Founded
December 17,1912 Ceased Publication
Thursday February 1, 1951
Book 1
Volume
12
This
is a previous issue re-worked with Nvu
Saturday,
February 07, 2004 7:37 AM 34 deg at LVIA and 33.2 in the bus stop
Golly, Saturday
has arrived already and
a new week will be starting soon. I overslept this morning and Queen
had to let the dog out and feed him. Geez!!
On my e-mail this
morning is a site I
have seen before but it appears that they have improved it a lot. I had
to do a bit of editing myself, but the results are good.
It is,
http://terraservice.net/ Here
is a picture of our area.
It
takes some looking
and imagination, but our house and church next door are there.
Space
view of The
Palmerton Memorial Park
This morning my
weight is 207 and the
blood glucose is 128. Apparently the sausage and bean soup kept the
sugar level down last evening. It sure was good stuff.
Apparently, beans and my blood sugar go well together. Yesterday I sent
to many this recipe that queen made last night. It was excellent she
had my permission to make it again soon. Ha!!
SAUSAGE BEAN SOUP
¾ pound bulk Italian
sausage [Queen substituted turkey
Kielbasa.]
½ cup chopped onion
1 garlic clove, minced
1 can (15-1/2 ounces) butter
beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (15 ounces) black beans,
rinsed and drained
1 can (14-1/2 ounces) diced
tomatoes, undrained
1 can (14-1/2 ounces) beef broth
1 tablespoon minced fresh basil or
1 teaspoon dried basil
2 tablespoons shredded Parmesan
cheese
In a large saucepan, cook sausage,
onion and garlic until the sausage
is browned; drain. Add beans, tomatoes, broth and basil. Cover and
simmer for 10 minutes. Sprinkle each serving with Parmesan cheese.
Yield: 4-6 servings.
I cleaned off the rest of the slush going up to the garage this
morning. I had intended to take Queen to the “Iron Works” this morning
but she doesn’t feel up to it today. After my recent shoveling, I
decided to take it easy today.
This afternoon
Queen wanted to go down
to Shea’s, Spillane’s and Rite-Aid. I wanted to get a Valentine card
for my sweetheart. While I was in Rite-Aid, I saw the manager and asked
her about my refund for the glucose monitor. She asked me if I recalled
how much it was. I replied $40. She went to the cash register and paid
me on the spot. I was shocked as well as happy. I rarely leave a store
with more money than when I entered. Geez!! I wasn’t at all sure I
would ever see it. I doubt if the store was legally obligated to do it
and I told her so and that I was very appreciative of her action.
Tonight for supper
Queen had chicken, a
half a baked potato each, fresh spinach, cooked carrots, cottage
cheese, and an ice-cream bar for dessert.
Tonight Queen is getting quite a
workout learning a lot of new stuff
with her computer. It is tough doing some of this for the first time.
We had to download Adobe reader because she wanted to copy a crochet
pattern. First, we had to establish a membership in the site from which
she wanted to receive the pattern. We got there but she was rather hard
pressed at times. She had to establish a membership, password, and the
whole nine yards. She is a smart kid and between us got it all done.
Now she is writing a letter. After that, it will be spider solitaire.
These are from Bob
Green. I suspect that
I shall plagiarize some of them for future use. Ha!!
What
would men be without women? Scarce, sir .. mighty scarce.
~Mark Twain
I once had a rose named after me and I was very flattered. But I was
not pleased to read the description in the catalogue: “No good in a
bed, but fine up against a wall”.
~Eleanor Roosevelt
Last week I stated this woman was the ugliest woman I had ever seen. I
have since been visited by her sister and now wish to withdraw that
statement.
~Mark Twain
The secret of a good sermon is to have a good beginning and a good
ending; and have the two as close together as possible.
~George Burns
Santa Claus has the right idea . visit people only once a year.
~Victor Borge
Be careful about reading health books. You may die of a misprint.
~Mark Twain
My wife is a sex object. Every time I ask for sex, she
objects.
~Les Dawson
By all means marry. If you get a good wife, you’ll become happy; if you
get a bad one, you’ll become a philosopher. ~Socrates
I was married by a judge. I should have asked for a jury.
~Groucho Marx
My wife has a slight impediment in her speech. Every now and then she
stops to breathe.
~Jimmy Durante
The male is a domestic animal which, if treated with firmness and
kindness, can be trained to do most things.
~Jilly Cooper
I never hated a man enough to give his diamonds back.
~Zsa Zsa Gabor
Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four essential food
groups: alcohol, caffeine, sugar, and fat.
~Alex Levine
Don’t go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you
nothing. It was here first.
~Mark Twain
My luck is so bad that if I bought a cemetery, people would stop dying.
~Ed Furgol
Money can’t buy you happiness, but it does bring you a more pleasant
form of misery.
~Spike Milligan
What’s the use of happiness? It can’t buy you money.
~Henny Youngman
I am opposed to millionaires, but it would be dangerous to offer me the
position.
~Mark Twain
Until I was thirteen, I thought my name was ‘shut up.’
~Joe Namath
Youth would be an ideal state if it came a little later in life.
~Herbert Henry Asquith
I don’t feel old. I don’t feel anything until noon. Then it’s time for
my nap. ~Bob Hope
A woman drove me to drink ... and I hadn’t even the courtesy to thank
her. ~W.C. Fields
I never drink water because of the disgusting things that fish do in
it. ~W.C. Fields
It takes only one drink to get me drunk. The trouble is, I can’t
remember if it’s the thirteenth or the fourteenth. ~George Burns
We could certainly slow the aging process down if it had to work its
way through Congress.
~Unknown
Don’t worry about avoiding temptation.. As you grow older, it will
avoid you.
~Unknown
Maybe it’s true that life begins at fifty. But .everything else starts
to wear out, fall out, or spread out.
~Unknown
Doctor to patient: I have good news and bad news. The good news is that
you are not a hypochondriac
~Unknown
The cardiologist’s diet: If it tastes good ... spit it out.
~Unknown
By the time a man is wise enough to watch his step, he’s too old to go
anywhere.
~Unknown
It’s hard to be nostalgic when you can’t remember anything.
~Unknown
Sunday,
February 08, 2004 7:40 AM 18 deg at LVIA and 15.7 in the bus stop
It is very
blustery and damn cold
sitting up on the park bench this morning. However, it is crystal clear
without a cloud in the sky. I still love to sit out there in the
morning. As I said it is a marvelous place to get your head on
straight. It is a great day to be alive. This morning the blood glucose
was 137 and the weight 206.
Golly whiz, it has been quite a
day. It was such a nice
morning. I asked Queen if she wanted to go someplace today. She
suggested Wall-Mart. So, off we went. On the way, we stopped at the car
wash out on Hazard Road and gave the car a bath. It looks like an
automobile now.
As I parked at Wall-Mart, in a good
handicapped spot in front of the
store, I spotted two National Guard Humvee’s parked across form our
spot.
That is a very impressive sight. I
will bet they could drive right over
our little Corsica with no problem
On the way in the store, I stopped by
and shook all of their hands they
were all nice young men.
After our shopping, I went out to the
car while Queen visited the
little girls room. Suddenly there was a sinking feeling in the pit of
my stomach when I couldn’t find the car keys. Yep, I locked them inside
in the ignition.
I NEVER do dumb stuff like that. Well
I did today. Queen looked in her
purse for her set of keys to no avail. She thought she had not moved
them when she changed purses some time ago. The National Guard came
over to assist.
We got a coat hanger but it was to no
dice. No one could maneuver it
properly. Queen and I went in the store to be informed that they do not
open car doors. I proceeded to get on our cell phone and call AAA.
After placing the call I handed my card AAA back to Queen to keep for
me.
In about an hour he arrived. The
young man had the door open in about a
minute. Sheez. When we got home, Queen went to return the AAA card and
guess what? She found her set of keys. We both laughed over
that. Mr. and Mrs. Duffas!! Geez!!!
Monday,
February 09, 2004 7:17 AM 16 deg at LVIA and 12.1 in the bus stop
This morning the
blood glucose is 126 and
the weight is 207. It is cold this morning. I fed the dog and he was
out, but I am awaiting a bit more sunlight before venturing forth.
I was out with my coffee, cushion,
and camera for a look-see. It is
cold but it is supposed to warm up today. I got a couple of pictures
for this Monday morning.
I got a picture of a jet contrail and
a woman walking up 3rd St. hill
with her child.
Queen is starting
the laundry as well as
breakfast. Mr. and Mrs. Dufas plan to go to “The Iron Works" later this
morning.
Golly, we were down and back. Queen
used the treadmill and it went
quite well. Her main complaint is that it goes at a constant speed and
it is boring. Hey. I know that too. But when it is too cold for regular
walking it is just the thing. Therefore, I got her a ticket for this
month.
I sent the following e-mail to a lot
of folks with the hope that
someone can help:
I am taking the liberty of
sending this letter to anyone to whom
I think might be of assistance
in this matter.
This afternoon George Ashman
stopped by with a request for some help and
advise. Currently the Lehigh Gap
Historical Society has in its
possession
all the past issues of the
Palmerton Press. While they are fragile with
age
they are for the most part bound
volumes produced by a company in
Reading Pa
to whom we sent a copy of each
issue as it was published. At the
beginning
of the New Year, they would send
us, the past years volume for our
archives.
They are currently in storage at
the Palmerton Library.
The society would like to
digitize them and make them available as a
searchable source of information
available to the public. In what
format I
am not sure. I presume a
searchable CD ROM.
George is in contact with
companies trying to find the best
possible method of accomplishing
this program. So far, nothing has been
economically feasible. Some want
to microfilm them and work from that
format
We both agree that will not
accomplish their goal. One of the options
is to
scan them with an optical
scanner and then work from that. The
reliability
of that method is extremely
inaccurate. It would require massive proof
reading before anything would be
accomplished. At the same time, the
Society’s limited budget must
also be considered. We would
appreciate any
input anyone can provide.
Any information can be sent to me
at elliston@ptd
net and George at Gashman@ptd.net
I got this from Henry Schwartz,
`The woman
arrived At
an airport one night With several long hours Before her
flight. She hunted for a book In the airport shop, Bought a
bag of cookies And found a place to drop. She was engrossed
in her book But happened to see, That the man sitting beside her, As
bold as could be. Grabbed a cookie or two From the bag in
between, Which she tried to ignore To avoid a scene. So she
munched the cookies And watched the clock, As the gutsy cookie thief
Diminished her stock. She was getting more irritated As the
minutes ticked by, Thinking, “If I wasn’t so nice, I would blacken his
eye.” With each cookie she took, He took one too, When only one was
left, She wondered what he would do. With a smile on his
face, And a nervous laugh, He took the last cookie And broke it in
half. He offered her half, As he ate the other, She snatched
it from him And thought... ooh, brother! This guy
has some nerve And he’s also rude, Why he didn’t even show Any
gratitude! She had never known When she had been so galled,
And sighed with relief When her flight was called. She
gathered her belongings And headed to the gate, Refusing to look back
At the thieving ingrate. She boarded the plane, And sank in
her seat, Then she sought her book, Which was almost
complete. As she reached in her baggage, She gasped with
surprise, There was her bag of cookies, In front of her eyes.
If mine are here, She moaned in despair, The others were his, And he
tried to share. Too late to apologize, She realized with
grief, That she was the rude one, The ingrate, the thief! How
many times have we absolutely known that something was a certain way,
only to discover later that what we believed to be true...was
not? Keep An Open Mind And An Open Heart,
Because...... You Just Never Know... Ya might be
eating someone else’s cookies
Tonight for supper Queen had
the rest of
the Sausage bean soup. She augmented it a bit to stretch it and it was
very good.
I got this from
both Tommy Davies and
Bob Greenawalt. Hey, I remember these very well as a kid. On the trip
to my Grandfathers farm in Columbia County there was a stretch of
highway just before you got to the bridge at Berwick where these were
always prominently displayed. Ah yes!!!
BURMA SHAVE
For those of you who never
saw the Burma Shave signs, here is
a
quick lesson in our
history of the 1930’s and
‘40’s. Before the
Interstate, when everyone
drove the old 2 lane roads, Burma
Shave
signs would be posted all
over the countryside in farmers’
fields.
They were small red signs
with white letters. Five
signs, about 100
feet apart, each
containing 1 line of a 4 line
couplet......and the
obligatory 5th sign
advertising Burma Shave, a popular
shaving cream.
DON’T
LOOSE YOUR HEAD
TO GAIN A MINUTE
YOU NEED YOUR HEAD
YOUR BRAINS ARE IN IT
*** Burma Shave***
DROVE TOO LONG
DRIVER SNOOZING
WHAT HAPPENED NEXT
IS NOT AMUSING
***Burma Shave***
BROTHER SPEEDER
LET’S REHEARSE
ALL TOGETHER
GOOD MORNING NURSE
***Burma Shave***
CAUTIOUS RIDER
TO HER RECKLESS DEAR
LET’S HAVE LESS BULL
AND MORE STEER
***Burma Shave***
SPEED WAS HIGH
WEATHER WAS NOT
TIRES WERE THIN
X MARKS THE SPOT
***Burma Shave***
THE MIDNIGHT RIDE
OF PAUL FOR BEER
LED TO A WARMER
HEMISPHERE
***Burma Shave***
AROUND THE CURVE
LICKETY-SPLIT
ITS A BEAUTIFUL CAR
WASN’T IT?
***Burma shave***
NO MATTER THE PRICE
NO MATTER HOW NEW
THE BEST SAFETY DEVICE
IN THE CAR IS YOU
*** Burma Shave***
A GUY WHO DRIVES
A CAR WIDE OPEN
IS NOT THINKIN’
HE’S JUST HOPIN’
***Burma Shave***
AT INTERSECTIONS
LOOK EACH WAY
A HARP SOUNDS NICE
BUT ITS HARD TO PLAY
***Burma Shave***
BOTH HANDS ON THE WHEEL
EYES ON THE ROAD
THAT’S THE SKILLFUL
DRIVER’S CODE
***Burma Shave***
THE ONE WHO DRIVES WHEN
HE’S BEEN DRINKING
DEPENDS ON YOU
TO DO HIS THINKING
***Burma Shave***
CAR IN DITCH
DRIVER IN TREE
THE MOON WAS FULL
AND SO WAS HE.
***Burma Shave***
DRUNKEN DRIVERS
HERE’S YOUR CHANCE
TO HOBBLE HOME
IN AN AMBULANCE
***Burma Shave***
And my all time favorite:
PASSING SCHOOL ZONE
TAKE IT SLOW
LET OUR LITTLE
SHAVERS GROW
***Burma Shave***
Tuesday,
February 10, 2004 7:18 AM 28deg at LVIA and 27.7 in the bus
stop
It was cold but
nice this morning. I was
out with my coffee and tush cushion to the sight of a beautiful day.
This morning the weight was 208 and the blood glucose 131. I am not at
all happy about the weight. It has been inching back up. That is a
no-no.
Man
talk
about the life of Riley this guy sure has it.
I sat out on the
front porch this
morning before noon and it was 72 deg. out there. The sun is
gaining strength even though the outdoor thermometer says 42
degrees. As long as the sun was present, it was very comfortable.
Better days are coming.
Queen was working
out in the kitchen and
called to me come here quick and bring your camera. It was our old
friend Mr. squirrel trying to make off with sunflower seeds from the
squirrel proof feeder that Judy and Henry Schwartz gave us. He finally
quit in frustration.
Fred
J. Gray squirrel at work
After we missed
the mailman I had to go
to the Post Office to mail a letter. I stopped at Shea’s to get some
stuff I need for one of Queen’s projects.
Mary and Jim
stopped by for a visit this
afternoon. It was good to see them. We persuaded them to stay for
supper. Queen had chicken in the oven over a bed of stuffing, green
beans, carrots an celery, cranberry sauce, and black olives. Then we
had an ice cream bar and coffee for dessert. It was an excellent meal,
followed by an evening of conversation.
Wednesday,
February 11, 2004 7:32 AM 30 deg at LVIA and 29.9 in the bus stop
This morning it is
snowing a bit.
Butternut has been out, but not I as yet. This morning my blood glucose
was 126 and my weight 208.
This morning’s e
mail had two welcome
pictures by Bill Danneberg formerly of Palmerton. Here are
his remarks about them, ”I
scanned two scanned transparencies - one
showing Delaware Avenue in July of 1958, looking west from the
park. I believe this may have been taken on a lazy
Sunday afternoon, judging from the traffic “congestion.”
The
other shows the West Plant, probably taken on the same day.”
These are most
welcome additions. I notice that PP&L is still in the building
where Bob’s Floral
shop in now. Then the Ben Franklin store and I suspect Gerber’s store
is the next one. After Gerber’s I don’t recall who was in the store
with the white sign with the red lettering on it at the entryway. They
are followed by Young’s jewelers store, Teter’s drugstore, and I
suspect Shindel’s shop. From there on it gets interesting I am not sure
if that is the Grant store or the union hall. Looking up the street, I
am
also not sure If the great Segals fire had occurred as yet, It looks to
me as thought Burt Shipe still had his hardware store with the green
awning outside.
I realize it will
be difficult for
anyone to see too, much from these pictures because I had to reduce
them to put them in here, from 6.2 megabytes to 175.8 KB. If anyone
would like the uncompressed picture I would be happy to e-mail it to
you, but it will be a big one with a phone modem and will take a while
to download. I can also send it as a zip file if anyone knows how to
open it.
More from Bill, “I believe the Delaware Avenue photo
would have been
taken before the Segal fire. I can recall shooting the
Delaware Avenue photo “like it was yesterday”. The weather
was delightful and I had been riding my bicycle around town with camera
slung over my shoulder. And, as I previously indicated, I’m positive
the West Plant photo was taken the same day.”
This picture
must have been
taken about where the car wash is now located at the top of Delaware
Avenue. That looks like the old State Road below before the new road
through the gap was constructed.
I went to the “Iron Works” morning. I
deliberately did not go at it
too hard this morning. I took about a 2/3 of a mile leisurely 2 mph
walk. Then it was on to the stationary machines. Those are the ones
make me tired and sometimes sore. Gee, whiz!! Our nice
neighbors Connie and Bob Reinhardt were there doing their
thing also. Bob is a good man who has a good sense of humor and a good
idea of what is important in this world. He told me he is 60, so he
too is beginning to feel the effects of aging. I have said before that
getting older is always a matter of making concessions. The problem is
the concessions become bigger, bigger, and more frequent. Sheez!!!
While I was away,
Queen was busy making
use of the new space available after her clean up out in the kitchen
moving and rearranging things. One can actually see the top of the
washer and dryer now. She made a very big improvement. After I got
home, I put some the less often used stuff up on the higher reaches for
her.
Queen had to go to the hospital for
her yearly mammogram. She says it
is not pleasant. Tonight for supper we will be dining once again in
God’s restaurant with spaghetti. Ah!!
You know one of the best things I buy
is a subscription to the on line
Wall St. Journal. These people may be conservatives like me, but they
have their heads on straight. With or without their permission I am
using the article I saw in today’s paper because I think it is
important.
“Eat
your Salmon”
Staying out of
the
sun and quitting smoking are both good ideas. But now some scaremongers
want to add salmon to the list of things we all should avoid to reduce
our risk of cancer.
Yes, salmon. The heart-healthy
fish that's also supposed to make you
smarter stands accused of causing cancer. A study published in Science
magazine last month says that salmon raised on farms in the U.S. and
Europe has higher levels of pollutants than salmon caught in the wild.
It recommends eating farmed salmon just once a month.
There are a number of fishy things
about this study, starting with the
fact that the proven health benefits of eating salmon far outweigh the
risk of cancer. In response to the report, the Food and Drug
Administration says that "consumers need not alter consumption of
farmed or wild salmon at this point in time." Britain's food watchdog
agency also rose to salmon's defense, saying the levels of pollutants
reported in the study are within internationally recognized safety
limits.
The Science study found trace
amounts of polychlorinated biphenyls
(PCBs) in farm-raised salmon. But PCBs aren't proven human carcinogens.
Long-term studies of factory workers exposed to high levels of PCBs
show that there is no increase in the incidence of cancer. Moreover,
contaminant levels in salmon have gone down 90% in the past 30 years.
But even if PCBs were a danger,
they wouldn't pose a threat in the
quantities in which they are found in farm-raised salmon. The Science
study found the concentration of PCBs to be 1.8% of the level the FDA
finds tolerable -- an average of 36.6 parts per billion compared with
2,000 parts per billion in the FDA's guidelines. Put this in
perspective: If a person eats eight ounces of farmed salmon every week
for 70 years, the PCBs would increase his cancer risk by one in
100,000, the Environmental Protection Agency says.
Avoiding salmon can actually be
bad for public health. Salmon is packed
with omega-3 fatty acids, which are proven to reduce heart attacks.
Studies indicate that the omega-3 in salmon may also be vital to brain
development in young children and fetuses, help fight Alzheimer's, and
help prevent breast cancer.
The Science study has had one
predictable effect. Two environmental
groups in California this month announced their intention to sue 50
companies in the U.S., Canada and Europe -- from salmon farms to
grocery giants Safeway and Albertsons. The Environmental Working Group
and the Center for Environmental Health plan to bring suit under a
state law requiring companies to alert customers if their products
contain dangerous levels of chemicals known to cause cancer. These
groups can't win their battles on the scientific merits in Congress, or
even in such friendly bureaucracies as the EPA, so they are
increasingly turning to the courts.
Now that salmon has been
discovered by greens and trial lawyers, who
knows what kind of wild ride we're in for. But one thing is clear: The
latest salmon scare isn't about nutrition or food safety.
Updated February 11, 2004
Will Shakespeare was right” The first
thing we do, let’s kill all the
lawyers.”
Thursday, February 12, 2004 7:22 AM
23 deg at LVIA
and 20.5 in the bus stop
This morning the glucose level was
136 and the weight 208. It is a
cloudy day this morning. There is no hint of any sunshine so far today.
This morning we plan to do our food shopping. <12:15
PM> We are back. In fact, it was a very easy trip today. Not at
all crowded but we were able to secure most of what we wanted. The load
was much lighter today. However, a shopping jaunt always tires out
the two oldsters.
This evening we will be having some
of the fish we got today. We got
boneless salmon steaks as well a new fish we never tried before,
Tilapia. This is the one we had tonight. I made supper Queen
was busy cleaning out the closet at the bottom of the steps. She still
doesn’t have it the way she wants it though.
I had a small red potato each, cooked
carrots, fresh spinach, and a
tomato cottage cheese salad. It turned out darn well.
Gee Whiz, talk
about feeling old,
tonight an obituary caught my eye. It was for a Douglas Haydt, 47, of
town. It said he was born and raised in Danielsville. It listed his
parents as Leon and June Borger Haydt. June I think was in my High
School class. Maybelle[Blose] Gilbert would know I will bet. They were
customers of my brother Dick and I when we were doing service work for
Hess Brothers out of Allentown. Little Douglas was a small kid running
around the house. I could still take you to their house. A small red
brick place. They were nice folks. It is funny what memories something
will trigger when you read something like this. Geez!
Friday,
February 13, 2004 7:20 AM 30 deg at LVIA and 28.4 in the bus stop
Sheez the blood
glucose this morning was
150, way to high. That is with the Tilapia fish meal. We had no dessert
last evening either. The weight is 208. I am not happy with these
readings.
It is a cloudy
morning today but it has
turned in to a nice day after all. This morning we both went to the
“Iron Works” for a session on the equipment.
“Not everything that can
be counted counts, and not everything that
counts can be counted.”
Albert Einstein (1879-1955),
By all means marry. If you get a good wife, you’ll become happy; if you
get a bad one, you’ll become a philosopher. ~Socrates [PS I have a GOOD
ONE]
