could not remember a word he said!  My nurse Steve - who called me John, brought me some apple juice and pretzels.  As it had been quite a while since I had last eaten.

It was not too long after that they determined I was well enough to go home.  I had arranged for my brother Kris to pick-me-up.  Unfortunately, I did not bother to take my cell phone, nor did I bother to write down his number.  The anesthesia short circuited my brain, and I could not recall his number at all.  They were ready to discharge me, and I had no place to actually go.  Steve, my nurse gave me a boxed lunch and some water so I could eat out in the lobby while waiting for someone to pick me up.  The women at the check in desk were very helpful in trying to help me get home.  I called Becky and left a message.  Then I called back and told her co-worker what had happened to me so Becky would know that I needed a ride home after all.  It was either that or be stuck at the hospital until someone figured out I was missing.

I finished my lunch and had just thrown away the box, when Becky came walking into the waiting area.  I was so glad to see her I nearly teared up!  She got me home and of course Mick wanted to go out immediately.  Becky tried to take Mick for a walk.  Apparently he was not interested in going for a walk with his Aunt Becky.  Mick  was so happy to see me he would not stop jumping on me.  However once he was fed, he calmed down and relaxed.

At this point I am really tired and kind of still out of it.  My neck hurts quite a bit as well.  It will be interesting to see how I am feeling tomorrow.

The Final Leg of My Journey Home

So I start up Bridge Street and the first thing I see is the funeral home where my grandfather was viewed. I had had other relatives die before, but Grandpop was different, he always called me “Bir Head” because I always had a very short hair cut.  I also remember not wanting to go to the funeral and doing everything I could to be late.  Problem was, my brother Bob was waiting for me.  When I walked in the door I was ambushed.  He questioned me about not going and I guess at some point he was tired of listening to me and “jacked me” up against the wall and said, “This is your mother’s father, you owe it to her to be there for this.  Now get your ass upstairs and get yourself ready.”  I did what I was told.  I did view grand pop and sat through the Mason’s ceremony.  It was ok and I guess I am glad I went.  The next day after, the short service in the funeral home, we were sitting in the cars waiting to go to the cemetery.  The mood was heavy and dark, my mom was desperately holding back the tears.  While we were waiting a patient from Pennhurst walked past the car.  For those of you that remember the patient’s at Pennhurst that were better, often held jobs or were permitted to walk into town. Sadly their clothes were not always in fashion.  There had been a TV commercial running about Krass Brother’s Men’s Suits.  This man walked past the car and Bob said, “I guess he didn’t buy his suit at Krass Brother’s.”  Just in that instance the mood in the car completely changed from sad, somber, and quiet to one of hysterical laughter.  

As I proceeded up Bridge Street, I passed the Rescue Squad which was famous for hosting dances, that were apparently pretty wild.  I never went so I never found out.  Next was Debbie Batten’s house and across the street from her was Teddy “Boom Boom” Bauman's.  Debbie was a grade or two ahead of Teddy and I.  On a sadder note, Debbie’s grandmother was my 2nd grade teacher, Mrs. Godshall.  What I remember about her was that I spent a great deal of time in the back of the room facing away from class looking into the coat closet.  It also sticks in my mind that I was chewing gum, and that was a fate worse than death!  So she made me put it on my nose for a while.  Thank God I was having all kinds of experiences being humiliated in my childhood.  It certainly prepared me for humiliation in my adult hood!  Ted, Debbie, and I hung out a lot together.  There were others, but I could not tell you who they were.  I passed “Blanchie’s Hill.”  This was one of the best sledding spots in Spring City.  Sometimes Teddy and Debbie would walk to my house and then we would walk up to the hill in driving snow and freezing temperatures.  We would stay out until very late at night sledding or having some hot chocolate at Teddy’s place.  Teddy’s mom and dad were older like my parents so they hit it off.  I was often up there for meals or Teddy was at my house.  I rounded the corner (the really bad corner on Bridge Street) and headed up toward - Hmm was it 724 that took you down to Phoenixville and up to Pottstown?  Someone will tell me I am sure!  The main branch of the bank I went to was on the left side of me, a gas station to the right of me, across the street was the shipping company (It was Jones and employed many people), and across from that was the place we often got food.  

I made my right hand turn and headed towards Pottstown.  I remember the outlets they had in Parkerford and that my friend Dave Willauer lived there.  I drove further and past what had been Countryside swim club.  The place where I got soooo sun burned that I had to take an oatmeal bath.  Further down the road was Dr. Peterman’s. He was a friend of the family and so we took our dog Blackie to him when she was sick.  Right next to him was a place called TOGG’S.  After TOGG”S opened I swear if we were not getting food from Andy’s on a Friday night, we were at TOGG”s.  They had fried chicken in a basket that came with fries and cole slaw.  Mmmmm now that was good living and eating.  

Finally I arrived at the juncture I needed to take to get on Rt 422.   I made my right and continued.  This area looked basically the same except the brush had grown up.  When I got to the High or Keim Street exit, I took it and decided to ride through downtown Pottstown.  This is where we did most of our shopping.  My mother and I could take the train from Royersford for pennies and arrive in Pottstown.  Public Transportation - who knew it would be in high demand now!  Mom and I had our stores we always shopped in.  The biggest and the one most frequented was The New York Store.  A fairly nice store with a variety of products.  The other was Penny’s, which was up and across the street.   There was a 5&10 next to a Woolworth’s that had a soda fountain!  The trick was to convince mom she needed something from the soda fountain.  It also helped if the fountain wasn't full.  If it was full, sadly I left somewhat dejectedly.  If we sat down, I always had a standing order.  A Hot Fudge Sunday with a Cherry on top and no nuts.  For someone in his formative years, this ranked up there with TOGG’S!!!  I suppose this may have been the start of my addiction issues as well.  Ah that’s right, in case you didn’t know I have a severe addiction to ice cream.  No like seriously severe.  It is almost scary severe.  Anyway after our sundays we general went to Bechtels Sporting Goods.  If she needed something for my brothers we walked down the next block to Weitzencorn’s Now this place was hip for sure!  Always had amazing displays.  I so wanted to buy my clothes there,but I was still in children’s sizes and as my mom pointed out, they only sold man sizes.  Hmmm not a man???  15 years of Therapy here I come!   Once we were done - we would either head back to the train or out the back of the New York Store, because that is where we ALWAYS parked.  We would ride in circles until a spot opened up.  It was free parking, no meters!   This would be one trait I did not pick up from my family, being frugal with money.  Though I have gotten better than I could have ever imagined, it took a very long time for me to get there.  I decided to “cruise the circuit.”  I can’t tell you exactly the names of the streets the circuit started and ended on, but you would start down around the McDonald’s near the hospital.  Then you would drive slowly all the way to the Manatawany Creek.  You would turn around and head back down.  You might spend three or four hours doing this.  It became such an issue due to drugs and alcohol, that they eventually had the police out to see how many times you went around and if it was too many they would write you up.  I think for a while it stopped altogether. I am not sure but I think they are back to doing it again.  

After one trip around the circuit, I decided it was time to move on.  I went back out to get on 422 and headed towards Reading.  From this point on, the trip was not really very surprising because over the past 20 years or so, I had been down to the Coventry Mall many times.

All the way home, my mind was flooded with the memories of those years.  My mom and dad, the things we did together, and the surroundings.  It was a true trip down memory lane.  After about an hours worth of driving, I pulled into my parking space, walked into my house, and readied myself for bed.  Yes, it may have taken me a long time to get home, but I had the treat of re-living some of the best times of my life.  Yes, there were a lot of things that were wrong with my life growing up, things I had to deal with, but Mel Schrader is right, I was lucky to grow up in a small town, and thinking about all of this helped to realize all of that!

Thank you !!!!!

I just wanted to say thank you to all that have been reading the blog.  I finally reached 1000 views - wasn't sure that would have ever happened.  I hope that you will continue to read and hope that I can get back to writing more entertaining pieces.  Again - if you have Google, you can become a member by clicking on that link - you just have to type your Google password and pick who you want to be -another click and you're in.

Again many thanks to all of you that have been reading the blog!!

The continued saga of my last drive through Spring City

I drove down Main Street in Spring City remembering where I used to ride my bike as a child. I was surprised to see that many of the sidewalks are still brick ... (which were not fun on a bike). Philco plant is still there but now is something else. I always ice skated at the rink out at Spring City Elementary, but Spring City built a rink down near the river.  It was quite large, people were able to build fires, and families could spend the day or evening.  I don’t think the rink had lights making it undesirable for night time skating.  Of course being who I was, I also had to be careful as to who came down to the rink as I did not want to get into a fight with someone. 

 There was the Pumptown Bar, which used to be named something else, but regardless it was still there and business was still thriving, LOL and after I looked for a picture to go with this post, I realized why business was booming!!!  LOL I think I remember someone telling me about this, but I clearly forgot!  I went past the Clemens’ and Wilson’s homesteads.  I started down the hill towards Poplar Street and immediately Darlene Umstead DiCola came to mind as she lived at the corner of Popular and S&K streets.  I had to cross the small bridge under which the sewer flowed creating a creek.  The Creek - If Darlene reads this she will remember the creek.  Actually we pronounced it the crick - Crayfish hunting was a popular activity at the creek.  I found a frog once and took him home to be a pet.  I also took tadpoles home and watched them become frogs.  Many an hour was spent “down at the creek”.  Right next to the creek was the Lumber Yard, which was no longer a lumber yard.  At one time it was a thriving lumber yard.  The house that I lived in was actually a mansion, owned by the owners of the Lumber yard.  

I finally came upon my house.  It is now overgrown and looking much smaller than it did when I was growing up.  It almost looks like the house is sinking down in the front.  It is one of the oldest homes in Spring City.  The house was in poor condition - especially the side I lived in.  My aunt’s side looked much better than mine but still a bit run down.  I was surprised to see that the mailboxes my aunt put out front were still there.  She wanted the mailboxes to match,in fact the front of the house had to be matchey matchey.  I attempted to turn around on Chestnut Street and then pull in across the street from the house.  Of course as I was turning around, I did not look at the traffic around me very carefully and nearly had an accident.  (this would not have been cool) I tried taking a picture or two, and of course while I was snapping pictures, the home owners came home and looked at me with great suspicion.  I thought I probably should leave before I met the Spring City Police - though I suspect it would have been the most excitement in the town in weeks.  

It was time to head for home, and I needed to turn around.  I decided to turn around in Rosie Gappa’s weigh station.  She lived in a very small little house, which had been an office for the lumber yard.  The weigh station was for the coal trucks to pull up into and then weigh the coal.  I spent a lot of time at Rosie’s.  She was a wonderful person.  She did not have a lot but if she could, she shared.  Many summer nights she would sit out front of her house, and I would talk to her for hours.  I think I learned a lot about life during those conversations, because we covered many topics.  I know that she is gone now and hope that she is resting in peace.  

I continued up Main Street and first pasted the Gappa’s house and then Latshaw’s Bakery.  David Willauer grew up there as his father was the baker.  Mr. Willauer was an amazing baker and David’s grandmother Ruth ran the front of the store.  They had the best - well anything they made was the best.  David and I used to play back in the barn and around the bakery.  One of the treats of playing with David was getting a sugar cookie - I think they were the ones they couldn’t sell, but that was always fun.  As I recall he was a really crazy person - I spent a lot of time laughing when I was with him.  I am glad that he had the patience to deal with a younger child! Right past the Bakery was the Liberty Firehouse.  I think the Libs were the pride of Spring City.  I attended the after prom party during my sophomore year of school, and having never been in the Libs, I was stunned at how large the area was including the bowling alley.  Of course living across from a fire house was kind of noisy, but in the end you really got used to it.  I just always remember counting the honks and then checking the key we kept in the kitchen bottom left cabinet.  You knew it was a bad fire if the Royersford fire houses would blow their sirens too.

I headed down Main Street and started to remember where everyone lived.  Mickey Trego, Denise Guadagno, and Clyde Walters came to mind right away.  It was later at night so the town was pretty quiet.  This allowed me to drive slowly down Main Street without making others mad.  I got down to the bank and then remembered that Ida Bickhart used to live across from it.  I also remember that Kathy Leskowicz lived above the cigar store.  Spring City Hotel seemed to be doing a huge business as the front of the restaurant looked packed.   Then I past Mosteller’s Seafood store.  They had the best seafood around.  This is where I learned to love scallops, because that was the only seafood I really liked.  My tastes have grown since, but then no way!  After Mosteller’s closed, it sat empty but had occasional tenants - I think there was a music store in there at one time as well.  Eventually my friend Dean Nafziger moved the business his father started and Dean was running.  Filter- Recon - opened up in there.  I recall visiting him in there frequently.  

Next was Phil Young’s Men’s Store.  Mr. Young and my dad played golf, and naturally he was always telling stories about Phil’s behavior on the golf course.  My brother Kris worked there when he was in high school.  I always wanted to work there myself.  Actually I would have loved to have taken over the business when he closed but that didn’t happen.  I did get my wish the last couple of years he was open; I worked Christmas Holidays for a couple years for him and then helped him close the store.  I have to say the last time I walked out of the store, I had tears in my eyes.  

Swartz’s grocery and kind of 5&10 was next.  It was cool that in Spring City you could walk to Main Street and buy your groceries in three different  stores.  Eddie Willauer’s sold mostly meat, Mosteller’s sold seafood, and Swartz’s sold everything else though they had good meat too.  Dean Nafziger’s mom (June) worked there.  I remember that once in my life I was dared to steal something from Swartz’s.  I think it was a candy bar and it was just a dare. This was the first and last time I ever stole anything.  My guilt was so overwhelming (and I am none of the religious sects that thrive on making you feel guilty).   I felt so bad about what I had done - I went back - on my own - told the owners what I had done and paid them for the candy bar.  Next to them I think was Main Tavern and then Andy’s.  The best meal at supper was often Friday nights when my brothers would come home from college.  My mom never felt like cooking nor did my dad, so they would call Andy’s and order sandwiches and french fries.  I always got a steak with sauce and onions.  That was always the best Friday night meal !

I rounded the corner and there it was - the Schuykill River bridge. Annnnnd

It was closed!  So much for the plans I had of riding through Royersford.  I called my brother, Kris, to ask him if he knew what was going on with the bridge - this bridge was the only link between the twin boroughs.  School was going to start soon and I thought about how complicated it was going to be to get the Spring City students to the school.  My brother did know about the bridge closing, but did not know the details.  I belong to a group on Facebook that is all about Spring City.  I posted the question and got my answer.  They were “hoping” to have the bridge done by the time school started, or they would have to take the students to Royersford via Parkerford.  I turned around in what used to be the Acme and then Genuardi’s, but now I couldn’t tell you what it was.  

I headed up Bridge Street to continue my trek … 

My Ride Through Phoenixville (with a brief stop) and on to Spring City

I drove through Phoenixville and found my way to the Main Street, which they are continuing to revitalize ... many more places to eat, and some coffee shops. It is my understanding that since this visit there has been even more places opening.  It is exciting that Phoenixville is coming back.  Actually I think it is exciting when any town comes back to life!

I did not see all the places as I met my wonderful friends Amy and Susan for dinner at PJ Ryan’s.  I should tell you that I met both Amy and Susan when I started my graduate program at Eastern University.  We were in the same cohort until I had to drop out for a semester to have one of the very many knee surgeries I have experienced in my life.  We remained very close and often saw each other between classes.  Back to Ryan’s - Ryan’s has been designed to look a bit like and Irish Pub.  Unfortunately it lacked much of a selection of authentic Irish food, but really who eats Haggis?  Do you even know what is in that??  I have recently discovered the wonder of crab cakes so, though not really Irish, it sounded good.  It was good, though I have had better here in Lancaster.  Loads of talking ensued, each of us somewhat taking turns to share what has been happening.  Amy is working in the counseling field, Susan was doing the same, but is getting her Psy D and I am ……. um ……. still teaching school and color guard?  Amy and Susan frequently remind me that I was a very good counselor and could be quite successful as one.  Maybe someday I will get back into the field.

As the evening came to a close, I decided to go home the back way from Phoenixville through Spring City and then to Royersford to 422 and on up to Reading.  I did get a bit lost finding my way to the back road to Spring City ... but found my way through the forest, which housed the urban legend, "Catman." As a youth, I would drive like crazy through that section to avoid getting caught by the “Catman".   The “Catman” lived in this woods between Spring City and Phoenixville.  Now to get to these woods, you had to travel through a Catholic cemetery.  I bring up the Catholic piece because at night many of the graves had candles burning on them inside red glass containers, giving off a very eerie feel.  I hated driving through that cemetery at night!  Once you got passed the cemetery, you went down a hill over a small creek.  There were places along here to pull off.  Legend had it that a couple was parking in the woods.  As they were “making out” they heard a cat scratching on the side of the car.   This continued for a bit when the man got out of the car to see what was going on.  When he did not return in a reasonable amount of time, the woman got out of the car and went looking for her boyfriend.  The next day the car was found and the bodies were scratched up with what appeared to be cat claws.  Suffice to say, I did not like this area at all.  

Once I got up the other side of the hill, my heart rate slowed down back to normal, and I continued my trek.  I drove past some old friends’ homes including the road on which my old girlfriend lived (Mary Karkoska).  I turned and went down Hunsberger Road to take me to Main Street.  One of my dearest friends, Dean Nafziger, grew up on Hunsberger Road. It was named Hunsberger Road because Dean’s mother’s family homesteaded the road.  Riding down Hunsberger  Road brought back a plethora of memories.  I spent a lot of time on that road after I graduated from high school.

And the saga continues ………..

My Night and Morning with Mick and LU

I am such a bad father or it is really time for a queen size bed???  Last night Mickey seemed worried about the thunder storm, so against my better judgement, I permitted him to sleep in my bed. Once I jumped in bed and turned off the light, he moved from my feet to plant himself up against my side (were we spooning?  I have never spooned with a dog before).    It was not long after that LU jumped in bed and plastered herself on the opposite side of me. I was a Bill sandwich!  I might add here that LU likes to sleep long ways on the short side of the bed.  When I move over, she moves over.  This continues until I am on the edge of the bed, nearly on the floor!

 Suffice to say I was locked in place by my loving pets. No rolling or shifting for me last night. Needless to say it was not a very satisfying 6 hours of sleep. I awoke and really needed to shift positions despite the fact that my loving pets were still plastered against me. I moved in one direction and then in another and suddenly ........... I rolled Mick right off the bed and onto the floor!! I believe this scared the poop out of him (not literally) and of course me too. Still groggy, I jumped up and began my profusion of apologies directed at Mick for pushing him out of bed and onto the floor. I am certain he understood everything I was saying!   LU of course always  lands on her feet, so knocking her out of bed is less of a problem :-)

 My repayment for knocking Mick out of bed?  It seemed to be a very long walk this morning giving Mick the opportunity to mark an area of about a half mile.  Now this marking was in some cases real, but clearly by the end of the walk it was imaginary as his "tank" was clearly empty!   This has become one of his endearing little habits.

Lesson learned on this day ... time to put the bed on the floor ... time to get a queen size bed ... time to keep everyone out of the "pool" at night. 

Side note - the above was written in 2011 and it is now 2014.  The Queen size bed was purchased to allow all pets the opportunity to sleep in it without having the risk of being knocked onto the floor.  It was also purchased to give everybody room to enjoy the bed.  Mick, rarely sleeps in my bed anymore - only if he is not feeling well or he seems to need to be close that night.  LU throws an amazing amount of body heat off.  Even in the winter she throws enough heat off to give me a heat stroke.  I now keep her out of my room all night.   LU does on occasion jump into bed after I get up and walk Mick and then crawl back into bed.  This is because Mick sits on the 3rd or 4th step up to stand guard.  He frequently barks at intruders that only he sees.  I appreciate that he feels this need to protect me, but not so much at 6 AM.  I have to leave my bedroom door open so when he is done guard dog duty, he can come back into the bedroom.  This allows LU the chance to jump into bed with me.  LU has gotten good about not being to close to me in bed anymore, so the experience is more enjoyable.  She often stays on the bed for a while after I get up.

In the end, the one of us that learned the biggest lesson was: LU - she has learned that if you can control your owner, you can get whatever you want whenever you want it.  This includes but not limited to, pushing her owner out of bed whenever she wants.  LU is a smart pussy cat!

Fishing with Clifford

In the later days of my elementary career, I had become friends with Clifford Tenney who lived on Chestnut Street above Church Street (I think it was Church).  He had an older sister, who as I recall, was quite attractive.  Which probably explains why she was also a cheerleader.  I don't mean to stereo type, but when I was growing up, those stereo types existed.   Clifford was a really nice guy, though a bit of a dolt - but a dolt in a nice way.  Cliff and I had been talking about fishing.  Fishing is an activity that all boys should participate in.  I don't mean to be sexist here, I think it is a good thing for girls to do too, but growing up fishing was not an option for me.  My dad was not a fisherman.  Cliff decided in the spring that I should have the chance to go fishing.  As Cliff liked to fish, he had a plethora of fishing gear.  We made our plans to go fishing down the river.  Yes you read it right, and I did not leave a word out.  People in Philadelphia gone down the shore, I went down the river.

The day we picked to have our fishing adventure was early in June, a beautiful day.  We had a sunny sky and warm temperatures.  The river, so you know, was the  Schuylkill River.  The river was the place the older kids in Spring City went to smoke. Ah even I went there to smoke, in fact I think Cliff and I would go down there to smoke.  But I digress (as usual)  So we went to "Bare Ass Beach."  Yes that was the name of the beach that was right next to where the Creek and the Canal met and flowed into the river.  To get there, you had to travel under the train trestle.  When we arrived at BAB, we baited our hooks, and cast our lines into the river.  Cliff was great at helping me and teaching me what to do.  We sat on the beach, which was really mud, and waited, and waited, and waited, and waited, and waited, and waited.  Nothing, not even a nibble.  Cliff created a little holder thing for his rod, and then walked over to look into the tributary that flowed into the river. I waited for Cliff to survey the area to see if it was suitable to fish there.  Cliff returned and suggested that we move our fishing gear over to this little tributary.

The water in the tributary was not very deep, and the water was clearer.  The draw back to this place was that it was on the side of a 10 foot high bank.  The bank was covered with all kinds of flora (flowery things).  I should mention that this flora was really just a plethora of vines covering the bank.  Cliff and I cast our hooks into this tributary, and mine went directly into the vines.  Of course it did, where else would it go?  Cliff chuckled and said we could easily retrieve it.  Did I mention Cliff was a bit of an optimist?  Did I mention that even though Cliff and I were friends, he clearly did not know me very well!  And now let the adventure begin.

First we tried to jiggle it lose while kind of pulling it.  Strike one.  Next Cliff tried to take a long stick and undo the hook that way.  Strike two.  I decided that if Cliff held on to my hand, I could shimmy down the bank and unhook the hook.  Right - like that was going to be successful?  So holding onto his wrist and slowly crawling down the side of the bank,  I thought maybe we could get the hook.  I was within inches of the hook, and told Cliff to lower me a little bit more.  Cliff then tried to lay down on the bank.  While doing that, his foot slipped, and he lost his balance giving me a bit of a jerk on the wrist.  The jerk caused me to let go of his wrist and of course I found myself sliding down the side of the bank landing butt first in the tributary.   Cliff yelled down, after he stopped laughing his butt off, and asked if I was ok?  Once he knew I was ok, he asked if could reach the hook and unhook it.   Really?  I just slid down a band and landed in a tributary and was now soaking wet, and YOU want the hook?  Errrr!  Sadly for Cliff,  I was not able to reach the hook  This meant that Cliff had to cut the line and leave the hook in the bank.  You know he could have done that right of way, and spared me the fall into the water!  But NOooooo I guess the hook was made of gold as we had to recover it!!!

I had to walk up the tributary to where I could actually climb out of the creek and get on dry land.  I was soaked so as I walked my shoes made noises.  Cliff thought that was particularly funny.  I was not so amused.  I got to my house and bid Cliff farewell.  He headed up Chestnut Street towards his home, and I walked into mine heading straight for the bathroom.  I would say I showered, but we didn't have one of those.  We had a tub with a hose and a shower head.  I cleaned myself off, got dressed and headed downstairs.  My mom had come home from work and asked how my day was.  I told her that I had made a life decision.  She looked surprised at my response and then asked what this life decision was?  I told mom that I was never ever going fishing again.  I turned and walked into the TV room where I settled down in front of the TV and watched until it was time for dinner.

As of the typing of this story, I have never ever been fishing again!  And I just remembered that a week or so later Cliff told me on the way home from school that he had gone back down to the river and retrieved his hook.  Really?

The Perils of youth and hanging out with older friends

After the fire and Craig and his family moved away, I started to hang out with a boy that lived across the street.  His family and my family were friends.  My brothers were friends with their daughter.  Tim, the young guy across the street, was probably about 4-5 years older than I was.  When we began hanging out, he was I think, in 6th or 7th grade so her was definitely older.   As I reflect back, I believe that Tim was not necessarily a bad kid, but he was adventurous and daring.  One of our goals was to always build or make forts.  We were always either taking with permission or actually kind of stealing the boxes from the knitting mill down the street.  Tim’s philosophy was that they had more boxes than they needed so they would not miss one or two.  As Tim was older, he had begun to smoke.  Little did he know I had too, so when we were together smoking was always something we did. 

Bottom line here is that when I started to hang out with Tim we frequently found ourselves in places that we should not be, doing things we should not be doing.  One of Tim’s favorite devices was fire.  Because of smoking we always had a lighter or matches making playing with fire a lot easier.  Most of the places we were playing in were not very safe to be making fires.  The buildings or structures were usually dried out making a fire quite easy.  

I recall he and I sneaking into the empty store next to his house and across the street from mine.  We climbed in an open window from his backyard and snuck around.  Tim and I also had candles and matches so we could make light in our new fort.  We settled in these little square type boxes stacked on top of each other.  Those became our respective "homes" within the store.  We set up candles in there so we had light.  I think we did this for about 2 - 3 days before my mother caught on.  At dinner THE NIGHT, mom began asking all these questions about what Tim and I had been doing and where we were going.  She mentioned that she had looked for me several times and could not find me.   I've never been good under pressure and I sing like the proverbial canary. I told my mother everything.  Suffice to say that she was more than just angry.  I understood why she was concerned because the building was old and dirty and really could have gone up in flames pretty easily.  The message I heard was not of concern, but of real anger.  Thankfully mom was never real big on grounding because she was then stuck with me.  I was hoping that maybe a stern talking to would cover my punishment.  

 Not only was I grounded for two weeks, but I was also forbidden to see Tim for two weeks.  And as if that weren't enough, she told Tim's mom what was going on and he got into trouble too.  It was a two-fer.  I guess when I was in elementary school I did normal things.  I was a bit of a hellion - I did a lot of things kids did not do until they were in Jr. High.  By the time I hit Jr. High, I had done a lot of stuff I probably should not have.  It was around this time that I began trying to be "The Best Little Boy."  Not sure how well that worked, at least in the beginning, but I believe by my senior year, I had really calmed down and began to focus on my future.

The night Eggie's house burned to the ground.

I lived on the main street of my little town - even though it was called a city.  There were two houses in my block and during one summer night, the other burned down.  This was before air conditioners - so the window in my bedroom was open and the fan was running.  Probably the reason I can fall asleep to white noise.  I told my mom not to leave the window open because there was going to be a fire on this night.  Now you see, I also lived diagonally away from the fire house.  When the siren went off, it would jolt you to consciousness and not in a good way!  My mother told me I was silly (I believe this was the beginning of the nickname “Silly Billy” which was later changed to “Spilly Billy.”  but I digress.  

I am languishing in my hot room with the fan blowing lukewarm humid air on me.  My only cover was a thin sheet, and I was wearing my “summer weight” pajamas.  I would have never thought of sleeping in the nude or my undershorts.  I always got a new set of pajamas for Christmas or my Birthday.  Suddenly, as if by design, the fire siren began to honk.  It used to honk in a code and we had the code breaker so if it were four honks, then it might be on Hall Street.  I think back then fires were the only thing that happened in the twin - boroughs that made life exciting.  

Even with all my complaining about being awakened by the fire siren; I was not.  My mother came into my room and shook me into consciousness and asked me if I had not heard the fire siren?  Then she tolod me to, “Look out your window.”  I sat up, rubbed the sleep from my eyes, and all I could see were the colors of red, orange, and yellow - the colors of fire.  I got out of bed, and we moved the fan so I could get a better look.  Now this house belonged to one of the only friends I had on my block - Craig Stoudt.  His father worked at the foundry and he lived in a house on the foundry’s land.  I was really sad for my friend and frightened that someday this could happen to me.  I am not sure how long I stayed up; I know it was long enough to get a glass of water.

The next day I met up with Craig, whom we called “Eggie.” I have no idea why we called him that - we just did.  He was obviously sad; his house had burned to the ground.  When I talked to him about what he and his family were going to do, he said he was not sure, but they would probably move away.  As Craig and I frequently road our bikes together to go to Pennypacker’s to get Penny Candy - and as he was a bit bigger than me - I had some built in protection from the rough tough kids that lived near the store.  It was also called the Cigar Store because they sold cigarettes and cigars.  I recall a small soda fountain in the back where you could get really good food and milk shakes.  

It appeared that those journeys were going to be more solo soon and made me very sad and a bit scared.  The price you pay for being 4’ tall is that you are the very easy target of any and all bullies - though we did not call them that then.   Oddly enough my father told me that if I would stop twirling “that damn baton” in front of the house maybe people wouldn’t beat up on me.  It was a sad situation.  You seen in just a few short days my friend Craig had lost his home and everything in it, and I had lost a friend.

The top picture is really pretty close to what Craig's house looked like when I first saw it

This picture looks like a bit later

And this is what happened before it collapsed on itself.

These are not actually pictures of Craig's house - I am not even sure we had color cameras at that point.  But these are the images as I recall them or pretty close  - as you see they were "burned" into my memory!   RRRRR  Sorry I went for the cheap laugh -