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 ………..
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