Memories Of Summertime When I Was A Child

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I have lived a long time, but the best memories of my life took place in the Summer. I can remember counting the days until my summer vacation would begin. I so looked forward to the last day of school. I and all the other students would be counting down the minutes for the dismissal bell. It would ring loudly in the school hallway. And we would all jump out of our seats and start laughing and cheering. And then, we would be warned to sit down and quiet down. Or we would all be staying after school. 

I lived two houses down from the school. So, it only took me a couple of minutes to walk home. I would talk to all my friends once we were released from the school. I say released because school often felt like a prison. I was taught by the St. Joseph’s nuns, and let me tell you, they were strict. If you stepped out of line or talked when you were supposed to be quiet, there would be hell to pay. In that, you would be kept after school and have to clean the blackboards or write some essay saying how sorry you were for disrupting the class over and over again.

I’m not sure what we were supposed to learn from this type of punishment, but nonetheless, the more trouble you got in, the worse the punishment became. Sometimes, if I or some other unfortunate person was caught talking or, god forbid, laughing, you would find yourself standing in the corner, in front of the classroom. And believe it or not, the nuns would put a dunce hat on your head.  My mother, older brother and sisters and me and my twin, Karen.

As I look back on this experience, I understand why the sisters were so stubborn. I was part of the baby boomer generation, which consisted of seventy-four million baby boomers born after World War 2.

As you can imagine, the classrooms were crowded, especially in Catholic Schools where birth control was not allowed. However, I believe the public schools where I lived and grew up in Maple Shade were also overcrowded. There were sixty-seven-year-old students in my first-grade classroom. Sometimes, the classroom was so full that there weren’t enough desks, and students had to sit on the windowsills.

As a result, there was often chaos if the teachers, whether they were lay teachers or nuns, didn’t keep the children under control. I used to go home for lunch daily since I lived two houses away from the school. And I used to run home as fast as I could to get away from the classroom and the nuns. My mother would always have chicken noodle soup and Lebanon Bologa sandwiches ready for my sister and I when we arrived home. My mother would always ask,” And how was school this morning?” And I would always say, “I hate it. Do I have to go back?” And my mother and father would laugh and say,” Yes, yes, you do. But only for a couple more hours. My mother would assure me she would have cookies and milk ready when I arrived home at 3:15 PM. And she always did, she asks us how was your day? Do you have homework? How was the teacher today? I never had a kind remark to say about the day at school or anything else. I hated it. However, I liked to play in the schoolyard with my friends until the lunch bell rang. And we had to walk single-file into the school quietly. If you weren’t quiet, you would get rapped on the head with a wooden ruler.

As the school year drew to an end, I became more and more restless. And even worse, there were exams in every subject at the end of the year. And you would told that you could leave back if you failed any of the exams. By some miracle, I always passed all the final exams. However, if I were truthful, I would admit that I barely passed because I hated studying for the exams. If I studied harder, I could have gotten straight A’s, but I always did the minimum. Because I hated school, and I detested the nuns.

As the end of school drew closer, I found it more and more difficult to concentrate. I counted the days until summer vacation, three months without having to sit in a hot, overcrowded classroom or a cold classroom in the winter. And then that long-awaited day arrived, the last day of class before summer vacation. All of the students from first grade through eighth grade were anxious to hear the three o’clock bell ring. And when it did, we all clapped. The sisters tried to calm us all down. But, it was a useless gesture. And after the second bell rang, we all marched into the hallways and to our appointed exits. There was laughter and cheers all the way. And there wasn’t a thing the nuns and teachers could do. As I look back at this experience, I imagine that inside, the teachers and nuns were cheering as well and looking forward to several months of peace and quiet. And then, before you knew it, we were off the school property and on our way home and had a long, hot, and wonderful summer. When we would be allowed to stay out until dark with all our friends in the neighborhood. We looked forward to Memorial Day and the 4th of July parade. And days and days and weeks and months of playing outside with all our neighborhood friends. We would catch fireflies and then release them. We ran around the neighborhood with flashlights while we played hide and seek.

During the day, my girlfriends and I would go to the clay pits and dig for treasures, ride our bikes to Strawbridge Lake, two towns away, and walk around the waterfall, trying not to fall into the lake. We ate picnic lunches that we had brought with us. We usually ate peanut butter and jelly and cookies that one of our mothers made.

We would stay there as late as possible and come home sunburned and sweaty. After dinner, all the kids in the neighborhood would play hide-and-seek. And we would come home itchy from all the mosquito bites and sunburn from being in the sun all day until dark. Around nine o’clock, our mothers would yell out the front doors of our homes and say,” Time to home, home.” And we would all moan and groan because we were having such a great time.

When I arrived home, my mother would say,” Would you look at her? All red and mosquito-bitten from head to toe. Time to get a bath, Susan, and don’t forget to clean behind your ears. Make sure to rinse all the shampoo out of your hair. Understand?” I would sigh and say,” Yes, Mom, you always tell me the same thing.” And as I turned away, she said, “And don’t forget to brush ALL your teeth. And I would sigh and say,” Yes, Mom. I know.’

Then I would run the water for the tub and lie there and soak, knowing I couldn’t take too long since my sister would soon be knocking at the bathroom door and telling me it was her turn. And I would sigh and say,” Yeah, yeah, in a couple of minutes.” And then I would lie in the water that was getting cold and think, “I can’t wait until tomorrow. Maybe we will go roller skating or ride our bikes to Strawbridge Lake, have a race, or play baseball. Or we could swim in Jackie, my next-door neighbor’s pool. I couldn’t wait to wake up tomorrow morning. And start a new and exciting Summer day.

But, before I knew it, the summer was almost over, and I would have to return to school. I dreaded it. On the other hand, I would get to see my school friends again. A lot of them went down the shore over the summer, and I didn’t see them. And the thought cheered me up. So, I decided not to be sad over the end of summer and look forward to a different classroom, a different teacher, and all my school friends. And besides, I would look forward to next summer and all the holidays that happened before then. I mean, Life was good. I was happy.

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A LIFE WITHOUT PETS WOULD BE AN EMPTY ONE

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I find myself sitting here reflecting on my life as I live what will be the last years of my life. I have considered all the things that have brought me the most happiness. The fact is that there has been a plethora of experiences; I grew up in an Irish Catholic family with a mother and father and five siblings. I am part of the Baby Boomer generation.

My generation had a great deal of freedom as children. My parent’s only directive when I left my house was to be home in time for dinner. They never asked where I was going or what I would be doing. I kid you not. No questions were asked as long as I was home in time for dinner. After dinner was over and the kitchen cleaned up, it would be time to do my homework. My mother would go over and over my spelling words with me. My father would help me with my math homework. He was not as patient with me as my mother was. But he did his best. I have to admit I didn’t invest much of my energy into my school work. I was more interested in playing with my friends and visiting all my animal friends in the neighborhood.

The neighbor, who lived two houses away from my house, had a collection of cats. They were allowed to go in and out of the house at will since a cellar window was kept open at all times. They stayed in the fenced-in area that ran the length of the property.

My furry best friend was a stray orange cat named Strottles. He had been originally owned by our next-door neighbors, a family whose last name was Lombardi. They were of Italian descent. My family was of Irish descent. My father did not care for Italian families simply because they were Italian and not Irish. In fact, most families in Maple Shade, where I grew up, were either of Irish or Italian descent. And they were Catholic. Maple Shade also had a public school system; we called them “The Publics.” As if they were some mutants or something. Anyone who misbehaved in Catholic School would be warned to behave, or they would be sent to “The Public School.” The nuns always made it sound like it was a fate worse than death. I kid you not. 

Getting back to my original point, I just fell in love with Strottles; I used to feed him on the sly since his original owners, the Lomardi’s, threw him out of their house as if he was some killer or something. All was well until one unfortunate day when my mother took the garbage outside to put it in the garbage can and left our kitchen door open. My mother had a pet parakeet, whose name was Pretty Bird, in a cage on the kitchen wall. About an hour before dinner time, my mother would let open the door on Pretty Boy’s cage after the table was set. And the Pretty Boy would fly out of the cage and onto the table. And then, he would push all of the silverware onto the floor. My mother thought that this was hilarious. And so every night out would come my mother’s bird and knock off the silverware. Unfortunately, Strottles saw that the side kitchen door was open and ran into the house, jumped up on the table, and killed my mother’s beloved parakeet.

I wasn’t even in the kitchen at that time, but my mother was so heartbroken by the death of her dear parakeet. My father decided that this whole experience was my fault because I befriended Strottles. And so, after yelling at me for a good. For a long while, my father told me to go down to the cellar. And stayed there until I was told I could come out. I stood alone in the cellar crying, my heart broken as well because I loved both my mother’s bird and Strottles, and I loved my mother with all my heart. It took me a long, long time to get over this event. Well, actually, I never really got over this experience. I still feel bad about some sixty years later. In addition, my father made one of my older sisters take Strottles down the street to the railroad tracks. And I never saw Strotles again. I cried and cried until my father told me to shut up about the damm cat.

After that experience, I continued to befriend all the animals in my neighborhood. I did not share this information with either my mother or father and certainly not my siblings. Truthfully, my love and attachment to animals of all kinds just grew over time. I used to feed the squirrels and the wild birds. And the ducks and the swans at Strawbridge Lake. Which was a favorite haunt of mine. I would ride my bike there, take a lunch bag with me, and throw the leftovers to the local wildlife. It was a good three-mile bike ride from my house. But that didn’t bother me in the least. Sometimes, my best friend would go with me, and sometimes, I would go alone. As usual, my parents wouldn’t ask where I had been as long as I was home on time for lunch or dinner. I kept begging my parents for a pet, and they wouldn’t get one for a long time. My father was given a female dog named Nomie. My father became attached to her. My father felt dogs should be able to come and go as they pleased. He didn’t believe in spaying dogs, so as a result, Nomie got pregnant. My father gave away all the puppies when they were born after they stopped nursing. Nomie became ill, and the vet said, “She has milk fever.” The vet put Nomie down. I was heartbroken. I missed her so much. And then my father gave away all the puppies.

After that, we didn’t have any pets for a long, long time. Even though I had haunted my mother night and day about wanting a pet, finally, my father gave in and bought me a hamster. I fell in love with that little guy. Unfortunately, hamsters do not have a long life span. But I didn’t know that. And that was the last pet we had for a long time. Until one of my older siblings gave my father a dog. My father named him Andy, and my father loved that dog. It was the first time I saw my father get attached to an animal. Andy would sit next to my father no matter where he was located, especially when my father was watching the news. My father would sit in “his chair” while he watched TV at night. And Andy would sit on the floor next to the chair. My father would pet his all the way up until the ll” o’clock news when my father went to bed.

I would let Andy out during the day to roam all around town. My father didn’t believe animals should be spayed, he felt it was there only pleasure in life, besides eating. All our neighbors complained because Andy would” Do His Business” in everyone’s front yard. In addition, everyone in town suggested that Andy was fathering a hoard of Andy lookalikes all over Maple Shade. Andy lived a long life, unfortunately my father suffered a stroke and wasn’t able to speak clearly after that.

After that, my father started coughing all the time, and one day, when I came over to visit my parents, my father indicated that he wanted me to look in the toilet. I went in there, and the toilet was filled with bloody water. I arranged for my father to see a doctor ASAP. And it turned out my father had developed Lung Cancer, and the disease was too far along to treat. My father was quite ill for the entire time, survived, and eventually passed away. During the time my father was in the hospital, Andy had gotten ill, and he had to be put down. It was a heartbreaking experience for us all.

My mother was not in the best shape after my father’s passing. I had to arrange for a caretaker to come and stay at my parent’s house during the week. Since all of my siblings were working then, we would take turns having my mother stay at our house on the weekends. My mother had developed dementia by then and could not be on her own. It was the saddest time in my life. My own children, who were six and three, don’t really have any memories of my dear mother. This is so unfortunate since my mother was the kindest and most caring person I have ever known.

It is incredible how quickly passes by. Here I am now, retired and living in North Carolina. I volunteer at an animal sanctuary three mornings a week, caring for a building full of parrots and two pheasants. Not only that, I adopted two dogs and four parrots,  six finches, and a cat who belongs to my youngest daughter, who moved with us to North Carolina. My oldest daughter is married and has three cats. So, loving animals with a run in our blood. I can’t imagine not having animals in my life at any time. They have always filled that empty spot I have in my heart. And I’m sure as long as I am able to, I will have dogs, cats, and birds as part of my family.

Mom, sitting at the kitchen table,

 

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FAIRY TALES DO SOMETIMES COME TRUE

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It was one of those beautiful early Spring days in North Carolina. My boss unexpectedly gave me a day off.

He said, “You’ve been working so hard for the past several weeks. Why don’t you take tomorrow off? You can sleep in, go out to lunch with some of your friends, and forget about work for a few hours. 

I took one look at him, just to be sure he wasn’t pulling my leg. And sure enough, he was serious. “Really, I would love that. I haven’t had any time to myself in a long time, and I know exactly what I’d like to do.”

“Really, what’s that?” Oh, I know, go clothes shopping. I know how you ladies love to shop and buy clothes.”

“While that might be true for some women. It’s not true for me. I like to spend any “extra money” on my garden.”

“Well, whatever stokes your fire, I say. Have a ball and buy all the flowers you want. You only live once.”

“Thanks so much. I have about another hour to finish my report. I’ll email it to you when I’m finished, and I” ‘ll see you on Monday.”

That night, I must have checked the weather report ten times before I went to bed. We get a whole lot of rain in the early Spring here in North Carolina, so I kept my fingers crossed that tomorrow it wouldn’t rain. I also hoped it would rain the next day so that newly planted rose bushes and Day Lilies would get watered in.

I woke up at the crack of dawn the next morning, but to my surprise, it was still dark out. Then I remembered the clocks had been turned back recently. Honestly, I wish we could stop moving time forward and then back again. It takes me so long to adjust to it. Enough already, I say.

I rolled out of bed, gingerly put my legs over the edge of the bed, and headed toward my bathroom. I grabbed my sunblock and applied it liberally to every exposed part of my body. I am as pale as they come, and if I don’t douse myself with sunblock, I will be burnt to a crisp. I’m not exaggerating. Well, maybe I’m exaggerating a little.

And off I went to my backyard to get my gardening tools out of my little tool shed. As I opened the door, I saw something move rapidly across the front of the shed and out the back. I can’t be sure, but I think it might have been some rabbit. I sure as hell hope it isn’t a rat. I don’t mind squirrels, but rabbits love to eat all the vegetables I grow in my raised bed garden. And believe it or not, they are not averse to eating my flowers. The only thing they haven’t touched is my cactus and succulent garden.

I gathered my heeley hoe, my gardening gloves, and some containers to stash the grass and weeds I dug up. I was about ready to start when I heard one of my neighbors yell, “Good morning. I hope you have a great day. Good luck with your garden.” 

It is my next-door neighbor, Piero; he is a nice man and always says hello, but beyond that, he minds his own business. Occasionally, he asks me gardening questions. And I’m more than willing to offer him advice or lend him a hand. He is an elderly man and not completely steady on his feet. Occasionally, he will ask me to come over and give him a hand with his grape vine that grows over his arbor. And I am more than happy to do that. Because eventually, he will turn those beautiful grapes into wine. And he always shares it with me.

I walk over to his fence and ask him, “How are you feeling? How’s life treating you these days?”

“Oh, good, good, the usual aches and pains, but nothing I can’t tolerate. I’ ’m looking forward to seeing your garden this year.”

“ And I’m looking forward to that wonderful wine you make.” Piero laughed and said, “That’s down the road a bit, but I won’t forget you. And if you have any free time, could you come over and help me get my ladder out of the garage and carry it back next to the trellis?”

“Yes, sure, but only if you let me hold the ladder until you’re done. I don’t want anything untoward to happen to you.”

“Yes, yes, you’re afraid I’ll fall and break my neck, but I’ll be fine. I need a steady hand to hold the ladder. It will only take a few minutes.”

“I’ll be right there. Meet me in front of your garage. And I’ll get the ladder out for you.”

I went to the side of my house, opened my gate, closed it behind me, and headed over to Piero’s front yard and garage. I could hear him rustling around inside the garage. The next moment, the garage door opened, and there was Piero—out of breath just from opening the door. I can’t tell you how worried I was about Pierro. He was such a kind and generous man that I couldn’t bear it if something unforeseen happened to him.

“Are you alright, Pierro?”

“Yes, yes, stop you’re worrying. You are like an old mother hen, guarding her eggs.’

“Old mother hen, HUH? Well, that’s a new one. And then we both started laughing. Pierro laughed so hard that he started coughing. I patted him on the back until he caught his breath again. “Ok, let’s go. I’m alright now. Don’t worry so much.”

“Well, Pierro, worrying about the people I love is in my genes.”

“Pierro looked at me, and I saw a tear run down his face. And he wiped it away with the back of his hand. I said, “Here, let me grab the ladder. And before he could try to get it, I picked it up and said, “I’ll meet you out back.”

He met me out back. He must have raced all the way because he was out of breath. “Are you alright, Piero? You look like you can’t breathe.”

“ Ok, don’t start that again, I’m fine.”

I set up the ladder next to the trellis, and we began attaching the vine to it. We worked together, and before you knew it. It was done. Piero stood there smiling from ear to ear. This is one of the reasons I loved Piero, small things made him happy, he never complained. And even better, he had led a highly interesting life. And I loved hearing about it. He had served in the military and had several medals to attest to his courage and fortitude. And the stories he would tell were spellbinding. I can’t express how much I love this old man; the thought of never seeing him again at some time in the future breaks my heart. So, I made every effort to block it from my mind. I call out to him, “Hey Piero, how about coming over for dinner tonight? If it’s nice, we can eat on the back porch. I’m making your favorite spaghetti and meatballs. And I made a cheesecake, your favorite?”

“I say, “ what time, I’ll be there with bells on.”

“Really, that is a sight I would love to see. Be here at 5 o’clock sharp. Don’t be late.”

I saw a grin cross his face from ear to ear. “I’ll be there on the dot of five.”

I smiled at him, waved, and said, “See you later, crocodile.” He laughed like it was the first time I said it to him, but I say it every time I talk to him. I waved and headed back into the house, stirring my sauce pot. I can’t help but think how lucky I was to move next to this gentle old man. He’s the father and grandfather I never had.

At five o’clock on the dot, I hear my doorbell ring. I look out the window, and sure enough, it is Piero looking back at me with a big smile on his face, and he is rubbing his tummy in preparation for the big pot of spaghetti and sauce. He says, Buonasera, which means Good Evening in Italian. I only know Buonasera and Bon Journo, which means Good Day. He arrives with a big smile and a bottle of his wine. “Come in, come in, no formalities between you and me after all this time, Piero. You are so, so welcome in my home.”

The meal was good; even if I say so myself, the sauce was perfection. And the spaghetti was cooked just long enough, but not too much. “Don’t forget to eat your veggies, Pierro. You can have the cheesecake for dessert if you eat them all.” A big smile crossed his face. And then he said, Did I ever tell you about my Uncle Rudy, he made wine in the old country? I worked there for many years when I was quite young.”

I had heard this story many, many times over the years. But I said, “Oh, please continue. I love hearing about your Uncle and Aunt and the vineyard.”

And so he began the litany of his whole life, growing up working in his Uncle’s vineyard, making the wine. It didn’t matter how many times I heard this story, and I loved hearing it. The love that his family had for one another was heartwarming. I couldn’t hear it enough. I grew up in Foster Homes from my entire childhood through my eighteenth birthday. And that is when I was released from the states care to the big, cold world. One which I had no clue how to navigate. I hadn’t even finished high school. When I found myself on my own, with no job, no money, and no place to go. I ended up working at fast food restaurants. One of my coworkers offered to let me share his room if I would pay half the rent. And then took some night classes at the local county college. I learn how to use computers. It turned out that I had a natural gift for programming, which turned my life around.

I began to become well-known in the field and was offered one promotion after another. And here I am, living the good life. I own my home, which I paid off in five years. I have a new car. In fact, I have the means to “buy” myself anything I need or want. But I always wanted a family that loved me as far back as I can remember.

And then one day when I was in the main office where I worked a young woman knocked on my office door. I signaled for her to come in as I was talking on the phone to a client. I glanced over at her; she looked like a breath of fresh air. I couldn’t stop glazing over at her. Finally, I was able to get off the phone. I looked over at her and said, “Can I help you? And she said, “Well, actually, I’m here to help you. I’m your new assistant. My name is Angela DeMateo if Could you be so kind as to tell me what you need to be done ASAP? And what can wait? I will get down to business. “

Without realizing it, I kept staring at her, unsure as to what I should do or say. And then she cleared her throat and said, “Perhaps I should begin by familiarizing myself with your most important clients. And I will go from there. I pointed to my filing cabinet and said, “I suggest you begin with the McFarland file. They are my biggest client. Once you have a grasp of what we need to move forward with from there we can talk again, If you have any questions at all, please feel free to ask. Here is my cell phone number if you ever need to contact me when I’m out with a client or working at home.”

Angela nodded her head and said, “I understand. I will begin now, if at anytime you need my assistance I will be availale. And that was the last time I saw her that morning until Angela buzzed me and asked if she could order lunch for me. And if so, what did I want? I told her anything but fast food and bad memories attached to fast food restaurants. She said, “ I understand. And I will be back ASAP with your lunch.” And she was in a shake of a lamb’s tail. The lunch was delicious. The next time I saw her was about thirty-five minutes before closing time. She came into my office and handed me what she said were the files that she had completed. I quickly looked them over. And it appeared as if she could fulfill any task set before her.

I said, “Angela, I think it is safe for you to leave now. I’m caught up on my clients. Thanks to you. I will see you no later than 9 a.m. tomorrow. Have a good evening, Angela.” She looked at me and said, “I hope you have a good evening. I’ll see you first thing tomorrow. You have my cell number if you need to contact me for any reason.”

And so it began. Over time, I realized that not only did I become reliant on Angela at work, but I knew that my feelings toward her ran deeper. So, although I knew it was a bad idea, I asked Angela if she would be interested in going out to dinner with me. At first, she hesitated, and I just stood my ground, and finally, she said, “Yes, I would like to have dinner with you.”

And that evening marked a beginning of my life, it was clear to everyone but me that I was in love with Angela, and life without her would be a sad life indeed. We began seeing her on a regular basis. We became good friends, and then it became more. She hadn’t mentioned any boyfriends. I asked her, “Could you please tell me the length and breadth of your feelings for me? Please be honest. Please tell me if you’re not interested in a long-term relationship.”

Angela closed the door behind her, walked over to me, put her arms around me, and kissed me. I took that as a firm “yes” that she was interested in. And friend, that was the beginning of my new life with a woman I loved, and I am getting married. And the rest, my friends, is history. Finding true love and happiness with a woman who loved me. And if that isn’t a happy ending to a fairytale, I don’t know what is.

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I AM WHAT I AM AND THAT’S ALL THAT I AM- QUOTE BY POPEYE

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As I look back over my life, I often wonder what experiences shaped the person I’ve become. And I have to say it wasn’t any one experience or factor. It was a combination of many interpersonal experiences, including those who were part of my life and those who passed through it. I admit that genetics certainly played a part in this as well.

Certainly, each of my parents had a major influence on my developing personality, and my siblings and extended family affected my development as well. I and my fraternal twin were the last children to be born into my family. Well, that’s not completely true. My mother gave birth to two twin boys two years after my sister and I were born. They were named Steven and Girard. Unfortunately, they were born prematurely and only lived a short time.

As a result, my family consisted of my mother, my father, one older brother, and five sisters, of whom my twin and I were the youngest. We were born in May of 1951. My sister and I were were fraternal twins not identical.. We were born seven minutes apart. I, however, have no memories of these events. I have few memories of my early childhood. I recall when my sister and I started attending elementary school at our Lady of Perpetual Help School in Maple Shade, New Jersey, a small town about twenty-five minutes drive from Philadelphia, PA.

We were in the same first-grade classroom, and no one realized we were related, let alone twins. Since we did not resemble each other in any way. I was somewhat on the small side, and Karen looked at least a year or so older than I. In addition, I was shy, and my twin was more outgoing. And there was also the fact that my twin wasn’t particularly fond of me and avoided interaction with me at school. Whenever we were together, we would argue and fight. I don’t recall what we fought about. But it was clear that my twin didn’t want to spend time with me in school or at home. We both had our own friends. And never played together when we were at home.

The facts of the matter are that although we attended Catholic School together in the same classrooms for eight years. My sister made every effort to ignore that I was her sister, in fact, she continued with this behavior throughout highschool. In recent years, I asked her why she ignored me and pretended that I wasn’t her sister for twelve years; she stated that it was because we were” both so different from one another.

We are clearly completely different from one another, as night and day. She was outgoing, while I was quiet and somewhat shy. She had a larger group of friends than I had in school. I also had friends; they were not the popular girls and boys but the clever and funny kids. I was artistic and creative and loved making and creating things. And then there was that side of me that loved animals.

After we graduated from high school at St. Mary Of The Angels Academy, located in Haddonfield, NJ, we both found employment and started working. A mailing service company hired my sister. She made progress at this company and moved up the company ladder quickly. It turned out that she had a head for business, and she did quite well for herself.

I found employment working as a dental assistant for Dr. Edward Wozniak in Oaklyn, New Jersey. I worked six days a week, several nights a week, and Saturdays. My personality was a plus for this position because I realized that I enjoyed interacting with adults and children. And I was highly organized and efficient. I learned how to be a chairside assistant and what dental instruments to use with each procedure. I developed the xrays. And answered the phones and made appointments. I had always been a neat and orderly child, and I wasn’t even aware I had these skills until I started working. I began to understand on a personal level that I was intelligent, organized, and had the ability to comfort people who were in pain or nervous about dental work. And that applies to working with young children as well as adults.

As time passed, Karen moved up the corporate ladder and made a good income. I continued to work for my dentist, and although I didn’t make much money, I could buy myself a brand new 1970 Volkswagen. After a few years, I moved out of my familial home and rented an apartment in Haddonfield, NJ.

By this time, I was working at the Ellis Brother’s insurance company selling High-Risk Auto Insurance to people who lived in Camden, NJ area. The company was owned by Harry and Evie Ellis on Haddon Avenue in Collingswood, NJ. Two other young women were working with me as well. And I found that I enjoyed working with them so much. Previously I had worked by myself at the dentist office. We had fun together, and the Ellis Brothers turned out they didn’t have any real work ethic. And they enjoyed taking us girls out for breakfast or lunch. It was a good experience for me.

About this time, my best friend, Joanie’s cousin, came to visit her after leaving the Navy Reserves. Joan asked if I was interested in going out with him. And I said,” Yes.” That was the beginning of a whole new chapter in my life. Bob and I went out, and we clicked. I kept in touch with him after he returned to Florida, where his family lived. I kept writing to him, and eventually, I moved to Florida, and the rest is history. Bob and I were married in 1974. And we have been together ever since. This July, we will be celebrating our fiftieth anniversary.

Our marriage has not been perfect. And most people who have been married for a long time will tell you the same. There are ups and downs. We have two grown daughters now. They are both artists in their own way and are intelligent women with minds of their own. My older daughter lives in Philadelphia with her husband of eighteen years and their cats. Oh, yes, we all have an affinity for cats. However, I have to admit that I love all animals. And presently, we have a cat, four parrots, two love birds, and six finches. And last but not least two dogs a long-haired daschound and a St. Charles Cavelier Spaniel who we adopted two years ago.

Somehow, ten years have passed since we retired. However, I have kept busy. For the first year, I worked with the Guardian Litem in the NC family court. This turned out not to be a good match for me. So, I have been volunteering at an animal sanctuary, Animal Edventure, for the last eight years in Coats, NC. I care for parrots, Macaws, and pheasants. I have always loved animals since I was a child. But birds have always been one of my favorite creatures on this planet.

I will turn 73 in May and still have a high energy level, so I don’t know what else I might do. But I know it will be something that helps people and or animals in some way. In addition, I will continue writing my short stories, and at some point, I will publish the book I have written. Until then, friends, keep busy and work hard. And care for yourselves. Do not let age stop you from accomplishing your goals. And don’t let people tell you are too old to do anything. Keep putting one foot in front of the other, and move forward. Don’t take any steps backward.

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LIFE’S HIGHWAYS AND BYWAYS

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I arrived at that point in my life when I found myself reflecting on my life. Recently, I have considered what people influenced my development and personality the most. I believe my mother and my father certainly had the most influence on my personality and character development.

I grew up in the small town of Maple Shade, New Jersey. I spent the first twenty years of my life there. I had a fraternal twin, and three older sisters and one brother. There was an age gap between us. My oldest sister, Jeanie was thirteen years older, my brother was nineteen years older and my other two sisters are seven and eight years older than me. It was a busy household when I was younger, but over time, my older siblings grew up and married, moved to their own homes, and had families of their own. 

I believe that my father and my mother had the most influence on the person that I became over time. My mother was a deeply religious woman who attended Mass every day of her life and in the afternoon she spent at least an hour saying the rosary. My father was the authoratarian he set the rules for the family and worked hard every day of his life. But he also had his own life outside of being a father and a husband. My father liked to play the horses and play cards with his friends. He worked hard every day of his life and often held a second job to support our family.

My two older siblings attended public schools, but my twin and I attended Catholic School. So, Catholic schools and the Catholic Church had a great influence on our belief system.

This is me when I was a toddler.

This was me when I was a toddler.

Yes, to some degree, twelve years of Catholic School did influence my personality and my behavior to some extent when I was a child and adolescent. Still, once I graduated from high school and started working, I was exposed to people with different beliefs and experiences from those I had as a child. And over time the somewhat narrow beliefs of my childhood were overhadowed by working with different types of people some of whom had completely different beliefs. I do believe that having experienced twelve years of Catholic School influenced what I believed was right and what was wrong. But, over time although I had strong beliefs I became less narrow minded.

My parents were hardworking people their whole lives. And I never heard a single complaint from either one of them. My father grew up in an orphanage and because of his childhood he didn’t really learn how to express his love or emotions. He often grew angry, but he wasn’t one to come over and give any of us a big hug, nor did he ever tell me he loved me. And I believe I knew he loved me at some level but could not express it. Other than working hard and providing for all of our needs.

My mother also showed her love in her own way but wasn’t a hugger either. I remember going over my girlfriend Joan’s house and I often saw her being hugged by her mother. And it made me feel like my mother didn’t care about me. One day, I came home and told my mother, “I wish you were like Joan’s mother. She always hugs her and tells her she loves her.” My mother told me years later, that they was the most hurtful thing anyone ever said to her.” Life is hard. We all make mistakes as parents at times.

As children, we often learn through examples rather than words. Words can build a child up or knock them down. My parents taught us to work hard and do our best through their example. My mother taught me kindness through her actions and concern for my well-being. My mother worked hard all the days of her life, starting from her own childhood. When she was the only girl in a large family and her mother had Lew Gerigs disease and she had to feed and take care of her brothers and her mother. She didn’t really have the opportunity to have a childhood. I remember that she was given a beautiful doll with real hair that she could comb and style one Christmas. And every year her parents would take the doll to have it’s hair styled for Christmas. My mother cherished that doll since it was the only toy she had.

My father’s child hood experiences were even more difficult his father died when my father was quite young. And his mother had to support him, she wasn’t able to keep him at home and work, so she arranged for my father to live at Gerard College in Philadelphia until he was seventeen years old and could go to work. My father didn’t have any siblings. My father was highly intelligent, working all his life to care for our family. And yet, he still managed to have a personal life that for the most part we were unaware of while we were young. It wasn’t until I was older that I became aware of my father’s interest in horse racing, and gambliing. I have to say it didn’t have any negative effect on my childhood. But, I can not say that it didn’t affect my mother, who was often left to care for the children with very little assistance from my father. In addition, my mother did not have a social life outside of going to church every day and being part of the altar-rosary society at the Catholic church we attended. She rarely went out. My father always did the food shopping and made all the decisions, including buying kitchen curtains, the clothes on our backs, etc. As far as I know, my father never asked for her opinion.

I have often considered what kind of effect my father’s and mother’s relationship had upon myself and my siblings. I can only speak for myself in that I knew that I would never marry a man who didn’t allow me to have my thoughts and beliefs, who thought women should not be included in decision-making. I decided early on that when I grew up I would decide what I would do with my life and that no man, father or husband would be deciding anything for me. And I can truthfully say that is exactly how I have lived. I will be married fifty years in July, and I have always, always made my own choices. When I was twenty I moved out of my parents house and got an apartment alone. This had been unheard of in my family up until that time. Since, all of my older siblings got married and then moved out of my parents house.

Tyler School of Art, Temple University. I attended four years of school and graduated when I was forty with two degrees and teaching credentials.

I have lived in New Jeresey, Florida, and California and now live in North Carolina. We had two children who are grown now, and both are artists. I didn’t ask my parents if I could move out; I decided on my own and then just set about doing it. When my children were still young I decided to go to college, and in fact applied to three art schools in the Philadelphia and after preparing a portfolio I was accepted at all three schools. I was thirty-six at the time, I graduated at Temple Tyler School of Art when I was forty years old, the only adult student. I got a standing ovation when my name was called out. I graduated cum laude with a 4.0 average. My husband and children attended my graduation, along with two siblings.

When I graduated from school I realized after applying to all the public elementary schools in the area that art was no longer being funded and art teachers had no place to go. And so, after giving it much thought I discussed with my husband the possiblility of purchasing a larger house and opening up a private art classes for children and adultss. And we found such a house in Pitman, New Jersey. A neuropsychologist had previously owned it. But, had been empty for eight years. We purchased the house and spent twenty- four years living there. I taught children in the afternoon and adults at night for many years. I called it The Art Room.

I have found through my own experiences that I could accomplish many things once I set my mind to it. I know what I am able to do. I know my limits, and I don’t let anyone tell me what I can or can not do in my life.

At this point, I find that I have reached what may very well be the final years of my life. No one knows exactly when that will be, but I know I will continue learning and growing as long as I have breath in my life. I will create art and write short stories and who knows what. Maybe I will surprise myself with my next pursuit. I have been writing this blog Write On for eight years. I’m considering attempting to publish a book I have written. It is called GRIND.

In addition, I have been volunteering at an animal sanctuary “Animal Edventure” for the past eight years since I retired. We never know what opportunites life will present to us, but I know if I set my mind to it, I can and will suceed. I believe my parents would be proud of what I have accomplished in my life so far. And more important than the my accomplishment is the fact that I always strive to be a kind and decent person willing to lend a helping hand to anyone I can along the way. Because if we can not lend a helping hand to our fellow human beings what good are we. 

I believe I have a kind heart, as did my dear mother. My father was intelligent and set his own compass during his lifetime. He didn’t allow anyone to make decisions for him. And neither do I. Life goes by quickly, so do not waste a moment on it. It is up to us as individuals to create happiness in our own lives. And to do good along the way. We should all have a generous heart and nature. And do our best along the way. Keep an open mind and a loving heart. Be kind to all the creatures with whom we share our planet. And keep in mind that we are the caretakers of this beautiful planet we occupy. And remember to “First do no harm, not to other people, animals or our planet.”

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IF I COULD TURN BACK TIME

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Did you ever consider the possibility of turning back time, and what would you change if you had that capability? And did you consider how changing the past would affect the present and your future? We have all made poor choices in our lives, but others have often told us that we learn a lesson when we make mistakes. However, science has shown that we often fail to learn from past errors. Instead, we are likely to keep repeating the same mistakes.

Looking back over my life, I recognize the mistakes I’ve made along the way. In fact, I often repeated the same mistake many times over the course of my lifetime. And I’m not alone. Many people repeat the same mistake over time. I have come to a point in my life when I have made a concerted effort not to make the same mistakes I made while I was young.

Freud

When I researched this subject, I found that Freud called this the repetition compulsion: In his words, we feel a subconscious compulsion to repeat mistakes from the past. Perhaps hoping that this time the situation will work out differently, but it rarely does. Of course, there are some experiences where we learn not to repeat those mistakes. For instance, if you pick up a hot pot or pan without any protection for your hand. You are going to get burned, and the next time, our brain will remind us to use a pot holder because of the pain we originally experienced. So we will not injure ourselves again in the same way.

However, most mistakes are often repeated over and over again, regardless of the consequences. For instance, you may have a habit of hitting the snooze alarm, turning it off, and not getting out of bed. As a result, you are always late for work or a doctor’s appointment.

However, in my own life, I found that my father’s habits strongly influenced my behavior while I was growing up and continued into my adult life. My father could not tolerate being late or anyone else being late. In fact, he was always early for everything.

In addition, my father was fastidious in every task he undertook. He was a highly intelligent man with many skills, talents, and interests. He enjoyed building things. He and his friend built a house from the roof down. He accomplished this while working full-time as the head dispatcher for PTC, the Philadelphia Transit Company Bus Company. He devised the system they used for many years for the bus drivers, public buses, and trolleys. He worked at PTC for over forty years. And he became something of a legend for his intelligence and ingenuity. He was never late or took a day off.

He was creative, and for many years, he designed collages from pictures he cut out of magazines and old books. I recall he made a large piece of art from a pool tabletop. For good luck, he attached pool cues, pool balls, playing cards, dice, and a horseshoe. It hung over our fireplace for many years. My father made the fireplace out of glass blocks, and instead of fire burning at the base of the fireplace, my father cut a mirror and fit that space. At Christmas time, he put Christmas lights inside all the glass blocks.

My father- 1960's

My father, Hugh Carberry

My father held high standards in terms of being organized. For instance, he had a basement workshop holding all his tools. And not a single thing was ever left out of place. And it would behoove anyone who borrowed his tools to put them back in pristine condition in the right place. That was me, for the most part. I was always snooping through his drawers to see what was hidden away. I was always careful to put everything back where it belonged because I didn’t want to be on the receiving end of my father’s anger.

Yes, my father liked to gamble, he played cards for money, he gambled on horse races. He was not a perfect human being, but who is?

As a child who grew up under my father’s influence, I also became highly organized and neat to the extreme. I couldn’t stand anything being messy or out of place. And I have to admit I haven’t changed much over the course of my lifetime. I have a low tolerance for anything being out of place or, god forbid, messy.

I put a lot of thought into every decision I have made throughout my lifetime. I rarely asked anyone for their advice since I trusted my own judgment. I admit I’ve made mistakes over many years, but I learned from them and didn’t repeat them.

Having said that, I find myself reconsidering some of the choices I’ve made in the past, and I don’t believe I’ve made any choices or decisions that I would want to go back in time and change my choices.

I have been retired for ten years, but I’ve kept busy doing things I enjoy. In addition, I have volunteered for the past eight years at an animal sanctuary. I have always had a deep appreciation and love of animals since I was a young child. As a child, I befriended all the dogs and cats in the neighborhood. Not to mention that I used to spend hours in our backyard watching the birds fly around our house and in and out the big Willow tree that grew there. I used to sit back and watch the birds, wishing I could fly.

Over the course of my lifetime, I have lived in New Jersey, Florida, and California, and now I’ve retired to North Carolina. I don’t regret any of it. It allowed me to meet and get to know many interesting people I wouldn’t have met otherwise. I had the opportunity to experience things I wouldn’t have been able to do. I had many interesting jobs. And a few that weren’t particularly interesting. I wouldn’t change any of it.

I‘m glad I’d had the courage to live true to myself, not the life others expected of me.

Some of the things I did during my lifetime are ones I’m proud of and would never regret. I didn’t have the opportunity to go to college when I graduated from high school. I attended Temple University when I was thirty-six and graduated at forty-one. The only adult student that graduated with my class. It was a challenging experience but nonetheless wonderful. I graduated with a 4.0 average cum laude and art teaching credentials. As a result, I opened an Art School in my home in Pitman, NJ, and taught art to children, adolescents, and adults for many years until we retired.

I worked at Ranch Hope in Alloway, NJ, as a counselor for adolescent boys adjudicated by the courts to reside there. I worked there for four years. The boys that lived there were from the age of seven to eighteen. It’s called a Christian facility, but in truth, it was a prison for adolescent boys. 

I worked for the Center for Family Services in Camden, NJ, for Project Cope. I visited parents who were incinerated in prisons about allowing their children to have a mentor who was a member of one of the five churches within Camden. Camden has a crime rate of 44 per one thousand residents; Camden has one of the highest crime rates in America compared to all communities of all sizes – from the smallest towns to the very largest cities. One’s chance of becoming a victim of either violent or property crime here is one in 23. Once I established a relationship with the incarcerated parent, I would explain how their children would benefit from an adult Mentor from the city in which the children lived.

Ranch Hope and Project Cope were two opportunities that I feel did the best for the people I was trying to assist in attaining a better life than their parents had achieved.

The list of jobs I’ve had over the years is long. I do not regret a single moment of any of them. I feel as if life handed me opportunities to improve myself and do good in the world. And to take advantage of every opportunity that came my way. I did just that. I have no regrets about any of my experiences. Regardless, I still look forward to whatever life has to offer me as a challenge, and I will put all my energy into succeeding in whatever that challenge entails. Life is short, live it to the fullest that’s my point of view. And always will be until I breathe my last breath. I have no regrets whatsoever. Even though I am in my retirement years, I will continue to meet any challenge that comes my way. I’ve never let fear or trepidation stop me, and I will not allow it to stop me in the coming years that remain in my lifetime.

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BECAUSE I WAS A GIRL, I WAS TOLD I COULDN’T BE A TUGBOAT CAPTAIN

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Ben Franklin Bridge, Philadelphia, and New Jersey

Kathleen grew up in the early 1950’s and 1960’s in an Irish and Italian Catholic neighborhood. Everyone in the neighborhood lived in similar houses with big backyards. The Catholic church and the Catholic School were within walking distance for all the children in our neighborhood. It was unusual for any of the Catholic kids to attend public school. But all the kids who were Christian but not Catholic attended public school. They were referred to as “The Publics” by all the Catholic kids. It was like it was some disease or something. And woe be it to any Catholic School student to be ejected from the Catholic School. And then had to attend “Public School.”
Kathleen’s family consists of a mother, a father, and five siblings. Kathleen’s siblings were all a lot older than her. In fact, her eldest siblings no longer lived at home. They were married and lived with wives and their own children. That may seem like a large family, but back in the day, all the Catholic kids had large families. Kathleen had friends in school who had up to ten children, sometimes more. When Kathleen visits one of her Catholic school friends after school, she is overwhelmed by the sheer number of people who live within the walls of their homes. Homes that were approximately the same size as her own home. It had four bedrooms, two parents and six kids. The noise level alone was overwhelming. Not to mention,, there was only one bathroom, which all of the family members had to share. So, as a result, most people only bathe once a week. I kid you not.

On the bonus side, due to the large families with lots and lots of kids, Kathleen never had a shortage of friends in the neighborhood or the town to play with after school, on the weekends, holidays, and, of course, all Summer, which was every kid’s favorite time of the year.

Kathleen’s parents never really seemed to be concerned about her whereabouts. She was told to be home by five o’clock for dinner. And in the Summer to come home when it was dark. Neither one of Kathleen’s parents ever asked her where she had been or what she had been up to. When she was going out, her mother would say, “Don’t be late. Dinner is at five o’clock.” Kathleen would be out the door and on her way to visit one of her friends in no time flat. When it started getting dark out, Kathleen would jump on her bike and head home. And yelling, “See you later, alligator. And her friends would respond, “After a while, crocodile.”

When Kathleen wasn’t busy visiting her friends, riding her bike, or roller skating, she would head downtown and visit the library, or the 5&10 Store, or the candy store. If she had enough money, she would ride her bike down to the custard stand and get a vanilla custard in a cone. Sometimes, she would stop by the vegetable stand, and the nice lady who worked there would give her a piece of fruit, or the lady who worked in the town bakery would give her a donut. By the time she made all her rounds in the downtown shops, she would be so full that when she got home to eat dinner, she wasn’t in the least bit hungry.

Her mother and father would say, what’s the matter? Why don’t you eat something?’ And Kathleen would answer I’m full. Her father would say, “What’s wrong with her? She eats like a bird.” Her siblings, who knew what she had been up to downtown, didn’t say a word. They just laughed. Her next older sister would say without fail, “Yeah, a vulture.” Her mother would say, “ OK, that’s enough, stop picking on, Kathleen. And eat your dinner.”

After dinner, Kathleen helped clear the table, and then she would have to do her homework. Kathleen had trouble with math, and her mother would help her” by giving her the answers.” But Kathleen had no idea how she got the answer. And then her father would say, “Come here, I’ll show you the right way to do it. But his way was completely different than what she learned in school. And the more they helped her, the more confused she got.

After her homework was finished, if it were one of her father’s nights off, she would sit in the living room with him and watch Gunsmoke with him or Wagon Train or Have Gun Will Travel? They both loved the old Western TV shows. But woe be to anyone who sat in the living room and made the mistake of talking while Kathleen’s father was watching TV.

Around nine o’clock, Kathleen’s mother would say, “Time for bed, time for bed.’

Kathleen would beg to stay up later, but her mother knew if she didn’t make her go to bed now, she would want to stay up until 10 PM. And that was out of the question. So, finally, Kathleen would give in and get up, and her mother would say, “Woah, you have to go in and brush your teeth. And you know you have to say your prayers before you go to sleep.”

“Kathleen would roll her eyes and go in and brush her teeth as fast as she could. And then spit it out and drink some water. And head off to her bedroom. Her mother would yell up the steps, ” Your prayers, say your prayers.” And Kathleen would say, “Yes, Mom, yes, Mom. “ She would say a fast Hail Mary and Our Father and then bless herself and try to fall asleep as soon as possible before her sisters came in the room they shared and woke her up with all the rackett they made all the time. As Kathleen started to fall asleep, she remembered she had to get her mother to sign a paper to go on a trip to the Ben Franklin Museum. She fell asleep before she took the paper downstairs. By the next morning, Kathleen completely forgot about the permission slip.

The next day, when Kathleen arrived at school, she realized that she hadn’t gotten the permission slip signed. And she decided to run home as fast as she could and have her mom sign it. The school wasn’t that far away. But she just barely made it back to school before the morning bell rang to go to school. Katleen was out of breath. She felt sick to her stomach since she ran so fast and she had just eaten breakfast before she left for school. Kathleen sat on the school bus quietly for the whole trip from her school to the Ben Franklin Museum. She felt like she was going to throw up any minute. Finally, Sister Joseph said, “Alright, we here. Everyone slowly gets up and brings any and all belongings with them. And form one line and follow the student in front of you.

As Kathleen got off the bus, she realized that she was going to be sick, and she stepped on the sidewalk and threw up. Unfortunately, Sister St. Joseph was standing there. And she was on the receiving end of Kathleen’s upset stomach. All the kids started laughing until they saw Sister Joseph Catherine’s face. Then they immediately stopped laughing, double-timed it, and entered the double doors in front of the Ben Franklin Museum. It looked like everything would be alright until one of the boys started laughing, and before you knew it. All of the kids were laughing. Kathleen knew she was in big trouble. Sister Joseph Catherine was two-stepping it in her direction. “Kathleen, you are to stay by my side for the rest of the day; after we leave the museum, you will sit next to me on the bus back to school. Do you understand?”

I looked down and nodded yes to her, the thought of sitting next to her on the bus all the way back to school, seemed like a nightmare. If there were any way to get out of this mess, she would do it. Catherine felt a tear run down her cheek, and more followed. Catherine wiped her sleeve across her cheek. There was no way she was going to let anyone see her crying. Kathleen took a deep breath. And slowly walked toward Sister Joseph Catherine. This was going to be a terrible day. Katherine wished she had stayed home.

For the next several hours, Kathleen followed Sister Joseph Catherine all around the museum. She could barely look at the exhibits. She decided that on the next school trip, she intended to pretend to be sick. Because there was no way she was going to repeat this outing.

Kathleen’s stomach started to growl. She didn’t eat any breakfast this morning. And she was really thirsty. And then Kathleen heard Sister Joseph Catherine say,” It’s time for lunch. Let’s head back to the bus. That was the moment Kathleen realized she had forgotten to bring her lunch bag. And she didn’t have any money to buy lunch in the cafeteria.

Luckily, her best friend Helen asked her to sit next to her. When Anne Marie realized that Kathleen didn’t have lunch, she said, “No problem, you can have half of mine. My mother always packs too much lunch.” Kathleen smiled at her and said,” Thank you. I’m really starving. So, they found a table in the cafeteria and quietly ate their lunch together. Anne Marie said, “Wow, Sister Joseph Catherine really has it in for you today. “

“Yeah, I wish I didn’t even come today. She never leaves me alone.”

“Well, we had fun together, and your lunch was really good. Your mom makes great sandwiches. I guess we’ll see the rest of the museum when we’ve finished lunch. I love seeing “The Big Heart.”

“You do; I think it’s creepy, and the beating of the Big Heart makes me feel sick to my stomach. I hope the next time we go on a field trip, we do something new.”  The Big Heart

“ Yeah, your right, they should take us somewhere new.”
The next thing they knew, the sister was calling all the students to gather as they were going to leave the museum and go see some historical sites, starting with City Hall. “Alright, children, we are going to get back on the bus and head towards City Hall to see all the historical sites. I want you to pay particular attention to the speaker because we are going to have a test at the end of the week regarding that period of history.” There was a group moan from all the children. Why did the sister always ruin everything with tests after an outing?

After the visit to City Hall, the kids all got tired and bored. They had enough history in one day and just wanted to go home. And before you knew it, the tour of the City Hall was over, and they were loaded back onto their bus and headed back across the Ben Franklin Bridge and back to New Jersey. All the kids were tired, and several of them fell asleep on the ride back to school. Kathleen was one of them. And then suddenly, the bus stopped. Kathleen woke up. “What’s happening?” The bridge is up because there’s a big ship going underneath it. It’s cool. You can see it if you look out the window.

All the students were glued to the windows, looking at the open bridge and at the gigantic ship that was passing under the bridge. The kids were excited and staring out the windows. When the ship got to the other side of the bridge, all the students tried to get to the other side of the bridge. All the kids started clapping.

The next day, the students were asked to write an essay about their outing, and they all talked about their outing to the Ben Franklin Museum. Kathleen decided to write about what it was like in the Big Heart exhibit. She wrote down every detail that she could remember. Then she decided that her next favorite experience was waiting to cross the Bridge while the bridge was up and the big ship was passing beneath. She added that she decided that she wanted to grow up and be either the captain of one of those big ships or in charge of the bridge.

When Kathleen got her paper back, the teacher said she had written a good description of her experience on their outing. However, there was no way that any female was going to grow up to be the captain of a ship or man at the Ben Franklin Bridge. Her teacher said, “She should accept that girls would grow up to get married and have children, or they could become teachers or maybe nurses because that’s what girls were supposed to do.

Kathleen got so mad that her teacher said that the only thing girls would be is a mother, a teacher, or a nurse. She decided that, on that very day, no matter what it took, she was going to be the captain of a boat or be in charge of the Ben Franklin Bridge.Tugboat going under Ben Franklin Bridge, Philadelphia/ NJ

But, it wasn’t until 1968 that a woman was allowed to work as a tugboat captain in New Jersey. But, after that first woman was hired, other women did the same. Sure enough, Kathleen was one of those women to be a tugboat captain, and she crossed the Ben Franklin Bridge countless times in her lifetime as a captain of a tugboat. And she led the way for other women to do the same. And it was because of women like her that all women were allowed to work in occupations that formerly had been men only.

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A MODERN DAY FAIRY TALE

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There once was a little girl named Sally who was different in many ways from all the other little girls. She was even quite different from her four sisters. She didn’t resemble any of them in their looks or their behavior. It had occurred to her own mother that somehow she had gotten the wrong baby when she went to the hospital.

As soon as the little girl was old enough, her mother would allow her to explore her neighborhood. But first, her mother said, “ I have to teach you how to cross the street by yourself; otherwise, you could be hit by a car. And sure enough, that very day, Sally’s mother took her out to the curb on the street in front of their house and said,” Now, Sally, you have to be very careful when you cross the street. This street is very busy. So, you have to look both ways. First, you look right, then left, then right again. If no cars are coming, you can safely cross the street. Sally was a little afraid to cross the street on her own. But she was also brave and looked right, left, and right again. And there weren’t any cars coming from either direction. And so, Sally walked across the street and back again.

Her mother hugged her and said,” Good job, Sally. Remember to do that every time I woudn’t want anything to happen to you.”

“Mommy, can I walk up and down our street too?”

“Yes, Sally, but always look both ways. And don’t talk to strangers, either. And don’t ever get into a car with someone you don’t know. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Mommy I understand, look both ways, twice and don’t talk to strangers or get into cars with them. I won’t forget.”

And so, from that day forward, Sally began a life of adventures. Sally didn’t tell her mom or daddy where she went or what she did. Because they never asked, and she followed her mother’s rules. The first thing she did was to walk two houses down and visit Mrs. Collin’s house. She loved going there because Mrs. Collins had many, many cats. They came outside and strolled up and down the backyard inside a long cage that ran from the back of Mrs. Collin’s house to the end of her property. Sally knew all their names. She didn’t know for sure how many there were because they never held still for long, so it was hard to count them.

Plus, Sally hadn’t started school yet. And she wasn’t good at counting. But, nonetheless, Sally loved every one of those cats and made sure she petted each and every one of them when she went over to their backyard to visit them.

Sally had a big imagination. While she was out and about, she would make up stories. And when her neighbors would ask her what she was up to, she often told a tall tale about her adventures every day.

One day, one of her neighborhood friends came outside to play, and Sally decided to tell her a story. It was a made-up story. But her girlfriend didn’t know that. Sally went on to tell her friend, Jillian, that she was actually an alien from outer space and she had come here to take Jillian with her to her planet. Jillian began to cry at the top of her lungs that she didn’t want to go to another planet. She cried so much that Sally got frightened and said, “Jillian, I was just making pretend. I’m not from another planet; I’m not taking you anywhere.” Jillian kept crying, and Sally decided she better take her home. Sally didn’t see Jillian for another week. So, she went over to Jillian’s house and knocked on the door. Jillian’s father answered the door. And he looked very angry, he said,” What do you want? You know that Jillian is still upset by that story you told her the other day; don’t scare her again with your stories. Do you understand?”

“Yes, I understand. I was pretending. It was a game.”

“Yes, but Jillian didn’t know you were playing a game.”

“OK, I won’t do that again. Can I please play with Jillian today?”
“Yes, but come back after lunchtime. Jillian is eating lunch.”

“OK, I’ll come back after lunchtime. Can we go Jillian and I go to the playground then?”

“Yes, do you know how to cross the street?”
“Yes, my mom taught me. I’ll hold Jillian’s hand when we cross.”

“Alright, but make sure she is home before dinnertime.”

“I will. She will be safe with me.”

Sally decided to go home and see if her mother had lunch ready since her stomach was growling. Sure enough, when she got home, she could smell Chicken Noodle Soup cooking and her favorite sandwich, grilled cheese with Lebanon Bologna, when she walked into the kitchen. Her father was sitting at the table. And he said, “Well, Sally, what have you been up to?”

“Oh, nothing. I just went over to Jillian to ask her to come out and play, and I was told to come back after lunch. So, here I am.”

“So you are. Have a seat. Here comes your lunch. And don’t gulp it down. And clear the table before you leave. Push your chair in after getting up, and then brush your teeth. Sally took a long breath after her father said all of that. And she sighed. Her father always gave her a long list of things she had to do. Sometimes, he was in a bad mood, and he would yell at her and tell her to stop talking so much because she loved to tell her mother and father about her adventures. Her older sisters always laughed at her. And said,’ Wow, she really has a wild imagination, doesn’t she?”

Her father would always say, “Leave her alone day that imagination is going to take her places. And then her older sister said, “Yeah, a nut house.” Sally’s father said, “That’s enough; don’t be mean to your little sister.”

After lunch, her mother said, “Sally, go in and brush your teeth before you go out. And wash your face, too; you have peanut butter all over it. And don’t forget to brush your teeth. Sally moaned. She hated brushing her teeth. Sally went to the bathroom and brushed her teeth. Her mother made her brush her teeth with peroxide and baking soda. It tasted awful. It made her feel sick. She rinsed her mouth out about five times and then did it again. Why, oh why, couldn’t she brush her teeth with toothpaste like everyone else?

Sally came out of the bathroom and asked, “Is it OK if I walked downtown to the Ben Franklin 5&10 and Rexall? I have a whole dollar saved, can I, can I?”

“Yes, but be careful crossing the streets. Do it at the red light, not in the middle of Main Street. Do you understand?”

“Yes, I’ll be careful. Can I stop at the library too? I want to get some new books?”

“Sure, that’s a good idea. Maybe you won’t spend so much time watching TV all afternoon and night.”

“Yes, Mom. I’ll see you later.”

Sally said, “See you later.” As soon as she exited the front door, Sally started running down Main Street as fast as possible. Sally loved to run; she also liked riding her bike. But she wasn’t allowed to ride it downtown because of all the traffic. Before she knew it she was in front of the Bakery. She could smell the sweet aroma of cakes, pies, donuts, and cookies. Oh, it was heaven. Sally decided to stop into the bakery and say hello to all the people who worked there. They always gave her a cookie or a donut when she stopped by because she would regale them with long stories about her adventures around town. They thought she was making it up, but she wasn’t. Sally did a lot of interesting things. Just last week, she had borrowed her older sister’s bike and road down to the next town where there was a lake. And she spent the entire afternoon walking in the water up to her knees and sitting in the sand. She just loved it there. One of the bakers, whose name was Thelma, said, “Well, what have you been up to, Sally?”

“Oh, nothing much, but I did walk all the way to the Custard Stand last week and bought myself a custard. I bought a vanilla one. It was delicious.”

“Sally, where do you get all the money to buy treats?”
“Oh, I walk all around Main Street and look for coins people drop.”

“ Well, you must be really lucky. But you better brush your teeth. Too much sugar rots your teeth.”

“I know, I know. My mother tells me that night and day.”
“Well, where are you headed now?”

“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe I’ll take a walk to my Uncle Bill’s house. It’s not too far from here. And they always give me a snack and sometimes even a soda. And my uncle likes to draw things. He showed me how to draw a horse. And my Aunt Betty is really nice. They don’t have kids, so they like when I visit them. Sometimes, my Uncle Bill gives me a silver dollar.’’

“Well, aren’t you the lucky one?”

“Yes, I guess I am. Well, I guess I’ll be on my way. I want to go to the library and get some more books. I’m reading about dinosaurs now. I wish we still had dinosaurs.”

The people in the bakery laughed and said,” Oh, I don’t know about that. They may decide to eat you for dessert. And then she laughed; they all did. The ladies working in the bakery thought Sally was an interesting kid, always up to something. She was probably giving her mother and father grey hair before their time.

And then Sally said, “Well, I guess I’ll see you later. And before they knew it, she was out the door yelling, thanks for the donuts. And she was off to her next adventure. Sally absolutely loved her adventures. And she knew that someday when she grew up, she was going to go on even better adventures far away, maybe even to another country. And she did, when she grew up she went on many adventures far and wide, and brought home all kind of suveneirs. She spent many of her years writing stories about her adventures and even painting pictures of the places and the people she met along the way. Who knows what she will do next? I guess we’ll have to wait and see.

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IS GETTING OLD A GIFT OR A CURSE

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Well, here I am, ten years into my retirement. It’s hard to believe how quickly time has flown by. But the truth of the matter is that I didn’t believe I was going to live to be this old. Because when I was fifty-six, I began having cardiac symptoms, shortness of breath, and angina pains up and down my arm. I ignored these symptoms for a short time until the symptoms got worse. And I finally made an appointment to see a cardiologist. After undergoing many medical procedures and tests, I was diagnosed with Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Which my cardiologist told me was a type of congestive heart failure. He said you are now just a cardiac patient.”

I had a difficult time accepting this diagnosis. I had been a vegetarian for sixteen years. I exercised every day of my life. I had never smoked, did drugs, or drank. Apparently, this type of heart failure was congenital, and my mother had suffered from congestive heart failure as well. She passed away in 1987 when I was thirty-six years old. The first cardiologist I went to put me through many tests but really didn’t even attempt to treat me in any way. Other than giving me a prescription for high cholesterol and high blood pressure. After going to this cardiologist for one year, I decided to look for a new doctor who might actually find a treatment that would improve my health and extend my lifespan. 

My new cardiologist, Dr. Drachman, informed me that my heart disease was at a stage at this time where I had a twenty-five percent chance of living five more years or succumbing to an unexpected cardiac arrest at any time.

You can imagine how distraught I was at that time. I certainly had never prepared myself for such an abrupt ending. I considered the options for the remaining time I had left to live. I decided to let myself be happy and fill my days with activities that let me feel jot each day. And for the most part, I was happy. Although, as with anyone’s life from one day to the next, things do not always go our way.

Blue and Gold Macaw

Blue and Gold Macaw

And I also found that there is a certain lightness in knowing you could die at any time. It made me not want to waste any time. Of course, I couldn’t avoid sadness or anger completely. However, I did decide that I would no longer interact with the people in my life, which caused me to feel bad.

As time went on, and I continued to survive, I began to have hope that I would keep on living for some time. And low and behold, a new heart medication became available, Entresto. And sure enough, this medication allowed me to live with less pain, breathe more easily, and continue living a full life without the fear of sudden death.

So, here I am, retired and living in North Carolina. We (my husband and my youngest daughter have just begun the ninth year of our retirement. I don’t know what everyone else does during their retirement, but I got busy. I took another college course so I could work with The Guardian Ad Litem in the NC family court. But, I found it was not a good fit for me. After several months of sitting for hours and hours and listening to lawyers go on and on. And parents give pathetic reasons for not taking care of their own children. It just wasn’t for me. However, many people found it to be a good fit for them.

I considered what other outlets I might find in our living area. And I decided that although I had always loved working with children. I also had a great love for animals. And I found Animal Edventure in Coats, NC and went there and was interviewed. And here I am, almost nine years later. I have been taking care of parrots and Macaws. I have always loved birds.

This is Douglas, and we adopted him from Animal Edventure when we retired

In addition, for the past eight years, I have been writing this blog, Write ON, with short stories and memoirs. It has been an eye-opening experience for me. And one that has been both challenging and enjoyable. And now I have reached the grand old age of seventy-two. The years have flown by. I don’t know my future, but I look forward to each day.

This is a photo of me writing one of the stories in my blog, Write On.

So, is getting old a gift or a curse? I would have to say that every day I live is a gift. And I’m grateful for it. I don’t know yet what lies in my future or how long I have left to live in this life. But I know that every moment is precious, and I don’t want to miss any of it. Even though I know that my life has had many ups and downs. I’m ready for the challenges and the changes. And yes, even the sameness if that is what comes down the road. I hope to live every moment to its fullest. And do good along the way, when or wherever I can.

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