Reflections in the mist of our Memories:



	Once upon a time, in a land far across the sea, there lived, Mom and Dad.
There were always there, always the same age, always in charge. They probably remember it differently,
but that’s the way we say it. I remember when John was born, I couldn’t figure why we needed another
child, but I got used to it. I remember when Julie was born, that one completely stumped me, but I guessed
they must know what they were doing...My first dog bit the mailman, then no dog.. They sent me away to
camp every summer, I’m not sure I ever really wanted to go, at least until I met Jean Van Alstyne...
John always had to tag along, Mom said so, dad would be working, or sleeping on the livingroom couch,
the original couch potato, mom would say wake him for dinner, but you had to move fast, cause he came 
awake all at once, that reminds me, Sunday mornings, we kids would pile on him in bed, Mom would 
duck, and we would fly across the room, if we didn’t have a good hold on an arm or leg .
	We had an early phone, first just an operator, then a real phone number, 365!. And a TV! Had to be
 the smallest picture tube ever made, but we loved it. Also the radio, one year I took that apart, seeya, oh well..
And the victrola! 33 1/3 and even 45’s! Uncle Claude had a car with a rumble seat, we loved it. Aunt Eddie
really was the boss, even Mom didn’t cross her. Can’t see why she got upset when my turtle got away...
she found it under her stove...Mom wins the award for guts though, when my snakes got out (her fault),
yelling and screaming, she recaptured most of them...One year, dad said we were going ice fishing,  he drove his
truck out on paradox lake, I thought we’d drown for sure, the ice held up, and we caught several perch.
	One year Bob misplaced his ax, thought Mom would faint that time, about as bad as when Mom
nearly killed me with a milk bottle, I think there are still tea leaves in my foot, thanks Dad.
Bob eventually learned how to jump off the picnic table, I taught him, say I was twelve or thirteen before I
realized that soap was not its own food group, boy, Mom was really against free speech :-)
We kids built a million forts, fought with a million other kids, slid down a thousand hills, caught a couple of
 rabbits, and an odd squirrel or two. We survived several family reunions, wish I could talk to those folks now...
We loved E’town, the Knoll, the beaver pond, Cobble, we hated school, getting kissed by Aunts, having to
dress up (except for Julie) and doing homework, or was that just me? Raising roosters was a bad idea, raising
pigeons was fun, Boy Scouts was great, and the Demolay, but I hated the dances, girls, yick! I told Eddie
once I’d never get married, oh well, everyone is entitled to one mistake (ouch). Loved it when uncle Jim
took us on outings, Can’t believe dad ever let me take the car out...Thought he’d kill me after that fiasco
in Lake George Village.. I had a thing about bees, was always trying to kill them, that meant I got stung a lot.
Julie did too kill my rabbit! Tom P gave it to me, she 86’ed it while I was in school..Bootsy was Aunt Eddie’s
cat, swore I’d never have one, but I’m enjoying Sasha, who could figure? Ditto shared most of my adult life,
we all miss him. Camp seems like it was always there, but I was 15 when we built it, with a little help from
Kathy . Sorry, Hol hehehehe. Who knew I’d find the love of my life on Long Island? Thanks for taking
me on that trip down there Dad, that’s what made the connection for us. Can’t forget young Fred following 
his grandfather with his toy lawnmower up at Camp.
And Dan taking the bottle away from his cousin William in the crib..Was Hollyann’s first word really “Ohoh”?
Did I really spend most of my childhood in my room? Probably, that’s where I learned to love reading, mostly 
thanks to Uncle Claude. I enjoyed having Uncle Chuck, and Aunt Peg live with us from time to time, it kept the
 house full of noise and laughter.
	Dad built just about everything in the house, all my bedroom furniture anyway, having a fully
stocked machine shop in the shed was great, we could build anything we could imagine, and we could
lie on the roof and dream the lazy dreams of youth, and we did. Whenever Mom went out on the porch and
yelled Sonnnneyyyy, I would grab my pole and worms, and come running up from my fishing spot, or at
least within the hour...Hated it when she called Sonneyyy, when pretty young thing were around though 
	Yes, we really had to chop wood to start the furnaces each morning, and later, shovel coal. And take
out the milk bottles. No, when I said I had to walk 10 miles to school each morning, that was one of those fib
thingys. Its was just down the block, and I was ALWAYS late...Mom believed in fresh air, so when it got
40 below in the room at night, she allowed us an extra blanket, I can remember sleeping under two blankest,
and an assortment of coats! Nothing bothered John, we usually found him under an inch of snow on an average
winter morning :-) I wish Uncle Chuck had held onto those steel pennies, they are worth a buck a piece now...


	Mom taught me never to go into the road, I never did, she taught me to stay by the house, and when 
I didn’t she “roped” me...Wonder if they knew that the vent hole in my floor under my desk, meant that I could 
hear everything said in the diningroom? It was great going out every year to chop down a Christmas tree, and I 
enjoyed selling them when dad started doing that. The CB’s were a lot of fun, and  so was driving nails into
the maple trees, and eating the resulting icicles! I fell out of every tree in Ticonderoga, and at least one
bedroom window, that’s why all the rooms have bars, now .I don’t think Julie REALLY thought I was the 
Devil, but she might have...Playing in Fort Ti was special, and skating on Lake George, the trips dad took us
on to Lake Placid were great, sleeping in the snow is better than it sounds! Bob met his waterloo at summer
camp, Ruth Mary Heart, it didn’t last but neither did Jean Van Alstyne..Ah well, ice cream in England doesn’t
last long either..Pine cone wars, baseball games, marbles, comics, catching crayfish, bullhead, summer school,
nothing lasts forever, how did we cram so much in such a few short years? Dances, dates, broken hearts...
	Well, I guess this could go on forever, do I still wake up at night, expecting to see mom standing over 
me, checking to make sure I’m breathing, I did that too with my kids. How come our pipes always froze?  Well, seems in some ways I’m my fathers son, Bowling team, 
Boy Scouts, Masons, Dad. Thanks guys, I enjoyed almost every minute of it, you were great, even if you 
were probably making it up as you went along, God Bless, Love you, Sonny

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