Going Green: East and West!

Gazing into the Sonoran desert these days you see nothing but green green green. Been raining almost daily for 2 months now. Not that it seriously compromises one's sunning, swimming and other outside activities, cuz for the most part, the rain happens after 3 pm until late in the evening. We need to be careful to not venture in a vehicle across flowing washes (they'll take you to Yuma if you aren't), but otherwise, it's great to have a few months of lush green vegetation, wildflowers, and happy hydrated critters. For an East Coast transplant like me, this is all the green (and humidity) I need on an annual basis to remind me of both the good and the bad back yonder.

Since I've last been on the blog, we've lost 2 Colorado river toads to the elements in our pool. These brazen toadies believe that we put in the pool just for their personal use. When we got back from trip #1 to PA, we found one floating and one in the skimmer basket, eroded to skin and bones. YUK!

While I cleaned the pool after trip #2 (Rochester and Ithaca, NY), a third toad did a backflip off the skimmer flap into the pool right next to me! I quickly lifted Sir/Mdme Toad out with the net and deposited him/her on the pool deck. This booger was HUGE....glared at me with huge bugged out eyes for interfering with its plans....eventually hopped thru the fence to its burrow. These monster amphibians are poisonous (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colorado_River_Toad)....they present a deadly curiosity to predators and playful house pets. White sacs on the side of the head contain venom. Wouldn't ya know it....tweakers and other dopers out there "milk" these sacs, then dry the venom and smoke or inject it for kicks...bizarre.

Re: Trip #1, Wilkes-Barre, PA, and Paramus, NJ

7/3/08: Flew Delta thru Atlanta to W-B...no issues, nice flights. Vern watched a movie without headphones...even laughed at stuff...i dunno how he does it, good lipreader i guess.

Spent 7/3 and 7/4 nites at Comfort Inn, W-B...not prime real estate but in a convenient location to surf my old haunts.

7/4/08: Friday, slept late, lunch at Perkins, visited Uncle Beetle (George), my mom's youngest brother, then off to Exeter, PA, for the world's BEST pizza at Sabatini's....mmmm, salivating thinking of it.

As part of this excursion, we drove to West Pittston, where I lived for 6 years (early '70s) in the LaPorte family home. It was a lovely Victorian mansion built in 1870. My ex-husband and I lived on the second floor on the left side of the home. Had floor-to-ceiling bay windows in all rooms, hardwood floors, huge pedestal sink, fireplace (non-working). I still dream about this apartment, as it holds some great memories of a very active period of my life. When i visited W-B in 04, the house was under some sort of construction. I was puzzled, but hesitated to inquire of the laborers the nature of their work. I thought maybe someone had purchased the house and was remodelling. I left pondering its future.

During July's visit, I was shocked and awed to see the house transformed into a full stacked-stone castle! The new owners retained the buggy stair-step and the hitching post, which pleased me, but what a change!

We circled to the back of the house, which sits on its own acre-island on Susquehanna Avenue, and had to stop for some folks shooting off fireworks. After we stopped, I noticed a swimming pool in the back yard and a young woman and an older one descending the back porch and walking toward us, where the group was doing the fireworks.

I said hello, and asked if these folks were related to the owner. The young woman said, "I am the owner!" I then told her how I had lived there for many years and how wonderful my landlord and her daughters treated me. Told her about every Sunday afternoon, when Mrs. LaPorte (the mom) would send one of her adult daughters up the back porch with a plate of spaghetti w/ chicken livers for me. Also about how I scared them many times when one of my hamsters got loose. She told me she knew the LaPortes and that Julie was the only one still alive. Said after the home was completed, she gave Julie a tour. Julie is probably close to 80, but managed to make it to the 3rd floor of the home on her own.

The lady introduced herself as Pam Minichello and said that she'd bought the home at a Sheriff's auction for the price of the land (a terrific steal). Apparently, after Mrs. LP and 2 of the 3 daughters had died, the home became too much of a burden for Julie. Her brother Gaetano (Guy) then sold it for $550K to a pulmonary doctor. The Dr. planned to renovate and live there, but never got around to it (family problems, divorce etc.) and split town without paying the note. Eventually, the property went up for Sheriff's sale and the Minichellos purchased it. I told Pam to say hello from me to Julie should she run into her at the supermarket, which she said happens occasionally. She offered for us to tour the remodelled house, but I couldn't bring myself to see it different than I remembered. Am I a wuss or what....

This experience left me in shock most of the night; i didn't sleep well at all.

7/5/08: Off to the reunion at Centre Inn in Sheatown (Newport Twp)....the backwoods of Nanticoke, PA. Got there about 1 pm. The Inn was closed and the parking lot had but 2 cars meandering about. Who should walk up the hill as we were pondering where the hell the clambake was but Bobby Brittain, my homie from Lee Park. We grew up together, really. His family's home and mom&pop grocery store were but 3 houses away on Wyoming and Oxford Sts. A woman was with him; I assumed it was his wife Linda and introduced myself. Was I ever embarrassed to learn that it wasn't his wife, but one of our home room classmates (for 5 years no less), whom I did not recognize because she was heavier, had glasses and had lightened her once very dark hair.

After Bobby, Vern and I parked our cars, I asked him where Linda went. He said, "Linda's at home painting." I said, "Well, who was that woman with you?". And then he told me it was our classmate since 8th grade, Mary (Marion) Boyle. Immediately, I found Mary in the pavilion and apologized profusely. She said she was confused, because she thought it was me, but the tags on my car were from New Jersey and she knew I lived in AZ.

Overall, the reunion was soooo much fun. Except for the fact that this was an unconventional 42nd reunion of the class of '66, it was a warm, loving gathering of 60-year old 'kids' who had many stories to tell. Beetle warned me that i wouldn't recognize many and they me, and he was dead-on. Generally, the men lost hair and the women gained weight and dyed theirs......most of us wore glasses and those men who had hair were white, silver, and grey. I don't remember any of the women in my class going grey...such vanity, but after all, we are baby-boomers and wanna stay young 4-ever.

A really nice surprise at the reunion was my longtime friend from PA Gas and Water Company, Rick Wilkes. He biked to the Inn from his home many miles away in the far reaches of Nanticoke backcountry, Wapwallopen. I was sitting at a picnic table in the pavilion delighting in greeting old mates when I glanced at someone sitting quietly at a picnic table across from me. It was Ricky, decked out in full bicyclist regalia! I was delighted to see him, but sooooo taken aback.

Unfortunately, our visit was brief....i was totally overwhelmed by the reunion experience and was unable to focus for longer than 30 seconds of conversation. Rick said that one of these days he's going to bike cross-country and stop in Tucson. He visited our home in Yuma several years ago on a road trip to CA to pan for gold. It was great seeing him hale and healthy (looks really lean from all the bicycling), despite his heavy consumption of kielbasa and beer. If you read this, Rick, keep in mind that i am expecting you to visit us and i promise to be more attentive....you'll be my captive audience!

The night before the reunion, Vern asked me "just what is a clambake", as this type of party is unheard of in the South, where he grew up. I said it was not really easy to paint a visual of one with words, then attempted by saying, "well, there's a grove or pavilion with benches and picnic tables, and a kitchen at one end. Folks are served breakfast, lunch, and dinner there. There's always one or more brews on tap, soda, and plenty of ice. At some point during the day, all are served a generous portion of steamed clams. Some clambakes have a live band, but today djs are popular."

And thus, Vern attended his first clambake. He only ate a couple clams, declared they were too "chewy" and gave his to me (i was NOT disappointed).

The day ended for us around 7 pm. We drove to a city about 20 miles from W-B (Hazleton) and checked into a Fairfield Marriott. I wanted some place that was non-smoking. PA legislature is trying to pass a non-smoking law, but at present, it has more holes than Swiss cheese. We stayed there Sat and Sun nights.

7/6/08: Picked up my childhood friend, Kathleen Reiss (president of club 7), and we drove to Tunkhannock to meet with my sister, Jo Anne, and her husband, Mike. We met at what used to be a country dairy and ice cream bar near Lake Carey, PA. My family (2 aunts/1 uncle) owned a cottage at the lake, where J and I had a childhood full of great times. The former Shadowbrook Diner was now a Perkins, but we ate there for old times sake, overlooking the resort and golf course. Then we drove out to the lake and circled it, checking out the changes that have occurred since we were teenagers. A tornado hit the lake several years ago, but its effects were not very evident on the small lake (there are 2), where our cottage was located. Nevertheless, the cottage retained none of its previous charm. It looks like it was remodelled to become a year-round home. No more screened-in back and front porches, no more outhouse. Looked like any other city home. After our goodbyes with J and Mike, we drove back to W-B the back way along the Susquehanna River. This route brings you to West Pittston, so we drove K to the LaPorte house to show her the changes. Then, we stopped for another Sabatini's to take home with us.

Went to K's house, where Vern set up her VCR/DVD and rearranged furniture. I helped her navigate her word processing software on a computer she inherited from her deceased cousin. After eating more pizza (i'll never get sick of Sabatini's pies), we drove back to Hazleton.

7/7/08: Went back into town to say goodbye to Beetle and to visit my Aunt Rose Wargo (age 85) and my mother's cousin Mikey's widow, Helen Sirak. It rained most of the day. The humidity about killed me.

Late in the day, we had supper at Abe's, famous for its hot dogs (unlike anything in TN or AZ). I had some homemade pierogies too (they paled compared to my mom's). Then we drove 2 hr to NJ to my mother's brother Dick's house. We stayed at another Marriott about 1 mile from his house, cuz he doesn't believe in air-conditioning and I don't believe in dying of heatstroke.

Visited with him the next day and part of Wednesday. We got some goodies at his favorite deli to take back with us. Unfortunately, our visit was extended, though not at our choosing. Delta cancelled our return flight from Newark on Wed, 7/9, because of bad weather. Had to stay near the Newark airport overnight and catch a 6 a.m. flight. That meant we had to arise at 4 a.m. to catch a hotel shuttle. THIS SUKKED BIG TIME.

My tail dragged heavily behind me all day. Could not wait to get home to my own bed. On a positive note, DL placed us in first class for the 2 hr flight to Atlanta, so we got some free headphones and extra legroom. We arrived in Tucson late in the a.m. and spent the rest of the day at home doing nada.

I'm going to save my recollection of Trip #2 for another day. I'm fairly certain that this long-winded post has less than captivated yer all's attention. But i need to keep the blog alive as i age so that i'll be able to "jog down mem'ry lane" as Steven so often reminds me.

Blessings to all,
a