Oldsters Listening to Old Song Memories

 

Oldsters Listening to Old Song Memories

Several years ago I attended an event sponsored by the Chestnut Ridge Historical Society held at Brady’s Restaurant in Acme, Pennsylvania. Good food and entertainment was the recipe for the day. The evening started with buffet style food. Salads delivered to our table after the blessing the food was given. Stuffed chicken breast, ham slice, mashed potatoes, gravy, thick egg noodles, green beans, and a selection of pies and cake started the evening’s affair. The wait staff was attentive. After finishing the meal, two female singers tag-teamed the audience with renditions of classic songs, two women of Glitzando: Cathi Rhodes and Diane Paul.

I’m not quite at the age yet to have remembered all of the songs first hand, but my mother Sybil Beck would often sing parts of these older songs that coincided with something that had been said. Most of the tunes were very familiar to me. That trait is something that I still have sharing a story, a joke, or a chorus that parallels someone’s talking point. My daughters must have the same gene.

My table was at the edge of their performing area and I sat with several of my writing friends, a gentleman from the historical society, Bernie and his wife. It was a pleasant group of people and we chatted as we ate our meals.

It was time for the performance and Bernie became the master of ceremonies introducing the ladies. Apparently he’d previously been in theater productions with the two singers. Several times throughout the evening, the performers selected people from the audience to be on stage with them. It was to enhance their presence and to get the audience to be more engaged.

Of course, I being a ham joined them for two of their audience participation tunes. They had other persons who were coaxed onto the stage with them. It was during their patriotic segment a special man was lured to join them. Cathi read part of a past newsletter from the Chestnut Ridge Historical Society honoring this 94 year old veteran, Tom Dix. His survival from a minesweeper that was sunk during WWII was nothing less than a miracle. Of the 91 crewmembers, only he and 60 others survived.

The rest of the evening was filled with song and laughter. It passed all too quickly. I made my way home after shaking hands, giving hugs, and saying good night to many other familiar faces who’d attended the event.

No Respect

 

No Respect

Rodney Dangerfield used the line, “I don’t get no respect.” It is unfortunately sad but true, that today some people have no respect for cemeteries, memorials, and the Stars and Stripes of the American flag. I saw a photo of the Vietnam Memorial where it had been defaced with spray paint from a graffiti pervert. I’ve seen photos of cemeteries where warped-minded people have driven vehicles through them damaging the grounds and the headstones of loved ones who have passed on. Almost daily, I see and hear of reports where the American flag is trod upon or burned.

What is wrong with these people? They may not like America, but that is no reason to try to destroy a country that allows them to voice their dissent. There is no reason to desecrate the resting place of people who have worked hard all of their lives to provide a system where even indigent folk have a chance to live above the rest of the world’s poverty level. There is no reason to deface the memorial of brave men and women who fought in a war that their government has said they must. You may not agree that there was a just cause for the fighting, but those heroes fought because they were asked to do so.

America has asked her citizens to fight for freedom since its inception. The wars have claimed many lives and that in itself is sad, but the fact that some people ignore and denigrate those lives which were lost are the lowest type of people and should have no right to a claim to be Americans. Rights are not earned by being responsible. They are guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States. Unfortunately, our rights are being ignored and eroded every day.

This year we celebrate two hundred and fifty years of the birthday of our independence and the establishment of our nation. We should be proud of that fact and proud that we are free and still have those God given rights.

What Is It

 

What Is It

I’m trying to understand what’s going on with my body. Small changes are creeping in. Over the past week or so, my balance has ben off just a bit. It’s not anything major, but I must be a little more careful with walking, turning, and leaning over. I don’t feel as stable on my feet recently.

Yesterday aching in my joints have become more pronounced. My knees and hips have decided to hurt evem when not being used. I find that even sitting in a chair I may need to reposition myself to relieve the deep aching in my hips especially. I’ve been trying to believe that it’s a part of aging, but I am beginning to doubt that.

I almost lost my balance reaching for something and had to catch myself to prevent a fall I jammed my deformed “arthritic” finger into a wooden cupboard. That intensified the usual ache in my pinky finger to a much higher level.

Last night I had a serial dream. I know that I woke several times to reposition my aching joints, but fell back to sleep only to dream again. The dream was odd, not just because it was a long-running dream, but also because it was vivid and I couldn’t remember much about it. I can recall the color green and the feeling that I was being tossed and buffeted. What was the cause of the turmoil, I have no idea, but waking this morning my muscles ached. The muscles that ached weren’t just my arms and legs as if I had done a long day’s work, but even the muscles across my belly.

About a month ago I started to take a trial medication. Because of my history of cardiac problems, the nurse who is responsible for the trial studies thought I might be a good candidate for this study. Now I’m trying to sort out if my aching joints, my muscle pain, and the disequilibrium are the side effects of the medication or whether something else is happening.

I’ll call my nurse handler later today to see if I should continue with the trial or stop taking the medications.

What Is It

What Is It
I’m trying to understand what’s going on with my body. Small changes are creeping in. Over the past week or so, my balance has ben off just a bit. It’s not anything major, but I must be a little more careful with walking, turning, and leaning over. I don’t feel as stable on my feet recently.
Yesterday aching in my joints have become more pronounced. My knees and hips have decided to hurt even when not being used. I find that even sitting in a chair I may need to reposition myself to relieve the deep aching in my hips especially. I’ve been trying to believe that It’s a part of aging, but I am beginning to doubt that.
I almost lost my balance reaching for something and had to catch myself to prevent a fall I jammed my deformed “arthritic” finger into a wooden cupboard. That intensified the usual ache in my pinky finger to a much higher level.
Last night I had a serial dream. I know that I woke several times to reposition my aching joints, but fell back to sleep only to dream again. The dream was odd, not just because it was a long-running dream, but also because it was vivid but I can’t remember much about it. I can recall the color green and the feeling that I was being tossed and buffeted. What was the cause of the turmoil, I have no idea, but waking this morning my muscles ached. The muscles that ached weren’t just my arms and legs as if I had done a long day’s work, but even the muscles across my belly.
About a month ago I started to take a trial medication. Because of my history of cardiac problems, the nurse who is responsible for the trial studies thought I might be a good candidate for this study. Now I’m trying to sort out if my aching joints, my muscle pain, and the disequilibrium are the side effects of the medication or whether something else is happening.

I’ll call my nurse handler later today to see if I should continue with the trial or stop taking the medications. 

Everyday Patriots

 Everyday Patriots

We run into everyday patriots everywhere. They surround us: when we shop, when we go out to eat, or when we go to church. These people are for the most part go about their business everyday without thought of the important ideals they uphold. From farmers to food service workers, from truckers to teachers, from healthcare workers to hairdressers; all contribute to the fabric of society. We literally bump into them as we go to work, come home from work, and when we go on vacation. We may meet them because we have problems. If we need someone to repair a leaky roof or a leaky faucet, we can find them. In times of disaster or extreme weather conditions, we have utility linesmen, we have those who drive the snow plow trucks, and we have the National Guards. If we need emergency care they come to us: firemen, police, ambulance drivers, and paramedics. These men and women work, earn money, pay taxes, and create a stable environment. They form a national entity, a form of government, a national language, and core values that hold us as a country together.

An everyday patriot may be a farmer who daily works his farm, the postman who faithfully delivers the mail, the person who delivers fresh bread to the grocery store, the person who provides the produce at a roadside stand, or stocks the snacks in our minimarts. They are the folks who grease the gears and keep the cogs engaged that supply our daily needs. They are the checkout cashiers. They are the men and women who fill the shelves. They may be the butchers, the bakers, and the candlestick makers. They could be our vehicle’s mechanics. They could be the janitors who clean the schools or job sites. They could be mothers, grandmothers, fathers, or grandfathers. They can be the people who we meet on the streets walking their dogs.

These everyday patriots are not superheroes in bold costumes, they are everyday patriots. They work, vote, raise their families, and make a community. They can be neighbors, workmates, and even strangers who do some kind deed or show a courtesy. They do their best to create a better world and share it with others. So I say, hooray to our everyday patriots and heroes. May God continue to bless their daily efforts to keep America strong and independent.

Gone

 

Gone

I saw a post showing an aisle in a variety store lined with boxes stacked upon boxes of plastic model boats, planes, and cars. In most stores today, I am lucky to see one small shelf in the huge toy section that has a smattering of these onetime glorious representations of the real things. Gone are the enamel paints and the plastic glue that gave a person a buzz if inhaled for a long periods of time. The selection that remains today is so limited, it barely stirs the imagination of a boy or girl to spend their money for the model.

At one time there was a penny candy counter at the front of almost every country Mom and Pop store. Its wide glass-faced case was often smeared by the noses of children peering inside, trying to decide what to buy with their penny or nickel. The storekeeper would reach into the cavern below and withdraw a small, brown paper sack. A practiced flick of the wrist and it opened, waiting to be filled with the child’s choices. Peppermint sticks, licorice whips, wax lips, candy cigarettes, gum balls, fire balls, chewy caramels, Black Jack, and various suckers with colors that enticed through clear cellophane wrappings or were alluring in their brightly hued paper wrappers. A child’s decision became tantalizingly and deliciously sweet. The grocer’s hand moved to hover over the display, waiting for the child’s final choices. If the child had enough money, there were three cent chocolate Lunch Bars that are now history, too. Once selections were made, the little bag was twisted shut and handed to an eagerly awaiting child.

Cap pistols with strips of exploding caps have been all but banned from use today. Using a pointed finger pretending it’s a pistol can get a kid kicked out of school. The innocence of a buss on a cheek can land a boy or girl in trouble if a teacher so deems it. Hot chocolate and slices of buttered toast to start the school day are long gone. Even the wonderful flavorful school lunches have faded into nutritious nothings.

Wood shop, music, art, and home economics have been replaced by forages into climate change and social justice. The Pledge of Allegiance, Bible reading, and a time of prayer have lost their zeal and have fallen into disuse. If a man displays gentlemanly traits like opening a door for a female, often they are scourged.

Writing letters and post cards have lost their appeal, giving way to selfies, texts, and e-mails. At least greeting cards still hold some importance, although e-cards are making an inroad on that once popular more permanent method of showing that you care.

Blessings Served Cold

 

Blessings Served Cold

The last two cold snaps wear me down. I dislike cold weather more and more as I age. Speaking of age, I just found out that I was trying to make myself a year older. I claimed that I was 77 instead of 76. I guess my mental facilities are slipping. But I will catch up this year in March when I become 77.

It has been my habit ever since I married and had children to keep my driveway open in case of an emergency. So, even as I have aged, I have continued to shovel the snow out of my driveway. I really enjoy the quiet time with the snow silently falling around me. The snow is usually easily removed, even the wetter and heavier. Because of the direction of the wind, snow blows into road and the snowplows clear the drifts and fill the end of my driveway, often three feet deep and about eight feet wide. They solidly pack the ice and snow. It doubles the amount of work for me.

Twice I’ve been blessed to have someone stop, taking pity on me and plow that snow plug out of my drive. The first was several days ago. The guy slowed, cranked down his truck window, and asked if he could help. I had barely started to clear the drive and was thrilled to have someone volunteer to help. In about five minutes, my drive was widened and completely cleared. He refused any payment, saying his boss told him to drive around and look for people who needed their driveways cleaned.

This past Saturday I was out early shoveling a three inch layer of snow and the taller layer of snow at the end of my drive. I spent half an hour outside. The gusts of icy cold wind made my eyeballs feel like they were frozen and my nose poured like a river when I came inside.

Several hours later I looked out my living room window and saw that the snowplows had again plugged the opening of my driveway, 3 feet high deeply pushing it back into my drive. It covered the width of my drive. I felt so discouraged, but knew it needed to get done. Saturday evenings several men from our church gather to pray for each other and for a revival in our church.

Reluctantly I climbed into my heavy clothing to go outside. The wind was still blowing and cold. No sooner did I dig the first scoop before a gentleman in a dark gray truck stopped and asked if he could plow my drive. I was blessed and so thrilled I could have danced. My driveway was cleared and my eyes didn’t have time to freeze.

Places I've Been

 

Places I Have Been

Before my stint in the Navy, the only places that I visited were with my parents. My dad Carl Beck was even more frugal than I am and we spent his vacations visiting relatives. The longest trip was to Florida to visit my aunt and Uncle Helen and Jake Stahl in Orlando. Shorter trips included visiting my aunt and uncle, Cora and Fred Hyatt in Sheridan, Illinois and to see my aunt and uncle, Ina and “Nicky” Nicholson in Millersport, Ohio.

For my time while in service to my country, I started basic training and Naval Corps School at Great Lakes training center in Illinois, spending the winter there. Then I was sent to Orlando, Florida from the chill of the north to the heat of Florida. My next assignment was to Keflavik, Iceland and travelled from the hot humid south to a chilly 60 degree weather.

After taking nursing curiculum at the Fayette campus of Penn State, I was assigned classes at State College, Pennsylvania. After graduating, I found employment at Monsour Hospital then at Frick Hospital. After my marriage to Cindy Morrison, our next trip was to visit her relatives in Jamestown, New York. We also made a short trip into Canada before heading home. Cindy felt ill while we drove home. It was our introduction to parenthood. Cindy was pregnant with our first. Only my craving for greasy hamburgers alerted us to our later two pregnancies, but that’s another story.

Family vacations included Sea World, the Knoxville World’s Fair, a visit to Murfreesboro, Tennessee and to “The Wilds” church camp in North Carolina. The next major trip for me and the family was to “the Wilds of the Rockies.” It was part of the tenting trip out west with seventeen teens, seven adults, touring multiple national parks for seventeen days.

My next major trip was to Newfoundland/ Labrador Canada, driving most of the way then riding a ship to Nain and returning to Newfoundland. A trip to Cottonwood, Arizona for my son Andrew’s wedding to Renee Largent was next. Later my son moved to Amarillo. That was my next long distance travel.

I joined a friend on a trip to Elkins, West Virginia to ride the train to the ghost town of Spruce. I travelled with the same friend across the southern border of Pennsylvania, up the east side, back across the northern counties, finally returning home along the western border of our state. Fifteen days of waterfalls, battlefields, and hotels wore me out. I’ve been pretty much a homebody since then. I’m just wondering it’s time for another escape vacation.

Being Schoole on Lunches

 Being Schooled on Lunches

I decided to make toast and hot chocolate milk like I ate during my elementary school days. I can remember that for thirty-five cents I could get two slices of toast and a mug of cocoa when I arrived at school on those frigid winter mornings. The hot cholate was served with curls of steam rising from the frothy rich chocolate milk. Two slices of hot golden brown toast was slathered in real butter and served on a plate. My tasty recreation was only a pale recreation of the memory, but it has sent me down memory lane to other school lunch favorites.
What made the next meal special wasn’t the macaroni covered in meat sauce, but was the small side salad and the large bun. The bun was tall, warm, and filled with a fresh-baked yeasty flavor. It was served with cold pats of golden butter.
None of these foods stir a connoisseur’s palate, but as a kid certain menus caused me to look ahead with anticipation. A sloppy Joe was one of them. It was just a store-bought burger but filled with a savory ground beef, onions, and a sauce rich with spices. The bun was filled by the “lunch lady” with a scoop just before it was placed on my tray. Napkins and a bib was almost a necessity before sitting down to enjoy this staple.
The next two items that were served on a revolving menu weren’t very fancy but were always favorites with my classmates. The first was grilled cheese and tomato soup. To many it’s no big deal, but with many kids, me included, it was an oasis of hot food that filled our bellies in the middle of the day that were empty or could face a cold sandwich. The hot, greasy sandwich filled with gooey American cheese and the flavorful tomato soup seemed to make the day go much better.
The final food item wasn’t necessarily my favorite, but seemed to impress many of the other students was pizza. It was tasty and filling with its layers of baked dough, tangy tomato sauce, topped with a melted topping of Mozzarella cheese. It definitely a crowd pleaser, but it wasn’t my favorite.
It’s strange as I look back at my food covered selections; I have no impressions of the desserts the cooks shared. I do have a vague memory of cookies or cake but not of their flavors. Isn’t that strange?

By the Light of the Silvery Moon

 By the Light of the Silvery Moon

This was the first line of a song that was sung by Doris Day. My mom Sybil Miner Beck would sometimes sing a line or two as was her habit with any song. I don’t know if I am becoming overly sentimental or whether I am just noticing things more acutely, but the moonlight on the snow seems exceptionally beautiful. The shadows cast by a full moon makes silhouettes of bare tree branches. They somehow appear more hauntingly romantic in the moonlight. The dark specter of limbs on the silver-blue snow is more impressive than the same shadows drawn by the sun.
I like to see the bright moonlight tracing tree branches coated with snow or ice. Snow is given a glow with a bluish sheen and the icy crystals shine with a silver gleam that comes from somewhere deep inside of a clear cold shell.
This is one of the many winter’s scenes that will entice me to stop, take a second look, and possibly a third look happens when the brilliant sheen of the moonlight slides across a pond or lake to create a luminescent pathway. The moon’s rays form a straight road that points its shining fingers back at its creator, the moon.
One specific incident that captured my imagination occurred on a night as I drove along Route 130, near the little town of Unity, Pennsylvania. The moon was exceptionally bright. I was paying only slight attention to the beauty that lay all around me. I was concentrating on the road and the driving conditions when I was assaulted by an inspiring vision. It was so enchanting.
A small barn set back from the edge of the road at one end of a field. It was bathed in pearlescent light of the full moon. It glowed as though it had been formed from silver. Its rough board sides shone even more brightly than the smooth blue snow reflecting the moon’s soft glow that surrounded it. The snow covered roof and cupola were framed by the black velvety sky and the night’s white starred gems. The scene is still firmly lodged in my head, after all of these years. I am trying to share that vision with you, but I feel my words are woefully inadequate to express the awe and beauty that I experienced so many winter nights ago.

Severe Cabin Fever

 Severe Cabin Fever

The ssavage wind, the deep cold, and the massive snow dump has held me captive inside of my home for too many days. I’ve spent longer times alone, but I could go outside. The wind chill has driven me inside and I’ve had to look at the walls inside of my home for twenty-four hours of the day. The fact that darkness descends so early intensifies the isolation until it becomes almost unbearable. My cell phone has kept me connected to the outside world, but it wasn’t the person to person interaction that I needed. When I worked at Frick Hospital in Mt. Pleasant, Pennsylvania, that is one reason I hated answering the phone and would much rather walk a few steps to talk with someone in person.

I was pleased to leave my house for Wednesday night prayer services even for a few hours and interact with real people. The church attendance was a little thin, but the time together worshipping was pleasant nonetheless. On my trip to and from, the wind nipped at my ears, but the earflaps on my hat cancelled the sting.

Thursday the cabin fever was still unabated. It still clung tightly to my brain and I drove to Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania. My destination was questionable. It was to go Walmart. My desire to shop at Walmart shows how severely cabin fever had affected me.

Acttually it was great. On my way through the parking lot, I began to talk with other wayward winter adventurers. The ability to actually talk with another human being was thrilling. I shared one of my business cards with a man and woman. I also gave them a testimonial biblical tract of a friend who had survived a severe auto accident.

Inside as I negotiated the aisles and selected the items on my grocery list, I talked with several others. As usual I bumped into a few people I had worked with at the hospital and shared my business card and testimonial tracts with others. I had a wonderful time. I even offered to reach items for vertically challenged people.

Earlier I thought as I drove from my home to do my shopping, the snow lined roadways were reminiscent of the winters of my youth. The winters were marked by piles of snow pushed aside along the berms of the road and snow stacked high at the sides of driveways and parking lots. As a kid, I don’t remember the cold bothering me as much today’s frigid temperatures, but the sight of the snow lined roadways drew me back.

Busted

 Busted

My dad, Edson Carl Beck used to tease that if he had a million dollars, (That was when a million dollars really meant something) that he would buy a new butt. His had a hoe and a crack in it. It was a saying he would often spoof us kids with. I am late posting toddy. I am scatterbrained today. With the cold and snow I have been spending time outside keeping up with the snow and the wind. The cold is a little more intense than I like, but there isn’t much I can do except complain to the Global Warmer liars.

I will keep this post short, but not too sweet. Monday morning early I was carrying a load of dirty towels and washcloths to the basement to toss them in the washer. As I descended the stairs from the second floor, I fell about 3.5 feet to thee wooden floor when the wall I was leaning on ran out. There is no railing on that side. I thought I knew better, but just wasn’t thinking.

Well, I bounced my butt and lower back on the floor before the back of my head ricocheted off the floor too. That scared me because of the previous brain bleeds in 2015. Scary. I collected my self and did a self exam. All my parts were still attached, but I sat in my recliner to recuperate. I was able later to finish my wash, but more slowly.

I am still feeling the after effects from a stiff neck and soreness when I walk in an area between my sacrum and my coccyx. A spot I can do nothing about except enjoy my heating pad and ibuprophen. I’m a little late with my post. So sorry. Stay warm and safe.

Eggs-actly

 

Eggs-Actly

I’d like to share some stories that were brought to my recollection; all clustered around one word, eggs. The first is about a portrait of my grandmother Rebecca Rugg Miner. It was a time when travelling photographers sold their talent door to door. I am glad that he stopped at my grandparent’s big farmhouse and cajoled my grandmother into sitting for a portrait. His pitch was that he would take the photograph and return with it in several weeks. Grandma could view it and if she wasn’t satisfied with it, she could refuse to buy it. As the story goes, grandma had no intention to buy it, but with a clean blouse and jacket with a small brooch. He departed after Gram’s photo was taken.

Several weeks later, the salesman returned with a tinted black and white portrait in an oval frame. It was a quality product with her youthful visage peering from the picture. Raven hair, dark eyes, and a subtle hint of a smile had been enhanced by the rosy tint on her cheeks and lips. When Gram said she didn’t have the money to buy it, the salesman continued his spiel by saying it was okay if she didn’t want to buy it, because he could sell it to a bar owner to hang for the bar’s patrons to view. Gram was appalled by the thought and managed to gather enough money from her egg and butter sales to pay for it. Because of this young man’s persistence and amusing lie, that portrait now hangs in my entryway, the one thing that I managed to get when Gram “Broke up housekeeping.”

The next egg story occurred and the Miner farm. The front porch on the large farmhouse was concrete and cinderblock half walls and pillars. There was the expected dark green painted swing, several Adirondack chairs, and porch boxes of flowers.  It was a great place to hide colored eggs at Easter time, a game that happened when several cousins gathered. Gram put a stop to the hide-and-seek game when she and Great-Aunt Rose sitting on the swing began to smell something rotten. One misplaced egg had fallen down inside the cinderblock pillar and forgotten.

The last story is about my brother Ken and a cousin (she will remain anonymous to avoid embarrassment) went into my Aunt Rachel’s chicken coop. They reappeared later looking like pieces of French toast. For some unexplained reason, they decided to raid several nests and toss their eggs at the ceiling. They were both covered in the scrambled drippings. My Aunt and my Mom were not happy.

Snow-filled Memories

 Snow-filled Memories

As I drove from my home just outside of the village of White, Pennsylvania to Indian Head, I began to recall the many times I’d driven the same twisting wooded lane that is called Poplar Run in the snow. No matter the time of year the drive is always beautiful. The snow hanging heavy on the bare branches of beech, oak, and maple, made lacey patterns that glistened in the sunlight or at night they sparkled in the headlights of my car. Mountain laurel still line the banks of Poplar Run. Their dark glossy leaves in vivid contrast with the white snow.
The most beautiful sight of all was the young pines rising on a steep slope with their feathery branches heavily laden with newly fallen snow. They seemed to spread their arms wide to collect as many of the flakes as they could hold and then wrap themselves in a thick white quilt. They’re much older now with fewer needles, but at one time in their prime they wore heavy dark green coats. That wondrous sight would suddenly pop into view when I made the sharp turn. It was as though a visual feast was spread out just for me. I knew it was there, but its beauty always appeared suddenly. It was the darkness of the branches gracefully sagging beneath the weight of the new-fallen snow. It was the surprise I enjoyed even as a child riding in the back seat of my parent’s Carl and Sybil Miner Beck’s car. My views were often hampered by sharing the backseat with my brother Ken and sister Kathy, but it was always enjoyable.
Other roads that my dad drove gave me a different memory. I recall times when I had to press my face against the car window to look upward to see the bright blue sky over the top of the drifted and plowed high banks of snow.
Another snowy memory was of my dad. He hated to be late. His mantra was, “If you’re not early, you’re late.” One Sunday morning we tried three different routes to get to church during a snow storm. The roads were covered in snow and very slippery. As Dad pulled into the parking lot of the old white clapboard Clinton Church of God, the music was already playing for the first hymn. Dad said, “Get back into the car kids” and he drove us home. I’m sure that God wouldn’t have minded, but Dad was a stickler for being punctual.
This year snow has been coming in surges interspaced with softened warm interludes, but being jerked back into reality, we face an onslaught of heavy winds and snow this weekend. Stay safe.

Insulbrick

 Insulbrick

Insulbrick covered many of the homes in western Pennsylvania homes. Many of the raw-lumber constructed homes were built without insulation. Homeowners chose to use this tar impregnated fiber paper to seal cracks and to add a layer of insulation to their houses. The tarpaper was frequently coated with brown, gray, or the most favorite color red minerals. The minerals were applied in patterns of brick or cut stone. Insulbrick came in rolls like tar paper roofing and was nailed to the house.
I can remember the house that my mom Sybil Miner Beck and my dad Edson Carl Beck bought. It had thick brown Insulbrick paper covering it. The house was little more than a cottage with half of a basement. My father and his father Edson Thomas Beck slowly expanded it over the years to accommodate our families’ needs. Our neighbors’ house was covered in Insulbrick but in the gray cut-stone pattern.
Other buildings I can remember were the ones my grandfather Edson Thomas Beck helped to build. My grandfather’s home in Indian Head, Pennsylvania was covered in the brown Insulbrick, while my aunt and uncle, Estella and Melvin Strawderman’s house next door. It was covered in the red brick mineral paper.
The last two Insulbrick covered buildings I remember are churches. One was located just at the edge of the coal mining town of Melcroft, Pennsylvania. It was situated along Route 711 on the right driving from Indian Head. I can’t remember its name, but it was a two story Pentecostal church that had theater seats. It had fold down theater seats, because once it had been a theater. My grandfather preached there often.
The other Insulbrick clad building that I fondly remember. Mt. Hope was another Pentecostal church. It was one that my Grandfather Beck helped to build. It was covered in red Insulbrick tar paper. As a lay speaker, he preached many sermons there. The church was located along Route 31 driving from Jones Mills to Somerset. The building still stands near the summit, but is now covered in boards and was a pizza joint the last I knew.

Little Hooded Men

 Little Hooded Man

Recently, we had two snows. The first was light and powdery. The second was a heavy, easily compressed snow. The wet snow caused our Pastor to express his creative spirit by building a snow man. Sunday morning, near the front door of the Mount Zion Community Church I saw a new greeter. Its silly smiling face welcomed our congregation. The frosty person wore a vest, a hat, and gloves at the ends of its stick arms. Besides the chill of the snow, a pair of sunglasses perched on its face made the snowman look really “cool.” It reminded me of another snowman that was built on the church property, but it was much smaller. It was a snowman that I built on the hood of another church member's car hood.
His automobile was an older model that still had a raised hood ornament. The shining metal ornament stood about four inches tall above the plane of the car hood. The decoration became the firm anchor for the snow person that I fashioned. It was only two snowballs high and had two sticks protruding from its thicker body as arms. The car’s dark burgundy colored hood made the little white snow buddy even more eye-catching.
When my friend and his wife came out of church, he began to chuckle and she laughed. Without actually addressing their new passenger, they climbed into their car and drove off heading to their nearby home.
Returning to church for the Sunday evening services, the snowman was still firmly ensconced on its throne at the front of their car. Talking to my friend after the service, I asked him why he hadn’t knocked it off. He replied in his usual laid back manner, “I thought it would fall off while I was driving.”
I can’t remember how that little snow buddy disappeared or when it finally fell off. I’m not sure whether it was while he was driving or whether the weather or the warmth from the motor under the hood caused him to melt, lose his grip, and slide from his once secure perch.

Ring A Ding Ding

 Ring A Ding Ding

After my wife-to-be Cynthia Morrison and I had been dating for awhile, she wanted to wear my high school graduation ring. It was much too large for her hand and she wore a metal insert to reduce the diameter. The metal sizer would bend as she wore it and she would have me bend it back into place. We became serious and the engagement ring she wanted was an opal. I bought a beautiful iridescent opal with two small dark blue sapphires on each side. I was waiting for the perfect time to present it to her. That happened at a softball game. She removed my high school ring to straighten. When I fixed it, I slipped it on my little finger and didn’t return it. We sat in my car as we left the game and I said, “I suppose you want this back?” She told me later she thought I was breaking up with her, but quickly changed her mind when I offered her the opal. Of course she said yes. Later we searched for wedding bands at several jewelers and stores. We finally found ones we liked. Of course to make the sale, the clerk said my hands should have been modeling hands for rings.
On our first wedding anniversary, we visited a local jewelry maker. I had a necklace made for her and she had a silver, turquoise and coral ring made that I designed.
Her desire to wear the opal lasted until she heard how fragile opal stones were, then she wanted a diamond. I bought a diamond ring and gave it to her at Christmas. The ring came in a clear Lucite box, but I tucked it into a Pringles can to disguise it. Once wrapped, Cindy would poke and prod any gift trying to figure out what was inside. The ring came loose with her shaking. The rattle convinced her I’d bought her a cheap game. It was the last present she opened. Surprised, she tried it on silently and mouthed, “Is it real?”
The last ring she bought for me was a silver Celtic knot ring at the Highlands Games in Ligonier, Pennsylvania. Her heritage was Scottish. Her family history can be traced back to the Isle of Lewis.
I was still wearing my wedding band a year after Cindy had passed away. I hadn’t worn our first anniversary ring in quite awhile. After her passing, I decided it was Cindy telling me it was time to store the wedding band and I replaced it with the turquoise and coral anniversary ring. I often wear the Celtic knot ring on my other hand; our first and our last.

Remembering Things

Remembering Things

Some strong memories in my life still remain very vivid. They are not necessarily important. Many are just small things, like the old cobalt blue glass jars of Vicks Vapo-rub. It was the smell of the sharp menthol salve my mom Sybil Miner Beck would rub onto my neck or my chest when I had a head or chest cold. The tingling cold sensation as she applied a thin layer and the burst of the intense menthol fumes that would escape my flannel pajama top or the white cotton undershirt. Now the jars are plastic and the ointment's aroma doesn't seem as intense.

Another remedy that my grandmother Rebecca Rugg Miner and my mom used was the cure for a sore throat. It wasn’t as elegant as the Vicks, but as a home remedy it sure seemed to work. My gram would stitch a thick slice of fatback bacon to a strip of folded flannel cloth. She would dribble tincture of turpentine onto the piece of fatty pork then liberally sprinkle a layer of coarse salt onto the concoction. The cure-all would be wrapped around my neck using safety pins to secure the ends and press the healing compound tightly against my neck. Turpentine fumes rose from the mixture as the heat from my fevered body would arm the mixture. In turn, the mixture would generate a deeply penetrating heat of its own. I won’t say the cure was soothing, but it seemed to do the trick, relieving the pain I felt in my throat after about an hour or so.

There was an older lady from my church as a youth who shared a sure-fire way to “draw out” an imbedded splinter or thorn. Soak a piece of white bread in milk then bind it in place over the injured area. After a few hours, the wooden shard would rise to the surface to be removed without difficulty.

My neighbor used to butcher and process meat for farmers and for his own small market. He sometimes would render the beef tallow with other ingredients into a thick, nearly tar-like paste that could be applied to wounds to act as a drawing salve. When smeared over an injury, it would draw the infection or splinter out of the cut and allow the small laceration to heal without infection. I still have a small jar in my medicine chest.

I can’t forget the donuts my gram made or the sour cream sugar cookies my neighbor Mrs. Carrie Hall used to make. There is a veritable storehouse of foods I can recall from my youth, but they will have to wait until the hunger for my recollections begins to growl.

Quilting

 Quilting

I don’t think that quilting is the most interesting subject for many readers, but it was an integral part of both my grandmothers, Anna Nichols Beck and Rebecca Rugg Miner. My Grandmother Anna’s quilts were utilitarian. Usually the quilt sizes she made were for twin beds and of dark colors of thick warm materials of wool, tweed, and occasionally there were patches of corduroy. She attached the quilt top to a flannel backing with knots of yarn. The finished product was so heavy, I’m not sure that a person would have been able to get out from under a larger than twin size once a person was covered up with it.
Grandma Becky almost always had a quilt set up on her quilting frame in her television room. When we visited she would often hand us a needle and thread to the stitch straight line patterns she had lightly drawn on the material. She did the fancy scroll and other designs herself. Much of the cotton material was from clothing that had outlived its usefulness. Some pieces were from clothing that no longer fit, were no longer in fashion, or from parts of worn clothing that were still useable. Grandma Becky made squares of many different designs. She would sew the patches into squares on her old Singer treadle sewing machine. Once the quilt top design was complete, she would pin it in layers to the batting and the muslin backing before attaching it to the wooden quilt frame’s rollers. As the quilt was hand-stitched, it would be stretched taut as each unfinished section was revealed. Gram was a busy person, making a quilt as wedding gifts for each of her thirty grandchildren.
My Mother-in-law Retha Johnson Morrison made quilts from double-knit fabric. That nylon material wore like iron. If the backing of flannel wore out, the yarn knots could be snipped and a new backing could be applied. Her first attempts were baby quilts of pastel colors attached to large bath towels by soft yarns. Gradually the quilt sizes increased and her husband Bud built a quilting frame for her. He made it large enough to hold a king sized flannel sheet as backing. I often helped her knot the quilts at the corners where the different fabrics met. Much of the material was from discarded clothing that was no longer wearable or in fashion. Many pieces of cloth had stories attached to them, recalling their past lives.
A few years ago I had a friend sew backing on three quilt tops that I inherited. They’d never had the backs applied; each one was hand sewn by my great grandmothers. I passed them on to my children as Christmas gifts.

Happenstance

 Happenstance

It’s difficult for me to understand how people can be confused after seeing the world around them and say there is no Creator. It all came into being by coincidence or happenstance. Looking up at the multitude of stars and the untold number of planets should give a feeling of the great power that set them all into place, not an explosion. Even if there was such a thing as the big bang beginning, where did the enormous mass of matter come from, develop, and from what? Who created the delicate balance that caused the stars, moons and planets to dance the intricate ballet eon after eon? Evolutionists say the Earth and everything on it evolved over millions of years, but how can that be when every race and culture of mankind has the flood story which wiped everything living thing from existence, save those in the ark? And if evolutionists are correct and mankind evolved from apes, why isn’t it happening now and why not frequently than just the one single leap of genes?

When we look around and see the majesty of the mountains or the splendor of canyons with their depths and heights, their varied shapes and hues, how can we deny the skill of an artist’s hand? We see waterfalls thundering from great heights or spreading to unbelievable widths and yet we are still amazed by hearing the trickle of the tiniest flow.

Our beaches can be narrow, rocky, or are wide expanses of sand in varied colors of black pumice, red coral, soft yellows, or whites. We have fountains that pump out sweet clear water while other springs belch boiling sulfur smelling water. There are artesian wells that spill water and geysers that shoot towers of water high into the air. The world is crisscrossed with rivers: long ones, short ones, gentle ones, and raging ones, who set them into motion. Who set the rotation of the seasons? Who allowed the ice and snow to give way to the budding of trees and the stirring of life in a dead looking seed? Who painted the autumn leaves with brilliant colors?

Can we be more surprised than to see a blinding flash of lightning, or feel the earth beneath our feet trembling from the roar of thunder or feel the power of an oncoming storm? Who created the whirlwind separating it from the gentle breeze? How can we see the miracle of birth and not be convinced that there is a Creator to all the things around us and not appeared just by happenstance?

Bizarre Bezoar

 Bizarre Bezoar

Let me first explain what a bezoar is. A bezoar is a mass of food of other accumulated substances that form a dam in the gastrointestinal tract. The blockage can be a large chunk of partially chewed meat or accumulated non-edible, indigestible substances. While I was working in the Emergency Depsrtment at Frick Hospital in Mt. Pleasant, I saw several people who came in with a partially chewed piece of steak or ham that lodged in their esophagus that had to have an emergency endoscopy to remove the foreign body. Sometimes the food was too large or it stuck where there was a narrowing of the esophagus.
When I was a kid, long before I knew or understood what a bezoar was, I was on my parent’s side porch watching the road crew patching pot holes and smoothing the berm. I had just finished drinking a glass of Kool-Aid and was popping the ice cube into my mouth then back into the glass. It was too cold to keep in my mouth and I liked to hear the ice rattle in the glass when it popped out of my mouth. Absent-mindedly I kept my mouth moist and was playing with the ice cube until it slid back and brown my throat where it stuck. The ice quickly became painful, not coming back up nor going on down. I hurried into the kitchen and turned the water tap until hot water poured from the faucet then I gingerly sipped the water until the ice cube melted into my stomach. I was certainly scared until it disappeared.
Last night I was eating homemade stir-fry of vegetables, rice, and pieces of canned venison when the same thing happened. The food started down on its journey to my stomach then for some unknown reason, it stopped. The dam was painful not wanting to go down farther or to come back up. Sips of water did nothing other than to make the pressure seem worse. I couldn’t speak, so I couldn’t call 911 and explain that I was having an emergency, so I sat quietly, making attempts to swallow the blockage. I knew it wasn’t safe to make an attempt to drive myself to the hospital, so I texted my kids and prayed, the bezoar slowly edged downward until it disappeared into my stomach. I must have strained at sometime during the incident, because I had a small nosebleed. All is well now, I will have to remember to chew my food more thoroughly and swallow it more slowly. I am blessed that nothing else happened.

Sweet and Sour

 Sweet and Sour

Who would have guessed that I would become a professional lab rat? I am being evaluated for another experimental drug for a “heart study.” My first part of the evaluation is over: blood work drawn, update of medical history (I was in a previous diabetic medication study), and signing of forms.
There are so many rabbit trails I want to address, but I will try to do justice to them all. With the diabetic study from 2024, I found out that I had indeed been on the experimental drug, Orforgliphon 3 milligrams. It worked really well for me, unlike the medication Ozempic that an endocrinologist tried to put me on. I couldn’t tolerate it when I had symptoms 24/7 of extreme nausea or heartburn. When I was told that he wanted me to continue with Ozempic, I stopped taking it and stopped seeing him.
When the medication Orforgliphon worked so much better without the unwanted side effects and taking it worked so well, I wanted to cry when the testing period was over and I could no longer was able to have access to the medication. I found out later that Eli Lilly was trying to get approval for it as a viable weight reduction medication and not for controlling diabetic’s blood sugar. I even volunteered to be a long term study participant for the effectiveness and over-all effects of taking the medication, but Eli Lilly never responded. (P.S. I called Eli Lilly to express my feelings. I was put on Mounjaro, also an Eli Lilly injectable medication for diabetes. I shared with Lilly that it didn’t work nearly as well as the oral medication Orforgliphon. I was able to talk with someone in their testing lab, but my call did little to gain traction for me to continue taking it.)
I just Googled Orforgliphon for updates and Eli Lilly is offering it for private sale as a weight reduction medication for $149.00, but it still doesn’t address the diabetic patient. It saddens me when a pharmaceutical company takes precedence for those who can pay and are overweight yet not those suffering from the disease diabetes. Today, medicine seems to follow the money, unlike many earlier physicians and scientists who found cures for diseases then at little or no cost shared their discoveries unlike today where it is to feed the continual cash-cow customer.

Now That's Not Love

 Now That’s Love

I just watched a short video on the love of Jesus. It caused me to think about who Jesus loved and for who he died. It wasn’t just for his disciples and followers. It wasn’t for his mother, Mary. It wasn’t for his half brothers and sisters, it was for everyone from the point of his death and into the future. There was not one person excluded from his love.

He loved the Sadducees and Pharisees who dogged him and tried to find cause to destroy him. His love extended to the High Priests, Herod, and Pontius Pilate who accused, judged and sentenced him to the cross. He loved the Roman soldiers who flogged and flayed him with a cat-o-nine tail whip and drove the sharp crown of thorns on his head. Crowds spat on him, hit him, mocked him, and plucked out his beard, and yet he loved them.

His love was offered to the Roman soldiers even as they drove the spikes deep into the cross through his wrists and his feet. He loved the man who betrayed him with a kiss on the cheek for twenty pieces of silver, Judas Iscariot. If Judas hadn’t departed and killed himself, I am sure that Jesus would have forgiven him.

Jesus would even now, open his arms in love to all mankind: Moslem, Buddhist, Jew, Hindu, Atheist, Communist, or Agnostic. Jesus is the epitome of love. He died to destroy the sin of each and every person on the earth. He allowed himself a death on the cross to have men set free from their bondage of sin. Jesus could have called ten thousand angels to lift him off the cross and to lovingly minister to his wounds. He could have had ten thousand more to destroy those who sought his death if he chose to call them.

Yet, he willingly bore the pain, agony, and shame of dying like a criminal on the cross to save you and me from the punishment of Hell that we have earned. If that isn’t love then I don’t know what is.

Really Rough Sledding

 Really Rough Sledding

Winter isn’t my favorite season of the year. Even as a child, it was a time for doing things indoors. The lure of the sled was the major draw to get me to play outside into the snow. Flexible Flyer sleds were the most common brand and it was the brand I had.

Three shiny thin wooden slats were bordered by thicker pieces of wood; one on each side of the main body. Thick wooden braces supported the thin slats from underneath. They allowed kids to belly slam themselves onto the sled without breaking it. Another yoke-shaped piece of wood on the front allowed the sled to be steered. A short length of binder twine or rope looped through its holes permitted the sled to be towed behind the owner.

Two painted red steel rails curved up at the front end and several upside down v-shaped braces supported the sled body and the body of the rider. The number of braces depended on the length of the sled. Similar metal pieces ran the length of the sled connecting at the front. It attached the steering piece to the runners.

When we got older, we rode our sleds on Coal Bank Hill Road. It was a less traveled, unpaved road with curves and steep slope. At the bottom was Route 711. The traffic was heavier. Because of high banks, sled riders couldn’t see oncoming traffic, so riders had to be extra skillful turning their sleds to run parallel with the highway on the berm or to roll off the sled stopping short of the highway traffic.

When road crews spread antiskid ashes on Coal Bank road to give vehicles traction, sometimes a bigger clunker would grab a runner and bring the sled to a sudden stop. Many riders, including me, lost buttons from our coats as we slid over the front of the sled doing a face plant in the snow.

Because of our adventurous nature, we helped the neighbor boys build an “Our Gang” type of snow contraption from spare pieces of wood and old car parts. Because of its weight and after several rides, it was abandoned. It took two kids to pull it and no one wanted to drag the heavy beast back to the hilltop for another ride.

Some other friends made a toboggan from a long piece of corrugated aluminum roofing. The sled was lightweight and able to fly over the snow without sinking. It slid so fast and so far on its maiden run that we were scared as the toboggan jumped a deep ditch at the bottom of the hill, coming to rest halfway across a cow pasture.